It has been an interesting 24 hours, filled with good things and bad things.
First the good, which is actually MBA related. My Kellogg application is showing up in the system as “complete” (after a minor scare yesterday, when it went from “in process” to “no record found”, a phone call this morning cleared that up). Next update will be “Admit, Waitlist, or Deny”…oh my goodness, it has finally sunk in that this is REAL. Yikes! My Haas application is out the door. Conducted the final proofread yesterday and the super anal "just in case" proofread this morning before dropping the hammer. I feel pretty good about it. Haas is looking for interesting essays and I feel like mine are a good balance of personal and professional. Will they win the Pulitzer? No, but I think they serve their purpose. As I was submitting today, I tried to pay the application fee online. I wish I had tried this a few days ago because it was not working and causing me all kinds of stress. It must be a firewall problem or something along those lines. I dug around the site and realized I could pay by check and as long as it was postmarked today I'd be OK for Round 1. Phew! I caught a lucky break...I wish the same could be said for Aregon, Brit-Chick, and PowerYogi...I feel for you guys, I hope it all works out.
Now the bad, which is more personal. I usually don't get very personal on here but I need to vent. I broke up with my boyfriend last night. Which sucks on a normal day, but even more so when you're temporarily homeless and staying at his place. Called a friend at 11:30 pm and arranged to crash on her couch. Some warning signs had been surfacing as I began to notice some trust and jealousy issues. We were talking about that last night and I asked him to talk to me if there was ever anything bothering him. I was not expecting him to bring up stuff from my past (not “ours”, just mine) and basically reveal himself to be a bigot. He has issues with the fact that I’ve dated outside my race and said some things last night that absolutely disgusted me. It’s amazing how someone’s personality can make them more or less attractive. The attraction is now gone. Tolerance is one of my core values and I cannot fathom allowing this man to pass along his intolerance to our (hypothetical) children. This is not an issue of compromise and there is no point in being in a relationship with someone who doesn’t share your values. I'm sorry he feels that way and I think there are a lot of great things about him, but they were completely negated by the things he said last night. I’m angry, but in a way, because it was a deal-breaker type situation, I’m kinda at peace with it. There is no coulda woulda shoulda. Plus, it’s reduced my stress level for this whole b-school process because I’m free make decisions and only worry about myself. Everything happens for a reason. Except now I have to worry about finding a date for our company holiday party, damn!
Happy Halloween everyone :)
Friday, October 29, 2004
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Leadership Development
Just spotted an interesting article on MSN. I think there's some good advice for MBA applicants in there related to demonstrating leadership potential and how to convey that in an interview and/or on a resume/application, especially those of us who have never had direct reports. Check it out...
Could you be the boss?
Could you be the boss?
Rainy Day
And the wet weather continues! It POURED last night, big puddles on the roads today, lots of accidents and whatnot.
Southern Californians + Automobiles + Rain = Bad Things
My morning commute is usually a piece of cake, except when it rains. The rain has no where to go but puddle and the folks around here aren't too experienced with driving in the rain. Lots of hydroplane action. I was supposed to head up to Irvine tonight for a UCLA information session, but I would rather poke my eyes out than drive 90 miles during the evening commute while it's raining. I could also use the extra time to put the finishing touches on my Haas application, not to mention bag up all of my food & medication so that it does not get contaminated when the fumigation starts tomorrow. I'm headed up to UCLA next week anyway for an interview and a women in business forum so I'll get the info and face time eventually. No worries.
All of my recommendations are now complete and submitted. I just Fed Ex'd all my Texas stuff (since their recos are paper-based) so they will arrive a few days ahead of the Nov 1 recommended deadline. They are rolling admissions so it's not a hard and fast due date, but the sooner the better IMO. My current boss & former boss really came through for me and I ordered their thank you gifts today. Current boss is a wine aficionado so I ordered him two bottles of my favorite Washington state wine from wine.com. Former boss is back in Virginia and I found this palm bonsai at Red Envelope and I thought it would be a cute way to send him a little slice of California.
I still have no idea what to do for a Halloween costume. I have a great Marilyn Monroe costume, but after two years as Miss Monroe, I'd like to do something else. Although I may not even end up doing anything for Halloween since it's on a Sunday and I could really use the weekend to finish up my UCLA & Texas applications. I'm invited to a house party on Saturday, so we'll see. It makes me feel old that I would rather spend the weekend doing work & chores than going to a party! Plus, I've been invited to go wakeboarding Sunday morning and I haven't been in a few weeks so I'm itching for a fix. It won't be as much fun if I'm hungover. Decisions, decisions.
Southern Californians + Automobiles + Rain = Bad Things
My morning commute is usually a piece of cake, except when it rains. The rain has no where to go but puddle and the folks around here aren't too experienced with driving in the rain. Lots of hydroplane action. I was supposed to head up to Irvine tonight for a UCLA information session, but I would rather poke my eyes out than drive 90 miles during the evening commute while it's raining. I could also use the extra time to put the finishing touches on my Haas application, not to mention bag up all of my food & medication so that it does not get contaminated when the fumigation starts tomorrow. I'm headed up to UCLA next week anyway for an interview and a women in business forum so I'll get the info and face time eventually. No worries.
All of my recommendations are now complete and submitted. I just Fed Ex'd all my Texas stuff (since their recos are paper-based) so they will arrive a few days ahead of the Nov 1 recommended deadline. They are rolling admissions so it's not a hard and fast due date, but the sooner the better IMO. My current boss & former boss really came through for me and I ordered their thank you gifts today. Current boss is a wine aficionado so I ordered him two bottles of my favorite Washington state wine from wine.com. Former boss is back in Virginia and I found this palm bonsai at Red Envelope and I thought it would be a cute way to send him a little slice of California.
I still have no idea what to do for a Halloween costume. I have a great Marilyn Monroe costume, but after two years as Miss Monroe, I'd like to do something else. Although I may not even end up doing anything for Halloween since it's on a Sunday and I could really use the weekend to finish up my UCLA & Texas applications. I'm invited to a house party on Saturday, so we'll see. It makes me feel old that I would rather spend the weekend doing work & chores than going to a party! Plus, I've been invited to go wakeboarding Sunday morning and I haven't been in a few weeks so I'm itching for a fix. It won't be as much fun if I'm hungover. Decisions, decisions.
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Back from Chicago
What a whirlwind weekend. Great trip. Here's a recap:
Wednesday...Scrambled to get out of work on time. Gave my boss one final reminder on the due date of the Kellogg reco. The weather in San Diego was pretty nasty. It hadn't rained here in 182 days (which is more than a little bizarre for someone who grew up in the rainy Pacific Northwest). It started raining on Sunday and hadn't let up by Wednesday. Totally reminded me of fall in Seattle. San Diego is one of the toughest landings for planes in the country, apparently, and it's especially bad in rain/clouds/fog and we had all that on Wednesday. From my building downtown, you can see (and hear) the planes that have to pull up and try again because they're coming in too high. Normally there's only one or two of those a day. I counted at least 10 a day this past week. So it was no surprise to get to the airport and be warned that although my flight was currently "on time" it might end up delayed. Fortunately, we left on time and I got into Chicago no problem. I also sat next to a very entertaining young Marine who made the flight time go by quickly. I stayed with two friends from undergrad in their apartment near Wrigley. Cool neighborhood, lots of restaurants, bars, and boutiques, really close to the "el". I could totally see myself living there. It was really good to see J & T, two of my oldest friends from WSU (we lived in the same dorm freshman year). Made it to their place in time to catch the end of Game 7 of the ALCS....YEAH RED SOX! Love it. Not particularly a sox fan, just a yankee hater. Plus, it's an awesome story. Can't imagine what it's like to be in Boston right now.
Thursday...Caught the el up to Evanston, super easy to find and use, and the Jacobs center is literally 2.5 blocks from the stop. Checked in around 9 but my first activity wasn't until 10:30, so I headed down to the atrium to get some coffee and review my essays/resume and get my wits about me for my interview later in the day. I liked that I had total control over my activities for the day and could attend pretty much any class and do whatever I felt I needed to do to get to know Kellogg. Talked to some students about which class to attend that morning and ended up choosing "Research Methods in Marketing" with Angela Lee. The lecture was about questionnaire design and sampling. One of the students I talked to said that this was a pretty typical class, but there have been a lot of guest speakers, often related to the latest case. Lee used humor and personal anecdotes to liven up the class, relating questionnaire design to the art of picking up a girl. She got into some stats with the sample size stuff...she lost about a third of the class and everyone had a good laugh about it. Next up was a tour. Nothing in particular stood out to me, just seemed to have all the typical things you'd expect from a b-school facility. I had lunch with a couple of other Kellogg hopefuls from the tour and we talked application strategy. The atrium was packed for lunch and seating was a challenge. After lunch, we attended an info session. It was led by the same woman who led the San Diego info session. She actually recognized my face, couldn't place a name or a location, but she knew she had seen me at a previous session. Not much new information as expected, but it was nice to hear a little more about LEAP and GIM than at the SD session. I ducked out a little early for my interview with an associate director of admissions. It went OK, I feel kinda neutral about it...I didn't walk out feeling like I nailed it, but I didn't feel like I bombed it either. Everything I read about Kellogg interviews told me that it would be typical questions and that it is mostly about establishing fit and that it's important to show enthusiasm and energy for Kellogg. My interviewer had probably been conducting interviews all day, she seemed tired and less than enthusiastic, kinda low energy. It's a challenge to maintain energy & enthusiasm when it's not being reciprocated, but I did my best and it's out of my hands now. For my fellow Kellogg applicants, here's a recap of the interview:
--walk me through your resume
--tell me about your career goals
--what's your plan B (if you can't get into your industry/function of choice)? (this may be just because my target industry is non-traditional, but who knows)
--how do you receive feedback at work? what are your areas for improvement?
