The Chronicles of Cabo: The Wake Up Call

I made the major and healthy decision of not bringing any electronics on this trip and here I am writing this entry on a piece of paper. What a novel idea! Who does this anymore? Who blogs on their paper first? And what would Carrie Bradshaw say? But then again, I'm not writing a column in a newspaper, nor am I talking about sex, so I think this is allowed.

I'm in Cabo right now, on our second night here and since I just got woken up by our new neighbors' loud conversation, I figured I might as well write something. It's 11:30 p.m. and being the wild 29-year old going on 60 that I am, I fell asleep a couple of hours ago. After all, there's only so much swimming, ping pong, and weird cha-cha electric slides I can handle in one day! But I digress. The room we're in is absolutely amazing with one exception: for some unknown reason, there is a door that separates our room from what I believe is a suite. And behind this door, there is... a kitchen! I'm still trying to wrap my head around any possible reason why a 5-star hotel would have a kitchen. And given that between our room and this kitchen there is only a door, we can obviously hear everything! This morning I woke up to the sound of breakfast bowls being thrown on the kitchen table and after the manager assured us that our neighbors would be leaving today and there would be nobody else placed in the adjacent room, surprise, surprise! Guess why I just woke up? We have new neighbors who seem to be amazed at every single applience they see in this kitchen. It must be a cool kitchen!

I found this whole situation amazing, but my husband's fuming and is already on the phone with the manager. Me? I wonder what our neighbors are going to have for breakfast and what time they usually eat in the morning.

P.S. I'm in the hotel lobby right now on the hotel's laptop trying to find the right symbols on this Spanish keyboard, so if there are any typos, blame it on the Spanglish keyboard.

My Daily Lesson and Laugh

I just love, love, love this guy. And this time I'm not talking about my husband. I'm talking about Gary Vaynerchuk, a marketer, businessman, you name it, that has become an internet celebrity lately. Why I love him? He's a little bit over the top, but has an amazing energy, tons of experience, is super creative, and can talk for hours. Plus you learn a lot from him. He's kind of like a Donny Deutsch - another love of mine - on steroids. So if you want to be entertained, but also learn, go to his website. I can only imagine what he would say about this blurb. :)

Tradition... Tradition!

Last night we saw Fiddler on the Roof. It’s only fitting since this is the time to remember our traditions.

For me Christmas means my family all together, the smell of freshly baked sweet bread, carols, and snow. Growing up we only decorated the house for Christmas the week of the holiday. And we were all excited about that. The energy and excitement would build up to that day and then each member of the family took care of their own part of the deal: mom was in charge of the menu, dad would pick the Christmas tree and the kids would decorate it. On Christmas Eve, the whole family would get together and then after dinner, we would all go caroling at friends’ and extended family’s houses until the morning or we would stay home and wait for carolers. Then on Christmas day, the whole family would have lunch together. So for all these reasons, Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year.

Since we got married, I’ve gotten used to a new tradition: Hanukkah (which reminds me, I still need to buy candles.) It would probably not be considered kosher in other households, but in ours the menorah is right next to the Christmas stockings. And we keep both holidays, though my husband does not receive eight gifts. I, on the other hand, might and love every single one of them.

This year is the first time we are not going to be with family for Christmas. We’re going to Cabo and so it made no sense to me to get a Christmas tree. But my husband insisted on getting one, so we did. See? I listen. From time to time. Once the tree was decorated, I started feeling the excitement of the holiday. The smell of pine tree always takes me back to my childhood years and I just love it.

This year is the first time we’re skipping the tradition of being home for Christmas. It surely does not mean we’re starting a new one. We’re just mixing it up.

First Day of Bliss

It’s officially over. ¼ of my degree is done. Finished. Over. Can you tell I’m excited? As you know my now, I’m really enjoying my MBA experience and I am learning a lot. But… three months of non-stop studying, reading, meeting, papering can take its toll. Last night, after two finals on the same lucky day, my husband asked me what I learned after three months. I started telling him about all the knowledge I received. He said, “No, I don’t mean that, I just want to know if there’s any lesson you learned”. I have to admit I wasn’t sure what to say initially. Then I realized that the most valuable lesson I took from these fourteen weeks is to change your teams as often as you can. It might sound counter intuitive and inefficient, but it really helped me get to know a lot of people in my program and learn a lot about different work styles. Working with different people allowed me to go outside the comfort I had with my old team and adapt my work style to the personalities in my new team.

