Wolf T-shirt

Since starting school in August, we have done a number of cases related to shirts. First, there was George's T-shirts, which introduced us to the magic of Crystal Ball and the Flaw of Averages. Then, just this week, we tried to figure out whether it would be more cost effective and operationally appropriate to outsource Surfing Santa shirts from Hong Kong.

After doing several weeks of Management Communications classes with presentations on Amazon.com, I was introduced to yet another great t-shirt story: the story of the 3 wolf t-shirt.

Apparently the 3-wolf t-shirt was not a popular seller until one day, when someone decided to write a review on his experiences with the shirt. Since then, there have been over a thousand reviews added, and the t-shirt has spiked in popularity. Rather than telling you the rest of the story, you can just read it here.

Beautiful Day

Today I finally got to go hiking!

Apple Picking

Do you ever have one of those weeks where it seems NOTHING can go right?

For me, that's been the last two weeks. The streak of bad luck started almost two weeks ago when I was rear-ended. This whole past week has been just brutal at school (I think it's the combination of new classes and a million company briefings). Then this morning, my iPhone, which I've had for less than three months, suddenly decided to stop working. I took it in to AT&T only to discover that I will either have to drive to Richmond to get a replacement or mail it in. In the meantime, they have given me a loaner phone. Which would be awesome if the microphone actually worked in it. I used this loaner "phone" to call Apple to see about getting a replacement phone only to discover that they can't hear me at all when I speak.

So yes, it's been one of those weeks. (And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Trust me... it's been a bad week.)

BUT, after classes ended today, my friend Legal MBAyhem and I took off for the apple orchard. Once there, we did wine tasting and apple picking and apple cider donut eating. It was great to get out of the Darden bubble and actually get to take in the spectacular fall colours!

Growing up in Western Canada, apple picking was not a regular fall occasion. In fact, to be honest, there aren't any fall traditions since it lasts a grand total of about three weeks. (Seriously... I've heard jokes about kids designing their Halloween costumes to fit over a snow suit for trick or treating and it's true!) So it was great fun to be schooled in this New England tradition. I enjoyed picking apples right off the tree and eating them. It doesn't get much fresher than that, eh?

Fall has always been my favourite season, and it seems that here in Virginia, it actually consists of a full season, taking it's fair share of the year. So after a really long, brutal week, it was most pleasant to get away and take it all in. I think I will have to go apple picking again.

Fall in VA

It is a gorgeous, warm sunny afternoon here in Virginia, and I am inside working on cases. *sigh* For the last two months since arriving, I have attempted three times to go hiking on Saturdays, and every single time, it rains. In light of the great weather this afternoon, I texted a few friends to see if anyone could just blow off case work for the afternoon and go for a hike with me this afternoon, but alas, with company briefings and business plan concept competitions and meetings with career coaches, no one was free.

I would use this as leverage for looking forward to the weekend, but guess what the forecast is for Friday and Saturday?

You guessed it... rain.

So I ask any long-term residents of Virginia: do we EVER get nice weather on the weekends?

Blog News!

It's not very often that a little, personal blog like mine has news. In fact, this may very well be the only time that I have blog news. After all, I'm not supporting a book, nor will I begin selling t-shirts. There are very few, if any, awards for personal blogs.

But today I have news.

My blog has been selected as a Darden Student Blog, meaning that it will serve as a glimpse into life at Darden for prospective and incoming students.

I'm very excited about my fellow incoming bloggers, but will wait until they are officially announced to introduce them to you.

Q2

One-eighth of my MBA education was officially completed on Friday and commemorated with the well-renowned 100 Case Party (think: bunch of late-20/early-30-somethings completely decked out in 80s gear and add a LOT of beer). It seems that it wasn't enough to celebrate with that, and I have found myself out ALL weekend with various fun activities: flag football Saturday afternoon, dinner with a friend Saturday evening followed by Riesling tasting with another friend and then on to a Section B potluck after church this morning.