--talk about a time when you had to work with your peers and there were issues/conflict
--what kind of critical feedback would you get from your peers?
--what has been your most significant leadership experience?
--what do you do outside of work?
After the interview, I met up with two co-chairs from the Entertainment Media Club. It was a very casual conversation, we chatted about their classes and internships, what they do for fun, etc. They are both very dynamic people and reaffirmed my interest in Kellogg and confidence that I can break into any industry with a Kellogg MBA and the network. Very cool and friendly student body, great curriculum flexibility, etc. Very impressed. I headed home and bundled up since I would be going with J to watch her flag football game in Lincoln Park. That breeze off the lake is ch-ch-chilly! They won and we hit their sponsoring bar, The Bird's Nest, for wings, beer, and baseball, then we called it a night. One other thing happened...we were going to take J's car to the game but discovered that it wouldn't start. We tried jumping it to no avail and came to the conclusion that it was probably the starter and thus would be out of commission for awhile. THANK GOD we tried to start her car Thursday night because the plan for Friday was that the easiest way for me to get down to U of Chicago/Hyde Park was to drive myself since I had to be there by 8 am. I'm very lucky we discovered this Thursday night and not Friday morning so I could create a back-up plan with the el and Metra to get down there in time.
Friday...Woke up before the crack of dawn to make sure I got downtown in time to catch the 7:35 train. Ended up getting down there with time to spare and was able to grab some breakfast at the GSB cafeteria. U of Chicago is beautiful, the gothic architecture is really interesting, especially with the fall colors. The new GSB building is STUNNING. WOW. It still smells new. The gothic touches like the arches in the winter garden are really cool and tie in the otherwise sleek and modern building to the rest of campus. The facility blew me away. Lots of bathrooms (apparently a problem in the old building), very high tech classrooms, group study areas that have plasma screen TVs to review presentations! First item on the agenda was a class visit. There were 5 visitors (2 women, 3 men) for the first class and 2 current students (one woman, one man). The guy was heading to new venture strategy and the gal was heading to business policy (aka existing org strategy) and funny enough, the guys went with the guy, the gals went with the gal. Not sure what that says about us :) Business Policy was taught by John Gould (former dean of the GSB, come to find out). He kicked off the class with a metaphor (I guess he assigns a weekly metaphor to his students). The metaphor the student used was the Red Sox...overcoming incredible odds, overthrowing the evil empire, rewriting history, etc. This class discussed the various business applications of this metaphor, then they talked about some of their readings. Next he divided the class into two teams of ~10 and gave them alternate situations for a previously discussed case, kinda a "case on the fly." Apparently he likes to do this, keep the students on their toes and keep the 3 hour Friday morning class interesting. He also showed the results of a recent assignment in strategic analysis: draw a company as a person or character (in a group) and give the corporation human characteristics, the process of telling a story with a picture as a way to get a more diverse set of contributors, the idea being that a visual reference in picture format allows you to convey an idea in a non-linear form, resulting in a livelier write-up. There was definitely a lot of moaning and groan from the students about this assignment and the results were pretty funny (ever try to draw a picture by committee? LOL). The students I talked to gave mixed reviews of the class--some liked it, some were totally bored. We cut out of the class at the break and I met up with the chair of the entertainment management student group. He was really candid about his experience at the GSB, talked about his summer internship, networking, classes, social life, etc. He was actually the only person I've had tell me "if you're serious about entertainment, go to Anderson"... flat out. Interesting because everyone else I've talked to has said go wherever because you're going to face the same challenges no matter what, even at Anderson. Something to think about, but that's neither here nor there at this point, I need to get admitted somewhere before that even becomes an issue. I caught back up with the group at the info session and I have to say, I was unimpressed (for the first and only time that day, but still...). I don't think Chicago put it's best foot forward with the student leading the session. She seemed a bit immature and was "not sure" about too many things to be in that position. Just not the best person to be in a marketing position, IMO (and the opinion of a couple of my fellow visitors). After that we had lunch with current students and we were supposed to attend another class but no one came to pick us up and at that point I had reached critical mass for information intake...plus I was at the perfect time to catch a train and get back downtown before rush hour and meet up with my friend. Kinda sucked though because it meant I missed out on meeting up with Byron (a fellow blogger...sorry, B! I was bummed). Impressions of Chicago GSB: AWESOME facilities, cool but fairly independent students, incredibly flexible curriculum, amazing faculty. I found it interesting that most other schools put a lot of effort into creating the sections and study groups with evenly distributed talent/experience, but that is left up to the students at Chicago (yet our visitor day was very structured...hmmm). Very libertarian/free market culture...no surprise from a Milton Friedman school. It was a very nice gesture that they gave us a $7 voucher for lunch. Big props for that :) Made up for the shortage of tables in the cafeteria and the fact that we had lunch outside in the cold! When I got back downtown, I had some time to walk around and get a little sightseeing done before meeting up with my friend. Later that night, we went out for dinner & drinks at a couple of establishments in their neighborhood. Laughed so hard I cried at some of their stories, had one too many Jack & Diet Cokes, then went home. It was a long day and my dogs were barking from all the walking.
Saturday...Slept in, then ordered some fantastic deep dish pizza and watched college football for awhile before heading downtown for some shopping. We also went up to the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the Hancock Building...amazing view of the city. Witnessed a proposal (she said yes). I really like Chicago. It is a cool town. So much to see and do, so easy to get around via public transportation, great restaurants and nightlife...it's only the winter that scares me. We watched game 1 of the World Series at a bar (great game), more laughter (this time at T's stories from her time working for Jerry Springer), then went dancing. Didn't make it a very late night since I had to be up early to catch my flight.
Back home to beautiful San Diego this afternoon. Got caught up on my email and blog reading. Confirmed that my boss submitted my Kellogg & Anderson recos on Thursday...whew! Anxiously awaiting Wharton/Columbia/HBS news on behalf of my fellow bloggers. This week: finish up my Haas, Anderson, & McCombs essays. Start on Chicago essays. Get kicked out my apartment to get rid of the bugs. Figure out a Halloween costume. See my boyfriend, I miss him!
Wednesday...Scrambled to get out of work on time. Gave my boss one final reminder on the due date of the Kellogg reco. The weather in San Diego was pretty nasty. It hadn't rained here in 182 days (which is more than a little bizarre for someone who grew up in the rainy Pacific Northwest). It started raining on Sunday and hadn't let up by Wednesday. Totally reminded me of fall in Seattle. San Diego is one of the toughest landings for planes in the country, apparently, and it's especially bad in rain/clouds/fog and we had all that on Wednesday. From my building downtown, you can see (and hear) the planes that have to pull up and try again because they're coming in too high. Normally there's only one or two of those a day. I counted at least 10 a day this past week. So it was no surprise to get to the airport and be warned that although my flight was currently "on time" it might end up delayed. Fortunately, we left on time and I got into Chicago no problem. I also sat next to a very entertaining young Marine who made the flight time go by quickly. I stayed with two friends from undergrad in their apartment near Wrigley. Cool neighborhood, lots of restaurants, bars, and boutiques, really close to the "el". I could totally see myself living there. It was really good to see J & T, two of my oldest friends from WSU (we lived in the same dorm freshman year). Made it to their place in time to catch the end of Game 7 of the ALCS....YEAH RED SOX! Love it. Not particularly a sox fan, just a yankee hater. Plus, it's an awesome story. Can't imagine what it's like to be in Boston right now.
