India Planning

There are a number of us venturing to India this December and for some reason, we can't nail down anything from travel dates within the country to cities. Obviously, there are a number of great places to visit and even imagining that we could fit them all into three weeks is preposterous. Our gracious host, one of the reasons many of us considered India, invited all the travelers to her house tonight for dinner and discussion. Unfortunately, dinner happened, discussion did not. In some ways though, I'm happier because of it.

I sat around with a number of my classmates discussing study abroad programs. One classmate is going to India, two are headed for Mexico and of course, my plan includes Sweden. It was fun to talk about experiences and expectations. As I sat at the dinner table, I admired the diversity. A few of us are US citizens, two are Indian and another, French. I wonder if I will get to interact with a group like this again as I do at Darden. Incredible experiences from all over the world melted into one pot for two years. It's absolutely amazing!! And apparently has led us to require another group meeting regarding our trip to India.

Are we censored?

Who censors the Darden Student Bloggers? Today, in one of the SY classes, it was discussed that Darden marketing censors the Darden Student Bloggers. As I heard this, I thought funny, I never knew that. I would love to ask how many of those people who believe we are censored by someone other than ourselves have actually read our blogs. This blog was about me long before it was ever about Darden. In fact, Darden will likely be a blip by the time this blog retires.

I suppose I bring this up more as an understanding than to refute anyone's preconceived notions. My posts are my own and the university has no weighting on my opinion or the slant at which I write my posts. If they seem overly positive, that's because I'm an overly positive person. If I choose not to write about all my hardships, that's a personal choice. It's weird enough having people mention posts I've written out of context, I share a lot of myself with as much transparency as I can bare.

Another aspect that readers need to understand is that due to the wide reach of the internet, this blog doesn't simply represent the Darden brand. It's more than that, it's my personal brand. How do I want to viewed by the outside? It's become easier to find information on people, just ask Google and this portal is a very easy one to find. I would hate my personal brand to be a detriment of something I wrote tastelessly. Today, I'm a representative of myself, Darden and my undergraduate institution. Tomorrow, I'm also a representative of company.

While life is not always rosey, my glass is often half-full. If that slant does not suit the interest of my classmates, they are entitled to their own opinions. Know that everything I write is with honesty and thought. I'm not here under false pretences and by no means do my views reflect the views, opinions, or positions of the University of Virginia, Darden, or any faculty, staff, or other students. The only censor between this blog and myself is at best, one imposed by me.

Bar Review: Trinity

Trinity is a new Irish pub and is located "on the corner" in Charlottesville. I couldn't tell you what it replaced, however, I must say, I've been impressed thus far. I'm a dancer - always have been and likely always will be. There are multiple places to dance in Charlottesville, though the two frequented most are Three and The Box. Three is nortorious for 100% 80s music on Saturday nights. You're also guaranteed to smell like smoke when you leave Three (oh how I miss San Francisco and Boulder... smoke free!!). The Box, while fun, gets packed quickly, so as long as you don't mind acting like a sardine, the music is good enough to stay there all night. This brings me to Trinity.

Trinity has three levels with the top floor boasting a variety of music. Surprisingly, during my past two visits, I haven't smelled as smoky as I do when I leave most the bars in Charlottesville. The patrons have been nice enough and what little experience I've had with the bar staff has been pleasant. The new bar gets my stamp of approval and I have a feeling, Darden students will become frequent customers.

Why Is Selecting Courses So Hard?!?

At Darden, you can take anywhere from as few classes to as many as you want per quarter as long as you end second year with 60 credit hours completed. The average number of courses per quarter at Darden is five. You take five every quarter of the first year and assuming you don't have a GBE, J-week, M-week or DBP (Darden Business Project), you will most likely continue taking five courses per quarter throughout second year.

So what happens when you turn everything upside down and decide to study abroad for Q3? Well, now I have to choose TWO classes where I normally had five. Additionally, I need to ensure that these classes will transfer to Darden, replacing the minimum of four classes that I must take to ensure not only graduation, but also a manageable fourth quarter. Further, these classes need to be taught in English. I'd say my Swedish is horrible, yet it's worse, I don't know any! And there's one more aspect I almost forgot. SSE's study periods are different than Darden's, which means I need to be allowed to sit for the exam in Sweden a week prior to my Swedish classmates. Now if that wasn't a nightmare waiting to happen?!?

