JulyDream

Planning 1,2 3!

2012-01-15T23:30:00.001-06:00

Wedding planning – a never ending job. There's always something else on the list!

Every trip to San Francisco since September (there's been five!), has had back to back meetings and events. I'm excited to announced that many of the the wedding big-ticket items are done.

Venue – check.

Photographer – check.

Florist – check.

THE DRESS – check.

Bridesmaid dresses – check.

Engagement photos – selected, but need to be ordered.

Catering - check.

Invite list including addresses - check!

Ceremony musician - check.

Save the dates - in transit to Chicago...

Wedding website - almost done.

Wedding hotel blocks - booked.

On one hand, I review the list and feel accomplished. There's 7 months left before the big day. However, there are a number of other items I want to get done and I know those 7 months are going to fly. With 7 weddings to attend, next year already has a number of busy weekends. Plus, I'm in 4 of the weddings (including my own), which means, bachelorette parties (wee!!) and bridal showers (yay). It's going to be an expensive year.

My other fear is that now I need to get into the details. With spreadsheets, I'm incredibly detail oriented, but centerpieces are a completely different ballgame. Is it important to me to have one silverware design over another? I have no idea. Plus, now I need to think about the little things that just make the event pop...hmm.

Still on the big list:

Alcohol - started discussions with the venue.

Limo – haven't even started looking.

DJ – waiting for a response.

Photobooth – investigation needed.

Bachelorette party list – in process.

Linens and table settings - meeting scheduled.

I know I'm missing something(s), just not sure what they are right now.

Polar Heart Rate Monitor

2012-01-12T21:34:00.001-06:00

I'm absolutely stoked! I finally purchased my Polar flowlink, which will link my fancy FT60 to the internet.

During the holidays I was asked what I wanted for Christmas. Let's be honest, I would not consider myself needy by any means. I am quite fortunate to be able to buy what I need or what I want with a little financial planning. So given the blank check of a request for a Christmas wish list, I was stumped as to what should be included on it. After careful thought, I decided that the Polar heart rate monitor that I have been contemplating for months could be the perfect holiday gift. It fits that you stuff yourself during the holidays with great food and then need to reverse those actions by optimizing your workout. ;)

I was given the heart rate monitor and ever since I set it up, I've been completely entertained. There are some activities that while I feel extremely tired, are anaerobic in nature and thus, my heart rate never goes much above 85 bpm. In addition, I've noticed that when I'm on the treadmill, my heart rate shows on the side without having to hold the handle bars. It's all because of my fancy heart rate monitor.

In the end, there are reasons for everything and I'll be honest, my reason for selecting a heart rate monitor is because my health insurance company incents me to submit verified workouts to earn points, which can then be used on goodies. If I'm going to workout, I figured I might as well get credit given that my gym is not "in network." The benefit of the flowlink is that I can now upload the data from my monitor to the internet, leading me to earn my points.

Sometimes it's the little things in life. Off to Vegas this weekend... :)

To Generic Drug or Not?

2012-01-11T19:42:00.000-06:00

Working for a healthcare company can by incredibly interesting. There are more moving pieces than many people see and the government, federal and state, is always changing the rules. It means that nothing is set in stone. One aspect I don't like about the industry and company in particular is that I'm blamed, in a sense, for all the decisions the industry/company makes. Not to mention, people, my family included, feel the need to tell me their thoughts and feelings regarding the company's decisions. Most of those decisions are out of my control.

My dad, who has recently moved to Colorado and can't seem to pick up the phone to say 'hi'
(that's a different post), sent me a text today about the fact that he dislikes that my company is now requiring him to be on the generic drug for Lipitor as opposed to the brand drug. Furthermore, he felt the need to follow up my return text with an email stating that his insurance company should not be the one making his healthcare decisions.

I get it. Healthcare is an emotional and personal part of life. It is very hard to separate that feeling from any decision that is made, especially one that was seemingly made without you. In addition, many people outside the healthcare insurance industry simply think decisions are financially driven (which dad did point out). While I'm not going to tell you that decisions are not made with some financial incentive, I do want to point out some facts.

1. Healthcare costs in the United States have been rising and rising and rising
2. Generic drugs, while not identical, are bioequivalent to the brand
3. Many people have taken generic drugs with no complications
4. A generic drug is typically a fraction of the cost of a brand drug to both the individual and the insurance company
5. The decisions, while made in light of financial incentives, are not always for pure profit

So why does this matter? Lipitor, arguably one of the best blockbuster drugs of the 20th century, went generic in Nov 2011. My company made a decision, which I can say included medical expertise, to require members of fully insured plans to take the generic instead of the brand as of Jan 1, 2012. The decision, while saving money, is a way to push the common person to use generic drugs. Most generic drugs affect people the same way the brand does. And should a person find that they respond differently or adversely to a generic, healthcare companies are apt to make exceptions for people to use brands or another alternative. This is often known as step-therapy. They try to find the cheapest alternative that will get the job done. I recognize that that might not sit well with a consumer, but here's another side.

First a little insurance 101. Health insurance is supposed to be a means of spreading the risk of a catastrophic case over a number of people instead of having to bear the risk solely, much like car insurance. However, in contrast to car insurance, Health insurance has become a full maintenance plan where the average American believes a company should cover everything. The problem is, someone has to pay for the services. Generally, everyone pays a premium (often covered in part by an employer). As healthcare costs rise, the premium rises. The premium is set mostly to pay medical/ pharmacy costs. It is possible that if you are a healthy individual, you do not use your "fair share" of the medical costs. Contrarily, someone who has a heart ache or surgical complications may rack up hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in medical bills. With the appropriate insurance, the bulk of those costs are covered and subsequently, an individual has a slightly more affordable bill (I do recognize there are varied circumstances and I am generalizing a lot.)

Back to Lipitor. Lipitor is a top 10 drug, which means, if you were to look at spend for the top 10 drugs per year, Lipitor would sit in that category, comfortably. Lipitor's sales were roughly $7.8 billion last year in the US (http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/12/08/how-much-money-will-generic-lipitor-save/). Now that Lipitor is generic, as much as $4.5 billion annually can be saved by 2014. This savings is transitioned into premium pricing for health plans around the country. Should people not actually switch to the generic, the assumed savings basically becomes an underpricing of a health plan. Consequently, in the subsequent year, this premium discount may be repriced to better reflect the actions of the population. Much like any business, an insurance company wants to make money. Though the profit margin baked into group premiums is not nearly as much as people think. After broker commissions, sales commissions, administrative costs, and medical costs, the profit is typically 2%. That money is often reinvested into the business to make IT improvements and acquisitions among other things. Fact is, there are many moving pieces and while some hit home harder than others, we're all trying to balance cost and reward. Healthcare is personal and don't think that we or anyone else making decisions doesn't realize that.

Great Things About 2011

2012-01-09T11:47:00.003-06:00

While it's cliche, the end of the year is always a great time to reflect. It helps put the next year or the one after into perspective. The couple of years, I've completed a year in review. It's fun to remember all the great experiences I have had and know that even better ones are on the horizon. Here are the Great Things About 2011:

1. July 16 - Darden friends in town, engaged to my best friend and a fabulous engagement/birthday celebration to cap off the night
2. Derby 2011 (where my brother was engaged after the 6th race)
3. Great American Beer Festival (Why did I wait so long to go?)
4. Wedding dress shopping (Definitely found "the one")
5. Moving to Chicago
6. Charlottesville reunion weekend
7. April '11 - Cubs game followed by Uberstein and Art of Pizza
8. Monday nights at Tokyo sushi (I miss those!)
9. Vegas soccer tournament (still one of my favorite weekends every year)
10. Cooking Fools pasta making class
11. Q101 Jamboree Concert
12. Getting our Pottery Barn couch
13. Discovering Pilates
14. Humana Race to Taste (with an awesome race time!)
15. Brazil (Belo Horizonte, Iguassu Falls and Rio)
16. Sergio and Maria’s wedding in Brazil (absolutely amazing!!)
17. Volunteering for Boo-Palooza Wicker Park (little kids + Halloween costumes = adorable!!)
18. Brook’s 60th Birthday Bash in the Bahamas
19. Picking a caterer for our wedding (it’s going to be YUMMY!)
20. NYE 2012 @ Ana Mandara
21. Wedding Weekends: Christine and Scott, Sarah and Brian, Melisa and Chris, Madeha and Moshan, Angela and Nick
22. Brett goes skydiving!
23. Greenbrier (and shooting clays)
24. Mom’s successful Masquerade Ball in SF
25. Attending a show at Second City
26. Soccer!
27. IMAX: Transformers 3, followed by an amazing dinner at Japonais (all with great company)
28. Joe’s Seafood Engagement Celebration
29. Our engagement party

Office Cheer

2011-12-22T19:11:00.001-06:00

It's a funny thing… office holiday cheer, also known as sweets, treats and sugar. Sometimes I think I would have a "healthier" day if I just worked from home. Early this week, I managed to spend an entire day walking by the cinnamon-sugar pound cake and didn't have even a bite. That said, it was half demolished by 11a. For the last three days, someone has so graciously brought in donuts. That's another treat that while they smell good, I feel horrible after eating them, like a rock just hit my abdomen.

We work in a cube environment and each cube has a bit of storage space with a flat top. You're not supposed to put anything on the top, however treats or other miscellaneous food items seem to be the exception to the rule. Maybe the thought is that these items won't be there long enough for anyone to be scolded. On one of the nearby storage tops was a set of brownies this morning. They looked homemade, so I asked who made them and took one as a morning snack (I was missing my 10a snack after all). I thanked the baker via IM and was promptly informed that she baked the brownies at 5:30a. WOW! Frankly, I'd rather be sleeping. To her, she was just spreading the holiday cheer.

While the office always seems to have goodies that magically appear, lately it has been far worse than normal. I can't quite figure out if people want to share the holiday spirit or if they feel less guilty when someone else indulges with them. Working in health has made me incredibly jaded about the decisions individuals consciously make. In a country that has an obesity rate around 30%, I shouldn't be surprised by all sugar filled snacks. I am one of those people with a bad sweet tooth. I just choose to indulge in moderation and hope that you think about doing the same the next time the office fills with free food. And if I don't indulge in moderation, I really should be running an extra couple miles at the gym. Maybe today is worth 3 mi. ;)

Thoughts on the End of a Chapter

2011-12-13T21:43:00.001-06:00

I wrote this in October. It seems I never finished it or posted it.

Some moments, I breathe with ease. Other moments, I struggle to keep the wells at bay. It's hard to comprehend how we got here. Divorce. You would think at an age of understanding that this would be easier. I find myself over thinking the actions and reactions of the two "adults" that I call mom and dad. It is weird to think that now there may be a negotiation on where Christmas is held. Not to mention that while I myself am not married yet, I already feel like my family has doubled in size. And with that, so have the obligations.

Dress Day

2011-12-07T22:09:00.001-06:00

I walked into the store at 9a sharp, my mother by my side. Awaiting my arrival was my friend B and my future mother-in-law. I didn't know exactly what to expect. There were plenty of gowns and two trunk shows to boot. That day was to be the day I bought my wedding dress.

Our hostess showed us to a plush dressing room to drop our items. Then she and the four of us went to the main room where the Rivini Trunk show was setup. We started grabbing gowns. and moved from designer to designer until it was finally time to try on the gowns. The gowns varied from Cinderella fancy (and a hefty price tag) to sleek body hugging trumpet gowns. Of course, they all hug as most of them are made for people two sizes smaller than I am. I was just thankful that the gowns fit over my hips without having to go over the head.

I put on the first gown. I'm not sure exactly what I thought I would think or feel. I suppose the entire moment was anti-climactic. I looked in the mirror at a dress, that just happened to be white. And frankly, did not look very good on me. With that, the dress was off and we moved on. Towards the end of the first batch, we found a dress that everyone, including me, loved. From there, trying on dresses went into hyper speed and became much easier. Now we had a comparison. Was each subsequent dress better than "the one"? Turns out, 15 + dresses later, the answer was still no. We even ventured to the sister store, Vera Wang, where the second trunk show was being held. Pretty, but not "me". I'm not exactly sure with what I would have ended up if my friends and family hadn't been there. Mom was actually the one who picked out the gown for me.

After three hours at the bridal boutique, I walked out knowing which dress I will wear on my wedding day. I only have to wait 6 months until it is available for me to take home and alter. Afterwards, the ladies and I went to review bridesmaid dresses – LOVE LulaKate. We even decided on a slightly different color than what I had been thinking.

Very successful day! Another checkmark has been added to the list.

Open Enrollment

2011-10-29T23:00:00.001-05:00

Whether or not you work there, they call it the pink palace. It's the company's corporate headquarters. The sales offices have a very different feeling and today I experienced the exact opposite of the pink palace, the front line. January 1 is an insurance carriers busiest time of year. Approximately half of your business is made January 1. If that day is not successful, it's next to impossible to recover.

\With a combination of luck and skill, the Illinois market has been rocking and rolling for January 1. However, there are a finite number of people in the sales department, so I was asked to help with a handful of benefit fairs. This is the place where potential members learn about their options. While I focus on insurance, others may focus on banking, 401Ks, and even Sams Club memberships. A little rusty when I started, by the end I felt like I was back in business school, working on my 30 second pitch. With each encounter, there's a finite number of seconds where someone will listen to you. In those seconds, you need to peak their interest so that they consider the product you're proposing. To a certain extent, the product sold itself. Yet, every so often, I'd get a few tough questions and would have to tell someone directly that the product may not be right for them.

My conversations with the potential members reinforced my thoughts that most people don't understand their healthcare benefits. I don't blame the individuals, I blame the system. The system is quite complicated. Even I, who has a producer's license in life and health insurance, occasionally have difficulty understanding benefits. While I was not happy to be so far from home, it was great to know that I could answer the many questions I received and help people understand the benefits that they are going to be offered this year. The experience gives me even more prospective on the business. Humana Resources and senior leaders may decide which benefits an employee group receives, but then the employees need to understand what benefits fit them.

Remote Working

2011-10-20T22:22:00.001-05:00

Over the weekend of Sept 23rd, yet another friend got married. This time in Connecticut and on a Friday. While I understand the reason people choose Friday weddings, I will be the first one to say that they do bother me. I had asked for the day off, but given that my fiancé was working, I told my boss I could do some work too. What an experience!?!

On one hand, going downstairs to grab breakfast while not feeling that I needed to look overly presentable was quite nice. On the other hand, my computer, which is slow enough on the corporate network, was moving like a sloth while I worked with shared drives via VPN. Definitely painful. Not to mention that my VPN software was having problems so I spent a solid 2 hours in the morning simply trying to get my computer to work. Thank goodness one of my colleagues is also a friend. Otherwise, I surely would have missed my 7:30a central meeting even though I had been up for at least 1.5 hours.

I do think the remote working gets +2 for the amazing Lebanese lunch that my fiancé and I had. Thank you Yelp and Google! It is funny how I rely on these sites so much and rarely contribute to their content. I need to get better! However, a big -5 for the time it took to do anything remotely productive. I can't imagine if I had to use SAS or SQL to pull data. I might as well give up.

The wedding was a blast and the day after I got to experience New Haven's Big Green Pizza Truck. It was delicious and I'd like to export their business plan to Chicago.. and maybe San Francisco.

Oh, Rankings

2011-10-20T22:15:00.001-05:00

We all say rankings don’t matter. However, when your school shoots up a couple spaces, there’s a sense of pride. Top 10, top 15, even top 25, they’re all fantastic educations and incredible experiences. We learn a lot about various subject areas, but we also learn a lot about ourselves. We build relationships and networks that will last a lifetime. We also find a number of people with similar interests that are highly driven to be successful. Each person may have a different definition of success, though that does not mean any one person’s definition is better than another. There are so many different rankings these days and there is no shortage of those joining the bandwagon. Your most well-known are US News and Reports, Princeton Review, Financial Times and The Economist. While each methodology is different, I say evaluate rankings with a grain of salt and try to understand what they are actually communicating via their methodology. One ranking may focus on criteria that is mute to you.

That said, I feel the need to give Darden a big shout for its newest ranking (as I said, they may not matter, but we still feel pride).

Darden #4 on the Economist list!

Moments Like This

2011-10-17T08:26:00.001-05:00

So many times I start posts in my head, only to have them fade as memories. I craft the first two to three lines that would then develop into a whole post. However, lately, I can't seem to take the moment to write. Half the time, I'm on the bus and can't be bothered with the small keyboard on my phone. The other half the time, I'm at work, which of course means everything is blocked. I understand the philosophy of why sites are blocked including privacy and security risks, but personally I have found that I don't get the release I need to refocus on work.

At Darden, I spent hours studying. Every so often I would hit a brick wall, take ten minutes to write a post and quickly return to studying, feeling refreshed. I don't typically classify myself as a stressed person. Recently, I've been feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. It is a very exciting time in my life as I plan a wedding. Yet, my family life is crumbing before my eyes and I don't know what to make of it. I feel helpless on so many levels. It's awkward. It's frustrating. Everything I have known for the last 30 years (almost) has been turned on its head. Wedding planning, which should be exciting, adds to the frustration. I contemplate a wedding planner. Granted, a wedding planner doesn't pick your gown and bridesmaids dresses, which seems to be the real struggle these days.

This past weekend we headed back to San Francisco for our engagement party. Slowly, we tried to curtail the questions by mentally preparing people. Of course, that doesn't ensure that sensitive topics don't arise. It's inevitable that someone mentions something. I'm hoping going forward that we can focus on the happiness of the moment. (And in exciting news, I think we found photographer!) We'll see.

I cheated on Elle!

