Lots of nervous energy

There is a lot of nervous energy around campus these days with recruiting season and all. Its funny, its the opposite of how thigns started. Earlier in the quarter and all of last quarter, the I-bankers were going crazy and now they are all really happy or really sad since their interviews are done. I have had three interviews so far and two dings (the Kellogg word for rejection) but I expected those since i didn't really have any passion about the jobs. I have two more interviews tomorrow, but my real interview is in a week with General Mills. I am trying not to be nervous about it but it is hard, there is so much riding on this interview. On top of it all, I have a midterm tomorrow, two cases due on Monday, a homework asignment due on Monday, and 8 other interviews to go still. Plus I am going home this weekend to see the parents and my sister, and next for a wedding. I will be so happy in a few weeks when this is all over. I anticipate a BIG party in the future once this is all done.

It's funny how things work out

So I just got done reading about how Pfizer is closing its research center in Ann Arbor. I have friends who work there so this is a big blow to them, I will have to call them and see how they are doing. But, it brings up an interesting point for me. I remember when Dave and I were looking for jobs leaving college. Pfizer Ann Arbor was our #1 choice, it was where we wanted to be for sure. It would have let us be in Ann Arbor and close to our families. But at the time Pfizer Ann Arbor wasn't hiring at the time. So we went to General Mills, which was the company we wanted to work at anyway, just not the ideal location.
Well over two years later, Minneapolis now feel like home. We have great friends there, and we both love General Mills as a company. If we had gotten the Pfizer offer we would have both been out of a job today, or else moving somewhere else, assuming we made it through a few rounds of layoffs in the past two years, so I guess everything worked out for us.
I guess its just something to keep in perspective as interviews and recruiting starts again, things will work out in ways that might not seem optimal now, but will probably be for the best.

Going into hibernation

So the big season begins this week. The season everyone waits for in fear and anticipation. Recruiting season. This week is the first week of interviews. Suprisingly, even with no closed list interviews, i have bid on quite a few. I have 6 so far in the next two weeks. We find out bidding results for the next round on Wednesday, but I have bid for 10 more companies... gotta hedge those bets, i have to get at least one out of 16 positions I am interviewing for. Unfortunately General Mills doesn't come to town until February 6 so I will be busy until then. I have never looked foward to a day so much. In three weeks all the interviews should be done and i should know my summer fate. I can't wait for it to be over. I will probably not be posting too much as every free moment will be spent looking up financial statements and products of all the fine companies i am interviewing for. I will try to keep you updated.

Back in the swing of things

So the new rejection count from companies :14. My goal is to have the highest count by the time recruiting season is over, everyone has to have goals.

On the up side I took my first dance class of the year. It was an adult Jazz class, it was awesome! I am so happy to be taking dance again. Tomorrow I tutor for the first time in a while and pick a venue for my charity casino night that I am planning. Kind of scary, planning one of the six big Kellogg events.

I think I took my finance class too seriously. Yesterday when discussing whether one of my friends should get back together with a boyfriend I told her she needed to take into account the NPV of current good feelings versus future bad ones, and the opportunity cost of losing out on the chance of being with someone else. And then she made fun of me... I don't understand why ;-)

Nothing more exciting going on. I will be in Minnesota this weekend, call me if you are free!

Sometimes things are more difficult than expected...

So, when you read books about possible jobs for an MBA, most of them say marketing is one of the least competitive. What the fail to tell you is that when you go to one of the top marketing schools in the country, it becomes a little more competitive. I seriously think that the marketing recruiting process is more competitive than the I-banking or consulting ones, and that should not happen. And I have realized I am just not cutthroat enough to do it. Now don't get me wrong, I have a competitive streak in me (ask anyone who has played board games or poker with me), but I just hate backstabbing, and that is what a lot of this whole recruiting thing is. I also hate playing the stupid games that we need to play to get a job. You go to a company presentation, make sure to put your name on a list, then at the end stand in a circle around the recruiter and compete with your fellow students to get a word in edgewise. So not my thing. I will be so happy in a month and a half when it is all done.

So far out of the 15 resumes I dropped, i am on 2 waitlists. I have three dinner offers with companies in round B, so hopefully i will get on more interview lists. I told myself I wouldn't let the recruiting season get to me but it is hard. I am just happy most of my friends aren't going out for marketing so it is so great that i have someone to talk to who I am not competing with.