Thoughout all of these activities, I was in serious denial about what came this afternoon: three intense cases for tomorrow's classes.

This quarter, we switch out DA (decision analysis - an Excel-based class) and LO (leading organizations - the soft class) for finance and economics. Given that I really love Excel and frequently fell asleep during undergrad finance, this change is not particularly welcome.

Although Q1 passed quickly in hindsight, I quickly became comfortable with my seat, profs and classes. Tomorrow brings new professors, new neighbours and a new seat that is NOT in the back row. (But I can't complain... it's in the second last row)

Anyway, I have one last case to prep before learning team tonight, and the one thing that makes me happy is that I get to stick with LT15. Though we do have a new room...

Exam Week

It used to be that exam week elicited no small sense of high stress and tension. After shutting yourself in the library for a solid week, you would get up early (especially since I rarely had classes starting before 10 in undergrad), drive in to school, find the appropriate gym, find your exam's row, lay out all your pens, calculator and ID, and then proceed to write the exam in an artificially quiet room as proctors and professors roamed the aisles watching for suspicious behaviour.

Exams at Darden started this week. While I definitely did my fair share of locking myself in a room going over notes, because the exam was open book, there was no memorization required. I set my alarm for 9:30 this morning, since the absolutely latest I could start was 10, and ended up waking up around 7:56. I got up, ate a leisurely breakfast, and strolled over to my computer to download the exam around 8:30. I finished and took a break so I could clear my head before checking over the answers. Then I put on some sweat pants and walked over to the school to turn it in.

Since tomorrow's exam is open book and I have already spent hours studying for it, there wasn't anything school related to do this afternoon. So I took my car in to get an estimate on the repair (I was rear-ended yesterday), had some friends over for pie, actually cooked dinner with my roommate for the second night in a row and am taking care of the huge list of things that have been neglected over the past few weeks.

I had heard the rumour that exam week was the easiest week at Darden, and it is proving to be true.

In other news, Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians out there! After drooling over the mental image of my mom's pumpkin and apple pies, I decided to summon my domestic streak and made my own pies. One of my friends took pictures and has blogged about them.

Airport Tests

Over the past few days, I have spent a lot of time talking to consultants, learning about consulting and figuring out how to prepare for the consulting interviews.

One of the key aspects of the consulting interview is the airport test. Basically, the interviewer needs to feel confident that if stuck in an airport with you for several hours, they won't want to resort to listening to their iPod or reading the Wall Street Journal.

A while back, I blogged about my frustrations with the recruiting process. And indeed, as I started talking to my career consultant this week to go over my resume, the question of networking came up. But I discovered something this week that I think will help with the rest of the recruiting process: I don't have to fit into any sort of mould to network. Previously, I had visions of sliding into a conversation, smoothly delivering my story, asking intelligent but canned questions and listening politely to the answers. While there's nothing wrong with any of those things, it just seems like a stuffy way to spend several evenings in a row.

Instead, I have discovered that networking can be fun, after all. In the past week, I have discussed being stranded in small Saskatchewan airports, Monster Truck rallies, sore feet, how many times you can hit "Snooze" before getting out of bed to catch a plane, and the stealing of the Section B bird. One of the shining moments of the week for me was when I was asked to give a fun fact, talked about how I love road trips and had driven down from Canada and had one consultant say, "you just wanted to slip in that you are from Canada," to which I replied, "well, being from Canada isn't much of a novelty for me." To which the other consultant replied, "THAT is a great line" and repeated it back.

Anyway, what I am discovering is that the nice thing about the people I am meeting in my career progression, especially the Darden alum (though I have had some good conversations with people from other schools), is that they are fun people. There is no need to put on my serious face and figure out how to ask serious questions. These people have all passed the airport test and thus are actually fun to talk to!

