So it's been a while since I've blogged, but it's definitely been an adjustment period as classes have started and the time demands of a full-time MBA program have started to sink in.
I'm only taking three classes this quarter (excluding an additional leadership focused course that all of us are taking). It's funny, because it doesn't seem like a lot...but when you're trying to do all the readings and the homeworks and form study groups and all that, there's a lot to do.
Not only have the classes started, but the student groups have also kicked in. There are a ton of groups for all kinds of interests, many are career-focused (naturally), but many are more socially- or community-focused.
I've already joined up with a bunch, mostly career-oriented groups...all of which need their membership dues paid. At this point, every time I owe an extra $50 or $100, it all seems like play money now. Just another drop in the bucket, it's all an investment right?
Anyway, the benefits of those groups seem pretty obvious. You get to meet up with lots of other people pursuing similar fields or holding similar interests. You also get access to events and resources that so far seem like they'll be pretty cool. The only downside is that your calendar kind of fills up fairly quickly and as with lots of things that are resource-constrained, there have to be sacrifices.
As an example, Haas is holding a case competition in late October. It's in conjunction with HP and focuses on digital media as a part of their media conference. It sounds pretty cool, because that's a really interesting sub-sector of the media industry that I've really been reading up on. It would be a great opportunity to get together with some other GSB'ers and strategically analyze a business problem in one of my favorite sectors. Of course, it's also the same day as my statistics mid-term. Sigh.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Sick of Chicago GSB
Classes haven't even started yet, but I'm already completely and totally sick. Not sick of school, which has been really good so far, but physically sick.
I haven't really been sick in a while, and I forgot how much it sucks. Fortunately it's nothing serious, just cold/flu symptoms that I'm sure haven't been helped by staying out late at all the social events that have been going on lately.
I'm guessing this is just a one-time thing as all of us students get acclimated to each other. It seems as though everyone I've spoken to has been/is getting sick in the last week. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it.
Take a couple hundred people from over 50 countries and cities...
ADD daily gatherings which often involve close quarters
ADD dozens and dozens of introductions (which include shaking hands with new classmates)
SUBTRACT sleep
MIX liberally with alcohol
a perfect recipe, let's just hope it passes before classes start this Thursday.
I haven't really been sick in a while, and I forgot how much it sucks. Fortunately it's nothing serious, just cold/flu symptoms that I'm sure haven't been helped by staying out late at all the social events that have been going on lately.
I'm guessing this is just a one-time thing as all of us students get acclimated to each other. It seems as though everyone I've spoken to has been/is getting sick in the last week. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it.
Take a couple hundred people from over 50 countries and cities...
ADD daily gatherings which often involve close quarters
ADD dozens and dozens of introductions (which include shaking hands with new classmates)
SUBTRACT sleep
MIX liberally with alcohol
a perfect recipe, let's just hope it passes before classes start this Thursday.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Linkognito: Top 10: Jeopardy Mishaps
Linkognito: Top 10: Jeopardy Mishaps
A friend sent me this link, a website that puts out daily lists augmented with YouTube video clips.
This particular day, they listed the Top 10 Jeopardy 'Mishaps' of All Time.
It's a pretty good list (even if I am biased)....and it's got me at the top, narrowly beating out the time Ken Jennings responded to a question about an immoral pleasure seeker/garden tool with, 'What is a ho'
So there, I beat Ken Jennings.
I've never heard of this Linkognito site before, but it must be fairly popular. When I went to the main YouTube video of my 'mishap,' viewership appeared to have spiked.
That one video is now over 220k views...
I wonder if I can ever get to a million...
A friend sent me this link, a website that puts out daily lists augmented with YouTube video clips.
This particular day, they listed the Top 10 Jeopardy 'Mishaps' of All Time.
It's a pretty good list (even if I am biased)....and it's got me at the top, narrowly beating out the time Ken Jennings responded to a question about an immoral pleasure seeker/garden tool with, 'What is a ho'
So there, I beat Ken Jennings.
I've never heard of this Linkognito site before, but it must be fairly popular. When I went to the main YouTube video of my 'mishap,' viewership appeared to have spiked.
That one video is now over 220k views...
I wonder if I can ever get to a million...
Sunday, September 9, 2007
On, Wisconsin
This past week me and about 550 of my new closest friends took some buses up to a scenic lakefront resort in Wisconsin.
I never knew Wisconsin had any kind of tourist destinations, but they do, so we went.
The purpose, to particpate in a bunch of exercises designed to foster unity and relationships among our new cohorts. For those outside MBA programs, cohorts are groupings of seemingly random people from the incoming class. In many MBA programs, that random group is who you'll share a majority of your early classes with. At the GSB, it doesn't work that way (which seems like a good thing to me) with the whole flexible-schedule thing. Still, we will be working together for at least one class, so bonding clearly seemed in order.
We had a couple different activities, which allowed us to work in teams, learn how to function as a group, and generally get to know each other. Good times.
On the last day, our bonding included a trip to the local ropes course/bible camp. We did a couple group exercises in small units, which were pretty interesting, but the real adventure came when we got access to the high ropes course.
The high ropes course at this bible camp consisted of a number of elements in this main area, mostly different types of rickety/small/wobbly/string bridges located significantly above the ground.
It would've been nice to do, but with only a small number of harnesses, helmets, spotters available, there wasn't really enough time. And I wasn't about to go up there without a harness or a helmet.
But there was one thing I wanted to do. The Leap of Faith (at bible camp)
What is the Leap of Faith?
Picture a telephone pole...
Got it?
Now picture a wooden platform attached to the top.
Still with me?
Now, across from this platform, suspended in mid-air, is a trapeeze (is trapeeze singular or plural? either way, I assume you get it).
