So what is wakeboarding anyway?

Not me...just a trick I wish I could do.

A version of the wakeboarding-related essay I included in most of my b-school applications:

Wakeboarding is similar to water skiing, only using a snowboard-like apparatus instead of skis. The shape and buoyancy of a wakeboard allow you to use the boat’s wake as a launch ramp for jumps, flips and spins. There is nothing better than spending a beautiful day on the lake, in a boat filled with friends cheering you on as you skim across the surface at 22 miles per hour, launch into the air, and stomp a new trick. From the moment I learned how to get up, I was hooked and wanted to learn as much as possible. I made two trips to wakeboarding camp in Florida to learn from the best and I’ve traveled all over California in search of the best riding spot.

As much as I enjoy wakeboarding, teaching people to wakeboard is even better. I will never forget the feeling of pure joy the first time I popped out of the water and I love sharing that feeling with others. I share their stoke as they experience that joy, laugh with them as they take those first crashes, and scheme with them as they make plans to master their new sport.

Wakeboarding also allows me to meet new people. I don’t own a boat, so I use wakeboarding message boards to network with boat owners who need a “third,” an observer to accompany the driver and the rider. To make myself more marketable as a third, I learned to drive and trailer a boat, and I always help with clean up.

By the way, if you're reading this, and you have a boat, live in So-Cal (or Chicago or Philly) and need a third, send me an email!

Anyway, there are two wakeboarding websites I spend time on...

wakeboarder.com
wakeworld.com

News, gear guides/reviews, contests, message boards, etc. All the info you need.

And in case you're interested, here's a wakeboarding glossary from wakeboarder.com

Where's Waldo...er...Wakechick?

Anderson R1 Admits So-Cal Happy Hour

If you've met me, you can't play :)

Met up with a great group of fellow Anderson admits in Newport Beach for beverages and conversation. It was really nice to meet everyone and if these guys are any indication, the incoming class will be kicking ass and taking names come fall. They gave me a hard time about turning down Anderson...until they found out my decline would free up some fellowship money, then they were all about me going Chicago. I've got my fingers crossed that some of that money ends up in your pockets, guys.

Wakeboarding was a bust this morning...again. That's 3 strikes now. I have got to hit the lake soon. My regular pull just bought a house in Dallas and will likely be moving before I do, so I need to ride as much as possible in the next couple of months. I just wish the weather would cooperate. It was actually nice today, but there has been so much rain that the boat launch ramps were completely covered (and therefore closed, hence no riding for us). The manager told us that the channel that leads from the launch area out to the main lake, that had a depth of 4-5 feet this summer, is now 27 feet deep. That's how much rain we've had. Crazy.

A couple of blog readers have asked me what wakeboarding is and I realized that I never really explained it. Oops, sorry folks, I guess it's about time I do that. It's why I'm "wakechick" after all (and not because of any association with Wake Forest, right CalGrad?). I'm going to be lazy though. Pretty much every one of my b-school applications had an essay (or part of one) that talked about wakeboarding and/or my knee injury, so I'm going to post one of those next.

Wharton visit

Currently enjoying a lazy Saturday night due to tomorrow's full agenda...wakeboarding in the morning, So-Cal UCLA admit happy hour in the afternoon, and a friend's Oscar party in the evening.

I had a really nice visit to Philly and Wharton, and I'm really happy I opted to do my interview on campus rather than locally with an alum. I feel like I have a fairly well-rounded impression of the program based on the visit, the info session I attended last summer, and all of the information available online. Next up is the Chicago Admit weekend. If I get good news from Wharton, I should be prepared to make an informed decision between March 24th and April 1st.

So, a recap of my trip...it was a quick one. It's a busy time of year at work and I couldn't take any more than a couple of days off. (Plus, I'm hoarding vacation days for a trip home to Seattle in April and I want to have some left as my time here in San Diego draws to a close, for things like packing and playing hooky to hit the beach or go to opening day at Del Mar.) Wednesday was pretty much just a travel day that started early and put me in to Philly in the late afternoon, which didn't leave me much time to sightsee around the city beyond a couple of cab rides. Iceman and I had planned to try to meet up for dinner that night, but never managed to track each other down. Got some dinner at the hotel, watched Lost & American Idol and called it a night.

