And so...

I know I always talk about school and how hectic it is, so perhaps it's time to talk about what gets me through the mayhem these days. When I was in undergrad, I had a "me" chair. In this lovely papasan and ottoman, whose color and decorative photos were my favorites, I only did things I enjoyed-- napped, chatted on the phone, read for fun. I refused to do school work or anything that was not enjoyable. Said chair is currently at home in storage with dad's cat's hair covering it, no telling where the cute pillow is, much less the frame. I believe it needs to make a return. So without that beloved piece of furniture...

• I've tried self-reflection through clearing specific time to think. Making even a few minutes along a walk between buildings is helpful for perspective. I have a cousin I talk with a lot who went through similar stuff that I juggle.
  
• I sometimes find myself driving with the radio off in order to give my brain some space.
• When the radio is on, however, I can't seem to get enough of the oldies (especially Jackson Browne, Bruce Hornsby, ELO, Eagles... and the occasional Rihanna and other current chart-toppers.) A few months ago, Taylor Swift could not possibly have played any more often through my speakers. Seriously! Why don't artists these days sing with as much feel as they used to? Listen to the Mandolin Rain, listen to the music on the lake...
• I've been a fan of movies. Not that the 3-hr chunk necessary to enjoy them is common, as I've been to maybe two this semester, but I just want to sit in bed, pop one into the computer (still no TV :), and relax and be entertained.
• I wish there were anything on this earth I got half as excited about as little Rufus does with squirrels; he cannot be contained, goes abso crazy. It's really a refreshing reminder of nature.
• Girls' nights and ice cream dates have been fewer and farther between than I'd like to admit, but having people accessible for support is always a comfort!

The other thing I think about, after my girlfriend Christine recommended it, is instead of a "To Do" list, one stating how much has been accomplished. In a single semester, we've had a mixer with another school, an informal social event between first and second-year students, took part organizing a CEO speaker series, turned the school pink in honor of breast cancer awareness, put together a campus-wide food drive, participated in community service efforts, elected to serve on the search committee for a new dean of the school, presented in front of all faculty monthly, compiled teams for various intramural sports, partnered with the career center for an internal networking event, hosted a luncheon with the local office of an international consulting firm, tutored several students in their papers and presentations and had positive feedback, co-hosted an event with another field-specific student org, made progress on revamping our Web site, sponsored a Town Hall meeting for our grad students, hosted our own successful fundraiser... held a reception for students visiting from Ghana, surveyed students on what they want next semester and put the wheels in motion for several of their requests... Lordy, that isn't even all of it, much the weekly things. Not a bad list for 3 months! And the spring list is certainly ambitious to boot.

Perhaps more suggestions for how to survive the mayhem are necessary! How do you make it through?

Corner View : Seven

I missed the re-start of CV recently, whose topic was "school." Perhaps it's best, anyway, as I could've gone on and on about its current influence on life...

Perhaps it's not what the creator had in mind, but when I first read today's topic I thought of the brand of jeans. And boy, I used to be a big believer in jeans for $20 brand new. I got my first pair of Sevens in China for $9, though the US version is $150+. Handsewn pockets to give your booty some lift... this is relevant to some of us...

So to incorporate the last CV with the current, here are Seven things at school heavily influencing my life:
1) student government. Perhaps it should count for two because it's so big. ~30 hours a week is what it's taking me to juggle it all. That's 3x as much as I expected after talking to last year's pres.
3) graduate leadership council. This is all the presidents of the schools around campus who get together. Still haven't quite figured out what they do...
4) ngl. This is an enthusiastic group around DC getting organized and is a great prospect especially for job-seekers and international students and anyone who really wants to stay here after school.
5) dean. The dean of our particular school is retiring, and I'm on the search committee for a replacement. A very exciting honor, and a time-consuming one.
6) classes. Oh yeah. Thinking of them this far down my 7s list is just about appropriate given the semester thus far. Eek!
7) Friends. Elections. Meetings. Intramurals. Fundraising. Event-planning. Sanity-saving. Professors. New students. And everything else...