Peace

After a long day of classes, a headache, case prep (3 cases worth and a billion pages of reading), a company briefing that went way too long, a hurriedly scarfed down supper and then learning team, I came home to print something off and walked back to school. My hope was that the piano room would be empty, leaving me the opportunity to do something that completely refreshes me - make music. As luck (or splendid planning!) would have it, the room was empty. I guess that's probably a safe guess for 10:30 at night.

After spending half an hour playing the piano and singing, I feel at peace and completely refreshed. It's amazing how much I crave playing when I am not around a piano often enough. I've determined that I have to figure out a way to bring my guitar back with me at Christmas.

Many people think I'm crazy when I tell them I take one day off a week. But what I have discovered is that those times of rest are vital in a busy schedule. Taking half an hour to play the piano when I could be prepping the cases for Wednesday is actually the best use of my time. I've found that going to bed by midnight every night does more for class participation than staying up an extra hour or two to review.

I know I've blogged about this before, but I'm learning how incredibly important it is. There is a lot of discussion about choosing a career and having work/life balance. What I'm finding is that you can make time for that renewal and refreshment no matter your schedule. The times that you go hard are the times when the end is in sight. When you've got 4 months between August and December with very few breaks, you can't afford to run yourself ragged every day and every week. Of course, all this said, I have a big list of things I am planning to do next week during my free evenings that should have been done throughout the quarter. Oh well... you can't win 'em all.

International Food Festival

One of the best things about Darden is the international student population. Every year, there is an International Food Festival, and the organizers claim that it is the best event of the year.

After participating last night, I would concur.

Flagler Courtyard was transformed into a global village, with booths set up for India, Columbia, Argentina, Italy, Japan, Thailand, and many, many more countries. Each of these countries featured students dressed in their traditional country garb and, more importantly, serving traditional country cuisine. It only took a few tables before I was completely and utterly stuffed. I would swear that I was done eating until I walked past the Russian booth, where my friends forced blinis into my hand. Then someone would tell me that I absolutely HAD to try the noodle dish from Korea.

Delicious!

After the dining portion of the evening, there were traditional performances from each country. While many would probably decree the Egyptian belly dancer was the best (a girl from the fabulous Section B), my favourite was the Japan presentation. The first lord was played by a guy in my section, who was lulled to sleep with wine by someone who promptly stole the bird. (For more on that, read my previous entry.) After that, there was some sword play and some sumo wrestling to determine who would win the bird. It was quite hilarious.

One of the biggest questions I got all evening was: where's the Canada booth? So, my question to all my fellow Canadians, what would you deem traditional Canadian food so I can have a booth next year? The only thing I could come up with is poutine.

U2

If you read my blog at the actual blog site and not on Facebook, you will notice that on the right side of my blog, there is a bucket list. On the top of that list, there is a newly checked item - seeing U2 in concert.

It was everything I dreamed it would be.

Okay, perhaps that is slightly overdramatic, but seriously, the concert was amazing. I continue to have a deep-found respect for Bono as a musician, celebrity, activist and man of faith. One of my favourite moments in the concert was the acoustic version of "Amazing Grace."

The social activism remained high as well. They performed "Walk On" in honour of Aung Sang Suu Kyi, a political prisoner in Burma. There was a tribute to everything the One campaign has accomplished. And at the end, Bono gave a special thank you to the people sitting in the (RED) section.

As I walked back to my apartment, one of my classmates and I discussed the implications of everything. Here we are, being trained as "leaders in the world of practical affairs," and as such, we have a responsibility. I've always felt it is my responsibility as someone who has much to give back and truly make an impact that lasts beyond my time on this earth and does something more than expand my shoe collection. It's so easy to forget this when I am caught up in cases and the job search, but ultimately, I need to figure out how best to contribute to this global community I find myself in.

Anyway, I could probably develop a whole blog on this subject, but for now I am tired. The concert was great.

The Job Search

It seems the reality of Darden is that just when you feel like you've got a handle on something, another new challenge rears it's ugly, opportunistic head.