Spent all of Thursday in Huntsman Hall. First up was sitting in on Abel's Macroecon/Finance class. Not the most exciting class, but the material was familiar to me from undergrad. Poor guy had a horrible cold and pretty much no voice, about half of the class was absent and the other half, despite the prof's requests, wasn't doing much of the talking to help him save his voice. The next class was a lot more interesting, a business law class with Borghese. The class is part of core and the full cohort was there. The lecture on employment law was pretty good, but it was even more interesting to see the interaction and banter between members of the cohort. It was evident that they were a tight group, much like a family, exchanging ideas and good natured ribbing.

After that, a few first years joined up with all of the prospective students for lunch and Q&A. It was around this time that I realized that I was the only female prospective student out of about 25. Seemed kinda funny since Wharton is 1/3 women and their applicant pool is likewise about 1/3 women. I was happy to see a couple of other women coming out of interviews while I was waiting for mine. My interview went really well. It was the most conversational interview I've had. She only asked my 3 real interview questions: walk me through your resume, what do you consider is the weakest aspect of your application, and why Wharton. Other than that, it was very chit-chatty and I probably asked more questions than she did.

I forgot to mention that Wednesday night's news was all about snow, and sure enough, it started snowing around 10:30 am (and hadn't stopped by the time I left Philly). When I was finished with my interview around 2 pm, I started checking online to see what kind of delays I'd be facing at the airport. US Air was still listing my flight as on time, but the FAA site warned of minor departure delays but significant (i.e. 5+ hour) arrival delays. Our departure time would depend on the arrival of our plane and our crew. I've done this dance with the Philadelphia airport before, so I knew I could be in for a long night.

About this time, I met the man behind Wharton's online presence, Alex Brown. He was also planning to brave the airport on route to London for HUB interviews. We figured we'd share a cab, so we plotted a strategy of hitting Pub for a beer then heading to the airport early because the snow was beginning to accumulate on the roads. He fared a bit better than I with just a two hour delay.

My flight was originally supposed to leave Philly at 8 pm EST and arrive in San Diego at 11 pm PST. Late, but not so late that I would be a mess at work the next day. I got to my gate around 7:30 pm and at that point our estimated departure was 9:40 pm. Of course, our plane was grounded in Manchester NH, and the time kept getting pushed back. Lucky for me, I made a friend in the gate area so we went and got a couple of drinks until our plane arrived around 10:30 pm. At this point, anyone on an expense account had already bailed, knowing that the flight would either be cancelled or very very late. Oh, if only I had the luxury of an expense account (at least everyone who was left had a full row of seats to themselves for the flight). We boarded the plane at 11 pm and proceeded to sit on the tarmac, taxi, de-ice, and sit on the tarmac some more until we were finally wheels up at 1 am EST. Ugh.

My new travel buddy and I had some pre-flight entertainment. There was a woman on board who was absolutely *bombed*, out of her mind drunk and/or high. Given our wait on the tarmac, even though technically we were supposed to be in our seats, the crew was cool about trips to the bathroom. However, drunk chick kept getting up and getting lost...on a pretty much empty airplane. She went to the back a couple of times, then back to her seat, then pulled her suitcase out of the overhead bin and about knocked herself out, then "charged" towards the front before being escorted back to her seat. She got up again and locked herself in the bathroom. The male flight attendents jimmied open the door and took her back to her seat again, this time forcing her boyfriend/husband to sit on the outside so she couldn't get past him. She proceeded to hit him and growl at him. It was weird and somewhat entertaining, as long as she didn't get so beligerant that we'd have to return to the gate. According to the flight attendant, the dude she was with told them that she was on anti-anxiety meds and had a few drinks at the bar. Whatever it was, she had no idea what was going on and was probably going a bit schizo. Hell, by the time we landed in San Diego around 3:30 am PST, I was a bit delirious. First song that came on the radio when I got in my car to leave the airport was "Blurry"...very appropo.

Wharton...good impression, could definitely picture myself there in the fall. Philadelphia...seems like a nice enough city, but the air traffic control needs some work so they don't get so backed up in bad weather.