An extension of the lesson I already mentioned is what became my number one rule in working with teams: designate roles within the team. The way I see it you have two choices: play it by ear and just wait for the two, three weeks or whatever time you have assigned for the project and hope that everything will work out, or establish roles from the beginning. This way everybody has a defined responsibility and carries his/her own weight in the team. The one thing that any MBA student hates is having to pick up the slack for one team member that is on permanent holiday or always busy with various commitments. Plus you can’t hold anybody accountable for responsibilities they were never assigned. My various teams and I learned to spend the first meeting discussing the teams’ expectations, goals, and individual responsibilities. This way everybody was on the same page and we were able to spend the remaining time focusing on the project.

As I said though, my one-month of bliss is here. Yesterday was “glued to couch” day! I did nothing productive, wore pajamas all day long, watched TV, and checked my e-mail. (Yes, I had to check my e-mail, I couldn’t help it.) It feels strange not having to be anywhere right now or having to work on a project. But I’m going to enjoy it immensely. Monday will be a different story though. I’ll have to start operation “house de-mess-ification”. There are tens of pairs of shoes lying around, clothes that I haven’t seen in a month, and notes, books, post-its, everywhere. You can see part of it in the attached picture.

Once the mess is gone, I can focus on my plans for this break. One of the things on the list for this month is doing research for a business plan competition my team and I are participating in early next year. Then I’m working on getting some internship interviews, catching up on books that I bought in the past couple of months but never got around to reading, and finally, my husband and I are going to Cabo for seven great days of fun and R&R. I’m really hoping four weeks are going to be enough for all of this.

Food for Thought

This morning I received a link to a website that talks about a young woman's battle with breast cancer. I will not mention her name, as I'm not sure she wants this, but I will just say that I'm very impressed with her efforts to fight this. There are many other feelings that I have right now after reading her story: I feel empowered by her story, I feel helpless and do not want to intrude, I am angry at the health care system in this country, and also really hopeful that we will see her again in spring.

Cancer seems to be the word of the month. I guess I am one month late as October is the official cancer month. However, with the story that I just mentioned, with the one-year mark coming up since we lost our godfather to lung cancer, and my reading Randy Pausch's book "The Last Lecture", November is the cancer month, at least in my mind.

For those of you who haven't heard of Randy Pausch, he was a Carnegie Mellon professor who relentlessly fought a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Once he found out he could not beat it, he focused on the things that really matter to him: having fun, spending time with his family, and building memories with and for his very young kids. From his determination to do all this before he said goodbye, came three amazing things: 1) the famous (by now) Last Lecture he gave to his students, friends, and family at Carnegie Mellon; 2) the book The Last Lecture, which was published in 35 languages already and combines fragments from his talks, plus some more of his thoughts and advice, and 3) the Time Management Lecture, which is…self-explanatory. Unfortunately, Randy Pausch lost his battle in July of this year. His legacy – if there’s any consolation – remains to influence people.

It is interesting to me how when we hear stories like Randy’s or the young woman’s, we sort of wake up and see the important things in life. But then we gradually slip back to the same old routine and feeling that “this is not going to happen to me”. And yours truly is guilty as charged. I wonder what it takes to make us not forget! And I am not talking about living with the fear of a fatal diagnosis. I’m talking about putting things into perspective and learning from other people’s stories. What I learned from these stories is this:
• Be optimistic.
• If you can change it, deal with it.
• Live today like it’s your last day (we have all heard this before, but how many of us do it?) • Treat the cause, not the symptoms.
• Decide what’s important to you, early in life, and then focus on that. Randy Pausch and others call this the 80-20 rule: 80% of your satisfaction/happiness (fill in the blanks) comes from 20% of your life. So figure out what the 20% is.
And my favorite (Randy Pausch’s dad’s words, which also remind me a lot of my own dad):
• “Just because you’re in the driver’s seat doesn’t mean you have to run people over.”

This is not meant to make you sad. It’s meant to be a nudge to wake up and smell the roses. You know what they say, if you can’t pay it back, pay it forward ;).

When I Grow Up...

Before I started school, I was 150% sure that I wanted to do brand management. Why? Because it would allow me to be creative, to see a product from day one and take it to “graduation day” when it becomes a brand (by the way, this is probably the shortest definition of brand management ever ☺). It only took a few weeks of school to get me so confused that I have no idea what I want to do right now. It doesn’t mean that I’ve ruled out brand management. I just added organizational change to my exploration agenda.

So what do I do to figure out what I want to do? Well, I’m setting up informational interviews with people in brand management and organizational change. I want to learn more about the field, specific positions within the field, and especially the challenges they’re facing. I’m also reading a lot on different industries that I’m interested in, looking at job descriptions for brand management positions, and career paths. On top of everything, I’m also looking for an internship. As I am in the 15-month program, I’m not required to do an internship. However, I decided to pursue this option, if I find a program and a company that I really like.

