Wakechick's MBA Adventures

Better late than never 2006 year in review

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 04:19:00 +0000

"Framework" is a big buzzword at the Chicago GSB these days, what with interviewing in full swing for the first years. (Boy, I do NOT miss the days of recruiting!!!) So in the spirit of b-schoolers' love of frameworks, I'll use my sub-header as a framework for taking a look back at the past year or so.

I'm just a girl...

Yep, that still applies :) Woman, chick, female, lady, broad...yeah, that's me.

seeking an MBA...

At this point I'm about 3/4 of the way done with my MBA and it has flown by. It's been a fun ride and I have no regrets about going back to school full time. I can't say I have loved every class I've taken, but I've learned something from each professor, study group, and class discussion. The most enjoyable have been hypothetically starting/running a new business in "Building the New Venture" taught by Waverly Deutsch, and putting together a business plan for Goodwill of Chicago in "New Venture Lab" taught by Linda Darragh. Entrepreneurship hadn't been on my radar before business school, but it is a new curiosity and interest of mine. Not sure how that might influence my future career decisions, but let's just say seeds have been planted and it has changed the way I think about business strategy. Enough about the classes though, because the people of the GSB have truly been the highlight of my experience here. I've never been surrounded by such a large, diverse group of really cool fun people. Whether it's traveling to Costa Rica and learning to surf, sitting at a bar and watching football, or just hanging out in the Winter Garden, I've really enjoyed spending time with my classmates and I've made some lifelong friends.

the perfect job...

Ah, recruiting. The agony and the ecstasy (more of the former than the latter, unfortunately). Figuring out what you really and truly want to do is hard enough, without the added pressure of the on-campus recruiting process. To be sure, the process is unpleasant, but the career services staff at the GSB and my fellow classmates could not have been more supportive. And nothing feels better than signing that offer letter at the end of it all. My initial plan didn't exactly pan out (marketing in a sports-related company), but I'm OK with that. I have a better understanding of myself and the opportunities available and I now realize it's not a great fit. In my life, I've found that figuring out what you DON'T want to do is just as important as figuring out what you do want to do. I tried something different over the summer, a job that was much more qualitative than anything I've ever done, in an industry in which I had zero experience. I had a blast, but at the end of the day I realized that the company wasn't a great fit for me. My revelation: it doesn't matter how glamorous or fun the product I'm marketing is. I can market ANYTHING as long as I'm part of an organization that is committed to employee development, continuous improvement, and doing the right thing...for its customers, for its employees, for its stockholders, and for its community. That's why I'm delighted to be headed back to the world of financial services when I join American Express after I graduate. It is a PERFECT fit.

love & happiness....

This is the goal I would have said I was least likely to achieve a year ago. Sure, I was pretty happy early in the year, things in my life were coming together. But I scoffed a bit at the idea of finding love. Then came the family meltdown in April 2006 when my parents split up. People unfamiliar with divorce will say things like, "Well at least you're an adult, that must make it easier." BULLS**T! That comment bugs the crap out of me because it is entirely untrue. Divorce sucks. Period. No matter how old you are. At 29 years old, my lifelong model for love and marriage is toast. Everything changes...how I communicate with my parents, how we celebrate holidays, heck even how I have to plan graduation weekend. I haven't talked about this much because it's very personal, and my parents read this (hi mom, hi dad), so it's just plain hard to get into. Luckily I have very supportive friends, some of whom have been through divorce themselves, as children and as adults. I'm getting through it and I'm not letting it weigh down my emotions anymore. It is what it is, and I can't do anything about it except try to live my best life. One of my initial reactions was to completely write off the idea of love and swear I would never marry. And sure enough, a few months later, Cupid went and shot me in the rear! I have no idea how it happened, it just did. A guy I had been friends with since the beginning of school suddenly turned into something more, a lot more. It completely took me by surprise and it has been the most wonderful surprise of my life. I love him, and my friends and family love him. And for the first time in my life, I'm ready to move in with someone, I'm ready to think about the long term. Early on, I described it to a friend as "scary fantastic" and now it's just...fantastic. I can't wait to share my NYC adventure and the next chapters of my life with him.

early retirement....

Well, considering I'm seriously in the hole after financing this MBA thing, and I'm moving to one of the most expensive places to live in the country....this goal is still TBD.

And world peace, of course.

This was a long shot. Still is. More Golden Rule, fewer bombs, and maybe we'll get there in my lifetime.

The best argument AGAINST a playoff for college football

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 07:13:00 +0000

I loved the craziness of the Fiesta Bowl as much as any true football fan, but I have to say I agree with Chuck Klosterman: just say no to a college football playoff.

