Weds Whining

I can’t believe that the week is halfway over, where did it go? Oh that’s right I had meetings up the wazzoo, networking, reading, and studying. If I didn’t have outlook I wouldn’t have a clue what month it was let alone the day.

Monday was a full day of class, then followed up with a marathon of Operations homework with my team. Then I had to write up all of our answers then head back to school for the next installment of the Diversity Conference Prep series. I showed up late, and was promptly put in a group for a practice interview, fun! I did learn a lot but I was super discombobulated for the first few minutes.

Tuesday was more class, then office hours with Target (swoon) I stayed for 2 hours talking with their buyers and HR and learned a lot. Really keeping my fingers crossed. Then we headed home to get some reading done for class, then back to the Godfrey Center for the Marketing network night with Bosch, Ecolab, Nestle, Target and more. They had some good presentations and it allowed us some more networking time. We didn’t go to the happy hour put on by Nestle and got home at about 8:30 but it felt like 11. We stayed up working on classwork until 11:30ish and then headed to bed.

The alarm was set for 5:30 and I turned it off and went back to sleep for “5 minutes” 5 minutes turned into an hour and 45 and we were this close to being late to class. I was pretty impressed that we were able to get out the door with everything in 30 minutes. After class Charlton had a Lost in Translation meeting and I headed downstairs to the lounge to catch up on some blog reading and find out where to get an extra ticket for the football game for my brother. We then headed to the arena, picked up his “student” ticket and then went to the bookstore to finally get some non Kelley IU gear.

We’re finally back at the house atPost Options 2:45 and we are just sitting down to lunch. Welcome to Weds!

Today we treated ourselves to a much needed flu shot and a Ben Folds concert (♥ Charlton for taking me)

Other than it was Critical Thinking, Finance, Ops and Accounting reading with a little Mad Men break thrown in during lunch.

One more weekend has come and went, now its on to week 5…please be gentle!

Another weekend, another new restaurant (we have been trying to experience B-Town when we can!)

We woke up leisurely, Charlton having a rougher go of it than me, as he was really sore from the game last night. Breakfast was cereal on the couch catching up with Top Chef and Project Runway. Then we attempted to get some studying done while watching IU lose to Michigan. After all the distractions were gone we finally got some hard core studying in. I only was able to finish reading for Econ as we had a ton of reading assigned for one class session.

We then set out for some basic shopping and to get our flu shots. It was a bust on the shots as they had packed up for the day but we got all of our shopping done and then met our friend up for dinner at the Bakehouse. I had heard great things about it and it did not disappoint. I got their creamy tomato basil soup and Charlton got their BBQ sandwich combo with fries and cole slaw while our friend tackled their all-you-can eat BBQ sandwich meal (he got down 6!) Was a cool little place and conveniently they have one near our house, so we wont have to go all the way into the square. I still need to try their famed granola but we still have plenty of time.

Once back at the house was time for me to tackle some critical thinking. Feel like I hardly got anything done so far this weekend. Going to have to power through tomorrow though!

Friday Quiz

Questions:

1. 1 / 4 = 0.25(?)

Answers:

1. ¼ of the way done with the Core

Once again I love getting emails from our Program Coordinator. He always puts it in perspective and makes me smile. 25% of the way done!

I wish I could have done something like this for my Quant midterm, it would have made me feel a little better about it! Even meeting with my team at 7:30 to review some more did nothing to prepare me for the kick in the pants the test gave me. Just wanted to curl up and hide somewhere when it was all done.

But I couldn’t! Fridays are not free days, they are opportunities for even more activities! Lunch was a scarfed down ham sandwich (thanks Oscar Mayer) and a quick meeting with my peer coach to make the last few changes to my resume before sending it off to GCS review. Next up my first Academy Friday! Where we had a four hour introduction to the Consumer Marketing Academy, our fellow academy members, our directors and the world of brand. All in a great session and I am looking forward to all the events planned that will give me more exposure to the consumer marketing niche.

Then without a minute to lose, it was time for the MBA Bowl! Are you ready for some football? A first vs. second year party? Even though the field was a mess the guys would not be deterred from their own very Friday Night Lights, which ended up more like Friday Night Mud Wrestling. Was a great game, Charlton got in some sacks and one of my team members had some excellent catches. And the most important part….we WON! Great way to end the week!