2011-10-09T18:54:00.000-05:00

One thing guys may never understand about the fairer sex is our attachment to our hairdressers. I left the San Francisco area three years ago and since then, have not replaced nor cheated on Elle. Instead, I pay the price of a plane ticket, approximately every three months, just to get to the proximity of my beloved hairdresser. This does not include the price of a cut or color.

In the world of finance, it makes little sense. And I understand this as I do indeed still balance my checkbook (and did harass Bank of America when then accidentally shorted me $5 - it was the principle). However, Elle is not just anyone. I've known her since I was 17 years old and we've been good friends since. She's done hair for over 10 years and seeing I'm one of those people that seems to like drastic changes on a consistent basis (only when it comes to my hair - odd, yes), she has yet to steer me wrong. That said, every time I try a new stylist, I receive a new point of view on what I should do and sometimes that too is fun. I am fortunate to say that I have yet to have a "bad do."

When Elle said that she could not bestow her fabulousness on me prior to my engagement party on Saturday. I thought the hair could wait. Then I looked in the mirror (yes, we're all vain occasionally) and decided, it was time to try someone in Chicago. Groupon steered me towards J Gordon Designs. The irony, I didn't actually purchase the Groupon, I simply reviewed the salon on Yelp and called to see if they could put me. Plus, the salon is a measly block from my apartment. My stylist and I had a lot in common. My hair is darker than I anticipated, but it looks great. Not to mention, the checkbook is a little more full. We'll see if this becomes a habit.

Venue Search

2011-09-07T21:51:00.000-05:00

Last weekend felt more like work than a holiday weekend. Saturday we left the house at 7a in order to arrive in St. Helena (Napa area) by 9a. Our appointments were back to back and by 2p we had visited six different venues. We took a breather at Starbucks and wandered through Union Square before our 5:30p appointment at the Merchants Exchange building in downtown San Francisco. I didn't know what to expect from the Julia Morgan Ballroom, but when I left, I knew I was in love. Both my fiance and I were excited about the venue, the coordinator and the ability to customize the space along with the food and alcohol. Not to mention, we were told we could party until dawn if we wanted! It was a vast contrast to the 11p final deadlines we saw in the Napa/Sonoma area.

Even though you think you find the "it". You still feel the need to make sure. We visited three very different venues on Sunday. Leal Vineyards, a beautiful winery that rivals many we saw in Napa, was the first stop. Stonepine Estates, which is a gorgeous estate with a lot of history was stop two. And finally, Pebble Beach, a breathtaking scene that could be enjoyed all night through the floor to ceiling glass windows of the reception venue, rounded out the day. By the end of the search, you learn what is important. Flexibility definitely weighed high. Easy access for out of town guests was another big consideration as at least 50% of our guest list resides outside the Bay Area. Beyond those two tangible items, I think the rest of it was feel. One of them just felt right. So right that we canceled our site visit on Monday. We were also exhausted.

While we haven't signed a contract, it looks like August 25, 2012 will be the big day. I'd say a successful weekend was had.

Wedding Venue Shopping

2011-08-31T20:13:00.000-05:00

Brazil has come and gone. It was a fantastic vacation and reminded me how much I miss Darden and the close proximity of so many friends. Since our return almost two weeks ago, we have tried to get serious. The wedding venue list needed to be narrowed for our visit to the Bay Area this coming Labor Day weekend. The entire trip revolves around venue shopping. What an experience it has been thus far.

I find more and more that I have no idea what I want. Winery? Sounds fun with great photos in the vineyards! Beach setting? I love the ocean and the crash of the waves! A wedding in downtown San Francisco? You mean we could take photos near the Golden Gate Bridge, the symbol of the city I grew up near!? The good news is that my finance balances me with some decisive yays and nays as we peruse the internet for photos of each venue we like. What better way to see the venue in action than to look at actual wedding photos?

We also have run into some predicaments. In a perfect world, each venue would slot itself into the time allotted on my master spreadsheet. Unfortunately, some venues have weddings, are simply booked or the event coordinator will be no where in sight. This leaves more rearranging and subsequently some concessions on which venues we want to see. Another interesting problem we've had is venues not returning calls. Last I checked, we are still in a recession. Wedding = $$, so why can't someone simply picked up the phone? I'm not exactly sure. While it leaves a poor initial impression, there are some venues that I still want to see (and they are public). I wonder if I do see a venue on a "self-guided" tour and love it, will we be able to get ahold of the event coordinator the second time around?

I know wedding planning is a massive task. At this point, I'll just be happy to get a venue and date set. I've reached that age where many of my friends are getting engaged. It's a race to scoop up dates in 2012. At least I am trying to be flexible with a window of August to early October 2012.

Dirty Laundry

2011-08-08T20:33:00.001-05:00

There are some items that very much should be kept in private. I realize that and yet it’s harder and harder sometimes. Events affect our emotions and with that our daily lives. Everyone chooses to take on events differently. Some shout from the mountain tops, which likely include Facebook and Twitter updates. Others keep a low profile to the point where no one knows anything is wrong. I try to strike a balance and lately it’s getting harder. I have my confidants. Yet with each word that I speak I risk a new perception being formed. Partially about me and partially about others.

July 28th was my parents’ 32nd wedding anniversary and it may also be their last. For a couple who many of my friends envied as the definition of love, it’s hard to wrap my head around the turmoil currently in my family. I’m sad. I’m frustrated. Sometimes I just want to scream from the rooftops and others I know better than to say anything at all. It hurts to feel so incredibly helpless. It’s weird being almost 30 and a year away from my own wedding to watch destruction run rampant in front of my eyes. I realize over many years, some people grow together and others grow apart. Mutual wants at this age can be very different than those later in life.

The timing is bad. The moving parts are hard to comprehend. My brother is getting married in mid-June 2012 and I’ll likely be 2-3 months after that. I don’t want this overshadowing the happiness that is to come and yet it reminds me all too well of the difficulties that lie ahead. Maybe there’s hope or maybe this is just better for all parties involved.

Balancing Time

2011-08-07T12:39:00.000-05:00

It's been just over 3 weeks since the engagement. We've booked two trips back to SF. One to select a venue and one for an engagement party. It would be easier if I or he had any semblance of what we want in a venue or even where. So far, it's been San Francisco +/- 200 miles. Turns out there are a lot of venues in the area. Beach, vineyards, city or something in between. This weekend we stayed in to relax and pinpoint a list of venues to visit. The good news, we have decided that a beach wedding is out, vineyards are in and we will consider a couple venues in San Francisco.

Our only problem with vineyards is that my parents are what one might deem "opinionated" when it comes to wine. A vineyard may be beautiful, but if the family doesn't like the wine, I'm not sure how that is going to pan out.

Next up, I'm still trying to select my wedding party. It's a tough balance trying not to hurt anyone's feelings and recognizing that I can't give a nod to every wedding I've been in. The good news is I think my groom-to-be has figured out his list.

On Wednesday, we leave for 10 days in Brazil. I'm excited and yet have no idea what I'm going to pack. I've flipped through our documents and believe we have everything. We're making three very different stops on our journey. One to Belo Horizonte for a formal wedding of a Darden classmate, one to Iguassu Falls and the last stop will be Rio. It will be nice to not think about work for 2 weeks! Of course, I'm a little scared what the return will mean given that I'm the one finance consultant left in Illinois.

My transfer for Junior League of Chicago finally executed, which means that tonight I have to select a placement for the next JLC year. As I review the placements, I am trying to balance interest with time commitment. I am not sure how much time wedding planning with actually take and I don't want to risk disappointing one of my commitments.

It's time to figure out my balance - work, gym, wedding, JLC, soccer and me time.

Lone Wolf

2011-07-20T20:06:00.000-05:00

There are dramatic changes going on within my office. My colleague has decided to take an account management position at the competitor. On one hand, I completely understand. She's been here for three years and it's time for a change. On the other hand, she's been an incredible source of information and soon, I'm going to be flying blind.

At the beginning of June, my other finance colleague jumped ship for the network team. She found a position with a job level change and subsequently a nice raise, which I've been told is the only way to get a good salary bump.

Since February, I have had some slow moments, which quickly changed when my first colleague left. I took over her responsibilities as well as ad-hoc project work. Now, with my other colleague leaving, we're about to figure out exactly how capable I am. I don't doubt that I can survive. I did make it through Darden after all. It will be quite different however, and I've become accustomed to my nice work schedule. Hopefully that doesn't change.

With a wedding to plan and my continual focus on the gym, the next couple months should prove interesting. And the balancing act will begin again. I'm going to miss my comrade as we've become more friends than strict colleagues. Any person who fills her shoes will start looking to me for advice... that's a scary thought.

Engaged!

2011-07-17T13:27:00.000-05:00

I'm still in shock!

My birthday is tomorrow, so a few business school friends came to visit for the weekend in order to celebrate. Yesterday, the man and I had a doubleheader for soccer. The friends came just before halftime of the second game, camera in hand, to take a couple photos. After the game, I was convinced to walk to the middle of the field in order to snap a handful of photos of the man and me. I was tired, hot, sweaty and slightly confused. Next thing I knew, he was down on one knee, asking me to marry him. In shook, shaking a little, I said yes and gave him a kiss! The fans on the sideline started clapping and cheering (I didn't know any of them as most of my team had left). A perfect venue and time for a woman who defines a lot of herself based on the 20+ years of experience I've had on the pitch. There have been great moments and ones where injury has kept on the sideline. Regardless, soccer is still one of my favorite past times and over the last couple of years, I have shared the experience with my better half.

I never went to business school thinking I'd meet the love of my life. On the contrary, I was going to be focused - head down and studying as hard as I could in order to be successful in the future. While I was focused on my studies, I also met an incredible man and I couldn't be happier to soon call him my husband. Wow! As I write that, it even feels weird.

I keep staring at my hand. It makes me smile and feel different all at the same time. They say the engagement period is one of the happiest. I'm excited and yet know there will be plenty of questions and planning on the horizon. For now, I'm just going to enjoy the bliss of this moment.

New Town, New Friends

2011-07-11T20:47:00.000-05:00

It's a never ending saga when you move from place to place. The moment you get comfortable, the bags get packed and you must start anew. There's something encouraging about having a support system where you don't have to explain your Idiosyncrasies. On the other hand, it's exciting to learn about new people and share yourself in a way that many of your childhood friends may not view you. Regardless, with each new transition, I, at times, find myself longing for old friends.

Chicago has been a different transition however. There are four of us (plus a spouse) who attended Darden together and hang out regularly. Thanks to knowing a couple of Darden 2009 graduates, I've branched out and joined a new soccer team. Even after multiple weeks on the pitch together, I still struggle to learn everyone's name. I'm getting better though. The girls have started including me in their invite lists and for that, I'm extremely appreciative. I missed the last one which included each lady bringing and consuming her own bottle of wine. sounds zealous and I have to imagine very entertaining. The team's fearsome leader threw a small soiree on Saturday night including mojitos, rum punch, a BBQ and delicious rainbow mini cupcakes. Everyone likes to be included and I feel like I'm finally meeting new people that could become more than acquaintances. I also received my transfer email from Junior League (6 months later.. it was about time). I'm looking forward to getting involved in the community and there's no better time than summer in Chicago!

Plus, with my new found support group and three friends coming to visit this weekend, this year's birthday should definitely be fun!

Consolidation

2011-07-06T20:50:00.002-05:00

Have you ever seen that question on a survey that asks, "how many email accounts do you check on a regular basis?" I find myself replying with a slightly obscene number. There's the old email account that no one uses unless they only knew me when I was 15. There's the post old account that has become my main email address. There's the junk email account that is still checked because I suppose not everything that goes there is junk. There's the post-Darden account because I had to grow up and get an "adult" address. And finally, there's my work email address. Checking all the accounts never bothered me much. With smartphones, it's very simple to keep track, however, I've noticed something with my Droid lately that has been bothering me.

Two of my five email accounts use gmail. Both of those accounts flow famously to my Droid. Once upon a time, I downloaded the yahoo app for my Droid until that account stopped updating properly and I gave up the app for the preinstalled messaging app. Needless to say, the account now updates, however, I have to remember to click on the app for it to do so. It doesn't just notify me that I have messages, meaning when it does update, there's 20 notes to sift through. And then there is AOL - a lost cause that I'm more than ready to delete. I just need to figure out which of my parents is the actual account owner and get them to delete the account.

With all the email checking, I've decided it's time to consolidate email accounts. At the end, there will be 3 accounts standing. One work and two personal. What I find funny is the difficulty I've had simply changing my email address. I was overly impressed with Off5th. I clicked on their edit preferences link a the bottom of a recent message and it took me to a page where I could change the frequency of emails, unsubscribe, update my email address or change my store preferences. Brilliant! Most people assume that all you want to do is unsubscribe and so that is the only option available when clicking the little link at the bottom of the page. While I'm sure that's true most of the time, I was very impressed! The rest of these emails may simply get the boot if I can't easily switch them.

June 23, 2012

2011-06-27T20:20:00.002-05:00

This is a long overdue post...

June 23, 2012 is the day my family is going to grow by one. During the 6th race of the Kentucky Derby, my little brother put on his serious face and asked his then girlfriend to marry him. She of course said yes between many hugs and kisses. I felt very special to be a witness and the boy took many fabulous pictures.

Given that my family loves any excuse to celebrate, mom quickly took the weekend the BF and I picked to go home as the perfect date for an engagement party. I met the the soon-to-be in-laws. Funny enough, most of them have names that start with J (including my brother's fiancee). One of the mother's sisters prided herself on marrying someone without a name that started with J and she has subsequently added other letters to the beginning of her children's names.

I saw friends of my brother's that might as well be brothers to me. It amazes me how time flies. One of them actually gave my brother an engagement photo which was a photo of the two of them as kids. I'm guessing elementary school and my brother, pricelessly, had a shirt on that said his childhood name (think, Jimmy as a kid, Jim as an adult). Makes me think I should go digging through my old photos as a long time friend of mine from middle school also ties the knot on June 23, 2012 (and unfortunately, I had to decline the invite to be a bridesmaid).

I'm constantly amazed how fast time flies. It's hard to think that soon enough I will cross the big 3-0. Sometimes I still feel like a kid, but then I realize I'm not. I have plenty of friends that are married and have kids of their own. Meanwhile, my little brother is growing up and getting married. WOW. Congrats NBH! I love you.

Race to Taste

2011-06-27T19:59:00.003-05:00

I wanted more than anything to turn off the alarm on Sunday morning and go back to sleep. Instead, I forced myself out of bed and out of the house by 8a. The boy and I had signed up for the Humana Race to Taste 5K. It's been a while since I've competed in a race, if you can really call running a 5K for no reason competing.

Since my move to Chicago in February, I've been a slave to the gym, in a very good way. Over the years, the gym and I have been on everything from fantastic terms, seeing each other almost daily, to long hiatuses, often due to the fact that I've injured myself. Recently, I've taken up Pilates. Not only am I attending the free mat classes, but I've also paid for a group apparatus class. Likely the first time I've paid for any trainer related activity at the gym.

Outside of the gym, I've found a couple of soccer teams. While the rules aren't as strange as those in Atlanta or Louisville, I do miss the full 90 minute games that I played in San Francisco. My teammates likely think I'm insane when a team asks if I'd like to play again and I excitingly say YES! I even sometimes eye the teams before taking off my stuff.

With all the activity going on, I'd say I'm back in good shape. However, it was Sunday that put it in perspective. The morning was perfect for a run and the loop couldn't have been better - Millenium Park past Solider Field and back along the lake. BF paced me for most the race, which both confused and motivated me to keep my pace. We passed the first mile at 7:15, a little faster than I would like. The second mile disappeared after 15 minutes. And I kept waiting to see the third mile marker. To no avail, I soon saw the turn and the last dash to the finish started. I crossed the line at 23:59 (7:43 mile pace). Not bad given that these days I may run 3 miles, but only with a combination of a mile warm up and 8 quarter mile sprints.

The race felt good! In addition, by 10a, I felt like I had accomplished a lot. We took the couple mile walk home to enjoy the weather and let our bodies relax. Plus, who can say no to a walk through the (free) Lincoln Park zoo? I just wanted to say hi to the big kitty cat (aka Leopard).

Chicago is definitely an amazing place during the summer!

Balancing

2011-05-31T11:52:00.003-05:00

Not too long ago, a friend of mine from Darden and I had a catch up call... how's life? What have you been doing? Work? Family? Extra curriculars? La la la... you're what?! Switching jobs already!?!

It's been a year since graduation. I've had my one year anniversary at my employer. Given that I was the first person in my class (that I know) to start work post-graduation it's hard for me to imagine that people who started after me are already changing companies, careers and positions.

The hype at the end of business school subsided instantaneously. We thought we were going to make the world a better place with our new tricks from a tremendous education. In reality, we return to the working world, much like some of us left. While some are faced with daily challenges, others are simply going through the motions. During my time, I've had a couple of challenges, but nothing Earth shattering. My plate is still basically empty and while I understand I am needed somewhere, it seems that no one has the time to tell me where (a couple of changes have management spread a little thin currently). Overall it irritates me. I sit here putting in my hours because I feel I should. However, the hours aren't the least bit productive.I didn't go to business school and graduate in the top of my class to assume a lackluster position.

Over the weekend, we hosted friends for tacos. One of my good friends from school works at a company from which I did not receive an offer even though I did make it to second round interviews (little mistakes...and nerves). Recently, she was taken to a happy hour by the finance department asking if she'd like to quit her rotation program and work full time as a senior analyst. The position was interesting, yet she has decided to continue her rotations and thought it may be a good fit for me.

