Take me out to another ball game?

Tuesday: Can't remember
Wednesday: 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.
Thursday: 6:30 a.m. - 4:30 a.m. I don't think I have ever stayed awake for 22 hours straight
Friday: 10:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Wednesday-- Today was the last day the analyst I have been working with on Real Deal will be here. He left on vacation for 10 days. Two good things have come from that happening: (1) I will be given some more responsibility and (2) Here is my chance to escape and get staffed on some other projects with other bankers. Not that I am trying to get out of work on this project, but I know that with the analyst gone some bandwidth will open up.

One thing I had a hard time with with this analyst was his teaching style. He liked for me to come sit behind his desk and watch him. Well, to be perfectly honest, I didn't learn much from those times, and now that he is gone I won't be sitting behind him shadowing him. Other approaches I have seen, which for me is the best is when the analyst can sit behind me and let me do the navigating. One of the analysts I have worked with will do that--it takes a lot of patience on his part, but I learn a lot. What this analyst will do is say things like, "press alt c.." so as I do it, I learn. He will also let me think when I get stuck rather than solve the answer for me.

Anyway, I got the down low on what I need to take responsibility for and off he went.

Thursday-- I had a call in the morning at 6:45 a.m. I decided to take it from home. It was for the book that had my picture in it. So here I am lying in bed listening to a management team pitch to another management team in NYC. It was a little hard to hear, and there was a lot of parts I had no idea what they were talking about, but what was cool is the MD referring to me as an analyst and not just a summer analyst.

I kind of played the glorified secretary up until about 3:00 p.m. I updated a meeting agenda to reflect all the new participants. Next week we have alot of management presentations. I think one of the most surprising things about Real Deal is the fact that this company is junk and yet competitors and PE and VC firms are going nuts trying to meet with management. Then again, I be the MDs have seen this before, where there is a lot of interest initially and then in the end we struggle to find buyers.

At 4:00 we had the First Annual [West Coast Bank] Softball Tournament. Can I say, I have never seen a more pathetic group of people try to play softball. I kept thinking, "Wow this is really humbling to even the most senior of bankers. These guys are horrible." It kind of made me feel good that I have such a well rounded life and have played sports since I was a kid. It was a lot of fun and I got some good laughs, I think everybody had a good time. One of the things it reconfirmed for me is that there is a life outside of banking and the fact that no one is in shape and really uncoordinated says that this lifestyle is not preferred. Boy I love being outside, but there comes a time you have to pay your dues.

When I got back, it was back to the grind. I got staffed on a project with deliverables that next morning. I had to spread 3 transaction comps. You wouldn't think that 3 would take that long, but imagine trying to find information on target companies from 2000, 2003, and yesterday. It was tough. I searched...and searched...and searched. One thing I have noticed about bankers they don't take giving up lightly. You really have to come to them having exhausted your resources before you say, "I can't find this information." I especially was working with a banker who I have noticed doesn't give any slack. So I just kept pounding it until I found as much as I could. What happened? It took me until 4:30 a.m. to find what I could. So I approached her with my back-up and defense, ready to answer any question..."Did you look in Thomson One,"

"Not only did I look in Thomson One, I looked in Reuters, Dealogic, MergerMarket, etc..."

Friday-- I woke up to email after email not responding to them (because they were all RFI or general emails) until it dawned on me. I have a call I am supposed to be on. It had already started and though I never talk on them, I always get comments from them. I never get on calls after they have started because of the beeping noise it produces when you enter the meeting. The last thing I want is some CEO saying after the meeting has started, "Who just joined?" "Oh its me the retarded intern who spaced the call. How is everyone doing?" I would get nailed.

So I came into the office and caught up with the AS on the deal and there were no comments! Not only that, but my day was pathetic. I had nothing to do all day. I even sent an email to the staffer requesting to be staffed and nothing. It made for a crummy day, but will make for a sweet weekend.