AT&T, for example, has a great internship program. And what I really like about it is that they emphasize leadership over marketing or whatever field you want to specialize in. It is first a program that gives you exposure to executives, mentors, and networking events that will ultimately help you hone your leadership skills. I never thought about working for AT&T until I saw this internship program. I guess I never took the time to look at this company as an option because I was fixated on cosmetics or publishing. Now however, after looking at this program and talking to former interns, I would consider myself lucky to participate in AT&T's internship program. A few weeks ago, I took the first step towards this goal, when I was among the few first-year students selected for an interview. Now, I have to wait until March to find out whether or not I receive an offer. Four more months is a long time! And the million-dollar question is now how do I keep my name fresh in the recruiter’s mind until then, without being annoying?! ☺

A New Voice: the "MBA Widower"

Everybody knows that pursuing an MBA program is challenging. However, nobody knows that better than the partners of the MBA students. They are the ones that give up a lot of the time they used to spend with their partners, they have to take on new responsibilities, and be supportive at the same time. Dr. Mallinger, the Director of the Full-Time MBA Program, rightfully calls them "MBA Widow(er)s."

When I started school, I jokingly told my husband I'd see him at the end of next year (i.e. when I graduate). Little did I know that I would have so much work that it sometimes seems like we just get to say "good morning" and "good night". Since he's the one that's directly feeling the consequences of my being in school, I decided to give him the chance to tell his side of the story as well. Here's his entry:

There have been a lot of changes over the last few months that my wife and I have experienced as a result of her starting the MBA program. First, it’s the amount of time I get to spend with her. It's amazing the sheer number of hours of work she has outside of class - reading, preparing presentations, studying for exams, etc. I knew she was going to be busy, but 12-15+ hour days 6-7 days a week is intense.

I do what I can to be supportive. I feel in some ways I've become the house-husband. Who knew I could go from a cook whose definition of a home-cooked meal meant a microwaved peanut butter and jelly sandwich, to using spices and different ethnic foods. We've started making sure to set aside specific time in our schedules for us to spend quality time together. I think this is important for any couple where one of the individuals is in graduate school. There simply is too much to get done in a 24-hour day to cross everything off of the to do list. So prioritizing is key. Saturday is our 'no work/MBA distractions' day. It's become my favorite day of the week because we get to wake up together and spend the whole day together focusing solely on enjoying our time together.

Another change is the energy and inner-spirit emanating from my wife on a near daily basis. My wife is someone who thrives in a challenging environment where opportunities for personal and professional development abound. From what I've seen the MBA program at Pepperdine is the definition of that environment. As a result, my wife seems to walk, talk, and think with a greater spirit than ever before. One of my favorite parts of the day is when she comes home from class and I ask her how her day went. Her face lights up as she describes what she covered in class, the contacts she's made, or the projects she's worked on. She even seems to get excited when discussing her accounting class. And to think she's a creative-marketing type, not a finance type!

One major point of advice I can offer to couples who are considering a spouse going to graduate school is the following: both people need to think of the experience as an investment in the relationship's future. It's easy to think the one spouse not attending school is putting his/her life on hold for the other. However, I think framing the experience in this light is counterproductive. Granted I'm choosing not to take certain career steps at the moment because of financial and logistical realities stemming from my wife attending school. However, there is plenty of opportunity for me to grow during this period. I have numerous colleagues at work who are in similar situations. Some aren't faring so well in their relationships because the spouse not attending school has begun to resent having to "put things on hold," especially when the other spouse is going through a rapid professional (and personal) development period. I try to absorb much of what my wife learns through hearing about her experiences. I even tell people I'm obtaining a joint MBA degree, vicariously through my wife. I've thought about pursuing an MBA degree, so this is great exposure to the experience, enabling me to test the waters for free.

Overall, it's only been a few months since her program has started. So I'm excited to see what the future has in store. One thing is for sure, it's going to be a busy time...but one not short at all in excitement.

You Know You’ve Been in SoCal for Too Long When…

I had four days off from school - sort of a mini-break - to charge the batteries and get the energy for the second half of the trimester. My husband and I decided to use this time to go visit family on the East Coast. I realized I miss the seasons, the yummy N.Y. pizza, Central Park, and a lot more. I love the East Coast because life there is so much different than in California, especially Southern California. So, I decided to put together a “You Know You’ve Been in SoCal for Too Long When…” list. Here it is:

1. You see $2.77 at the gas station and think it’s per gallon of water, not gas
2. You feel the cold outside and think it’s because of the AC and not because it’s fall
3. You realize that rush hour doesn’t mean all day long, but only from 3:00pm to 6:00pm
4. You hear thunder and you think there’s something wrong with your car
5. You realize that rain and lightning really exist
6. You are surprised that the freeway is not a parking lot
7. You are startled by a total stranger saying “hello” to you
8. You don’t remember the last time you saw leaves changing colors
9. You notice that there other shoes besides flip-flops
10. You are surprised that houses come with more than decent sized backyards

One Step Closer to the End

I already blogged about my midterms week. Today you’re in for a treat because I just finished my finals, so I want to give you a little bit of an idea about what last week was like. Let’s randomly start with Monday. I’ve heard rumors about weeks starting on Sunday or Monday (depending on where you’re from), but my weeks just blend in with no beginning and no end. Ever since I started school I think in sessions and months, so no weeks. But for the sake of this post, I’m going to start with Monday.