I'm not looking to jump ship, though I'd be lying if I said I'm not open to opportunities. In the right position, with the right company, at the right price point...I'd highly consider the switch. In the back of my mind, I'm troubled however. I think of all the people I've met including one of the champions of the program I'm in and I don't want to disappoint them. In addition, I have a relatively defined career path here, though I fear my next assignment may be in a personally less desirable city. Then I keep returning to the thought, I need something to do. If I don't get work, I don't build my skillset and subsequently, my resume. Is it wrong to look? I'm not exactly sure right now. What if I wear to apply? I'm very torn. I stayed in a position for too long prior to business school and I don't want to make that mistake again. On the other hand, it's likely I haven't been in this position long enough.

Boredom

2011-05-12T14:10:00.000-05:00

I wait for the minutes to pass, which is something I haven't done in months. Don't get me wrong, I have wanted time to fast forward at the end of the day, but not like this.

Last night, I composed an email requesting more work. I recognize that it's hard to give me more work from 500 miles away when the day its consumed with meetings. However, perhaps the note needed to be more blunt. "I have nothing to do." On one hand, it's my fault for not realizing how lean my workload was becoming as I sent completed tasks. So I now sit here trying to brainstorm some grand idea that would keep me busy and help the office. So far, no luck.

CNN was interesting for a while, though I've maxed out on my intake of news. Most "fun" sites are blocked and my phone signal is horrible at my desk. I'm back to, so what?

12 hours of work, the gym and a soccer game later, I'll be off to Vegas tomorrow for one of my favorite weekends of the year - soccer tournament + Vegas nightlife.

Ode to Public Transit

2011-04-15T07:50:00.001-05:00

I'm on the bus, on my way to work. It's been one of my longer work weeks, which is likely nothing compared to my classmates and the life for which I recruited initially.

Before Chicago, I was never a public transit person. Sure I'd hop on the local metro during vacation, but almost never in San Francisco (exception: attending SF Giants games). I remember laughing about the bus names in Boulder, Hop, Skip, and Jump. Even with a student pass included in tuition, I'm not sure I ever took a route. However, I did walk frequently.

Yesterday, on my way home from soccer, I pondered the fact that my primary uses for my car are getting to and from soccer and Costco. I still have a half tank left from my arrival in February.

Public transit and primarily the bus system is my new found friend. It's my transportation to work and going out on the weekends. We even managed the metro to a Cubs game and the bus to a Bulls game.

Plus, on the bus I get my daily dose of Facebook stalking and Words With Friends! There's something to be said for a good transit system in the city. Who knew?

Sent via Verizon Wireless Droid

Cville Weekend

2011-03-01T08:38:00.001-06:00

I've officially been in Chicago for just over a week. Per the usual jet setting lifestyle, I spent my second weekend in Charlottesville instead of Chicago. The boy and I met up with his old roommate as well as MissFab, a close current second year friend. She was the perfect hostess for a trio of friends who wanted to relive a Darden weekend.

We arrived late Friday night, dropped our belongings at the hotel and went straight to the Corner for a nightcap. It felt oddly familiar to be at Trinity, a bar we frequented prior to graduation. Yet there were no familiar faces and far more undergrads than I recall.

Saturday we walked the downtown mall, looking for food to fill our hungry bellies. Even the stores on the mall had changed - new faces while old staples were no longer around. Not to mention, almost nothing looked open for brunch/lunch. We journeyed to Charlottesville running company so that roomie could purchase a new pair of shoes and then the boys went running, while the girls indulged in some proper bonding time. And if course, no Charlottesville trip would be complete without Arch's frozen yogurt!!

Two Darden 2010s happened to be at the UVa basketball game, so they stopped by to catch up. It made me miss the days when everyone was in close proximity.

After much discussion...read hours of tossing around ideas for dinner...Mas, Orzo, Shebeen...we settled on sushi at Tokyo Rose. It was quite good, close to the house and a great way to begin the night. We followed up sushi with drinks in Ivy and dancing to 80s music at Three. Just like old times!

Sunday morning we were set on crossing an item off MissFab's bucket list - brunch at Bluegrass Grill and Bakery. Delicious though their operations and math could be improved.

While the weekend away made me a bit nostalgic for days at Darden, coming home reminds me how much I love my new place and the city of Chicago. This weekend, we're off to San Fransisco for the Venetian Masquerade ball my mom planned to support a local charity. Then we a handful of weekends at home.

Sent via Verizon Wireless Droid

Updating the Address Book

2011-02-18T15:55:00.002-06:00

It was so easy to keep track of classmates while in business school. We all had Darden email addresses that followed the same naming convention. Not to mention, many of us lived a stones throw from Darden grounds. Today, it never ceases to amaze me where people ended up.

I sat down after business school and tried to compile people's information on Facebook and LinkedIn into my gmail address book. Trying to formulate one source of the truth - post Darden email, phone, birthday, and location. What I've often found is not everyone updates these sources as religiously as I do. Even in business school, my classmates' locations would often differ from Charlottesville.

About two weeks ago, it was finally time to update my address to the world! Chicago - my new home! (At least until the next promotion or something like that.) I spammed my entire address book. Surprisingly, this was brilliant as I immediately knew which emails simply no longer work. (Also, if you decide to do this, BCC is your very best friend!). It's amazing the number of responses I received. However, it's also annoying given that many included little notes to which I feel the need to respond. Plus, I've also realized that once I receive a response, I then have to update the address book. That takes time! I think I have just shy of 100 left to update! Welcome to my Friday. :)

Next up, I'm hoping to use some of these newly found addresses to drop handwritten notes. We'll see how that goes.

Somber Goodbye

2011-02-07T19:34:00.001-06:00

I was so excited to leave that I never thought I'd be sad to say goodbye. One thing many people don't know is that I have family in Louisville. We often have family dinners with Monday night sushi being my favorite. When everyone's there, it's chaos. Three kids just under 10, as well as another two sisters, one 12 and one 16. A total of five kids, each in their own world, fighting for attention. Although technically adults, my two cousins can still bicker with the best of them. It's family.

Plus, you can't forget the wonderful owners of my little sushi place. Jessica knows part of my order without me ever having to ask. Roy makes the best sushi in town. And as my uncle says, it's hard to jump around to different sushi restaurants. You get comfortable and used to one, it becomes your favorite. I'd very much agree as these days I feel like a regular, barely looking at the menu when I order.

I'm two days out from my big move north and it just hit me how much I'm going to miss this place. The next adventure is on the horizon and I thank my family for making the current one so much fun. Jessica gave me a mug for the days when I miss Tokyo. My uncle and aunt passed along a housewarming gift. By Wednesday night, I'll be in Chicago and on Thursday, I'm headed to Vegas to see my immediate family. Time flies.

Well Being, Not Immortal

2011-02-01T12:11:00.006-06:00

I ventured to the gym last week, thinking it was time to "get in shape" before my next season of indoor soccer. The next morning, I woke with a tickle in my throat and quickly halted my workout routine. Some people say you can sweat out the sickness, but I don't buy it.

Today, a dear friend of mine sent me this article. It discusses that while exercise won't make you immortal, it does improve life. One of the people mentioned in this article is my friend's father. He was a miraculous man, always full of energy. Yet with all his good habits, cancer was his fatal end.

The article makes an interesting point about exercise not making you immortal, but helping your overall well being. While I hate 5:30a workouts, I feel amazing after them. The time I spend in the gym over the course of the week vastly improves my performance on the soccer field. When I'm in shape, I simply feel better all around. So why is it a couple weeks on the couch can make me forget how much I love the feeling of being active? We, including myself, all make excuses as to why that 30 minutes can't be spent at the gym. Today, I'm going to try not to make the excuse.

The Case Method Lives

2011-01-25T10:40:00.005-06:00

A week ago Monday, I found myself sitting on a 7:15a flight to Chicago. I had arrived late the night before and expected to sleep for the hour. Instead, I overheard a seatmate say that he was headed to San Francisco and the guy next to him, Los Angeles. Next thing I knew, I was conversing with the guy sitting in front of me who was returning to China, where he is getting his PhD. In comparison to their travels, my hour flight felt like nothing.

The conversation with the guy in front of me ensued. We talked about what each of us respectively do. Then came the conversation of MBA. I don't recall where he attended, but our traveler to San Francisco quickly joined as we reminisced about the case method. It was an interesting conversation as Mr. Going to SF said that he thought the case method was worthless and cases were simply too easy to solve. It made me question what types of cases he studied as most cases don't have a correct answer.

As I've noted before, I believe the case method is about thinking. It's learning to state your assumptions and ask questions to make a final decision or recommendation. SF-Bound seemed to think it was simply about getting the right or optimal answer. I noted that while some cases may have an optimal answer, I thought a subject like strategy doesn't necessarily. Sometimes an expansion in one direction will succeed, though you'll never be able to say what would have happened if a company expanded in a different direction or not at all. He strongly disagreed because he was a strategy guy that always found the optimal solution given the facts at hand. I commend him on his confidence, but must resume that there's not always a right answer. And in my opinion, the case method is far better than a professor lecturing on a book I can sufficiently read on my own. You can't teach everyone's individual experiences from a textbook. That's what makes a case classroom so rich. I may never serve my country, yet through the eyes of my classmates, I understand what it means to do so.

If I Had a Business

2011-01-11T14:16:00.002-06:00

In the digital age, we all search online to find what we need (I presume that's how you ended up here). Given that I'm still fairly new to downtown Louisville, I'm constantly using Google Maps to "search nearby." It floors me how many addresses aren't necessarily correct. I'm even more surprised by the number of service retailers that don't have websites. I suppose not everyone needs a website, but I find myself shying away from retailers without one.

If I opened a business tomorrow, top items on my list would include simple logistics, such as:

1. Correct address and location on all the map sites
2. Make a website - it can be simple, but must look good. First impressions count.
3. Put myself on the local and national review sites, starting with Yelp.
4. Post hours of operation
5. Post prices to my services, it answers a lot of questions that you or your receptionist doesn't have to

The Bridge

2011-01-07T11:46:00.004-06:00

What is it about crossing a bridge that seems to put negative images in my head?

It may be a result of the cold weather as I've been on a HUGE soup kick lately. I made homemade Chicken Noodle Soup two nights ago and had leftovers for two meals yesterday. It was amazing! Right now, I'm craving some sort of seafood soup, though I haven't pinpointed exactly what I want.

I've never made seafood soup and it sounds slightly more complicated than the old fashion chicken noodle. After browsing recipes, I thought I'd glance at local eateries as what better night to go out than Friday. Living right on the edge of the Ohio River, I always have the choice to stay in Louisville or venture to Indiana, which in some respects may be closer at times. More often than not, I find myself avoiding the bridge.

I can't quite figure out why. It could be the preconceived notion that it always takes longer to get over the bridge. This stems from the fact that some of the worst traffic in and around San Francisco is due to the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges. I know the junction coming from Indiana can be backed up at times, but nothing compared to California. Just a random thought during the lunch break as I look out on the Ohio River and its trusty bridge.

One month left in Louisville...

Soapbox

2011-01-05T19:08:00.005-06:00

It was a blur. The last two weeks had me in four different cities with two stints in Chicago. Every time I'm in Chicago, I set up the house just a little more. However, not being part of a divorced family, I'm starting to sympathize with those who have had their stuff in two places. I managed to remember I needed a black dress for a bachelorette party in mid-January. Forgetting that with any good black dress and night out in Miami, I should have a pair of cute, likely open-toed, shoes. Ooops. Either I'm going shopping or wearing flats.

It's funny how I return to Louisville and feel less and less like this is home. I'm sick of having a hotel key in my wallet. I returned, thinking I'd have a stack of mail including at least 3 bills. Instead, I had one lonely letter in my mailbox. I panicked as one of my bills was due in 7 days. Thoughts of "what if it never shows up" closed my mind. The next day, I received the rest of my mail, including two packages. USPS holiday backup or Galt House fail? Hmmm.

Two friends visited for New Year's in Chicago. Besides a little rain, NYE was a cloudy 50 degrees. I promised snow, they received warmth in Chicago terms. Maybe they brought it from Houston. My night concluded with me picking up the place and taking this photo:

Incredible view if I do say so myself! This will be the first thing I see every morning, assuming it's not dark outside. I can't wait. It's possible that I'm counting down the days until my move... 34.

Great Moments of 2010

2011-01-05T12:51:00.000-06:00

Every year has its ups and downs. I suppose it's just a part of the rollar coaster we call life. While the downs remind us that we're human, it's the ups that make us feel the downs are worth it. The last three years, I've compiled a great moments list. It's incredible to see what I've done and remember that each year has many moments I'd like to remember. Here are my great moments from 2010 (in no particular order):

1. Graduated with my MBA from Darden
2. Received an award for Academic Excellence (Top 10%) on the day of Darden's graduation
3. My amazing day in Stockholm, Sweden including the best blueberries I've ever had and mouth-watering dark hot chocolate
4. Visiting Swedish Lappland
5. Leadership and Theater J Week
6. London
7. Paris
8. Buying my first adult couch (to be delivered Feb 2011)
9. Receiving my Darden 10-K (Yearbook)...very nostalgic
10. Paramore in Cville
11. Duke's MBA Games - specifically the business suit swimming relay race and dizzy bat
12. Bahamas (crashing my friend's honeymoon!)
13. Receiving and accepting a full time job offer
14. Permanent placement = CHICAGO
15. Sushi Mondays!
16. Birthday in Louisville with Mack and Lauren
17. 2nd Annual May Vegas Trip with Schnepp and the man
18. San Francisco Giants win WORLD SERIES!
19. Passing my Life and Health Insurance exam with flying colors
20. Night out in SF with my soccer peeps
21. Weekend of girl time with my mom in Chicago
22. Junior League of Louisville's Second Sunday event (I was in charge of Hula Hooping)
23. Darden dinner and night out in Chicago (Oct 2010)
24. My first Ohio State football game
25. Shooting clays at the Greenbrier (Thanksgiving)
26. Follies - Darden Dancing
27. Becoming an Illinois resident (my first license after California, which I had for 12 years)
28. NYE w/ BVB, Jackie and her man @ The Drake Hotel in Chicago

New Credit Card

2011-01-03T22:34:00.003-06:00

I'm going to regret being up this late on a work night, but it's worth it. I've been contemplating a new credit card lately. While I'm not a proponent of changing cards frequently, sometimes the good "rewards" vanish as credit card companies update their programs. I pay off my credit card monthly and thus, I'm not concerned about APRs, but more about what I get for the money I spend. I'm an AmEx lover. However, not everywhere takes AmEx, so I needed a backup card. There are credit card sites galore that all basically have the same information, which hasn't been very helpful. I wanted to share one site I found that seemed better than the rest, check it out.

Bring on the New Year

2010-12-17T12:29:00.004-06:00

Work has been beyond slow as of late. I wish I could say that is a new thing, but not the case. Sadly, I'm getting VERY good at Angry Birds (if you haven't checked it out and have a smart phone, it's definitely addicting!). My first finance-related market visit to Chicago is next week and as luck would have it, my future boss won't be there at all. I've decided that picking dates around large company and/or national holidays is the worst time to visit the market. Far too many people decide to take vacation and I don't blame them. My current boss has told me that she is ok if I do mostly personal stuff during my trip. First item on the list -new driver's license and car registration.

I'm not sure if it's just me, but I haven't had a new driver's license picture since the day I passed my exam. Not to mention all of the physical details are also from when I was 16. Luckily, I haven't changed THAT much. And come to think of it, I've never had a license anywhere except California. Here's to change!

For the next two weeks, I'm taking another whirlwind "vacation." I suppose I wouldn't be me if I stayed in one place long enough to get my feet wet. Tonight I'm headed to Evergreen, CO to spend time with my boyfriend, his parents and his siblings. After two days in the mild cold, I will head east to Chicago, where my new full length black parka will likely be my best friend. This is a "working" trip, though I use that word loosely and will likely be decorating and moving in. We leave on the eve of Christmas Eve to go to Southern California for more celebrations with my boyfriend's family. My family will be sailing the caribbean. Rough life huh? Next up, Vail! Hopefully that storm that just hit the mountains in California continues eastward and dumps in Vail. I'd like some powder days (please, Santa!). Finally the whirlwind wraps up with New Year's Eve in Chicago at the Drake. I have a friend from home who now lives in Houston coming into town with her boyfriend. She said she wanted snow on NYE, but I have a feeling she's going to regret that when she arrives. WEATHER SHOCK!

I'm excited for the next couple months. I attend my first of FIVE weddings in February. I move to Chicago in February, which should coincide nicely with the delivery of the couch that was ordered last weekend. My mom is throwing a large gala in March. And who knows what the rest of the year will bring.

It's hard to believe that 2010 is over and it's been a great year! I'll have to countdown the best moments of 2010 on the next post. :) Plus, they're fun to review.

2009
2008
2007

What Happened?

2010-11-23T13:08:00.001-06:00

Writing used to be therauputic. It was a way to share myself with myself (and perhaps a dozen or so readers). Lately, I've been completely radio silenced. What happened? When I hit road blocks in business school, writing for 20 minutes cleared my mind enough to tackle the next big project. I attempted that at work once and when I hit "post," I received some sort of failure notification. My company doesn't allow you to post to blogs. I suppose I can't blame them. Work time is for work, right? Not to mention, there's fear that I'm posting sensitive company information. I'd like to think that most people are good natured and hearted, yet with scandel after scandel, it's hard to believe that.

Work is overly slow these days. I finished my morning responsibilities at 11:30a today and now I'm waiting for a 3p meeting. Yes, literally, waiting. Tomorrow, this place will likely be a ghost town. If it were up to me I'd skip the entire day completely. However, instead I have a 30 minute meeting at 8a, which will be my first and last bit of responsibility before the holiday weekend. Still contemplating if it is ok to simply leave when I'm done. Hmmm.

