Oh so very relaxed!

I'm calm. I'm relaxed. I'm happy.

I have barely thought of MBA work. Ok, that's a lie. There isn't a moment that passes when I don't think about brushing up on readings or wonder about exam results. Luckily, I'm hanging out with my family and baby nephew, so I can easily resist cracking a book.

I'll admit, this morning I put together a master syllabus - i.e. I consolodated all my syllabuses (syllabi?) into a large spreadsheet so that I can easily see what is due each week and keep track of my readings. Oh Excel, what can't you do?

Coming up at Rotman

When you become a student, you are invited to a plethora of speaker series events. Let me tell you, there is quite an impressive line-up. I haven't been able to attend everything that I might like, but there are two coming up in January that I hope to see:

Bob Pozen talking about "Too Big To Save? How to Fix the U.S. Financial System" and "4 experts on Achieving Social Impact Through Business".

Refreshed

It's amazing what 24 hours away from school can do!
I'm already refreshed and ready to go.

I am certainly appreciating the small things in life. Dinner is in the oven, the smell of melting cheese is wafting in the air. My dog is faithfully curled up at my feet, snoring in front of the fire. I'm in Barrie (about 100 km north of the city) waiting for my brother's family to arrive. This is what holidays are all about!

I'll admit, I did bring my laptop and books with me. While I'm enjoying the little things, I think it's important to keep up momentum.

Need to work on test taking skills

Still not feeling better today even though I spent most of the day doing non-school related things. I did get back my MCV exam this morning and made some stupid errors including putting part of my calculation on the line reserved for the answer which confused the marker, losing me valuable marks. I misread another question (our exam room was dark - literally, the lights wouldn't turn on, so I was squinting the whole time). Anyway, I'm really bummed about it - I really know the material so I hate to lose marks for stupid things.

The moral of the story is I keep psyching myslef out right before taking tests. I seriously need to start calming down.

Strangely ill at ease

Q2 is officially over and I'm not as excited as I had anticipated. In fact, my feelings are quite the opposite.

I'm having so much trouble explaining why I am not beaming from ear to ear this second. We struggled so much as a class this quarter and together, we accomplished so much. We have a right to be proud of our accomplishments. I should feel proud of my accomplishments - I never would have thought it possible to learn so much. To be inspired to learn even more.

Maybe it's lack of sleep or maybe I'm just in shock of the sudden end of the quarter, but my confidence has been severely shaken and I find myself nearly reduced to tears as I reflect on the past 4 months (has it truly been so short a time?). I can honestly say that I worked my tail off, but I fear that it wasn't enough. Would studying one more hour have made a difference? Should I have proofread that paper one final time. Why didn't I spend even more time rehearsing that presentation?

I know that I haven't always expressed what I want out of life all that elegantly and while this blog is lighthearted, I take my studies very seriously and I wholeheartedly want to excel in this MBA program.

THIS SUCKS!

I swear to you, I'm not a depressing person and I will bounce back. Tonight a bunch of my classmates are going to a karaoke bar and I plan to join them. I promise in advance to not sing the Blues!

All the world is numbers...

Remember the famous Shakespearean quote, "all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players"? I would like to counter that "all the world's a number and all the men and women merely calculators."

The evidence:
Statistics = Math
Finance = Statistics = Math
Accounting = Finance = Statistics = Math
Marketing talks to Finance = Statistics = Math

See a pattern? What about outside of business?

Art: Art = Paint = Numbers = Math

Music: I see a fraction. Fractions = Numbers = Math

I rest my case. (My rest from Finance is also done)

colder than an mba post accounting exam

I kid, I kid. No one is mad that the accounting exam was a bit on the long side. Plus we received an insanely short marketing midterm yesterday - 45 minutes - so it all evens out.

Today I face off against my ultimate arch enemy: finance. It's funny, I've met way more people this week and I've reconnected with some that I haven't seen since orientation.

P.S. It really is freezing out today! -10 Celsius but with wind chill it feels like -20. Plus, I live next to the lake so it's always a bit cooler.

Wishing time could stand still

I consider myself to be fairly proficient at speed reading. I'm also quite good at writing which is why today's fiasco of an exam has really gotten me down.

For three straight hours I scribbled FURIOUSLY in the attempt to get as many marks as possible. I skipped questions worth only a few points, even thought they were fairly easy to do and tried to get as much done as possile.

I shouldn't sound completely bitter because I did think that the questions themselves were fair, I'm just worried that I likely made silly errors because I didn't have any time to think.

This is just disheartening because I put a lot of time into learning the material. I went to tutorial. I even explained a few concepts to others in the past few days and alas, it won't reflect on my grade. I just need to remind myself that my goal coming into this program was to learn as much as possible and I really do feel like I learned a lot in this class. Plus, I loved the project.

