What Happened?!

It's almost been a month since my last post, that is completely unacceptable! Even if you consider that I have no time for myself, let alone time for blogging. So I will try to bring you up to speed without the whining, and try to make it as brief as possible.

Where did we last leave off? I was in Israel, or Jordan, being bussed through the desert. The trip was amazing, I got to see so many things that people wait their whole lives to see. Meanwhile, learning about business and culture. And I think I have eaten my lifetime quota of pita bread.

The trip was a whirlwind, but I didn't expect the tsunami that the second 7 would bring! 4 new classes, to be topped with a redo of our KIP presentation and residual CMA project work. Doesn't sound too bad right? You had 8 classes at a time in Core, this should be a piece of cake! WRONG! With the responsibilities of Kelley Women, SAC, my parents in town (thanks Mom and Dad for the bed & all the dinners) I am getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night. Addie has been pretty depressed as we are gone all the time. The weather has been fantastic and she has hardly been able to enjoy it.

So where does that leave us? With 2 1/2 days before the end of the week, I have:

• 3 more team meetings
• 3 more class sessions
• SAC meeting
• A presentation
• Experience Weekend activities

Pray for me!

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.

Is it Friday yet?

Finals week, and this is what I have been reduced to! A slob in sweats pouring over ppts and word files regarding monetary and fiscal policy until I am cross-eyed. I washed the dishes for the first time this week just a few minutes ago, eww!

I am ready to be done, and I think the rest of the class of 2011 is too. It cannot be noon tomorrow soon enough!

Run over by a bus...

After 4 days of camping out in a breakout room at Kelley that's what I feel like. Not that I have over done it, or put in crazy long hours (although today's 12 hour day was the exception, normally we have been doing 8-9 hours a day) I am just done. Ready to put the case behind us and venture out of the breakout rooms. My team has worked really well together, and our second year mentor has been great as he has checked up on us consistently to make sure we weren't killing each other. It's always good to know that someone else wants you to succeed.

We finished up around lunchtime today with getting all of our data in our finished powerpoint, and the rest of the day was practice, practice, practice. My teammate's wife brought us dinner (yummy quiche, thanks!) and we finally left the Godfrey Center at 9:30ish.

When I got home, I was in desperate need of some non-bus time and watched Martha Stewart's pie show. After talking to my brother and finishing the last load of laundry it was time to hop in the shower and blow dry my hair, a girl has to look good for her presentation.

I have to be at school at 7:45 tomorrow, ready to get the first round over with and find out if I can relax on Thursday or if I have to bring my A game again...wish me luck!

This week has been hard for me to get motivated. I just feel really behind, and can’t seem to get that little push to get me though it. I feel like I have major Attention Deficit Disorder, and find it hard to focus on the littlest things. Am I burnt out? Just tired from the conference? Who knows! Just have to dig deep and push through the last day of classes before the Quant final. Wish me luck!

Another day closer to the end of week 7 and I am exhausted. Just woke up from falling asleep here at my laptop working on some Accounting homework. Now I have no idea if it is right, but I don’t have the time or the energy to go back through it. Will just have to hope I don’t get cold called tomorrow.

Today was another full day of classes, with informational meetings, resume reviews and a mock interview prep session (I downgraded it to a prep session because I didn’t feel ready for a real mock yet) And if that wasn’t enough, throw in a info session on classes to register for next semester, since that is less than 2 weeks away.

We got an exam and an assignment back today, and I was my usual below standard self. I have been having a real hard time reconciling with the fact that I am not the head of the class, let alone average. All the second years say everyone gets a B, and no one fails out and grad school is HARD, but don’t worry you’ll be fine. Just hard to believe it at this point. Most people seem to be doing considerably better than me, although I found a small pocket that seem to be in my neck of the woods. So does that mean we will be the exception? Will have to wait to January to find out.