Thursday was a packed day of classes and studying. I did get to meet with my peer coach quickly at lunch to tweak my resume again in between then it was Quant to the max! My team started upstairs at one of the round tables and then we headed to one of the classrooms with some fellow classmates to really get through some of the bigger problems on the projector. At a 5:15 we called it a night and headed back home for more studying on our own. Thank goodness that the rain canceled my flag football game so I could get in a little more studying time.

Just when I think I am not cut out for this, I get the following video in my in box from our MBA Core Coordinator with the following email:

Hey, (what a way to address an email)

Ok, the Accounting Quiz is done.

Now what?

Move forward.

I saw some happy faces, sad faces last night.

Persevere.

Yep.

Put the quiz in the rear view mirror.

When you get it back diagnose what happened (fix it) – go forward.

Then do better.

All you can do right now.

Keep studying.

Quant’s coming.

You are wonderful.

Don’t forget that.

Good night….

I just got to keep pushing! One day at a time

After a quick team meeting after class and a scarfed down sandwich, I headed to the Retail & Design Career Fair over in the Union. I knew it would be mostly undergrads but had some hope that I could get someone’s ear to find out about opportunities for MBA internships. While there were a few companies I was interested in, not much for MBAs, unless I wanted to be a store manager. Pretty disappointing, but I did learn that they are having a retail discussion panel tonight (I missed the one last night due to accounting) I am planning on going, if nothing else it will give me something to talk about with Target when they come next week.

Ugh! Lovely accounting (and this comic actually references it and the other midterm I this week, Quant) Sorry I have been MIA as of late but we had a major Quant assignment I had to work on over the weekend, loads of reading, and a meeting with my peer coach to have the first review of my resume and companies I need to target. Also throw in a training meeting for SAC and you’re all caught up with my life for the last few days.

This is where everyone says it starts to get ugly. We should find out how bad it was after I get my accounting back next week and how I do on the Quant test on Friday. Almost halfway through with week 4, just got to keep powering on.

Goodbye Week 3

The last two days have been crazy, but it would be hard to find a day that hasn’t been since we arrived in Bloomington in the beginning of August. Since I have got home tonight, I have just sunk into the couch. Not going to get up anytime soon.

Yesterday started with a full day of class, then quickly picked up speed. Right after finance, a classmate and I sat down for a little informational interview about her previous position in retail. I learned a lot and will definitely continue to research opportunities in the industry. Had to microwave some soup really quick and run upstairs for our team’s weekly recap meeting. 3 hours later, the team adjourned and I headed to Kraft’s office hours. This was my first office hours I successfully attended and I was really happy I went. Got a lot of face time with their reps (8 1st years to 3 reps) Once that rapped up, ran over to GE’s company presentation. It was incredibly crowded and Charlton and I had to share a chair (worst idea ever!) Then we trucked home where I scarfed down a lean cuisine before I had to head back to school for Kraft’s company presentation. It was a lot of fun, and I learned about Oscar Mayer’s unique culture in their Madison office. They totally hooked us up too! Weinermobile jump drive, Bacon, Toblerone, Wheat Thins, etc. Crawled back home at 9:30ish and was up until 1 taking care of some internet housekeeping.

You know you have had a long day when you forget to take your phone off silent. Oops! I only woke up in time because Charlton had an alarm set. I ran around the apartment like a crazy person, and Casey and Addie didn’t make it any easier for me to get out the door. Got to school at 7:45 just in time for breakfast with GE. Got to find out a little more information about their ELCP program and hang out with a lot of the Kelley Women members. Once that finished up, headed to a LPCD Diversity presentation. It was much better than the one during orientation and even better than the session last week. Then I grabbed a quick lunch and then my team got together for 3 hours to work on our Quant homework. We didn’t finish but we got a lot done. We adjourned to attend a network event and then we headed to the lounge to relax before heading to the International Business Society’s Cooking Event. They had 4 dishes prepared from different countries that all included tomatoes. It was a lot of fun and the food was awesome! Brushetta, Thai Spicy Mung Bean Noodle Salad, Tamales and Nigerian Tomato Stew, delicious! Then it was time to head home, a little more than 12 hours since I arrived. Fun!