Oh, and happy 2007! I'm sure I will be the last blogger on earth to do a "reflections on 2006" post, but I promise I'll get around to it sooner or later.

New GSB Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 17:35:00 +0000

I'm a co-chair on the Dean's Student Admissions Committee and today we've launched a blog. (Disclaimer: This is blatant self promotion. I set the thing up.) It is completely student run/published. The co-chairs are hoping this new resource provides additional insight for prospective GSBers into the application process and what it's like to be a student at the GSB. Feel free to send me feedback; this is a work in progress and I would appreciate the input!

Check it out: Chicago GSB DSAC Blog

New Look

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 21:40:00 +0000

Pretty bad that I haven't been to Blogger in so long that I'm just now upgrading to the newest version. In honor of that, I decided to give the blog a little makeover. We'll see if I like it enough to keep it.

Fall quarter is over and I'm looking forward to my winter classes. Finals ended on Dec 8th, and ski trip in Steamboat Spring started Dec 11th. I wish I could say I had a blast shredding the mountain on my board. I did have fun, but I did not shred. No, I'm the idiot who hurts herself BEFORE the ski trip. I slipped on some sidewalk ice in my neighborhood a couple of days before the trip and wrenched my knee pretty bad. Thankfully, I did not re-tear my ACL that I had reconstructed 3 years ago (injured wakeboarding, of course). But I had to take it easy, so I cashed in my lift ticket for some spa treatments, read books and watched movies. We did have other injuries on the trip: a broken wrist, a dislocated shoulder, and a possibly torn ACL (these were in addition to my pre-trip injury). Everybody was in good spirits and had a good time, despite the injury bug.

I'm laying low until the boyfriend and I fly to Seattle on Christmas Eve for some family time. It's nice to catch up on Tivo'd shows, surf the web, update the blog, and generally be lazy. I did make a big decision recently though: I sent off my signed offer letter to American Express and I will be joining them in NYC after graduation. Let the good times roll :)

I'm in a New York state of mind

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 02:13:00 +0000

I'm back in NYC for a recruiting trip. Back? you say. Yes, this is trip #3 of 3 trips to NYC for second round interviews. All in the past 8 days. I'm tired. The first trip was a bust, the second trip resulted in an offer (a great one I'm really excited about), and this last one is a two-for-one with one interview today and one tomorrow. After that I have just one more second round interview in Chicago after the holiday and then I will be DONE. It feels so good to say that. I had some time this afternoon to enjoy the city, which is nice because before all this started, I had only spent a single day here. I walked, I shopped, I ate, I walked some more. It was fantastic. This is such a great city, and I'm beginning to see myself here after graduation. Which is weird for me since I started b-school assuming I'd move closer to home if anything, whereas now I feel I'm being drawn back to the east coast. Except it's not weird, because I'm completely excited by the prospect of a new adventure in a new city. Actually, I probably won't end up following the gameplan I laid out for myself at the start of b-school AT ALL, but it works for me because I'm a firm believer that your gameplan should never be so rigid that you can't allow yourself to take risks and open the door when opportunity knocks.

Classes are a total afterthought for me right now, and I'm not proud of that, but with this recruiting stuff, you just have to do what it takes to get through it and hope you come out OK. I get back to Chicago Tuesday night, have class on Wednesday, then head to Seattle for turkey day Thursday morning. It will be interesting, this being the first big holiday since my parents split up. I haven't been home for Thanksgiving since undergrad, but I felt like I needed to go home this year, for my family and for myself. I'd rather this be our initiation into "Holidays, Divorced Style" than Christmas. So it goes.

Don't let that last paragraph fool you. I'm still dealing with the divorce, but on the whole, things are pretty groovy in wakechick-land. I have a new offer, I still have my offer from the summer, and I'm going to Steamboat after finals to play in the pow-pow. Oh, and did I mention I have a new boyfriend and I'm absolutely crazy about him?

We're #1

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 21:41:00 +0000

So Business Week just announced that Chicago GSB is their new top dog. Whispers had been circulating this week that it might happen, and now the Hyde Park Center is atwitter with the latest accolade.

This weekend's Fall Preview for prospective GSBers should be fun.

And good luck to Round 1 applicants who are finishing up their applications this weekend in time for the Oct 18th deadline!

Snow in October?

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 16:48:00 +0000

Yep, its snowing here in Chicago as I type. On October 12th. Awesome.

