Do you ever look in the mirror and think, so this is it? It's the day before my 27th birthday and I'm honestly not sure what to think. Half my friends are married, a few are pregnant, and then a couple more already have kids! WHOA! Some are on a career path and others are likely still "finding themselves." And here I am ready to finish my internship in 3 weeks and return to my fake adolescent life called business school. Of course, I have some important decisions on the horizon. Where do I want to live? What do I want to do? For which company do I want to work? AH!? It all happened so fast.
It's crazy to think at this time last year I was finishing up my week of Bay Area goodbyes. I remember the craziness of going out every night in an attempt to see everyone that was important to me or had influenced my life in some way. I always thought I'd move back there immediately after business school, at least until I actually moved to Virginia. Getting out again (the first time being college), opened my eyes to another world. I love the Bay Area and in my opinion it is still one of the best places to live, but why not try other places while I'm young.
Then I think, so exactly how young am I? A good friend, who I admire because she does have the guts to move on a whim, picked up and moved to Texas last week! Though she's nowhere near where I would call desirable, I still think her view of the world can be refreshing. Mind you, this is the same friend who returned from living in St. Thomas within the last 2 years. I am not sure I’d ever have the fortitude.
Work is going well, but after an early morning field trip to a call center (which was more interesting than it sounds) and a bit of a fuzzy head (which I fear is the last 3 travel weekends catching up with me), I can't seem to focus today. It's interesting being back on the learning curve and while at times it's fun, I do miss the feeling of knowing it. I used to have days at my previous employer where I just knew everything going on and I felt like I was on top of the world. This business is very different than that one with more integrated parts than I think I ever imagined.
As I think of all these aspects of my life, I wonder what or who I will see in the mirror next year.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Backwards Atlanta Soccer
I started playing soccer when I was five. In those days, I was less concerned about the placement of the ball and more enthralled with the random daisies growing on the field. These days, I play more on dirt or turf, so there are no daisies to admire. Of course, I don't think anyone thought back then, even with my tomboy nature, that over 20 years later, I'd still be playing soccer. I played club in college at Colorado and though I regret not playing at that level past my freshman year, I never gave up the sport. Intramurals always kept me in the game and my senior year, Friday night co-ed indoor reminded me why I love the game.
When I first moved back to the Bay Area after college, I found two teams, one indoor and one outdoor - both co-ed. November 14, 2004 was a rough day for me. I extended myself too far and injured my left ankle substantially. I stepped back onto the field over six months later, and was never sure my level of competition would be the same.
Naturally, I'm a competitive person and unfortunately poor teams who lose week after week have been of great frustration to me. Before I moved to Virginia, I played on 3 or 4 teams concurrently. One of them was a losing team. Eventually, I quit and just couldn't handle trying to pick up slack for people who didn't understand the game.
When I moved to GA, I went looking for a new summer team. My friend who lives here invited me to play on hers and with a new season beginning, the timing worked well. So here I am, on another losing team and yet, I'm just happy I'm playing! I play my heart out knowing every week that we will get killed 7-2 or so (high scoring because it's 7v7). But here's the kicker. This is the SECOND league in Atlanta that the rules are different than any I’ve used while playing out west. Girls' goals are worth TWO points. Just the very thought that whoever runs these leagues thinks that in order to even out play, girls goals have to be worth more makes me sick! I've played many co-ed sports and have learned that as long as you have the proper male to female ratio, guys will be forced to play WITH girls and not around them. Only when you have a ball hog will he play around them, but likely he's playing around guys as well. Further, this rule changes the architecture of play. Why put a girl at defense, even if she is stronger there, if there is a chance that she'll score and receive two points. Ridiculous!
When I first moved back to the Bay Area after college, I found two teams, one indoor and one outdoor - both co-ed. November 14, 2004 was a rough day for me. I extended myself too far and injured my left ankle substantially. I stepped back onto the field over six months later, and was never sure my level of competition would be the same.
