Posts
So in those missing 5 days, life threw a bunch of curveballs…
For one thing, the midterms. The results have started trickling in, and they’ve been good – honestly better than I thought, especially in that economics test. The Finance and Accounting midterms went well too, so the post-midterm GPA will be pretty solid, which is really the only important thing and the last time I mention any of that.
In that vein, very happy to be able to stick to the ‘not telling anyone what grades I’ve gotten.’ Obviously MBAs are competitive people, so right after the grades came out, a few students (led by our very plentiful Indian contingent), started comparing grades… somewhat reminiscent of American high school. It’s not good, it’s not bad, but it’s a part of culture that I can’t quite relate to. Grades and salaries, these things are private… as are job rejections and interviews, when that circus starts in a few months.
Speaking of which, Aussie culture is very interesting regarding race; when people ask me where I’m from, I always say, “New York,” and they always counter with, “No, where are you really from?” I used to say, “Well, my parents are from India,” but about a month ago I changed my answer…
Here in Oz, culture’s yet to be swallowed into the greater whole. For instance, a Korean-born Aussie will still celebrate Korean holidays, will likely speak Korean at home, have Korean friends, and maintain at least a little bit of Korean-ness to them. They’ll be proud of their heritage and it’s still a large part of their identity.
In the US, I suppose there’s some of that, but for the most part (and especially with my generation), I feel that being American supersedes any other racial or cultural heritage a person might have. Of course that’s a huge generalization… but the vast majority of Americans, when asked where they’re from, will not even think to quote their cultural ancestry if they were born in the States. Certainly cultural ancestry is a part of our most of our lives, but it’s an exponentially smaller part of it than it would’ve been had we been brought up in Oz. I mean, I relate to Saved By The Bell and MacGyver much better than Indian TV. I mean, there must be Indian TV shows… but I don’t know ANY of them. Or any of the celebs. And it’s totally fine. In the States.
But here, (and in Korea as well), the expectation was that cultural heritage defines a person much more than the place of birth. For instance, in Korea, I took an interesting question from a very confused Indian as to why I was serving in the American military. In his mind, my skin color and last name was enough that I shouldn’t be American, even after spending an entire life there, and even after not being able to speak a lick of the language Mom and Dad grew up with.
It’s an interesting counterpoint, and it’s something that will probably surface for the rest of my life, especially if I continue to live abroad like I’m currently planning to do. People understand Americans, and people understand brown… But being brown and American is not something that readily computes for most people here.
So I insist that I’m American. And when they insist to find out where I’m from, I keep insisting I’m American. So far it’s made for some interesting conversations :)
^_^
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Midterms done
Last midterm finished on Thursday… seems like a lifetime ago. It’s Sunday now, so Thursday was only… three days? Three days ago we were in the midst of school… this week we’re stepping around it, trying to regain focus even in a total lack of adrenaline.
One thing’s for certain; studying efficiency went way up right before midterms, and now… well, it’s down to pre-pre-midterm levels. Maybe there’s something about time pressure that makes the brain more effective; maybe duress really is the key to true effectiveness after all. But there has to be a way to get back to that heightened state of awareness… something other than insane time pressure. Will let you know if / when I find something.
In the post-midterm, pulse rate’s gone down for the past few days, and the mind has gotten a bit fuzzy. I’ve also been a lot more lethargic the past few days, even as I can bench at least 5-10 kilos more than I could while I was studying for the past three weeks straight. Weird. Yes, Aussie gyms have weights in kilos and running split times in kph. Still haven't quite done the coversions, so there's no way to know how much you're actually putting up... except for multiplying by 2.2. Ha ha.
In the meantime, life goes on. Real world met blog world a few days ago when Ameel and I finally met in person (his blog is here), and it met again when my Econ prof wanted the blog website after the movie crew filmed a part of his economics class.
How funny is that? I e-mailed him the website straightaway but made sure to tell him in person exactly what I felt about his midterm… and as Americans, we got into it a bit more than some of the internationals were comfortable with. Both me (and Professor Ryall, I’m sure) thought we were having a relatively normal discussion… but in other countries, teachers and students don’t really talk as peers, so some of my classmates were a little surprised at the frankness we used that day. Just goes to show exactly how international and diverse this school really is.
Great place. Have I said that before? :)
Ha ha.