Funny aside...Wharton students are some busy people. So busy, in fact, that every one I talked to had no idea that snow was in the forecast. It seems that most of them don't have time for the local news; however, judging from the number of people carrying the distinctive pink paper, they consume a lot of the world's financial news. Either that, or salmon newsprint is the hot accessory in Huntsman.

Let's get ready to rumble

Don't ya just love a good pissing match? I do. I really think we need to set up a Celebrity/Blogger Death Match between Aregon & Bskewl. Go to the mattresses, fellas!

There's also been a lot non-confrontational blogging this week. I've got a lot of blog reading to catch up on after 2 days offline while I was in Philly. Currently writing up that trip, to be posted sometime this evening, if I don't pass out first. The quick and dirty: enjoyed my visit and my interview went well, but the snow in Philly made for an extra long two day trip that ended 5 hours later than scheduled at 4 am PST this morning. I'm beat.

Quiet

I am all by my lonesome today at the office. All the other finance folks are out today, so it has been pretty quiet. Which is nice because I was up way too late reading last night and I'm a little sluggish today. I have a serious problem with reading "just 10 more pages", or "just one more chapter", as if it's not going to be there on my nightstand, waiting for me tomorrow.

I was really excited last night because my gym is finally offering a cool class. Lately, all they've been offering is: boot camp (yuck, getting yelled at by wannabe military dudes while doing push ups, no thanks), yoga/pilates/yogilates (too new age with not enough cardio for my taste), and spinning (those seats hurt my ka-dunk-a-dunk). Now, they have a gal who is doing hip hop cardio once a week. Great music, fun choreography, and the hour flies by. A nice break from the cardio machine + machine weights monotony I subject myself to the rest of the week.

Three day weekend! Woo-hoo. The bad news is, the weather is suppose to be crappy the whole time, so another week without a wakeboarding fix. This is getting ugly.

Back on topic

We now return to regularly scheduled b-school related stuff, although I haven’t had any interesting blog ideas lately. No inspiration (obviously, since I wrote about socks & laundry last time!), and no new news on the b-school front. Basically, I’m bored at work and looking forward to getting out of town. Philly trip is next week, Chicago trip is the following week. It’s weird; I’m really not sweating the interview portion of my Wharton visit. I've been through enough of the MBA admissions process at this point that I feel prepared for anything. I was pleasantly surprised to get the invite, but it lacked punch after the Chicago phone call. I’ve heard the interview is mainly about fit, and like the interview, these trips are mainly about fit for me. My current offers have me kind of ambivalent about Wharton, so I’m hoping my visits help me form an opinion and prepare for the decision I may have to make between March 24 and April 1. Things could be made very clear after my trips…I don’t click with Wharton and it solidifies Chicago as my top choice. Or, it may confuse things even more. Let’s say I fall in love with Wharton & Philly, or it moves into a tie with Chicago… What if W dings me? Does it take away some of the luster of what has been a pretty awesome application experience? What if W admits me, with no scholly money or less money than Chi? Easy decision if I prefer Chi to W after the trips, tough decision if I feel the opposite. Or, the impossible happens, I cash in all of my karma chips, and the offers are comparable? What then, flip a coin???

Yes, I’m playing the “what if” game and it’s entirely counterproductive. I know I should be playing the “be patient and see what happens” game…but where’s the fun and excitement in that?

Not to mention, I still have to respond to UCLA’s offer by March 1. I think I’m going to try to get a week’s extension, so I can finalize that after my trips. Either way, it will likely be a “thanks, but no thanks.”

BTW, could Blogger be any slower??

Off topic

I read a couple of progressive political blogs, primarily the Flytrap. Not because I’m a lefty (more of a centrist slash libertarian, really); I read because I strongly dislike and lack trust in the current administration. I’ve followed links a couple of times and found other interesting progressive blogs…All Spin Zone, Rude Pundit (rude is an understatement, but it’s some funny stuff). Lately, I’ve been reading AmericaBlog & Daily Kos and they have been investigating a potentially huge story. It’s just starting to get picked up by the mainstream media, and other outlets like the Daily Show (last night’s was awesome, I highly recommend watching the replay tonight). Whether you’re a lefty or a righty, I really encourage you to read what the folks at AmericaBlog have uncovered. Fair warning that some of the material is explicit, but they’ve covered the relevant “parts” so it’s semi- work safe.