Naturally, I'm a competitive person and unfortunately poor teams who lose week after week have been of great frustration to me. Before I moved to Virginia, I played on 3 or 4 teams concurrently. One of them was a losing team. Eventually, I quit and just couldn't handle trying to pick up slack for people who didn't understand the game.
When I moved to GA, I went looking for a new summer team. My friend who lives here invited me to play on hers and with a new season beginning, the timing worked well. So here I am, on another losing team and yet, I'm just happy I'm playing! I play my heart out knowing every week that we will get killed 7-2 or so (high scoring because it's 7v7). But here's the kicker. This is the SECOND league in Atlanta that the rules are different than any I’ve used while playing out west. Girls' goals are worth TWO points. Just the very thought that whoever runs these leagues thinks that in order to even out play, girls goals have to be worth more makes me sick! I've played many co-ed sports and have learned that as long as you have the proper male to female ratio, guys will be forced to play WITH girls and not around them. Only when you have a ball hog will he play around them, but likely he's playing around guys as well. Further, this rule changes the architecture of play. Why put a girl at defense, even if she is stronger there, if there is a chance that she'll score and receive two points. Ridiculous!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Vegas Vacation!
The weekend didn't quite look like Chevy Chase's, but it was still fun and VERY short. Before business school, I used to jet-set on the weekends. I'm not sure if it was because I only worked until 3p in the afternoon or because I felt the money that I didn't have to pay on rent burning a hole in my pocket. (Thanks Mom and Dad for letting me live at home!!) Regardless, I often traveled to Colorado (my alma mater), Vegas (to dance) and various destinations on the west coast. I once went to Houston, which was a blur. I never went further east than Houston for a two-day weekend and after this Vegas trip, I remembered why!
My flight on Friday night didn't leave Atlanta until 9:15p, but thankfully for the time change, I landed in Sin City at 10:33p. Not too shabby for a 4 hour flight! I intended on taking a long nap. However, I purchased the book, Never Eat Alone, and spent a solid hour reading it before watching the in-flight film. So far, the book is fascinating; I'll give an update later. My boyfriend arrived 10 minutes before I did, so met and took a cab to Encore. I've stayed at the Wynn, but had yet to visit Encore. We dropped our bags and headed for my parents suite at the Wynn Towers. They had a nice one bedroom suite with a living room and half-bath. They had stocked the bar and before we knew it, room service was on the way and drinks were in hand. The group for this trip was quite random. From my brother and his girlfriend to my parents' friends and their kids, whom we'd never met. There were approximately 18 of us, though it was rare for everyone to be in the same place at once. Drinks flowed in my parents’ suite and the adults left until just my parents remained. We headed for bed as our bodies didn't quite know what to make of the time change as it felt like 4a and the clock read 1a.
Saturday morning the phone rang at 9a, our wake-up call to get ready for a day at the outlets. I got a couple cute items, but truth is, I don't need anything. And lately, I stare at my closet contemplating what I should leave with Goodwill on my way out of town - not because clothes don't fit though, simply because I don't wear certain articles (and haven't for years, even after I try them on multiple times). Saturday night was dinner at Capital Grille - a pre-birthday celebration for me. However, we did recognize the many other July babies in the room. After dinner, four of us headed to XS, the hottest club in Vegas, which just happened to be at Encore. Vegas, more so than other places, it pays to know people. I have no idea how long the line would have taken to get in and I didn't want to find out. A good friend from home knows a DJ at XS, who indeed is now one of my new friends. :)
The night included a good mixture of dancing, people watching, drinking and taking in all that is decadent about the club. I give it two big thumbs up and hope to return soon! Sunday was a travel day and now I'm home! Monday I was exhausted. I drank TWO cups of Green Tea, often a sign of my exhaustion, and continued to feel two steps behind, yet still managed to work until 7:30p. One more weekend away (DC to visit my man and celebrate my actual birthday), two here and then I move to C'ville. Where did summer go??
