2003 — Full-Time

SPECIAL GUEST EDITOR: Lee Purcell!

Sit down, kick off your shoes, relax your hush puppies, grab a delicious beverage and reflect. Does the world around us seem slightly unreal? The Dow Jones and S&P 500 Index are at all-time highs (Avi and Shira Sagiv will fix Microsoft to get the Nasdaq back to Internet bubble highs). Cap rates on commercial real estate are at all-time lows (in spite of the fact Tom Brown is in real estate investment and development). China is buying a stake in the private equity firm Blackstone (I'm sure Zhen Ji had a hand in this). James Simon, a top hedge fund manager, made $1.7 billion last year (next year Doug McLane, next year). Is this behavior sustainable? Is this 1999 disguised?

	Ajay Chawan '03 enters the bonds of holy matrimony with Britta Watters on March 25.
	Jose Aragon '03 and Warren Buffett: "I'll Rochambeau you for it!"
	Jorge Calderon '03 and wife Sarah
	Baby Aidan, Tiana, Esteban Delgado '03 and Alexandra
	Chris Dupre '03 at home with daughters Avery (left), Mackenzie (right), and new son Grayson.
	Ichiro Enomoto '03 and his daughter, Rioko (6)
	Tindley '03 and Huw Gilbert get ready to bring Pryor Anne Gilbert, born April 12, home from the hospital.
	Jorge Martinez '03 at his daughter's baptism
	Kyle and Michelle Peterson '03 at the Grand Palace in Bangkok
	Rick Pollock '03 and his son, Evan, show off their Easter eggs.
	From left, Friso, Class of 2035; Diemer, Class of 2037; and Oeds-Jan Postma '03
	David Quackenbush '03 steals his son's blanket.
	First row, from left Jason Ross, Brent Reid, Ryan O'Toole (all '03). Second row, from left: Smiley, Andrew Ingley, Charlie Agulla ('03). Third row, from left: Jim McIntyre, Deer in Headlights, John Daly. Fourth row E.G. Fishburne, Colin Beatty, laughing man
	Vlad and Natalie Shlafman (both '03) and son Joey (sporting his favorite turtle outfit)
	Rebecca Thorkildsen '03 and her husband, Dan, hike the Franz Josef glacier.
	Derek Yung '03 and his growing family: (Jill and new son Casey)

While waiting in the grocery store checkout line I grabbed a People magazine hoping that the world of entertainment would bring me back to reality. Let me see ... Britney Spears has shaved her head and forgets to wear panties (I've seen Colin Beatty wear a kilt but that is different). Sanjaya Malakar made it far into the "American Idol" competition with an awful hairdo and worse voice (Emmy Berlind, please send him one of those tuney whistle things). Bruce Willis is starring in a new "Die Hard" and Sylvester Stallone did another "Rocky" (does this mean Brian Gauck will start doing Kaplan GMAT advertisements again)?

Maybe there is not much change in sports? The Florida Gators won college basketball and football championships in the same year (Yun Wu, I don't know you, but as our sole Ohio State Buckeye this cannot be your favorite topic). Sri Lanka advanced to the Cricket World Cup finals (Vikram Bajaj explained this sport to me once, and I don't recall the Sri Lankans being a force). The Ottawa Senators are playing against the Anaheim Ducks for the Stanley Cup (amazing except that most people do not care — Geoff Batzel, you and five others listed ice hockey as one of your Kellogg interests, just slightly more popular than vitamins and minerals picked by Jason Kasarda and Mark Kushemba).

In desperate need of a dose of reality, I thought reconnecting with my fellow Kellogg alums would help provide some stability. Sure enough, we have plenty of baby announcements, weddings and new jobs to share. The best part about helping out Barry Grant and Tindley Gilbert was that it gave me an excuse to reach out to many of you and get updates on your lives. From hearing about Jose Aragon running a multi-strategy hedge fund within AIG to Ben Tisdell eating bear sashimi in Kyoto, Japan, the Class of 2003 stories never fail to disappoint.

Chris Dupre writes that Grayson Alexander Dupre (son) was born on March 15. He is the third and latest addition to the Dupre family. The other two were Mackenzie (September 2003) and Avery Grace (February 2005). Grayson, his sisters and Michelle are all doing great.

Also, Chris is announcing that he will leave the Dallas office of Bain & Company, where he has been a manager for the past 17 months, in June to join Wingate Partners as a vice president. Wingate is a Dallas-based middle-market private equity fund that focuses on under-performing companies and/or out-of-favor industries. He says he's looking forward to getting back to private equity where he can be both an I-banker and a strategy consultant.

Tindley Gilbert's little Pryor Anne was born April 12. She weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces and measured 20.5 inches. Tindley was almost two weeks late but had a very easy delivery. Our new mom reports that the first five weeks have been the greatest of her life, and her daughter is absolutely adorable. She is named after Tindley's grandfather (middle name was Pryor) and Huw's mom (Anne). Pfizer has some great benefits so Tindley will likely be home through Thanksgiving, and Huw is currently on paternity leave. The three of them, and Hudson the dog, are having a great time getting used to one another!