Another strange thing I've seen here recently: A couple weeks ago it stormed really hard. Torrential rain, heavy winds, lots of lightening. Tons of trees went down, in fact they are still clearing the debris out of Hyde Park. So anyway, I was driving down Lake Shore Drive to school and noticing that the lake was really churned up, which is typical after a storm. The waves get big enough that your mind is *almost* fooled into thinking its the ocean. I go to exit at 57th street, where there is one of the city beaches, and notice figures bobbing in the water. Surfers. In Lake Michigan. Trying to make the most out of the storm and the "swell" it created. Felt like a scene straight out of the movie "Step Into Liquid." (Great movie, see the trailer here, there are a couple of brief clips from the segment about Great Lakes surfing)

And since I have so much time on my hands (ha--more like, so much desire to procrastinate and put off finishing a paper for tomorrow), I found a trailer for another surf movie on YouTube that is all about Great Lakes surfing:

God, I love YouTube.

On the school front:
Classes are good
Social life is good
Recruiting is good

Theme of the quarter so far: How am I so busy? We are second years, aren't we supposed to be coasting through it by now???

Back from summer hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 17:13:00 +0000

I guess I took an unannounced break from blogging, of sorts. Just too much personal stuff going on and too busy to really sort through thoughs and get inspired to post something. I'm really happy that classes resume next week. I'm looking forward to seeing all of my friends regularly and generally enjoying the hell out of my second year of b-school. I'm actually down on campus today to participate in a couple of Career Services panels. Maybe being back in HPC is what inspired me to break the seal on blogging again.

My summer internship at Brunswick was a lot of fun and resulted in an invitation to come back when I graduate. I'm still planning to test the waters with some selective recruiting this fall (when else in my life will employers from all over come to me?), but chances are pretty good I will go back. Boats are cool. Got to drive one of these down the Chicago River:

Took another RV-to-sporting event trip over Labor Day Weekend to see WSU take on Auburn. The outcome wasn't what I had hoped for, but we all had a great time. Talk about tailgating and southern hospitality, those Auburn fans know how to do it right.

Also went home for my 10 year high school reunion....all I can say is, what a trip.

Invasion of privacy

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Mon, 08 May 2006 23:00:00 +0000

Remember how a couple of weeks ago McCombs School of Business announced they had been a victim of data theft? Well, today I got an email confirm that MY info had indeed been accessed, including my name, birthdate, SSN, and email address. AWESOME. I put a fraud alert on my credit bureau accounts as soon as the original announcement came out, but I may need to step it up and purchase one of those monitoring services for the next year to make sure no one screws up the perfect credit I've cultivated.

Very tired after a long but fun weekend. Teamed up with 6 other first year GSB women to rent an RV and drive down to Louisville KY for the horse race to end all horse races...the Kentucky Derby. Our RV was one of 14 RVs full of GSBers that made the trip. Not sure who found the lot we stayed in but we were literally right across the street from the main entrance to Churchill Downs. We had a couple of LEAD Facilitators in our group who had class til 5 pm on Friday, plus we had a couple of issues picking up the RV, so we didn't leave town until 7:30ish and rolled into Louisville about 2 am local time. (Yours truly did all the driving, I am officially the RV master.) By that point, everybody had moved from the drinking stage to the passing out stage, so we had like one beer then hit the sack.

We were roused from our beauty sleep around 8 am the next morning by a fellow first year, so started on some bloody marys shortly thereafter. We made our way into CD and to the infield around noon. I can report that the infield is as crazy as people say, and I can't imagine what it is like in the rain & mud. We were near turn 3 and the only race I saw (other than glimpses on the jumbo screen) was the Derby and even that I really only saw horse heads and jockey heads bobbing above for the 2 seconds it took for them to pass our area. Didn't even know the name of the horse that won, just that it was #8. But it was so much fun just to be there in the crowd and the weather was gorgeous. After the race, we went back to our RV, grilled up some burgers, played some Catch Phrase, and continued drinking beer. We also had to defend our RV from drunk guys trying to steal our liquor and drop a deuce in our toilet! We enjoyed the music provided by our neighbors until around midnight when we were all ready to pass out. Little did we know it would continue playing until 5 am, and that after a short two hours of peace, we would wake up to loud banging on our door and a request to move our RV away from the "dump" area. That's what we get for being the last to arrive!

RVing is so much fun. I grew up doing it with my family, so I was pretty excited about giving it a try on my own. Totally going to do the Derby again next year, and I can't wait for another RV trip I've got planned with some fellow Wazzu alums Labor Day weekend for WSU's season opener at Auburn.

Undeserving

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 03:40:00 +0000

Not sure how I managed to crack the Clear Admit top 10 since I've been totally MIA lately (and I was a loser and didn't even complete a ballot). But to those who voted, thanks for thinking of me. I hope my once-in-a-blue-moon posts put a smile on your face.