The highlights: a pseudo-journalist, known for regurgitating White House press releases and lobbing softball questions slash editorials to the press secretary and president, has been circumventing the usual FBI procedures for getting press room access, and all evidence is confirming that this guy has been using a fake name, is/was an active gay male escort/prostitute, also owes $20K in back taxes and has an outstanding judgment against him. He’s also somehow involved in the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. This has blackmail, payola/propaganda, and national security implications, not to mention the hypocrisy of the party of family values and federal marriage amendments appearing to be in cahoots with a gay male prostitute. Something very fishy is going on here and it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Nobody seems to want to touch it at this point (Repubs, Dems, or the media), maybe because this guy has dirt on everyone. Talk about the ultimate black book. Heidi Fleiss who?

Productive

1. Did my taxes
2. Submitted my FAFSA
3. Paid off my car

Now I gotta finish my laundry so I don't have to wear dirty jeans tomorrow.

I hit Costco this weekend. I love that place. I always buy my gas there and I usually pop in to the warehouse to see if there are any books or DVDs worth purchasing. I picked up the Friday Night Lights DVD (great book, OK movie), and I got new socks. What it is about new socks? They just feel so good. My dad and I are of the same opinion: if we were to become incredibly wealthy, our splurge would be a steady supply of new socks. The socks I scored at Costco for cheap are these nice Fila short sport socks, and they are so cushy and have like this built in arch support (or at least they feel like they do). Anyway, we'll see how they wash up. Usually socks don't feel as good after they've been washed, but I've got my fingers crossed this time.

Speaking of socks, my friends and I have developed a theory about socks that disappear. You know how it seems like the washer eats your socks, usually just one from a pair? They vanish without a trace. If your washer or dryer were actually eating them, eventually there would be mechanical problems with the appliance. Socks disappear. There has to be something more sinister. Well, what if it's a conspiracy among sock makers that one or two socks out of every pack is made of vaporizing fibers so one sock eventually *poof* disappears? Wouldn't that be a racket? If they're not doing it yet, someone should look into this, there is a boatload of money to be made.

I was talking to a friend the other day. He doesn't have an MBA, but he was at Stanford recently recruiting MBAs for his company. It was interesting talking to him about the butt kissing going on at their reception and about students stumbling through the case interviews. He wasn't impressed; he felt most of the people he talked to had little experience and bloated resumes. I got the feeling it changed his opinion about my decision to get an MBA. I felt kind of protective at that point, like I had to defend my decision and defend MBA students at a program I didn't apply to/have any interest in. It was weird, but it put things in a different perspective that I will have to keep in mind when I start interviewing for internships.

Yeah, did I mention it's late and I'm waiting on laundry and I'm bored? Jeez, this post was all over the place...and, now you're all saved from my ramblings by the dryer buzzer!

For my female readers

(or guys who need gift ideas for their ladies)

A friend of mine started making handbags for herself about a year ago. She developed a couple of nice basic designs and had a knack for finding great fabrics, so of course they got noticed. She now has a website and this has become her part time business while she is in graduate school. Check it out at Janova Design.

The sea was angry that day, my friends

The weather had been beautiful here all week. The Santa Anas were blowing, so we had sunshine and 70 degree temps. My friends and I made plans to go wakeboarding, thinking it would be an awesome weekend. I haven't been riding since mid-December so I was jonesin' for some time on the water. Last night when I checked the weather report, it called for mostly cloudy skies with temps in the low 60s and no rain. All systems were go for a morning on the lake before the Super Bowl.

So much for that. It was completely blown out when we got to the lake. Chop, some whitecaps, 50 degrees, raining off and on. The wind calmed down for a little while, so we launched the boat and B. tried to make a go of it. That didn't last long. It was awful. If it's like this next weekend, I may start to lose it. I need a wakeboarding fix.

Since I had to get up early this morning to go on my futile wakeboarding mission, I had a mellow night on the couch last night. Finally watched Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Hysterical movie, laughed my sober ass off.