The idea is that you climb the pole, walk to the end of the 3.5-4 foot platform, and leap for the bar, roughly 30-40 feet off the ground. You either grab and hold it, or you plummet into a pit of alligators.
Ok, so there weren't any alligators, and if you miss you only slowly descend to the ground, but still not a joke.
And I really wanted to do it.
So I did, I waited forever in line for my turn, harnesses up, and ascended the phone pole.
Oh, the pole wobbled, a lot. Climbing it was really easy, but once you got up to the top, the whole thing swayed with every tiny movement. So I took small steps, trying to keep the whole thing steady.
I finally got to the end, and looked down. Not my best idea. But below there were only about 100 of my classmates, definitely no time to chicken out. It helped that it wasn't really scary.
I steadied myself, bent the knees a little bit, and made a mighty leap.
But I didn't make it, I plummeted as the whole class laughed, then I cried, and now I'm transferring to Northwestern.
Of course, I'm kidding, I made the jump, grabbed the bar and everything.
It was fun.
I never knew Wisconsin had any kind of tourist destinations, but they do, so we went.
The purpose, to particpate in a bunch of exercises designed to foster unity and relationships among our new cohorts. For those outside MBA programs, cohorts are groupings of seemingly random people from the incoming class. In many MBA programs, that random group is who you'll share a majority of your early classes with. At the GSB, it doesn't work that way (which seems like a good thing to me) with the whole flexible-schedule thing. Still, we will be working together for at least one class, so bonding clearly seemed in order.
We had a couple different activities, which allowed us to work in teams, learn how to function as a group, and generally get to know each other. Good times.
On the last day, our bonding included a trip to the local ropes course/bible camp. We did a couple group exercises in small units, which were pretty interesting, but the real adventure came when we got access to the high ropes course.
The high ropes course at this bible camp consisted of a number of elements in this main area, mostly different types of rickety/small/wobbly/string bridges located significantly above the ground.
It would've been nice to do, but with only a small number of harnesses, helmets, spotters available, there wasn't really enough time. And I wasn't about to go up there without a harness or a helmet.
But there was one thing I wanted to do. The Leap of Faith (at bible camp)
What is the Leap of Faith?
Picture a telephone pole...
Got it?
Now picture a wooden platform attached to the top.
Still with me?
Now, across from this platform, suspended in mid-air, is a trapeeze (is trapeeze singular or plural? either way, I assume you get it).
The idea is that you climb the pole, walk to the end of the 3.5-4 foot platform, and leap for the bar, roughly 30-40 feet off the ground. You either grab and hold it, or you plummet into a pit of alligators.
Ok, so there weren't any alligators, and if you miss you only slowly descend to the ground, but still not a joke.
And I really wanted to do it.
So I did, I waited forever in line for my turn, harnesses up, and ascended the phone pole.
Oh, the pole wobbled, a lot. Climbing it was really easy, but once you got up to the top, the whole thing swayed with every tiny movement. So I took small steps, trying to keep the whole thing steady.
I finally got to the end, and looked down. Not my best idea. But below there were only about 100 of my classmates, definitely no time to chicken out. It helped that it wasn't really scary.
I steadied myself, bent the knees a little bit, and made a mighty leap.
But I didn't make it, I plummeted as the whole class laughed, then I cried, and now I'm transferring to Northwestern.
Of course, I'm kidding, I made the jump, grabbed the bar and everything.
It was fun.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
First Day of School
Had the first day of business school yesterday, feeling like a first grader again. Bright-eyed, eager to learn, with a brand new Trapper Keeper and everything.
Classes haven't started yet, so yesterday was really just a series of welcome and information presentations from the staff and others at the GSB. Informative stuff, but eight hours of lectures was tough to sit through, and really took me back to my first days of orientation at my first job (where I may or may not have fallen asleep, costing me any chance of significant advancement with the company)
I saw some sleepers yesterday too.
But while the presentations were important, most people were primarily concerned with meeting lots of new people and working the room during our break periods. Even with the past few weeks of going out and meeting people, it's amazing how many I had never seen before. What's more, is that everyone seems to have a completely unique background/story (which actually really helps when you're trying to remember what their deal is). I've already met people from more than a dozen countries and just about everywhere in the U.S. There are 559 students in the class of 2009, and it's hard to reconicle the fact that I just won't be able to meet all of them (especially if they aren't out at the bars)
Anyway, today we all are getting on the bus to go up to an outdoors retreat event up in Wisconsin. I believe it's a multi-purpose 'adventure course/bible camp'. So that could be potentially interesting. But more likely, it will be some outdoors activities mixed in with more bonding/connecting to the classmates. Should be fun right?
I just had the first day of school, and it's already the first day of camp.
Classes haven't started yet, so yesterday was really just a series of welcome and information presentations from the staff and others at the GSB. Informative stuff, but eight hours of lectures was tough to sit through, and really took me back to my first days of orientation at my first job (where I may or may not have fallen asleep, costing me any chance of significant advancement with the company)
I saw some sleepers yesterday too.
But while the presentations were important, most people were primarily concerned with meeting lots of new people and working the room during our break periods. Even with the past few weeks of going out and meeting people, it's amazing how many I had never seen before. What's more, is that everyone seems to have a completely unique background/story (which actually really helps when you're trying to remember what their deal is). I've already met people from more than a dozen countries and just about everywhere in the U.S. There are 559 students in the class of 2009, and it's hard to reconicle the fact that I just won't be able to meet all of them (especially if they aren't out at the bars)
Anyway, today we all are getting on the bus to go up to an outdoors retreat event up in Wisconsin. I believe it's a multi-purpose 'adventure course/bible camp'. So that could be potentially interesting. But more likely, it will be some outdoors activities mixed in with more bonding/connecting to the classmates. Should be fun right?
I just had the first day of school, and it's already the first day of camp.
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