This week’s actually a big one; the first client presentation on Friday, and we’re overnighting starting Thursday afternoon to head up there. It’s my first real consulting project with these guys, so there are definitely butterflies of nervousness shooting through my body at strange times… even if it hasn’t yet overcome my sluggishness. Maybe tomorrow.
^_^
One thing’s for certain; studying efficiency went way up right before midterms, and now… well, it’s down to pre-pre-midterm levels. Maybe there’s something about time pressure that makes the brain more effective; maybe duress really is the key to true effectiveness after all. But there has to be a way to get back to that heightened state of awareness… something other than insane time pressure. Will let you know if / when I find something.
In the post-midterm, pulse rate’s gone down for the past few days, and the mind has gotten a bit fuzzy. I’ve also been a lot more lethargic the past few days, even as I can bench at least 5-10 kilos more than I could while I was studying for the past three weeks straight. Weird. Yes, Aussie gyms have weights in kilos and running split times in kph. Still haven't quite done the coversions, so there's no way to know how much you're actually putting up... except for multiplying by 2.2. Ha ha.
In the meantime, life goes on. Real world met blog world a few days ago when Ameel and I finally met in person (his blog is here), and it met again when my Econ prof wanted the blog website after the movie crew filmed a part of his economics class.
How funny is that? I e-mailed him the website straightaway but made sure to tell him in person exactly what I felt about his midterm… and as Americans, we got into it a bit more than some of the internationals were comfortable with. Both me (and Professor Ryall, I’m sure) thought we were having a relatively normal discussion… but in other countries, teachers and students don’t really talk as peers, so some of my classmates were a little surprised at the frankness we used that day. Just goes to show exactly how international and diverse this school really is.
Great place. Have I said that before? :)
Ha ha.
This week’s actually a big one; the first client presentation on Friday, and we’re overnighting starting Thursday afternoon to head up there. It’s my first real consulting project with these guys, so there are definitely butterflies of nervousness shooting through my body at strange times… even if it hasn’t yet overcome my sluggishness. Maybe tomorrow.
^_^
Monday, October 20, 2008
mind clearing
Yikes!
So there’s a finance test tomorrow; and I think once again I am totally ready for this. Deja vu... God I hope not. That econ test...
Nonetheless, refusing to study! No more tonight! No more tomorrow! Reading a Wetfeet guide before the test!
I hope. Except Cynthia refused to walk and talk about econ before the test. I guess she wants to study finance… how could that be? :)
There comes a point when it’s more mental than anything; when enough information is in the brain that the value add comes from application rather than from additional information. And in order to apply knowledge… you have to be relaxed. Confident. Awake. Clear-headed. And probably thinking about everything except finance until you start the test.
But definitely not thinking about competitive range, either. Grrrr.
^_^
Anyway, it turns out what I saw at the park this past weekend were Aussie possums. They were small and not really that cute, but they were everywhere, climbing through and around the trees. Toward the end of the night, they started making threatening noises… I actually had to stare one down. Never stared down an animal before… first time for everything.
Maybe they wanted me out of their home… maybe I smell too much like person. Back home, people would hang bars of ivory soap to scare deer away from gardens; maybe aussie possums have enhanced senses of smell. Or maybe they just don't like strangers in their home.
According to wikipedia (which, as you know, is the be-all and end-all of knowledge), possums are native to Oz… and they’re marsupials! Cool. And they're spelled with a P, not an O... so when kids learn the alphabet, they have to learn about Ostriches or orangutans in order to learn the alphabet.
So there. Oz is so exciting that you see marsupials in the park. And birds in the lower levels of the indoor shopping malls.
And you will not see me studying any more for this Finance midterm. Good night! :)
^_^
So there’s a finance test tomorrow; and I think once again I am totally ready for this. Deja vu... God I hope not. That econ test...
Nonetheless, refusing to study! No more tonight! No more tomorrow! Reading a Wetfeet guide before the test!
I hope. Except Cynthia refused to walk and talk about econ before the test. I guess she wants to study finance… how could that be? :)
There comes a point when it’s more mental than anything; when enough information is in the brain that the value add comes from application rather than from additional information. And in order to apply knowledge… you have to be relaxed. Confident. Awake. Clear-headed. And probably thinking about everything except finance until you start the test.
But definitely not thinking about competitive range, either. Grrrr.