In good news, I received my market location 2 weeks ago. In February 2011, I'm officially moving to CHICAGO!! I couldn't be more excited and I wish February were tomorrow. Though I know now that it's Thanksgiving, the time between now and February is going to absolutely fly. The boy and I have trips planned for the holidays to see both of our families. I'm also looking forward to catching up with some friends along the way. My first trial run in Chicago will be right before Christmas for a market visit. Hopefully it's not too cold then!

I can't promise more musings, but I'm definitely going to try. Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble!

World Series

2010-11-01T20:38:00.003-05:00

It's Monday night and I'm halfway glued to my TV, hoping the SF Giants can clinch the title. Mom, dad, brother and brother's GF attended Game 1 in San Francisco. Brother + 1 attended Game 2 as well. Giants fever has hit almost every Facebook status message I read during the nights they're playing and sometimes, the days they are not. I can almost tell what happened in the games based on the name updates... Sanchez, Cody Ross, Uribe, Buster Posey and the list goes on. More photos and tag lines of "Fear the Beard" arrive daily. It makes me miss home.

I'm not sure the Bay Area will ever not be home. I guess sometimes I'm just waiting for that day. Will I ever stop telling people I'm from SF? Living in Louisville, I often receive a slightly odd look, asking how did you end up here?! These days, I don't even know.

I await anxiously to find out where my next residence will be. In the last two years I've lived in Charlottesville, Atlanta, Louisville and even Stockholm, Sweden for a couple months. Friday, I will know where I move in February 2011. I'm excited and scared. The anxiety has seeped into my dreams as I cross my fingers for Chicago and try to remember that everything happens for a reason. Those dreams can turn to nightmares, so anything I can do to not focus on the next move is good as it hopefully leads to better sleep.

Therefore, bottom of the 7th, Giants lead 3-1. Let's go SF!

I Want A Real Job

2010-10-14T13:49:00.002-05:00

Turns out you can't post to blogger from work. Doh! I suppose that shouldn't surprise me given the restricted level of internet access. Needless to say, I wrote a great post and had the entire thing disappear when I clicked post. Now I know.

You may be wondering how I have time to post during work hours. It's simple, I'm receiving an unmatched education around health and insurance, however the pace is definitely not that of Darden. This week has averaged two or three meetings per day, approximately an hour each. That's a lot of empty hours to fill.

I have no responsibility and no deliverables until February. All I have to do is learn the business, understand how areas connect and be able to speak fluidly about everything. Being new to the industry, I couldn't ask for a better setup. It just needs to be faster for the sake of my sanity. I crave intensity, which I've learned leads to better personal time management. Currently, I have too much free time during the day where I just have to literally be present. My colleague and I joke that we would like real jobs. We know their on the horizon, but we're getting cabin fever.

Update: ... Blogger saves things automatically, here is the original post

The education I am receiving regarding healthcare and insurance is likely unmatched. While I may never claim to know more in any one area than some of the tenured veterans, I will be able to talk fluidly on how different parts of the business interact. I can say now, much more than I ever said during my interviews. In the beginning, health insurance was simply a card you took out of your wallet when you visited the doctor, who would eventually bill you for some unknown amount. Turns out it is not as gray as it seems when you know what questions to ask.

The pace of this education is definitely not that of Darden. While I suppose I don't need another couple years of such intensity, there was something about that intensity that I loved. I was much more diligent when it came to managing my time. Now, I just pray that my time is filled. This week has been incredibly slow. Typically 2-3 meetings a day, at a max of an hour each. What do you do with all that free time?

It's ironic how my free time at the end of my job prior to business school was a blessing. Of course, we also didn't have restricted internet access, so browsing was easier. Now, I crave speed, intensity, or simply a schedule busier than the one I have. It's hard when you're essentially working on someone's else time. In fact, a lot of someone elses. I have started creating a contact sheet of all the people I've met over the last five months. The tally is roughly 150. That's a lot of people! Yet, every day my colleague and I joke, we want a real job. It's been a long time since I've hard any responsibility or needed to work on a real deliverable. I get more excited about figuring out the best way to develop a website for my mother's wine group than anything here at the office.

I know the education will be worth it, I just want it to be faster. (And I'd like to be told where I'm moving in February...supposed to be informed during October. Two weeks left.)

Insurance, What A Strange Business?

2010-10-08T18:49:00.003-05:00

Most widget makers have the luxury of knowing their cost prior to setting their price. When they set their price, they include a profit margin. And from there, the widget maker can try to understand how many widgets he must sell in order to cover costs and make an overall profit.

The insurance business is different. Specifically, health insurance is very different. Most fully-insured large employer groups look to receive a renewal price 2-3 months prior to their renewal date. If claims are used as a basis for that renewal price, credible claims must be posted approximately 90 days prior to their use. So if you want a price for a Jan 1 renewal in September, the claims that are being used are from June of the previous year to May of this year. The renewal price is a guaranteed monthly premium for an entire twelve months quoted. How is an insurance carrier supposed to know how much a member is going to incur in claims 15 months from the day of their pricing? They estimate. Additionally, if a member uses a lot of doctor's services in the first six months, the carrier can't reprice the premium for the second six months. It's definitely a risky business and an odd one when you realize that insurance companies essentially find out their costs many months after they set their price.

I must admit, prior to leaving business school, I had never thought about this when I received medical cards. Also, here's a good quick description of how health insurance works, past the pricing aspect.

Plugged In

2010-10-06T21:20:00.002-05:00

It's the age of 24/7 connection. These days, my phone can do just about everything that I do on my personal computer. We omit personal phone calls in exchange for text messages. The virtual world now allows hundreds of thousands of people to choose where they want to live without worrying about where they work. Technology is moving faster and everything seems instantaneously obsolete, yet there are moments when I wonder if we're moving forward or backward.

Sometimes I wonder what human interaction will look like when I have kids. My mom used to believe that when she drove my brother and I to school, that was her time to interact and teach us values. We couldn't jump out of the car, so she had a captive audience. These days, mom is on the phone and baby has a TV to keep entertained. What happened?

I found myself contemplating the virtual landscape the other day at work. Technology has helped companies that are spread across the states and world interact. However, has "efficient" technology led to its own inefficiencies? An email exchange that could be solved with a 60 second phone call will go on for days because no one wants to pick up the phone. E-learning activities are the fancy word for go 'learn'. Yet some people learn from reading, writing or a mixture of both. Retention of information is often not easy unless you apply it. Answering 20 questions at the end of an e-learning course does not prove that you learned the material, simply that your short term memory is good enough to recall it.

Webinars, while undoubtedly helpful, will never beat a live meeting. I think I fade faster in the virtual world than I do in a live presentation. It's hard to read your audience in the virtual world and thus it becomes so much more important that people speak up. Further, I think conversations need to be stronger in the virtual world as to not duplicate work. What are your assumptions? What EXACTLY is your end goal or desire? Sometimes, I don't think the asker even knows. In face to face meetings it seems much easier to define. Perhaps that's because for that second, there really is a captitive audience. And in today's plugged in world, everyone always seems to be multi-tasking, which, in my opinion, is an oxymoron. You're simply saying that not one item or person is getting your undivided attention. Just a different way to look at it.

The Waiting Game

2010-09-29T21:06:00.003-05:00

In the middle of June, six of my coworkers in the Commercial Sales training program received word of their soon-to-be new homes. My finance counterpart and I sat back as they received relocation checks, locked in housing, packed their things and said goodbye to Louisville! This was their time to make a new home!

RS and I always knew that the waiting game for us would be longer. At first, we were told November, which in June seemed so far away that it wasn't worth worrying. In July, we were told October, but still three months can seem like a lifetime after business school. I lived in Atlanta and Stockholm for three months each. Just enough time to settle in to a routine, yet not long enough for it to feel like home. Since starting our finance assimilation, every time we meet a new person, they ask where we are moving. The answer of TBD is getting old.

This past Monday, the October deadline was reiterated. So now, I sit and wonder. Will I make it to Chicago where my better half resides? Or will this be the start of a series of tough decisions to come in the future?

The waiting game, while exciting at times, has gotten the best of me over the last three years. You wait to hear from business schools, and then you wait to start once you accept. Next, you start interview season, only to wait to hear if you're on the interview list, whether you make it to second round or finally receive an internship offer. At the end of an internship, some people even have to wait to see if they are extended a full-time offer. Even if they are, many still recruit, repeating the interview process. While I wouldn't trade any of these experiences for the world, I'm ready to plan my next move, which is hopefully to a place I can truly make home.

I suppose the good news I've become very patient and with all this moving, I have become the opposite of a pack-rat, constantly purging the items I own.

The Darden Connection

2010-09-28T12:34:00.000-05:00

Darden was one of the best decisions I ever made. I continuously say that and I think with each time, I mean it more. When I first started my position, I received a welcome email from a guy named Charles. I'm not sure how he knew I had joined the organization and I didn't bother to ask. He set up lunch a group of us including an intern and other alumni. Needless to say, I missed that lunch as Lotus Notes, our email system, doesn't include an automatic calendar reminder. You have to manually check a box to get a reminder, which I still forget to do. After missing that meeting, he was incredibly understanding. Then I traveled for a couple months off and on. Finally, two weeks ago I reached out to setup a new lunch meeting.

Charles graciously accepted and after a couple confusing exchanges, we missed yet another lunch. Today was the day that we were going to get this right. Sure enough, I waited by the lunch trays. Noon came and went, but about ten minutes after, he showed up. We grabbed our respective meals and found a place to eat. As most people do, he asked me how I picked Darden, having been from San Francisco. I explained to him that the Darden networking reception sold me. When looking at business schools, I suppose everyone has to consider HBS. It's known as a gold standard. The HBS reception was a mock case with roughly five alumni in attendance. I spent more time discussing the GMAT and tips with college kids than speaking to anyone about the school. Darden was different. The head of admissions spoke for five minutes and told us if we wanted to know anything about the school, talk to them, pointing to the alumni. She explained that they were the appropriate people to answer my questions. I spoke with people from the class of 1984, 1993 as well as some recent graduates. I was grilled by the head of Alumni Relations. Every person I met had their hand on their business card and wanted to know what they could do for the school. They wanted to give back. There was something about that interaction that simply stuck. HBS may be able to run circles around Darden in terms of network size, except the large class size doesn't give you the bond and connection Darden does.

Charles, who graduated almost 10 years ago and has had a very successful career, thanked me. He thanked me for reminding him why he loved Darden so much. There's nothing better than the Darden connection. When I mentioned the name of a coworker in my organization, Charles said he knows him well. I proceeded to tell him that he reminds me of Elliott Weiss, a Darden professor who wears a bowtie every day. This guy wears a bowtie daily. I guess that also speaks to the tenure of Darden's professors.

Putting It Delicately

2010-09-07T21:09:00.003-05:00

Three Fridays ago I officially "graduated" from the first part of my rotational program. Six of coworkers had received their location assignments and took off to their new homes. Learning about the commercial sales organization is something most people in the corporate office likely fail to do. They forget that it is the sales organization that continues to keep a steady flow of revenue coming into the business, supporting the need for their jobs.

The next week, I attended the commercial finance conference. My first real interaction with many of the finance leaders at corporate as well as in the market offices. Great people and great information, though not as "fun" as those traditionally gregarious and outgoing sales people. The end of the week was light prior to my paid week off!

When I first heard of the vacation time, I struggled with the decision as to where to go. Free weeks aren't as plenty as business school, so I understand I need to take advantage of them. However, after ruling out a handful of exotic destinations, I decided home is always a good option, as is Chicago to see the boyfriend. While home I hung out with a handful of soccer friends. I'm not sure why it surprises me that I have such great friends in the Bay Area. I've always known that, but I suppose I have almost forgotten with the amount of moving I've done lately. Further, I hosted a handful of Darden 2010 alumni at my parents' house for a BBQ. It was incredibly good to see everyone and almost made me ask myself, why did I leave or specifically, why didn't I go back? Further, I keep finding people I missed as I didn't realize they had moved West. The contingent keeps growing. Chicago was also fun with more Darden reunions including a home-cooked meal by a Darden husband and BBQing on the 10th floor of a friend's downtown building. Very cool! I suppose it makes me realize how much I miss even having one person around with whom I've spent more time than the last three months.

I arrived in Louisville late last night and after fighting with my work computer for over an hour, finally, was able to access my email. This week started off promising, until I got to work. There's a lot of "catch up" time baked into my training schedule and while I appreciate the consideration, Darden never taught me the slow pace I've been going. It's not good or bad, just different, but I'm starting to want more.

Presentation and License Exam

2010-08-18T17:31:00.001-05:00

At times, I feel like I should be wrapping up an internship. The last six days were by far the hardest I've worked since starting three months ago.

The three days leading up to this past Friday were packed with presentation skills training and practice. Valuable overall, yes, as I can always use more practice and reinforcement. However, I graduated from a top program where I took two very similar courses. Friday was the big day where I presented to senior leaders my market presentation on what I gleaned from two visits to Chicago. I think it went well overall and received few questions.

As soon as the presentation was over, it was time to start preparing for the Kentucky life and health insurance exam. We took a 40 hour course two months ago. I didn't forget everything but definitely had holes. Needless to say, most of my weekend and all day Monday were spent with my nose in a 700 page textbook like book. When I passed both tests on Tuesday, it all seemed worth it. I'm officially licensed! To celebrate, my boyfriend and I grabbed lunch and saw Inception.

It seems now that almost the entire group has checked out. Graduation from this program is Friday and most of my coworkers will leave Saturday for their markets. Time flew this summer and I imagine the next six months of finance rotations will soon be a blur.
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Spoiled in Chicago

2010-08-09T09:23:00.001-05:00

It is hard to believe that I'm starting week 11 of my post business school occupation. Most internships are roughly this long!

I flew up to Chicago on July 30th for another market visit. This time I stayed the weekend as I worked Friday and Monday/ Tuesday out of the downtown market office. Half-kidding as the notice was extremely late, I invited my mom on Monday to meet me in Chicago on Friday. Needless to say, it all worked out!

We took my coworker to dinner on Friday night, where we indulged in steak, scallops, wine and chocolate covered strawberries. After another bottle of wine in the bar, the three of us ventured to the House of Blues, walking through a staged street for the next Transformers.

Saturday kicked off with a couple errands and then I met mom at Nordstrom. We lucked out as it was Nordstrom's anniversary sale. Little did I know, mom had plans to update a handful of my work clothes. Given that I started work so early, she considered this the shopping/ graduation trip we never did. A couple new suits, shirts and a raincoat, and I'm ready for another couple months of work!

Beyond shopping, we walked, ate, drank and had an absolutely fabulous time. I even convinced mom to return to Chicago once the boy gets settled, albeit I ought to plan that trip before or after winter.

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Birthday Celebration

2010-07-26T11:29:00.002-05:00

There really is a lot going on in my life, I swear! A week ago I officially turned the big 2-8! At first thought, this birthday was going to be a let down as I'm miles away from most of my close family and friends. The family that I have in Louisville was ironically in San Francisco. So that left me to wonder what a weekend of festivities after a week in Wisconsin would look like. Needless to say, Mack came to the rescue.

Mack and I had been discussing a weekend in Louisville since I moved given that she is in Columbus, OH and what better weekend to pick than the one of my birthday. She picked me up from the airport on Friday, July 16th and the festivities began. We had dinner and cocktails at a sushi restaurant called Sapporo. After which, we blasted music and got ready like girls should. Finally, we left the house at midnight for Bardstown Road and Molly Malone's. I'm not sure what time we left the bar, but I'm guessing 3:30a as the bars in Louisville don't close until 4a. In theory, this is a great idea. In practicality, Saturday after a late night like that is completely shot, especially when your room has no windows to give any sense of what time it is. We danced Saturday night away at Hotel on 4th Street Live with a handful of my coworkers. An absolutely perfect celebratory weekend!

Sunday, my roommate baked me a brownie cake, complete with Happy Birthday letters and soccer balls. Monday, my coworkers bought a cookie cake for me. The birthday diet while delicious, is never good for the waistline. I finally convinced my roommate to take the brownies to the neighbors.

I received cards and letters from people to whom I don't remember giving my address. Mom sent a care package, which is always exciting and included a pretty necklace. I even received flowers from my special someone who was traveling in Syria at the time. I must admit, I was quite impressed. That special someone also found an internet cafe so that we could Skype for a while - our first time using video since he left 1.5 months ago! (PS Technology is incredibly cool!!)

Thanks to all who made this year special! And I promise to get better about blogging...

Business Trip: Green Bay

2010-07-13T22:58:00.001-05:00

Before Monday, what did I know about Green Bay? Winters are cold, they're known for their cheese, there's beer and of course the Green Bay Packers. Since then, I've discovered small business operations, the Green Bay Bullfrogs and a cook your own steakhouse.

In two days, I've learned a ton more about the way my company functions. I've also had job titles put in full perspective. What does an underwriter do anyhow? I now know! (They're not really the bad guy!!)

After work on Monday, the team ventured to a local brewery, which was located on the Fox River. What's so cool about the Fox River? It is one of a few that actually flows North! Who knew? No Monday could be complete without a Bullfrogs baseball game. The Bullfrogs team encompasses a number of college players who play during the off season and at times are recruited through scouts to the minors. The best part about the game was the seventh inning dizzy bat race between four of my coworkers. Classic!

Tonight our hotel suggested Prime Quarter Steakhouse for dinner. Twenty dollars gets you any one of a number of steaks including all you can eat salad, potato, and Texas toast. You have to cook the steak yourself or can pay two dollars for someone to do it for you. It was a fun experience, especially for one who often leaves grilling to the boys. Overall, I did well.