As for the Superbowl, let the dynasty talk commence. Good defensive game, not the blowout some were expecting. The coin toss was interesting. They had a kid do it, which was supposed to be cute, but the coin flipped maybe once in the air, if at all. Fair toss? Probably not. Commercials and halftime show were tame like everyone told us they would be. There was a serious overuse of chimps this year. The Blockbuster Online ads were driving me crazy. If you're going to spend all that money for multiple 30 second Super Bowl spots, you'd think you'd want more than one ad version so you don't bore and start pissing off an audience expecting cutting edge, entertaining ads. Just a thought. I thought the Mustang ad was pretty clever, a good way to build buzz for a car that won't be release for another couple of months.

Wharton trip

Just 5 hours after receiving the good news from Philly, my trip is booked...flight/hotel/interview, it's all done. And I found some deals, too! Scored direct flights to/from Philly on US Air for $218, then got a room at the Wyndham for $81 (tax included) via Hotwire. I guess it helps that it's February, but when you're flying out of a vacation/destination city like San Diego, it can be hard to find deals even in the winter.

Checked the weather in both Philly & Chicago...looks like there is typically a 30+ degree difference between those cities and San Diego in February/March. It's 76 degrees and sunny and I'm wearing flip flops today. Guess it's time to pull my old winter gear out of storage :) Aside from my ski gear, it hasn't seen the light of day since March 2003.

Just when I thought it wasn't going to come...

that magical little email shows up in my inbox.

Wharton wants to get a look at me in person, and I'd like to get a look at Wharton in person. More to come as I make plans...

Weighing my options

I've been doing a lot of thinking about where I want to go to school. Sometimes when I'm facing a decision, I get a little "analysis paralysis"...think too much and over-analyze myself into a non-decision. However, for the biggest decisions I've made in life, all of which have had fairly positive results, I've been able to evaluate/decide/execute in pretty short order. After writing out a pros & cons list and having a long talk with my parents today, I feel like the decision of where to go to school is going to fall into the latter category. I'm definitely leaning one direction. My only concern is that it has happened a little sooner than I anticipated, so I'm going to really try to picture myself at each school in the next couple of weeks and sort of take each option for a pseudo test drive.

Now, on to my pros & cons list. Please keep in mind that these are my personal opinions. You may agree with me, you may disagree with me. That's fine. Just take them with a grain of salt. What's right for me may not be right for someone else. Feel free to leave comments if you have information that may be helpful.

Curriculum: Prescribed core with cohort system at UCLA vs. Flexible core at Chicago. Applied Management Research Program at UCLA (required) vs Management Lab projects at GSB (optional), both sound like really cool experiential learning opportunities that can be customized for desired function/industry. Leadership Foundations at UCLA (5 days pre-term) vs LEAD at GSB (quarter long lab class, only "required" class)…I could see myself really enjoying LEAD and being a facilitator in my second year. Really like the flexibility of the Chicago curriculum, the selection of classes, and the quant strength (I may pretend to be cool, but I’m really a nerd at heart).
Advantage: Chicago

Prestige: Rankings aren't perfect, but generally speaking Chicago is top 5, UCLA is top 15. Chicago has 6 Nobel prize winners. My old economics major advisor at WSU would be tickled pink about my scholly from Chicago (and he might die if I turn it down!).
Advantage: Chicago

Network/Career: Both networks are roughly the same size. BW rankings Chicago was #1 among corporate recruiters. While UCLA has some location & program specialization advantages with regards to entertainment/media management, either way I'm going to be doing a lot of the recruiting leg work myself if I‘m going to find a job in the sports business arena. Disney/Nike/Reebok recruit on both campus, plus Fox at UCLA and the Tribune at Chicago. UCLA’s network may have better representation in my desired industry, however those alums are probably more highly utilized than Chicago alums in that industry (i.e. I’ll be one of many pestering the same set of UCLA alums vs. one of few pestering Chicago alums). UCLA is great for opening doors on the west coast, not as strong elsewhere. Chicago will open doors west coast/mid-west/north east.
Advantage: Toss up