This weekend so far has been nice. After a long Thursday night (I learned the important lesson that wine and liquor to not mix), I took last night easy. Tonight I am making dinner at a friend's place, some things never change, then going out to celebrate another friend's birthday. Then I also get to work really hard on more resume/cover letters and start reading for the classes I am already behind on. Although my classes so far are mostly interesting (except for factory physics 2) so I am looking forward to the quarter.

The dance studio here doesn't open up until Monday and I have been anxious to start those classes. I haven't done a dance class for over a month and I really miss it, i can't wait to get back into things.

Alright, now I am just stalling on doing all the things i need to do . No more random thoughts, time to work. I will be in Minneapolis next weekend, should be fun!

Back at school

Beer+ Wine +Jager + Malibu= bad idea.

Workin' 9-5...

Well school had started up again. I had a good Christmas and New years. I spent a lot of time hanging out with family and friends. I got to see almost everyone I wanted to, which was great. But now I feel like I need another vacation to recover, things were so busy.
My super cool sister (who reads this blog ;-) ) gave me her car, so I now have a car in Evanston, which is awesome. No more excuses for eating out all the time anymore now that i can go to the grocery store whenever i want.
I got into Evanston yesterday and then went out to a dinner with the other Turkeys (my section). It was awesome to see everyone, i really missed my b-school friends. Today was the first day of classes, a makeup day for the Monday we missed (usually there are no Wednesday classes). I was really happy to see my friends again in class, although i missed being home with Dave too. I have some really cool classes this quarter. My bargaining games class will be my favorite I think. I actually think MicroEcon will be interesting and I am really excited to take derivatives next semester (yes I am a dork).
It was a fun but a tough holiday, I think I need to get back into things and hopefully get a job. I find out about first round interviews today, i am a little scared, the news hasn't been good so far. But the only companies I really care about in this round are 3M and Kellogg, and they haven't sent out interview invites yet.
Well I have to go workout to keep up with my New Years resolution to be healthy again. I am hoping to workout twice a day and start back on my old healthy diet I had before I started working at G-Mills. We will see how those goals go, they are a little high, especially for recruiting season. But life is all about priorities i guess and it is always busy, so no better time to stat than now,

A fun weekend in Minnesota

So I have arrived back to the state of 10,000 lakes. I have had a fun time being back so far. I played volleyball on Wednesday (Go Bacos!), played poker on Thursday (realized I can no longer play poker), went to dinner at Manny's on Friday (with my old boss) and then on Saturday Dave and I threw a party. It was definitely a fun time. We had lasagna for dinner and then played some Cranium and poker. Some others played a super long game of darts. I tried and tried to get Katie to dance with me but she wouldn't. But overall, it was a fun night.
On Sunday we spent most of the day cleaning and then went to Seth's concert. The Plymouth Concert Band was awesome, i was so impressed. Probably one of the best bands I have heard play. Then Seth, Ed, Dave and i went to sushi in uptown. The sushi was phenomenal as well. Lots of good food this weekend between Manny's and sushi.
Today I went back to General Mills to talk to a few people about an internship, I think i have a pretty good shot, I just need to wow them with my marketing expertise (well, first I need to get marketing expertise). I also made a roast for Dave and did more company research and reading on marketing and branding. I know, sounds exciting.
Tomorrow I hit the outlet mall and talk to Mattel!
It is weird, I never thought I would miss classes but I do. Although I have had a blast in Minnesota, and I am loving seeing my Minnesota friends, I also miss my Kellogg friends. It is weird not seeing the people I have seen every day for the past 10 weeks for a month. I realized I am missing seeing some of them in class, or having the random Kellogg discussion or the random Tuesday night at the Keg or Nevins. I got my grades back and I did ok. I didn't do as well as I would've liked in Finance but other than that I did as expected. I guess considering the class was full of investment bankers whose grades actually mattered I did okay. No marketing company will ever ask me about my grade. It is funny, I did best in the classes I didn't study for and worst in the classes I spent the most time on. Which means i have a new strategy for next semester- no more studying.
Of course how could I finish a post without giving a shoutout to my super cool sister Ayesha and her super cool friend Liz ;-)

Derivatives, Long Run industry Structure, and Network Extermalities

Just a few of the fun things i got to spend this weekend learning about. It is amazing to me how one can learn 10 weeks worth of classes over one weekend. I have strategy tomorrow at noon, and i think i will do okay on that, that is my one B class for the semester. Then I have Finance on Tuesday- I really want to do well in that class since I plan to have finance as a major and Accounting on Wednesday, which I haven't started studying for yet. The weekend was spent on Strategy and Finance.