Since getting home, we have watched some Mad Men and Martha Stewart and I caught up on my email. I promise tomorrow I will start on my homework!

I’m in! Say hello to KSB’s newest Consumer Marketing Academy Member, from now on I will be eating, breathing and sleeping all things brand. I am over the moon!

I wish it were that easy! Today was another fun filled day of Critical Thinking, Quant and Accounting. Accounting was a phenomenal session, CSI Accountants as Pratt called it, where we had to work backward to get the transactions. I left actually feeling like I understood what we were talking about. We will see if I retained any of it when I lead the team’s study session/weekly recap tomorrow.

Although the day wasn’t coming up all roses: lunch was cancelled with a classmate who used to work in a buyer role at Mervyn’s and then we got blown off by one of the companies that was on campus for office hours.

We came home and got some work done, watched a little tv to unwind and then I gave up on the notion of going to the networking event tonight as there are 2 more nights scheduled for the week and companies I am more interested in later. Also I had another phone interview that I needed to be home for. It went well, and once again I am so pumped at the prospect of potentially working there.

Then I switched from my networking hat to my Admissions Consultant position and reviewed one of my friend’s admission essays. She is doing so well, I am so excited for her. She is looking at IU and I would love if she came, I will keep my fingers crossed.

UPS brought me the suit I got on ebay and I am pretty happy with it. I have some tweaking that needs to be done to the pants but the jacket fits beautifully. Can’t wait to wear it out!

Alright I need to hit the hay, big big day tomorrow!

Is it really only Tuesday?

It seems like the week has flown by, but I guess when you have “official” class 4 days a week, 2 days down is halfway through. Today was Econ, Finance and Ops and the cases we had weren’t discussion heavy. I think it is the calm before the storm though, I know week 4 (where the *%^$ hits the fan is coming!)

After class I had an informational interview with a second year that interned at Jewel-Osco. He had an amazing intern experience and it was really interesting to hear about what they had him work on. Then I came home to have to deal with the apartment’s maintenance guy painting our ceilings. Then I had another informational interview with a category manager at Jewel to get a little different perspective on their culture and structure. Super informative!

Then it was back to school, for the 2nd session of the Diversity Conference Training. Another informative presentation that once again scared me beyond belief about the conference in October. Hope I am able to prepare and get in gear by then.

Then back home for dinner, some Mad Men, a run and lots and lots of ACCTG and Finance. Watch out Weds here we come!

**In other news…I have made the Student Admissions Council! I am over the moon, really excited to be the point of contact for prospective Kelley students and tell them about what makes us special**

A Case of the Mondays

Today marks the beginning of week three, and it was painful. I attribute the difficulty getting through the morning to not spending as much time as I should have on the homework. Just felt a little lost, and I didn’t come out of class feeling like I gained any additional insight. Looking at the calendar, some midterms are coming up and that is really worrying me.

Charlton had another academy interview today and when he was done we came home, talked to the apartment’s management about our place and then got straight into homework. I am starting to crank some stuff out so that makes me feel a little better. I have a full couple of days coming up, so definitely need to get a jump on all the work this week. Now back to the grind, there is more finance to do!

In other news: I decided to get back on the bandwagon and start recording my food and exercising. Want to lose the 5 lbs I gained on the trip by next month. So hopefully calling myself out will help me stay with it.

Sunday isn't my Funday

After getting nothing done on Saturday, I had a ton of homework to tackle yesterday. Way too much that anyone can actually get through. Had a few tears and a lot of head pounding, but hopefully I got enough done to get through the day. We’ll see…

When the weekend hits...

It seems like all plans and schedules go out the window. It is crazy that through the week I am so regimented and focused and can just go from one thing to the other. Then Saturday shows up and I feel like there are so many things pulling on us that I get behind.

Charlton had a few things at school so he was in and out and I hung out at my makeshift desk…the couch and tried to get some work done. Didn’t get to any of the problems for class but I finished my write-up for the goal and read for a few classes.

After we got back home from his academy interview, we watched a little Mad Men and ended up falling asleep. We woke up just in time for our friends’ Girls/Guys Night Out. It was a bunch of the MBA couples and the guys stayed in and played poker and watched football while us girls went out for sushi. It was a lot of fun, but another late night with no homework done after 6 PM.

