"I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...but there's all this crap in the way..."

One of my group members said this last night, and I can't help but totally agree. We're SO CLOSE...but there's still SO MUCH TO DO?

How is it that the last three weeks of the semester have been busier that all of the others (perhaps combined)? We have so much stuff due, and so many groups to coordinate with, and things to research, and papers to write, and tests to study for, OH, and there's that work thing...ugh

We're at least having a good time with it all. We're all so ready to graduate that we're occasionally delirious, which just makes life entertaining.

Let's see, what do we have left?

• Retail Strategy: we JUST finished our last presentation (like an hour ago), so all that's left in there is the take home final.
• Retail Finance: we have part four of our semester long project left, two cases to analyze (which, honestly, are NOT getting much of my attention or precious time), a final case analysis and prep, and the final work up of our project (yes...all of that...and we only have four days of class left...)
• Strategic Management: we have an exam, a thousand articles/videos to still read, and (we think...) another discussion board to participate in (although we haven't heard anything about it...). We also have an optional final, but I REALLY REALLY don't want to take it...

So, Dead Day is Friday... I can't believe we're almost done! We've got exit interviews and parties coming up, all making it that much more real. Geez...

Okay, gotta go figure out what the IIRR for Kroger is...

Apologies, but I'm drowning.

So, I confess. I'm a terrible blogger this semester.

But, to keep you at least temporarily in the loop (honestly, there are tons of things I'd love to write about, but just don't have time), here's how life is going right now:

OMGTHEREISSOMUCHWORKTODOITHINKI'MGOINGTODIE

Really. It's awful. I can't seem to keep my head above water. And I'm only taking nine hours...ugh

On a happier note, I got a job!!!

More details to come (hopefully).

Happy Monday

I'm fairly sure my brain is rebelling

We have a midterm today. A big, scary, no-one-knows-what-to-expect midterm. I've been studying for three days...my brain has actually stopped absorbing information. So...blogpost!

I have to distract myself for a little while in order to restart my brain. I'm finding it to be more and more difficult to study the closer May gets. I make myself do it, but it's almost like nothing it sticking. It's frustrating. I just have so much to do that my limited mental capacity is overwhelmed and my normally receptive brain becomes a stubborn two year old shouting "Nu-uh! No! No more studying!" *sigh*

I mean, not only do I need to study for midterms, keep up in class (which is WAY harder this semester than it has been...we have SO MUCH TO DO), apply for jobs, keep up with jobs I've applied for but that aren't panning out OR rejecting me (frustrating, BTW), and go to work, I also have all the normal stuff like taking care of the puppy and cleaning the house and being social and grocery shopping and showering and occasionally eating and sleeping and...*system failure*

I need a break - not because I need to rest, but because I need time to actually do stuff for me, not for other people. I need work and school and life to leave me alone for a few days and let me catch up on being a normal, functioning adult. I feel like I'm constantly sitting on the verge of a panic attack, and it's not conducive to, you know, being productive and what not.

So, maybe writing a blogpost wasn't the best plan...now I feel MORE stressed. Great. Exam in an hour and my brain is still whirling around in a spinning rainbow of death and I can't find the force-quit button...

...gonna go get more coffee and google "cute baby animals"...

UPDATE: that was terrible


[remainder of update not included due to the fact that I'm too upset to write an acceptable post explaining why it was terrible - trust me, you wouldn't want to read it]


Is it graduation yet?

How am I busier on the weekends than I am during the week?

No really, how? It amazes me what I can get myself into...

Friday we spent all day at school in a professional development course on Access. I've used it before, but I don't work with it on a normal basis, so some additional foundation was helpful. This particular class was just the "beginner" level - we'll move on to "intermediate" next month. That's when it really starts to become useful. It wasn't a bad class, though, I did learn a few new things that I can put into practice at work. It did, however, make for a long day. That evening I did some prep for the insanity that I knew would be Saturday, and that prep work on top of spending an evening playing catch-up with several friends resulted in minimal sleep. That was probably not the best plan.

I got up at 5 am (no I'm not kidding) on Saturday morning. I needed to finish a few things up at home before heading to campus. If I haven't mentioned it before, I act as an advisor for an on campus student organization that focuses on community service. They work closely with the scouting community, and on Saturday, they hosted a HUGE event (with over 900 scouts in attendance). The scouts come to campus for a day and take merit badge classes - it's a super fun event for them...and a super stressful event for us. The group has been planning the details for about a year now (they start on next year's event next week). I showed up to help with the morning activities and spent the hours between 6 and 10 resolving several minor (and a few major) crises.