On a different note, it seems like my Wolverines were robbed. I know there are lots of opinions out there on how interesting a rematch would've been, but I was looking forward to the prospect. It would have been an interesting game, to see the two teams go at it again but on neutral turf. So sad that instead an inferior Florida team will get to play in the national championship (although I know there are also mixed opinions on the inferiority of the Florida team). Which bring on an even bigger predicament... now I have to root for Ohio State- how wrong is that? The Michigan/ USC game should be interesting. While I think Michigan is a better team, they don't necessarily have the best record in bowl games as of late. Plus, USC is essentially playing at home in the Rose Bowl. Well hopefully Michigan blows out USC, and (I never thought I would say this) Ohio State blows out Florida. Go Big Ten! Go Blue!

A follow-up

Interesting, as I was going through my e-mail I found this article from the Wall Street Journal (something I need to start reading as recruiting season nears). This one passage was very interesting to me. Don't know what I think about it. I am sure for some women the rise to top is worth missing their kids events, but don't know if that would ever be worth it for me. Just something I found interesting and appropriate at the time.

"The women acknowledged having to work long hours, suffering jet lag from constant travel and having to meet multiple demands on their time. And they listed their sacrifices. Frances Aldrich Sevilla-Sacasa, president of U.S. Trust, said she has missed many of her three kids' school events and several wedding anniversaries.

BUT ALL THE panelists concluded that their achievements ultimately were worth the tradeoffs. After all, plenty of women toil at much lower-level jobs and work just as hard, but don't get the big rewards of their high-placed counterparts -- from substantial compensation to the chance to make decisions instead of just following them."

One down, 3 + to go...

Wow, the next week is so busy. I will be so happy when it is next Wednesday.

I have three case writeups due on Thursday, and an exam next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Right after my exam on Wednesday, I hop in a cab and on an airplane to Minnesota. So crazy. To make matters even worse, Dave gave me a cold.

Well, I do have one final out of the way. I completed by Factory Physics final and got a 99! I finally have proved to myself I am not buisiness school stupid. Now I just need to finish accounting, finance and strategy. No big deal ;-)

On top of all of this I have a lot of tough decisions to make. I need to decide what to do for this summer, which will impact what I do after school. It is so weird, and somewhat scarry. I have so many options open to me. I can make all the money in the world, I can have the "perfect job", but I still don't know for sure what I really want. It is a really interesting question.

About half the people here are going for careers in investment banking or consulting, jobs that start in the mid- six figure range, but involve 90+ hours of work/ week. I think I would love those jobs but I would hate the lifestyle. Or else I could do something like cooporate finance. I job a little less fast paced, but still lucrative. I think I would be good at it, but I don't know if it would get me excited going in to work every day. Same with a job in operations. I think I would be good at it but I don't want to be travelling all the time. And there are the many general management jobs out there, or leadership development programs. I know long term I want to manage people and work my way up an organization, so these seem like a good idea. But then again, I keep on getting pulled back to General Mills, a company I love. Which brings us to marketing. I don't know that I would be good at marketing, it doesn't really speak to my strengths. However, to be in the position of strength at the company I love, I need to be in marketing. And it gives me the lifestyle I want.

And then that brings us to this summer. General Mills is not the best place for me to go to this summer, I need another company on my resume. But the best marketing firms are not in Minneapolis, besides General Mills of course. All the good opporunities are elsewhere, be them Cincinnati, California, or Chicago. But I think I want to be in Minneapolis long term. Do you go where the job is best or where you really want to be? Quite honestly, it sucks being somewhere without the people you love. And then, do I really want to hurt my career for someone who won't commit to me, even if I love him?

I guess it is all about whats important to you. THat is why I really admire my parents. They are both doctors and they have both found a career they love. They spend ridiculous hours at work, but I don't think they would have it any other way. When my sister and I were younger and at home, we never felt neglected. I guess they found what was important to them, found a career they loved and one that let them live their lives in and out of work.