Monday…wow, I know what I did last summer, but I can’t even remember what I did last Monday. It’s a good thing I can turn to my faithful friend, the iPhone, and check out my calendar. OK, so it looks like I started my day at 5am. Oh yeah. Because my group and I had a presentation on EMR (i.e. Electronic Medical Records) at 8:00 am and met at 6:30 am at school to do a final run through. So,
6:30 am – meet with IT group to do a run through
8:00 am – EMR presentation and IT class
12:00 pm – lunch with our IT professor and my IT class (Dr. Williams invites everybody over to his house at the end of the class for lunch with his family. If you have a chance to take one of his classes, I strongly suggest it. He’s a really smart, fun, and fair professor.)
1:00 pm – Elyse (one of my close friends and accounting buddies) and I usually do our accounting homework on Mondays.
4:00 pm – meet with accounting group to do a run through of the presentation for Thursday
6:00 pm – economics study group for final Thursday
10:00 pm – I can’t think anymore, so I go to bed. My husband says something to me, but I can’t process. Information overload. Shut down follows.

Tuesday
I planned to read two of the chapters for my accounting final, but I have a presentation at 1pm, and I just realized I don’t have the cable (I think that’s what it’s called) that connects my Mac to the projector. So, I skip my lovely date with the accounting book and go to the Apple Store to buy one. I run back to school because at noon I’m supposed to meet my group to do a run through.
12:00 pm – meet with my OB (organizational behavior) group. I realize the Apple guy gave me the wrong cable, so it takes two runs to the school’s computer lab to finally get what I need.
1:00 pm – we give our amazing presentation on the leader of our choice: Hugh Heffner. ☺ We had a little bit too much fun with this presentation that doesn’t even count towards our grade, but everybody loves it and that’s what we’re there for. We live for our audience!
5:00 pm – the fun is over, it’s time for accounting study group
7:00 pm – more fun with my economics study group. A switch goes on in my head and I miraculously get the difference between the marginal rate of substitution and the slope of the budget line. ☺ YAY! I go home happy and feeling smarter than ever.

Wednesday
Did I mention before that Wednesday is my day off? That only means that I have no class, but I have a c*^& load of stuff to do. I allowed myself to sleep in, that is, until 8:00 am.
10:00am – I have my monthly one-on-one meeting with Gary Brinderson, TEC Chair and CEO of Brinderson Engineers and Constructors. I will talk more about TEC in another posting, but I will just say now that this is an amazing opportunity for any student and I would encourage you to take advantage of it, whether you decide to go to Pepperdine, UCLA, or USC.
11:00 am – grab some lunch with Elyse and dive back into the amazing world of accounting
5:00 pm – more econ study group. Originally about five of us, the group turns into about 12 people and we decide to take over one of the smaller conference rooms and make good use of the projector and the knowledge of one of our colleagues.
10:00 pm – I stare at the TV. I’m thinking this is a good way to relax, but I can’t tell if I’m staring at Obama or McCain, so I decide to go to bed.

Thursday
Almost the end of the week. I wake up at 6:00 am to make sure I make it to school at 7:15am. We’re the first of the four groups for our accounting presentations. We talk about Rite Aid, the accounting principles they violated, and how we can prevent that in the future in our companies.
10:00 am – after all the groups finished their presentations, we start our final.
1:00 pm – one final down, one more to go. I start my econ final.
3:00 pm – I’m the third to finish the final, so I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. I decide not to think twice about it, jump in the car, and drive to Newport Beach with my TEC buddy, Tim.
6:00 pm – we hate the traffic, but get to Newport in time to meet with a few other TEC people and have dinner.
12:00 am – the point of us going to Newport the night before the TEC meeting was to get some sleep. But one fun thing lead to another and we’re up talking until almost 1am. I decide to go to sleep with the lights on and people talking around me.

Friday
TEC group meeting from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm, then drive back to LA on the parking lot that is the 405 freeway.

Saturday
No, my week is not over. As the Director of Communications for Challenge for Charity, I spend my entire day in a board meeting with our C4C President, Lisa Steward, and members of the other C4C chapters.
To celebrate almost the end of a crazy week, my husband took me to the Greek at the Harbor restaurant in Ventura Harbor. It was an amazing night, with delicious food, and crazy great entertainment. I recommend going there.