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Poison Oak Woes

2010-07-07T12:17:00.001-05:00

Imagine this, I now have more free time than I ever had in business school, but I write less now than I have in years. It isn't because I don't have anything going on. We all have events to discuss, yet I rarely write the thoughts on paper these days.

Work is going alright. I've enjoyed more business trips in the last four weeks than I ever thought I'd take in this role. Next week, my team is headed to Wisconsin, which means I can knock another state of the 50 off my list.

Last week as part of my training program we spent a day at a local charity, hanging out with underprivileged youth. It was a lot of fun however I managed to fish one too many soccer balls out of the poison oak ridden bushes. Needless to say, my leg looks absolutely discussing and additional patches have slowly developed since Saturday. I went to the doctor yesterday and received medication so I'm looking forward to feeling better. I can't take the 3a wake ups because I itch, am too hot or uncomfortable.

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New City Blues

2010-06-22T21:13:00.001-05:00

One aspect of business school, much like undergrad, that I took for granted is having a number of great friends within a 5 mile radius. There's always someone around if you need company for shopping. You can always convince someone to visit your favorite restaurant. There's someone else to push you to workout. And plenty more people for the hundreds of other activities you may imagine.

New cities are exciting and yet at times I miss the familiar feeling of the tried and true. I have yet to locate my favorite restaurant. My friends include my coworkers and roommate, and they are all moving by the end of August. My days consist of work and time in my apartment.

While I do enjoy relaxing, I miss having friends next door, knowing the names of nearby bars and having a preferred grocery store. I suppose right now I'm just having the new city blues. Hopefully that'll change this weekend as it is essentially my first full weekend in town since moving. Here's to new friendly faces - I want to meet lots of them.

The workout routine has begun, so I plan to be in soccer shape soon.

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Corporate Housing

2010-06-11T17:30:00.000-05:00

Let's face it, I live in a hotel. While a nice hotel, it is still weird carrying around an electronic card key instead of a physical key. More often than not, I ride the elevator with strangers who are getting off at any of the fourteen floors below me. Mornings in the elevator are quick, afternoons are often slow.

The best part: no rent or utilities. The worst: knowing I'll move from a two bedroom to a one bedroom in early September. (Nobody likes moving.)

My mail occasionally goes to the mailbox. Often times my red message light blinks to say I have a written message. I press 3 and speak to the front desk who nicely says I have mail to pick up. At first I thought this was because initially I was told not to put my apartment (I'm in a fully furnished apartment) number on my mail. Such is not the case as I picked up mail today, with the apartment number on it, at the front desk. I feel like the front desk associates should be good friends by the time I move out.

Trash is another interesting experience. My trash was overflowing last week and desperately needed to go out. But where do you take a trash bag? Turns out, you call housekeeping. Unfortunately, I had to call a couple times. It was eventually removed. Still odd in my book.

On another note, I got paid today! Woo hoo.

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Confidence

2010-06-08T19:27:00.003-05:00

One part of the MBA experience that I never anticipated is the amount of confidence I gained over the last two years. Prior to my MBA, I never would have doubted my confidence. However, it is amazing what furthering your education and testing your limits can do.

Darden is all about the case method. It's about learning, participating, asking questions and providing answers. It is active learning at its finest - engaging and challenging.

Although I had a short turnaround from graduation to full-time employment, I still managed to miss what was the first day of work for the rest of my team. I had to make up that day yesterday. I attended an event that recently changed its name from "Spirit of Success". It was all about learning who the company is, what they do and where they're going. The facilitators took us through the training in a method very similar to case-based learning. Needless to say, I felt right at home, consistently making comments to the diverse group of 80 new hires. During the second to last activity, a woman from a different table came up and asked me in which department I would be working. She proceeded to say that she was very impressed by my comments and level of participation. I couldn't help but smile and thank Darden.

House-Boyfriend

2010-06-03T07:13:00.001-05:00

I'm starting to understand why some women work while their significant other stays at home. I've lived the good life this week. My boyfriend isn't working yet and has chosen to spend his last days stateside with me in Louisville.

We've attended a number of dinners with various parts of my family. He's run errands with me and attempted to fix my table stand (before I accidentally broke it again). However, one of the best parts of having him around is breakfast on the table shortly after I've readied myself for work. I not only eat well before work but also get to enjoy those extra few moments with him before the workday begins. That said, this is short lived and I need to remind myself that it is only temporary.

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Graduation

2010-05-25T06:34:00.000-05:00

The last three days have been a blur. My family arrived in Charlottesville on Saturday evening. We met my boyfriend's family for dinner - a total of 13 of us. It went quite well given that was the first time everyone had met. Ivy Inn, a restaurant that is one of the many recruiting staples, did a fabulous job! I was initially worried by the 5 course price fix though the portions were good size and I actually didn't feel sick after dessert.

Sunday morning I attended the entire UVA graduation on the lawn. Though a cool experience, the ceremony was long and a little boring. The heat likely didn't help either as we were all preparing for rain. That afternoon, Darden also held their diploma ceremony. Not only am I now a graduate of the Darden School of Business, but I am also the proud holder of a piece of paper that says Faculty Award for Academic Excellence. I graduated in the top 10 percent of the class (which I only found out when my name was called). It is funny how you're entire mind goes blank when they call your name to receive the diploma. In the audience, you notice the extra woo hoos when names are called. Though on stage I heard nothing but the couple faint words the dean spoke as he shook my hand.

Sunday evening consisted of 5 classmates and their families at my boyfriend's for dinner. It was a great way to end an incredible two years.

After the long day of festivities, I woke early to pack my car. By 11.30a I was on I-64 West, headed for Louisville. Last night, I arrived to my new residence for the next 9 months - corporate housing in downtown Louisville. And now that I'm done with breakfast, I'm off to my first day at work.

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SF, Bahamas, Beach Week

2010-05-21T13:31:00.001-05:00

Honestly, I'm ready to be in one place again. Heading back to the Bay Area is always a highlight. I hadn't been home since Halloween, which may have been the longest sabbatical yet.

During my stay, the man and I ventured to Berkeley to see two of my first year friends at Haas. It is always interesting hearing about others' business school adventures. I don't want to say comparing, more so exchanging ideas and experiences.

I held a small Cinco de Mayo party at the house that allowed me to see two of my married friends and their young children. We also attended a wedding of one of my good friends since I was 15. Trips home always seem short these days and I feel there are always more people to see. With so many friends with young children, it has become harder and harder to coordinate nights out. I suppose the longer I am away, the more times change and I have to realize that.

The Bahamas was a great trip. The older I get, the more I revel in my parents' company. We ate well, drank good wine and enjoyed a couple nights on the dance floor. The weather was a bit windy though still gorgeous. BVB and I swam with the dolphins one afternoon before meeting up with the group to try the "not so lazy" river. We also convinced my dad to try every water slide with us.

After one night back in Charlottesville I drove to the Outer Banks in North Carolina for what is known as beach week. Houses that fit 6 to 30 people are rented along the beach by second year Darden students. Our house was a lot more low key than some of our classmates. Given that the weather wasn't great, we played lots of video and board games. Turns out the Wii and Rock Band on PS3 were the favorites. The Outer Banks truly signifies the end of Darden. Grad weekend is here! Let the rest of the festivities begin.

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Five Days

2010-05-20T20:04:00.002-05:00

In some alternate universe, I'd be looking forward to this weekend - planning excessive drunk nights out and thoroughly enjoying the fact that graduation is HERE! Beach week is over (more about that later) and I'm back in Charlottesville doing what I do best lately - packing, donating and cleaning. There will be 32 of us in attendance for graduation dinner on Sunday night. I have 4 cases of beer (12 bottles/case) and 1.5 cases of wine. Plus, I'm sure there will be some liquor. It should be a blast. However, I will likely be worrying about Monday morning more than enjoying Sunday night. Monday is the official kick off of the next adventure.

Monday morning I leave for Louisville, KY. Seven hours in the car later, driving West on 64 will put me in my new home for the next 9 months - the corporate apartments of a well-known hotel in downtown Louisville. Tuesday morning, I start fulltime employment! I suppose the end goal after two years of new friendships and intense learning is to return to the working world in some form or another. While I have aspirations of potentially becoming an entrepreneur later in life, I chose the big company route for immediately after business school. Besides one classmate, I have the earliest start date yet. It feels weird as I know most people are here for another week to pack up their belongings whereas I am almost out the door.

We have received emails about "De-Dardenization" which is essentially removing the Darden specific setup on our laptops and adding a new "Non-Darden" email to our alumni profiles. Two years ago this seemed so far away. Even when I returned home, no one could believe that it had actually been two years already. I keep thinking that work and the "real world" are so far away, until I realize it's a measly five days and they are fast approaching.

Thanks Clear Admit!

2010-05-10T05:51:00.003-05:00

This post is long overdue. However, I've been in San Francisco since May 3rd and am now off to the Bahamas, which will be followed by beach week in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

I'm pleased to say that I've been recognized yet again by Clear Admit and my peers. Thank you all. It is good to know that someone actually reads my blog, though I never anticipated I'd have a small following.

Check out all of this year's winners. Congrats to those who were and were not recognized. You all enrich this community.

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A Different Type of Celebration

2010-05-02T13:43:00.003-05:00

Classes finished on Thursday and I capped off my Second Year by attending the Leadership and Theater performance of "Morning After." This is the same course I took as a 5-day J-week where by the end, the group writes, casts, directs and performs an original play. It was quite amusing and fun to watch my classmates (and boyfriend ) perform. Unfortunately, instead of going out that night as many of my classmates did with the intention of getting heavily intoxicated and streaking the lawn (which is an old UVa tradition), I headed home and hit the pillow early. I needed to be alert to take my DAO final.

This weekend was also Darden Days, which is Darden's admitted students weekend. The temperature has hovered around 90 degrees and I've been stuck inside. My early start date and choice of galavanting prior to graduation means I'm packing this weekend. I'm not quite ready for reality and I'll admit I'm a bit bummed I've missed out on all the weekend's festivities. I recognize that this is mostly by choice as I have chosen to go spend a week in San Francisco (home) before the Second Year class invades the Outer Banks (in North Carolina) for beach week. But at the same time, I never imagined this is what it would be/ feel like.

Last night was LASA's legendary end of the year party. I was stuck in my closet folding suits, boxing dresses and generally removing all memory of my stint in Huntington Village. I suppose the celebration will have to come at a later time. Maybe once I finish packing and my 2000 word essay on Thomas Jefferson is completed.

Paramore

2010-04-29T11:10:00.003-05:00

One aspect of Charlottesville of which I've failed to take full advantage is the vast availability of great concerts. Music is quite prominent in Charlottesville. I'm not sure if it is because of the large university or the fact that Dave Mathews Band as well as many lessor known bands have started here. The Pavilion on the downtown mall hosts "Fridays After Five" every week, spotlighting local artists. The Pavilion also hosts a number of well known artists throughout the year. Scott Stadium hosted U2 in October 2009 and like all the other events I've mentioned, I missed this one too.

One other venue that is known as well for Cav's basketball as concerts is JPJ. I never attended a basketball game during my two years here. My first experience in JPJ was last night for the Paramore concert. We were the second stop on their tour, which includes Fun, Relient K and Paramore. Paramore was by far the best of the three and put on a great concert. Hayley Williams has an incredible voice (especially live!) and a ton of energy on stage. I was definitely impressed and happy to say I experienced a Charlottesville concert before my time in C'ville expires.

Follies

2010-04-25T10:56:00.003-05:00

I am not the first to post this... and likely won't be the last. However, this is why, Darden, the community, the faculty and the experience are so unique.

In the end, Follies is the culmination of the year. It is the stage that allows all of us to make fun of ourselves, Darden and everything MBA related. We laugh a lot! And I did laugh when I first saw the variety of faculty members willing to dance with David Shepro.

Now though, I'll admit, I get a little emotional when I watch this video. Even with my feeling of second year-itis, I still can't believe I'm fours days of class away from completing my MBA. We often joke in the halls about staying another year, with full knowledge that it would take a miracle to fail at this point. I'm going to miss this place and the people. Special thanks to Shep for reminding us why this place is so special!

Golf

2010-04-21T09:19:00.003-05:00

They say a lot of business is done on the golf course. However, I wouldn't exactly know given that I've never played the game...or even gone to the driving range. My former boss, who is just over 70 years, played anytime he could. He'd often return to the office and tell me to setup a new account for a new client or ready transfer instructions for an extra $1 million into someone's account.

Last week in my Hot Topics in Finance course we had a speaker from The Coca-Cola Company. Marie is head of Mergers and Acquisitions as well as a Darden grad. After the class, I attended lunch with Marie and somehow we started discussing golf. She thought that golf should be a business school elective at Darden. While my professor noted that it would never get approved, she stressed the importance of golf in the business world, especially for women.

Ironically, I have my third golf lesson this Thursday. NAWMBA (National Association of Women MBAs) put together groups of 12 people (max) for golf lessons at a local country club. We started with putting, moved to chipping and will finish with a full swing during the last two weeks. Granted, I'm not ready to go play a course, though I do vaguely understand the motions and how to hold a golf club. Further, I know that sand pits are actually called bunkers and all water is deemed water hazard. I can even differentiate between rough and green. While it will still take a lot of practice to get on a full course, maybe my brother's girlfriend, who coached college prep golf until 6 months ago, will provide some free lessons!

Chi-Town and the 2 Week Countdown!

2010-04-18T21:27:00.003-05:00

I spent this past weekend in Chicago, which is where my significant other is moving post-MBA. We thought that investigating where he wants to live before moving there would be a great idea. Needless to say, we've narrowed down the neighborhoods to two. We walked practically the entire city from Lincoln Park to South Loop and back again. We had amazing meals at the most random restaurants, browsed through a couple shops without purchasing anything and generally had an absolutely perfect weekend! Before we left for the trip, I felt a little bad that I was missing the second to last weekend of fun in Charlottesville. From two birthday parties to the Japan/Korean party, we missed a lot of festivities. Yet, I can say it was well worth it.

Now that I am back, my head has turned to the homestretch. We have 9 days left of classes! I sold my desk today, which was both an exciting and sad feeling. (Oddly enough, to yet another person who knew my step-cousin when he was in Hawaii with the Navy!) I aimlessly look around my apartment trying to decide what should stay and what should go. In my head, I think I have planned out my timeline of packing, moving and traveling before I start work and somehow I still feel unsure about it all. It's exciting, nerve-wrecking, happy, sad and basically a ball full of crazy - contradicting emotions.

I suppose the largest difference between my classmates and I is that they see the end as the beginning of a vacation, whereas I see the end as having to grow up, for good this time. Most people that have jobs start in July or later. I've heard dates as late as january 2010! I on the other hand, start May 25th - day two after graduation. It is hard to complain as I am fortunate to have a job with a well-established company. At the same time, while many people are planning their summer trips to Africa, Asia and the Middle East, I'm planning my move just short of 500 miles from Charlottesville.

Hot Topics in Finance

2010-04-15T08:40:00.003-05:00

Like most schools, Darden has a number of alumni who are either asked or volunteer to return to grounds to speak about their experiences in front of a second year class. Many of these speaker classes provide valuable information to students from life takeaways to how to deal with general problems that arise in day-to-day management. The speaker class I'm taking this quarter is called Hot Topics in Finance.

This is my first speaker class and it's been quite interesting. In the beginning of the course, we discussed if the "old finance" is wrong. Specifically, are business schools teaching the wrong thing? The next class discussed what the market outlook is from 2010 - 2012 and what we (as business school students) think are good investments given that outlook. We learned about the rubber commodities market. Then spoke at length regrading our expectations of the future regulatory environment, both needed and what is likely to be passed. Hedge fund compensation and predicting the future of AIG were our next two topics. We rounded out mid-quarter learning about distressed debt and analyzing future M&A activity for Houlihan Lokey.

The best part of the class is learning that as an individual, we are more conversant in these subjects than we think. The course is not about being right or wrong. It is about being able to read about a subject, have an opinion and then defend that opinion in a class full of peers.

Why doesn't John Adams have a monument?

2010-04-13T18:03:00.003-05:00

John Colley, the creator of the original reading seminar at Darden posed this question to my class today, why doesn't John Adams have a monument? We had just finished reading John Adams in my Thomas Jefferson reading seminar. We talked of Adams independence, of his relationships with his wife Abigail (remarkable woman!) and Thomas Jefferson, of his presidency and finally the years after. The book we read gave me great respect for John Adams, but no one could conclusively answer why it is that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson have monuments and John Adams does not. Some of our guesses were that Jefferson was a doer in contrast to Adams who was more of a caretaker. Adams' revolution was from the Stamp Act to 1776, whereas Jefferson's began in 1776 and included the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and the University of Virginia, among other things. Another interesting fact I learned this week was that both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Very eerie if you ask me!

One aspect of Darden that I love is that not every courses is function driven. The reading seminars were actually started 25 years ago by John Colley because someone had been asked in an interview what books they had written, to which they responded none. Initially, Professor Colley could not get the faculty to approve such a course, so 11 students took an independent study - read a book a week, wrote a paper about it and then discussed that book with the group for an hour. Since then, there are now three different reading seminars. The point of each is to discuss leadership and management in the context of the books we read. Each reading seminar has an annual capacity of 96 slots and is often full. We meet in groups of 12 to discuss the book assigned. Sometimes, we read a book in its entirety, often times, we read select chapters as designated by the professor (still totally 250+ pages per week). The difference between the traditional reading seminars and the TJ reading seminar is that the TJ seminar is held at the Colonnade Club on the Lawn of the main campus of UVa. Given the location, we are able to drink wine and eat cheese and crackers, as we discuss the book of the week.

