Holding on for Dear Life

The last two weeks have been intense. I don't even know where to start, last week seems like a year ago and the week before (gala, etc. even longer!) Finals have been killer with the wrap up of my Tiffany & Co. brand valuation and recommendation, my market research analysis report, KIP presentation, Diesel brand valuation, CMA project work and an accounting final. Phew! Makes me tired to even write it out!

And it hasn't just been schoolwork tying me up; there has been volunteering, Kelley Women Speaker Series, Pilates, Yoga, Dinner with Friends, researching Japanese cooking at the Asian Cultural Center, Carnival, Kelley Women farewell dinner, blogging for school, and trying to have some semblance of a life (watching the Olympics with Charlton and the pets)

Both of us are really burnt out, was it possible to be more exhausted than when we were in Core?! Any 2nd year that said this would be easier was definitely lying.

So to try to make up for the torture of the last few weeks...I slept in (after having fallen asleep on the couch until 6 am), then I did a little research for CMA, made lunch, gave Addie a bath, did a little laundry, took Addie to the dog park and watched Public Enemies after picking up some Mexican food from La Torre.

I wish I could sit around all day tomorrow, but still have some laundry left to do and some reading for Academy Week 2 (ugh!) Can't wait for spring break in Israel.

Gala!

No matter how old you are, when you are in school there will always be school dances. Gala, the MBA equivalent of prom was last night in the IMU's Alumni Hall. There was an open bar, gambling and a nice seated dinner and HOURS and HOURS of dancing. It was a lot of fun, but having just got back from Minneapolis, I felt like I wasn't able to get much done this weekend. Oh well, sometimes you just got to cut loose.

I'm going to make it after all...

Mary did it, and hopefully I will be able to make it in Minneapolis myself.

Summer Preview Day at Target was an amazing experience! It reminded me of Kelley's Experience weekend, a lot of excitement, and a lot of people still on the fence. We met some great potential intern classmates from Kellogg, Ross and Minnesota.

We had breakfast all together and then a director came and spoke to us about his experiences and his internship project. Then there was an internship panel and breakout sessions so we can learn more about the internship projects. Next up was lunch with senior leadership; me, I sat next to a Vice President...pinch me! After I finished up my bullseye cupcake, we loaded up on a bus to get a tour of the Minneapolis area. It was a lot of fun and I am really excited to explore the city more when I get there this summer, there is so much to do and see! Last stop...our corporate housing! The apartment was nice and spacious, with lots of closet space. What more does a girl need?!

A great visit, that definitely pumped me up for the summer. Is it June 14th yet? MSP, I will be back!

MSP

I am sitting in my own hotel room downtown Minneapolis. Somebody pinch me! Me and 4 of my classmates are here to visit Target for our Summer Preview Day and to learn more about what we will be doing over the summer.

We left Bloomington after going to Market Research and then got here right before dinner. We used the opportunity to get something tasty that we wouldn't be able to get back in Bloomington. Seared Organic Salmon at Zelo, yum!

It has been great so far and we haven't even been to Target yet. Cannot wait!

Monday Flashback

I was up bright and early to take my first midterm/quiz for this semester. 15 multiple choice questions of cost accounting goodness. I think I did okay, finally was able to get answers that were choices (which I am hoping is a good thing!)

Next up, Brand Management. We talked about Azko Nobel, a case on brand portfolios and finding the right size and number of brands. It was interesting and had more information than I have ever seen in a case.

I headed to Kroger after I got out of class and stocked up on the necessities. I quickly unloaded all of the food stuffs and took care of Addie before heading back to school. Our KIP had another Hebrew lesson and a humanities professor speak.

Then home again, where I got almost nothing done before turning in for the night at midnight.

Fun at Kelley!

Yesterday I got to witness my first flash mob in the Kelley atrium. During Coffee Break a bunch of my classmates just started dancing. Our program chair got involved and our really good friend was part of the mob (he didn't even tell us!) It was really cool, watch it for yourself here:



I am in the back with my white backpack (you can see the straps if you look really hard!)

Catching Up

Things have been crazy, definitely not easier than last semester. Way too many teams, projects and things going on. Trying to keep up with what is going on with market research so I can run chi-square tables and knowing what Japanese are cooking in their kitchens and the price differential between Tiffany's sterling silver and the generics at Blue Nile. Exciting huh? It has been a whirlwind.

If it wasn't for outlook I wouldn't know where I have been, where I am or where I am going.

Friday was one of my first Friday in a long time that I didn't have CMA, it allowed me to relax at home and to get a jump start on the mountain of homework. I also mocked a classmate for the first time. She is interested in going into retail and I was the first person she thought of :) We also took the car in for a much needed oil change, its needed it for awhile.

We got some snow over the weekend so we have pretty much camped out in the apartment over the weekend. Didn't help we both had stomach aches yesterday and weren't too excited to go out.