Sunday
I took my “final” final. Our IT final was a take home exam due today, so I decided to get it over with on Sunday and not wait any longer.

This is the short version of last week. If you think it’s too long, try living it. ☺

Time Is Not on My Side

I’m sure you’re noticing that my posts are getting shorter and shorter. That’s because I feel like my days are getting shorter and shorter! I remember a time when there used to be 24 hours in a day. Now I don’t even notice the hours, I just count the weeks. And it seems like last week was week one. And now it’s week five! Or six, I’m not really sure.

It’s…well, almost Monday morning already and I’m still working. The next couple of weeks are going to be super busy. I just finished with mid-terms and now finals are almost here. And group projects! Next week, I have 2 finals and a presentation on the same day. Lucky me!

I know I seem to complain a lot ☺, but I’m also grateful. The workload is huge, not having enough sleep is frustrating, but you know what? When else do I have time to do something for myself? I’m feeling lucky I don’t have to work (especially with the current job market) and I can focus on studying (as lame as that sounds). Because I know that once I finish school, I’m going to be out in the real world again, and I will probably barely have time to do anything for myself. Yeah, grad school is crazy, busy, competitive, and leaves you with no energy, but it is still a controlled and nurturing environment. And I’m planning on taking advantage of that for the next year and two months. Then, back to real life!!! For now, I still have to send a few e-mails and then (hopefully) catch five hours of sleep. Good night!

Work, More Work, and a Little Bit of Play

Papers, mid-terms, group meetings, school events. This is what week four looks like in the life of a grad student. Actually, this is what every week in grad school looks like, minus the mid-terms. Before I started school, people told me that grad school is a full-time job. Now, I would tell those people that grad school is actually like working two full-time jobs, with one exception: you can probably leave your work at the office with most jobs. In grad school you’re not able to do that!

And I’m not saying this just to scare you. It’s just the reality of the situation. It’s not undergrad, so you don’t have four years to complete your degree. Plus if you want to take advantage of all the opportunities that school offers then you need time to get involved. Pepperdine definitely offers a lot of opportunities. It’s up to you if you want to take advantage of them. From the various student clubs and business competitions, to student mixers and yoga, you get a chance to do everything. So relax, you’ll work really hard, but you also get to play. ☺

A Day in the Life

Today I woke up feeling restless, so I decided to do a change of scenery, and study on the terrace at Pepperdine instead of the library or home. I figured the beautiful view was going to make it easier. ☺ Well, my plan worked for about 10 minutes. Not that I didn’t like the view – it is great, that’s why Pepperdine was voted the most beautiful campus in the country – it’s just that it gets too hot!!! So now I’m back in the library.

I survived the first three weeks of school. So far, it’s been an amazing experience. I met tons of smart, interesting people, and I even feel that I’ve learned a lot in class. It is tough for me going from a work schedule, where I could leave my work in the office, to a school schedule, where I have hundreds of pages to read, group meetings, and homework. It is a lot! Take Monday for example, I started my day at 8:00 a.m. and finished at 10 p.m. I had class from 8:00 – 12:00, studied at the library from 12:30 – 5:00. At 5:15 we had a meeting, I got home at 7:00, showered and quickly ate, and then at 8:00, I met with another group to do our accounting homework. When we finished at 10 p.m. my brain was screaming for a break. I went to bed and the next morning I was ready to do it all over again.

It’s really important to try to get some balance while you’re studying. I’m working hard on that! For now, my plan is to be on campus Monday - Friday until 5 p.m. (or later), whether I have classes or not, and then to take Saturday off. This – if it works – will allow me to get my schoolwork done and have a day off on the weekend to spend it with family and friends. I’m pretty sure that if I manage to do this, I’m not only going to survive b-school, but also enjoy it. ☺ For now, let’s see if I survive next week: mid-terms week! Whoo hoo!

Overdressed and Underprepared

My husband and I went to see John Williams at the Hollywood Bowl last weekend. We have been in L.A. for two years, and we have never been to the Hollywood Bowl. So, I just assumed it was a high-class, fancy event and we dressed accordingly. We drove to Sherman Oaks and took the shuttle. On the bus, one of the ladies asked me if we brought food. I said ‘no’, but I found the question a little bit odd. It was not until we got there, that I realized what she was talking about.

People were wearing jeans, T-shirts, flip-flops, and carrying huge baskets of food. I was thinking “What? You cannot bring food into a movie theater, but you can do that at the Hollywood Bowl!” Well folks, that is the culture at the Bowl. People get there long before the show, they bring food, wine, snacks and have a picnic before the show. Or, you can buy your food right there. Or, if your wallet is giving, you can buy the seats with a table and have your own server.