Thursday...Caught the el up to Evanston, super easy to find and use, and the Jacobs center is literally 2.5 blocks from the stop. Checked in around 9 but my first activity wasn't until 10:30, so I headed down to the atrium to get some coffee and review my essays/resume and get my wits about me for my interview later in the day. I liked that I had total control over my activities for the day and could attend pretty much any class and do whatever I felt I needed to do to get to know Kellogg. Talked to some students about which class to attend that morning and ended up choosing "Research Methods in Marketing" with Angela Lee. The lecture was about questionnaire design and sampling. One of the students I talked to said that this was a pretty typical class, but there have been a lot of guest speakers, often related to the latest case. Lee used humor and personal anecdotes to liven up the class, relating questionnaire design to the art of picking up a girl. She got into some stats with the sample size stuff...she lost about a third of the class and everyone had a good laugh about it. Next up was a tour. Nothing in particular stood out to me, just seemed to have all the typical things you'd expect from a b-school facility. I had lunch with a couple of other Kellogg hopefuls from the tour and we talked application strategy. The atrium was packed for lunch and seating was a challenge. After lunch, we attended an info session. It was led by the same woman who led the San Diego info session. She actually recognized my face, couldn't place a name or a location, but she knew she had seen me at a previous session. Not much new information as expected, but it was nice to hear a little more about LEAP and GIM than at the SD session. I ducked out a little early for my interview with an associate director of admissions. It went OK, I feel kinda neutral about it...I didn't walk out feeling like I nailed it, but I didn't feel like I bombed it either. Everything I read about Kellogg interviews told me that it would be typical questions and that it is mostly about establishing fit and that it's important to show enthusiasm and energy for Kellogg. My interviewer had probably been conducting interviews all day, she seemed tired and less than enthusiastic, kinda low energy. It's a challenge to maintain energy & enthusiasm when it's not being reciprocated, but I did my best and it's out of my hands now. For my fellow Kellogg applicants, here's a recap of the interview:
--walk me through your resume
--tell me about your career goals
--what's your plan B (if you can't get into your industry/function of choice)? (this may be just because my target industry is non-traditional, but who knows)
--how do you receive feedback at work? what are your areas for improvement?
--talk about a time when you had to work with your peers and there were issues/conflict
--what kind of critical feedback would you get from your peers?
--what has been your most significant leadership experience?
--what do you do outside of work?
After the interview, I met up with two co-chairs from the Entertainment Media Club. It was a very casual conversation, we chatted about their classes and internships, what they do for fun, etc. They are both very dynamic people and reaffirmed my interest in Kellogg and confidence that I can break into any industry with a Kellogg MBA and the network. Very cool and friendly student body, great curriculum flexibility, etc. Very impressed. I headed home and bundled up since I would be going with J to watch her flag football game in Lincoln Park. That breeze off the lake is ch-ch-chilly! They won and we hit their sponsoring bar, The Bird's Nest, for wings, beer, and baseball, then we called it a night. One other thing happened...we were going to take J's car to the game but discovered that it wouldn't start. We tried jumping it to no avail and came to the conclusion that it was probably the starter and thus would be out of commission for awhile. THANK GOD we tried to start her car Thursday night because the plan for Friday was that the easiest way for me to get down to U of Chicago/Hyde Park was to drive myself since I had to be there by 8 am. I'm very lucky we discovered this Thursday night and not Friday morning so I could create a back-up plan with the el and Metra to get down there in time.
Friday...Woke up before the crack of dawn to make sure I got downtown in time to catch the 7:35 train. Ended up getting down there with time to spare and was able to grab some breakfast at the GSB cafeteria. U of Chicago is beautiful, the gothic architecture is really interesting, especially with the fall colors. The new GSB building is STUNNING. WOW. It still smells new. The gothic touches like the arches in the winter garden are really cool and tie in the otherwise sleek and modern building to the rest of campus. The facility blew me away. Lots of bathrooms (apparently a problem in the old building), very high tech classrooms, group study areas that have plasma screen TVs to review presentations! First item on the agenda was a class visit. There were 5 visitors (2 women, 3 men) for the first class and 2 current students (one woman, one man). The guy was heading to new venture strategy and the gal was heading to business policy (aka existing org strategy) and funny enough, the guys went with the guy, the gals went with the gal. Not sure what that says about us :) Business Policy was taught by John Gould (former dean of the GSB, come to find out). He kicked off the class with a metaphor (I guess he assigns a weekly metaphor to his students). The metaphor the student used was the Red Sox...overcoming incredible odds, overthrowing the evil empire, rewriting history, etc. This class discussed the various business applications of this metaphor, then they talked about some of their readings. Next he divided the class into two teams of ~10 and gave them alternate situations for a previously discussed case, kinda a "case on the fly." Apparently he likes to do this, keep the students on their toes and keep the 3 hour Friday morning class interesting. He also showed the results of a recent assignment in strategic analysis: draw a company as a person or character (in a group) and give the corporation human characteristics, the process of telling a story with a picture as a way to get a more diverse set of contributors, the idea being that a visual reference in picture format allows you to convey an idea in a non-linear form, resulting in a livelier write-up. There was definitely a lot of moaning and groan from the students about this assignment and the results were pretty funny (ever try to draw a picture by committee? LOL). The students I talked to gave mixed reviews of the class--some liked it, some were totally bored. We cut out of the class at the break and I met up with the chair of the entertainment management student group. He was really candid about his experience at the GSB, talked about his summer internship, networking, classes, social life, etc. He was actually the only person I've had tell me "if you're serious about entertainment, go to Anderson"... flat out. Interesting because everyone else I've talked to has said go wherever because you're going to face the same challenges no matter what, even at Anderson. Something to think about, but that's neither here nor there at this point, I need to get admitted somewhere before that even becomes an issue. I caught back up with the group at the info session and I have to say, I was unimpressed (for the first and only time that day, but still...). I don't think Chicago put it's best foot forward with the student leading the session. She seemed a bit immature and was "not sure" about too many things to be in that position. Just not the best person to be in a marketing position, IMO (and the opinion of a couple of my fellow visitors). After that we had lunch with current students and we were supposed to attend another class but no one came to pick us up and at that point I had reached critical mass for information intake...plus I was at the perfect time to catch a train and get back downtown before rush hour and meet up with my friend. Kinda sucked though because it meant I missed out on meeting up with Byron (a fellow blogger...sorry, B! I was bummed). Impressions of Chicago GSB: AWESOME facilities, cool but fairly independent students, incredibly flexible curriculum, amazing faculty. I found it interesting that most other schools put a lot of effort into creating the sections and study groups with evenly distributed talent/experience, but that is left up to the students at Chicago (yet our visitor day was very structured...hmmm). Very libertarian/free market culture...no surprise from a Milton Friedman school. It was a very nice gesture that they gave us a $7 voucher for lunch. Big props for that :) Made up for the shortage of tables in the cafeteria and the fact that we had lunch outside in the cold! When I got back downtown, I had some time to walk around and get a little sightseeing done before meeting up with my friend. Later that night, we went out for dinner & drinks at a couple of establishments in their neighborhood. Laughed so hard I cried at some of their stories, had one too many Jack & Diet Cokes, then went home. It was a long day and my dogs were barking from all the walking.
Saturday...Slept in, then ordered some fantastic deep dish pizza and watched college football for awhile before heading downtown for some shopping. We also went up to the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the Hancock Building...amazing view of the city. Witnessed a proposal (she said yes). I really like Chicago. It is a cool town. So much to see and do, so easy to get around via public transportation, great restaurants and nightlife...it's only the winter that scares me. We watched game 1 of the World Series at a bar (great game), more laughter (this time at T's stories from her time working for Jerry Springer), then went dancing. Didn't make it a very late night since I had to be up early to catch my flight.
Back home to beautiful San Diego this afternoon. Got caught up on my email and blog reading. Confirmed that my boss submitted my Kellogg & Anderson recos on Thursday...whew! Anxiously awaiting Wharton/Columbia/HBS news on behalf of my fellow bloggers. This week: finish up my Haas, Anderson, & McCombs essays. Start on Chicago essays. Get kicked out my apartment to get rid of the bugs. Figure out a Halloween costume. See my boyfriend, I miss him!
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
New shoes
Followed the lead of FMG, I bought new shoes today at DSW. I don't know if there's any validity to her theory, but it's worth a shot :)
Kellogg application submitted
As of 10:58 AM PDT, I have officially become a Kellogg applicant. My mom and I had one final proofreading conference call this morning and I decided my application was ready to be sent off into the wild blue yonder. The past few nights have been late ones, making final adjustments to my essays, trimming them down as much as possible to make sure I stay within the guidelines. Reading through my application as one package, I feel I highlighted my strengths, addressed my weaknesses, laid out my career progression and future goals, answered the questions asked and allowed my personality to come through. I sincerely hope the admissions committee feels the same way.
My Kellogg application is not quite complete. I will submit my transcript during my visit on Thursday. Also, my boss has not yet submitted my recommendation. I'm getting kinda frustrated with him. The first recommendation he started working on was UCLA, which isn't due until Nov 3. He says he wants to finish that one before he starts the others so he doesn't have to generate everything from scratch. That's all fine and good, but why are you working on a recommendation that's not due for two weeks when one is due this week? He assures me he will submit it tomorrow. I'm a little worried because I know he's busy today with his boss in town and one of my co-workers just put in two weeks notice. Crossing my fingers and saying a prayer.
Now that I've broken the seal, so to speak, I feel really good about finishing up the remaining four applications. Some of the stuff was actually pretty fun to write about and I think the process is a good experience, no matter the outcome. I'm really excited for my trip to Chicago and I can't wait to see one of my best friends from college. Should be a really good weekend and I will be sure to post a recap when I return with all the info about my campus visits and fun times in Chi-town.