Sigh.


Sigh.

The weather outside it frightful

which is one of the reasons I would really prefer to stay in today. Alas, accounting awaits. I'm writing in a random room in a building I've never heard of. I guess the outdoors await. I'm definitely going to wear a ridiculously large (and warm) pair of boots. Let the hilarity begin.

It's good to have goals

My goal for today is to go home in time for dinner. Eating out all the time is making me thin in the wallet region and round about the waist.

What this means is I have exactly 4 hours to review the entire second term accounting class.

- Liabilities
- Notes & Bonds
- Leases
- Off balance sheet financing and retirement benefits
- Financial statement analysis (i.e. ratios)
- Capital contributions and distribution
- Earnings
- Cash flow statements
- Investments

The above represents no less than 11 lectures and 199 pages of exciting text book reading (think size 8 font).

Good thing I've done a fair job of keeping up!

Study or Sleep --> The Debate Rages On

I got home just after 10 pm tonight after spending more than 14 hours away from home. I live a bit further away from school than some in a neighbourhood known at 'The Beaches', or to some 'The Beach' (it's complicated). This is generally GREAT because I don't think it's healthy to live right next to where you work and school is WORK. During exams, however, it's the pits. Studying in groups is a great way to learn material such as strategy since a variety of opinions helps to expand perspectives. I have yet to convince anyone to make the trek to my lovely beach home.

Here are the positives:
-->1 block from the beach
-->Wireless connection
-->Coffee maker
-->Giant bloodhound who never fails to make you smile

Negatives:
-->30-40 minute transit ride
-->it's winter, no one wants to hang out at the beach
-->dog fur sticks to just about any item of clothing
-->coffee at school can be found for as little as 80 cents, PLUS the store has bulk candy.

*Sigh* 14 hours at Rotman it is...

The real issue is that it's been 20 minutes since I got home and I've yet to commit to either more studying or succumbing to sleep. Considering that I spent 90% of that time googling various people (including myself - hope that's not weird!) and the other 10% of the time writing this post, I think it's pretty clear that napping is a necessary evil. I won't be doing much focusing at this rate.

My plan of action is as follows - sleep, alarm to go off at 5 am, actually get up at 6 am after hitting the snooze button no fewer than 6 times. Study for 2 hours before trekking into Rotman for the 10 AM Strategy test.

This is such a sad life these days. Need to stay focused on the main priority - Friday night's ultimate end of Q2 party... uh, I mean next year's graduation and subsequent glorious life.

You can't win in a trade-off game

I finally understand - you really can't win in a trade-off game. In this case, it's dark in the atrium and really quite cold, however, my wireless connection is EXCELLENT. On the other hand, it's bright and delightfully warm in 121, but wireless is spotty at best (still not sure if it's my laptop).

Either I choose dim lighting and great tunes (via streaming internet) OR I choose warmth and silence. I literally can't win! There doesn't seem to be an integrated solution. I suppose I could hunt up my ipod, but that sucker has been missing for MONTHS (and would require cleaning my house, *shudder*).

For the sake of my studies, I'll stick with silence, but my sanity might suffer.
(how's that for alliteration!)

We are the CHAMPIONS

OK, the moment was short lived, but the second I closed my exam booklet and handed in the worlds best aid sheet (in the world), I felt like I was on top of the world. It is highly probable that I have successfully passed statistics (with statistical significance and a confidence interval of at least 85%).

After a much needed lunch (not the liquid lunch I was hoping for), I'm now back in the fleck, mentally preparing for the next challenge - strategy.

5 EXAMS, 5 DAYS

Synonym for winter MBA exams = bleeding ulcer.

Saturdays are best spent doing nice, relaxing type things. Not being holed up in the same small study room for countless hours! My day started bright and early, while normal people were still abed. Daisy (my delightful bloodhound) had a 9:30 veterinary appointment which unfortunately left me late for my (wait for it) Saturday morning Accounting Tutorial.

Yes, you heard it right - Saturday Morning Tutorial! Time well spent. That is until we started talking about capital leases. I definitely had a little bit of a fit. WHY CAN'T THIS BE MORE STRAIGHT FORWARD????

The rest of the afternoon was spent in a statistics haze. There is literally SO MUCH to go over. I know you're not supposed to make compromises, but it's literally impossible to get everything done. For me, Q2 stats has fallen on the wayside. Luckily, it's nothing that 80 cent coffee and chocolate covered almonds can't cure.

We're all a little bit manic these days. 5 EXAMS in 5 DAYS!!!

I think my brain has enough to digest for the next couple of hours. I think it's time that I bid my study partners adieu for the evening and head home. Sometimes changing locale is enough to get the study juices flowing.