I then drove out to Rogers to attend a memorial service - not the happiest way to spend a Saturday, but when you love someone, you're there for them through happy AND sad, right? It was a nice, quite service, and we actually ended up smiling and laughing a good deal more than one would expect at such an event.

Immediately after that was over, I drove back to Fayetteville, stopped at Party City to pick up balloons and then Rick's Bakery for an order of petit fours, then headed home to straighten the house and get everything ready for the baby shower I was hosting at 2pm - the theme? The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Cute, right?

Thanks to some help from my incredible roommate and another friend, we had everything set up and ready by the time the mom-to-be arrived (thank goodness!). The shower went off without a hitch, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The highlight was definitely the beautiful goodies by Rick's (they always do a fantastic job).

I spent the rest of the afternoon with my roommate - alternately watching a movie, cleaning up, and pretending to study for the Strategy midterm we have coming up. Sunday was mostly devoted to ACTUALLY studying, with a few meetings thrown in for good measure. I felt quite productive, despite the fact that I STILL haven't done the pile of laundry I've been saying I'll do for about a week now...hmm...

Anyway, this week should be interesting. We've had three classes "cancelled" in leiu of other activities - Finance is cancelled all week because we have a three hour meeting tonight and we don't have Retail on Wednesday so that we can have time on our own to work on our midterm. Then, on Thursday, we have the scary Strategy midterm (eeek/sigh)...

How is it midterm time already? Have we had enough class to justify that? The snow really messed with my schedule. Time is just flying - Spring Break is in two weeks and then we only have six weeks of classes left! Graduation will be here before we know it...if I can pass that Strat midterm, that is...blerg. I'll let you know how it goes. 'Til then!

One for One

Last Thursday morning I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Blake Mycoskie at John Brown University. If you aren't familiar with Blake, you're probably at least familiar with his company - Toms Shoes.

I love Toms - they make me super happy. And I love the business model - every time someone buys a pair of shoes, a pair is given to a child in need. It's brilliant. Who'd have thought that giving something away every time you sell something would make for a profitable business? Good job, Blake!

His talk focused on why he'd incorporated giving into his business model in the first place. As it turns out, the giving was the original concept. He'd been down in Argentina and seen how much the village kids there needed shoes. He decided he wanted to help, but rather than rely on charity work, he wanted to find a way to make it a business - and Toms was born.

He wrapped up by saying that giving back doesn't just feel good, but that it can be a great thing for your business and your own personal brand. He mentioned three ways in which incorporating giving into your life and business is a good thing.

First, when you give back, your customers become your marketers. They do all of the advertising for you - there's a passion there that customers want to share with everyone. They believe in the cause and they become involved.

Next, a company that gives back attracts dedicated, passionate employees. Everyone wants to be a part of something. People want to work at companies that are doing good things, giving back. People want purpose, something to be proud of. A company that gives back provides that.

Finally, when you incorporate giving into your model, other people want to help you, because helping you succeed means helping you give more. As such a tiny start-up, Toms would not have become who they are today without the help of some really big names - Vogue, Ralph Lauren, etc. Those names believed in what Blake was doing and they wanted to help him succeed.

He was a fantastic speaker, I'm really glad I got the chance to hear him talk about the company. He brought even more passion to an already enchanting company.

The rest of the week/weekend was spent in Chattanooga, Tennessee. My little brother turned twenty-one, so we all drove out to help celebrate. Our Christmas was a bit punctuated this year, what with work schedules and my India trip, so getting to spend several days as a family was nice.

Now it's March and time is speeding by much faster than I can process. We've picked up graduation regalia and midterms are already upon us! Eeek! Someone slow this down!

I did get a bit of a break tonight - the Vienna Boys Choir was at the Walton Arts Center, and so I treated myself to a night out. It was lovely. Now I must go organize my thoughts and to-do list so that I don't get even further behind. Happy March, everyone!

No, I'm not dead. There was snow.

I do apologize for the lack of updates. Life has been, how should I put it...jumbled.

