The almost last one

No more classes! It’s true; I took what is hopefully my last test this morning and have no more classes to attend. It’s bittersweet because I’m excited to be done with classes but will definitely miss my friends from the program.

I do have an assignment for strategic management and a presentation for project management. The presentation will be rough because we just got the requirements for it yesterday and have to present on Tuesday, but hopefully the professors will take this into account. Also, it’s a certificate course so all I really have to do is pass.

I start working full-time with Mitchell on the 14^th, so just days after graduation. I’m excited to get started because I’m finally getting the hang of things and think that I’ll be ready to actually contribute when I start full-time.

What I’m most excited about is finally getting some free time. I plan on reading, watching tv/movies, going to a baseball game and getting to play in my garden. It’ll be an adjustment not to have to spend all weekend parked in front of my computer working on homework, but a good one.

Anyway, I hope you guys have enjoyed hearing about my times with the MBA program. Feel free to hit me up on Facebook or Twitter if you have any questions about anything. I'll try to post some pictures from graduation. Here's some music for summer

The One in which I'm excited

Hello All!  Two more weeks of class!!!

Clearly, I’m excited. If I said that I was ready to be done, that’d be an understatement. I’m done. [1] But before I’m truly done I still have:

-        A test in Enterprise Systems on Monday

-        A completed grant by the 29th

-        A group project in Enterprise Systems on the 30^th

-        An extra assignment in Strategic Management by May 3^rd

-        An exam in Strategic Management on May 4^th

-        A group project for Project Management on May 8^th

So maybe not so close. Anyway, for the fun stuff:

               -This week I got to go see a play with some friends at, you guessed it, theatresquared.[2] The play, Fall of the House, was definitely interesting and I enjoyed following the plot.

               - The red & white game happened, which means it’s time to start getting excited about Football![3]

               -I had time to take the dog for lots of walks! So at least he’s happy…my allergies less so.

               -The blog passed 1,000 views. I finally feel somewhat popular. 

               -I got my roommate, Kent, his birthday present. I’m super excited about it but I can’t tell you what I got until his birthday on the 25^th.

               -I went on an MP3 buying spree for my workout playlist. I got this song and now I can’t get it out of my head!

Until next week, when I’ll be one frustrating week away from being done!

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[1] It’s taking most of my effort to put forth 75-80% in classes right now. I do because I have a hard time doing anything less than my best. But at the same time, I’m just ready for some time off of the all-consuming nature of graduate school.

[2] What can I say? We love the $10 tickets for the under 30 crowd. Also, we like the plays and the people.

[3] Yes, that’s football with a capital F because that’s how big of deal it is here. 

The one in which I start counting down

               I’m writing to you on an extended break from studying for an enterprise systems test.[1] And, yes, this break involves cookies, milk, 30 Rock and blogging. And, yes, this break will most likely continue until I go to bed.

               So this week was my second week working at Mitchell and it’s still good. I have some outside reading that I need to do in my vast amounts of time but the more time I spend there the more I know that I’m going to enjoy it.

               I’m really, really, really close to finishing this grant up. I didn’t get much time to work on it this weekend, so I’ll have to carve some time out this week  for that.

               I want to congratulate my friend Ellen on her win at Governor’s Cup this week. If you guys remember, Ellen and I were on an entrepreneurship team together last semester. I didn’t continue on for some personal reasons but Ellen continued this semester, all by herself, and she’s doing fantastic!

               I ate too much this past week. I’m going have to spend some serious quality time with my elliptical trainer this coming week.

               All that’s left between me and graduation:

                              -3 weeks of class (and therefore 3 weeks of work)

                              -3 tests (two in Enterprise Systems and one in Strategic Management)

                              -1 group project

               So, this weekend I wasn’t feeling great and just kind of worn out from studying and such. About 15 minutes into my workout this song came on and made my Saturday a little bit brighter.

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[1] I am no longer capable of remembering facts about data warehouses or business performance management. 

The one in which I work a lot

 Hello old friends,

Well it’s been another long week. I started working with Mitchell this week, so between class, work and more class I worked a solid 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. every day and then got to do homework. Still, working for Mitchell is going to be good and I’m glad that I can get some training out of the way before I start full-time after graduation.

This week’s highlights:

               -My team in Strategic Management won the challenge assignment. Every semester Dr. Anand surprises students with an extra assignment that is bit more challenging than our usual ones. This one involved coming up with a new business model for the circus industry. Anyway, my team looked at some other models out there and took the best bits from each and came up with a project that we really felt was exciting. Evidently, our professor and the judges thought so too. We get a boost in our participation grade and little reward like a small gift card to Starbucks. Mainly, it’s just exciting because we all thought we had a great project and it was nice to get confirmation of that.