Getting to the Bowl and watching the people before the show was a cultural experience in itself. Now, the show… well, the show was amazing. Indiana Jones, E.T., Star Wars…we heard and enjoyed his most famous soundtracks (except for Schindler’s List, which I personally think is his best work). When the orchestra started playing Star Wars, about 100 people pulled out their lightsabers to join Williams in conducting. Then, the special guest, Stanley Donen took us for a ride into the past and talked about Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and the technical and political challenges he faced at the time. Donen is a very gifted storyteller that proved he can still dance at his age. The entire experience was definitely a treat that made us appreciate the present a little bit more and somewhat envy the past. It also taught us a lesson: next time bring food and wear jeans!

MBA and Motherhood

Although my blog is not necessarily directed at women, I am posting this link to an article I saw in Business Week today. It talks about female MBA graduates that decide to become stay-at-home moms after a few years into their career.

The article is interesting, but I think it could use a little bit more research. I do not think you need an MBA, a PhD, a JD, or MD degree to decide to stay home. I think women choose motherhood over career regardless of their education. I also do not think that it is easier for MBA moms to stay home because they spent less money on their education than a JD, or MD mom. Also, the article does not say how many MBA moms work part-time or have their own business at home.

At the end of the day, I believe that the problem is not that MBA moms want to stay at home. The problem is that businesses are not very flexible or family-friendly. If they were, I am sure more MBA moms would opt to keep working. Plus it would be a better business practice. A family-friendly, flexible environment would keep the employees - male and female - happy, and more productive.

The U.S. seems to be more reluctant to change in this respect. Many European countries allow one of the parents to take two or three years off, and the government pays them either a fixed salary or a percentage of their most recent salary. Even so, a lot of parents decide to keep their jobs and either hire a nanny or have a member of the family take care of the children. But at least the options are there.

I hope that by the time I decide to have children, I am going to be working for a company that will offer some options. Right now, I do not think I want to be a stay-at-home mom, but I still want to be there for my baby as much as possible. There are so many firsts in a baby's life, and I do not want to miss them. So flexibility is definitely something I would look for in a company. Anything is possible, you just have to be open to it.

Orientation Week

I wrote and re-wrote this entry many, many times in my head. It has been a very eventful week, so there are a lot of things to talk about. I will take the chronological approach, so that you can get the most of this account.

Sunday, August 17th, was the first day of orientation. There were about 200 of us, nervous and overwhelmed to see so many new faces, but very excited to meet everybody. It helped a lot that a few days before, the campus organized an informal welcome reception giving us a head start in getting to know one another. Now, a bit less intimidated, we proceeded to take pictures, get our ID’s, take some more pictures, and talk some more.

Monday was the day that most of us headed to Calamigos Ranch for a retreat and for our first class in Organizational Behavior. It was a very interesting experience, but also very draining. We spent the next couple of days talking, networking, bonding, sharing a lot of emotional stories and space, and also some umm... brewing, sugary… water!? I swear there was some water in that!

Although very tiring, Calamigos gave us the opportunity to meet a looot of interesting people from all over the world. We definitely heard some amazing, eye-opening stories. I wish I could repeat them here, but for obvious reasons, I cannot. I just remember thinking: “Wow! Do these things really happen now in the 21st century?” It made me realize that we talk about globalization as an economic advantage, but we are more often than not clueless about what is really going on in the world.

Thursday was a full day of career workshops. I personally love that Pepperdine, and the Graziadio School in particular, puts so much effort into offering career resources. The sessions were very insightful and helpful, and I was pleased to see that some of the guests were actually MBA alumni. As Pepperdine graduates, we might not have the same career-launching platform as students attending big school names, but we do have the biggest alumni network in California. And sometimes, in business, and especially in LA ☺, it is not about what you know, it is who you know.

Hope of Deliverance

I have to say I am really impressed with Pepperdine. I got my class and orientation schedules at least a month ago. I have been receiving lots of e-mails from staff and faculty about orientation, classes, career services, financial aid, etc. I have even been assigned a mentor and received e-mails from her. At this point, I think I know everything I need to know to start my program.

It seems though that not all schools do the same. A friend of mine - who was accepted into a graduate program at another private university in Los Angeles - was very concerned because she is starting school in a week and has still not received further information. Her program, she said, seemed so disorganized that she was not even sure if there was anybody else attending it. She was obviously exaggerating a bit, but I could relate to her story to a certain extent.