It's not that I haven't had time to blog, I'm just lacking a little inspiration and a lot of motivation. School-wise, this quarter has been a piece of cake compared to last quarter...my internship is all lined up, I'm taking 3 classes (instead of the killer 4 last quarter), and my involvement in student group activities is moderate. So why am I so scatterbrained, stressed out, and procrastinating my way to insanity? Well, I have a few friends who are moving, one friend who is dealing with medical issues, and the kicker...my dad has asked my mom for a divorce after nearly 34 years of marriage and 15 years of business partnership and has moved in with a woman with whom he's "just friends."

All I have to say is thank god this didn't happen last quarter or I would be a total basket case. Honestly though, I'm OK, just worried about a lot of other people right now so blogging is pretty low on the priority list. But I am keeping up on my blog reading. It's a great way to escape, so keep up the good work guys and gals :)

Pura vida!

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 04:39:00 +0000

So last night I got home from my fantastic spring break adventure learning to surf in Costa Rica. What a trip! I need another week to relax before I go back to school, but alas, Chicago GSB only gives us one week. Oh well, at least I don't have class until Wednesday so I have a couple of days to sleep in my own bed, catch up on house chores, buy my books, get back to normal, etc.

I went on the trip with 5 other GSB chicks and we headed down to Dominical, Costa Rica, last Sunday.

Just getting there was quite the trek. We got a cab to O'Hare at 4 am, caught the 6 am flight to Houston and connected through to San Jose, arriving about 2 pm. It was nice because we didn't even change time zones. However, we were still a bumpy 5 hour drive from our final destination of the Green Iguana Surf Camp at Diuwak Hotel in Dominical. It was dark when we arrived so we didn't get to explore too much...we were just happy to be off the road, out of the van, and getting a meal in our bellies.

Day 1 was pretty mellow. Our first surf lesson wasn't until later in the afternoon, so we had time to walk through town, get some breakfast, and go check out a local waterfall before we tried to catch some waves.

The waterfall

The Chicago GSB Ladies Surf Team

At around 2 pm, we met our coaches and headed down to our local beach, Playa Dominical. We first spent some time on the sand going over ocean basics and practicing our pop-ups, then it was time to hit the water and give it a go. I had taken a 2 day surf lesson at Surf Diva a couple years ago when I first moved to San Diego, so I remembered much of the basic info in my head, but my body had forgotten about it. We all took some tumbles, got a bunch of salt water up our noses (which would come out randomly later...hello, surf drip!) but by the end of day one, most of us had at least gotten our feet underneath us a few times and there were a few short but successful actual moments of surfing.

Day 2 was a late afternoon to sunset session at Playa Hermosa, a few miles to the south of Dominical. Gorgeous! The other chicks felt Hermosa got the best of them (bigger, more frequent waves combined with sore bodies), but I felt like I had a pretty good session getting to my feet more consistently and starting to find my balance. Plus, the setting was just too perfect. Beautiful beach, nobody but us on it, no man made structures in sight, surfing right up til sunset. I was pinching myself.

By Day 3, we had nicknamed all of our coaches and some of our fellow surfers...Mowgli, ZZ Top, Kid Rock, Shaggy, The Bod, Handlebars. We hit Playa Ventanas, a few more miles south of Hermosa and so named because of the caves that create windows/ventanas from the beach to the ocean. The waves were even bigger than the day before and I was starting to feel the fatigue, so the day was a bit of a struggle for me and I ended up a little sunburnt. I was glad to get off the beach and into the shade. The great thing about Ventanas is that the access is through private property. The property owners charge for access but that charge includes a refreshing pipa fria to end the day. (Pipa fria = chilled coconut with a straw....yum!)

Day 4 found us back at Ventanas. My usual board was claimed by someone else so I spent most of the time trying to get my bearings on a new board. Same length, but twice as heavy, so my balance was a little off and I felt like I had to paddle a lot more to get into a wave. However, once I got it figured out I got a little brave and went on an adventure to "the outside" (beyond where the waves were breaking). We had just been surfing on the whitewater, but real surfing happens from the outside. I was scared (just a little bit) and didn't actually take off on anything, but it was nice to float out there, see how waves develop, and practice paddling into waves from the outside a bit.

We went back to Playa Hermosa for our 5th and final day of surfing. It was by far my best day, even though my body had pretty much had enough. Because my body was saying uncle, I was climbing up more than popping up...also known as cheating and something you can only get away with in the whitewater, but that's neither here nor there... I was actually riding waves, feeling confident in my balance, going down the line, turning a bit, and generally having a blast! And everybody, ALL 6 OF US, had successfully caught a wave, popped up, and SURFED...what can I say but... GSB women kick ass!