MBA Games

I'm sad tat I won't be going to the MBA Games this year. It looks like a lot of fun. Plus, one of the events is curling... as I only partcipate in the more obscure sports, this is something that I know a little bit about.

Hope I heard wrong

I thought I heard Anita say something about making recommendations to whomever teaches Strategy next year.... I hope this doesn't mean that Anita won' be teaching next year because her class really was FAB!

A Controversial Post...

I LOVE PROJECTS!

Yes, I said it. Shoot me.


Just completed the first, complete draft of our accounting project. I'll admit, it was my slow writing holding it up. I sometimes get wrapped up in the minutia and get overwhelmed by my innate curiosity. I literally need to think and understand every detail. I was surprised that this happened with accounting as well. Thankfully, it's finally DONE. Just sent it off to my partner and have my fingers crossed that he's satisfied with the work.

Too bad it's all ugly and double spaced. I much prefer 1.5 spacing!

Sigh. Now that all the "fun" is over, it's time to attack my arch nemeses - EXAMS!

U of T on the high seas

In our final Strategy lecture this morning, Anita said she'd heard a news report on the CBC this morning that 1 in 7 university of Toronto students have mild signs of scurvy. For those of you that are unfamiliar with scurvy, it's a disease that used to affect sailors on long voyages because they didn't get any fruits or veggies.

This is actually not that surprising. Let's take a look at the food pyramid for illustration:

This is the typical food pyramid. A good mix of healthy grains, fruits, veggies, proteins and milk.Now let's take a look at the MBA food pyramid.

Hmmm... Yup, a solid foundation of coffee and 'lunch provided'. Followed by study snacks and topped off with Tipsy Tuesday, Thirsty Thursday and Post Exam Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday. Nary a veggies to be seen.

Is scurvy really a surprise?

Hijacking Tutorial

It's official - I can confuse anyone!

Somehow I managed to hijack a perfectly planned accounting tutorial with what I thought was a simple question. That so called simple question resulted in a 1/2 hour discussion, followed by the tutorial leaders having a side debate and culminated with hunting down the prof.

I still don't 100% understand the concept, but I do apologize to all those in attendance for creating such confusion! I blame it on my crazy curiosity and wanting to understand everything, not just understand how to answer correctly on an exam.

Andrey and Chris were great sports entertaining my questions! THANK YOU!

Statistically Speaking

Today we're viewing the results of 14 statistical studies that were undertaken throughout the course of the year. It's certainly interesting seeing the scope and variety of the projects. Categories included:

- Cigarette Sales
- Website Traffic
- Contest Entries
- Self Storage
- Construction

A lot of more superior revenue prediction models were developed. I'm beyond impressed with the teams! Particularly those that had significant results. Our project was inconclusive based on the data that we were able to collect. :(

I'll probably get in trouble for this...

but I wish we had more projects in the MBA. I know that tests are faster, but projects are so useful!

That being said, I'll be thrilled to finally hand in the accounting project. What a beast!

Master of Baking Appreciation

These pics were taken Peter. As you can see, we had a lot of fun baking and hocking our goods!

Bemoustached Baking

Since the ladies of our class couldn't grow moustaches (or chose not to), we decided to slave over our hot stoves all weekend to make baked goods.

I am thrilled by the generosity of our class - both in terms of time spent baking, as well as purchasing the delicacies.

All in all, we raised over $325 for prostate cancer research! Not too shabby.

The Beginning of the End... of Q2

And so begins the last week of classes.

Due to the expansion of the Rotman campus, our classes are being shuffled around this week. Not the best timing to be tromping all over campus when stress is already high, but it seems that it can't be helped. Progress always wins, and in our case, progress means dynamite. From what I understand, there will be some blasting in the parking garages underneath our classroom as the next phase of construction begins.

I don't think any of us is impressed with the construction going on during the school year, but we are all trying to grin and bear it. Taking the brunt of the complaints is our ever patient Program Services Office. All I can say is at least the future years will enjoy the fruits of the labour in the form of a fantastic new facility. Our Rotman reunion will be fantastic.

Understandable

Last year when I was researching MBA schools, I visited a lot of these blogs to get a sense of student life. An 'insiders view' of the school. As an avid fan of people watching, I hoped that I would be able to follow along as they went through the MBA. Were they happy? Did they still have a sense of humour or did the MBA turn them into overly serious, number crunching zombies - a dried up husk of the person they once were? Well after the first few weeks, blog posting became irregular if at all. It wasn't unusual to see an entire blog go something like this:

September 9, 2008 - YAY, we're back from camp. Classes start tomorrow. Can't wait to tell you all about it.

***Nothing***

May, 2009 - YAY, year's done. It was great.