Karin Larson reports the birth of her second child, Andrew James Pollock — they call him Drew — on Feb. 22. He weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and measured 19.5 inches. Drew is a fantastic kid, very low key, and smiles all the time.

Karin was also just promoted to vice president of operations of Methodist Hospital in Houston, where she has been since 2004. She actually was on maternity leave when the promotion happened, so, needless to say, she had to cut short the leave to take on the new role. Methodist is a four hospital system, and Karin is at the main academic medical center, which has almost 1,000 beds and 5,000 employees. It was ranked No. 9 in Fortune's top 100 places to work a few months ago. Karin absolutely loves it!

Oeds-Jan Postma is proud to announce that his second son was born on Nov. 17. His name is Diemer (pronounced "deemer"). The little fella is doing very well. He's a relaxed and cheerful little guy. His older brother Friso (2) is now talking like Brugman (a Dutch expression for people who do a lot of talking; class of 2035?)

Esteban Delgado and the rest of the Dallas Delgados keep growing! Little Aidan weighed in at a Texas-sized 8 pounds, 15 ounces, and measured 21 inches long. Congrats, Este.

Derek Yung has informed us that Casey Michael Yung decided to join the world a bit early and was born May 21. He weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces. Mom and baby were great and they were only in L&D for two hours. The name Casey is of Irish and Gaelic origin, and means "alert, brave." It is phonetically Derek's father's initials, K.C. Michael is Derek's Catholic name and Jill's father's name. His Chinese name is Yung Kai Shing (Cantonese pronunciation), which means "to hold; open; honest; sincere; true." The Yungs are now at home piecing together the house. The "alert" one "bravely" came into this world three weeks early and was "sincerely" "honest" in telling his parents that they should not have procrastinated in doing all of the pre-baby set up.

Michelle Lev writes that she and her husband, Eric, had their second daughter, Alexandra Reese, on March 27. She joins big sister Emily Hayden (Emmy) who just turned two.

David Quackenbush's new baby boy, Danny, is a good sleeper, which earns him huge points with Allison and Dave, as they are already plenty busy and sleep-deprived looking after their three daughters Madeleine, Lizzie and Catherine.

Jorge Martinez and his wife celebrated the baptism for their baby girl, Isabella, earlier this year. Jorge is still working for Fiat in Mexico, building the brand and the dealer network.

Attila Toth writes: "We couldn't be more excited to announce the arrival of our twin daughters, Izabell Stella and Olivia Giselle. Our girls were born on May 21 and are identical twins with minor clues that help us tell them apart with 50 percent certainty. They weigh 5 pounds, 10 ounces and 5 pounds, 8 ounces respectively, and both measure 19 inches long. The girls are healthy and happy, and daddy is just mesmerized by his three divas."

Ichiro Enomoto now has a girl, Rioko (6), and two boys, Kazutora (3) and Ryouichi (5). Ichiro is the planning manager for Fukuoka Realty Company Ltd.

Here is a story that gives new meaning to the expression "time flies." Nineteen months after meeting her on a shuttle bus after a Southwest flight, Ajay Chawan married Britta Watters in Nashville, Tenn., on March 25. The couple first met on a shuttle bus between BWI airport and the Amtrak terminal in August 2005. On the train, Ajay had the nerve to ask Britta for her number, but did not expect to see her again so soon — they were on the same flight home on Sunday. Their first real date was later that week, and the rest, as they say, is history. Britta and Ajay married in Nashville on a picture-perfect Sunday morning. Friends and family flew in from all parts of the globe to join Britta and Ajay for their wedding festivities. You can read more about how Ajay got the nerve to ask Britta out, Britta's version of the events, and see photographs of the event on their Web site: britta-ajay.com

Jorge Calderon writes to tell us that a couple of years ago, on his way to work, he met an amazing, classy woman on a local San Francisco bus. He knew he was in trouble when she told him she had played soccer at Berkeley and liked to salsa. Last October, he was lucky enough to have married Sarah, his best friend. They had an idyllic ceremony and reception in a Spanish-style winery in Sonoma, Calif., a setting worth painting. Jorge and Sarah are grateful to have had their Kellogg friends participate through the weekend: Mark Pyle (co-best man), Joe Ritchie (groomsman), Marla and Eric Green, Lisa and Scott Buoy and Ray Swartzwelder. They currently reside in the Cow Hollow/Marina area in San Francisco, where they never get sick of the spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge. They love taking a stroll and running into Kellogg friends, especially since many of them live on the same street, including the Greens, Pyles and Gaucks.

Jorge continues to work at Mercer Management Consulting, while his better half provides the compass of good for the family by working at Inside Track (success coaching that helps keep college students in school).

Christine and Andy Bockelman have both had recent changes in their work situations. Andy reports, "After three years in the consulting world, I've left Booz Allen to take a position with Moody's in New York as a vice president in their new initiatives group. Christine, meanwhile, has taken a position with Home Furnishings News in New York as a senior editor. We're both very excited about these new opportunities, especially since I'll be able to spend more time at home than in airports!"

Andy, we welcome you to New York, but Neil Giugno must have heard you were coming, because he is relocating from New York to Mexico City for a two- to three-year stint with Colgate.