To see foreign sevens, check out:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth, allison, lise, cate, otli, ida, lisa, dorte, kimmie, nicola, vanessa, britta, april, b, kyndale, samantha, kristina, goldensunfamily, sophie, mcgillicutty, aimee, sunnymama, britta, juanita, inna, daan, myrtille, cris, ibb, jodi, gillian, travelingmama

athena, pienduzz, kelleyn, demara, mus, ninja, guusje, di, sammi, theresa, cherry b, victoria, lisa, liza, juliette, mulot, lucy, leonor, elizabeth, helene, shokoofeh, cole, jenna, podane, grey-lemon, line, nihal, inner toddler, puna, lucylaine, adrienne, lynn, skywriting, eliane, the wanderer´s daughter, carole, anna, dorit, kenza, sherry, conny, susan, l´atelier, elis, kamana, anne, rosamaría, marinik, elisabelle, victoria, malo, the yellow door paperie, tikjewit, juniper, ocean girl, emily, marcie, annabel, andrea, valerie, karin, michelle, merel, pia, soisses, angie, adèle, latisha, mlle paradis, 24 ruel, cacahuete, wander chow, debra, linnea and emily, barbara, emily, maryline, tally, therese, nadine, matilda, don, cheryl, flowtops, susanna, katy, suzana, castor

Solving existential questions

Greetings! My apologies for the gap since my last post; I was taking finals and traveling home to celebrate the holidays. I've had some thoughts since then that have developed since the original seeds that burdened my brain, which seem appropriate as the inaugural post for 2010. Let me know what you think!

I recently drafted a blog about the minor existential crisis I was having. I never got to publishing it because, as was part of the mini-crisis, it seemed unfinished and questions unanswered. Ever since leaving undergrad, I've missed marketing classes more than any other. I love little known facts- be they useful or just interesting- as well as understanding sociological pieces about people that affect their decision-making. Statistics are actually useful, regardless of how good I am at it. These and other little things that interest me come together in the field of marketing. My career management class required us to do an interview with someone in our field of interest. A friend from undergrad now works for Gap, Inc. in San Francisco as a buyer for women's accessories at Banana Republic. He obliged my request for this informational interview, and as so many in marketing think his job is so cool, I had plenty to get him to explain. One of the questions that turned out to be most relevant was what about his job he loves most. "You know," he said, "when I see a woman walking down the street, and the bag she's carrying is one I tweaked something on, or the scarf she's wearing is one I changed the color on, she didn't need it, but she bought it because of something I did." Working for a company like this one in the marketing department is so sexy to so many, but I couldn't help but think that while my friend's job is enjoyable and exciting to him and would probably be nice in the short term, if I look back at 65 and feel as though I've sold a lot of stuff to people that they didn't need, I'm pretty sure I'll feel unsatisfied. I have no doubt that he is talented with a multitude of transferable skills, but I want to go about it differently. Armed with this insight, I decided to do something with more long-term value to me. But if working for a company like this is the dream of so many marketers, and I know I want to do marketing, how do I get there? What exactly can I do with my life? Severe confusion and doubt set in.

I'm sure this is something that most people ponder at some point in life. I'm in graduate school because I thought I knew. I really like strategy, I think I'd like to couple it with marketing. I'd like for it to be with a company/product that has intrinsic value (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society need marketing, too... that kind of thing) but non-profit also doesn't always have the feel I want, so I'm not sure that's the route for me, either. How do I iron everything out? My husband thinks I should do organizational behavior, but my school doesn't have a focus in that. HR? Too much paperwork of the stuff I don't enjoy, though I would enjoy the people element. I need quantifiable results, probably. I really enjoyed the volunteer stuff I did with the Army as liaison between the chain of command and families of deployed Soldiers. But a career in the Army? Something about that doesn't sound appealing (or is that my aversion to the organization after my husband's 15 months in the Sandbox?) immediately, anyway.

While I'm still in a bit of limbo on how to plod along with my career, all in one sort-of banner day, many things I'd been working on pieced together. A case my group of 8 had been working on, living, breathing for several weeks was presented, and we rocked it. Our argument was, "Korea's spectacular economic progress since the end of the Korean War has been due to an enlightened government industrial policy." Having spent a significant amount of time in this little country, I really got into the prep of this presentation, though it got quite hairy at times. The class voted and our team won, along with a higher grade on both the presentation and the paper. After this presentation, I had lunch with the dean. My program is very small as compared to many others even in the same town. My husband regularly comes home and tells me what happened at his school that day or what the administration said, and I can't help but think that our folks are doing the same thing, but that we know nothing about it. I brought this up at the meeting, and it resulted in him agreeing to create a blog. This is quite exciting to me because I will actually read it and love knowing what's going on and feel as if the administration wants us in the loop on things that will make our degree more valuable even after we've graduated... but I also think it is a wonderful selling point for future students! The dean himself writes about what is going on behind the scenes of the school? He even includes links to relevant topics, photos, et cetera. Cool! And as if that weren't enough, that afternoon I had an interview with a prominent paper for a spring internship in their strategy department. I may not want to work for a newspaper long-term, but there's undoubtedly good experience to be gained in an industry fighting for relevance. I liked the people I interviewed with, it sounds as though the work could be extremely interesting, and the head of the department all but told me she thought I was a good fit and should join their team! (The HR specialist later called with the formal offer). So my existential crisis is somewhat subdued. I certainly don't have all the answers yet, and I know my questions will continue to grow, but confusions may be narrowing for the time being.