I took the class as I felt that it would be a tragedy to leave Jefferson's university without knowing more about him and our Founding Fathers. I've succeeded in expanding my knowledge and would advocate people who are not history buffs to relearn the history of the United States. It is amazing what you fail to recall as the years pass.

Best of Blogging Nominees 2009-2010!

2010-04-12T08:56:00.002-05:00

A hearty thank you to Clear Admit and congrats to all my fellow bloggers! Clear Admit does the community a great service by not only recognizing bloggers, but also providing a space for the vast business school information available. Check out the post here: Best of Blogging Nominees 2009-2010!

MBA Games Continued

2010-04-09T09:35:00.003-05:00

I wrote this post earlier this week regarding Duke's MBA games. One of the best parts of Duke's MBA Games is the effort that Fuquavision puts into making videos to get everyone in the spirit of the games. The weekend definitely includes poking fun at different schools in a light-hearted and competitive way. How did they make fun of Darden you may ask... first, TJ! Yes, it's true, we love Thomas Jefferson at UVA! Could be worse! Second, for being gunners. While I think this is a little over the top, it was still entertaining. (See below)

By far the best videos of the weekend were the wrap up videos showing what we did throughout the course of the day. I almost didn't realize it was this fun!!

The sound is not working in this video:

DAO

2010-04-08T08:37:00.002-05:00

This is going to be the first post of three discussing my classes this quarter. I'd hate to admit how much time I spent looking at classes before the quarter began. Stockholm was a fantastic experience, however the classes were quite different than Darden. I'll admit, I drink the Kool-Aid. The case method is the best thing since sliced bread.

One of the courses I'm taking this quarter is called DAO - Data Analysis and Optimization. Decision Analysis (DA) is a core course at Darden that every first year must complete. It was one of my favorite classes, not only because it made sense to me, but also because for some strange reason, I think Excel is fun! DAO builds off of what we learned in DA. Specifically, the course teaches more about modeling optimization, hypothesis testing and regression analysis. There's even a Web Page of Fame for people who have successfully used DAO techniques during summer internships.

Most people take DAO during the fourth quarter of first year, when it is first offered as an elective. I did not take the course then as I preferred some other fourth quarter electives (Valuation, Global Financial Markets & Financial Reporting and Analysis) and knew I could take DAO at a later time. Darden's Class of 2011 had significant demand for DAO and given that the second year course had excess capacity, I have first year students in DAO with me. Most of the time, I don't notice it, but every once in a while someone makes a comment about "third quarter DA" and I start to wonder if I remember that far back. Great course, even if it is at 8a!

Duke MBA Games

2010-04-06T20:49:00.003-05:00

Football toss through a hula hoop
Cornhole
Crabwalk relay
Izzy Dizzy Bat Relay
Tug of War
Business Suit Relay (including 3-legged wheelbarrow race)
Business Suit Swim
5K

These are just some events that 15 schools including Darden participated in at Duke's MBA Games last weekend to raise money for the Special Olympics of North Carolina. Each team had a Special Olympian competing with them in various events. Duke also had two people dressed as superman/woman floating around all weekend. The day concluded with these two people belly flopping into the swimming pool in their superman/woman outfits. Duke did a great job balancing Special Olympic sports with pure business school sports. My only complaint is that the organizers did not pencil in a nap.

The 5K kicked off at 7a and my team decided to leave around 4:00p before the final event. It was a gorgeous day in Durham, though being out in the sun all day is tiring. I wish I could say we were more competitive than we were. Unfortunately, bigger and stronger helped in a number of these events. Izzy Dizzy bat was the funniest event as people went all over the place after spinning around, forehead to the bat, 10 times. I couldn't even balance enough to stand on both feet until someone finally kept me from falling over. Another member of our team ran completely diagonally, fell over and almost took out a video camera on his way back to the cone. Priceless! One of the hardest events was the business suit swim. Duke provided business suits. The relay was a team of 4, first person put on the suit and then had to do a lap in the pool (to the far side and back), once they returned to the starting side, they had to take off the wet suit and give it to the next member of the team. Turns out business suits provide a lot of drag, making it VERY hard to swim. Great fun and good laughs!

It was a great weekend, but I've been scrabbling to catch up ever since. Luckily, my world calms down tomorrow and I start golf lessons with members of NAWMBA on Thursday. Darden is competing in a large rugby tournament this weekend and I'm struggling to decide whether or not to go cheer them on... hmm.

From Collages

Darden 10-K

2010-03-31T11:52:00.003-05:00

Once upon a time, every year, Darden would produce its annual 10-K. This is not an annual report giving facts and figures about the school's finances and performance, but an annual yearbook for each class to remember the great moments of their time at Darden. Though I'm not exactly sure when, Darden stopped producing the 10-K until two of my classmates chose to resurrect it this year. Sounds fun huh?

The only difficulty is the yearbook photo. In order for all the pictures to be licensed to my classmates and generally similar in quality and size, they set up two full days of picture taking, starting today. My time slot was 9a-9:50a this morning. I must admit, deciding what to wear was a little nerve wrecking. Unlike social networking sites, this photo can't be updated or changed and likely, will be how people remember you for class reunions. Needless to say, after enough quality "girl" time, I decided that I didn't care anymore and a shirt/sweater combo was the outfit of choice.

What amused me even more was the operational procedures written out for volunteers helping with the registration and photo taking. They included what to do if different bottlenecks occurred - be it the registration desk or the cameras. I made a comment about the impressive nature of the procedures, to which the response was that they, based on an idea from another classmate, had used queuing theory to craft the instructions. Only an MBA!

Here was the setup:

From Collages

Record deal?

2010-03-30T19:31:00.003-05:00

There's a reason I don't sing karaoke. Let's say, the reason is as good for the public as it is for my self-esteem. Though today, I not only sang karaoke, but three of my classmates and I sang our own (or slightly changed) lyrics to instrumental versions of Kesha's Tik Tok and TI's Whatever You Like. As the four of us leaned over one mike, which actually had a screen, I felt confident that I could be drowned out. Then CD said this would sound better if each of us recorded the song solo. This allows our digital music master to change the vocal levels based on who nailed it and who didn't. Definitely a nightmare come true!

Regardless, the final version of both songs are fantastic. This is another item to add to the list of "things I never expected to do in business school." It also means that Darden will be a force with which to be reckoned at Duke's MBA games. CD ended up with a cameo appearance in Tik Tok - Darden style as none of us hit the chorus perfectly (and he sounds better than we do). All it took to complete this masterpiece was a little bribery - via beer! Most students' weak spot.

I will admit, CD's studio is incredible. Guitars, drums, keyboards and all the equipment needed to record a song. Very cool!! And a BIG THANK YOU to our artist and master. I'm not looking for a record deal this week...though the team is thinking music video + follies would be fantastic!

From Collages

Pause for Reflection

2010-03-29T21:14:00.002-05:00

I find it interesting that these days I seem to pause more than normal. A month from tomorrow, I will officially be done with school, again. I say again as the very first post of this blog was from the day I graduated college. At that time, I wasn't sure if I would ever return. I'm not sure I appreciated education as much as I do today. Funny how things change.

This weekend, five of my classmates and I will embark on an adventure - Duke's MBA Games. Approximately 15 schools will compete to help raise funds for Special Olympics. In all honesty, I'm not sure exactly what we're competing for (besides charity, obviously), but it should be fun nonetheless. In participating in the MBA games, I've consciously decided not to partake in BGIA - which was an absolutely amazing time last year. I guess this year, I wanted a new adventure. Additionally, what better way to bond with classmates?!

And bonding has begun... On Friday, those of us attending Duke's MBA games have to do a cheer/skit/dance to essentially introduce ourselves. I invited everyone in our group over for dinner and drinks (because liquid courage helps all brainstorming events) to decide on a cheer/skit/dance. Needless to say, we picked a couple songs, replaced some lyrics and tomorrow will become singers under Darden's very own producer, CD! CD is a musician, has a band and can do incredible things with everything from voice over to powerpoint. As we struggled through finding the right words and number of syllables, I thought, I'm going to miss this - and these people. Granted I'm still 100 pages short on my Thomas Jefferson Reading Seminar, but you can't replace these good moments of smiles and laughter. This blog has helped me pause over the last two years and I'm thankful. Otherwise, the time may have simply flown by.

Graduation Prep

2010-03-24T08:44:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Darden's Class of 2010 had a mandatory graduation meeting. I use the term mandatory loosely as there was no attendance taken and it was clear part of the class was missing. Items covered included beach week, the annual pig roast, ceremonies at UVA and Darden, and picking faculty marshals and a student speaker. As I sat there and looked around the room, I recognized a lot of familiar faces. Then it hit me, in approximately six weeks, I'm done with school. Tag on another three and I'll not only be a graduate, but also working again. Where did the two years go?

My classmates and I banter about staying longer, fully knowing it'd be next to impossible not to graduate at this point. One of my classmates is headed to the law school next year, for the next three. While excited for him, we wonder how much debt he actually wants to accumulate. I've received a couple notes from people who have either accepted or declined their offers to be admitted to the Class of 2012. I still remember that day jumping around like you wouldn't believe. Then of course, there's all the planning that follows to move.

At times, I'm excited for the next step. I'm still surprised that I'm not returning to the Bay Area. Yet, every time I meet someone new who is from SF, has lived in Colorado or spent a good deal of their life in Atlanta, it reminds me why taking advantage of living in a variety of places is great. It allows you to instantly connect with so many people.

On a separate note, I'm taking the Thomas Jefferson reading seminar. I figured I should know more about our Founding Fathers and this incredible President before I leave his homeland. It also has me thinking that maybe it is time to explore more of the US. With less time off in the near future, this may prove to be a grand idea.

Welcome Back to Cville

2010-03-18T17:37:00.002-05:00

It's been an absolute insane couple of days. I had my final presentation for Psychology of Financial Markets on Monday. Afterwards, I took my last jaunt around Stockholm. Saluhall - still the best blueberries I've ever had! Chokladfabriken - AMAZING dark chocolate hot chocolate! I contemplated bringing some back to the states though I thought better of it. Packing and cleaning didn't take too much effort. I had a couple goodbyes, though some friends were still traveling through Europe. I was surprised about some of the cute notes I received. It's amazing how you can bond with people after only 2 months! Plus, I now have more people to visit around the world, and I definitely will!

Tuesday afternoon, I arrived in Washington DC to the smiling face of my boyfriend. We took a trip to Costco and he poked fun at how wide-eyed I looked. I guess I didn't realize it, but I was definitely looking around more than normal. That night, we attended Darden's quarterly mustache competition. I don't think I've been to one since first year. Very entertaining and definitely some dedicated mustache contestants.

Wednesday kicked off Q4 for me! No break. No rest. No moment to unpack! It's been full steam ahead. I've finally decided which class I'm going to drop with the reason that the class I'm keeping has no final exam. Instead, a quarter long group project will be presented the last two days of class. There's something to be said for being done as early as possible given that I'm starting work so early. Trying to maximize what little time I get off!

Best aspect of being back: SPRING WEATHER! It's been 65-70+ since I landed and I couldn't be happier about it. I've seen many familiar faces and gotten numerous comments welcoming me back. When people ask me about the experience, I'm not sure what else to say other than, it was great. I'm still adjusting and maybe in a week I'll have a appropriate reflection. Back to the books!

Local

2010-03-15T06:18:00.003-05:00

It always takes a few months to settle into a new place and a new city. By the time I finished my stay in Atlanta this summer, I think I had started to get the hang of it. And here, I'm feeling the same way. I'm a creature of habit, especially in my eating habits. Once I've found something I like, no, love, it's hard for me to switch. As I get older, I've gotten better about being adventurous. Regardless, there's an amazing sandwich shop two doors down from my apartment building. I've been there multiple times by now, so I figured I should order one last sandwich before I leave. Most the staff is the same day-in and out, but there's one guy in particular who knows exactly what I like. Over the last week he's started my sandwich (as I like it "toasted") before I really order it. Today, he was my server and asked if I wanted "the usual." I confirmed and felt a little funny as I was going to walk out that door, not to be back tomorrow or even the day after. By the time I do return, and I plan on it, he likely won't be there and no one will know that once I felt I like a local.

Off to my presentation meeting. Four hours of school left.. then I continue to pack and clean.

31 hours and counting

2010-03-14T18:11:00.003-05:00

It's just after midnight in Stockholm and my flight to the US leaves at 7a on Tuesday morning. I can't believe this adventure is basically over! Tomorrow I have a presentation to do and besides that, it's packing and cleaning. Last night, I started putting all my dirty clothes in a suitcase - reality set in, I'm going home for my last quarter of business school. Wow!

Unlike my classmates who have been gallivanting in exotic places like China, Egypt, Costa Rica and Bahrain for spring break, this past week I have been working to complete all SSE schoolwork before I leave. Besides all the group projects, for Leadership, I had to write a case with analysis that is not technically due until March 19th. However, my goal has been not to take any SSE homework with me to Darden. So I spent Friday night writing my leadership case and went to bed at 7:30a on Saturday morning. Needless to say, the last 3 paragraphs made little sense and had to be rewritten prior to submission. That said, it's done and I'm almost done.

I arrive in Charlottesville at the end of Day 1 of Q4 classes, meaning I miss Day 1. I'm still struggling to narrow down my schedule too. I need four classes to graduate and there are six I would like to take. Currently, I am registered for five, knowing that I need to drop one by the end of this week. I'm hoping that I'll walk out of one of the classes with the insight - this isn't for me.

In the meantime, I'm wrapping up a PPT presentation, thinking about putting a couple more items in my suitcase and enjoying the crisp air that is coming in through my cracked window. 31 hours and counting...

Amazing Day in Stockholm

2010-03-12T12:06:00.003-06:00

I just finished the $12 blueberries I purchased at Saluhall this afternoon. Likely pricey, though I'd argue they're some of the best blueberries I've ever had. There again, I don't recall the last day I had blueberries.

After yesterday's productive 15 hour day and my crazy busy week of schoolwork, I decided to take the afternoon off. I definitely got up later than I anticipated, but managed to have the usual Panini sandwich for lunch. There, I ran into two people from Darden who are here on the Sweden GBE for spring break. Small world!

Since I've been in Sweden, I hadn't done any shopping or really much wandering around since the first couple of weekends. There's at least four H&M stores within a block of each other. I've seen at least three Zara stores scattered around. And there are many boutiques and department stores in Central Stockholm. So I figured, today was the day! I was actually going to purchase a souvenir, so that I'm not only declaring schoolbooks (and some clothes I purchased in London).

I grabbed my camera "just in case." It's been an absolutely beautiful week in Stockholm, which contrasts to this Barcelona GBE. As I walk around, Stockholm looks different. Previously frozen canals are now mostly running water with random chunks of ice. There are more people here too. I notice handfuls of tourists. And generally, people are walking around, enjoying the sun.

H&M was a bust. I scored two tops at Zara. I purchased a "very Swedish" necklace by Sno of Sweden. And capped off my multi-hour and multi-mile adventure with delicious hot chocolate and treats for later by Chokladfabriken. Amazing is the only way I know how to explain the day. Check out the photos below! Also, I finally updated this post with photos.

Winding Down

2010-03-11T18:07:00.003-06:00

It's shortly after 1a and I'm just returning from a 15 hour group meeting. During those 15 hours, my group changed locations three times. We stopped for lunch, which means everyone simply brought take-out to home base. Between our first and second move, we grabbed snacks (fika). Subsequently, I skipped dinner and have since realized that I have VERY little food left. Two handfuls of Cheerios killed the box. Now I've moved on to carrots and spinach. While I'm sure your interest doesn't lie in my late night dietary habits, I'm a bit spent!

This quarter abroad is truly winding down. My flight to the US is within grasp - 4 more days! I turned in my Psychology of Financial Markets study today. My Leadership (today's group) is complete by my standards. Now I have one more leadership project to prep, which actually isn't due until March 19th, though I'd prefer to leave all SSE schoolwork in Stockholm rather than trying to manage SSE work and Darden work concurrently. Besides that, my final presentation for Psych. is on Monday and by the end of that day, my bags will be packed for greener pastures (literally).

While 15 hours straight and multiple project days is never fun, I've learned a lot about my Swedish/German classmates in the last week. To a certain extent, I could almost say I've had fun. Further, now having completed two theoretical papers/studies, I do have an appreciation for all the theory I claimed to despise (I think that was two days ago!). Don't anticipate this as me saying I like it, but more that I have an understanding of it. Additionally, today's editing task was a test of my ability to write clear, concise sentences. The things we do for word count! I had flashbacks of business school essays and remembering that it's much easier to cut than add.

I think at this point my tea has cooled, my bed is calling and tomorrow will bring more activities to wind down my days in Sweden. Just a couple more days left in this chapter.

Theory

2010-03-09T14:17:00.004-06:00

SSE has been an interesting contrast to Darden. Most of what we read at SSE is theoretical papers. Even our texts are based, at least partially, around theory. The most I can remember about theory at Darden over the last 1.5 years is finance. Should we use a risk-free rate of 10 years or 30 years? Most of the time, our professor would point to theory (though logically any valid argument would allow you to use either on a test), while many people going into finance would ask for practicality. Beyond that, I don't recall a lot of theory (however it is possible that it's embedded in our tech notes and I never noticed).

I don't want to say theory is bad, as it is obviously important for parts of practicality. Though I will say, it's extremely boring and I'd rather have the two page recap instead of the 20 page dissertation. One of my Booth friends mentioned that they do theory all the time. All I thought was, thank heaven I didn't apply there! I'm not sure if I could have handled it. Plus, I find that I actually enjoyed classes at Darden (yes, they get boring at times), but overall, I learned a lot. Here, I'm convinced I've learned something (at least that's what my latest exam says), however, the practical application of all this theory just seems silly to me.