In our rash guards & boardshorts, we look like pros already, don't we? I don't have any pics of us actually surfing yet, we are waiting to develop a waterproof disposable camera and the camp should be sending us the pics they took on our last day sometime soon. I promise to post them when I get them.

All in all, it was a great week. As they say in Costa Rica, "PURA VIDA!" Dominical is a funky little town. Our accommodations were what I would call rustic, but nice, and we did have air conditioning, a pool, great ceviche, and some interesting resident wildlife:

Q, our favorite monkey, right Megha?

The iguana in Green Iguana Surf Camp

It's official

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 15:21:00 +0000

I will be a summer intern for Brunswick Corporation.

Brunswick, you ask quizzically? Don't they do bowling and billiards?? Yes, but did you know they also do gym equipment, marine engines/accessories, and BOATS!

Reminder: the "wake" in wakechick doesn't stand for Wake Forest, it stands for wakeboarding, which is done behind BOATS!

So, this girl, who loves to spend as much of her time as possible on (or being towed behind) boats, gets to spend the summer working in the Brunswick Boat Group, product development division, working on voice of the customer stuff. (Think qualitative market research combined with internal consulting/strategic planning/change management.) To use a really overused "extreme sports" word....I'm stoked :) It's a great opportunity to take a chance, do something totally different than my previous work experience for the summer, and work on products that have a special place in my heart. And it's based here in Chicago, so no moving or subletting to deal with.

Does it get any better than this?

Internship decision

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 01:16:00 +0000

The second round interview that I mentioned in my last post? Yep, it resulted in an offer. A great offer. I feel very fortunate that I have two options that are both great opportunities. So now I have a decision to make, *quickly* considering the first offer explodes on Friday. I am pretty sure which way I'm going to go, but I still feel obligated to do my due diligence and make sure it's the right decision. And I'm starting to feel the pressure of that decision, the finality of it, the fact that I have to let someone down. It's like breaking up with someone. I feel like the Bachelor...two great prospects but only one rose to give out. (Yes, I enjoy cheeseball reality TV, it's a guilty pleasure.)

In a nutshell, do I want to go back to the same industry I was working in before b-school doing something kinda different, *or* do I want to do something really different in a new industry (one I'm pretty passionate about)? Thinking back to why I wanted to go to business school in the first place, it was for the latter opportunity. When I put it like that, it's a no brainer. But it still sucks that saying yes to one opportunity means saying no to the other opportunity (and great potential boss & coworkers).

(Companies to be revealed after I've signed on the dotted line....)

So many irons in the fire

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 19:22:00 +0000

Between midterms, interviews, and having a nasty cold that won't go away, life has been pretty crazy and there hasn't been much time for fun. And it's been really cold here (wind chills of -15 F at night!), so I've been laying low, staying home and watching the Olympics when I'm not on campus. I have three more interviews this week (2 first round, 1 second round) and then I'm pretty much finished with on-campus recruiting. What a drawn out process! As hellish as a dedicated week of interviews sounds (a la HBS), I think that might be better than this. I will be glad to be done, although I'm not sure when that will be. I have one offer right now, hoping to secure another one after this week (fingers crossed), but I also have some interesting off campus stuff that I may not hear about until mid-March. Which sucks when dealing with exploding offers!

We shall see what happens (and how good my negotiation skills are)....

The fix was in

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 03:39:00 +0000

Worst. Officiating. Ever.

Two words

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Sun, 05 Feb 2006 14:39:00 +0000

Go Seahawks!

Tagged

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Sat, 28 Jan 2006 22:58:00 +0000

I've been tagged by poweryogi. Thanks a lot, Yogi, it's not like I don't have anything better to do with 4 interviews and a midterm next week. Due to my previously stated policy, I won't be tagging anyone else.

Here you go....

Four Jobs I've had in my life:
* Babysitter
* Summer school teacher's assistant
* Cheerleading coach
* Restaurant hostess (with the most-ess)

Four Movies I can watch over and over
* Ferris Bueller's Day Off
* Love Actually
* The American President
* Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Four Places I have lived
* Pullman, Washington
* Richmond, Virginia
* San Diego, California
* In a fraternity house for a summer (and lived to tell about it!)