Today I NEED to be all business

There is a lot going on today:

• Tailgate
• Football Game
• Girls Night Out
• Homework
• Homework
• Homework

I think the last three things may leak into the others…may have to miss this game as well

Painful Powerpoint

Yesterday we had an 8 hour Powerpoint presentation scheduled for us by the LPCD. Everyone was confused on why it needed to be 8 hours, aren’t Powerpoints supposed to short and succinct? Regardless on our expectations and questions we arrived at the auditorium at 8:00 for what we thought would be a Powerpoint for Dummies presentation.

A few minutes in, we learned that the presentation was not about using Powerpoint, but how to make a presentation. While many of us had similar classes in undergrad, it felt like a waste of 8 hours. The presenter didn’t really understand the needs of the audience and it was run like a mad house. I think he lost most of us about an hour in, and many of his stories about Michael Douglas still couldn’t bring us back. It was a rough day. Unlike many of my classmates I hadn’t brought any homework with me so I didn’t get caught up at all during all of our downtime.

I did get a coffee break at Sugar and Spice and had lunch at Laughing Planet so I guess the day wasn’t a total wash.

We came back to the apartment after, to just the dehumidifier. They finally took the fans, we are getting that much closer to normalcy! Hopefully they will take the dehumidifier soon as well. After a short nap, we headed back to campus for a Meet the Faculty reception. After some appetizers we headed back home to have dinner with our friends/classmates. We ended up hanging out until the wee hours of the morning, and had to pull the boys away from Digital Trivial Pursuit. Was a great way to end a not so good day.

So I made the decision to save my trip home until Christmas, instead of going back for both holidays. While I am going to miss the family (this will only be my second Thanksgiving away from them) I can’t justify spending $275 for Addie to fly with us, and another $175 or so for Casey. I may try to head down to Charlotte for a few days and visit my aunt and uncle and then we will have Charlton’s dad over to see IU and our new place. Not the big Thanksgiving I am used to, but hopefully a nice one just the same

TGITh (Thank God It's Thursday!)

So week 2 is coming to a close, we have a powerpoint information session scheduled for all day tomorrow, but our real classes are done for the week.

We had a 2.5 hour management block first thing in the morning, where I got to be scribe (take notes of who is participating) While the scribe role alleviates some of the stress of participating, it is hard to keep track of everyone’s comments. It did help a little in learning people in my cohort’s names.

And with a 2 week build-up…we finally had marketing! I was really excited to have my first graduate level class of it especially since I am transitioning into the field. The class went really well, and although I know the information we covered was really basic today, I was on top of all the material.

Then after the quickest lunch ever, my team had our first Core recap session. We each were responsible for 2 classes and had to explain the material and go through any issues our teammates had. It was a great review, I learned more by having my teammate explain the journaling and t-accounts than trying to teach myself (again!) I led the finance section too, so helped reinforce my background.

With an hour or so before I had some presentations, I came home and let Addie out (where she attacked our neighbor’s dog!) and had a snack before heading back to campus. First up, was the Diversity Conference Information Session to help us prepare for all the MBA conferences coming up within the next few months. It was really informative and the second years offered up some great advice. Then it was off to the Kelley Marketing Club (KWC) where we got to meet the leadership team and find out about some of the events being held. I am looking forward to helping lead a trek out to Minneapolis to visit Target and General Mills. So we’ll see.

There is no homework due for tomorrow, I think we are going to just take it easy and maybe knock out an episode or two of Mad Men (can I call that research!?) Then maybe I will try to go to bed early, or at least before 1. TGITh!

Days that Turn into Nights

Clocked in 10 or so hours at the Godfrey Center yesterday. Finished with class, headed to the lounge for lunch then read and revised my friend’s application essays (hope she gets into IU!) then camped out in a breakout room with my team for 4 hours to crank out our quant assignment (we had only alloted 2) headed home around six just in time to heat up some leftovers. Then I got some pieces of some upcoming deliverables done for critical thinking and ops.

Around 9 I had an informational interview with an alumni I met at the Kelley Women cooking event in LA last year. Was great to catch up with her and she gave me some really great career advice.

But you know my day can’t finish without a klutzy clumsy move of some kind, so before bed I sloshed burning hot cream of wheat water all down my arm enough to get me good. I know I look lovely with a big burn all over my hand and arm, beautiful!

