I am sitting here on the eve of a brand new year, and the above Albert Camus line seems to echo in my mind. Choices. I look back at 2007, and realize I made a lot of choices, both personally and professionally. Some of the choices have been life changing and some inconsequential. There have been a few bad choices, and some stellar choices. Those choices brought about some incredible highs and lows. I made the choice to apply and go to MBA school despite the cost, and despite the naysayers who told me that an MBA wasn’t worth it. I made the choice to take a film production course in the middle of business school applications and interviews, while working a full time job. This despite everyone thinking I was crazy.
People always think they don’t have choices in life, and think life is something that happens to them. But we do have choices. We have the choice to do the right thing. We have the choice to make a difference in the lives of others. We have the choice to go after our dreams or park them on the unfulfilled shelf in our life. We have a lot more choices than people living in different parts of the world. You have a choice, and I wish you good luck in making your choices in 2008.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Another semester done!
Well nearly done. I have the Macro economics final tomorrow, and it should go well. I’ve been in the MBA program for 8 months now, and it has gone by so quickly. Can’t believe it.
This last semester has been intense. They overloaded us on the courses, and there were a whirlwind of activities at school, of which I only attended a handful. Just reading the emails and the portal updates on school activities took up so much valuable (work) time. Juggling a full time job, and school has been tough. Having worked and studied constantly for longer than I care to remember, I feel that the MBA is a lot more work than any of the previous courses I’ve taken. I think it’s the twice-a-week classes combined with the extra-curricular. There were tons of speaker and workshop events that I would have loved to attend but it meant taking a day off work or leaving work early, and when you take vacation days just to finish assignments or study for an exam, you’d like to keep a few vacation days for an actual vacation! And then there were the ‘extra-curricular’ competitions. The Investment challenge kept me busy. We met with our Investment mentor about a week ago. He told us that he was impressed with our portfolio, as we had made 5% in 3 weeks. Good thing, we didn’t meet up with him this week, the market downturn wiped out our gains! I also signed up for the Loreal Strategy challenge. Unfortunately my group got booted out in the first round. A bit disheartening, but there is always next year! There were a lot of social events in school as well. I’ve barely been out with the school crowd. It has been hard trying to manage all of it.
Alright, enough complaining on my part! Next semester is going to be better. It’s a lighter load. We have Foundations of Integrative Thinking, and because the semester was so light I signed up for Business Law. Yes, I am a glutton for more school work.
They switch our group members next semester, and we are having another team building event in Jan. Considering we already know our classmates, we aren’t sure why they are doing this. However, there are a few people in class that aren’t too friendly, and part of me has the urge to walk over to a certain person and say ‘Hello, I don’t think we’ve met!’ :) It should be fun though as they are holding it in the ghastly crystal structure, otherwise known as the ROM(Royal Ontario Museum).
We get a month off school! I will be sleeping A LOT, and I hope to get in some reading.. those books from the summer are still waiting to be read. The film production schedule might be pushed back a week or two as I am now working on the second draft of the script (it came back with ‘suggestions’). Fortunately, everyone involved with the film is very patient, and keeps volunteering their help! Phew! Okay must stop procrastinating and start studying...Merry Christmas!!!
This last semester has been intense. They overloaded us on the courses, and there were a whirlwind of activities at school, of which I only attended a handful. Just reading the emails and the portal updates on school activities took up so much valuable (work) time. Juggling a full time job, and school has been tough. Having worked and studied constantly for longer than I care to remember, I feel that the MBA is a lot more work than any of the previous courses I’ve taken. I think it’s the twice-a-week classes combined with the extra-curricular. There were tons of speaker and workshop events that I would have loved to attend but it meant taking a day off work or leaving work early, and when you take vacation days just to finish assignments or study for an exam, you’d like to keep a few vacation days for an actual vacation! And then there were the ‘extra-curricular’ competitions. The Investment challenge kept me busy. We met with our Investment mentor about a week ago. He told us that he was impressed with our portfolio, as we had made 5% in 3 weeks. Good thing, we didn’t meet up with him this week, the market downturn wiped out our gains! I also signed up for the Loreal Strategy challenge. Unfortunately my group got booted out in the first round. A bit disheartening, but there is always next year! There were a lot of social events in school as well. I’ve barely been out with the school crowd. It has been hard trying to manage all of it.
Alright, enough complaining on my part! Next semester is going to be better. It’s a lighter load. We have Foundations of Integrative Thinking, and because the semester was so light I signed up for Business Law. Yes, I am a glutton for more school work.
They switch our group members next semester, and we are having another team building event in Jan. Considering we already know our classmates, we aren’t sure why they are doing this. However, there are a few people in class that aren’t too friendly, and part of me has the urge to walk over to a certain person and say ‘Hello, I don’t think we’ve met!’ :) It should be fun though as they are holding it in the ghastly crystal structure, otherwise known as the ROM(Royal Ontario Museum).