Four TV shows I love to watch (I still have a TV, and DVR helps me find time for my shows)
* 24
* Lost
* Grey's Anatomy
* Pardon the Interruption

Four Places I have been on vacation
* Budapest, Hungary
* Paris, France
* Kauai, Hawaii
* Vail, Colorado

Four Websites I visit daily
* ESPN
* Pink is the New Blog
* Americablog
* Go Fug Yourself

Four of my Favorite dishes
* my dad's mizutaki (he's not Japanese, but he cooks like it)
* my dad's kung pao chicken (he's not Chinese, but he cooks like it)
* my dad's arroz con pollo (he's not Mexican, but he cooks like it)
* a big, juicy, medium-rare filet mignon (preferrably grilled by dad, of course)
(Honorable mention: mom/grandma's sausage fondue)

Four Places I would rather be right now
* Kauai
* San Diego
* Seattle/Home
* Detroit (next weekend), with a Super Bowl ticket in hand...GO SEAHAWKS!

Playing games

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 16:52:00 +0000

Last night, I attended a ladies' poker event, co-hosted by Chicago Women in Business (CWIB) and the GSB Risk & Gaming Club. It was mostly a learn to play event, although there were a couple of us there with a little poker experience. I've played a little, mostly for fun/zero-stakes, and I'm still learning betting strategy. Play was pretty slow, but it was a good time. I finished just out of the money. However, I left at the end of the night as a likely co-chair of the Risk & Gaming club for next year! How this happened, I'm still not sure, but I'm actually pretty excited about it. Should be fun.

Super Seahawks

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 03:32:00 +0000

Wonder of wonders, last week the Seattle Seahawks ended a 2 decade playoff win drought and tonight they won the NFC Championship for their first ever trip to the Super Bowl. In Detroit. A reasonable drive from Chicago. We are totally road tripping, tix or no tix.

I am so freaking happy, I can hardly believe it. I've been a 'Hawks fan my entire life...I fondly remember going to games in the Kingdome, cheering on guys like Steve Largent, Curt Warner, Kenny Easley, the Boz, leaving with my ears ringing like I'd been to a concert. This is just so sweet, I only wish I was in Seattle right now to celebrate with my fellow Hawk Fans.

Deflated ego

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 04:36:00 +0000

Well, tonight I got my first round of on-campus interviewing closed list results. It did not go as I had hoped. At all. Quite a blow to the ego, the first of many to come, I'm sure. I'm disappointed, but not without hope. I did make two closed lists, both great companies that I would be happy to spend the summer working for (and interviews I should enjoy preparing for).

Since I want to go a non-traditional post-MBA route (sports industry), I was pretty selective with dropping resumes for on-campus stuff and I've been trying to mentally prepare for the likely game of chicken I will end up playing with the end of the school year and securing an internship. Even so, bad news is bad news, and rejection is never an easy pill to swallow.

So tonight I had a big bowl of ice cream and I'm evaluating my options, trying to decide what (if any) open lists I will bid for tomorrow. I'm also doing some more internet research to make sure I've got plenty of options/irons in the fire on the off-campus front.

On a brighter note, I've made my spring break plans official...I'm headed to surf camp in Costa Rica with 5 other GSB females, and I can't tell you how excited I am to go! I managed to get in one surf lesson in San Diego before I blew my knee out, and didn't get around to taking another after rehab. So this is my second chance to add surfing to my boardsports repertoire. Plus, I've wanted to visit Costa Rica for a long time. Should be a fantastic trip :)

Good luck R1 GSB Applicants

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 05:22:00 +0000

Just wanted to post a brief note before I hit the sack....good luck to all of the Chicago GSB Round 1 applicants expecting decisions this week. Word on the GSB message board is congratulatory calls will likely begin tomorrow afternoon, with all decisions posted Wednesday morning. I know you are all anxious, I remember those sleepless nights well, but do try to get some rest and have some fun over the next couple of days.

As for me, this quarter has been like being shot out of a cannon (or so I would imagine since that's never happened to me). Seems like we've gone from 0-60 in 3 seconds flat this time around, probably because we didn't have the cushion of CORE to ease us back into it. Plus, recruiting is going full steam ahead. I've dropped 8 resumes at this point and have a few to go. At this point, I'm wondering why I thought it was a good strategy to take 4 classes during winter quarter. Note to the Class of 2008: don't be like me and think you're smarter than the second years, believe them when they say you should NOT take 4 classes during winter quarter.

Happy holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 22:37:00 +0000

Coming to you live from Sea-Tac airport.....

It's been a nice, relaxing week back in the Pacific Northwest for the holidays. Had a great Christmas with my family, got to see my friends (and how much their babies have grown!), check out my brother's new house (and see how much he's grown!), watch a bunch of movies, and basically hang out.

Highlight of the week may have been enjoying steak dinner, not once, but three times. My dad laughed at me when I scarfed down a monstrous t-bone my first night home. Steak is not in my grad student budget and it had been five months since I had red meat not of the ground chuck variety. My dad's advice: start dating some higher class guys who will buy you a steak! Sage advice from dear old Dad.