Climate: LA is sunny and 70 pretty much year round, very little extreme weather and very subtle "seasons". Chicago is more extreme, hot & humid summers, bitterly cold winters, and definite seasons.
Advantage: UCLA (by a mile)

Sports: LA has the Lakers, but I'm not a fan. Chicago has the Cubs & Wrigley Field. UCLA is a Pac-10 school, Chicago is Division III. Not sure that I'm ready to divide my loyalties between two Pac-10 schools (being a loyal Wazzu alum), but it would be fun to go to big time football & basketball games. UCLA has the advantage when it comes to collegiate athletics; Chicago has the advantage in professional sports. It's a toss up so the tie-breaker is length of wakeboarding season.
Advantage: UCLA

City Life/Housing/Transportation: La-la land = pretentious & plastic people. San Diego is a kinder, gentler version, that's why I live here and not there right now. A car is a must-have in LA, nice-to-have in Chicago. From what I hear, you don't want to spend time on an LA bus unless you absolutely have no other choice. Traffic sucks in LA, parking on campus is not an option, so you have to live as close to campus as possible (read: not cheap). Both campuses are beautiful, for different reasons. Much better public transit in the windy city. Slightly cheaper cost of living in Chicago. More down to earth people. Excellent restaurants.
Advantage: Chicago

Friends/People: LA is close enough that I would still be able to see my San Diego friends regularly. Already have a wakeboarding network established in So-Cal. A couple of my best friends from undergrad live in Chicago. Clicked a little more with the students/fellow applicants at Chicago than at UCLA during my initial visits, but I liked everyone I met.
Advantage: Toss up

Intangibles: I've lived on both coasts, but never in the middle. I will probably end up on the west coast in the long run because that's where my family is, so it might be nice to spend a couple of years somewhere else. I'm not a fan of LA, and I‘ve kinda “been there/done that“ as far as living in Southern California goes, but I liked the school. On the other hand, I loved the city and the school when I visited Chicago. Personality-wise, I think the school and the city are a better fit and most of my friends that I’ve told about UCLA & Chicago say they see me at Chicago. Plus, I don't know that you turn down 50 large from a top 5 school, regardless of post-MBA aspirations.
Advantage: Chicago

So yeah, I'm leaning towards Chicago and really looking forward to the admit weekend :) But nothing has been decided yet, and I'm still waiting to hear from Wharton. However, I do think I'm ready to decline the McCombs admit at this point.

Went to see In Good Company last night. I really enjoyed it. Topher "I'm too cool to shorten Christopher to Chris" Grace is really funny, and Scarlett Johanssen is beautiful as always. Great satire on coporate life and cute story about dads and their little girls. I'm definitely daddy's little girl and I always will be.

Oh, and on the BWBB front, another co-worker's last day with the company was Friday and he was having lunch with BWBB. He promised to say something to him about it. We'll see if the halitosis is kicking again tomorrow. For others facing the same problem, there are actually several bad breath solution companies out there that offer annoymous email services.

How do you tell someone...

that their breath smells like butt? Someone I work with has the most rank breath ever. It wasn't always this bad so I'm not sure what is going on. Anytime we talk in close proximity, I feel like I have to put a poker face on and do my best not to flinch when he talks. If anyone has any ideas of how to tactfully confront someone regarding their halitosis, let me know. Something has got to be done, but I don't want to damage a working relationship.

Booked my ticket to Chicago today. I *heart* Southwest Airlines. Great prices, easy scheduling/reservations, easy to earn free tickets. Direct flights to and from Midway at convenient times for $175. My friends are so excited that I'm coming to visit again and have started campaigning in earnest to get me to Chicago. I'm looking forward to seeing them, experiencing a little bit of Chicago winter to see if I can handle it, and learning more about the GSB.

I've started pros/cons lists for Chicago & UCLA. I'm not going to post them just yet, but I probably will in the near future.