My flight on Friday night didn't leave Atlanta until 9:15p, but thankfully for the time change, I landed in Sin City at 10:33p. Not too shabby for a 4 hour flight! I intended on taking a long nap. However, I purchased the book, Never Eat Alone, and spent a solid hour reading it before watching the in-flight film. So far, the book is fascinating; I'll give an update later. My boyfriend arrived 10 minutes before I did, so met and took a cab to Encore. I've stayed at the Wynn, but had yet to visit Encore. We dropped our bags and headed for my parents suite at the Wynn Towers. They had a nice one bedroom suite with a living room and half-bath. They had stocked the bar and before we knew it, room service was on the way and drinks were in hand. The group for this trip was quite random. From my brother and his girlfriend to my parents' friends and their kids, whom we'd never met. There were approximately 18 of us, though it was rare for everyone to be in the same place at once. Drinks flowed in my parents’ suite and the adults left until just my parents remained. We headed for bed as our bodies didn't quite know what to make of the time change as it felt like 4a and the clock read 1a.
Saturday morning the phone rang at 9a, our wake-up call to get ready for a day at the outlets. I got a couple cute items, but truth is, I don't need anything. And lately, I stare at my closet contemplating what I should leave with Goodwill on my way out of town - not because clothes don't fit though, simply because I don't wear certain articles (and haven't for years, even after I try them on multiple times). Saturday night was dinner at Capital Grille - a pre-birthday celebration for me. However, we did recognize the many other July babies in the room. After dinner, four of us headed to XS, the hottest club in Vegas, which just happened to be at Encore. Vegas, more so than other places, it pays to know people. I have no idea how long the line would have taken to get in and I didn't want to find out. A good friend from home knows a DJ at XS, who indeed is now one of my new friends. :)
The night included a good mixture of dancing, people watching, drinking and taking in all that is decadent about the club. I give it two big thumbs up and hope to return soon! Sunday was a travel day and now I'm home! Monday I was exhausted. I drank TWO cups of Green Tea, often a sign of my exhaustion, and continued to feel two steps behind, yet still managed to work until 7:30p. One more weekend away (DC to visit my man and celebrate my actual birthday), two here and then I move to C'ville. Where did summer go??
Thursday, July 09, 2009
I feel like a FT Employee
A couple weeks back I was mentioning how being a summer intern is hard. While some of my classmates have received meaningful projects, others had found that they are not being used to their full potential. Needless to say, I was in the latter camp. Thus, I screamed, yelled and asked for more work and the company happily obliged. I'm knee-deep in spreadsheets with somewhere around 4-5 concurrent projects right now. Many of them, while independent, are very much intertwined as one project builds on the next. It feels good!
Yesterday, I was here "late." Not late in terms of actual standards, but late in terms of I'm required to only be here 8 hours. Let's just say for the first six or so weeks, I happily obliged, lucky if I was busy for the entire 8 hour workday. Yesterday though, I met with my manager for a three project update and walked out of her office feeling absolutely refreshed. Not only that, I also taught her how to construct a data table, who would have thought?!? I figure it was a good thank you for the intimacy I now have with PivotTables.
After my meeting, I sat down at my desk and finished updating my sheets and sent them to various people around the world who represent a sub-section of the company's legal entities. This morning, I had emails from Costa Rica, Philippines and a few from Atlanta. I'm excited to feel more involved, though I still have questions.
One more day of spreadsheets and then I'm headed to Vegas to release some steam!
Yesterday, I was here "late." Not late in terms of actual standards, but late in terms of I'm required to only be here 8 hours. Let's just say for the first six or so weeks, I happily obliged, lucky if I was busy for the entire 8 hour workday. Yesterday though, I met with my manager for a three project update and walked out of her office feeling absolutely refreshed. Not only that, I also taught her how to construct a data table, who would have thought?!? I figure it was a good thank you for the intimacy I now have with PivotTables.
After my meeting, I sat down at my desk and finished updating my sheets and sent them to various people around the world who represent a sub-section of the company's legal entities. This morning, I had emails from Costa Rica, Philippines and a few from Atlanta. I'm excited to feel more involved, though I still have questions.
One more day of spreadsheets and then I'm headed to Vegas to release some steam!