It's interesting as I browse the course descriptions, finding some description in English where the classes are taught in Swedish, I continue to wonder if this is all going to work out. One class in particular had me super excited, until I realized the exam is a week after the date I MUST return to C'ville. At this point, it's in the professors hands, so we'll see.

Job Searching...

I feel like I've been recruiting for the last 1.5 years straight. While I realize that is a stretch of the imagination as I did have a 3 month internship in there, it's all weighing down on me right now. I just completed a second round NPV analysis that at best, I'd give myself a C. I know it's harsh, except when I hit submit on the email returning the case I almost wanted to tell the guy to withdraw my name from the candidate pool. Can you tell I'm running thin?

I've spent the last couple weekends traveling for second rounds and have another weekend of traveling ahead of me. I'm grateful to even have made second rounds, yet, given that I haven't heard back from any of them, I'm not sure where my benchmark is. Am I doing well? Do I need coaching? Will I end up with a job prior to Christmas?

In some ways, it doesn't matter when I end up with a job. In many others, I feel overwhelmed with classes, recruiting and life. One of my close friends had her baby this past weekend, likely the soonest I'll see him is April. These days, I feel the need to blow off some steam and occasionally I do, though when I return, the work is still sitting there.

For instance, I had dinner with my boyfriend, a classmate and his wife last night. We sat around the table for 2 hours after a yummy homecooked turkey dinner - swapping stories, sipping on wine and enjoying exactly what second year is about, a little TLC with people who may only be around for the next 7 months. Of course, when we finished dinner I still had 100 pages of my reading seminar book to complete. It's the never-ending list of things to do.

Time Flies

Grades and exams are slowly rolling into our inboxes from last quarter. Yet today, I just finished my first "real" midterm exam at Darden - take home, 4 contiguous hours - who would have thought that you could give a midterm with 6-8 weeks per quarter? I'm in absolute aww as time seems to travel in super speed. Every week is booked to the max and trying to find open time is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Last Friday I was in Chicago for my first second round interview. Afterwards, I flew to SF to celebrate Halloween with my old soccer team and see my friend's new baby. I spent Sunday returning East and thankfully, United switched me from my original connecting flight to a direct flight. Props to them, I didn't even have to ask and ended up landed 4 hours earlier than expected!! I'm traveling again this weekend and the next. I fear Thanksgiving will be here before I know it, which also signals the end of the quarter and finals, again.

As for study abroad, I am officially enrolled at SSE (Stockholm School of Economics) for quarter 3! I just can't seem to wrap my head around going to India for 3 weeks in December to return home on New Year's, back to school for a one-week course and then I move to Sweden during the coldest time of the year for 7-8 weeks. It's insane.

I'm trying to enjoy my time and the moments, but lately, I feel like everything is just beyond my grasp. Before I know it, I'm going to wake up at graduation.

Oh Blackberry, You're MUCH Better Now

Ever seen the facebook status message: "Blackberry Storm or iPhone?" It's a constant battle trying to decipher which phone is better. Not to mention, if you're locked into Verizon (or some service other than AT&T), should you think of switching? For the most part, there are many aspects of the iPhone that are "better", though many work environments utilize the Blackberry instead.

Last December, I got my very first Blackberry as I was about to head up to Week on Wall Street. Prior to my travels, I was informed that having a Blackberry helped facilitate communication in New York. Indeed, it was likely any smartphone helped. As a loyal Verizon customer, I didn't want to go through the hassle of switching providers and the Storm had just arrived, so why not be an early adopter on the technology wagon.

Since then, I've found that having a smartphone keeps my inbox clean. Additionally, I love having internet access overseas, no matter how crappy the browser is. Google Maps is heaven sent in new cities (especially when you're walking) and now, I get be a full fledged Facebook addict without having to open my laptop.

Parts of the phone were always incredible and other parts, namely the OS, left me wanting. However, I want no longer. This past week Blackberry pushed out an upgrade to their OS. In some ways, it reminds me of the iPhone, however, I still have problems using the iPhone. It's faster, sleeker, pops up and back smoothly, and even bounces a little when you get to the edge of a list. I'm completely fascinated by the new OS and almost feel like I got a new phone during the last week. While the argument between which phone is better may never truly be won, I must say, Blackberry did well with the latest upgrade! Two thumbs up.

(Note: Still an Apple lover.)