What's even more annoying is in two out of my three group projects, our final paper is a form of theoretical dissertation. Thus, we need to find old theories to cite that will complement our new theory or findings. While I think it's important to cite what others think, I think it's even more important to learn to say what you think. It's true, not all thoughts are based on evidence, though it seems SSE would like them to be.

One thing I've accomplished - a talent at searching Google Scholar for articles.

Seven more days until I'm return to the US and Darden's case method. It's absolutely flown.

Swedish Lappland

2010-03-08T03:18:00.004-06:00

The adventure started on Thursday night. Between the bus and two trains, it took roughly 18 hours to get to Kiruna, Sweden. We arrived, three hours later than anticipated. We were picked up by an LKAB bus that took us to the iron ore mine that is effectively the reason for Kiruna’s existence. We went over 500 meters down into the ground to a showroom that describes much of who LKAB is and why this mine in particular exists. Very cool and a great way to start off our trip. Even crazier is the fact that the town of Kiruna will be moved soon as there's a little cracking several hundred meters below the surface that no one knows what will happen if LKAB continues to drill further down.

After 18 hours of traveling which of course included a couple adult beverages on the train, everyone was beyond starving. We stopped in an area that I’d equate to a small American strip mall that had more restaurants than shops. A handful of the 40 exchange students decided on pizza for lunch. Turns out, ordering pizza to go infers that you receive a discounted price and thus are not allowed to eat it inside the restaurant. So we took the pizza to the bus and ate it there. It definitely hit the spot!

Thirty minutes later, the group arrived at the original Ice Hotel. It was different than I expected as I assumed the hotel would be in the middle of nowhere. Our guided tour highlighted why the hotel started, the fact that their church (which only really exists for 5 months out of the year) is the fourth most popular in Sweden, and the hotel is different every single year. Traditional rooms are rather boring, but the art suites is where indivudal artists apply to create something new. Unfortunately, the hotel had a power outage, so none of the suites were lit up. Instead, the best way to decipher the “art” was to take a picture. I’ll admit, I’m happy I saw it, but I definitely didn’t need to stay the night. Brrr…

We arrived at our hotel just in time for dinner – another 2 hours on the bus from the Ice Hotel. The food was absolutely amazing – every day – all meals! That night, we were given one piece ski suits, warm gloves and warm shoes. After dinner, a number of us went outside to the snow covered (approx 2 feet) lake and played in the snow. Saturday was busy – including making the base for Sunday’s snow sculptures, dog sledding, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. I did not partake in the last event, however, everyone who did said it was a blast!! Sunday morning started with half of us going to a reindeer farm to feed, lasso and drive a reindeer sled. Overall, an incredible trip! Though I didn’t complete nearly as much homework as I anticipated. Will hopefully post pictures later.

Trade Offs

2010-03-04T03:47:00.002-06:00

Life is about trade offs. Business school is about trade offs. Every decision or inaction is about trade offs. I chose to spend Q3 in Stockholm instead of Charlottesville. I signed for a job I wanted fully knowing I would be in a different city than my boyfriend after business school and that I would start within days of graduation, instead of August 2010 like most my classmates.

My most recent trade off is attending a close friend's wedding instead of a soccer tournament in Vegas. While I'm sure those don't seem equal to most, the Vegas tournament has been one of the highlights of the last two years. And as silly as this sounds, not being in SF makes it harder to go, so I don't want to fall off the invite list completely. But of course, it's not fun to disappoint friends and thus, I will be there to congratulate one of my close friends for the last 12 years on his wedding day. Did I mention his bride-to-be doesn't like me? Though I'm hoping after 9 years, we can try first impressions once again.

The Grocery Store Challenge

2010-03-03T15:43:00.002-06:00

Living in the heart of Stockholm has its perks. One is that everything seems to be within walking distance including grocery stores, which these days, I seem to visit more and more often. My fridge is the size of a fridge in a traditional US college dorm. And now that I think about, it may be even smaller than my fridge at Colorado. Regardless, it's small and I share it with another person, complicating the fact that very little fits in it. Thankfully, some items are smaller here. Milk is purchased in liters instead of gallons. Eggs can be bought in packs of six (I know this is similar to the US). And I seem to live on small Dole packs of spinach and carrots.

Luckily, I live very close to four grocery stores. Lidl is literally next door to my building. Coop Konsum is a block and half away. ICA is 3-4 blocks in the opposite direction and Hemkop is roughly a mile away. Lidl is known to be CHEAP - and what comes with cheap is slightly defunct produce and a need for a high level of patience. Coop Konsum, while much nicer in appearance and products is not as nice in price. I still haven't been to ICA though it seems like the middle ground between the other two. Further, the store supposedly has NONFAT milk (all others carry 0.5% fat). Hemkop is a store that supposedly has anything you would want, though I've been in, I've never purchased anything - likely do its distance from my house.

Given that markets here have a very limited selection of items compared to supermarkets in the US, I find myself more and more wanting to go to TWO grocery stores. Sometimes the reason is price, while other times I simply like different products at different stores. This is such a new phenomenon for me as I typically go to ONE store for a week's worth of food versus multiple stores every 2-3 days because I don't have room for much. RetailRelay, a grocery delivery service in Charlottesville, has one of its value propositions as the fact that they'll go to multiple specialty shops so that you don't have to. I never quite understood that... until now.

One other item I'd like to draw attention to is cereal. I LOVE cereal. Some days, out of choice, I'll have cereal for multiple meals. In the states, I've gotten good at pinpointing cereals with high fiber and relatively low sugar. This is in contrast to Sweden, where I've pretty much decided almost all cereals have lots of sugar. I can't quite figure out if part of that is because the measuring system is different (servings tend to be noted per 100g instead of cups) or they simply like more sugar. Even my relatively "healthy" cheerios are sweeter here. It's a bit odd.

First item of business when I return to the US - COSTCO! Simply because I can. ;)

Long Day

2010-03-02T12:19:00.000-06:00

I walked into the house and thought thank goodness it is empty. Now I'd like to point out that there is NOTHING wrong with my roommate. I've just been going nonstop since 6a when I continued my studying for today's leadership-decision making exam. Sometimes it is nice to return to the silence of home and simply put your feet up.

I also received a letter from mom today. All I could think of is she's as scatter brained as I am. Maybe that's where I get my unending random thoughts. And as always, it is good to get mail.

One of the two projects that is due next Wednesday is practically complete. The other is started though we need to complete some data analysis before writing our section about results. I suppose I could start the section regarding how we collected data. My third group project that is due next week will hopefully have a big dent tomorrow. It seems all my classes are converging on the same due dates and it doesn't help that I'm leaving this weekend. The good news about Lappland is that I can't imagine a reason for spending prolonged periods of time outside, by choice.

Time for dinner and ideally the gym, though I'd almost prefer a nap. Two weeks until I return to the US - a very exciting and scary thought. The last quarter is almost here.
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Rapidly Moving

2010-02-27T08:45:00.004-06:00

The world seems to move so quickly these days. The once snow laden streets are actually clear for once! It could be the fact that yesterday hovered above 0 degrees Celsius for the first time since I've been in Stockholm. Needless to say, white snow is now dirty slush and I can actually see some of the streets! Very strange.

I completed my Professional Service Firms module take-home case last night. It was odd to have an exam case that had no time limit and simply a 2,000 word limit. I likely spent much longer than the typical 5 hours (Darden exam length) on it, which put me in bed close to 6a. Not that my schedule has ever been "normal" here, but it could be better. Though tonight's Alice in Wonderland Party in the school's rotunda (aka school's bar) will likely have me up late again.

This coming weekend is Lappland - think cold, ice hotel, dog sledding and reindeer lassoing! Should be a blast, however I have three concurrent group projects to complete by March 10th. Basically this means that this week is going to be SUPER busy.

There's a bunch of Darden GBEers coming to town on March 7th who want to explore the city. This means they'll want us to go out with them. What's even scarier is March 7th means that I have just over 11 days until I'm home. It'll be bittersweet. I'm ready to venture back to the world of full-size fridges, my boyfriend and 24 hour stores, however, I also wonder how great this place is during the summer. So much to do, so little time. I best make sure that I enjoy these moments as May will be here before I know it - including graduation and back to the working world.

Left Brain/ Right Brain

2010-02-25T14:07:00.000-06:00

Naturally, I'm left handed. Though my boyfriend likes to call me a broken left handed person as I throw and hit right handed. I eat, write and play pool left handed. I've never swung a golf club (to be changed in April 2010), but can only assume I'll be more comfortable doing that right handed. Urban legend says left handed people are more creative, though honestly I'm not sure if that is correct and if it is, what that means for strange people like me.

The real story here isn’t what hand I write with, but is what side of the brain we use most often as MBAs. We had a fascinating talk about creative leadership on Tuesday with anecdotes about creative right brain thinkers versus analytical left brain thinkers. The world we live in is very structured and linear - made for the left brain. Though there's something to be said for being creative and drawing boundaries differently - right brain thinking. Isn't that what innovation is anyhow?

Our professor posed a question to us. Often it is assumed that business school students leave business school left brain heavy, so do we think business schools do enough to make us balanced? I can't say a lot for SSE though I can note that classmates had mixed opinions. What I can say is about Darden. Darden allows each individual to design their own structure during second year. Are there opportunities to do right brain activities? Definitely. Are we forced to take advantage? No. I think about my "design" or you could call it "accidental design" and I couldn't be happier. I've written, directed and acted in play. Essentially, I participated in a 6 week book club, reading a book a week and then meeting classmates to discuss it. Tactical Leadership was one of those classes that forced an individual to be creative during role playing. And System Design and Business Dynamics was about visually modeling systems and then initiating changes to make a new system. My point is that we often laugh about the "fluffy" courses at business schools. But some of these courses are where we learn the most or at least, where we balance ourselves out the most. A classmate of mine recently write this post discussing a lot of what I'm talking about here, though in a different context.

Here's a list of which side controls what:

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS

uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS

uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

New Expectations

2010-02-24T03:19:00.002-06:00

It is 10a on Wednesday and I have approximately 29 hours until my first midterm. However in those hours I need to attend two classes and get a full night's rest. At Darden, I know what to expect in terms of tests. For the most part you never need to review more than an hour if you diligently did your work over the course of the quarter. Further you typically are always allowed to use your notes, a benefit that I feel matches the real world.

Here at SSE, I'm not sure what to expect. This Psychology of Financial Markets test will have 15 multiple choice questions, which I hated in college, and short answer questions where on must answer 2/5. I assume the questions will surround all the theory we've discussed however we've been speculating what the professor could actually ask - be it study details, hypotheses, conclusions or simply who performed the study.

I've read the material but it doesn't feel like it is sticking. Here's hoping that changes and that the test isn't as hard as it looks 29 hours away.

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Why the Case Method Works?

2010-02-19T08:05:00.001-06:00

At SSE, I'm taking a course in Leadership that is segregated into three modules - leadership, decision making and professional service management. I'll admit the decision making module has lacked applicability to the business world. However, the professional services management module has been very interesting and informative.

Prior to business school, I worked in a PSF (professional services firm) and after school, I'm set to join another PSF in a different realm. So maybe this is why I'm interested. Part of the module included various assignments that essentially add up to reading Managing the Professional Service Firm by David Maister in its entirety. Some of the information seems like common sense to me though I'd likely have difficulty articulating it on my own.

One of the anecdotes in the book regarding motivation struck a chord. The author was describing how to achieve excellence in client service. He compared this to losing weight - "They know and want the goal, they believe it is worth the effort, they know what to do - but, like all human beings, they are very bad at incurring short-term discomfort to achieve a long-term goal. People are terrific at postponing diets. Do they feel guilty? You betcha! Are they likely to change? Not unless they're forced to!" He proceeds to explain that guilt alone doesn't change people, but the right degree of embarrassment does. Then he gives the example of having your weight announced to tell a group of people, the same people every week. May create some self-discipline and motivation, huh? Finally in order to achieve excellence his opinion is that a system must be designed that doesn't simply leave individuals to their best intentions.

I connect this to the case method because in undergrad, I did what it took to get decent grades. Be it cramming for a final or pulling an all nighter to finish a paper I had a month to write. I think each of us understands the pitfalls of procrastination and the rewards of doing a little work daily instead of leaving it until the last minute. Yet, until the system changed for me, a la the case method, I didn't have the motivation for the daily work. There's enough risk of embarrassment that while at times people gamble that they won't be the 1 in 67 that is cold called, for the most part, work is done and the entire class is better off for it. In contrast, I've found myself reverting to bad habits at SSE. While I could blame it on the bookstore, I should be finished with Maister's book instead of on page 200. In my opinion, the case method is an incredible system that helps elevate the learning potential of the students. Without Darden I never would have realized what I was missing.

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Entrepreneurship

2010-02-18T07:10:00.006-06:00

As an MBA, I tend to be impressed by friends with an entrepreneurial spirit. I wrote this post in December 2008 regarding a friend who wrote and self-published a book. Recently, she has been picked up by Amazon Publishing and her book has been relaunched under a new cover. Further, she's taken it upon herself to open Waverly's Honey Shop. I'm very excited for her and more importantly, impressed how someone can put their mind to something and succeed.

On a different note, a high school classmate who has always been interested in musicals and theater has written and directed The Gilded, a new musical which opens in San Francisco tonight, Feb 18th. This blog has a video preview of the musical. Again, I'm impressed by the dedication and candor of this person who used to be a teammate for various projects.

This brings me to one of the classes I'm taking here at SSE, Ideation. We have a group assignment due next week where we have to interview a local entrepreneur and find out about their idea generation and business plan process. I find that some people find a love and work on it for years, like my friend who wrote the musical. Some people happen upon an idea, like my friend the author. The business owners we interviewed here in Sweden are what I would describe as a serial entrepreneurs. They already own an interior design firm and are in the process of making a TV show about design. In November 2008, they were on vacation in Nice, France and fell in love with an olive oil shop. Thinking the concept would transfer well to Sweden, they asked to speak to the shop owner who agreed to franchise the shop. Most of our conversation was with the manager of the shop, and it was interesting to get her opinion on what their target market should be, compared to what the entrepreneurs thought it was when they began. Additionally, the entrepreneurs targeted a location due to the affluence and education of the potential customers. Turns out, Swedes don't know as much about olive oil as those in greater Europe and approximately 60% of the products purchased from the store are gifts. Regardless of challenges, the concept is still quite interesting and the story had my attention.

Every week in Ideation, we have to come up with a new business idea. It doesn't have to be a new invention, but a new innovation. Little tweaks to the value proposition of current products/ services suffices. Listening to the stories of these entrepreneurs helps put into perspective that anyone can be an entrepreneur and everyone has ideas. I'll admit though, after 4 weeks of solid ideas, they're new ideas have become much harder.

Maximum Email

2010-02-16T10:08:00.003-06:00

Those who follow my blog know that I recently posted a ploy to entice readers to help me with my Psychology of Financial Markets survey. Needless to say, we hadn't received enough responses from within Sweden, so I went ahead and sent an email from my SSE account to 200 SSE email addresses. Turns out a number of them failed, but regardless, it reached a decent sized audience. Consequently, I am also not allowed to send another recipient large (or maybe even small) email for next 24 hours as I've hit the quota! I find it funny as 200 people is only a portion of Darden's Class of 2010! I can't imagine if Darden limited us to that many recipients in a 24 hour period. It was bad enough that Darden's mailboxes had a 100MB quota last year. The first years don't know what they're missing without receiving the "Warning: You've Exceeded Your Quota" email once a week!

Also, I didn't congratulate the Class of 2012 admits!! It's a very exciting time for you all and please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. I recently wrote a novel to an admit about Darden, why I chose the school, what the case method is like etc. My fellow classmates and I are here to help!

Paris

2010-02-15T08:46:00.002-06:00

Last weekend, I spent the last of my planned weekend adventures in Paris with my parents, grandmother and a family friend. I've been to Paris a couple of a times though I haven't quite seen the sites that most tourists have. You could likely say that I've become a better tourist over the years and that traveling with other "good tourists" has made me better.

To this day, I'm still surprised how all the Parisians stay thin. The decadence of the food is stunning. I think I definitely had dessert nightly as well as another course or two with it. I've decided, I'm a fan of small portions as I'd prefer to taste a little of everything than get a large portion of one item. The most decadent of all was Valentine's dinner with the family, which was a six course meal, prix fixe. The appetizers included gnocchi and lobster salad. The main courses were line-fished seabass and veal medallions wrapped in ham. Dessert was a chocolate cake-type dessert, a lemon tasting dessert and a coffee/chocolate cracker dessert. Finally, the restaurant gave us chocolate truffles, which I asked to take home. I was STUFFED! The food was fantastic and my goal now is to learn how to make crepes from the French exchange student on my floor!

Even though it was quite cold in Paris (similar temperature to Stockholm), we still did a lot of walking. My dad and I wandered around two floors of the Louvre for close to three hours. Afterwards, we decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Elysee. While religious art is a staple of the Louvre, I much preferred the Musee d'Orsay, which is the impressionist museum. Great photos and an excellent Van Gogh exhibit. The last day, my mom, dad and I went to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur, which is very fun if you like to see artists working right in front of you.

It was a wonderful trip and I still love Paris! I'm happy not to be packing for this weekend though. I desperately need to do my laundry, which is on today's agenda. Also, I'm swearing off sweets for a while and will be in the gym daily.