^_^
Anyway, it turns out what I saw at the park this past weekend were Aussie possums. They were small and not really that cute, but they were everywhere, climbing through and around the trees. Toward the end of the night, they started making threatening noises… I actually had to stare one down. Never stared down an animal before… first time for everything.
Maybe they wanted me out of their home… maybe I smell too much like person. Back home, people would hang bars of ivory soap to scare deer away from gardens; maybe aussie possums have enhanced senses of smell. Or maybe they just don't like strangers in their home.
According to wikipedia (which, as you know, is the be-all and end-all of knowledge), possums are native to Oz… and they’re marsupials! Cool. And they're spelled with a P, not an O... so when kids learn the alphabet, they have to learn about Ostriches or orangutans in order to learn the alphabet.
So there. Oz is so exciting that you see marsupials in the park. And birds in the lower levels of the indoor shopping malls.
And you will not see me studying any more for this Finance midterm. Good night! :)
^_^
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Midterm update
So… the econ midterm came and went.
And that is all about the econ midterm. :) Maybe grades come out in a week or so.
If only it were that simple... :) I’ve become pretty fatalistic about the whole thing; all anyone can do is the best preparation possible, and then hope to understand all the questions and make game-time adjustments if necessary. In the end, all you can do is all you can do. I made some game time adjustments and missed a few others, but the mean will probably be low because 25% of the test was based on a term pretty much unmentioned in class or the readings. Gotta love Melbourne Business School's mean-based scoring :)
Two more tests next week (Stat on Saturday… bring it on!! :)). We’ll see what’s up after Saturday, though. Don’t want to bring the next set on… at least not today. Maybe after Saturday :)
More exciting news is that there’s a client site-visit all day Friday; I can’t stop smiling because it’s new and exciting. But always in the back of my head… getting dressed for a 7AM train appointment probably won’t help the grades, and if this job actually ends up hurting my academics, then what am i doing? Is this a truly bad decision to have accepted this job?
So far I’m pretty sure it’s not; at least, so far, neither of the two midterms' results would have been affected by additional studying. So far at least, there’s been enough time and mindspace to fully devote myself to these two pursuits. Also, as a benefit, simply working PT for a consulting firm boosts the resume, and it gives some leeway if the GPA falters. Most importantly, though, life has been so much more rewarding because of the job. That’s got to count for something.
I think in the end, though, all we can do is make the best decisions we can with the limited information we have, work our butts off and hope we can make game-time adjustments if necessary. Taking a part-time consulting gig for a person who’s going into consulting is probably a good thing, right?
Ha ha. Most definitely. Unless I bomb the midterms because of it. I truly believe the chance of that happening is ridiculously low… but I have been wrong before. So I guess... we’ll see what happens! :)
Heh heh.
^_^
And that is all about the econ midterm. :) Maybe grades come out in a week or so.
If only it were that simple... :) I’ve become pretty fatalistic about the whole thing; all anyone can do is the best preparation possible, and then hope to understand all the questions and make game-time adjustments if necessary. In the end, all you can do is all you can do. I made some game time adjustments and missed a few others, but the mean will probably be low because 25% of the test was based on a term pretty much unmentioned in class or the readings. Gotta love Melbourne Business School's mean-based scoring :)
Two more tests next week (Stat on Saturday… bring it on!! :)). We’ll see what’s up after Saturday, though. Don’t want to bring the next set on… at least not today. Maybe after Saturday :)
More exciting news is that there’s a client site-visit all day Friday; I can’t stop smiling because it’s new and exciting. But always in the back of my head… getting dressed for a 7AM train appointment probably won’t help the grades, and if this job actually ends up hurting my academics, then what am i doing? Is this a truly bad decision to have accepted this job?
So far I’m pretty sure it’s not; at least, so far, neither of the two midterms' results would have been affected by additional studying. So far at least, there’s been enough time and mindspace to fully devote myself to these two pursuits. Also, as a benefit, simply working PT for a consulting firm boosts the resume, and it gives some leeway if the GPA falters. Most importantly, though, life has been so much more rewarding because of the job. That’s got to count for something.
I think in the end, though, all we can do is make the best decisions we can with the limited information we have, work our butts off and hope we can make game-time adjustments if necessary. Taking a part-time consulting gig for a person who’s going into consulting is probably a good thing, right?
Ha ha. Most definitely. Unless I bomb the midterms because of it. I truly believe the chance of that happening is ridiculously low… but I have been wrong before. So I guess... we’ll see what happens! :)
Heh heh.
