tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684Fri, 01 Nov 2024 10:33:49 +0000A blog for family and friends to read about our time in London, Ontario.http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)Blogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-7091112410679686536Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:32:00 +00002009-04-30T17:01:47.026-04:00Minutes ago I typed the last few sentences of my Achieving Market Leadership take-home exam and uploaded it to eZone. At that moment, I had completed my MBA. Where was the parade and marching band? This is definitely something to celebrate and I will do so over the next week or so. We will attend a graduation formal this Saturday (affectionately referred to as "prom night") and then engage inhttp://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2009/04/done.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-7541544986824091501Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:46:00 +00002009-04-08T09:31:28.321-04:00Big news! Julia and I are moving to Boston! I spent March networking and interviewing, and was fortunate to land a fantastic job with a well-known software company. The position is a great fit for me; I will be working with software developers and testers to define, design, and deliver new features for one of the company's software products. I'll definitely be able to combine my development http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2009/04/big-payoff.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-669734014447187218Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:40:00 +00002009-03-03T16:43:22.599-05:00My class has received a lot of press lately. Here is a selection:The National Post profiles the recruitment experiences of Ivey's Justin Porter.The Toronto Star profiles the experiences of two of Ivey's international students: Siddarth Samarth and Manju Rose.Barbados Free Press picks up on Joy-Ann's blog posting; "From Barbados to Ivey"Ivey wins the Financial Post Portfolio Management Contest! http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-mba-class-in-media.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-8424939490731854741Thu, 26 Feb 2009 01:18:00 +00002009-02-25T20:57:47.667-05:00I wrote my Ops exam today. Exams at Ivey typically consist of a four-hour case analysis including a staunch recommendation and action plan. They are mostly open textbook and open notes, but I usually find that I spend little time looking at either. Although there are formulas I may need to reference, or frameworks from a class slide deck I want to apply, my exam time is usually spent combing http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2009/02/exams-obama-future.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-6191165557443338681Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:44:00 +00002009-02-15T10:28:51.195-05:00A couple of weekends ago, me and eight friends from Ivey flew down to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for some skiing.  It was really great to get away and ski my brains out for a few days.  The weather was fantastic - we got sunshine on the last two days.  No new snow though, which kind of limited the terrain we were skiing.  JH is a very challenging mountain and I would definitely like to go back some http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2009/02/jackson-hole.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-8713732783365375183Sat, 24 Jan 2009 20:21:00 +00002009-01-24T15:21:38.991-05:00During the first official day of classes our program director Tony Frost described the MBA experience as "a marathon, not a sprint."  The difference being, of course, that you must pace yourself, have extremely high endurance, be able to draw upon energy reserves, and above all, have the drive and determination to set aside pain and fatigue to finish the race.  For some, the objective http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2009/01/hitting-wall.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-2567938435836322096Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:24:00 +00002009-01-12T22:42:00.627-05:00I am really busy these days. Here's a taste:6:50 am Alarm goes off, and I slowly wake up from a deep sleep. It is hard to get up when it is so dark and cold outside. As I wait for the coffee machine I check my email and the latest news headlines on Google News.7:40 am I gather my laptop, papers, and snacks and head out the door.8:00 am Class begins. Today starts with Leveraging Information http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2009/01/day-in-life.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-7568573833002729279Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:32:00 +00002009-01-03T21:33:48.643-05:00What a trip! So many great experiences.. where do I begin? Of the three cities we visited I think Beijing gave us the best "taste" of China. Beijing seemed to have much more of a cultural element to it, with communist style government buildings, ancient temples, and hutongs (traditional communal housing centered around courtyards) throughout the city. I arrived a day early along with several http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2009/01/china.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-7228579067441450754Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:17:00 +00002008-12-09T13:00:49.033-05:00I write this as I wait for a classmate to pick me up and head for Toronto. Several of us leave for China tomorrow, flying Continental Airlines from Toronto to Beijing via Newark. Total travel time will be over 16 hours, including a 13h45m flight from Newark to Beijing. This comes close to the longest flight I have ever taken: just over 14 hours from L.A. to Sydney. Then we will be halfway http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/12/china-bound.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-1078928867828167633Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:44:00 +00002008-11-22T10:54:23.682-05:00http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/working/story.html?id=647efe3a-1150-4d7a-bee0-e71151f86daa&p=1I came across this article today and immediately thought of my brother. Making a living as an artist is very difficult, partly because it is a profession that is historically undervalued by businesses. However, this may soon change. This article argues that jobs held by traditionally http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/11/push-for-right-brained-thinkers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-1226282893689535342Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:58:00 +00002008-11-15T13:32:37.897-05:00Last week marked the half-way point of my MBA program. Roughly six months from now I will be graduating along with the rest of class with a Master of Business Administration degree. While time feels to have flown by, I also feel like there is still a long way to go. I believe there will be a few differences between what I experienced during the first half versus what I have yet to experience http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/11/half-way.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-6196068016890015802Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:07:00 +00002008-10-29T10:10:23.762-04:00This is what we woke up to this morning.  It started yesterday evening and by this morning there must have been at least 15cm of the white stuff.  Julia was nervous about driving so I got up early to drive her to work.  The streets were not plowed yet and along Windermere there were many large fallen branches that had buckled under the weight of the wet snow.  I can't believe it has snowed http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/10/snow-in-october.