Hope the holidays have been good to everyone :) Have a wild, crazy, and prosperous New Year!

Where the heck am I?

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 00:19:00 +0000

Ever wake up and have no clue where you are or what time it is? Happened to me this morning. Where am I? (Sweet home WA) Who's bed is this? (My old twin bed) What freaking time zone am I in? (Back in the old PST) It's no wonder that I woke up confused since it's the 3rd bed I've slept in over the past 4 days. (I would imagine this happens to consultants. Prostitues, too!)

Flew back from Vail on Monday, spent about 36 hours in Chicago, then flew home to Seattle for the holidays. 3 different time zones, 3 different beds/bedrooms, totally disoriented when my alarm went off this morning.

Vail was buckets o' fun. Pictures will have to wait til I get back to Chicago since I forgot the cable for my camera and can't upload them. Huge ski area, beautiful views from the top, incredible snow. It snowed all day the first day we skied (9 inches of fresh powder!) and the next day the sky cleared and WOW. We were there for a week and had plenty of time to ski and just hangout. My body was shot by the end of the week, my calves cramped beyond the point of return. The trip was worth every penny and I plan on going on ski trip again next year.

Stick a fork in me...

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 14:29:00 +0000

I'm done. With my first quarter of my MBA at Chicago GSB.

Yeah, its been awhile. I've been busy and lazy as far as blogging is concerned. The problem is like letting dishes or laundry pile up. You don't do them for awhile, the pile gets so big and the task so daunting that you will continue to put it off until you run out of silverware or underwear and have no other choice. Same with blogging. Each week that passed was just that much more that I needed to update. But today I'm breaking the seal with a massive post, hopefully anybody still reading this won't be too bored. Just warning you though, I will be without my laptop for about a week coming soon, so I may not make another update til Christmastime. Anyway, on to the big show....

Classes

Microeconomics: Thank god my bid for Turbo Micro failed. Topel's "baby turbo" was more than enough to keep me occupied, and I was an Econ major! In one of the first couple classes, Topel told us that his Micro class would be different than anything we might have taken before and that's just the way its done at the University of Chicago. Sure, UofC is (or has been) home to the most influential modern economists and more Nobel Laureates than you can shake a stick at, but really...could it be that different? Seemed kind of arrogant to me. Turned out to be true. Things that were taught "take it as given, no need to prove it" in my Micro classes at WSU were completely broken down by Topel. He really focused on the theoretical and the "why" behind everything. Which made for interesting lectures, but when our group got to the problem sets....what?!? Figuring out how to apply the theoretical was left completely up to us to figure out. No easy task. But excellent preparation for future classes and work. Because UofC is Econ's Mecca, most (if not all) classes have some foundational economic aspect(s). Topel's Micro was an excellent "prepare you to think like an economist so you won't get your ass handed to you in the future."

Statistics: What can be said about Stats? It's icky, it's kinda boring, it's stuff I kinda remember from undergrad but usually have to look up in a book if I'm forced to use it. It's a foundation course, it's a chore you just gotta do. I refer to my professor as the Silver Fox. Bester has a head full of silver hair, but he's only 28 years old (!) and the guy is like the damn Energizer Bunny. He has so much energy and I really don't know how he does it. My class was Thursday 6-9, and it was the last of 3 sessions he would teach in a 24 hour period, yet he still managed to keep the energy up most of the time. He made it fun because his enthusiasm for the subject (and for teaching it at Chicago GSB) was both obvious and contagious. The problem sets and midterm were pretty fair and I usually scored above the mean, but the final kicked my ass. I rarely fail to finish a test but I did last night. Not a good feeling, until I started talking to my classmates and realized that very few people finished. We'll see how it turns out.

Operations Management: I wanted to put off Accounting and Marketing til Winter quarter because (a) I only wanted to take 3 classes and I wanted one to be case based but (b) I wanted to take Marketing from McGill and she was only teaching in Winter. So I chose to take Ops Management and get a breadth requirement done. Plus, I had never done anything like it so I figured it would be an interesting and different class to balance the previously travelled roads of Stats & Micro. I ended up really liking this class, taugh by Adelman. I mean, sure, the guy does tell bad jokes that no one but him laughs at, but I think he's a darn good case discussion facilitator. This class was a nice mix of quantitative & qualitative case work, and I really enjoyed the business process simulation we did in November. Overall, it was nice to look at business from an Ops perspective, something I had never really done before.

I think I managed to pull a B average, although I won't know for another week or so. As for next quarter, I got my perfect schedule....