This morning we went to my cohort teammate's baby blessing at his church. It was really special and I am glad to have been able to share in it. One of those moments I know I wouldn't have if we hadn't been at Kelley.

And now instead of staring at my accounting until I go crazy, I am taking a much needed break to FINALLY watch my Christmas present...Julie and Julia. ooh la la.

Then its off to watch the Super Bowl at Wayne Winston's and then our friends. Go Saints!

It's Thursday?

Where has this week gone? I had every intention of blogging all this week, but like life it got away from me. I am on my way to class and then have a meeting with my Academy directors to discuss our CMA project and then I should have the rest of the afternoon and evening to myself. So a real update should be coming soon...I promise!

Ladies Dinner Club - XXX Version

That's why we have the Ladies' Dinner Club! It gives us first years a chance to get together once a month, and try a new restaurant or do something fun. Because it doesn't matter if you are an MBA student, a mother, etc. you need time to just be a girl and hang out with your girlfriends!

We had January's Ladies' Dinner Club at a classmate's home where she made the main dish (a wonderful chicken!) and the rest of us brought appetizers, salads and desserts. I have eaten so much great food since being back in Bloomington, my classmates are amazing cooks and bakers!

While we were all socializing in the kitchen index cards were put on the table so we could ask anonymous questions to our guest for the evening, Debby Herbenick Ph.D. of Human Sexuality at IU. We had a great discussion, a lot of fun, and definitely learned a lot.

Definitely a fun way to spend a Saturday night!

Manic Monday

Day started at 6 when my Blackberry started chirping. *Time to get up!* I straightened my hair and then grabbed a few more minutes of sleep before stumbling out to the kitchen to feed Addie.

I grabbed my laptop and got to writing some emails while I watched the Golden Globes' Red Carpet (they were on Sunday?! Where have I been?!) I made a salad for lunch, packed it up and got a bunch of work done. Then off to school to start my marathon day.

Monday's are always packed, 3 classes my most all week. But on top of that I had 2 team meetings and an informational interview I did for a project. Kelley Women had a bunch going on today too, as our budget was due to MBAA and we are trying to update our website.

Tonight's KIP has been my favorite so far, we had a professor speak to us about the Israeli Special Forces and their selection process, so cool.

Didn't get home until 8ish or so and then it was time to catch up on emails and finish up a few projects. I have a bit more that I had wanted to get done but I am planning on getting up early again tomorrow...and the whole process starts all over again!

Why I love my Brand Management Class...

Because Professor Morgan puts the following picture up on the projector. Genius! We spent 30 minutes discussing the issues with Apple's latest release and the fact that their real tag line, tell the customer nothing. Do they know what the device is supposed to do? Who is the customer? Is the idea to just put it out there and see how the customers use it (and who actually buys it) and then market to do that?

With my brother and my dad HUGE Apple fans it was great to hear someone stick to Steve Jobs, and critique the company's strategy. I look forward to seeing how this will be positioned in 6 months and see if all the negative associations the name has (by itself) is erased as Morgan predicts.

Internship - check, Schoolwork - ??

Everyone thinks I am on easy street now, my dream internship under my belt and the rest of the semester should be smooth sailing right? Um, no. Now that we are out of the core the number of teams I am on has grown exponentially (from one to four!) and now that I have a leadership role in Kelley Women, that seems to fill in any of the space not already allocated to school projects.

Accounting thankfully is not a lot of group work, but we have lots of cases to prepare for every class. Thankfully, for me Charlton is forced to take the same class so I have a study buddy at home to make sure I am not allocating costs to projects based on some silly driver like times they turned on the light switch.

Brand Management has a fairly in-depth project where we value a brand. My team (of 6) is valuing Tiffany. We have to look at the consumer perceptions and then a few different valuation methods. The good thing about having a team so large is we can have mini-projects within the project. Each pair has their own valuation, mine being product based. We also have a survey we all created to gauge customer preferences, so if you are reading this and want to help out...click here.

Market Research has a project too, teams of only 4, but so far it seems fairly straightforward. It is more of an exercise to get us using SPSS so our professor is walking us through it. Perfect!

Then there is my KIP class where we have teams of five to work on case write-ups and our industry presentation in a few weeks. Our first case write-up was on the Israeli Special Forces and really interesting. As for the industry presentation we are going with agriculture as CPG was too hard to find resources on.

Lastly, there is my CMA project where we are working on a global entry strategy for Kitchenaid...something like what we would see in our internships. It is fairly vague and we haven't gotten too far in, but I already know more than I ever thought I would on Japanese cooking tastes and trends.

And if that wasn't keeping me busy enough, there is our readings, homework, housework (still haven't done laundry this week!) and try to keep up with my friends. Pulled in 500 directions, and this was supposed to be easier than the core?