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-7107819610398847075Fri, 17 Oct 2008 21:02:00 +00002008-10-17T17:34:10.167-04:00... as Professor Tony Frost likes to say. The events of the past weeks have fundamentally changed the financial world and threatens to push the global economy into deep recession. What a great time to be in B-school! I mean that both genuinely and sarcastically. Genuinely because we are getting top-tier analysis from world-class business experts. On Wednesday both MBA classes were given a http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/10/we-live-in-interesting-times.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-7085753923709407056Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:21:00 +00002008-09-27T12:07:41.061-04:00Camping was fantastic! The weather was perfect the entire time we were there, sunny and warm during the day and cool at night. Our campsite was right next to the sand dunes, and just beyond them was the beach. There were very few people there because it was mid-week in September. We brought tons of food and ate really well; we felt as if all we did was eat and lay on the beach. Tough life! Beinghttp://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/09/beef-jerky-and-sand-dunes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-5700940027197932358Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:54:00 +00002008-09-18T18:03:04.726-04:00Electives have passed in the blink of an eye and I am now studying for my Competition final exam tomorrow. I must say that my stress level is quite high these days. There are a lot of deadlines related to extracurricular activities that are on top of all the course work I've been doing. For instance, the MBAA (student association) has a new website that needs a host so it can be launched. http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/09/i-should-be-studying-instead-of-writing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-202961564456471601Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:25:00 +00002008-09-08T15:26:24.685-04:00A month has passed since my last post - sorry for the delay. Before I knew it I was caught up in studying for exams, and all other tasks become low priorities. I wrote my exams two weeks ago: Accounting on Tuesday the 26th, Finance on the 28th, and Strategy on the 29th. All three went fairly well, although I don't want to say much because over the years I have developed a superstition against http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/09/electives-recruiting-season.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-6071968857571090173Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:11:00 +00002009-01-13T15:33:44.067-05:00The last couple of weeks have been really busy. Class work has increased as we build on what we learned at the beginning of the module and start to look at more complex cases. Extracurricular activities have also increased. I was recently named Communications Senator and have also been asked to serve as president of the Technology Club. In addition, I joined a team of three other MBA studentshttp://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/08/eventful-weekends.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-6669626241596337536Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:45:00 +00002008-07-20T23:03:36.953-04:00Things certainly did not ease up after mid-terms. Classes continued at a relentless pace, with plenty of reading and class prep before each one. We have had many more strategy courses lately to make up for the late start, and it seems that the cases for this class are on average a lot longer than cases for other courses. I am a bit of a slow reader, especially when not totally enthralled by http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/07/change-of-pace.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-4144367139008940412Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:40:00 +00002008-07-11T00:00:57.760-04:00My badly phrased title for this post encompasses the three courses I am currently taking in Module 2a: Accounting and Control for Managers (ACM), Managing Financial Resources (MFR), and Developing and Executing Strategy (DES). I just finished the second of two midterms yesterday. What a relief! I was really tense and anxious during the days leading up to these exams. I'm not sure why I was so http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/07/strategizing-about-my-career-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-6650544541950048920Sat, 21 Jun 2008 22:18:00 +00002008-07-03T10:03:08.345-04:00This past week was incredibly busy. On Monday we handed in a report for our Managing Your Career course. It required that we first conduct several self-assessment surveys and be reviewed by former colleagues regarding leadership ability and potential. Once this data had been collected, we had to distill it into a set of life themes, and then consider how they affect our career paths. I http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/06/end-of-module-1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-2775180061507901956Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:40:00 +00002008-06-06T16:13:13.119-04:00Today our guest speaker was David Estok, editor-in-chief of The Hamilton Spectator. He has experience in both journalism and corporate communications, and therefore deeply appreciates the relationships organizations have with the media. He played this clip at the beginning of his presentation as a humourous way to illustrate how easily an organization can damage its reputation via the media. http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/06/communicating-with-media.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-3780841282685716957Thu, 29 May 2008 19:41:00 +00002008-06-01T13:47:50.225-04:00Our good friend Alex came to visit us this past weekend. He had flown to Toronto to visit family during the week, then hopped on the ViaRail train to London. We showed him around the city, including the UWO campus and of course Richmond Row. For dinner Saturday night, Julia found a really great restaurant called Fellini Koolini's that served delicious and unique Italian dishes. I think his http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/05/alex-comes-to-visit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-1185277593305549012Sun, 18 May 2008 13:25:00 +00002008-05-18T10:04:43.033-04:00Orientation Week was, in a word, intense. It began early Monday morning with a welcome session attended by Dean Carol Stephenson, MBA Program Director Tony Frost, faculty, career management staff, program management staff, and recruitment staff. It was a great "show of force" that demonstrated the tight integration between the various components of the Ivey MBA program.Much of the first week http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/05/1-week-down-51-to-go.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-1918675325069939629Thu, 08 May 2008 00:55:00 +00002008-05-07T22:09:04.573-04:00I was browsing the headlines during a break in class today and came across a story about a fire in a North Vancouver apartment building. It turns out that this building was Julia's previous home. She lived there from October 2006 to August 2007, and remembers her first apartment fondly (she constantly reminded me about it when she moved in with me). Julia told me that the fire seems to have http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/05/fire-rips-through-julias-old-apartment.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-992466830898267684.post-5073664879933262655Mon, 05 May 2008 23:27:00 +00002008-05-05T21:10:27.915-04:00My first week of PKP consisted of 40 hours of class time, 15 cups of coffee, and 50 new friends. After it was done, I felt I had known many of my class mates a lot longer than a week.Our quantitative course focused on regression analysis and the time value of money. It wasn't overly difficult, and since most of it was new to me I was glad I took the course. It also gave me a chance to meet my http://chrisandjulesinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/05/one-week-down-one-to-go.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0