For the first couple weeks of classes, I struggled with class participation. I didn't know how to raise my hand, didn't know how best to contribute value, didn't always know how to communicate my thoughts. While I don't consider myself an expert in any of those things, I've been feeling much better about class participation. There's even an objective measure of how I'm doing - the weekly peer-to-peer assessments in which we see how many times our peers have recognized us for contributing to their learning experience. So, all in all, I've been feeling more confident in that area of my academic life. (In fact, one of the highlights of my day yesterday was giving a definition for R-Squared in DA and hearing a flurry of typing as people wrote my definition into OneNote. Yes, it's the small things in life...)

Enter the job search.

Yesterday, I attended a briefing for one of the consulting companies that is right at the top of my desired company list. Basically how briefings work is that you sit in a room for 45 minutes while the representatives of the company tell you all about the company. All of that is really just a prelude to what has become not-so-affectionately known as "pit diving," in which dozens of keener students eagerly swarm the company representatives in hopes of making a positive impression.

During said "pit dive," you are expected to make small talk with the company representatives. Now, I have spoken in front of over 1,000 people before. I've given presentations to classmates, managers, boards and children, all with the greatest of ease and confidence. But put me in a small talk situation with someone and I suddenly feel awkward and unsure. In order to combat this fear, I wrote a paper in an undergrad communications class on small talk, and while that helped, it is still something I dread. (It doesn't even help to know that everyone else feels the exact same way about small talk or that people are surprised I fear small talk because they think I'm social.)

And if all that isn't enough to fear, there is the resume to deal with. Before Darden, resumes were a simple list of job titles and responsibilities. Not anymore. Now each bullet point has to be tied to a situation, task, action and result. And, wherever possible, said result must be quantifiable. All of that makes me wish that I hadn't only just been starting the development of metrics before I left the Company.

Anyway, if I've learned anything over the last two months, it is that sometimes you just need to put yourself out there and do what you need to do, regardless of your level of confidence. I have learned that the greatest blessing can be recognizing your weaknesses and then figuring out what to do with them. If I managed to get a better handle on the class participation puzzle, I can do it with the job search as well. (And then I'll be finished with challenges until my fabulous internship starts, right?)

Breaks are Imperative

For the past two and a half days, I've had a friend visiting. From the time I left to pick her up from the Richmond airport on Thursday afternoon until this morning (Sunday) when I pulled out my laptop to work on the cases for tomorrow, I have not done any work for school. I've had conversations that did not revolve around debits, credits, cannibalization ratios and Crystal Ball*. On top of all these perks, it's been great to catch up with someone that I've known for years and get outside of the MBA bubble a little. I have also appreciated sharing my new town and took Mary to TNDC, Arch's, Bodo's Bagels, the Downtown Mall and Shenandoah National Park.

This morning when I sat down to start work on cases again, I felt refreshed. I didn't come to them with the same drudgery which had been building up over the previous weeks. I was actually kind of excited about tackling the new DA (Decision Analysis) case.

So the moral of the story is that breaks are really necessary for survival. I know there are a lot of people who don't think Christmas is all that far away, so they can just slug it out until then. But I think that when we lose our drive and our focus, we miss out on the whole MBA experience. Sometimes the most beneficial thing we can do, in terms of studying and the job search, is to just not do it and go do something else.

Anyway, all that said, I do still have three cases to prep for tomorrow, a resume to finish and an application to fill out... So I will end it here.

*Crystal Ball is a program that works with Excel to predict an expected result for a formula based on providing a range of assumptions for the values of the inputs to that formula. For an overly simplistic example, assume I assign cell A1 to be equal to A2 + A3. While I may think A2 will equal 1 and A3 will equal 3, A2 could be anything from 0 to 4, and A3 will most likely be 3 with a minimum of 2 and maximum of 8. Crystal Ball will then do a series of trials (I usually have it set a 250,000!) to tell you what the average of all the results will be. It also spits out some pretty graphs and gives you some useful reports.