My Kellogg application is not quite complete. I will submit my transcript during my visit on Thursday. Also, my boss has not yet submitted my recommendation. I'm getting kinda frustrated with him. The first recommendation he started working on was UCLA, which isn't due until Nov 3. He says he wants to finish that one before he starts the others so he doesn't have to generate everything from scratch. That's all fine and good, but why are you working on a recommendation that's not due for two weeks when one is due this week? He assures me he will submit it tomorrow. I'm a little worried because I know he's busy today with his boss in town and one of my co-workers just put in two weeks notice. Crossing my fingers and saying a prayer.
Now that I've broken the seal, so to speak, I feel really good about finishing up the remaining four applications. Some of the stuff was actually pretty fun to write about and I think the process is a good experience, no matter the outcome. I'm really excited for my trip to Chicago and I can't wait to see one of my best friends from college. Should be a really good weekend and I will be sure to post a recap when I return with all the info about my campus visits and fun times in Chi-town.
Friday, October 15, 2004
Haas visit
I made the trek up to Berkeley yesterday to learn more about Haas. It was a great day and I have oodles of information to spice up my essays in the next two weeks. With my work schedule and my ambitious plan for 5 round 1 apps, I had to squeeze my visit into a single day. Lucky for me, Southwest has a direct flight between San Diego and Oakland so it wasn’t too bad and they have great deals on inter-CA flights. I woke up around 5 am and caught the 7 am flight. That put me in Oakland just after 8:30. I was able to take BART into Berkeley than catch the campus shuttle bus up to Haas. I love public transportation and BART is one of the best. It’s clean, easy to use, convenient, and efficient. I had no problems and checked in at the admissions office around 9:30.
That left me some free time before the tour/lunch at 11:45, so I went down to the café to make some notes/list of questions, proofread a couple essays, and read the latest “Economist” (has a great section on the presidential election). Plus, I wanted to just sit back and observe Haas students in their element. People were very friendly, smiling/happy, and most people were working in pairs or groups. I talked to some students who were in the morning section of Microeconomics (the class I would be visiting in the afternoon) and talked to them about the pricing presentation they were working on. Everyone seemed very casual and laid back. I definitely got the “collaborative environment” vibe.
The tour through the Haas facilities was nice. I like the layout and central courtyard, lots of common space for interacting with your fellow students. I did notice the presence of the undergrads, but the tour guides and info session leaders said that there were very few issues sharing space and/or professor time with them (except for scheduling the study rooms, which can be done online). The campus itself is pretty cool, and of course Haas is situated at the top of the hill so all the older MBA folks get their exercise. We got some lunch and continued to bombard our hosts with questions.
After lunch, we attended the information session hosted by two student ambassadors. I didn’t get much new information out of it since I attended the Haas info session here in San Diego, but it was nice to get two new perspectives on life at Haas. My overall impression of Haas remains the same: a laid-back yet rigorous program filled with intelligent, down-to-earth folks who care just as much (or more) about the world around them as they do about making money, all in a very collaborative and student-driven environment.
Next, I attended the core Microeconomics class. It was different than a typical class since it was their final class of the half semester. Rather than a lecture or case study led by the professor, the learning teams each did a 5 minute pricing presentation on a variety of companies as a culmination of what they had learned. There was a wide range of presentations: some with one presenter and some with two, some who played it straight and some who went for funny, some with PowerPoint slides and some with no visual aids. I was happy to see that a handful of the companies selected were sports related and this showed me that even in a general class you can tweak a project for your industry of interest. The students I spoke with at the end of class told me it was a really interesting class, great professor, very “laid back yet rigorous”. As Dave reported a few days ago, the classroom was stifling hot! Public program = Less money for the luxuries.
Finally, I met up with the co-chair of the Entertainment Management Association. This was probably the most informative part of my day and will have the most impact on my essays. Two pages of notes from that discussion full of advice on using an MBA in the sports/media/entertainment industry, searching for jobs/internships, tailoring the curriculum to work for you, networking with alums and MBAs from other programs, different projects and seminars available at Haas related to the industry, etc. It was invaluable and I’m so glad I’ve set up similar meetings at Kellogg and Chicago next week. We wrapped up around 5:30 and I headed back to the airport. I tried to get on an earlier flight but failed, so I didn’t get home until around 11 pm. It was a very long day, but a great day.
I am physically exhausted and with 5 apps due in the next 4 weeks and my trip to Chicago next week, there is no reprieve in sight, yet my campus visit has me mentally energized and ready to attack my remaining application tasks. MUST…PUSH…FORWARD!
That left me some free time before the tour/lunch at 11:45, so I went down to the café to make some notes/list of questions, proofread a couple essays, and read the latest “Economist” (has a great section on the presidential election). Plus, I wanted to just sit back and observe Haas students in their element. People were very friendly, smiling/happy, and most people were working in pairs or groups. I talked to some students who were in the morning section of Microeconomics (the class I would be visiting in the afternoon) and talked to them about the pricing presentation they were working on. Everyone seemed very casual and laid back. I definitely got the “collaborative environment” vibe.
The tour through the Haas facilities was nice. I like the layout and central courtyard, lots of common space for interacting with your fellow students. I did notice the presence of the undergrads, but the tour guides and info session leaders said that there were very few issues sharing space and/or professor time with them (except for scheduling the study rooms, which can be done online). The campus itself is pretty cool, and of course Haas is situated at the top of the hill so all the older MBA folks get their exercise. We got some lunch and continued to bombard our hosts with questions.
After lunch, we attended the information session hosted by two student ambassadors. I didn’t get much new information out of it since I attended the Haas info session here in San Diego, but it was nice to get two new perspectives on life at Haas. My overall impression of Haas remains the same: a laid-back yet rigorous program filled with intelligent, down-to-earth folks who care just as much (or more) about the world around them as they do about making money, all in a very collaborative and student-driven environment.
Next, I attended the core Microeconomics class. It was different than a typical class since it was their final class of the half semester. Rather than a lecture or case study led by the professor, the learning teams each did a 5 minute pricing presentation on a variety of companies as a culmination of what they had learned. There was a wide range of presentations: some with one presenter and some with two, some who played it straight and some who went for funny, some with PowerPoint slides and some with no visual aids. I was happy to see that a handful of the companies selected were sports related and this showed me that even in a general class you can tweak a project for your industry of interest. The students I spoke with at the end of class told me it was a really interesting class, great professor, very “laid back yet rigorous”. As Dave reported a few days ago, the classroom was stifling hot! Public program = Less money for the luxuries.
Finally, I met up with the co-chair of the Entertainment Management Association. This was probably the most informative part of my day and will have the most impact on my essays. Two pages of notes from that discussion full of advice on using an MBA in the sports/media/entertainment industry, searching for jobs/internships, tailoring the curriculum to work for you, networking with alums and MBAs from other programs, different projects and seminars available at Haas related to the industry, etc. It was invaluable and I’m so glad I’ve set up similar meetings at Kellogg and Chicago next week. We wrapped up around 5:30 and I headed back to the airport. I tried to get on an earlier flight but failed, so I didn’t get home until around 11 pm. It was a very long day, but a great day.
I am physically exhausted and with 5 apps due in the next 4 weeks and my trip to Chicago next week, there is no reprieve in sight, yet my campus visit has me mentally energized and ready to attack my remaining application tasks. MUST…PUSH…FORWARD!
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Don't you just love landlords?
I typically enjoy the benefits of renting vs owning. I like not having to do yard work, fix things, buy appliances, etc. and having the freedom to pick up and move pretty easily. Sometimes it sucks. Like now. My landlord called me last night to inform me that our building needs to be fumigated and he wants to do it before the end of the month. We will need to be out of the building for 3 days/2 nights and I have no choice in the matter. Of course this can't be done while I'm in Chicago, that would be too convenient. I will be homeless Oct 28-30 and it's just my luck that I have 3 applications due within a week of that (Haas on the 29th, McCombs on the 1st, and Anderson on the 3rd). Fan-f'n-tastic. As if I don't have enough stress in my life right now!
I submitted part 1 for Kellogg last week. It's the first application piece I've formally submitted. It was terrifying! I triple-checked for typos, spelling, and grammar, but I was so tense when I hit that submit button. I now have one recommendation submitted for Haas and my recos assure me that more will be coming by the end of the week. I'm looking forward to spending Thursday at Berkeley. I've set up a lunch, tour, info session, class visit, and a meeting with someone from the Entertainment Management Association. It will be a whirlwind day and I'll be taking copious notes so I can finish up my Haas essays before my trip to Chicago next week. I'm getting nervous anticipating my Kellogg interview. I need to get some quality copies of my resume made, go over some practice questions, make sure I know my app/resume backwards & forwards, and pick up my suit from Nordstorm. Ended up buying a beautiful black pinstripe suit that should last me a long time. I also need to dust off my overcoat. It hasn't seen the light of day since I moved to San Diego.
As for the BW rankings, it all seemed like much ado about nothing. Not a lot of change, and those few changes didn't seem unexpected. It will be interesting to get current students perspectives on the Haas slip.