SO much to think about... but for now I have to get back to project valuation and finance. Ever notice how my longest blog entries happen when I have the most to do? A little over a week and I will be in Minneapolis! Hoopefully I will see you all there!

Let's go Blue!!!

I am so excited for this weekends game! Even more exciting is the fact that Dave is coming tomorrow! Should be a fun weekend. Too bad it is followed up by a final on Monday ;-(.
ON saturday we will be waking up at 6 AM to go to the Michigan bar in downtown Chicago, Duffys. Then we are going to my school dance (yes, I have realized grad school is like high school all over). Should be a great game, hopefully Michigan can pull out the win! Go Blue!

An update

I noticed I have been neglecting my blog lately. Then I realized I have nothing really exciting going on, just a lot of studying, and going to parties.
Last weekend I went to a birthday party on Friday night. My sister was in for the weekend so i got the pleasure of hanging out with my super cool sister for two days, which was fun.
Yesterday I saw Flags of our Fathers. It was an okay movie. Kind of slow. Very emotional at the end, overall i would give it a B.
Speaking of B's, my classes have been going okay, one is getting really busy and some are interesting but most are just okay.
Tonight I went to a party thrown by LAHIMA, the Latin American, Hispanic and Iberian Management Association here. It was a fun party but I am super tired so i left early.
Dave is coming next weekend, i can't wait to see him again! This whole three week thing is not working out for me. Next weekend is Fall Ball. It is a big Kellogg dance on a cruise boat, it should be a good time.
Then comes Thanksgiving and finals and then it is time to visit Minneapolis and Michigan for Christmas. I can't believe one quarter is almost done!

Congratulations Nick and Karin and Happy Halloween!

Well, it was a fun weekend in Minnesota, but I am still recovering from it.

I got in on Friday morning and went over to Riverside to visit with the General Mills people and then went with Karin and her bridesmaids to a delicious lunch at Benihanas. I hung out for a while with Karin and then we went to the rehearsal dinner and drinks at Cousineaus where we met Nic, Krista and Seth. Fun times.

Saturday was wedding day which was fun but busy. I went shopping with Karin's aunt for brunch food for Sunday and picked up the flowers, then went to the church. The ceremony was great, and the reception was a fun time. The hall was really pretty and i got to see all the people I missed. Katie and I even got to practice one of our dances ;-) We went to the Borchs after the reception to take advantage of our extra hour.

On Sunday Karin's aunt., Dave and I made brunch, which was a hit. Then we went home, slept (we were so tired) and then went to our first of the month dinner. All in all a fun weekend.

Sadly, when I got back on Sunday night I realized I had neglected to study for my accounting midterm I had at 10AM on Monday. I was up until 3 AM studying, but it paid off since I did pretty well.

To celebrate being done with midterms, the section I belong to, the MMMs, threw a big party at the local bar, the Keg (think super ghetto super sketchy bar) on Halloween night. It was a charity event to raise money for the homeless and we had over 450 Kellogg students there. It made the bar slightly less sketchy since there were no non Kellogg people there. I went in a witch costume, I am waiting to get pictures from someone so I can post here. It was a great night of drinking and dancing. I got home after the bar closed and then got ready for the rest of my exciting week.

The most exiting part of my week so far though will be the visit of my super cool sister this weekend. I can't wait to see her! Her and Liz should be visiting me on Saturday night which will be tons of fun.

3 midterms and a wedding

What would you be doing if you had a midterm on Tuesday, a takehome midterm on Friday, a midterm the Monday after that, and three papers due? Well, writing a blog entry of course!

This was a good weekend home. I bought a Halloween costume (a witch), ate lots of good Indian food (I really miss my mom's cooking) and found out I may get my sister's old car if she decides to trade up. All in all a good weekend.

Most importantly, Michigan beat Iowa!!! Oh how I wish I could've watched that game with Pudenz, maybe next time ;-)

I can't wait to see all of you next weekend at the wedding! More studying for me.

I am now a real Kellogg student

I have now experienced the fun of late night drinking at the Keg before you have a ton of homework assignments to do... what ever happened to being responsible? And why did I mix wine, shots and beer? Oh well I guess i should get some sleep beofre my super early and super long day. Tomorrow I fly to Michigan for the weekend. I can't wait to see my parents!