I now understand completely! The program is SO BUSY! Yesterday I spent 10 hours just working on Accounting. Today, it'll be similar but with Finance.

If not for my obsession with keeping a record of my studies combined with an overly active imagination and a dash of procrastination mixed in, this blog would probably have ended back on labour day.

Exams are in 2 weeks (AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!) I may still end up a dried up husk of human being, filled to the brim with numbers. For my old friends who knew me once upon a time - the random marketing facts that you once shook your head at will soon will replaced with numbers.

You have been warned...

The name 'derivatives' is self-explanatory.

We are quickly coming to the end of Q2 - one week left. I'm sitting in the Toronto Public Library, Beaches location, studying for tomorrow's finance quiz and attempting to complete this week's homework.

The reading is about Derivatives and Hedging Risk - two more things that I know absolutely nothing about, but will understand by the end of tonight. The first line of the reading is 'the name derivatives is self-explanatoy.'

Uh oh, the authors clearly haven't met me before if they think this is self-explanatory.

Spelling Bee

I am an atrocious speller so won't be entering but can't wait to see the 'sport' of spelling in action.

On my soapbox...

For the first time today I was embarrassed to be part of my class. As is custom, we were asked to provide midterm feedback on our Strategy course and instructor. From what I saw of the results, our class was overly critical.

I sincerely hope that it was stress or frustratin from the exam that caused such negativity. Of all my classes, Strategy has had an immediate effect on how I view the business world. Anita challenges us to THINK. I came to Rotman anticipating interesting conversations and lively debates - all of which is delivered in spades in Strategy.

I understand that not all classes appeal to everyone, but this one really is a winner and I think the lack of positive feedback undermines the overall greatness of learning that is happening in this class.

OK, getting off my soapbox now. :)

Become an Inventor

I've been participating in a program that is offered by the Business Design Club. 15 students were chosen via lottery to learn the tools used by DesignWorks. The program is beyond fantastic. Literally helping me to explore different ways of thinking. We have only had 2 meetings thus far, but every time that I leave, my brain is bursting with ideas.

Rotman is building a name for itself in the area of Business Design. While design hasn't really been woven into the first year curriculum thus far, I hear that it comes into play during the Integrated Thinking Practicum in Q4. If you have an interest in design thinking, there are resources available and your effort will be well rewarded.

Class Participation

While I would normally describe myself as a chatterbox, I received notice from Dmitry that I haven't participated enough in Statistics. The reason is that my confidence interval does not establish statistical significance that my answer will be correct. For instance, today I tried to answer a question in class and got a response of 'that would be a naive model...'

I like statistics because of it's ability to discover insights, but it is tricky.

I sometimes wish that the participation level across classes could be taken into account. The other day I literally spoke for a good 10 minutes in marketing. I'm soon to be at risk of annoying my classmates. Now I need to step it up in Statistics. Sorry friends, you'll be hearing a lot more of my voice in the near future.

The breaking point

I think my brain has started to pull blood out of the area designated for basic tasks in order to fuel the thinking portion. My poor neurons don't understand what is going on.

Last night I got on the subway heading in the wrong direction. And didn't notice FOR 3 STOPS! Keep in mind that I've lived in the same house for over 5 years! Then I didn't recognize my brother, whom I see almost daily. Today I didn't see someone when I opened the door. It was a glass door.

Your brain:

Your brain on MBA:

To Do

I make a "to do" list every morning. It's now 1:30 AM and I haven't fully eliminated anything. *Sigh*

The day:
7AM wake up
8AM walk to bus, buy coffee. Read 'Medicines Company' case for MCV (getting ahead?)
9:05AM late for stats, have to sit in back row to avoid disturbing the class. It's raining today so all I smell is damp wool. Yuck!
10:something AM break. I try to buy a muffin but the Second Cup is all out of the ones I like. Cram a bit more for Strategy Quiz.
Quiz takes 45 minutes (multiple choice, T/F & short answer). Straighforward yet tricky? Hmmm. Mini-lecture on the final case competition. Class gets out a bit early.
12-1:15. Buy a sub. Talk about the other MCV case about frozen food
1:15-3:45 Accounting project.
4:00 Subway home. Read newspaper (because I do that now)
5:00 Pat dog. Eat toast. Walk back to bus.
5:45 Read Frozen Food case on the subway
6:15 Arrive at DesignWorks for the Business Design visa program. (Weird name, but GREAT program. REALLY gets my mind going)
9PM Design Visa session done. Get on Subway, finish reading the Medicines Company case.
10PM-1:30AM Finance homework. WHY IS THIS SO HARD???
1:30-1:45 Write this blog. Kick self for wasting 15 precious minutes of sleep by blogging...