^_^
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
what do you know...
Need a study break.
Econ midterm tomorrow… been practicing the sample midterms, but alas, the sample midterms so much easier after you do them once and correct your answers. Obviously this is not a revolutionary concept, but with only three practice midterms, of which around 25% of the questions don’t apply, all of us are going in tomorrow with limited practice. No real alternative, though. C'est la vie.
One question tomorrow will be a chance node… another will involve discounting, and besides that… no idea :) Maybe some BATNAs, maybe some multilateral distributions… and then again, maybe not :)
Not that it matters much, perhaps. Took the MPHP midterm and completely expected the question… but being a qualitative subject, though, who knows what happened?
It’s ridiculous to be thinking so heavily about grades… but if the first-year internship depends on them (and the initial post-MBA career after that possibly depends on the internship), then there’s a pretty strong case to say that these tests are a vital step in determining which career track to pursue.
And yet… grades seem so arbitrary. Does deciphering a hieroglyphic economic test really mean a person will be a stronger consultant? Should we award a finance job because a person can properly apply the strategic lens in his MPHP class?
Maybe this is the best system the world has… and yet… it’s so flawed.
That being said, I am having a blast and thoroughly enjoying the lifestyle and the chance to put life on hold for a while and simply learn. The material and teachers are really interesting. And Melbourne is a great place to live and study.
The minimum wage is around $15 / hour, but rumor has it that it’s not hard to find an unskilled job (for instance, retail) that will pay $25 / hour. Since prices and rents are comparable to about Philadelphia, that means that unskilled people can afford a very comfortable standard of living… which might be part of the reason that people are so nice and chill down here. It’s really a special place.
And a really special place to study. Back to work… :)
^_^
Econ midterm tomorrow… been practicing the sample midterms, but alas, the sample midterms so much easier after you do them once and correct your answers. Obviously this is not a revolutionary concept, but with only three practice midterms, of which around 25% of the questions don’t apply, all of us are going in tomorrow with limited practice. No real alternative, though. C'est la vie.
One question tomorrow will be a chance node… another will involve discounting, and besides that… no idea :) Maybe some BATNAs, maybe some multilateral distributions… and then again, maybe not :)
Not that it matters much, perhaps. Took the MPHP midterm and completely expected the question… but being a qualitative subject, though, who knows what happened?
It’s ridiculous to be thinking so heavily about grades… but if the first-year internship depends on them (and the initial post-MBA career after that possibly depends on the internship), then there’s a pretty strong case to say that these tests are a vital step in determining which career track to pursue.
And yet… grades seem so arbitrary. Does deciphering a hieroglyphic economic test really mean a person will be a stronger consultant? Should we award a finance job because a person can properly apply the strategic lens in his MPHP class?
Maybe this is the best system the world has… and yet… it’s so flawed.
That being said, I am having a blast and thoroughly enjoying the lifestyle and the chance to put life on hold for a while and simply learn. The material and teachers are really interesting. And Melbourne is a great place to live and study.
The minimum wage is around $15 / hour, but rumor has it that it’s not hard to find an unskilled job (for instance, retail) that will pay $25 / hour. Since prices and rents are comparable to about Philadelphia, that means that unskilled people can afford a very comfortable standard of living… which might be part of the reason that people are so nice and chill down here. It’s really a special place.
And a really special place to study. Back to work… :)
^_^
Sunday, October 12, 2008
pre-midterm
First things first – thank you for bearing with me last week; B-school’s been crazy busy (3 midterms this week), and I was in the unfortunate and somewhat alarming position of slipping further back in class a little bit more each day. To say it nicely, it was a strange experience… no matter how hard I worked, the classes were, each day, getting father and farther out of reach.
And! Sick! And! Job started!
So… 1+1 = 2 and it seemed like the smart thing to do was to cut commitments and get well, fast..
Out went the blog, out went the gym, and in came sleep, lots of food, and lots of Aldi Orange Juice. Exactly what I needed. And it worked! The last few days, the classes have become a little MORE manageable than before. As in, on Friday, I was more caught up with the class material than on Monday, in spite of the fact that every day of three hour class feels like inhaling a set of ping pong balls, and, in the past, every day of class simply added to the confusion because there wasn’t enough time to learn the material presented.