Monday: No class
Tuesday: Accounting with Roulstone (morning), Marketing Strategy with McGill (afternoon)
Wednesday: Managing in Organizations with Wittenbrink (afternoon)
Thursday: No class
Friday: Competitive Strategy with Bertrand (afternoon)

Really looking forward to next quarter, should be fun and hard.

Career Stuff

Attended the handful of presentations of companies coming to campus that interest me. I will probably participate in on campus recruiting for 6-8 companies. Other than that, I've been working on my off-campus research, collecting information from websites, trying to find alumni to contact, etc. It's kind of daunting. I'm pretty sure I will end up playing chicken with my internship...meaning most of the companies I would really like to work for do just-in-time hiring so I probably won't have an internship secured until May. Could be stressful when a lot of other people start getting their offers from on-campus stuff in February/March. I will just have to stay focused and positive. I've got some things coming up that could be very helpful. A friend and I attend the Promotion Marketing Association Law Conference here in Chicago last week. They had a couple of interesting Sports Marketing panels and I made one good contact that I need to follow up on this weekend. In addition, the Employer Development office at Chicago GSB has been working on some new relationships with professional sports teams like the Chicago Cubs and the Seattle Mariners! Very exciting stuff. I've actually been in contact with HR at the Mariners and I'm going to have an informational interview with them while I'm home for Christmas. Also, the Chicago Bulls are having a career fair with 25+ other Chicagoland sports teams and related businesses on December 20th, so I'm sticking around to attend that. It will probably be mostly for sales jobs, but it's worth a shot to go check it out and maybe make some good contacts. There's another job fair hosted by the NCAA in Indianapolis after the first of the year that I may try to attend as well.

Social/Fun Stuff/Weather

Still working out a lot and going out a lot. I love this city. I leave on Monday for a week in Vail on the Chicago GSB ski trip with about 100 of my classmates. I didn't do a Random Walk, so I'm really looking forward to a vacation and a week of pow-pow. It will probably be my only chance to snowboard this year since there is no "real" mountain anywhere near Chicago (those landfills converted to ski areas in Wisconsin don't count).

I'm attending a couple of holiday parties this weekend, and then my housemates and I are going to do family dinner Sunday night to celebrate Christmas early before we all head separate ways for the holidays. We did a full Thanksgiving dinner and had so much fun, we're going to do it again.

Last weekend, we tailgated with a bunch of friends at Soldier Field for the Bears/Packers game. We had a good time, but damn...it was cold! The weather has SUCKED. BIG TIME. Worst start to December in like 50 years for Chicago. It hasn't been above 32 degrees F since November 29th. This week, I had early morning finals on Tuesday and Wednesday and when I left my house at 6:30 am it was like 5 degrees, sub-zero with windchill. Then, last night as I'm taking my Stats final, a blizzard decided to roll in. I finished my test at 9:30 pm and had to dig my car out of 7 inches of snow. Took me about 15 minutes, then my drive home (normally 20 mintues) took 45 minutes. Plus, I have a rear wheel drive only SUV, so it's always fun to go around corners leading with the ass end of your vehicle. Fun times. My friend who used to work for UofC Law said that they never put pictures of campus in the snow in their recruiting publications because they don't want to reinforce how bad Chicago's winters are (even though campus is GORGEOUS in the snow). So, I apologize to the U of C if this post gives Chicago winter a bad name, but 2 years in San Diego made me soft and this sucks! It is supposed to warm up to the 40s this weekend so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Now, to really make it up to any readers I have left, here are some pics from my Chicago antics the past few weeks...

Our beautiful Thanksgiving table, turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, fresh cranberries, green beans, rolls, homemade pumpkin pie...we know how to do it right! And about 2 bottles of wine per person, plus after dinner Texas Hold 'Em and Trivial Pursuit.

Tailgating at Soldier Field with 2 out of 3 of my housemates. It's about 10:30 and 20 degrees here and we are *choosing* to spend the day outside (yep, no tickets to the game but someone brought a TV and we watched the game there...crazy, I know)

Yeah, tailgating for Bears' games is WAY more fun than tailgating for Chargers' games in sunny San Diego! /sarcasm

Whiskey keeps you warm. It's a fact.
Whaddya think...should I include this in my resume drop to Jim Beam?

Winter has arrived

noreply@blogger.com (Wakechick) — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 14:21:00 +0000

First snowflakes of the season are falling right now. Today's forecasted high temp: 35 F. Current temp 33, wind chill 21.

Today is the first day I've really truly missed San Diego. What have I gotten myself into? It's only November 16th!

Just the weather report for now, full update on school and life coming soon (I promise, KV!).