Now does it look like I wasted a lot of time? I know, I know. But Meg, you ate lunch AND patted your dog! Some might argue that the subway trips were the problem. Au contraire - public transit is the best for getting reading done. Eyes on page mean no accidental eye contact with strangers.

*Double sigh*

Setting the record straight

A few colleagues have asked me whether the Rotman Program Services Office has censored my blog in any way. Did they ask me to blog about particular topics and/or ask that I only write positive things?

I'd like to set the record straight: The views in this blog are 100% my own.

In fact, the PSO told me specifically that there were no guidelines. All they asked is that I be honest.

:)

Why the King is like an MBA class

Much like in advertising, not every class will appeal to every person. In my old career I used to hear comments from people about how they just 'didn't get' a particular commercial.

As an example my mom shakes her head at 'the King' that is used by Burger King. When people don't understand an ad, my explanation was always, 'you don't understand because it wasn't created for you.' My mom doesn't get the king because she isn't a teenage boy. The character wasn't created for my mom.

I think the same thing applies to the first year MBA program. For example, I don't eagerly tear into the reading and homework from finance like others in my class. You won't hear me make an accounting joke. Ever. The reason? Much the same as why my mom doesn't get the King - I'm not the main target. I don't have aspirations to become a future CFO, Financial Analyst or Banker.

Does this mean that I don't care about the subjects or think that they are not valuable? Of course not. Just because you might be creeped out by the King doesn't mean you won't enjoy a Whopper.

Strategy Tutorial

This morning's tutorial was helpful in preparing for the Strategy quiz.

There are two aspects to learning:
1. General knowledge. This is the material discussed in class. It will be helpful in our future business lives.
2. Testable material. This is literally all about doing well on tests. Not always the most practical knowledge (i.e. I really don't care how large the coffee industry is in North America). Knowing random facts.

The Tutorial focuses more on #2. It is more literal than lecture.

They are generally quite helpful, but not mandatory. Plus, they are much more relaxed. :)

A Messy Morning

Wednesday. Mid-Week. Lecture Free. Ahhhh!

Normally a delightful day. We get to sleep in. No homework or assignments are due. A great day right?

My day started with my dog eating an entire loaf of bread (no breakfast). Then my legs nearly crumpled under the weight of my text book laden bag while on the stairs in the subway. The grand culmination was when I dropped my giant coffee filled mug on the sidewalk as I rushed to catch the light. The top came off and showered the other students (and myself) with delicious, caffeinated gold.

On the upside, I discovered that the campus express offers coffee (fairly decent coffee at that) for only 80 cents!!! Yum.

Now I'm in my Strategy tutorial where we are debating practice quiz answers. The classroom was different than what was listed in R World so I was late. Now I'm sitting cross-legged on the floor, craning my neck in order to view the screen.

Wednesday has failed me.

We all get a time to shine

I finally got a moment to shine in class today - good ol' Marketing. Today was the one lecture on advertising. As usual, the class spent most of the time talking about commercials. My absolute pet peeve is that when people talk about advertising, they always concentrate on the message and never on the vehicle. We literally talked about media for about 5 minutes. Does this make sense? For a change, I'm going to use some numbers:

Creative budget: $1 million
Media budget: $10 million

Hmmmm - so why are we always talking about creative?

Another comparison:

Great commercial (creative)
No one sees it (media)

Is this not just as bad as bad creative that everyone sees? Media planning deserves more respect!!

I suspect that I gave a bit TOO MUCH perspective in class today... What can I say, it isn't often in the MBA that I get to be an 'expert'. I have to say though, I'm only getting a 4.5 (out of 5) for participation. I'm a bit disappointed - at least 1 person is getting a 5 and for once, I'd like to be at the front of the class!

In other news, I almost fell asleep in accounting today. I feel really bad for our prof - our lecture is near the end of the day, and no matter how dynamic he tries to be, the material is really dry.

A colleague really loves accounting and today I asked her why. Her response was 'because it's so easy.' I almost threw up in my mouth. I absolutely don't think it's easy. I think what she was trying to say is it's all memorization and little interpretation. Learn the rules, learn the course.

Let's be friends

One of my fellow bloggers, Katie, recently observed that people are splitting off and forming closer friendships with those that have similar career goals. In the spirit of the MBA, I'd like to offer another persepective.

It might seem like the 'consultants' or 'finance' folk are all hanging out with one another. How can it not? There are so darn many of them. What you don't see is all the 'entrepreneurs' hanging out with one another or the 'family business' folk (all 2 of us) joined at the hip. If anything, I'd say that people are chilling more with people from their section due to overall familiarity.

One take away from either of our views is that there are lots of people from lots of different backgrounds. It's easy to strike up a conversation with anyone and you will definitely makes friendships that will last a lifetime.