I submitted part 1 for Kellogg last week. It's the first application piece I've formally submitted. It was terrifying! I triple-checked for typos, spelling, and grammar, but I was so tense when I hit that submit button. I now have one recommendation submitted for Haas and my recos assure me that more will be coming by the end of the week. I'm looking forward to spending Thursday at Berkeley. I've set up a lunch, tour, info session, class visit, and a meeting with someone from the Entertainment Management Association. It will be a whirlwind day and I'll be taking copious notes so I can finish up my Haas essays before my trip to Chicago next week. I'm getting nervous anticipating my Kellogg interview. I need to get some quality copies of my resume made, go over some practice questions, make sure I know my app/resume backwards & forwards, and pick up my suit from Nordstorm. Ended up buying a beautiful black pinstripe suit that should last me a long time. I also need to dust off my overcoat. It hasn't seen the light of day since I moved to San Diego.
As for the BW rankings, it all seemed like much ado about nothing. Not a lot of change, and those few changes didn't seem unexpected. It will be interesting to get current students perspectives on the Haas slip.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Sleep
"Elephants sleep only 2 hours a day."
This according to the lid from my diet Snapple iced tea this morning. Well color me jealous, I wish I could survive on 2 hours of sleep. As it is, that zombie feeling is starting to creep in and I don't see it improving anytime soon, even after my last deadline there will still be admission decisions to worry about, then financing and moving.
I've been working later into the evenings on my applications, and I'll plow through the sleepy feelings only to be ready to wrap up and hit the sack feeling completely wired. I'm having a hard time shutting my brain off when I go to bed. Makes it hard to fall asleep when I'm thinking about all the things I need to do, questions that still need to be asked and answered, etc. Once I do fall asleep, it's restless sleep. I've tried to do the watch a boring show or read a book thing, but I have this MBA ADD and my thoughts always drift back to my applications or all of the what if scenarios.... What if I don't get in anywhere? What if I get in to more than one program, how am I going to decide and how will I finance this little project? What if my recommenders let me down? What if I bomb my interviews? What if things progress with my boyfriend but he doesn't want to move with me? WHAT IF A THOUSAND RINKY DINKS COME ROLLING DOWN THE HILL???! (one of my father's favorite sayings when I start playing the "what if" game, a funny reminder to KNOCK IT OFF because it's useless)
Business Week rankings come out in just an hour and 15 minutes. I'll be tuned into the chat. Do I really care about the rankings? Are they going to change my application strategy at this stage? Definitely not, but all the hype surrounding the rankings, the snub by Harvard & Wharton, the endless debates on the forums....this thing is like a train wreck and I can't help but watch. I'll post my reaction later tonight.
I have a friend who is a department manager at Nordstorm so I'm going to pay her a visit tonight after work and buy a suit for my interviews. I haven't worn a suit since I interviewed with my current employer in the spring of 2000! Back then, I couldn't afford anything nice so the one I had is a bit beat up, dated, and doesn't fit me that great. It's time to be a big girl and buy something nice that will last at least the next 3 years and hopefully longer. Credit card is going to get some exercise tonight, ugh.
This according to the lid from my diet Snapple iced tea this morning. Well color me jealous, I wish I could survive on 2 hours of sleep. As it is, that zombie feeling is starting to creep in and I don't see it improving anytime soon, even after my last deadline there will still be admission decisions to worry about, then financing and moving.
I've been working later into the evenings on my applications, and I'll plow through the sleepy feelings only to be ready to wrap up and hit the sack feeling completely wired. I'm having a hard time shutting my brain off when I go to bed. Makes it hard to fall asleep when I'm thinking about all the things I need to do, questions that still need to be asked and answered, etc. Once I do fall asleep, it's restless sleep. I've tried to do the watch a boring show or read a book thing, but I have this MBA ADD and my thoughts always drift back to my applications or all of the what if scenarios.... What if I don't get in anywhere? What if I get in to more than one program, how am I going to decide and how will I finance this little project? What if my recommenders let me down? What if I bomb my interviews? What if things progress with my boyfriend but he doesn't want to move with me? WHAT IF A THOUSAND RINKY DINKS COME ROLLING DOWN THE HILL???! (one of my father's favorite sayings when I start playing the "what if" game, a funny reminder to KNOCK IT OFF because it's useless)
Business Week rankings come out in just an hour and 15 minutes. I'll be tuned into the chat. Do I really care about the rankings? Are they going to change my application strategy at this stage? Definitely not, but all the hype surrounding the rankings, the snub by Harvard & Wharton, the endless debates on the forums....this thing is like a train wreck and I can't help but watch. I'll post my reaction later tonight.
I have a friend who is a department manager at Nordstorm so I'm going to pay her a visit tonight after work and buy a suit for my interviews. I haven't worn a suit since I interviewed with my current employer in the spring of 2000! Back then, I couldn't afford anything nice so the one I had is a bit beat up, dated, and doesn't fit me that great. It's time to be a big girl and buy something nice that will last at least the next 3 years and hopefully longer. Credit card is going to get some exercise tonight, ugh.
Friday, October 01, 2004
That didn't take long
Mount St. Helens had a little eruption this afternoon, but it sounds like that will be it. She just needed to let off a little steam...don't we all?
My boyfriend and I had a real, proper date last night. We went to dinner downtown then went to the theater to see the traveling production of "Rent." I love the music, but this was just an OK production of it. It's interesting that in less than a decade material that was once controversial is now pretty mainstream.
I missed the presidential debate because of the show, but I Tivo'd it and plan to watch it sometime this weekend.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
A sleeping giant is stirring
Most news services reported yesterday that the USGS has issued a "volcanic advisory" for Mount St. Helens, the most famous of 6 active volcanoes in Washington state.
I grew up in Washington state and I was 3 years old when Mount St. Helens blew in 1980. I don't remember much of it because I was so young and because I lived in the least impacted part of the state. However, volcanoes were always a big part of our science curriculum and they've always fascinated me. I was watching Nova on PBS a couple weeks ago and they had a special on volcanoes and how the USGS monitors them for seismic and magmetic activity. It's amazing how they can pick up on the smallest of tremors and even the slightest shifting of the mountain, then use that information to try to predict erruptions and other volcanic events.
It sounds like the recent activity at Mount St. Helens is likely leading up to some sort of volcanic event, but nothing like the catastrophic event of May 18, 1980. What's interesting is that Mount Rainier and Mount Baker pose a much bigger threat to the Seattle/Puget Sound region, should another catastrophic erruption occur. Rainier has the largest glacial load of any peak in the lower 48, and Baker has it's fair share of glacial coverage, too. If those glaciers melt and/or a debris avalance occurs, it will mean big trouble for the river valleys coming off those mountains. My hometown is in the Skagit River valley and it would be in deep doo-doo should Baker errupt because the debris avalance and glacier melt would likely cause Baker Dam to fail (unless they had enough warning to be able to lower the level of the lake in time). Scary thought. Let's hope that guy on Nova gets his erruption prediction model fine tuned.
Back-to-back-to-back hurricanes in Florida, earthquakes in central California, and now volcanic activity in Washington state...this season Mother Nature sure seems determined to make us aware of how much we are at her mercy.
I grew up in Washington state and I was 3 years old when Mount St. Helens blew in 1980. I don't remember much of it because I was so young and because I lived in the least impacted part of the state. However, volcanoes were always a big part of our science curriculum and they've always fascinated me. I was watching Nova on PBS a couple weeks ago and they had a special on volcanoes and how the USGS monitors them for seismic and magmetic activity. It's amazing how they can pick up on the smallest of tremors and even the slightest shifting of the mountain, then use that information to try to predict erruptions and other volcanic events.
It sounds like the recent activity at Mount St. Helens is likely leading up to some sort of volcanic event, but nothing like the catastrophic event of May 18, 1980. What's interesting is that Mount Rainier and Mount Baker pose a much bigger threat to the Seattle/Puget Sound region, should another catastrophic erruption occur. Rainier has the largest glacial load of any peak in the lower 48, and Baker has it's fair share of glacial coverage, too. If those glaciers melt and/or a debris avalance occurs, it will mean big trouble for the river valleys coming off those mountains. My hometown is in the Skagit River valley and it would be in deep doo-doo should Baker errupt because the debris avalance and glacier melt would likely cause Baker Dam to fail (unless they had enough warning to be able to lower the level of the lake in time). Scary thought. Let's hope that guy on Nova gets his erruption prediction model fine tuned.
Back-to-back-to-back hurricanes in Florida, earthquakes in central California, and now volcanic activity in Washington state...this season Mother Nature sure seems determined to make us aware of how much we are at her mercy.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Haas info session and a belated weekend recap
Last night, I attended a Haas information session here in San Diego. I thought the representatives from the admissions office did a great job of communicating a lot of information in a fair amount of time, despite warning us that their presentation might be a little rusty since it was their first road trip of the season. It was entertaining and gave me a feel for the Haas culture. Since I've already decided to apply and I got a lot of information about Haas from a friend, it was nice to just kick back and enjoy the show rather than furiously take notes and try to think of a bunch of questions on the fly. I found the panel of current and former students to be really interesting. One of the panelists just graduated and is working for a golf equipment company here in SD County. I was able to pull him aside later and get the scoop on a sports business seminar he initiated with the help of a fellow student and what it was like networking to get his internship and job. I also got answers to my more tactical application questions from the adcom folks, and I ran into a friend from undergrad (same one I saw at the Wharton info session awhile back) so we were able to catch up and compare notes on this whole application process.