We get a month off school! I will be sleeping A LOT, and I hope to get in some reading.. those books from the summer are still waiting to be read. The film production schedule might be pushed back a week or two as I am now working on the second draft of the script (it came back with ‘suggestions’). Fortunately, everyone involved with the film is very patient, and keeps volunteering their help! Phew! Okay must stop procrastinating and start studying...Merry Christmas!!!
Friday, December 14, 2007
Bridget likes Oprah?
I am hardly the political type, but I’ve been following the democratic leadership party race, because I am rooting for Hillary Clinton for President. One of my friends even gave me a ‘Bill for First Lady’ button. In the last week, however, I have been following the Obama campaign. With Oprah’s endorsement, Obama’s campaign trail has become must-see-tv for me. As some of you will know, I am not an Oprah fan, and there have been several lengthy discussions on Oprah (the crowd I hang with is opinionated, and debate is encouraged at the dinner table! :))
Although my loyalties lie with Hillary, and Oprah is definitely not on my favourite celebrity list, I was caught up with a line in her Obama endorsement speech.
“There are those who say it's not his time, that he should wait his turn. Think about where you'd be in your life if you'd waited when people told you to”.
That line alone probably swayed a couple hundred voters. Why should you accept how people see you? Why not question the status quo?
The line resonated with me as it reminded me of a line that I've had to say often in my life. I say it to people who disagree with me about my personality, and my capabilities. I don’t try to change their opinion. And neither should you, reader. It is an exercise in futility. Acknowledge their opinion, and say this ‘People see what they want to see’. Smile and move on. Have the conviction to believe that you are worthy of that promotion, raise or job. If you don’t believe it, why should anyone else?
Although my loyalties lie with Hillary, and Oprah is definitely not on my favourite celebrity list, I was caught up with a line in her Obama endorsement speech.
“There are those who say it's not his time, that he should wait his turn. Think about where you'd be in your life if you'd waited when people told you to”.
That line alone probably swayed a couple hundred voters. Why should you accept how people see you? Why not question the status quo?
The line resonated with me as it reminded me of a line that I've had to say often in my life. I say it to people who disagree with me about my personality, and my capabilities. I don’t try to change their opinion. And neither should you, reader. It is an exercise in futility. Acknowledge their opinion, and say this ‘People see what they want to see’. Smile and move on. Have the conviction to believe that you are worthy of that promotion, raise or job. If you don’t believe it, why should anyone else?
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Inspiring...
It is beautiful here in Toronto. I am distracted by the small puffy snowflakes that are falling. It just seems so magical, and as I sit here staring outside my window, I am reminded of an article I came across this past week.
I want to share with you the real life story of Carissa Phelps. She recently graduated with an MBA and a law degree from UCLA. Carissa got a job in the alternative assets division of LACERA (Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association) and after two months quit. Why? Because one of her fellow MBA students, and film maker was making a documentary about her life, and as she was recanting her story, she realized she had to make a difference. Carissa didn’t grow up living a charmed existence; she was instead abandoned by her mother at 12, and became a teenage prostitute. She ended up in juvie hall, and with the help of a counsellor, turned her life around. What an accomplished life despite all the setbacks. She is now raising $20 million for a for-profit community development corporation. For more information on this extraordinary person, here’s the link: Carissa Project
I want to share with you the real life story of Carissa Phelps. She recently graduated with an MBA and a law degree from UCLA. Carissa got a job in the alternative assets division of LACERA (Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association) and after two months quit. Why? Because one of her fellow MBA students, and film maker was making a documentary about her life, and as she was recanting her story, she realized she had to make a difference. Carissa didn’t grow up living a charmed existence; she was instead abandoned by her mother at 12, and became a teenage prostitute. She ended up in juvie hall, and with the help of a counsellor, turned her life around. What an accomplished life despite all the setbacks. She is now raising $20 million for a for-profit community development corporation. For more information on this extraordinary person, here’s the link: Carissa Project
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Bizarre Assignment questions
One of the questions in our second macroeconomic assignment asks us to discuss why Macroeconomics is useful in business in a three page memo. I’ve done a fair bit of research, and realize now that I have to really think about this one. There is no book, article (besides the one he recommended) that magically sums any of it. Thank goodness, I didn’t have to write a three page memo on how statistics is an integral part of the mba program...
We’ve come to realize that the prof doesn’t teach in class. Alright, he teaches some theory, but he talks a lot about general business/economic news. This is all good, however there are certain theories that you need to understand to connect all the dots. I guess this is why they call it grad school.. Independent study and thought is imperative!
However, he is still entertaining... He showed us this video spoof that Columbia MBA students made when Ben Bernake was appointed Fed chairman instead of the Columbia dean. I laughed so hard in class. I looked online for some other ones, and some are really quite funny....
We’ve come to realize that the prof doesn’t teach in class. Alright, he teaches some theory, but he talks a lot about general business/economic news. This is all good, however there are certain theories that you need to understand to connect all the dots. I guess this is why they call it grad school.. Independent study and thought is imperative!
However, he is still entertaining... He showed us this video spoof that Columbia MBA students made when Ben Bernake was appointed Fed chairman instead of the Columbia dean. I laughed so hard in class. I looked online for some other ones, and some are really quite funny....
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