So, lesson learned, and this weekly blog will be the norm, at least for a little while. It seems like a more effective way to do things, in the end. Because… is it really that much less effective than a daily blog? Especially if the quality dips, like it did last week… Seems like it’s better to write something meaningful and passionate rather than throw some words down on a page before collapsing into bed. Quality over quantity, right? That’s the Melbourne Business School way :) Don’t know if that’s official but it probably should be.
Anyway. Last week was amazing. Definitely the busiest week so far, it also included 4 Aldi 2-Liter OJs and an almost entire box of Kleenex. Yes, Oz has Kleenex. And they’re called Kleenex. No Puffs here, and no dryer sheets here either.
Think of it! The entire country doesn’t Bounce! The weather’s not cold, so there is no static cling… there are MASSIVE flies though, these ones stick to your head even when you try to shake them off. They’re a resistant breed of fly that apparently survives the Australian outback. Maybe they’re Oz’ cockroach; haven’t seen one here yet… and since the apartment’s in the Central Business District (insert laugh here), it strikes me as somewhat odd that I saw a bird fly into a Fast Food restaurant before seeing a cockroach.
That’s been one of the differences so far – even though Melbourne is supposedly a city, you still get woken up by birds. And there are so many parks around; within a four block walk there’s probably 5 or 6 of them, each about as big as the upper quad quadrangle at Penn. It gives Melbourne a small-town feel even with its 3.6 million people. It might be the laid-backness too; today I heard the first angry person in the past two months; some Asian guy was screaming into his cellphone as he walked down on the street. You don’t get this in Oz. No angry people. Very, very different than Seoul or New York. But not that different from Hawaii… Both are islands, after all… :)
Back to the week; MBS is deciding to videotape a few students to make a promo branding video… why do I bring this up? Because… as you might have guessed, yours truly is being followed around with a video camera! Now the entire world can not only read about the uber-exciting MBS lifestyle but also see it professionally recorded Real World style…
The amazing walk to school! The amazing lunch dining facility… at school! The budget Chinese food place right outside the front entrance! The syndicate rooms! The MBS Wednesday Night Drinking Clubs! The MBS Salsa classes! They’re even taping the aftermath of the Economic midterm… maybe not the best promotion for our school, but they insisted on making the video ‘authentic,’ and it would be really cool if they could pull it off. They also wanted to see the lives we lead outside MBS, so hopefully they can be dragged to Toastmasters, assuming Toastmasters is cool getting videotaped for an MBS promo. Fingers are definitely crossed…
One of the selling points about MBS is that is really is possible to draw lines and unplug from the experience (my syndicate never meets on the weekend, for instance, and most of us sleep plenty and actually see our outside friends). That being said, it’s a crazy time for us now (midterms), especially because these somewhat arbitrary exams factor into our term grades, which may determine our future job options, or at least eliminate a certain number of us from the consulting and finance industries that so many of us are targeting.
So callous… but true. But it’s fair – unlike most B-schools, Melbourne Business School gives grades, so those of us who get an H1 (or 80%) average put that bright and bold on our resume… but those of us who don’t won’t get interviewed by the strategy firms. That being said, the other side holds true; an H1 average will definitely get interviews from all the big firms, even without doing any outside networking or having an applicable background. In the end, even if it does put pressure on these somewhat arbitrary tests, at least we know exactly where we stand. There’s no Kellogg factor, where people may get interviewed by some companies but not others. Here, it’s grades. If you get the grades, you will get interviews, and if you don’t… well, at least you have enough time to make other plans and choose less competitive industries.
Heady stuff. But very humane.
Speaking of heady stuff, the consulting job started this past week, and it is absolutely awesome. I love it. I LOVE it. Confidentiality says I can’t talk about it, but trust me; it is mad cool. I feel really fortunate to have landed this job, even though it may take more time than originally planned for.
But in the end, life’s too short, right? You make time for the truly essential things. And you make adjustments to the things that are ‘just’ important.
Like writing this every week instead of every day. That’s an adjustment that makes the essential possible… :)
Ha ha. Good night! Meeting the workout buddy tomorrow morning :)
^_^
And! Sick! And! Job started!
So… 1+1 = 2 and it seemed like the smart thing to do was to cut commitments and get well, fast..
Out went the blog, out went the gym, and in came sleep, lots of food, and lots of Aldi Orange Juice. Exactly what I needed. And it worked! The last few days, the classes have become a little MORE manageable than before. As in, on Friday, I was more caught up with the class material than on Monday, in spite of the fact that every day of three hour class feels like inhaling a set of ping pong balls, and, in the past, every day of class simply added to the confusion because there wasn’t enough time to learn the material presented.
