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...

Greetings from Cali!

I'm back in Cali now for the break. I'm really excited to be here and am going to take advantage of all things California while I'm here (in-n-out, good mexican food, warmer weather, the sun, etc.)

I have to say that this round of finals was much different than last round. Mostly because Fall A finals were all in class exams, and Fall B had only one in-class exam (finance). Take home exams are a bit of a monster - mostly because I don't have that much of an attention span so it's hard to focus. It took me FOREVER to read that BORING marketing case. I can tell they gave us something boring to test our ability to make marketing decisions using that framework instead of just BS'ing on the ipod or something that we're familiar with.

MAP projects came out - so I'm going to look through them this break and figure out how i'm going to rank them. The projects look pretty cool, so we'll see...

Other than that, I'm now looking forward to a couple of weeks with nothing major to do. Life is good.

It's crunch time

Ever get the feeling that you’re supposed to be someplace else? I keep checking my Outlook calendar, going through e-mails, etc., just waiting to find something. I’m sure if it were important, someone would have called me. They did when I double-booked a couple of things recently. Actually, since it’s 11:15, I’m now wondering what I missed or what I was supposed to go to. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.

What happened to Fall B? I’ve got finals due next week. Aah! I swear, things just fly around here – I blink and the term is gone! Time to get cracking! This term has been busier, but have also felt like I’m more “in my groove”, and a bit more connected to Ross so that’s been a lot of fun. I don’t feel like I’ve just moved to Ann Arbor anymore. I’m still pretty swamped and I’m still learning how to work in different situations – and I’m trying to figure out the best way to work in my many groups. I’ve done a lot of group/team work before b-school but somehow the groups seem a bit different now.

We had our first “real” snow on Monday, so I had my first experience driving in snow that actually stuck. That was an experience – driving in snow is a lot like driving in heavy fog and these messed up streets aren’t too much fun when you can’t really see the dividing lines. Plus, I think I sort of skidded a little when I made a tight right turn. Oops! Note to self: get better tires.

Oh, and there’s the obligatory post-BCS bowl special comment. I am honestly not surprised – and I also didn’t really want a rematch. I had a feeling after the Michigan/Ohio State game that this is what the BCS would say. I do think it sucks that Michigan was basically penalized for being in the same conference as Ohio State and ending our season 2 weeks ago. Oh well. I’m not so sure how Florida will do against Ohio State. If Ohio State crushes Florida, then maybe the Big-10 (and especially Michigan) will get more respect.