I booked plane tickets for my visits to Berkeley and Northwestern/Chicago, so I'm working on schedules for my days on campus. I'm really looking forward to seeing the schools, meeting students, checking out some classes, interviewing, etc. I've made contact with people in each program's sports business/entertainment/media clubs so I'm hoping I'll have some folks in my area of focus lined up for lunch or just a meet & greet. It is going to be a BUSY month of October, but I seem to do my best work when I'm busy. I'm trying to schedule my Anderson interview and it is a pain in the rear. They just released another group of interview slots, but they all conflict with my schedule. ARGGHHH! I wish they'd get their San Diego/La Jolla info sessions scheduled soon so I can see about a local interview. Other than that, I'm just plugging away at my essays and data forms, waiting for my transcripts to be delivered, and making sure my recos have all the information they need. I updated my resume with feedback from a couple friends, my mom, and a co-worker. I have to say...I am damn proud of my resume. I may not have started my own company or commanded billion dollar Wall Street deals, but considering I'm four year post undergrad and I've been with the same company that whole time, I have a foundation of solid, significant experiences to build on in business school. This is obviously a high self-confidence week. Tune in next week when the self-doubt will surely resurface ;)
It was a great weekend for me, football-wise. My Wazzu Cougs beat Arizona in a barnburner, the Seahawks destroyed the 49ers, and my fantasy football team won. The guy I beat in our fantasy league is quite embarrassed that he lost to a girl, but this chick knows her football and is a force to be reckoned with. Next weekend will be a sad one since both my teams have BYEs, but that will be to the benefit of my application essays.
I put in some time at the beach on Saturday, then I hit Lake Elsinore for some wakeboarding Sunday morning with my usual crew, plus two of my friends who wanted to learn. One of my favorite things about wakeboarding is teaching other people. I remember that feeling of pure joy the first time I popped out of the water (followed shortly thereafter by "Oh $#%@! What do I do now?!" to faceplant). I love passing on that feeling to other people and I get the biggest rush from the look on their face when they finally do it. I have become very efficient at coaching people and it usually only takes them a couple tries to get it. The guys I ride with now refer to me as "coach." I know how good it feels to progress to the next level with my riding, and it makes me feel even better to help other people do it, too. Anyway, both girls got up and got some decent rides. At the end of the day you could tell that they had caught the wakeboarding "stoke" (to use a REALLY overused "extreme" sports word, but it is the best way to describe that feeling of excitement and desire to conquer a new challenge). You could not wipe the grins off their faces.
I booked plane tickets for my visits to Berkeley and Northwestern/Chicago, so I'm working on schedules for my days on campus. I'm really looking forward to seeing the schools, meeting students, checking out some classes, interviewing, etc. I've made contact with people in each program's sports business/entertainment/media clubs so I'm hoping I'll have some folks in my area of focus lined up for lunch or just a meet & greet. It is going to be a BUSY month of October, but I seem to do my best work when I'm busy. I'm trying to schedule my Anderson interview and it is a pain in the rear. They just released another group of interview slots, but they all conflict with my schedule. ARGGHHH! I wish they'd get their San Diego/La Jolla info sessions scheduled soon so I can see about a local interview. Other than that, I'm just plugging away at my essays and data forms, waiting for my transcripts to be delivered, and making sure my recos have all the information they need. I updated my resume with feedback from a couple friends, my mom, and a co-worker. I have to say...I am damn proud of my resume. I may not have started my own company or commanded billion dollar Wall Street deals, but considering I'm four year post undergrad and I've been with the same company that whole time, I have a foundation of solid, significant experiences to build on in business school. This is obviously a high self-confidence week. Tune in next week when the self-doubt will surely resurface ;)
It was a great weekend for me, football-wise. My Wazzu Cougs beat Arizona in a barnburner, the Seahawks destroyed the 49ers, and my fantasy football team won. The guy I beat in our fantasy league is quite embarrassed that he lost to a girl, but this chick knows her football and is a force to be reckoned with. Next weekend will be a sad one since both my teams have BYEs, but that will be to the benefit of my application essays.
I put in some time at the beach on Saturday, then I hit Lake Elsinore for some wakeboarding Sunday morning with my usual crew, plus two of my friends who wanted to learn. One of my favorite things about wakeboarding is teaching other people. I remember that feeling of pure joy the first time I popped out of the water (followed shortly thereafter by "Oh $#%@! What do I do now?!" to faceplant). I love passing on that feeling to other people and I get the biggest rush from the look on their face when they finally do it. I have become very efficient at coaching people and it usually only takes them a couple tries to get it. The guys I ride with now refer to me as "coach." I know how good it feels to progress to the next level with my riding, and it makes me feel even better to help other people do it, too. Anyway, both girls got up and got some decent rides. At the end of the day you could tell that they had caught the wakeboarding "stoke" (to use a REALLY overused "extreme" sports word, but it is the best way to describe that feeling of excitement and desire to conquer a new challenge). You could not wipe the grins off their faces.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Forte Forum
I'd rate last night's event a B-. It was OK, but it wasn't great. 6 months ago, it would have been great, but at this stage in the game most of it is useless or it's stuff I already know. I'm kinda feeling that way with all of these information sessions. They are geared more towards people who are researching MBA options, not those of us who have done the research, narrowed down the list of target schools, and are currently working on applications. That's definitely the last time I'm driving to LA for one of these things, it's just not worth it.
It was cool to be at a "women only" event and I did enjoy the panel discussion even though many of the questions were pretty surface level. The presentation was definitely targeted at those who are still deciding if an MBA is right for them. The GMAC presentation ran long and was laced with marketing pitches for the various products they offer. They are the primary sponsor of Forte and I realize they should get some plugs in there, but at $225 a pop for the GMAT and $28 per score report I feel like I've already forked over more than enough money to them. After the presentations, each of the member schools had representatives available to answer questions. I was able to talk with an adcom from McCombs and get some insight into their essay questions, how to survive the Texas Common Application (it's a bear, let me tell you), and what to expect from career services with my intended career path. I also got to chat with a Chicago adcom and an alum. This conversation would solidify my decision to apply to Chicago. I like that it's big, but not too big, the curriculum is extremely flexible, and my experience with Chicago folks has been very positive. Chicago is one of the schools I originally applied to back in 2000 and I feel that it's only gotten better since that time. The alum told me about a student/faculty project that is of high interest to me and could provide interesting material for my application, so I sent an email to the adcom I met and she is going to send me a presentation about the project. Now I just gotta figure out an idea for the mascot question! So, that means that Wharton is off the list. A little disappointing because it means I won't be taking a gamble on any of the big 3 H/S/W, but I'm just really not sold on a program that big and I'm definitely not sold on living in Philly. The early deadline doesn't help either. I know this is the right decision for me, and it's one that I've arrived at while focused on my own thoughts and opinions, tuning out all the ranking and message board distractions.
It was nice to see Dirty Martini last night and hear all about her trip to NYC. She has definitely got her stuff together and is way ahead of the game. I will be anxiously awaiting her admission decisions. I'm confident they will be positive.
Work is much slower this week, my co-worker and I think our boss is taking it easy on us since the last two weeks were a bit crazy. I'm moving offices tonight...well, actually big dudes are moving my stuff tonight, but I had to pack it all up this afternoon. I'll be in something smaller than my current office and I'll lose the window, but I've enjoyed it while I could the past 9 months. Our team is lucky, most people at our level in the company are in cubicles, but we all have offices by some stroke of luck. In a way though, I miss life on the cube farm. It's much more social than an office. However, it is nice to be able to shut the door when I need to concentrate or when I have a conference call.
I'm making dinner for my boyfriend tonight. This is the first time I've cooked for him. In the two months we've been dating, he's cooked for me twice (and brought flowers 3x :) chivalry is not dead!) so I owe him one. On the menu tonight, chicken marsala with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans with caramelized red onions, served with a nice Chianti Classico. Then we'll watch Survivor with full bellies and pity those poor fools in Vanuatu.