My weekend was awesome, but I'm exhausted. I needed a weekend to recover from my weekend. Hit Big Bear for some snowboarding with friends on Saturday. We made it a day trip so it was a long day. The drive up wasn't bad, but the 38 was closed with a rock slide, so there was only one way down the mountain (330/30) at the end of the day and it took us 3 hrs just to get down to the Redlands, not to mention drive back to San Diego. We left the mountain at 5:30 and got home around 10 pm, with only one stop for food. We were all tired and a little looney towards the end. I hallucinated a wiener dog in the car in front of us. (I actually said out loud "Look at that cute dog!" and everybody was like "What dog??") That provided needed entertainment for the rest of the drive. The hand shadow wiener dog is now our running joke, and I will be the first to crack it because I can laugh at myself. The next morning we were driving up to Torrey Pines for the Buick Invitational, entering the reserve from the north end along the beach. Me: "Dolphins! For real this time!!" There were 20+ dolphins just offshore, surfing the waves, jumping, playing. It was an incredible sight, it would have been awesome to be out there surfing with them (if I actually surfed, that is).

The Buick was so much fun. A friend of a friend works for the Buick/PGA Tour (yes, I've got her on my list of people to contact for internship/job stuff). She hooked us up with passes for the day. Torrey Pines is beautiful...makes me want to take up golf! Highlights from the day:

• Seeing Tiger get sandy twice on #1 and still make par
• Seeing Tiger & Lehman tee off from about 10 ft away
• Ending up positioned perfectly to see Sergio make a great shot out of the rough on #15, also close enough to see that he was wearing plaid boxers under white pants (who does that?? not to mention, white in January?)
• Seeing Daly drop his cigarette, make his put, pick up the cig and cut up with the crowd
• Sitting in the stands on #18 to witness Howell3's approach shot hit the pin, bounce practically out of the hole and into the water hazard (that was killer! and it cost him at least 2nd place by himself and maybe 1st)
• Fellas, sorry to say that we saw neither Phil's nor Tiger's hot wife, but we were on the lookout

If anybody saw the telecast, you know about the fog. It had been wreaking havoc all week. It was pretty incredible, you could see it hanging around offshore and you knew it was only a mater of time before it moved in. It was so thick for awhile that we were sure play was going to be called for the day and we nearly left. We were really happy that we stuck around because the sun came back and it was a pretty great finish. I'm telling you, if you have the opportunity to go to a PGA event, go. It's like a carnival, with all of the booths with free stuff, activities, lots of beer and food. The best part is that you are up close and personal with the greatest golfers in the world.

Chivalry

What's up with the dude who sees me walking toward the elevator, makes eye contact with me, sees that I've started to reach my arm out to catch the door, yet fails to push the "doors open" button or reach his arm out to catch the door? Thanks, buddy, I guess I'll catch the next one. You know, I'd be a little peeved if it was a woman who did this to me, but I'm extra pissed off since it was a guy. I'm an independent woman and everything, I certainly don't expect a man to take care of me, but c'mon, it's common courtesy to hold a freakin' door. As my great uncle would say, "conditions" are breaking down. Although he was a bit of a chauvinist and usually said it whenever he saw my dad cooking instead of my mom!

Although I've received good news from Anderson on two occasions, today was the first time I got a phone call from the folks up in LA. Dean Willison called this morning to confirm that I had received the congratulatory emails and to let me know how excited they are to have me join the Class of 2007. He also said that he was pretty sure I would have other admits to consider and that if there was any information he could provide to make my decision easier I should call or email him. I thought it was a nice gesture and I appreciated the offer to answer any questions I might have.

I've requested time off work for admit weekends and my boss is dragging his heels a bit on days for Chicago because it hits right as we're in the thick of month end reporting and my co-worker is already planning to be out of the office that week. Hoping to get a schedule of events soon so I can work my negotiation magic and find a way to have my cake and eat it too.

I've joined the Yahoo groups for Chicago & UCLA admits. My blogging cover is pretty much blown at this point as far as those groups are concerned. I forget how much information about me is really contained on this little website; it doesn't take much to connect the dots. So I will just throw out a reminder that there is a reason why I don't use my real name on this blog, and I would appreciate it if those who leave comments also refrain from using my real name. And of course, if you have any questions or concerns, you can always email me privately. Thanks!

Still in shock

How am I supposed to focus on work at a time like this???

Bloggers are kicking serious ass right now. Congrats to PowerYogi, TDC, and Megami!