Canadians Like Ketchup

One of the biggest advantages of being at Darden is that we get to occasionally debrief our cases with the people who were involved in the actual outcome of the case. Today in marketing was one of those days, where we were joined by the brand manager for Heinz ketchup (who happens to be a Darden alum!).

While she said a lot of interesting things, the phrase that struck me most was this: "Canada is a fascinating case study." I previously thought that it was common to eat ketchup not just on french fries, hot dogs and hamburgers, but also on scrambled eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches and with chicken nuggets. Apparently, however, this is not the case in the US. Canadians consume a lot more ketchup than Americans. According to the brand manager, it's because we put it on a lot more things, but also because we use it in recipes. And when you use ketchup half a cup at a time, consumption is much higher than putting a little plot of it on your plate to dip your french fries in.

When she mentioned that they consume a lot more ketchup in Canada, the whole class turned to look at me, and I admitted quietly to the guy sitting beside me that I don't actually eat ketchup at all. I guess I'm not a true Canadian, eh?

Assume Positive Intent

It makes life simpler when we categorize everything and everyone and put them in boxes, right? If someone cuts you off in traffic, you can assume they are a bad driver, probably an inconsiderate person and, oh yeah, because of all those things they probably hate puppies, too. The guy in front of you in line at the self check-out station at the grocery store who is taking forever must obviously be stupid.

It was a while back that I heard someone say that "we judge the intentions of others by their actions, but we judge our own actions by our intent." When I am the one taking longer at the self check-out, it's because the machine won't scan fast enough - I'm trying to go quickly. If I ever accidentally cut someone off in traffic it's because I was trying to get around another inconsiderate driver.

This tendency can cause huge problems in community. It's one thing to be frustrated with a random person at a grocery store and an even bigger problem when we start to put labels on people with whom we need to be in community. A line from the Associate Dean during our orientation stuck with me and has been festering over the last few weeks: "Assume positive intent."

We all come to situations with our own experiences and often baggage. If I'm having a bad day, and someone says something, and I take it in the wrong way, it's very easy to fall into the trap of assuming they meant it in a negative way. Once you take it that way, you assume that person is generally mean or does not like you very much. (You become "in the box" toward them.) And once you view them that way, every action that you observe of them only reinforces your opinion.

This is a very dangerous line of thinking. For starters, while I may have a bad day and snap at someone, this does not mean that I am ALWAYS snappy. We need to be careful about the labels we apply to others (and to ourselves, for that matter!). We like to think in terms of absolutes, but people never fall into absolute categories. More importantly, doing this can destroy community. It can lead to gossip and slander and can also destroy the opportunities that we could have from being open to everyone and their input into our lives.

So the challenge I am giving myself for the rest of this week (and beyond) is to give everyone a blank slate every time I meet them, and to assume positive intent.

Darden Cup

This morning I pulled myself out of bed earlier than I would have preferred, all in the name of Section B spirit. After getting out of bed, I put on a shirt that is such a hideous colour I would never otherwise wear it, save the fact that both Section B and the University of Virginia share the colour ORANGE.

Today was the first sporting event in the Darden Cup - a year-long contest that pits section against section. On the agenda for today: softball, a game that I have sucked at no matter how hard I've tried. (A fact that my grade 10 softball team was always relatively quick to remind me.) There were two ways to get points today: by winning the tournament and by having the most people out.

Section B was awesome. I was not the only one who dragged themself out of bed and put on an orange t-shirt. I'm pretty sure at some point in time over the morning, I saw nearly everyone from Section B, plus partners, kids, puppies, parents (it's parents' weekend at Darden - my parents were not there because they love my sister living in Munich more than they love me... JUST KIDDING!), second years and PROFS and their partners, kids and puppies. In fact, our Q2 Finance prof pitched our first game.

What Section B was slightly less awesome at was winning games. We were down one run going into the bottom of the last inning of our first game, and with bases loaded and our star batter up to the plate, the ball popped up into the outfield and right down into the glove of one of the members of the opposing team. Our hearts were broken and we went on to play our next game.