PS - be sure to check out the other Rotman blogs if you are looking for a diverse perspective on every day life in biz school.

Laptopless

I feel naked being laptopless.

An Experiment

Today I left my laptop at home. We're not allowed to use them in Strategy class anyway and it seems a waste to carry it all the way here. I bet you're wondering how I can update my blog with no computer. It's easy. I'm psychic. I am projecting these thoughts onto the screen. OK. Just kidding. There are a couple of computers available, mostly for printing, but since there isn't a line up, I thought I'd take the moment to share.

Just another Manic Monday...

Wish it was Sunday, 'cause that's my Funday

Thank you Bangles for interpreting how I'd feel today.

Moustache Mania

We are now mid-way through 'Movember' and the guys are doing an admirable job raising awareness for men's cancers. Nary an upper lip is bare.

Today is a finance networking event so I expect many of my classmates are dressed to the nines as they attempt to make a good impression ahead of formal recruiting season. Yesterday I noticed that many of the men had visited the barber in an attempt to look the part of the well-groomed banker. I sincerely hope that the Movember participants don't bow to pressure.

If a well groomed moustache doesn't set you apart from your clean shaven counterparts, your dedication to the cause certainly will.

Biz school isn't fun, but that doesn't mean there can't be fun in biz school...

I have had more fun the past couple of days doing sitting in the fleck atrium, studying in 121 and working through problems than I ever would have thought possible. I'm not going to lie to you, the work itself, SUCKS. It's hard, it's tedious, it makes you think *shudder* (haha, kidding), but the people are AWESOME. Thank you for keeping me sane...

MIA Update

Didn't win. Oh well - always a long shot. Everyone thinks that their campaigns were innovative particularly if they were a 'first', difficult to execute & successful for the client.

Typically I love seeing the winners but this year was a disappointment. The Best of Show winning campaign seems eerily similar to a campaign that won in '06 or '07. Let's compare:

2007 - Sears Wishbook
Corner Gas show integration
In-Store display
Contest

2009 - Cheez Whiz
Corner Gas show integration
In-Store display
Contest

Hmmm - is a tv product placement & contest really innovative anymore?

Can't wait to review the other winning campaigns but details haven't been posted yet.

Media Innovation Awards

Tonight the winners will be revealed at the Media Innovation Awards. Bittersweet because two campaigns I was involved with planning were entered for the Dairy Farmers of Canada, Cheese brand.

I hope that my "ex" company brings home these awards even though I will get no recognition for them. Typically in media and advertising, when you leave the company, your name slips off the entry form. I'm still proud to have been involved in the campaign for more than a year, this was my 'baby'. Plus, it's grown and is even better than the version I worked on. The evolution and staying power of the campaign is what makes it really special to me. Anyone can do a stunt.

Go Cheese!

This is a screenshot of one of the elements: the Dinner Club Integration. Often it's difficult for an advertiser to get integrated into editorial. We had many meetings with the editors to allowed us to include a Canadian Cheese recipe within editorial on Fridays.

Womack's 5 Forces: Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge

These students came ill prepared to class so Prof. Kent Womack made them line up in the atrium while he pelted them with projectiles...
Yesterday was the annual dodgeball tourney in the atrium. In the final, the faculty were soundly thrashed by the younger, more nimble students. While they looked like they were being good sports about it, I swear I heard the profs assigning grades "F, F... F-minus" to the students on the opposing team as they shook their hands...

Perspective

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

These days most of my reflections are focused on a case study that I've read or a comment made in class. It's easy to get 100% wrapped up in school and work. Today I took a brief moment to think of days not so long past when it would have been unlikely that I'd have considered business school. I also thought of the people who even today live in situations of war and unrest. Sure puts school work into perspective.



~Lest we forget

Regression

I think stats jokes are funny. MBA, what have you done to me???

Quiz # 2 tomorrow.

Making the Grade

I found out my grades for the 3 outstanding classes today and overall, I'm pleased. I'm quite an average student, but then again, most of us are.

What I've learned from my Q1 exam experience:

Take the easy As. Use your strengths - and A is an A. It doesn't matter whether it's in Econ, MPO or Stats. I made the mistake of spending more time studying for the hard classes rather than editing my FIT paper. I know that an extra hour spent on FIT would have resulted in an 'A' paper, but I chose to hand it in "as is" and got a B+. This time around, I'm going to take the As where I can and not worry about the others (as long as I end up average).

Accept average. Average isn't terrible. When I look at the people around me, I'm beyond impressed. To be average in a group of stars isn't a bad place to be.

All As are equal. Some people say disparaging comments about the so called 'soft courses.' But if you aren't good at managing people or at marketing a product, how successful a business leader will you ultimately be?