So, lesson learned, and this weekly blog will be the norm, at least for a little while. It seems like a more effective way to do things, in the end. Because… is it really that much less effective than a daily blog? Especially if the quality dips, like it did last week… Seems like it’s better to write something meaningful and passionate rather than throw some words down on a page before collapsing into bed. Quality over quantity, right? That’s the Melbourne Business School way :) Don’t know if that’s official but it probably should be.
Anyway. Last week was amazing. Definitely the busiest week so far, it also included 4 Aldi 2-Liter OJs and an almost entire box of Kleenex. Yes, Oz has Kleenex. And they’re called Kleenex. No Puffs here, and no dryer sheets here either.
Think of it! The entire country doesn’t Bounce! The weather’s not cold, so there is no static cling… there are MASSIVE flies though, these ones stick to your head even when you try to shake them off. They’re a resistant breed of fly that apparently survives the Australian outback. Maybe they’re Oz’ cockroach; haven’t seen one here yet… and since the apartment’s in the Central Business District (insert laugh here), it strikes me as somewhat odd that I saw a bird fly into a Fast Food restaurant before seeing a cockroach.
That’s been one of the differences so far – even though Melbourne is supposedly a city, you still get woken up by birds. And there are so many parks around; within a four block walk there’s probably 5 or 6 of them, each about as big as the upper quad quadrangle at Penn. It gives Melbourne a small-town feel even with its 3.6 million people. It might be the laid-backness too; today I heard the first angry person in the past two months; some Asian guy was screaming into his cellphone as he walked down on the street. You don’t get this in Oz. No angry people. Very, very different than Seoul or New York. But not that different from Hawaii… Both are islands, after all… :)
Back to the week; MBS is deciding to videotape a few students to make a promo branding video… why do I bring this up? Because… as you might have guessed, yours truly is being followed around with a video camera! Now the entire world can not only read about the uber-exciting MBS lifestyle but also see it professionally recorded Real World style…
The amazing walk to school! The amazing lunch dining facility… at school! The budget Chinese food place right outside the front entrance! The syndicate rooms! The MBS Wednesday Night Drinking Clubs! The MBS Salsa classes! They’re even taping the aftermath of the Economic midterm… maybe not the best promotion for our school, but they insisted on making the video ‘authentic,’ and it would be really cool if they could pull it off. They also wanted to see the lives we lead outside MBS, so hopefully they can be dragged to Toastmasters, assuming Toastmasters is cool getting videotaped for an MBS promo. Fingers are definitely crossed…
One of the selling points about MBS is that is really is possible to draw lines and unplug from the experience (my syndicate never meets on the weekend, for instance, and most of us sleep plenty and actually see our outside friends). That being said, it’s a crazy time for us now (midterms), especially because these somewhat arbitrary exams factor into our term grades, which may determine our future job options, or at least eliminate a certain number of us from the consulting and finance industries that so many of us are targeting.
So callous… but true. But it’s fair – unlike most B-schools, Melbourne Business School gives grades, so those of us who get an H1 (or 80%) average put that bright and bold on our resume… but those of us who don’t won’t get interviewed by the strategy firms. That being said, the other side holds true; an H1 average will definitely get interviews from all the big firms, even without doing any outside networking or having an applicable background. In the end, even if it does put pressure on these somewhat arbitrary tests, at least we know exactly where we stand. There’s no Kellogg factor, where people may get interviewed by some companies but not others. Here, it’s grades. If you get the grades, you will get interviews, and if you don’t… well, at least you have enough time to make other plans and choose less competitive industries.
Heady stuff. But very humane.
Speaking of heady stuff, the consulting job started this past week, and it is absolutely awesome. I love it. I LOVE it. Confidentiality says I can’t talk about it, but trust me; it is mad cool. I feel really fortunate to have landed this job, even though it may take more time than originally planned for.
But in the end, life’s too short, right? You make time for the truly essential things. And you make adjustments to the things that are ‘just’ important.
Like writing this every week instead of every day. That’s an adjustment that makes the essential possible… :)
Ha ha. Good night! Meeting the workout buddy tomorrow morning :)
^_^
Friday, October 3, 2008
week 4 over
Amazing how fast it goes.
