THINGS I PLAN TO DO WHEN I GET MY SPARE TIME BACK.... IN 2 YEARS

when i finally get my imba, i will make up for all of the spare time i've been lacking. i plan to.....

1. sleep: one day i will not have to set my alarm clock, oh joyous day! if i'm really lucky, i won't have to take a nap at 3pm because i will still be in bed! wow... just imagine, sleeping whenever you want to, and getting more and 6 consecutive hours.... seems like a dream!

2. wash my car: the sap from the tree i park under is turning my baby blue car a curious shade of brown. it's disgusting. must do something about that.

3. visit my parents: i thought that only being an hour and a half away from my parents, i would be able to see them on the weekends... not true! it's practically like living in france! one day, i'm gonna go home and eat dinner with them like we planned....

4. make my bed: ok, i know - why make your bed if you're just gonna sleep in it later? but you have to admit, it is kinda nice getting into a bed that's been made. i did that a couple times back in the day when i had spare time...

5. have people over for dinner: this differs from "inviting people over for dinner". inviting is easy, actually having the time to cook and spend a couple hours with people... not so easy... if i've already invited you but haven't followed through, i'll see you in 2008.

6. do my nails: used to do this all the time. used to have them done professionally. lack of time + lack of money = bad nails

7. go for a drink: this falls into the "have people over" category.

8. play golf: i learned how to play in france. it was great.... back when i had money and time... the good ol' days

9. finish that sudoku book: used to do it every night before bed. now i just go to bed...

10. keep in touch: i'm usually really good about keeping in touch, but lately i've been pretty delinquent.... sorry about that....

by the way, this blog was NOT written during my spare time. :-)

Delaney's McFly Concert

Here are a few pics from last night... the "postable" ones. If you'd like to see more, I can send you a link.


Men doing what men do best: eating and drinking

A bit a head banging

Why Grad School is like Kindergarten....

enrolling in grad school is a choice and decision not made haphazardly. it is a professional decision made based on previous education, work experience and future career plans (or lack there of). we get an MBA to become more analytical, think more strategically or gain other qualities neccessary in upper level management. most of these people are highly intelligent and very motivated to become better managers or better people in general. however, i'm starting to realize that somewhere along the way, grad school is not at all like the corporate world - grad school is like kindergarten.

as a working professional, my breakfast was a cup of coffee and croissant i picked up on the walk to work. in grad school, i eat cereal or oatmeal and milk. i remember when my parents made my breakfast, and i had cereal and oatmeal... they fed me some line like "you need to have a good breakfast or you'll be hungry before lunch." oddly enough, i find myself saying that! i had applejacks, a banana and milk this morning so that i could make it till lunch... just like mom said.

lunch is also changing. at work, i would either try to squeeze in 10 minutes to eat lunch at anytime between 12pm - 2.30pm... whenever i had a free moment. now, since i ate that balanced breakfast, i can make it to lunch without snacking - but i MUST EAT BY 12:30PM!! if not, i turn into a whiny little 5 year old.... not pretty.

my sleep patterns have also reverted since the beginning of grad school. with my work schedule as a professional, i could go to bed at anytime as long as i woke up in time for work the next day. if i didn't get much sleep, i could make it up the following night. not so in grad school! 8 hours of sleep per day are essential. this is usually accomplished by supplementing the 5 hour average nightly shut eye with an afternoon nap around 2 or 3pm. too bad i don't have one of those blue, folding nap mats like in kindergarten.

in addition to various habits, social interaction also changes. hanging out with coworkers during the week often included having a few drinks and maybe dinner. in grad school, we are more prone to hang out with friends and play games... granted some of these games may include alcohol, they are, nonetheless, group games ... trivia at the bar, beer pong...

i'm sure there are other similarities between grad school and kindergarten, but it is now 12:30 pm, and i need to eat before the whiny 5-year old comes out.... i'll come back to this topic later.

it's wednesday, hump day, the middle of the week. by looking at this week's schedule, it would be quite logical to assume that this could be the WORST WEEK EVER:

wednesday: decision analysis exam
thursday: mondavi paper due
friday: AIDS paper due and financial accounting test

i studied my brains out last night, and took the DA test this morning. at the moment, i can't really judge how well (or not so well) i did on the quiz. the one thing i'm sure of is that it's OVER. i actually feel pretty relaxed about it... or maybe my brain is fried and i'm no longer capable of making decisions without a decision tree....
today i finished the mondavi paper and have nearly completed the AIDS paper. it won't take long to complete, and then i'll study all night tomorrow for accounting.

this week was supposed to be the WORST WEEK EVER, but it hasn't been that bad. i have really learned and changed a lot since undergrad. i don't (always) wait until the last minute to do things anymore, and i'm pretty concerned about getting good grades - what a major change in 10 years! today, one of my friends told me that she wishes she could have my time management skills - what a confidence booster! someone who actually thinks that they can learn something from me... we have so many intelligent people in the IMBA program who have had many exciting and enriching business and life experiences that i feel like i have to give 110% in order to keep up and succeed like they do. now i realize, i have it in me - i just have to use it.