If any of you have tips on how to progress through this, what decisions you went through to get your education, and how you figured out this is where you want to be, I'd love to hear them!

Corner View : Cell Phone Madness

To see what others were looking at when their cell phones rang, check out:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,

caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth, allison, lise, cate, crescent moon, erin, otli, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la lune dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, april, b, kyndale samantha, karen, kristina, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, aimee, sunnymama, jenell, britta, juanita, pamela, inna, daan, myrtille, cris, ibb, jodi, gillian, travelingmama

athena, pienduzz, latisha, clairette, kelleyn, iris, demara, mus, ninja, guusje, di, sammi, theresa, cherry b, victoria, kathryn , lisa, liza, juliette, braja, mulot, anne, lucy, leonor, elizabeth, helene, dominique, shokoofeh, cole, jenna, podane, grey-lemon, line, nihal, urbaNiche, inner toddler, puna, lucylaine, adrienne, emily, lynn, skywriting, eliane, the wanderer´s daughter, carole, anna, dorit, kenza, sherry, conny, susan

Properties of Perks

Ahhh caffeine. I was hoping that grad school wouldn't change my lack of addiction to coffee, but a few weeks in and a recent gift of a French Press, I may be losing that battle. If anyone's trying to break away from it, after a few days of coffee, try drinking lots of water in place of caffeine. You'll have to get up and go to the bathroom so many times that you're plenty awake! (There's the option of decaf-- and to see if it really is decaf, there are caffeine test strips.) Caffeine actually blocks a molecule in your brain that induces sleep, and a caffeine buzz includes increased heart rate and opening / constricting blood vessels, which is great for someone needing to pay attention in class or when studying long hours. I could get into Arabica vs Robusta coffee, but that's probably another post entirely! Most of us have heard the story of how coffee was discovered, but if you haven't, here goes my interpretation:

Coffee is indigenous to Ethiopia, where the legend originates. Kaldi, a goatherd, observed his goats snacking on the red berries of a bush and then becoming rowdy. He was curious about their behavior, so Kaldi nibbled on the berries as well, and his results were similar to that of the animals. A monk noticed these behaviors and thought that the effects of this bean could be good for his long-praying friends, and he then brewed the world's first cup. Consumption spread from Ethiopia to Northern Africa to Arabia, and on.

And today, it's a worldwide treasure, transforming social centers in Europe first (starting in Venice, and the first coffeehouse opening in Oxford, England). In places like Turkey, it's just as much a staple as is bread or water. As with globalization of anything, those who produce it are often brought to light if they aren't being treated properly. This time, the effort to control such a disconnect is with Fair Trade Coffee. Fair Trade focuses on paying producers a fair price for their crop and hopefully encouraging production methods that are environmentally friendly and sustainable, and fostering relationships between the triangle of those involved: producers, traders and consumers. (October is Fair Trade Month!)

Some tidbits about this delicious drink:

Brazil produces more coffee beans than anywhere else in the world.

Darker roasts generally (surprisingly) have less caffeine than lighter roasts. Why? Because the roasting process burns off their caffeine faster. Lighter roasts allow the bean to retain the aromatic oils that give it its delicious flavor. Oily-appearing coffee actually has a bitter taste.

Café au lait is half coffee, half scalded milk, and light brown in color.

Espresso does not, in fact, have more caffeine than drip coffee. The brew-time for espresso has it in contact with water for a shorter period, allowing less caffeine to be extracted. It does, however, have a stronger flavor.

It's the second most valued commodity, after oil.

Kopi Luwak runs about $200/lb. What's unique about this particular coffee bean is that it's digested by a civet then scooped off the ground before roasting. (Translation: a cat eats the bean, someone follows it around until it poops, scoops that up and gets to cooking so you can pay a small fortune to drink a cup. In fairness, you'd have to pay me a lot to follow a cat around until it pooped something I intended for others to consume, too!)