We were warned this would happen… sometime around the middle of the term, time would start running together…days would become weeks, and weeks would become months… and before you know it, there are only two weeks before midterms and you’re happy, excited and nervous to be part of the grind that’s simultaneously wearing you out and the reason for your existence.
It’ll be a busy weekend. Just like it was a busy day. But that’s all right… it’s life.
^_^
We were warned this would happen… sometime around the middle of the term, time would start running together…days would become weeks, and weeks would become months… and before you know it, there are only two weeks before midterms and you’re happy, excited and nervous to be part of the grind that’s simultaneously wearing you out and the reason for your existence.
It’ll be a busy weekend. Just like it was a busy day. But that’s all right… it’s life.
^_^
workout buddy
So my original plan was to put the head down and work… and work… and eventually do well. And somehow I thought that life would stop in the meantime, and the only thing left to mention would be the Melbourne Business School Academic experience.
The things like Professor Trende calling out every person who walked in late to accounting class today. So many different responses… the look (a person who came in at exactly 8:46), the blunt excuse (traffic jam), and even an embarrassed cringe from one poor soul of many who came in roughly an hour late. Highly entertaining. But effective? Will we actually start on time now? Time will tell.
Of course, life has been so much more. Of course! No idea what I was thinking last week.
Take today. After having a rough day for various reasons (none of which will go public), I finished my homework and studying and headed off to Fitness First… Fitness First being a chain version of the big American gyms.
Fitness First is a tough business proposition; gyms not really a part of Aussie culture, the sheer number of current members who have no idea how to use any of the equipment is alarming. There will definitely be a lawsuit in the coming months from the misuse of a medicine ball. At least Fitness First recognizes this need for gym education; they bundle in a personal trainer for every new membership, in hopes that this personal trainer will help show people not to climb on top of the free weights. Seriously. The only way I wasn't forced to pay an extra $70 was to give the Fitness First guy the best glare from the hood he'd ever seen. Probably because there are no hoods here. :)
Nice place, Melbourne.
Anyway… had a good workout and a good run… ran into an MBS guy I didn’t recognize. He recognized me, though, and we sparked a long conversation. He seemed like a great guy… and we might be workout buddies…?
Never had a workout buddy before. Unless you count all the crazy ROTCs who were forced to meet up on those frosty days on Franklin Field, staring at each other’s breath as we ran in silence for fear for freezing our tongues off if we'd opened our mouths to call cadence like proper military recruits. Of course, we weren't that at all...
That was ten years ago. Long time.
Anyway, we’ll see what happens here; it might be good motivation to meet someone in the morning for a good workout; am not a morning person at all, so the chances of actually going to work out in the morning are much better if this buddy thing actually happens. It's not so much about the exercise... that will happen anyway. It is about a kick-start to the day. And for that reason alone, this might be worth trying out for a while. We'll see, right?
^_^
The things like Professor Trende calling out every person who walked in late to accounting class today. So many different responses… the look (a person who came in at exactly 8:46), the blunt excuse (traffic jam), and even an embarrassed cringe from one poor soul of many who came in roughly an hour late. Highly entertaining. But effective? Will we actually start on time now? Time will tell.
Of course, life has been so much more. Of course! No idea what I was thinking last week.
Take today. After having a rough day for various reasons (none of which will go public), I finished my homework and studying and headed off to Fitness First… Fitness First being a chain version of the big American gyms.
Fitness First is a tough business proposition; gyms not really a part of Aussie culture, the sheer number of current members who have no idea how to use any of the equipment is alarming. There will definitely be a lawsuit in the coming months from the misuse of a medicine ball. At least Fitness First recognizes this need for gym education; they bundle in a personal trainer for every new membership, in hopes that this personal trainer will help show people not to climb on top of the free weights. Seriously. The only way I wasn't forced to pay an extra $70 was to give the Fitness First guy the best glare from the hood he'd ever seen. Probably because there are no hoods here. :)
Nice place, Melbourne.
Anyway… had a good workout and a good run… ran into an MBS guy I didn’t recognize. He recognized me, though, and we sparked a long conversation. He seemed like a great guy… and we might be workout buddies…?
Never had a workout buddy before. Unless you count all the crazy ROTCs who were forced to meet up on those frosty days on Franklin Field, staring at each other’s breath as we ran in silence for fear for freezing our tongues off if we'd opened our mouths to call cadence like proper military recruits. Of course, we weren't that at all...
