Oh the Places You'll Go!

Several years ago, a book I read suggested that I needed to visit three new places a year. While I'm sure there were many other good suggestions in the book, that was the one that I took to heart.

Three years ago, it was becoming a stretch to get to three new places a year. I only had two weeks of vacation, and I'd already been every interesting place within a weekend's drive of good, old Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Since moving down to Charlottesville for B-school, all of that has changed. In the past month, I've been to three new places... Though, granted, they've all been for interviews, and the extent of the sights I've seen have been the insides of my hotel rooms. I would probably not count any of them as my three new places for the year, but that doesn't matter, since this year, I've already been to Barcelona, Detroit and Cape Cod/Martha's Vineyard to check off my list. And if I can't technically use Detroit as a new place since I accidentally drove through several years ago on a road trip when my sister and I missed a turnoff as we were caught up in our driving game, I'm headed off on a road trip to Florida after exams are finished in December.

It's funny how much my life has changed. I remember sitting in a cubicle in an office building in Edmonton, feeling like life was passing by, feeling as though my social life was slowly disappearing as my friends all got married and then started having babies. Now I've been able to travel to more places than I've ever been, being driven around in limos and put up in fancy hotels. Last weekend, I walked down the street and got last minute tickets to a Dave Matthews concert. I've made friends with people from all across the globe. My life has come a long way since I made the big decision to uproot my life and pursue my MBA, and there's no looking back.

Life is Good

The sun is warm.

The fall foliage is gorgeous.

I walked through the grass today just to hear the leaves crunch under my feet.

My new pink scarf is pretty.

And I got a job offer.

Another Reason to Love Darden

If you've been following my blog, it's not much of a secret that the current recruiting phase that I am in is super stressful. (Yes, three blog posts in a row about recruiting - I do apologize.)

Sadly, while I've somehow managed to be getting through classes with positive results, I can't say that I've been my normal, peppy self. This quarter, which will (hopefully) be the most stressful quarter of the year, I made the mistake of taking classes with all professors that I already have good relationships with. The downside of that is that while I may have managed to fool last quarter's professors into thinking I was putting the most possible effort into their classes, this quarter's professors know better.

As I was walking to school today, having not-the-best-morning-ever (a cold and some bad news yesterday), I heard my name yelled from across the parking lot. I turned around, and there was my PE prof. She asked how things were going and I was perfectly honest with her: I was stressing about the job search. She said that I didn't seem to be my normal self, but told me to focus on getting a job first and then stress about her class after I had a job and it came close to finals time.

It's just nice to have profs who A) understand where your priorities are and B) notice when you're stressing out and care enough to ask about it.

I love Darden profs... this is probably one of the reasons the Princeton Review recently ranked Darden professors #1.

Halloween, Darden-Style

One of the things that I love about Darden is that everyone gets really engaged with everything. When we had the 80s-themed 100 Case Party last year, everyone was there with blue eyeshadow, neon sunglasses and tapered acid-washed jeans. Halloween is no exception to the "everyone dresses up" mentality. After being one of three people who wore a costume to our company costume contest the year before Darden (and, to be fair, I didn't show up in the costume, I brought it and put it on because one of the newer employees had gone all-out and I didn't want her to feel awkward!), it's refreshing to attend a costume party where everyone is, indeed, in costume.

Even more exciting, no one goes halfway with their costumes. I remember when I was in Grade 7 and dressed up as "modern-day Goldilocks." The only difference between my standard every-day dress and this particular "costume" was that I wore my (blonde, naturally curly) hair down, rather than pulled up in the usual ponytail. That was a big step for me. Anyway, at Darden, anyone in costume (which was, actually, everyone) went all out - wigs, face paint, accessories, shoes, everything. There was a Shrek with a completely green face, trolls with neon wigs and glittery eyelashes, Three's Company, and a couple dressed as lawn ornaments.

Ironically, after the excitement of attending Halloween parties on Friday and Saturday, I completely forgot that Sunday was actually Halloween. I haven't lived in a neighbourhood with any kids for quite some time, and consequently haven't handed out candy to kids in quite a few years.

Anyway, November is here, and with November comes a chill in the air. Yesterday, I was sitting on a sunny patio, comfortable in a t-shirt. Today, I am pulling my sweater and scarf around me for extra warmth.