Matchmaker, Matchmaker Make Me a Match

As if we are not busy enough with our classes ramping up, and assignments coming due, we are asked to find a peer coach among the second years. Now you know me, I can’t just pick someone on paper and I want to meet/talk to everyone…so that had me with over 7 appointments to meet with peer coaches over the next 2-3 days. Well, it didn’t take me that long. I met my match with a second year I met over experience weekend that had a previous life in retail. She is as passionate as I am if not more, and has a wealth of contacts she can get me in touch with. I am so amped to work with her, I left practically skipping out of the Godfrey Center.

On the school front yesterday was rough, hard to get sleep at home anhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=994694090181350300d I came to class with a major headache. Had a tough time staying awake in critical thinking, accounting and quant though. Hopefully our place dries out soon so I can get some real rest.

And on another note: I didn’t get my position that I applied for with Kelley Women. While a bummer it should allow me to look into other roles with the organization for next spring. I already put the word out that I want to volunteer for the event that is coming up so we will see. Yesterday I also had an interview with the student advising council to act as a Kelley point of contact for prospectives. Really hope I get it, they were so instrumental to me coming here. So I will keep you posted

We came home to this today…did not get much done on the school front, but its hard to work around water extraction and maintenance guys.

Connect the Dots

Just finished with my follow-ups from the thank you’s I sent out after Round Tables. Now I have a new list of next steps:

• Contact alums at Jewel-Osco
• Contact 2nd years that interned at Jewel-Osco
• Phone informational interview with alum at Target
• Phone informational interview with team mate’s friend at Kohl’s

And probably a million other things that I haven’t thought of. Girl’s got to work it!

This is what a 1st year MBA looks like (just hours after being inducted into the program)

Weekend, What Weekend?!

Alarm went off on Saturday morning, a little later than a normal day here but early nonetheless. I tried to get a little reading done and then got the house cleaned up and breakfast out for our second Top Chef Breakfast Club. Played it a little lower key with some muffins (I made from a mix), fruit and yogurt. Was still a blast and was great to have everyone over, not sure how much longer we will be able to keep this up.

Then we powered through a good 7 hours of studying. When both of our eyes were crossed we closed the books and headed to a friend’s house for some home cooked japanese. It was absolutely delicious and was such a treat. After some homemade zucchini bread for dessert we waddled home. There it was more studying, I promised not to go to bed until I finished everything for finance. at midnight, I finally had finished and we capped off the night with an episode of Mad Men before heading to bed.

My alarm went off at the weekend time, and I was in no position to get up. I had a massive headache from the lack of sleep and I finally got sore from all the physical activity on Friday. I convinced Charlton to take the dog out and slept for a few more hours. Once up, breakfast and homework. Then lunch and homework. At about 1 I got all cleaned up for my academy interview with the director of the Consumer Marketing Academy. I think it went well, I should find out if i got it in a few more weeks. Then it was off to target to get some much needed school supplies and more Lean Cuisines for the week. Then home for lots of lots of econ.

We took a dinner break at Cheeseburgers in Paradise since Charlton had gotten a coupon. Nice to have a sit-down dinner for about $10. Then it was back to the grind of more schoolwork.

I just finished everything for tomorrow. Now I can get a jump on Tuesday & Weds’ HW. Got to get ahead as much as I can this week with as many meetings and activities that are planned.

**Also booked my hotel, flight and disneyland ticket for the NAWMBA conference. Happiest place on earth, here I come (with my suit)!

1 week down, 15 more to go!

So after 4 hours of class, I have officially finished my first week of business school. There were times when I didn’t think I would keep up but I have been able to survive.

I did sort of shut down once I got home though, I did read for critical thinking for next week but I didn’t email my contacts back like I should have. Was just done for a bit.

At about 5:30 we headed back to school for Kelley field day. We were divided up among our cohorts and competed against each other in various physical challenges, like water balloon tosses, tug of war, 3 legged races, dizzy bat relay races, water balloon volleyball and to cap it off a car pull. I got to compete in every event and my team mate and I got second for the female teams in the car pull. The green cohort didn’t win overall, oh well, hopefully we will be able to redeem ourselves later in the semester.