That was ten years ago. Long time.
Anyway, we’ll see what happens here; it might be good motivation to meet someone in the morning for a good workout; am not a morning person at all, so the chances of actually going to work out in the morning are much better if this buddy thing actually happens. It's not so much about the exercise... that will happen anyway. It is about a kick-start to the day. And for that reason alone, this might be worth trying out for a while. We'll see, right?
^_^
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Wk 4 day 3
‘It’s all fun and exciting until about week 4...’ Professor Mike Ryall, Managerial Economics
Well said. Professor Ryall was talking today about the trend that our teachers seem to be having; strangely enough, this week, the workload is incrementally increasing… just a bit.
One bit + one bit + one bit = lots of bits. Work going up means free time going down… and first term exams are still a few weeks away. Yikes!
But before all that, the main syndicate had a meet to talk about the confidential report we’re giving… it’s a really cool bunch of people, and we’re all lucky to be working together. Even Stuart… thoughts are going out to you as you’re resting in the hospital. Come back! We miss your smiling face :)
I was a little anxious about the syndicate meeting… still adjusting from Monday’s Finance meeting that ended up being too competitive. Though we ended up getting the right answer, my frustration at my inability to teach what I thought was a simple concept made the environment pretty cutting, so today I wanted to do everything possible to quell my military tendencies and not add to anyone’s stress level. Stress, especially in Oz, is not necessarily a good thing. So the question was… could I help my group along… calmly?
Certainly.
This baby step has been taken successfully :)
The great thing is, though, that our MPHP project has no wrong answers, so it’s doesn’t really have the potential for explosion. Not yet, anyway. In MPHP, everyone can be right… but in Finance, one right answer necessarily means that the rest are wrong. If it’s tough telling a friend they’re wrong, imagine telling a stranger… one that you’re only social contact with has been the month you’ve studied MBA together. People get defensive and irate… no one wants to be corrected, especially if they think that their answer is legitimately valid.
No finance case for next week, I’ll keep practicing calm after the midterm.
And I’ll keep practicing study. A good thing, especially since internships will recruit heavily based on grades.
Besides that, a few things happened tonight…
1) Looked over and completely understand the first half of finance (yay!)
2) Celebrated by going out to the Wednesday Night Drinking Club (of course!)
3) Had a blast doing it
4) Just returned home
Sounds like the right balance of an MBA. Work hard, then play hard… then sleep (a little) :)
^_^
Well said. Professor Ryall was talking today about the trend that our teachers seem to be having; strangely enough, this week, the workload is incrementally increasing… just a bit.
One bit + one bit + one bit = lots of bits. Work going up means free time going down… and first term exams are still a few weeks away. Yikes!
But before all that, the main syndicate had a meet to talk about the confidential report we’re giving… it’s a really cool bunch of people, and we’re all lucky to be working together. Even Stuart… thoughts are going out to you as you’re resting in the hospital. Come back! We miss your smiling face :)
I was a little anxious about the syndicate meeting… still adjusting from Monday’s Finance meeting that ended up being too competitive. Though we ended up getting the right answer, my frustration at my inability to teach what I thought was a simple concept made the environment pretty cutting, so today I wanted to do everything possible to quell my military tendencies and not add to anyone’s stress level. Stress, especially in Oz, is not necessarily a good thing. So the question was… could I help my group along… calmly?
Certainly.
This baby step has been taken successfully :)
The great thing is, though, that our MPHP project has no wrong answers, so it’s doesn’t really have the potential for explosion. Not yet, anyway. In MPHP, everyone can be right… but in Finance, one right answer necessarily means that the rest are wrong. If it’s tough telling a friend they’re wrong, imagine telling a stranger… one that you’re only social contact with has been the month you’ve studied MBA together. People get defensive and irate… no one wants to be corrected, especially if they think that their answer is legitimately valid.
No finance case for next week, I’ll keep practicing calm after the midterm.
And I’ll keep practicing study. A good thing, especially since internships will recruit heavily based on grades.
Besides that, a few things happened tonight…
1) Looked over and completely understand the first half of finance (yay!)
2) Celebrated by going out to the Wednesday Night Drinking Club (of course!)
3) Had a blast doing it
4) Just returned home
Sounds like the right balance of an MBA. Work hard, then play hard… then sleep (a little) :)
^_^
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