Below is a collage of photos from Rome, London and Paris:

From Collages

Survey Help

2010-02-12T16:54:00.001-06:00

I'll be honest, this is a shameless plug for a study my group is conducting for our Psychology of Financial Markets class. If you have a couple extra minutes (and would like the chance to win an Amazon giftcard), please go to ONE of the links below (your choice) and fill in the appropriate information by Feb 16th.

Survey Link: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEh4UEJqN1VxV00zUm51QXhVdktsdEE6MA

Survey Link: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDV6MFhVNXdXay04VHR4Q2U4MW9ZMlE6MA

*only fill out the survey once otherwise you'll skew our results.

Thank you for your help!!

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Travel Made Complicated

2010-02-09T14:39:00.003-06:00

Every so often, snow on the opposite side of the world ruins your day. I suppose this is not a common occurrence for most, but by golly am I unhappy with the snow gods today. This weekend I'm set to go to Paris, where my parents, grandmother, and grandmother's friend have already arrived. My boyfriend was prepared to leave DC tonight. However after the 2 feet of snow received this past weekend and an anticipated 5-10 inches on its way, British Airways decided to cancel tonight's flight, this morning. BUMMER!

For personal reasons, he was already headed home on Friday, so we were down to a measly 26 hours (or so) together in Paris. Theoretically, 6 of those we're set aside for sleeping. Needless to say, the cancellation of the flight has led his entire trip to be cancelled. While I'm excited to see my family, I was also looking forward to seeing him as this was our one trip planned during my quarter abroad.

This cancellation also had me spend at least 4 hours on the phone today with various travel providers - Orbtiz, British Airways and the people with whom we had our hotel reservation. At least Facebook provided mindless entertainment as I listened to hold music. And another shout-out to SKYPE! Less than six dollars allows me to call any landline or mobile in the US - that came in handy today! Plus, adding credit to my account made phone calls to France quite simple and cheap.

I suppose I should start my homework now... need to come up with a business idea for ideation. Maybe a personal assistant to coordinate cancelled travel.

Purchasing of all things... Razor Blades

2010-02-08T06:15:00.003-06:00

It's abundantly clear that I should have brought more razor blades with me. It seems that the bathroom setup and two of us showering at least once a day is leading my razor blade to rust. I contemplated having my boyfriend or parents bring new blades to Paris as I will see them there later this week. Quickly, I realized that just seems silly and I should see what they have here.

The grocery store had a number of razors hanging on the wall, but no packages of blades. I asked the woman at the counter if they carried blades and she pointed me in the direction of a touch-screen kiosk where you select what you want and receive a "receipt" that is then scanned with your remaining purchases. From there, there is another machine after the checkout counters where you scan this "receipt" and it drops your blades in a vending like fashion. Given that my Swedish is worse than my French, I couldn't read the machine instructions and did my best to understand what I was supposed to do. I finally got the "receipt" to scan, but couldn't figure out why the vending door below was still empty. After asking for some help, the clerk opened the vending door NEXT to the one where I scanned my "receipt" and handed me my purchase. It just seemed silly that the blades ended up in the machine next to me that had no scanner. Oh well, I was successful, albeit not without feeling a bit foolish.

London

2010-02-07T11:05:00.002-06:00

If it wasn't for the crap exchange rate, this city's prices would be on par with the US. Unfortunately, such is not the case.

As most readers know, my roommate at Darden is British (not to be confused with my Chinese roommate from Chicago GSB in Stockholm). This was my first trip to the UK, nonetheless London, which is likely sad as I think I'm 25% English. I emailed my roommate for the must-do list as I know a weekend is a short time to visit a city this large. Between her recommendations and my good friend from college who recently moved here with her husband, the itinerary was packed.

We saw a number of sites including St. Paul's Cathedral, Tate Modern, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, London Eye, Tower of London and plenty of shops! We even took a trip to Windsor to see Windsor Castle (very cool!).

One thing I was overly impressed with was the selection of food. Friday night we ate at a local Lebanese restaurant which was delicious. We followed dinner by picking up dessert at a local bakery - also yummy! Saturday morning kicked off with breakfast at My Old Dutch Pancake House where I had a crepe thin pancake with apples, bananas, and nuts. I'd like to export the restaurant to the US, though in the meantime, I'm looking for a good Dutch pancake/ crepe recipe. Dinner on Saturday night was at Wagamama, a noodle bar that seems to have Thai inspiration. It is a cross between a sit down restaurant and fast food. It is also another restaurant that would be well received in the states. And speaking of sending food across the pond, sounds like Chipotle is opening in London around May.

What trip to London is complete without purchasing discounted show tickets? None, so we saw Wicked on Saturday night. Great show as well as a good way to keep me out of the pubs because I know next week is going to be full of wine in Paris!

I was shocked at how many stores I saw that aren't mass marketed in the US. I broke down and purchased skinny jeans at Uni Qlo, a Japanese store that has plenty of staples at "reasonable" prices. Spending a total of two months in Europe, it only seemed fitting to purchase skinny jeans. My friend in London even converted to leggings - still not sure about those.

Overall, a fantastic trip to a very cool city. I'd definitely return, though might wait until I'm working again!

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Locked Doors and Strange Floor Numbers

2010-02-04T06:13:00.002-06:00

SSE is located in central Stockholm in a building most describe as old. The building is going through a renovation in order for the school to utilize the once outdoor courtyard year round. I'd definitely say the building isn't as technically wired as Darden. Most students take notes the old fashioned way - paper and pen. Finding an electric outlet near wireless internet is also a chore.

Some of the funniest things about the building don't include elaborate explanations. The building has multiple floors. You walk in on floor one and when you walk up the stairs, you arrive at floor three. Same exact thing happens if you proceed up the second flight, another floor with an odd number, five. There seems to be no good explanation for the system. If you go into the library, which starts at floor five, the levels ascend in traditional numerical order through ten, except that floor seven is missing. It is very odd.

Something else I've had to get used to is the fact that arriving early to class provides no benefit. What I mean is that all the classroom doors are locked until the professor shows up. If you arrive early, you simply wait in the hall, much like I'm doing right now.

In other news, the books I ordered off the Swedish website arrived today. I'm only 30 chapters behind in one of them. Odds are, that won't be completed in London this weekend. But I'll get there...maybe after Paris.
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It's Not Always Easy Being Far Away

2010-02-02T18:13:00.000-06:00

Today is just one of those days. I'm sleep deprived and realized today that the number of deliverables I have for my classes are going to be challenging with my travel schedule. I realize that sounds ridiculous as it was my choice to plan travel to London and Paris, but the expectation was that SSE is easier than Darden. Perhaps it would be if I were taking the traditional full load - two classes. Unfortunately, as previously discussed, I need three classes for credits at Darden.

I'm not quite homesick and I don't exactly feel as if I'm completely missing out on Darden. I'm not sure what I am. After my workout today, I walked out of the gym thinking, it is just time to go home. Maybe having four currencies in front of me yesterday got to me.

It is a constant challenge to figure out where I'm going and what I'm doing. I likely spent an hour just trying to figure out transportation to and from the airports in Stockholm, London and Paris. Then of course, I need to figure out what I'm going to do when I'm there!

I think classes overwhelmed me today as I was plotting calendar due dates. My Psychology of Financial Markets professor mentioned our midterm. It sounds like it will be short answer and multiple choice. The latter actually worries me. We've covered so much theory that I don't even know what to expect. And yes, Darden is spoiled, open book and notes. Isn't that how it is in the real world though?

Speaking of books, the books I purchased from a Swedish website last week still haven't shipped. I'm feeling farther behind in reading as the days pass. I thought about checking the order, however the entire website is in Swedish. I decided they'll ship when they're ready.

It is strange getting to know people all over again. While very exciting, it is also frustrating. I'm building friendship norms again when I feel like I haven't built strong enough relationships with everyone at Darden. And of course, being gone on the weekends doesn't help. It is a game in reading people and getting used to their idiosyncrasies. I got a tongue lashing for something to do with the US today. I didn't know what to say, so I simply claimed uninformed. It is also interesting to hear Swedish students talk about their thoughts/ opinions of American companies. Not negative per se, but very interesting.

I miss my significant other and actually hearing my phone ring. Sounds funny huh? Skype has been wonderful and inexpensive though I didn't bother to pay extra for an incoming number. After much deliberation, I decided to forego purchasing a mobile phone here. I can use my US phone when absolutely necessary.

I try to forget things are so expensive. Often reminding myself that I do need to eat and "it is what it is."

I'm not putting down my experience here. I just thought I'd share thoughts on one of those days. Hoping to wake revived and in better spirits. Night.
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Stuffed Silly

2010-01-31T15:50:00.001-06:00

As is only appropriate for the last night in Rome, I ventured down the street from my hotel and stopped at one of the few restaurants that was not only open, but also very busy. The food was amazing and I'll admit that dessert was almost too good. I sit here hoping to digest sooner rather than later, fully knowing I should have taken a stroll or three around the block in the chilly weather. The gym tomorrow will be much needed!

Unlike my classmates who have been my travel companions on this trip, I've previously been to Rome. They visited the Colosseum and Roman Forum today, while I, either in a stroke of brilliance or stupidity, posted in a cafe catching up on reading. I mentioned in a previous post that books were harder to come by in Stockholm, meaning I'm a solid 4 days behind on the bulk of my class reading. Next weekend I'm visiting a friend in London and the weekend after I'm meeting my boyfriend and family in Paris. Needless to say, I likely will not be reading.

I'm not looking forward to the colder weather though I'm deeply excited about having my pillow back. Given that the group is on a true student budget, we opted for a 3 star hotel in a good location. Overall, we did pretty well except for the fact that the pillow sucks - which may be an understatement. My neck and shoulders feel vastly out of whack. I think review sites should add a pillow and bed review where a user can indicate their personal preference on a predefined scale and then indicate where on the scale the hotel fell and how much they liked it. Maybe that will be my next innovation for Ideation, a class in which I'm enrolled that requires me to submit a new innovation or invention every week.

I'm still full and presume that returning to my "Judgment and Decision Making" book would be a good idea. I'm vastly entertained by the fact that at the bottom of the book it reads, "BPS Textbooks in Psychology." I suppose the description is better as I do feel I'm in a psychology class, not a business class.

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Case Packs vs ???

2010-01-27T14:27:00.002-06:00

Darden is notorious for making us purchase a thick case pack. I can't even recall the price of a case pack right now, but it's in the range of $30-$70 (I think). In previous quarters, Darden has test piloted sustainable case packs, meaning that everything is on the web and it is preferred that you not print it. Let's just say, this worked for some people and most of us received printed case packs within 3 weeks of the quarter's start date.

I apologize, I'm a paper person. I like to be able to highlight it, note it, and have three pages in front of me at once as I frantically look for facts and figures. While I do my best to read items on the computer, I'm simply more comfortable having them in printed firm,. In fact, I still make lists with pen and paper. There's a feeling of accomplishment when strike a line through signaling completion that I simply don't get when I check a box in Outlook. Needless to say, the bounded case packs we buy, I'm happy to purchase them. Plus it's better than purchasing textbooks that are often priced at $200 a book.

This brings me to SSE. Once upon a time, the school had a bookstore in its lower lobby that carried all SSE books. Because of the recent renovation, that bookstore is no more. It's been a nightmare as an exchange student to figure out what to purchase and where. There's a chain of bookstores that are supposed to carry SSE books. I went and returned fruitless. Two of the books hadn't been ordered and one was due to come in "soon" - whenever that is! This school is also more theoretical than Darden, which means there are plenty of papers to read that are supposed to be accessed on the web, whoopie. Given that I just explained my love for reading on my computer, you can infer my level of enthusiasm. I also decided that tonight was a good night to find and save all the articles as I've had problems downloading some and end up running to read them before class. And of course, it's taking forever, hence I decided to blog instead. Given that SSE charges per page we print, I'd be happy to pay the school for a "case pack" of this quarter's material.

Further, staying on the subjects of books, I ordered 2 off an academic website to which I was referred seeing the physical bookstore didn't have them. The website was entirely in Swedish, so here's hoping I got it right!

I never imagined this exchange was going to be easy. It's an adjustment no matter where you go, US or abroad. However, I've learned something important, at Darden I'm extremely spoiled... and I like it that way! Back to downloading articles. My laundry is in the dryer, which again is in Swedish (with some English instructions). We'll see if everything still fits - perhaps more motivation for the gym. :) Though capris would be very cold with today's snowfall.

Living with a Roommate

2010-01-26T15:02:00.003-06:00

While I'm sure the title of this post will throw some people, I didn't do that on purpose, promise! Back in Charlottesville my gorgeous British roommate is holding down the fort. Here in Stockholm, I have a new roommate, who arrived last week. These are two very different types of roommates however. "British" and I share a two bedroom, two and half bath townhouse, with basement. My new roommate and I share a room, likely smaller than my room at home, as well as a bathroom and kitchenette. I'll admit, the setup could be worse. I imagined a dorm room with 13 girls sharing one bathroom and needing "shower shoes" again. This is not the case.

However, though I have a little nook that is approximately the size of a twin bed squared and a curtain that is two see-through white layers thick, I still hear everything in the "other room". That means, when my roomie decides that she can't sleep and 4a is a perfectly apt time to get up, I hear the pots, pans, microwave, and papers shuffling etc. On one hand, yes, I'm complaining, but that's because it was 4a. Think about it, what sane person arises at 4a? (I'm sure there are plenty, I'm just not one of them.) On the other hand, it forced me out of bed at 5:30a (as I could no longer sleep), which means by my 10a class I had been to the gym, purchased groceries from the store, talked with two special people in my life and had breakfast, twice. Seems, it was a rather productive morning!

All things considered, the new roomie is fun to be around. Plus she's originally from China, so my hope is that I will someday have a personal tour guide in Shanghai. I also won the housing lottery by lucking out with housing one-half block away from SSE and in the middle of central Stockholm. Most people commute for 20-30 minutes to get to this area.

In other news, the Darden exchange crew (there are four of us) is headed to Roma this weekend!!

Gym Membership

2010-01-22T10:09:00.000-06:00

We're spoiled at Darden! While this is not new news, it is also abundantly clear being here in Stockholm. SSE is in the midst of a remodel that would essentially let the campus use more space year round (covering the outdoor courtyard in the middle of the building). Most the classrooms I've been in are your typical table and chairs, straight lines, no cascading. It is also very difficult to find a port for a laptop as the majority of students take notes with pen and paper. Printing is not free and there are few rooms that may be utilized for group projects. Not to mention, the school does not have a gym like University of Virginia, so instead, each person must idividually purchase a gym membership. It's not cheap! Approximately $80 for the first month and $65 for the second. However, if you're a semester long exchange student, there are discounts so that you pay less than $200 for 6 months. This is the story of our lives - everything is cheaper as a student, but only if you need access for 6 months!

Anyhow, back to the gym. Between my trip to India, my return to the states and first week in Stockholm, I've probably been to the gym twice. So this seemed easy enough, sign up for the gym, start working out! Problem: Treadmills are in kilometers and I typically run in miles. What speed do I need to warm up on? I started with 10 KMPH as a rough conversion. As I was running, I started thinking about high school track (I knew there was a reason I ran track!). Throughout the years I competed in a variety of events, one being the 1600 M, which is also known as the mile. Thus 1.6 KM * 6 MPH (typical warm up speed) = 9.6 KM per hour! Woo hoo! I decreased my speed. After I warmed up, I stretched and then walked over to the free weights. Problem 2: Free weights are in kg. Further the weights are not placed with their correct labels, and unlike many US weights, the free weights are made up of multiple rings that you can't read. For instance, 12.5kg will have two sides, both with a 5kg ring and a 1.25kg ring. The only visible number is 1.25kg on the two outside rings. The you have the conversion, which I looked up - 1kg is approximately 2.2 pounds. I must admit, every time I needed new weights, I stood there blankly doing calculations. The things we take for granted living in our home countries!

On a completely random note...here's a great video featuring "the professor" aka one of my learning teammates. It shows the future! And yes, it's safe. Click Here!

Don't Get Too Excited!!

2010-01-21T17:12:00.000-06:00

I suppose I should start by announcing that I have accepted a full time position!! While this is very exciting news, it also means that I start work May 24th, which is the day after I graduate. I had dreams about attending the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and traveling the world for the two months prior to joining some unknown firm. Unfortunately, none of these trips will be taken, and I'll settle for a week on the west coast, some time moving and then of course, the silver lining to second year, BEACH WEEK! The good news is, I'm excited about the position and the thought of making $$$ again!!

If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a planner. Though I'm a planner only in how it relates to plane flights, hotel rooms and transportation to and from the airport. Most trips, I show up and will figure out what I'm doing doing/ seeing when I get there. So here I am planning again. The official communication about beach week reached our inbox today. I'm already trying to figure out how to get to California, move, attend beach week, then graduation and hopefully arrive in my new home in time for Day 1. Plus, maybe a trip to Vegas for Memorial Day Weekend! When I think about the fact that graduation is almost exactly 4 months from today, it seems silly that I'm trying to be so prepared. It's as if I'm ready to return to the states for Q4 and graduate, stepping forward to the next chapter. I can't help but remind myself to not get too excited. I mean this is it, right? No more school. No more living across the street from these friends. No more instant parties with 50 of your closest business school buddies. No more TNDC, first coffee, HBS cases, HBR articles, insanely smart peers, tormenting first years with new Darden cases, and no more stressing about finals and feeling the joy when they're over. It's crazy to think.

So in the meantime, I try to take a breath and keep my feet on the ground, while I contemplate venturing to Rome next weekend with my classmates who are on exchange. Maybe that will remind me that I have quite a few adventures left in this chapter.