Had to check my phone this morning to verify that yes, I did in fact receive a phone call from the 773. My boss and former boss were elated by the news, and of course took credit for their excellent recommendations.

I must have built up some really good karma or something. I wish I could bottle this good fortune and save some for the internship & job hunt.

Early on in this process, everybody was talking about the oddball Chicago essays. I always kinda liked them best and had a great time writing them, so I think I'll share my "choices", so to speak. Keep in mind that a creative or original idea is probably least important for these essays. I think it's much more important to choose something you really believe in, and tell a great story with solid reasons for your choices. I don't think any of my choices were particularly original, but I had fun with them and I definitely used humor in the essays and really tried to let my personality come through.

Mascot--polar bear (however, I didn't give him a name or anything)
Celebrity--Oprah (which is kinda interesting because one of my friends in Chicago just landed a job with Oprah)
Hero--my grandmother

Speechless, Part 2

Just got the most fantastic phone call from area code 773. Chicago loves me, they really really love me!

Stacey Kole called about 20 minutes ago with the good news. I'm in, and they've offered me $50K ($25K first year, $25K second year)!!!!!!!!!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy freaking cow, how did I get here? :)

That means money is pretty much a non-factor now when considering UCLA & Chicago. Texas is officially out of the race. I have to accept the Chi offer by April 1 and the admit weekend is the first weekend of March. I'm thinking I'll drop a deposit to both UCLA & Chicago, attend both admit weekends, see what happens with Wharton, and make a gut check from there.

Stacey had some really nice things to say about my application. I used the optional essay to talk about my previous application to Chicago, how I reacted to their decision, and how far I've come since then. She specifically cited that essay, that she remembered my old app, that she agrees that the decision was right for both parties at the time, and they are really excited about my progress and think I'm ready to take on the world with an MBA from Chicago. Swoon!

I'm so excited I could puke. First call after I got off the phone with Stacey was to my mom. Second was to my friends in Chicago. They are just as excited as I am.

Still thinking

Not much news to report here. Still walking a couple inches off the ground after last week's news. Funny how what started as a bummer of a week with the Kellogg ding turned into a fantastic week with the Anderson $$$. Just goes to show that you have to take life as it comes and trust that everything happens for a reason and things usually end up falling into place.

I haven't made any decisions yet. Nothing is set in stone and I still have a lot of time to think, talk to people, make visits, etc. I'll get my Chicago decision by the end of the week and I have no plans to pull my Wharton app. I am in a "wait and see" mode, while I'm getting my financial stuff together for my tax return and FASFA, and also trying to find a couple of scholarships to apply for. My sorority gives out a lot of scholarship money each year and I'm still actively involved in an advising capacity, so I think I should be competitive. Just need to get some sorority-related recommendations lined up.

Speechless

Anderson just showed me the money. $30K in total ($15K for 1st year, $15 for 2nd year).

Wow. Just....wow. Considering I'm a CA resident, that is a substantial chunk of the expense. Thank god I have an office, because I'm a mess right now. Called my mom, crying and hyperventilating.

I have to accept by March 1st. Not sure what this means for my outstanding apps (W/Chi), and McCombs is most likely out of the running at this point. I need to think.

Time

One of Dave's recent posts, about the time warp that is the MBA application process, struck a chord with me. At times, it feels like I've been at this forever. Time slows to a crawl when awaiting a decision. Yet it also feels like only yesterday I was starting apps and arranging visits.

Dave's post also resonnated with me because of the book I'm currently reading. Einstein's Dreams, by Alan Lightman, has been out for over a decade, but I only recently discovered it. I wouldn't call it a novel so much as a collection of short stories, which makes it a nice book to read in small doses whenever you have a few minutes to spare. Even if you only spend a few minutes reading each story, the ideas linger with you much longer. Each story is one of Einstein's dreams as he works on his theory of relativity, each dream an alternative idea of the nature of time, either in this world, or in other worlds. Time stands still, moves in reverse, is slower at higher elevations, is circular, moves in fits and bursts. Wonder what people would do if everyone knew the exact date that time & the world would end? Lightman has a great take on that scenario.

Fantastic book. My favorite quote: "I want to understand time because I want to get close to The Old One."