It was cool to be at a "women only" event and I did enjoy the panel discussion even though many of the questions were pretty surface level. The presentation was definitely targeted at those who are still deciding if an MBA is right for them. The GMAC presentation ran long and was laced with marketing pitches for the various products they offer. They are the primary sponsor of Forte and I realize they should get some plugs in there, but at $225 a pop for the GMAT and $28 per score report I feel like I've already forked over more than enough money to them. After the presentations, each of the member schools had representatives available to answer questions. I was able to talk with an adcom from McCombs and get some insight into their essay questions, how to survive the Texas Common Application (it's a bear, let me tell you), and what to expect from career services with my intended career path. I also got to chat with a Chicago adcom and an alum. This conversation would solidify my decision to apply to Chicago. I like that it's big, but not too big, the curriculum is extremely flexible, and my experience with Chicago folks has been very positive. Chicago is one of the schools I originally applied to back in 2000 and I feel that it's only gotten better since that time. The alum told me about a student/faculty project that is of high interest to me and could provide interesting material for my application, so I sent an email to the adcom I met and she is going to send me a presentation about the project. Now I just gotta figure out an idea for the mascot question! So, that means that Wharton is off the list. A little disappointing because it means I won't be taking a gamble on any of the big 3 H/S/W, but I'm just really not sold on a program that big and I'm definitely not sold on living in Philly. The early deadline doesn't help either. I know this is the right decision for me, and it's one that I've arrived at while focused on my own thoughts and opinions, tuning out all the ranking and message board distractions.
It was nice to see Dirty Martini last night and hear all about her trip to NYC. She has definitely got her stuff together and is way ahead of the game. I will be anxiously awaiting her admission decisions. I'm confident they will be positive.
Work is much slower this week, my co-worker and I think our boss is taking it easy on us since the last two weeks were a bit crazy. I'm moving offices tonight...well, actually big dudes are moving my stuff tonight, but I had to pack it all up this afternoon. I'll be in something smaller than my current office and I'll lose the window, but I've enjoyed it while I could the past 9 months. Our team is lucky, most people at our level in the company are in cubicles, but we all have offices by some stroke of luck. In a way though, I miss life on the cube farm. It's much more social than an office. However, it is nice to be able to shut the door when I need to concentrate or when I have a conference call.
I'm making dinner for my boyfriend tonight. This is the first time I've cooked for him. In the two months we've been dating, he's cooked for me twice (and brought flowers 3x :) chivalry is not dead!) so I owe him one. On the menu tonight, chicken marsala with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans with caramelized red onions, served with a nice Chianti Classico. Then we'll watch Survivor with full bellies and pity those poor fools in Vanuatu.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Mid week check in
Just wanted to pop on here quickly during lunch before I leave for LA. I'm attending the Forte Forum this evening and really looking forward to it. Looking forward to catching up with Dirty Martini, too, and hearing all about her New York trip. I'll provide a recap of the Forte Forum later in the week.
I kicked some serious application butt this week, but I still feel like I'm behind the 8 ball. I completed the majority of the data forms for each application, distributed my resume to a couple of friends for review, requested transcripts and/or completed the self-reported transcript option if available, finished a couple essay drafts, and compiled all the information my recommenders will need to be sent to them tomorrow. It's the essays that are really stressing me out and I'm wondering...how in the world is it already September 22?
Southwest Airlines is currently running an internet special for intra-California flights one way as low as $39 so I'm trying to figure out if I can squeeze in a trip to Berkeley before the Oct 19 Round 1 deadline since it would be nice to be able to answer their question with, "Yes, I have been to Berkeley..."
More to come later...
I kicked some serious application butt this week, but I still feel like I'm behind the 8 ball. I completed the majority of the data forms for each application, distributed my resume to a couple of friends for review, requested transcripts and/or completed the self-reported transcript option if available, finished a couple essay drafts, and compiled all the information my recommenders will need to be sent to them tomorrow. It's the essays that are really stressing me out and I'm wondering...how in the world is it already September 22?
Southwest Airlines is currently running an internet special for intra-California flights one way as low as $39 so I'm trying to figure out if I can squeeze in a trip to Berkeley before the Oct 19 Round 1 deadline since it would be nice to be able to answer their question with, "Yes, I have been to Berkeley..."
More to come later...
Friday, September 17, 2004
Kellogg info session & other ramblings
Last night I attended a Kellogg info session here in San Diego. To be honest, I was disappointed, but I don't think it was an accurate reflection of Kellogg. I left feeling that I didn't learn anything that I hadn't already found online. I don't know if other participants felt the same way and I'm curious if this experience was unique to the San Diego session. There were only four alums and one person from adcom present. They had technical difficulties so rather than giving a nice presentation with Powerpoint, the adcom representative had to read from her notes. I found it to be contradictory that they were telling us Kellogg is very collaborative, all about teamwork, known for strength in marketing, and has a large and extremely loyal network, yet they were only able to round up FOUR Kellogg alums in San Diego??? Things that make you go "hmmm." Still, I feel like I need to give them the benefit of the doubt, San Diego is definitely a smaller metro area than LA and it's not the adcom's fault that the host was unprepared technically. I also had really high expectations based on my experience with the Wharton info session I attended in LA. They really set the bar. I was glad the Kellogg session was local because if had I driven up to LA for that I would have been a little ticked off. However, I'm still really interested in Kellogg and I think it's probably a great program that just had a bad night. The alums that did attend had interesting stories to tell and seemed like they sincerely enjoyed their time at Kellogg.
Last week I spoke with a friend who is a Haas alum. Great conversation with lots of good tips for the application that I'm happy to share here. He served as a student on the adcom so he's got the experience to back it up. I think some of his advice is unique to Haas, but a lot of it is applicable to other programs as well.
Work should be getting back to normal next week. Today we make our final budget submission to corporate and then I get to breathe again. Woo-hoo! I had an excellent birthday Labor Day weekend and last weekend we had an awesome crab feast at the bay. I have several friends here from Maryland/Virginia so about 25 of us went in on getting 2 bushels of crabs (~150) overnighted from MD and we had a 3+ hour crab picking extravaganza last Saturday afternoon. Beer, crabs, & sunshine...it was perfect! Well, almost perfect. After winning their season opener at New Mexico, my Wazzu Cougars lost to Colorado in an ugly game. I was glad I was too busy with the crabs to watch it (although, I did Tivo it and watch some of it later). Tomorrow they play our neighbor university, the Idaho Vandals. WSU & UI are the two closest D-I public universities, separated by only ~8 miles. An old tradition is for the losing team to walk home after the game. I don't think my fellow Cougs will be making the walk this year.
Survivor returned last night. I Tivo'd it while I was at the Kellogg info session and watched it as soon as I got home. This season is battle of the sexes and the ladies won it last night. Go team! How much would it suck to be the first person voted off one of these shows? Actually, it would be embarrassing, but then you'd get to spend the rest of the time on a 35 day vacation in paradise...that might be even better than staying in the game, except for the million bucks, of course!
Tonight I've got a date with the boyfriend, we're going to do the traditional dinner & a movie. Tomorrow, the girl that I mentor and I will be participating in Hands On San Diego and volunteering for Meals on Wheels. Should be fun. Other than that, it will be a weekend filled with football & b-school apps.
Last week I spoke with a friend who is a Haas alum. Great conversation with lots of good tips for the application that I'm happy to share here. He served as a student on the adcom so he's got the experience to back it up. I think some of his advice is unique to Haas, but a lot of it is applicable to other programs as well.
1. Be sincere & be original. Don't say what you think they want to hear. It's boring and it dilutes who you really are, which is what they are after. The adcom is looking for diversity in the class so if you're trying to sound like someone else, you're not helping your case.
2. Be consistent. Make sure the story you tell in your essays aligns with the story told by your resume, recommendations, short answer questions, etc.
3. Short answer questions are very important! Take them seriously. Be creative and have fun with them. They are just as important as the long essay questions so give them the same level of attention and due diligence.
4. Give your recommenders plenty of lead time and do not be passive. Don't write the letter for them, but give them some guidance. Also, sincerity in the recs is just as important as in the rest of the app. Make sure your recommenders have an understanding of business school in general and the application process so they can write their letter in that context. (It should be much more professional than recs for undergrad and you need to set those expectations with your rec providers, he had a personal experience with this issue.)
5. Student involvement is a big deal at Haas so make sure to incorporate how you plan to get involved into your story.
Work should be getting back to normal next week. Today we make our final budget submission to corporate and then I get to breathe again. Woo-hoo! I had an excellent birthday Labor Day weekend and last weekend we had an awesome crab feast at the bay. I have several friends here from Maryland/Virginia so about 25 of us went in on getting 2 bushels of crabs (~150) overnighted from MD and we had a 3+ hour crab picking extravaganza last Saturday afternoon. Beer, crabs, & sunshine...it was perfect! Well, almost perfect. After winning their season opener at New Mexico, my Wazzu Cougars lost to Colorado in an ugly game. I was glad I was too busy with the crabs to watch it (although, I did Tivo it and watch some of it later). Tomorrow they play our neighbor university, the Idaho Vandals. WSU & UI are the two closest D-I public universities, separated by only ~8 miles. An old tradition is for the losing team to walk home after the game. I don't think my fellow Cougs will be making the walk this year.
Survivor returned last night. I Tivo'd it while I was at the Kellogg info session and watched it as soon as I got home. This season is battle of the sexes and the ladies won it last night. Go team! How much would it suck to be the first person voted off one of these shows? Actually, it would be embarrassing, but then you'd get to spend the rest of the time on a 35 day vacation in paradise...that might be even better than staying in the game, except for the million bucks, of course!