The second game had an equally epic ending, and we were 0-2 heading into the double elimination playoffs. You may wonder how a team that is 0-2 makes the playoffs, but it turns out there was another team that ended up doing worse than us on point spread. We played the first-seated team in the first round of playoffs and lost by a margin that I don't care to remember.

And then it happened - Section B learned to play softball. For the glory that is third place, we faced off against Section A. I must add, at this point, that Section A had only a few people left that weren't playing, whereas Section B still had a mighty strong orange-wearing cheering section. Anyway, we were up 8 - 3 going into the bottom of the 4th inning. As we watched the bottom of the fourth unfold with huge grins on our faces, the bases slowly filled up with a girl on 3rd, a guy on 2nd and a girl on 1st. (Did I mention runs scored by girls are worth two points each?)

No one needed Excel to calculate that if they all came home, they would win.

And it happened. As we struggled to get three outs, they came in one or two at a time. We finished the fourth inning in a tie: 8 - 8.

So we went into a tie-breaking fifth inning. Section B pulled it together, got a few people around the bases, and went into the bottom of the fifth up 11 - 8.

The rest of the inning was somewhat of a blur, but with bases loaded (with girls, again, I might add) and two outs, another girl stepped up to the plate. Our pitcher pitched the ball, her bat connected with the ball, the ball popped up in the air, and our catcher got under it and caught it, securing Section B victory.

And that, my friends, is how Section B won third place despite winning only one game. I'm not sure how the total points will come out once participation marks are all considered, but all in all, I had a GREAT day and am very proud of Section B.

UVA Honour Code and the Section B Bird

Don't lie, cheat or steal.

That is the crux of the UVA Honour Code, a highly respected, student-run system at UVA that means we get to take our finals at home. Another big advantage is that I can set up my laptop in my classroom in the morning and leave it there until I pack it up again at 1:10. The Honour Code assumes the best of people and provides a very secure environment.

I could probably tell you more about it, but there is a lot more information at the UVA Honour Code site that I would encourage you to check out instead.

There have been two distinct events this week that have provoked me to think about what it means to be a part of the UVA honour tradition.

First, I was summoned for jury duty. Basically, if someone is accused of an honour offense, they have the opportunity to be tried before a jury of their peers. This was a much more pleasant concept before I was summoned. At the same time that I want to uphold and support the honour system, I also treasure my weekends greatly and am hoping that the whole trial will at least be an interesting experience. (Fortunately, I only have one day of the proposed 12 or so that I could actually attend trial. When I joked with one of my friends about making plans for that day, he pointed out it would likely be an honour violation to do so.)

The second event this week that provoked me to think about the honour code will require some background information. The Darden first year class is divided into sections. While sections are technically only together for one semester, section loyalty runs long and deep. Sections are also very rich in tradition.

One of the sacred traditions of Section B is the bird. The bird is given at the end of the week to a student who made the wackiest or most ridiculous comment of the week. The bird is also a member of Section B who comes out to parties and is carefully guarded.

WAS carefully guarded.

Yesterday (or, early this morning), the bird was stolen. Somehow, in this honour-entrenched institution, it is part of the tradition for Sections A, C, D and E to steal the bird and make Section B do something to get him back. I haven't quite figured out how this all reconciles to the command not to "lie, cheat or steal," but last year Section B had to perform the Lion King during First Coffee in order to get the bird back. I have already volunteered to coordinate the music should something similar be required.

Running and Rest are Good for the Soul (and the Droopy Eyelids)

After spending yesterday barely able to keep my eyes open, I realized that it had been over a week since I'd gone for a run. So, I decided that there was nothing more important than getting in a run after learning team, catching up with my best friend over Skype, and getting to sleep.

It's amazing what a difference a small, healthy decision can make! I woke up this morning feeling completely refreshed and energized. It's funny, because I remember after I had started running for a few weeks, and one of my co-workers told me that I seemed to have much more energy. I should have remembered that and made it more of a priority over these last few weeks.