After two years enjoying the sun in the U.S. Latin American branch of Brightstar, Rodolfo Novarini, wife Ingrid and baby Isabella left Miami to live as expats in Melbourne, Australia. During this "fantastic" (Aussies love this word) year and a half down-under they have been enjoying life in this beautiful city and also taking advantage of the geography and traveling some through Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Next trip is to celebrate Isabella's second birthday in the Gold Coast, the Australian epicenter for theme parks and the main surfer and beach destination.

Dean Lindo joined AlixPartners in their turnaround and restructuring services group in June.

Joe Ritchie joined Goldman Sachs equity research small and midcap team. Ritchie has started out covering engineering and construction stocks.

Abs Chowdhry moved to Hong Kong to help Expedia set up its Asia Pac business. Since graduation, Abs has gone from Chicago to Singapore to Washington, D.C., to Hong Kong. Abs, you should look up Anne Tse. It appears she works for McKinsey in Hong Kong.

Jeff Pollard, who spent his entire first quarter in the atrium organizing Wall Street Week, decided to move from Lehman Brothers to Goldman Sachs so he could get the first-hand experience necessary to properly update his Wetfeet flashcards.

Todd Solow has been promoted to principal at Norwest Equity Partners (NEP), a leading private equity firm focused on investments in growing and profitable middle market companies. Todd joined NEP in 2003 as an associate and was promoted to director in 2005.

Juanita Haron is back in New York working for American Express after having been in Asia with BCG.

And, a quick update on the Shlafmans: Natalie and Vlad are enjoying living in the Bay Area and are busy chasing around their rambunctious toddler, Joseph (2). Natalie recently left Guidant to join a start-up (CardioDx) in the molecular diagnostics space, where she is the manager of product planning. Vlad made a career switch as well — into real estate development — after two years at Bain. He is now a development manager for a small retail developer, Highland Development.

To further his plans of world conquest, Jose Aragon had dinner in Omaha with his four co-conspirators: gazillionaire Warren Buffett, sundancer Robert Redford, country singer Tim McGraw and desperate actor James Denton. After dinner, the pentumvirate attended Share the Beat 2007, a charity event sponsoring the James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness.

Ponthep Tuntavadcharom, the man who never saw snow until he went to Evanston, traveled from Thailand to Whistler, Canada, to meet up with fellow cash cow Eddie Hayden and carve up the mountain on their snowboards.

After scaling mountains in high altitude in Africa and Ecuador, Kyle and Michelle Peterson were looking for a trip that was a bit more relaxing and didn't require them to buy hand and foot warmers, so they went to Thailand in April — the hottest month of the year. After a few days of Bangkok and Chang Mai, they spent a week on the beaches of Phuket and Ko Pi Pi. It was amazing and relaxing — a change for the Petersons! Otherwise, they are still at General Mills. Kyle is working on their organic products and Michelle works in a sales role with their Club customers.

Ben Tisdell took a break from his bankruptcy law cases at Davis Polk to travel to Japan for two weeks. Among other things, it was a culinary adventure. He went to the Tokyo Fish Market at 4 a.m. to see the various restaurants bid for the best cuts of tuna. Then, he ate some of the catch as part of a 6 a.m. sushi breakfast. Things get a little more adventuresome as he also mentions that he ate fugu, or as it is known in English, pufferfish. It's got a delicate taste and is a bit chewy but was very tasty, although it took a glass of strong sake to get the courage to eat something that comes from a fish whose venom is supposedly 17 times more deadly than arsenic. He has also eaten tiger shrimp (served live), bee larvae, sea pineapple (very tasty), busshino (horse meat sashimi), brown bear sashimi and crickets. As Linsey Herman would say, bon appetit.

Brent Reid continues to play golf as his job, although you might have thought it was yoga with this quote that he sent me: "I hired two of the top 10 instructors in Georgia and they have really helped me with my posture, the timing of my upper body and lower body." Brent also took the time to write about a recent trip, a junket, which is a tradition in the Douth; it is the ultimate guy's weekend. Cigars and filets abound. In May, Kellogg alumni from the Class of 2003 descended upon Atlanta for the 2nd Annual "Georgia Golf Junket," sponsored by Cohiba. On Friday, there was time to catch up over a barbecue and some fine cigars. On Saturday, there was a group golf lesson, 18 holes of golf, cigars on the veranda and dinner at the best steakhouse in town. Attendees this year were: Ryan O'Toole, Andrew Ingley, Jim McIntyre, Colin Beatty, Charlie Agulla, E.G. Fishburne, Jason Ross and Brent Reid (host). Brian Oxley '04 joined the group for dinner.

Finally, Andrew Freed spied Eric Green, Scott Buoy and Mark Pyle maneuvering through the streets of San Francisco on their Vespa scooters. He was a bit surprised that a former military man, garbage collector and baseball coach wouldn't be riding on actual motorcycles but as Pyle explained it, "Dude ..."

Rodolfo Novarini '03 and daughter Isabella (2) on a carrousel in Melbourne, Australia

Tim McGraw, Jose Aragon's mother Colleen, and Jose Aragon '03