Last year, I applied to that school’s MBA program. I knew that the program - though a very good and competitive one - was not a good fit for me, but like everyone else, I thought I needed a back-up school. I got all my documents together and sent in my application. Surprise! To this day, I have not heard back from them one way or the other. To their defense, they did contact me once to ask for my original transcripts. When I called to follow up, I was told that they received everything, and that if there was anything missing they would call me. I have not heard from them since, nor did I call back again.

The point of this story is that I know my case and my friend’s are not unique. I have heard similar stories from other people as well. Some found out they were accepted three weeks before their program started, some had to call the school to find out that indeed they were accepted, but were never sent a letter. To me, that is just bad customer service. And it is really sad to see that a reputable university with great programs is sabotaging itself. I was told that this happens because of the very high number of applications. From a business standpoint, I do not see how that could be an acceptable explanation. If you, as an organization, promise something, you have to deliver. If you cannot, then let your customers know! I am happy to see that so far Pepperdine is not only great at marketing, but also at delivering on its word.

Orientation starts tomorrow! Brace yourself for my next entry! ☺

The End and the Beginning

I am writing this entry at my desk in our beautiful new apartment. Yes, we finally moved. It only took 12 hours yesterday to move everything, but we are more or less settled in now.

I cannot believe though how quiet and spacious this neighborhood is. Just like any other person living in L.A., I have a love-hate relationship with the city. I love the diversity, but I do not like the self-absorbed and sometimes biased people. I love driving, but I hate the traffic. Here, people smile and seem genuinely interested in the conversation you are having. I was eating some zucchini fritti today and somebody came over and asked me if I ever tried that with ranch. She loved it and wanted me to try it as well. She would never go back to marinara, she added. I was very pleasantly surprised by both the lady and the zucchini-ranch combination. So far, I love this place.

Friday turned out to be a very emotional and surprising day. It was my last day at work, and although I knew people saw me as a fun but fair boss and co-worker, I did not expect them to actually be sorry to see me leave. They went all out, got me a cake, a laptop bag all decked out with everything I need for school, including an organizer with everybody’s contact information so that I “have to keep in touch”. Also – and this was the cherry on top – they gave me a photo album with everybody’s picture, pictures from different events we organized and went to, as well as pictures of some of our students. I was so touched! I admit, I even teared up.

It is strange how life works. The end to something means the beginning of something else, pain becomes joy, and the unknown can become very exciting. I am usually very nervous at the end of a journey, because I do not know what to expect. For the first time, I am not really sure what lies before me, but I cannot wait to find out. It is a good kind of anxiety. I am ready to find out where this journey takes me. And it all begins in a few days!

Stress code: yellow

I guess the first day of school is fast approaching because I’m getting more and more e-mails from school and lists are piling up on my desk.

The other day I received my first message from one of my professors. Yes, it was in English, but I didn’t understand half the things he was talking about. What is “Bb”, what is “e-Reserves”, what book, and my questions continued. I read the message after a crazy day at work, I was hungry, and already anticipating packing, doing some more stats, and reading more pages from the book I was assigned for orientation. I didn’t need more work! Not yet! I’m sure I’ll have enough work once school starts.

I felt so overwhelmed. I stood up, fed my growling stomach, and then went back to my computer. Let there be light! And there was! I realized Bb referred to the Blackboard feature that I never used (until then), and the e-Reserves referred to a link where I could find the readings for the first day of class.

Well, food was not the key to deciphering the message, but taking a break definitely helped. I realized then how easy it is to feel overwhelmed now in the middle of all these changes (new school, new apartment, new neighborhood, new colleagues, new everything). Things should quiet down though for the next couple of weeks. It’s my last week at work, then I have a week off, and then it’s orientation week. I’m really excited to meet everybody, so I’m counting down the days!

Tick, tock, tick, tock…BZZZZ!

I have two more weeks of work left, two more weeks until I move, three more until orientation, and four until my first day of class. Wow! Time just flies by, and I have so many things to do.

Number one: financial aid
I accepted my financial aid, but now I’m waiting for the bank to send me the papers. I guess I was very lucky, and never had to pay for my degrees. Until now! I looked at my financial aid paper, and there was a strange feeling of… uneasiness to say the least, when I saw the final number. A pretty low six-figure number! Gulp! Well, I’m not the first and I’m not the last to have student loans, so I decided to move on to the other things on my to-do list.

Number two on the list: the Harvard quant course
I have to finish the online quantitative course the school recommended. If there’s anything that makes me nervous about school is the quantitative aspect of the work. The course I’m taking is definitely interesting, and once you get the concepts, it can be quite entertaining and useful. It can also be frustrating at times if you’re like me and do not have a technical background, because certain concepts might then take longer to understand. I’ve never taken a stats class, so it is very interesting to me to see how you can manipulate information to get the result you want (not that you should!), or, how one single element can skew the end result. I’ll definitely think twice now before trusting a poll. ☺

Number three: move apartments
We found a really nice place closer to school. It cuts my commute down to maybe 15 minutes instead of an hour, one way. I just have to start packing. I’ve been procrastinating enough. In my defense though, I did go through my wardrobe and got rid of the unwanted (i.e. never worn) clothes. I figured two years of not wearing them translates into “what were you thinking buying this?!” OK, I got my own message, and got rid of them. Now, I just have to summon enough energy to start packing the rest of the stuff.