After we finished up at Kelley we headed over to the soccer field to watch IU go against St. Johns. They ended up tied but it was fun to just unwind.

Going to have to head to bed soon, we are having our friends over again tomorrow morning for the second installment of the Top Chef breakfast club.

Let the Speed Dating Begin

Yesterday was a full morning of speed dating, er networking. We headed back to the convention center and were shuffled into two panel discussions. First up was marketing, with presenters from Walmart, P&G, Kraft and Target. Was an interesting combination of manufacturers and retailers so you can get a sense of their relationship and how they work together/against each other. Since the panelists didn't switch I then headed to the consulting/supply chain session. There were a few interesting companies but nothing that I was planning on pursuing.

Afterward we were herded upstairs to the real Round Tables. Each had a sign for the company some balloons and a company rep. And with any blind date one of the daters shows up in a blue shirt or with a red flower in the lapel, many companies showed up with a slew of products decorating their tables with their products.

I met with Target, Jewel-Osco, American Greetings, Kraft, Abbott Labs, General Mills, p&g and Kimberly-Clark. Everytime you really started to get into a conversation with a rep a cowbell would ring and we would all have to go to another table like a crazy game of musical chairs. I gained a lot of insight into how their internship programs were set up and came away with a few more companies to target during my internship search.

With no class for the day, we came back home had lunch and watched some Mad Men. Then I had a much needed nap and got to writing my thank yous and other networking emails. I made some pasta for dinner and then worked on my quant assignment before crashing at 12:30.

Schmoozing

What most people will tell you makes an MBA program is the network you acquire (there are a lot more factors, but this is right up there in developing rankings, etc) and tonight was my first exposure to Kelley’s recruiting network. I was pretty impressed to say the least, 40 companies there to speak to the incoming class who has only had 3 days of school. Just mindboggling! Most of us don’t have any experience in the fields we are planning on pursuing post-grad yet we have people here that want to meet us, so cool.

So the day started out with management and econ, then some researching down in the lounge. At about 3ish we headed home, watched an episode of Mad Men and then did some more schoolwork. We grabbed a quick bowl of soup and then headed to Bloomington’s Convention Center to meet the company representatives.

I was a little nervous, didn’t really think i was prepared to meet them, but it ended up being a great experience. I met with reps from Nestle, Best Buy and two from various marketing functions within Walmart. I learned a lot and think I can add a few to my list of companies to pursue.

Then I wrapped up the night with some thank you notes and some webinars on networking for my LPCD deliverable.

All of our classes tomorrow got bumped to friday to accommodate more Round Table meetings (8 more companies on my docket) and seminars for us to attend. should be another adventure in networking!

Twelve Hour Days

Day 2 of the program and I am already putting in twelve hour days! Got to school around 8 am for my core classes.

Today was critical thinking, quantitative analysis and accounting. I loved critical thinking, Professor Metzger is a riot and really does make you question your logic…and it was only our first session! I am really looking forward to the rest of the semester. Quantitative analysis was a lot of housekeeping, but that should be expected when you have a class so heavily dependent on tools, need to make sure everyone is on the same page. And accounting was accounting, going to be hard to get excited about that class.

Then it was time for lunch down in the lounge, which was basically me eating a peanut butter sandwich while I read up on CPG and retail happenings. Once all the crumbs were gone it was onto econ reading and case prep before a team meeting to work on the econ assignment. An hour later, I had some answers written up and a very confusing supply curve. We’ll see how we faired tomorrow.

After the team dispersed, I hung around in the breakout room and worked on my Friday accounting homework. Need to get it out of the way so i can focus on Round Table research and the Thursday night football game! Had only one problem left before I had the 1st Kelley Women meeting.

The meeting was really informative and talked about opportunities for leadership in the organization. I have already applied for a co-chair position, will find out sometime next week if I get it! I love the organization, it is such a champion for women in the workplace. We also talked about the upcoming National Association of Women MBA conference I am attending in Disneyland at the end of October. Kelley is hosting the event and it should be a great opportunity to network.

Finally left the Godfrey Center at 8:30, not bad for my second day! Once back here at the house I put in another couple hours finishing accounting homework, recopying last night’s speaker notes and researching half of my Round Table companies. Now its time to hit the sack so I can do it all over again tomorrow!