OK, now I'm done with classes

Yay! Spring Break Here I come! I kinda think it's strange that "spring break" is actually in late February, but the University of Michigan (not just Ross) ends really early.

Ops was just annoying. I'm tired of either barely finishing or not finishing exams - I remembered the days back when I had enough time to review my answers before submitting the test, finding errors, and fixing them. Those were the days.

Time for some much needed R&R.

Management Accounting Final Kicked My Ass

That was just LONG. NOT fun. I'm glad Management Accounting is over. I actually liked the class and the concepts but I was not happy with that final. First off, why distribute the case in advance if you can't bring the case (or your notes from the case) to the final? Or why is this an in-class final to begin with considering the previous assignments were case analyses? I spent the past two days analyzing that case, coming up with "sample questions" that I solved, but I still barely finished, and I don't like my answers.

Despite this pain in the neck final, I got to really see the collaborative spirit in action. We were allowed to discuss the case with teams (actually we were encouraged to do so), so you'd randomly see different teams asking each other to explain a concept. People would stop what they're doing and just answer the questions for others. Nobody was concerned about keeping the answers to themselves to get the top grade. It was especially cool when the different teams didn't know each other that well - just overheard part of a conversation and said "so what did your cost diagram look like?" or "can you explain how to calculate X?". That's one of the things I love about this school. It wasn't a forced interaction at all - people were just genuinely willing to help out peers. People were even willing to help me out when I didn't feel like I had anything to offer (I was kinda behind in this class).

OK, now to operations. That's my best chance for a good grade - as scary as that sounds. Thank god for my team's performance on the pain-in-the-neck simulation, other case analysis, and my quiz grade. While I'm a bit worried b/c 2nd years all said that Ops final is a beast (and the practice final looks awful), I know I'll at least pass the class. Then go to spring break! :)

MBA1 Classes are Done!

Today is the last day of MBA1 classes. Next term we have MAP, which although technically a class, really seems more like a job. Plus, since you're working with a small team of 4-6 people and don't see your section, really, MBA1 classes are over. Time flies. I can't believe it! Last year at this time, I was stressing about school.

I'll post a "reflections" post more actually outlining what I learned, but for now, I'm still in a little shock.

Well technically, I've got Accounting and OMS finals, and a take home due this week so I'm not really "done" yet...

Paradise Ross: Follies 2007!

Wow - Follies was this past weekend and it was hilarious! I knew it would be funny when I saw one of the openings where the "prospective student" is checking out the school and saw that the new building that is all over the viewbook doesn't exist yet... Then a bunch of Ross-specific jokes about space in the lobby.

Where else but Follies can you have the dean pretend that he is the father of one of his students? A professor who tends to send lengthy e-mails make fun of himself? The Pillsbury Doughboy as a career swithing to a banking career. It's just amazing how much talent we have within the school - not only to write and direct the skits, but even the stage crew, tech, lighting, etc. Wow. i'm definitely going to get involved with Follies next year.

In other news - looks like the leadership of Class of 2008 is shaping up. Just about every day, we get an email announcing the new leaders of a club. It's gonna be awesome. And, umm, someone reminded me that finals start next week. This sucks. I'm not sure how i'm going to do in any of them. The Ops simulation (aka - a royal pain in the ass) - is over but now I have to actually learn the rest of this stuff. And accounting. Ugh. Just ugh.

I'm looking forward to MAP and my internship. And I'm also liking this "warm" weather we're having. yay - it's been in the 20's!

Leadership Transitions

Other than the god-awful cold, the biggest topic of discussion around here are leadership transitions. Now is the time when MBA1's run for positions in different clubs or in the SGA (I think that stands for Student Government Association - clearly i'm not running for SGA.)

There are definitely a couple of things I want to do next year - leadership wise. I love the spirit of giving back, but I want to make sure I don't overdo it so i get completely overwhelmed. I remember MBA2's looking frantic for most of Fall semester. I notice that most of the major conferences/events are during Fall semester (there are a few in Winter A). I realize now that's because MBA1's can't really committ to helping out with a conference or attending one after Winter A because they may be in some random city/state/country. We'll see what happens.

Oh, and I'm somehow getting used to this weather. Monday morning, as I walked to class in negative 8 weather, that was painful. But later in the day, when it warmed up to say, 5 or 6...it didn't seem so cold anymore. Now that's scary!

Deep Freeze

OK, this is just nuts. I clearly spoke too soon on my last post. You know it's cold when...

* the news uses the words "deep freeze", and "dangerous cold"
* perishable items left in the car overnight aren't spoiled, and water bottles freeze in the car.
* just going outside hurts any skin not covered with some form of clothing. Thank god for winter gear.

Yes, we're getting a "deep freeze" that will bring "bitter cold" to the area - and the worst is coming this weekend. We're also expecting some really nasty wind chills. I mean, the HIGH for Sunday is supposed to be 6 freaking degrees. This is seriously making me reconsider where i want to be post-MBA. I used to think I'd be cool with living in Chicago (I love that city), but my thin California blood can't handle this crap. This is the coldest weather I've had to deal with.

Here's the temp for the next few days:
Saturday - High 16/Low 3
Sunday - High 6/Low -1
Monday - High 10/Low 0
Tuesday - High 12/Low 5
Wednesday - High 17/Low 5
Thursday - High 22/Low 13 - Yeah, a heatwave!

And now:
Current Temperature: 5 degrees.
Current Windchill Factor: -10

Why did I move to this state again?