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
SC Beach House
Surfside Beach is just south of Myrtle Beach on the South Carolina coastline. It's much cheesier than I ever anticipated with miles of "all you can eat" seafood joints, "cheap beachwear" signs, a random waterpark, a couple mini golf places and lots of billboards. Our four bedroom, four bath house was across the street from the beach. It slept 14, we had 21, which meant accommodations for the weekend were inexpensive. We loaded up plastic tubs with ice and all the "decent" cheap beer you could drink. Shots flowed as we had TWO ex-bartenders competing in a shot-off. Afternoons were often spent at the beach, sometimes with a football or what some like to call a frisbee in hand (the hole in the middle makes me beg to differ). All around, the six hour drive to the coast from Atlanta was worth the weekend. The extra traffic for my drive home was unwanted, but the great thing about long car rides by myself is that I can to catch up with friends. I spoke with a former classmate from Colorado for 2 hours about business school, the internship, his job, his hopes of b-school and other aspects of life. I promised I'd visit NY sometime as well (though at the rate my weekends fill, who knows when that will be).
I'm back in the grind for the week, until Friday when I head to Vegas for a triple birthday celebration, one of which is MINE! :D I've spent hours playing with spreadsheets this week and while I'm not analyzing the end numbers, I have been combing through the inputs and corresponding equations. Analytical in a different way. What I found on Monday was no less than shocking. The NPV calculation in excel was being used wrong. Let me preface by saying I learned TVM (time value of money) calculations on an HP 12C. When I first switched to excel, I was warned of some idiosyncrasies. Needless to say, I often still check my answers on my financial calculator simply because I am more comfortable with how to get the correct answers. Excel, when using its “=NPV” function, you do not include the initial outlay, essentially Year 0. You add Year 0, which more often than not is a negative number, to the NPV of Year 1 through X. This spreadsheet, used Year 0 through 5 within the NPV function, ooops. While the correction increased the NPV of my example by a couple million dollars, I suppose it's possible the correct NPV for a different project would have an unfavorable result.
The summer is racing by.
I'm back in the grind for the week, until Friday when I head to Vegas for a triple birthday celebration, one of which is MINE! :D I've spent hours playing with spreadsheets this week and while I'm not analyzing the end numbers, I have been combing through the inputs and corresponding equations. Analytical in a different way. What I found on Monday was no less than shocking. The NPV calculation in excel was being used wrong. Let me preface by saying I learned TVM (time value of money) calculations on an HP 12C. When I first switched to excel, I was warned of some idiosyncrasies. Needless to say, I often still check my answers on my financial calculator simply because I am more comfortable with how to get the correct answers. Excel, when using its “=NPV” function, you do not include the initial outlay, essentially Year 0. You add Year 0, which more often than not is a negative number, to the NPV of Year 1 through X. This spreadsheet, used Year 0 through 5 within the NPV function, ooops. While the correction increased the NPV of my example by a couple million dollars, I suppose it's possible the correct NPV for a different project would have an unfavorable result.
The summer is racing by.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
The Darden Connection
I'm not sure why I'm surprised. Since the day I started investigating Darden, I've heard of the network. I experienced the network in San Francisco and quickly became sold on the school. So why is it when I'm working for one of the largest corporations in the world am I surprised that some very senior Darden alums are willing to spend a couple minutes with me?? Honestly, I don't know.
It's fascinating to hear how they ended up where they are, and it also gives me a good perspective if there type of position should be my dream. One of the alums with whom I spoke yesterday grilled me a little - though not in a bad way. He simply was trying to figure out what makes me tick. What is my passion? What do I want to do? Not in the sense of, I'd like to work in M&A or Corp Fin, but more along the lines of, are you quant driven? Do you like details? The big picture? Traveling? Staying put? Challenges? Theoretical discussions? Philosophy? Anything!
This alum also gave me the names of additional alums, some of them quite senior, and so as I sit here at 6p finishing up a spreadsheet, I thought I'd email a few of them. Within moments, one replied asking his secretary to setup lunch. I seriously feel high on life!!