Caffé latte is hot espresso with steamed milk. And it's my favorite!

Coffee trees exhaust soil fertility, requiring the old to be replaced with new, which often means developing new land, which can be a problem in places like Brazil where the rainforest needs restoration, too!

Café Americano is equal portions of espresso and boiling water.

Cappuccino is espresso with steamed milk/cream and milk froth on top. Its name derived from the hood worn by Capuchin order of friars, cappuccio, in Italy. The Italian drink went on to be named such because it was similar to the color of the habit of the Capuchin friars.

Ground coffee goes stale 100x faster than whole bean coffee.

Macchiatto/Macchiato is an espresso drink with a teaspoon or two of steamed milk on top.

What I've Learned

Having been in DC for just over a month now, and graduate school for three weeks, I think it appropriate timing for a benchmark on what I've learned since beginning this chapter:

-Eating at home 98% of the time is cheaper, mostly easier, and not nearly as boring as I thought!
-There's a Maryland/Virginia/DC snobbery, though you can be in all three places in less than fifteen minutes over a short, couple miles spread. We're still figuring this one out.
-Most "credible" news sources have holes in most of their business articles. Enough for me to write two papers per week on them. Wow.
-The more work you're given, the more bang for your buck you're getting. If for no other reason, you're forced to make an executive decision on what's important enough to rank on your priorities list.
-Accounting is only boring if you don't understand it. So says my professor, anyway.
-My dad is single-handedly one of the most impressive businessmen I've ever known. And somehow he's still an outstanding parent to boot. I need to learn to juggle as much.
-The guy who answers all the teacher's questions is an ass. Especially when he doesn't know the answer-- talks a lot without saying anything.
-My great-grandmother really knew what she was talking about when she said (translated from Cajun French) that, "You can't learn anything with your mouth open."
-It doesn't matter how much you have to do around the house... depending on your workload.
-The first few weeks of b-school required as much reading as law school. I imagine more calculations, less reading in the future.
-People here don't care if you've worked/studied on two other continents. They've done it for longer and in somewhere more remote with the Peace Corps, so don't use any experience abroad as "one unique thing" during an icebreaker. Stick with being from where Tabasco sauce is made!
-Craigslist is usually more work than your time is worth.
-Most of your classmates are competitive and pretty smart, thus knowing yourself is key as much as having a big picture perspective is a strength.
-Commuting during rush hour is a beast.

This draws me back to the most recent day when I felt completely relaxed and responsibility-free: May 29 in Hawaii. The movers had packed up our entire house, put it in boxes and crates, and off it went for a Pacific-crossing ship. We moved into a Waikiki hotel and I literally had no concerns- and there was even someone to make my bed! I bought a chick magazine for mindless reading and was browsing the article on successful femmes describing themselves in 100 words or less. It got me thinking: how would I describe myself in 100 words, or how would I want to be described? Well, I got busy again and never finished the assignment. But here we are, new beginnings all at once, and I think it wise to create a definite mark, worthy of referral in the future.

How would you describe yourself in 100 words or less? What would you want others to say? Give it a couple minutes of thought. What kind of benchmarks would you say you've passed in the last chapter of your life?

Greetings from the East Coast!

Welcome to my new blog! We have moved to The District to attend graduate school. After quite a hiatus, we are both full-time students once more. With this blog I intend to keep up with all of you folks we miss so dearly, and tell anecdotes of what's going on while we are living in these parts. After only a week of classes under my belt, I can tell that it's going to be an exquisitely busy two years (which is part of the reason for the delay in getting this electronic journal started!)

A blurb on getting here: I left my job in June, Hubby and I popped over to Louisiana for the wedding reception we never had, then flew up to DC and stayed with a kind cousin and her adorable family while we searched for a place to live. While our household goods were making their way to the East Coast from Hawaii via ship (a ~6 week long adventure), we figured that if we were living out of suitcases, it may as well be in an interesting location... so across the Pond we went to spend an exciting, possibly last "real" summer for the next ~40 years! (More on our trip in an upcoming entry.) We have now moved in to our home and there will probably be plenty of organizing to keep us busy for a while, but we're enjoying being in a cool new place with so much to offer, and being students again.

Life is busy, exciting, and full of new experiences to be had! We are looking forward to getting into the routine of all that is coming. So for those of you reading, keep me in the loop with what's going on with you, and hopefully I can regularly do the same here!