Number four: orientation
I received my orientation schedule yesterday. I guess it’s a preview of what b-school is really like. As part of the retreat or communication workshop, we have activities and meetings scheduled the entire day. Sometimes we start at 6:45. Yes, AM. I’ll have to reset my stubborn internal clock that insists that there’s no daylight before 7:30am. Oh, and I also have a book to read before orientation.

In all seriousness though, I am excited for school, and I can’t wait to meet everybody. It’s only 3 weeks away!

Have you been Twittered?

As soon as one of my friends heard that I started a blog, she sent me an article on twitter.com. The article sounded pretty interesting, but it was more like a teaser. I didn’t understand very well what Twitter was and why I should even join. The article made it seem that Twitter is like Facebook for writers. You can keep track of one another’s work progress, network, and get inspiration. Sounds good, but I’m not a writer.

I decided to find out more about Twitter because I was intrigued by the service’s description on the main page: it’s meant to help people keep in touch by short answers to the question “What are you doing?” You do not have to join to find out more about the site. If you go to twitter.com, you can watch a video about what twitter is and how it works. That’s how I found out that you actually do not have to be a writer to want to join. You just have to be somebody who likes to keep in touch with family and friends, and know what they’re doing between phone calls and the time you’ll see them for coffee later. You can get and post updates – under 140 characters – from your computer or phone.

It all sounds good, but being the pragmatic person that I am, I’m wondering when much becomes too much? In other words, do we really need to know everything our friends are doing every second of the day? Also, in the age of instant gratification and information overload, is on-line networking replacing real life and direct interaction? However, one aspect of this service that I do like is the ability to support businesses. Tweeter blogs about various companies using the service for updates between and for employees, about disasters, or even for sending news from Mars. This makes Twitter unique, and will probably grow to be the pager of the 21st century.

I decided I did not need to Twitter now. It seems, though, like a very useful tool, developed by a growing and innovative team, so I’m looking forward to future developments.

Dream big, and make it happen

Last weekend, we went up to see Hearst Castle. The castle - or the ranch, as Mr. Hearst apparently called it - is immense. But that’s not why I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the dream, with the passion and determination he had to see it through. It took 28 years to build it. Who wouldn’t have given up in the meantime?

And then there’s the history and the collection of art. It seems crazy that Mr. Hearst spent so much time and money to find and incorporate those unique works of art into his house. But then again, we all bring a little something back from the places we visit. His favorite place just happened to be Europe. ☺ And he just happened to dream of recreating Europe in his corner of heaven. I’m a dreamer, so I respect and admire another dreamer’s work.

Visiting the castle last week was good timing, because I realized I needed to be reminded of why I’m doing what I’m doing. Sometimes you want something so much and put a lot of work into it, but then in the process you get bogged down and lose sight of the end result. It’s been a crazy busy time at work, and getting ready for school added more stress. Visiting the castle and hearing its story reminded me that I have a dream, and I’m taking the steps to make it happen.

Who? What? Huh?

If you’re reading this, then you’re either considering business school, or you’ve already been accepted and you’re trying to figure out what to expect when school starts. Oh, or you just got to this page by mistake, which is also ok. I believe that everything happens for a reason, so even if you’re here by mistake, you can keep reading. Who knows? You might find something useful.

I’ve never kept a blog, but for a while I toyed with the idea of having one for my friends and family back home. However, being the old-fashioned gal that I am, I stuck with the loooong and personal e-mailed updates on my life. Now the story’s a bit different. This is not just for my friends and family, it’s also for you, the chance or intended reader. Plus, it’s not just about my life. It’s about my life before, during and a bit after business school. :)

A year ago, I was struggling with integers, VICs, intercepts and other wonders of the math world. Yes, I was preparing for the GMAT. And at the time, I thought there was nothing more important than acing the test. Fast forward a year: I have my acceptance letter and I’m getting ready for the first year. Now, I feel that there’s nothing more important than finding the right balance between school and the rest of my life. How I’m planning to do that? Hmm, stay tuned. I (‘d love to) think that I’m starting to figure it out! For now, I have to make sure I have everything I need to start my b-school adventure: a place closer to campus, a new computer (what better reason is there to get a new computer than going to school?), business cards, and the one thing that makes this all happen: student loans!