               -Learning lots of fun things on IBM’s SPSS Modeler in Enterprise Systems. I do enjoy getting to play with data. I just hate having to wait for a model to load.

               -Just about there in Grant Writing. It’s odd because so much goes into to writing a grant but the output for this one will be less than ten-pages. I feel like I do a bunch of research to write one or two sentences.

               -Work at the library is chugging along. I’m painstakingly sorting out the InternationalBusiness Library Guide. You should check it out. I have a question to my international friends out there—what region of the world do I place Turkey in? It doesn’t really fit well into any region—Middle East, Central Asia, Eastern Europe?

               -Work at Mitchell is going to be good. Everybody is nice and excited to work there, which is always a good sign.

Here’s the video for the week:

The One in which I get a Job

Hello all,
 I'm writing this to you from the past because I wanted to tell you all about my job but I didn't want to say  anything about it until the papers were signed, so this post has been saved on my desktop for the past three days. Hopefully, the future finds you well. 

I hope you guys had a good break because I sure did. I mean, sure, it rained and I had a take-home midterm to work on BUT I also got a job. Yep, I have a big girl job all lined up and it starts the Monday after graduation.[1]

So where is this job, you say? Why it’s at MitchellCommunications Group here in Fayetteville. I’ll be working in research, which is actually pretty perfect for me. Because as most of you know I like breaking down all things in to their little parts so I can better examine them.[2]

Outside of getting a job, I got to visit family and see my niece and nephew, which is always awesome. I also got to do some shopping and may (or may not) have bought 4 pairs of new shoes. It happens.

Classes are moving along. We had a big test in Strategic Management before Spring Break and I found out that score and I have safe B.[3] Enterprise Systems is fun and I’m gaining some more exposure to the different Business Intelligence softwares out there. Grant Writing is great! I love working with Life Styles and I’m really excited about the program that I’m writing a grant for. Finally, Project Management is an interesting course and I like the group I’m working with but I just wish it wasn’t so long. My Tuesday’s are soooo long with that 3-hour class from 6 to 9 pm.

Alright, that’s it for today. I’ll leave with you with this video to celebrate my job and Spring.

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[1] Actually, I start working part-time next week so I can get onboarded before I start full-time.

[2] However, it will still take me a while to not associate my job with the David Foster Wallace short story “Mister Squishy.” Go read it. In fact, go read any David Foster Wallace.

[3] You’ll learn to love those in the MBA program. 

More Music: In Honor of this Lovely Spring Day

The One in Which I Realize I'm Almost Done

               Well that was a packed week. At least it wasn’t one hour shorter.[1] I had a couple of assignments, work, a new class and a midterm. Let’s start with the new class, Project Management. I’m taking it through the global campus out in Rogers and it’s team-taught by 3 guys with a lot of project management experience, so it should be a good class. (The problem: it’s a three hour class on Tuesday, after I’ve been at class and work all day already and the room is cold.) The assignments weren’t bad but they didn’t leave me a lot of time to study for my test on Thursday.[2] Yep, I had a mid-term in Strategic Management and I either got a B or an F. I—and the rest  of the class—ran out of time  on the essay section, so I’m fairly certain I didn’t  get an  A. As horrible as that test was—and it was—the upside was the fact that it’s a mid-term, meaning I’m almost done with my last semester. Spring Break is next week and then it’s just a short six weeks to finals and seven to graduation. Except, I don’t have a job yet. But!  I’ve got an interview this week or next week (we haven’t finalized the day), so there’s at least a little progress. I’m really hoping I get this one because it’s a great organization to work for and there are plenty of opportunities from this position. I’ll tell you all about it when I find out the result. Until then, cross your fingers.

               This week, the week before a glorious spring break, doesn’t look to be any less packed.  No tests, but a group assignment and a couple individual assignments. The work for my grant writing class is really to increase in difficulty and importance[3] and I have to spend a lot of timing researching and writing for it. (However, because I love these things and the nonprofit I’m writing for—Life Styles—it’s pretty enjoyable.) Still, I put a lot of pressure on myself to be successful because I really want Life Styles to get a grant to do the work they need to do. I also have a professional development class on Project Management through Mitchell Communications’ Training Center—they do a lot of work the MBA program—and, most importantly, a haircut! It’s been three months and I have to wash and dry at night then sleep on it and then flat iron it to keep it from being an overly fluffy, shapeless mop.[4] I won’t even talk about my caterpillars eyebrows.

               Alright, until next week. Be good and have fun. Here's a little something to get you through the week:

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[1] Thanks, Daylight Savings Time. Though I shouldn't complain too much I did get an extra day this year.

[2] I can also thank night classes on Monday and Tuesday for that.

[3] I mean that we’re starting to write the grant for real, real now.

[4] I always identified with Hermione Granger on the hair front.