BTW, still LOVE Pandora. I can put the headphones on and get into the zone. Back to it.
It's fascinating to hear how they ended up where they are, and it also gives me a good perspective if there type of position should be my dream. One of the alums with whom I spoke yesterday grilled me a little - though not in a bad way. He simply was trying to figure out what makes me tick. What is my passion? What do I want to do? Not in the sense of, I'd like to work in M&A or Corp Fin, but more along the lines of, are you quant driven? Do you like details? The big picture? Traveling? Staying put? Challenges? Theoretical discussions? Philosophy? Anything!
This alum also gave me the names of additional alums, some of them quite senior, and so as I sit here at 6p finishing up a spreadsheet, I thought I'd email a few of them. Within moments, one replied asking his secretary to setup lunch. I seriously feel high on life!!
BTW, still LOVE Pandora. I can put the headphones on and get into the zone. Back to it.
Make It or Buy It?
We live in a capitalist society where we often buy instead of make. Think about it, these days, we purchase clothes off a hanger instead of mending our own from scratch. We go to restaurants because we either want something different or are too lazy to cook food ourselves. The average person doesn't need instructions on how to make a computer chip, because we often buy them already in a computer. We're definitely a buy it society, but buying it, adds up! However, my thoughts drifted this morning as I spent approximately a combined 30 minutes eating breakfast and making my lunch, as I do every morning.
While cheaper in terms of actual dollars spent, many of my colleagues choose to purchase breakfast and lunch at work instead of bringing their own. Heck, when it comes to walking in with my cooler, ready for the day, I'm a black sheep. I'm convinced the food in the cafeteria is either only mildly marked up or the company subsidizes portions of it. My coworkers save 15 or so minutes in the morning by buying food. I guess purchasing is a factor of how much your time is worth. But there's another aspect to purchasing versus making. Making is often much healthier for you (at least the way I eat). After spending a considerable amount of time in the south, I can say that they definitely need healthier food.
Further, these health aspects are a front and center discussion among members of our administration. "Sin" taxes as people like to refer to them, are being drafted as we speak. An extra 3 cents for a sugar-sweetened 12 oz. beverage? Is that going to keep you from enjoying soda-pop? It is an interesting concept to target specific foods, why not tax sugar instead? Additionally, think about the fried food, nothing about it can be good for you. Don't get me wrong, onion rings are in my top 5 vices, so I'm not advocating for extra taxes at all. I just want to know where it stops. The administration is looking to change behavior and I wonder if this behavior is ingrained in our buy it society. Many schools have discontinued physical education programs and I have no idea the amount of nutritional education available these days. Would implementing those routes be a better answer to our problem? In the meantime, I’ll do my part of make my lunch and get to the gym as often as possible.
While cheaper in terms of actual dollars spent, many of my colleagues choose to purchase breakfast and lunch at work instead of bringing their own. Heck, when it comes to walking in with my cooler, ready for the day, I'm a black sheep. I'm convinced the food in the cafeteria is either only mildly marked up or the company subsidizes portions of it. My coworkers save 15 or so minutes in the morning by buying food. I guess purchasing is a factor of how much your time is worth. But there's another aspect to purchasing versus making. Making is often much healthier for you (at least the way I eat). After spending a considerable amount of time in the south, I can say that they definitely need healthier food.
Further, these health aspects are a front and center discussion among members of our administration. "Sin" taxes as people like to refer to them, are being drafted as we speak. An extra 3 cents for a sugar-sweetened 12 oz. beverage? Is that going to keep you from enjoying soda-pop? It is an interesting concept to target specific foods, why not tax sugar instead? Additionally, think about the fried food, nothing about it can be good for you. Don't get me wrong, onion rings are in my top 5 vices, so I'm not advocating for extra taxes at all. I just want to know where it stops. The administration is looking to change behavior and I wonder if this behavior is ingrained in our buy it society. Many schools have discontinued physical education programs and I have no idea the amount of nutritional education available these days. Would implementing those routes be a better answer to our problem? In the meantime, I’ll do my part of make my lunch and get to the gym as often as possible.
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