Pembroke it is

Today I received the news that I had been waiting on for the past 2 weeks - confirmation of my college acceptance. Part of the Oxford experience is that you must be a member of a college. As an undergraduate, it is where the bulk of your learning is conducted. For graduates, the learning role is diminished as you are generally taught and instructed by your graduate body in their specific facilities (ie. for me, the Said Business School).

I feel fortunate at having been accepted to Pembroke as quite some colleges had already reached their quota of MBA students. I chose Pembroke for a number of reasons, not least because of its reputation as being a fine sporting college. In addition, I wanted to attend a college that has a diverse student body consisting of grads and undergrads, preferably an older college with some history and a lively Middle Common room ("MCR") - a term referring both to the graduate student body as well as the physical space where that same group are able to congregate.

Having reviewed a number of college prospectuses and also having explored the various MCR sites, Pembroke struck me as a supportive community where there is a healthy balance of academic rigour and extracurricular pursuits. It was also interesting (and somewhat humbling) to learn that Pembroke could count amongst its former scholars Samuel Johnson and could recall JRR Tolkein as a former master who wrote The Hobbit whilst in residence there.

The Pembroke MCR also appears to have an international mix of students and a lively social calendar. I credit current student Stephanie Solywoda with the following 1st hand observation as expressed on the MCR website, "I think that Pembroke has all the benefits of an old Oxford-style stone college with the added benefits of being a small, friendly, forward-thinking community".

I am certainly looking forward to being part of the incoming graduate class there.

Beaten but far from disgraced

Last Sunday Claudia, James, Luke and I were fortunate enough to see the Socceroos go up against the might of the #1 world ranked Brazilian soccer team. Though our unfancied band of journeymen and not yeard heard ofs were the outsiders, they performed with aplomb and were it not for a severe pounding from the officiating referee, we might have scraped through for a draw. As it was, the 2 to 1 penalty count and the class of the Brazilians won through in the end, 2-0.

It was a great weekend of drinking, eating as much pork as you could throw a stick at and of being proudly and overtly patriotic. It was a long drive for a weekend though well worth it. It's a shame we didn't manage to knock the world champs out, but we didn't make the world stand up and take notice of Australian football. Well done lads.