I honestly don't believe that the entire purpose of the MBA is to learn Finance. Yes, that's important too, but nothing that you couldn't learn from a book.

Class vesus Career

I've heard a few people start to talk about interviews for summer internships. Scheduling has already started to be an issue. Can you really tell a potential employer that you are unavailable for an interview because you have class? It's the eternal 'rock vs hard place' --> are we at Rotman to learn (go to class) OR are we here to get a job (go to interview). Regardless, what was already a struggle to manage, time has become even more precious!

Freshmen +/- 15

Remember how in undergrad you were warned about gaining the dreaded Freshmen 15, a term referring to the inevitable weight gain that many students experience when they move away from home for the first time? I was concerned about whether this phenomenon would be repeated in graduate school.

1. Stress? Check. (chips)
2. Late nights reading? Check (chocolate)
3. Group study sessions? Check (beer)
4. Confusing lectures? Check (pizza)
5. Stress? CHECK CHECK CHECK (ice cream & tears)

MBA school keeps tailors in business. While my suit is getting tighter around the middle, others are having the opposite problem. I've always thought that as one person loses weight, another will inevitably find it. I'll admit to being a bit jealous of the increasing sea of svelte figures wandering the halls, but I know it's hard to console one's self with textbooks. For now, I'll stick to the chocolate.

A class after my heart

In marketing (AKA: Managing Customer Value, AKA: MCV) we were advised that a trip to the mall to visit a Zara store would be helpful for tomorrow's case discussion. *Sigh*, I GUESS, I could do that Dilip... if it's for the good of the class!

Rotmanites do a good thing

There is a club called 'Outreach' that organizes charitable activities for the Rotman community. This week there is a silent auction with such items as
A mini-wine tasting with Roger Martin
A round of golf with Jim Fisher
Dinner with Rick Powers
I wonder how much money will be raised for United Way? Personally, I liked my old company's efforts - Beer Cart Friday. I bet that in the Rotman community, Rotmanites would be more than happy to spring for a beverage for such a good cause!

Q2 finals less than 1 month away

I took the weekend to re-energize mentally. Last week was rough. Finance reached what is said to be the pinnacle of frustration. Accounting is moving forward at rocket speed (and I feel like I’ve been left at the launch pad). Strategy is a lot of fun, but I’m still not sure what framework I should follow when attacking these cases and Statistics seems to be on chapter 9 already – how on earth did that happen?

After having a mini-breakdown on Friday, culminating with bad news about my dog’s health (a cancer diagnosis), I really needed to spend the weekend away from 105 St. George Street. Friday I went to a concert in Barrie, April Wine & Collective Soul. Saturday morning I spent the day fretting over Daisy after her veterinary visit and the afternoon fretting over the emptiness I was feeling in the wallet region thanks to the $400 bucks spent on Daisy that morning. Sunday I basked in the sun thanks to an unseasonably warm fall. It’s on weekends like this that I’m glad that I live a bit further away from campus in an area of Toronto known as the Beaches. It really is like getting away from it all.

Don’t think I was 100% lazy, I did work on my accounting project and skimmed readings for this morning, but I certainly didn’t put in the hours that I have over the past few weeks. Now it’s time to buckle down again because Q2 finals (and my next mini-mental breakdown) will be here before I know it!

Tears for Fears

The highs and lows of the MBA.

This morning we had a FANTASTIC discussion in our marketing class. I was right in it, my mind was whirling with ideas and considerations. It was a fast pace discussion but in the end, my recommendation from the homework was right on pace with the prof and the rest of the class.

... and then Finance started.

As usual, the class started with 'by now everyone in the class should be finding this easy.' Crap - this is NOT easy for me. At break I thought I'd better ask for help, additional reading material, ANYTHING that might make sense. And the answer, there isn't something. 'Hang in there, it gets better from here.' Well frankly, it can't get any worse. I literally can't put any more time into this course without further jeopardizing my other courses.

I broke.

At break I snuck away and cried in the bathroom. Super embarassing, but I don't take well to feeling stupid. While I do trust my prof when he says it'll get better, I can't help but be reminded about Grade 12 when Mr. Graham (my OAC math teacher) told me that based on what he'd seen so far, I didn't have any home of passing the course.

Mr Graham made me mad, and I did end up passing the class. This situation is SO much worse than that because Kent is really nice and encouraging and I still really don't 'get it'. His niceness literally reduced me to tears.

Clearly it's time for fries, chips and chocolate - with textbook mixed in.

Apparently next week will be easier to understand and not understanding at this point is not unusual. I will TRUST in the process, but can't promise there won't be any more tears along the way.

Too much math

My attempt at Finance homework goes a little something like this.

Sit down, open laptop. Download reading material. Wonder why I purchased the expensive 'required' textbook.