Life at Darden is starting to get intense. This week marked the start of company briefings, and to give you a glimpse of my day, I attended two briefings, a session on brand management, and a networking event after the brand management session. Fortunately, as there were no cases for today, my learning team knocked out our cases for tomorrow last night and I didn't need to worry about case prep on top of all that.

It will only get busier, so keeping my priorities straight will be imperative.

And just to add yet another thing on the pile, I was summoned for jury duty for a UVA honour code violation trial... (but more on that later.)

Priorities (And Why an Hour Never Seems to Consist of 60 Minutes, Nor a Day 24 Hours)

It's just after midnight and I am not nestled in my bed. This is probably the last thing I should be doing, but sometimes when your head is filled with thoughts, it's hard to concentrate on anything else. Currently, I am in the process of reviewing company briefings for next week as I try to wrap my head around what else I need to do for tomorrow and debate whether to iron my dress for the Consulting Firm Briefing or just go with a simple skirt and cardigan.

After crashing for a nap on the couch in our office while attempting to read a Technical Note for marketing, I made a really important observation. Eating healthy and going for runs are not optional activities for when I have time, they are vital activities to keep me moving. I haven't felt as tired as I did today since I started maintaining a more healthy lifestyle. Taking a quick inventory of my week made me realize that I haven't been for a run since last Monday, and I'm discovering that cutting the runs because I feel too swamped is not an option.

Priorities are something I've mentioned before, but I can't stress how important every minute is. I am still trying to figure out how I can get out of class at 1:10, but not have a chance to settle down to work on cases until 2:30. I am learning that 5 minute conversations here and there add up to a lot of time spent not working on the things we should be working on.

But what are my priorities? Tonight I took the opportunity to go out with a group of girls from my section and celebrate one girl's birthday. (If you are ever in Charlottesville, I definitely recommend Arch's for frozen yogurt!) Though I could have spent that hour and a half doing all the things I am scrambling to do now, I don't regret it. These two years are an incredible opportunity to get to know some amazing people, and sometimes the best thing you can do when life gets busy is take a step back and laugh together.

So, I guess you refocus, regroup, get some sleep, pick yourself up out of bed the next morning and do it all over again. Sometimes not being perfectly prepared for DA is not as important as getting a decent sleep or doing something that contributes to the lifelong connections built in B-school.

Community and Life in the Ivy Commune

When I originally turned on my computer to blog, the plan was to talk about prioritization and my insanely busy schedule. As I sat down to write, however, there was a knock on my door. It was one of the guys who lives downstairs returning a dish from our BBQ yesterday. Him and I discussed one of the cases for tomorrow, he left to go back to his suite, and I returned to my computer.

Not five minutes later, there was another knock on the door. One of my friends had gotten my text about having her jacket at my place and was swinging by to pick it up on her way home from learning team. Her and I chatted for what was probably way too long before parting ways to go back to finishing prep for tomorrow's cases and the upcoming briefings.

The closest I've come to community before living here was when I shared a house with a friend living in the basement suite. We would watch movies together, cook Easter dinner together, and borrow food as necessary. I have to admit that living in Ivy Gardens and experiencing community here is actually a great experience. For a long time, the notion of borrowing a cup of sugar was old and outdated to me. But in the last few weeks, I've gone downstairs to borrow wine glasses and corkscrews. And, although reciprocity is never a condition of being neighbourly, I've picked up the slack as well, throwing a shirt in with my laundry, giving someone without a car a ride to the grocery store or the mall and contributing food to a Sunday BBQ.

If I'm having a lousy day, I know there are people close by who will give me a hug if I need it. If I need to borrow a textbook, a set of wine glasses, or anything, I know that someone in Ivy will have it. When I'm walking home from class, there's usually someone to walk with me.

Anyway, I will talk about prioritization later, as I attempt to define exactly what makes Darden the most rigourous first year MBA program.