Tonight I've got a date with the boyfriend, we're going to do the traditional dinner & a movie. Tomorrow, the girl that I mentor and I will be participating in Hands On San Diego and volunteering for Meals on Wheels. Should be fun. Other than that, it will be a weekend filled with football & b-school apps.
Friday, September 03, 2004
College football is back!
This is going to be an awesome weekend. Holiday on Monday, birthday on Sunday, and countless hours of college football on Saturday, but it will start with a bang tonight. My beloved Wazzu Cougars kick off their season tonight at New Mexico (check out ESPN at 8 ET/5 PT). I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I don't know how I'm going to stay focused at work today, but I've got a ton of work to keep me busy and have no intentions of coming in to work this weekend so I need to bust tail.
Happy 3-Day Weekend to All!
Washington State University. World Class. Face to Face.
Happy 3-Day Weekend to All!
Washington State University. World Class. Face to Face.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Pictures from Richmond, VA
Check out these photos of damage from Tropical Storm Gatson in Richmond, Virginia.
Slideshow of Richmond Flooding
Huge sink holes, 120+ roads damaged, severe flooding. Amazing. I lived there for three years, part of that time in Shockoe Bottom just a few blocks from the Farmers Market depicted in a few of those pictures. I used to park my car right in front of the canal off the James River that caused all that flooding. I've wakeboarded on the Chickahominy River. Scary. Richmond has had a tough go of it lately. Last year, they had a hurricane roll through town and just a few weeks prior had an earthquake. Most of my friends are on high enough ground that they should not be impacted, but I'll be making phone calls this afternoon.
Slideshow of Richmond Flooding
Huge sink holes, 120+ roads damaged, severe flooding. Amazing. I lived there for three years, part of that time in Shockoe Bottom just a few blocks from the Farmers Market depicted in a few of those pictures. I used to park my car right in front of the canal off the James River that caused all that flooding. I've wakeboarded on the Chickahominy River. Scary. Richmond has had a tough go of it lately. Last year, they had a hurricane roll through town and just a few weeks prior had an earthquake. Most of my friends are on high enough ground that they should not be impacted, but I'll be making phone calls this afternoon.
What does your birth month say about you?
SEPTEMBER:
Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people's mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Thinking generous. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves sports, leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.
What does your birth month say about you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Kinda fun. Most of it is right on the money, but I don't think I'm nearly as critical as this description. Well, maybe I'm a little critical :)
Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people's mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Thinking generous. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves sports, leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.
What does your birth month say about you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Kinda fun. Most of it is right on the money, but I don't think I'm nearly as critical as this description. Well, maybe I'm a little critical :)
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Gone too long
Two weeks since my last posting, oh my! Am I a slacker or what? Well, blog upkeep has slipped down the priority list recently. Work has been keeping me very busy and I've been trying to make the most of the last couple weeks of summer. That's a pretty lame excuse though because summer doesn't really end here in San Diego. Hard to imagine that this might be my last non-winter winter if I end up in Chicago or Philly. However, part of me misses having real seasons. Fall in Virginia is beautiful and a winter without any snow doesn't feel right. I miss the GREEN of the Evergreen State (my home state of Washington), but I sure do enjoy year round wakeboarding, trips to the beach, etc.
MBA application update. I decided that 5 applications is definitely my limit since I want to get them all in Round 1. Crazy, I know, but that's the trade off for not retaking the GMAT and using a score that expires soon. So, last I checked in I was trying to reach a decision between Chicago & Wharton. I've decided to go with Wharton (but I did send a score report & transcript to Chicago just in case, better to be safe than sorry). Now I need to resume work on the Wharton essays that had been put off pending that decision. Haas essays are coming along, have not started any others. Resume has been updated. I've pushed back getting the dossiers to my reco's until Sept 10. I would rather get them to my reco's tight and on point a week later than originally intended than get them in this Friday half assed. It still gives them at least 4 weeks to complete the recs that are due the earliest. I'm still feeling good about getting all my apps done (and done well) for Round 1 even though I've been distracted lately.
Distraction update. Family in Florida survived the storm. Their houses did not fare so well. They are not completely unlivable, in fact they are staying there while cleaning up/fixing up to fend off would be looters. We were definitely worried about them. Like I said, work is crazy, but that is par for the course this time of year. I've been wakeboarding a bunch this past month. And I have a new beau. Perfect timing, right? I start dating someone I'm really digging right when I need to be focused on myself and making very important decisions about my future. Rest assured, enrolling in and completing an MBA program remains my top priority. In the mean time, I'm having a blast with the new beau. He teaches 2nd grade, so that's part of why I've been trying to enjoy the last few weeks of summer, because he's trying to enjoy his last weeks of freedom before it's back to school. We've gone to several concerts lately. Last Tuesday we saw The Cure and it was a great show. This past weekend was Street Scene here in San Diego, a two day music festival downtown with a laundry list of bands. Got to see Black Eyed Peas, Ludacris, Social Distortion, Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, and A Tribe Called Quest, among others. Tribe on Friday was worth the price of admission alone. It was their first performance together in 7 years and it was such a great show. Foo Fighters put on the best show on Saturday, IMO. Hit after hit after hit, high energy show. They rocked.
I had a great time meeting up with Dirty Martini and Dave for dinner a couple weeks ago. I met DM at the Wharton Info Session, but it was great to meet the man...the myth...the legend...Bloggin' Dave! They are both kicking butt in their application processes and I feel confident both will be matriculating at their programs of choice a year from now.
Got some great news today. I referred a friend for an open position at work. She was offered the position today and accepted! This means I have a nice bonus headed my way just in time to cover my application expenses. I'm happy for me, but I'm also very happy for her because the role is a perfect fit for what she wants to do long term. Definitely a win-win.
This weekend is my birthday and I'll officially be in my late 20s! The girls and I will be hitting the town Saturday night, the new beau is taking me to dinner on Sunday, and I should be wakeboarding at least once, if not twice. Should be a great weekend :)
My prediction: A very productive month of September! Ready, Set, GO!
MBA application update. I decided that 5 applications is definitely my limit since I want to get them all in Round 1. Crazy, I know, but that's the trade off for not retaking the GMAT and using a score that expires soon. So, last I checked in I was trying to reach a decision between Chicago & Wharton. I've decided to go with Wharton (but I did send a score report & transcript to Chicago just in case, better to be safe than sorry). Now I need to resume work on the Wharton essays that had been put off pending that decision. Haas essays are coming along, have not started any others. Resume has been updated. I've pushed back getting the dossiers to my reco's until Sept 10. I would rather get them to my reco's tight and on point a week later than originally intended than get them in this Friday half assed. It still gives them at least 4 weeks to complete the recs that are due the earliest. I'm still feeling good about getting all my apps done (and done well) for Round 1 even though I've been distracted lately.
Distraction update. Family in Florida survived the storm. Their houses did not fare so well. They are not completely unlivable, in fact they are staying there while cleaning up/fixing up to fend off would be looters. We were definitely worried about them. Like I said, work is crazy, but that is par for the course this time of year. I've been wakeboarding a bunch this past month. And I have a new beau. Perfect timing, right? I start dating someone I'm really digging right when I need to be focused on myself and making very important decisions about my future. Rest assured, enrolling in and completing an MBA program remains my top priority. In the mean time, I'm having a blast with the new beau. He teaches 2nd grade, so that's part of why I've been trying to enjoy the last few weeks of summer, because he's trying to enjoy his last weeks of freedom before it's back to school. We've gone to several concerts lately. Last Tuesday we saw The Cure and it was a great show. This past weekend was Street Scene here in San Diego, a two day music festival downtown with a laundry list of bands. Got to see Black Eyed Peas, Ludacris, Social Distortion, Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, and A Tribe Called Quest, among others. Tribe on Friday was worth the price of admission alone. It was their first performance together in 7 years and it was such a great show. Foo Fighters put on the best show on Saturday, IMO. Hit after hit after hit, high energy show. They rocked.
I had a great time meeting up with Dirty Martini and Dave for dinner a couple weeks ago. I met DM at the Wharton Info Session, but it was great to meet the man...the myth...the legend...Bloggin' Dave! They are both kicking butt in their application processes and I feel confident both will be matriculating at their programs of choice a year from now.
Got some great news today. I referred a friend for an open position at work. She was offered the position today and accepted! This means I have a nice bonus headed my way just in time to cover my application expenses. I'm happy for me, but I'm also very happy for her because the role is a perfect fit for what she wants to do long term. Definitely a win-win.
This weekend is my birthday and I'll officially be in my late 20s! The girls and I will be hitting the town Saturday night, the new beau is taking me to dinner on Sunday, and I should be wakeboarding at least once, if not twice. Should be a great weekend :)
My prediction: A very productive month of September! Ready, Set, GO!
Friday, August 13, 2004
I just talked to my dad, who talked to my aunt, uncle and cousins about 2 hours ago. They live in Port Charlotte, FL. According to CNN.com, Hurricane Charley has made landfall pretty much in their backyard. I am praying for their safety and the safety of all Floridians in the path of this monster storm.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