A fun weekend

Go Tigers!!! Who would've thought at the beginning of the season that the Tigers would be playing in the world series. Awesome! Maybe there is still hope for the Lions... Although probably not. At least we can always count on the Lions sucking.

And Michigan won meaning the Ohio State game will be big (although I don't put it beyond Michigan to screw things up before then). Go Blue!

It was a fun weekend. On Friday I went over to a friend's house and BBQ'd. On Saturday Athena took me to Ikea and I got to see her awesome place. On Saturday night we went into Chicago and went to a couple of dance clubs. We didn't leave Evanston until 11 PM, and I was sure I would leave Chicago early to get to bed. However, it didn't happen and I didn't get home until 530 in the morning. It was a fun time though. I got hit on my a lesbian (which excited Dave) then had a long discussion with the cab driver on the way back while everyone else slept in the back. I was so tired but I took one for the team and sat in the front seat. The driver was kind of sketchy so someone had to stay awake. Of course, getting back at 5 AM meant I got no work done on Sunday.

Speaking of work, midterms are next week and the week after. I can't believe the semester is already half over. Crazy. Anyway, it will be a busy few weeks. I am going to Michigan this weekend and to Minnesota for Nick and Karin's wedding next. I can't wait to see my Minnesota friends, I miss you all! Eventually I will have something exciting to post. Anyway, back to my homework.

I've never seen so much blue before...

My outlook calendar is looking pretty scary right now with company presentations. I had another revelation about business school- it is basically a two year interview. I can't believe the number of company presentations! And how do you decide which ones to go to? Making me feel even better, the General never even told me they would be here this week, I found out looking at the Kellogg calendar. Always good to feel like you are in your company's thoughts.

Of course when I have a ton to do, what better to spend my time doing than writing blog entries?

It was a good weekend for Michigan sports. Michigan beat Michigan State (Go Blue!) and the Tigers made it to the next round! It is even better that they beat the Yankees so that I can gloat to all of those obnoxious Yankee fans in my section who sent me rude e-mails after the first game. I kind of wish they could be playing the Twins, it would have been great to see the Tigers beat the Twins to make it to the World Series... oh well I guess there is always next year ;-)

Well now I am going to start the homework I should have been doing all weekend. All those who said business school had no homework lied.

Cause you had a bad day, you're taking one down, You sing a sad song just to turn it around

If business school is teaching me anything, it is teaching me how to deal with rejection well. Today I found out I didn't make the case competition group I wanted, because I don't have any marketing experience (because if I had experience I would definitely spend $100,000 to learn how to be a good marketer), and I did not win the KSA (Student government) rep election.

Oh well, I have decided I am taking the wrong approach to business school. This whole time I have been working hard at classes and trying to get involved in the right groups. I think instead I should take advantage of all the great late night "networking opportunities" at the wonderful bars in Evanston. I think I have finally discovered the secret to business school. Afterall, everyone is smarter after a few drinks, right?

Overall I did have a fun night. I went over to a friend's house and watched Grey's Anatomy (McSteamy is so hot) and drank lots of wine. What else could a girls ask for? Now I need to catch up on my homework in case I am cold called in a class.

Anyway, on the up side Dave is coming this weekend. I can't wait!!

A fun weekend

Well I hada fun weekend in Minneapolis. It was great to see everyone, and so sad to leave. On Friday, we had a fun party at Dave's house. There was beer pong and poker, what else could a person ask for? On Saturday, after waking up at 4 PM, Dave, Nick, Karin and I went to see Michigan beat Minnesota, Go Blue! Sunday was fun as well. After playing tennis in the morning, we had a few people over for dinner, I really miss our dinner parties. Then it was time for my sad goodbye, but I will be back for the Pudenz wedding in a month!

Well, I am sadly enough back in school. Classes are going well. I am running for student government so I have been up all night making cookies as part of my campaign. What I really should do is find a way to give out alcohol, i just can't think of a creative way to do it.

This should be a fun week, Dave is coming this weekend so that is exciting. I know he is sad he will be missing a Tetris party, but I guess at least he gets to see me, isn't that worth it ;-).

I wish I had something more interesting to write about, I promise I will make my life more interesting soon!