There was snow. Then ice ('cause the snow melted and re-froze). Then more snow. Then a little more snow. Here's a draft I typed up in the middle of it, but never published:

We've been snowed in for the past two days, and tomorrow doesn't look promising. In fact, they've already cancelled school tomorrow (and upwards of 500 other places around town). It's ridiculous. Some of the phrases that have been used on Twitter lately to describe the past few days:Snowpocalypse - Snowmageddon - Snowverwhelming - Snowverreaction - Snowverdrive - Snowverboard - SnowMG - Oh, Snow you didn't!...it's getting ridiculous.

Mind you...that was during the FIRST round of snow...not the second round where we got two feet. We basically missed two full weeks of classes. THAT resulted in piles of "make-up" work (the quotations exist 'cause the teachers weren't supposed to give "make up" work, so instead we found ourselves blessed with surprise "extra" assigned readings/viewings/chapters/etc). Now that I've dug myself out of both the snow AND the work, I can breathe a little bit (and blog!)

Okay, first, before you get to bored with this likely long update, I'd like to let you know about two fairly interesting events that will be happening at Walton soon.

First, on Thursday (2/24), GWIB (Graduate Women in Business) and NWAYP (Northwest Arkansas Young Professionals) are partnering to bring a fantastic panel to campus. The event is called "Working the Career Ladder to your Advantage," and features female executives from the area discussing how to balance life and work successfully. It will be a wonderful networking opportunity. Contact info is listed on the flyer below. No reservations are required, but come early - there is a seating limit!

Next, the GSB will be hosting their annual Spring Social on March 10th from 6 to 8 pm at Powerhouse in Fayetteville. This event is always fun, and is a great opportunity to meet current, future, and prospective students and ask questions. I'll update with more info as the event gets closer, but go ahead and put it on your calendar!

Now, on to more of a life update.

Work
Dannon is still awesome. This past week our entire team has been in Vegas for the annual sales meeting, so the office was SUPER quiet (i.e. I got a lot done). We've turned in our first round of reports to Walmart (which is tricky at the beginning of a new year because there are always glitches), so the reports should be smooth from now on. Also, we are awaiting the arrival of a new intern soon (can you believe that tomorrow will mark a year that I have been with Dannon?!?). My job for the rest of the semester will be focused on prepping the new intern to do my job...weird, but exciting.

School
Classes are going well-ish. We're all feeling a bit swamped at this exact moment, but we're making it. I'm only taking three classes this semester (India counted for what would have been my fourth), so my workload is lighter than most people's (a rarity in my world). I really like our profs & classes this semester:

• Vikas Anand is teaching Strategic Management (required for everyone)
• Jim Webster is teaching Retail Finance (retail elective)
• Nicole Cox is teaching Retail Strategy (retail elective)

We'll be doing a good deal of field research and work in two of our classes - that could be interesting. I'll keep you updated.

Life
I REALLY NEED A JOB
that kind of sums it up right now...
I've talked to several maybes, but they've all remained just that...maybes. I'd really like to find a "yes" somewhere among all that. Fingers crossed that happens soon...graduation is in 82 days...

I've been throwing lots of parties lately, so that keeps me happy and occupied. Most recently we had a Valentine's Day gathering at which we celebrated all the classic Valentine's cliches - rose petals, candles, fancy dinners, chocolates. Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

Also, Gigi had a Valentine's date! Her beau Malbec came over for dinner. Aren't they sweet? (Just nod in agreement and humor me)

That's all for now. I'll do better with updates from now on. Promise. 'Til then!

I'm back! Aren't you excited?

So, India was...intense. It's amazing how emotional the country was - a constant roller-coaster. I'd love the country one minute and be ready to jump on a flight home the next. It was a great trip - and an incredible learning experience - but I'm very glad to be home.

I don't have an extended amount of time right now for a real update, but I did want to let everyone know I'm back home and back to THIS blog (though I probably will continue to update the other one since I didn't get to while we were in India...internet was scarce).

The new semester has started back up and I'll be posting my class schedule and brief reviews of each in the next few days. On top of that, this is our LAST SEMESTER (eeek), so the job hunt is intensifying a bit. I'm still at Dannon for the moment, but there's no guarantee that anything is permanent. BUT, I have two conversations tomorrow with my dream company (no, I won't tell you who it is...I wanna see how this goes first). Wish me luck!

Now, off to homework and other things. More later - 'til then :)