Look at first paragraph. The paragraph begins with something like this 'to determine the approximate change in price for a small change in yield, the first derivative...'

*YIKES* derivatives mean calculus!!

Look again 'blah blah blah blah, rearranging equation we obtain, blah blah blah, blah, blah.'

Hmmmmm. Lick fingers to thumb through the next 4 pages of similar calculus speak.

Looks at first homework question wondering whether calculus is required - not sure. Better skip to question #2... Hurray, question #2 suggests using Excel. Am an excel genius! Finish question 2.

Go back to the reading - blah blah blah - look at spreadsheet. Look back at reading. Look at clock. Put some numbers in spreadsheet.

Open Bond Builder to look for hints. Still math.

Panic a little bit. Eye starts to twitch.

Make a cup of coffee.

Look at notes - more numbers, no English.

Look at homework questions.

Clock.
Spreadsheet.
Clock.
Spreadsheet.
Clock.

Update Blog.

Look at clock. Yay, more than 3 hours has past! Submit homework. Curse Finance for being too much for my Arts focused brain.

Profoundly Confused

The more time I spend learning in he MBA the less confident I am in what I know. Prof. Anita McGahan would describe this feeling as being 'profoundly confused.'

I'm trying to get a head start on my Accounting project (Due early December) and I've discovered that I have no idea where to start. I feel bad for our Q2 accounting prof because I am about to become his shadow - I am determined to learn this subject as much as it might pain me!

Finance is no roaring hell either. Plus, for some reason I can't download the homework question sheet from RWorld. How annoying!

Case Studies

I am so glad that Rotman is not 100% case based. We do use cases in class, but for the most part, there is a mixture of learning via cases and learning via lecture. Considering how long it has been takin me to get through these cases (think 3 hours to digest 25 pages), I'm look forward to classes that are largely lecture based.

That being said, the case studies are really interesting. Last night I was working on Biopure, a pharma company that specializes in blood substitutes. We were tasked with writing a POV on whether they should concentrate on the animal market (veterninary) or human market. When working on a case, I literally have to restrain from googling the company - I worry that if I know where they are now, I might get caught using the hindsight bias rather than the tools tha I've been learning in class.

I can't wait to chat more about Biopure with my classmates - I'm curious to hear their take on the situation.

Show me the cash flows

Today we learned that Jerry McGuire had it wrong.

Learning business is a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. I had expected to have trouble learning all of the math and ratios, but I failed to consider the different language. I literally use a dictionary to read my Accounting text book - and English is my first language!

I actually hate when people use business jargon - it makes the person speaking sound overly superior and I question whether they actually know what they are talking about. That being said, I'd like to be able to understand the words so that I can tell for sure.

For now I'll stick with my dictionary.

Accounting - nothing that chocolate can't cure...

We picked up our Statistics and Accounting mid-terms today and I have to say, I'm both horrified and embarassed by my overall performance. I've never been great at test taking and after more than 4 years out of school, I'm REALLY out of practice. Time to buckle down and be more efficient with this whole studying thing.

I'm going to go back to updating my timesheet so that I can track how much time I'm dedicating to each class. Hopefully this will help me balance out my studies. It's getting out of control!

Sleep is for chumps!

As we were warned, this week has been an absolute dog and pony show. Yesterday I was in the Rotman building for 15 hours - and still didn't get everything done. Today, class started at 8 AM with Accounting. Seriously? Who scheduled 8 a.m. accounting. Don't get me wrong, our new accounting prof is delightful, but delightful or not, my brain refuses to wake up until it has been fed at least 2 cups of caffeine.

The promised the requisite 3 hours of Finance homework was tricky, but I did finally end up understanding it. Unfortunately the macros in the the 'bond builder' excel program decided to screw up so all my answers are wrong. I guess I do need to learn how to use my new business calculator after all! Excel is a great program, but even it can be fooled!

Today was an outing with the Entertainment and Media club to visit Jazz FM - a local Toronto radio station. It was an interesting tour and talk with the CEO, Ross Porter. As a niche format, the station operates quite differently from other commercial radio stations and in addition to selling advertisements (4 minutes per hour), they are a registered charity and rely on funding from sponsors and individual donors. In fact, they employ a fundraiser in addition to their commercial sales force.

The facility itself was positively GORGEOUS! Just what you would expect from a classy Jazz station. It was in the Liberty West Village in a converted warehouse. Really high ceilings with lots of natural light through skylights. It was really open concept and had a second floor loft (also open) that they called the 'tree house.' I wish I had taken photos! I learned quite a bit about their operation and was glad to have the opportunity. Ross was really candid in his discussion with us which was much appreciated.

The only bond I care about

(finance homework is making me a little bit loopy)

Dear students, this is your finance professor

The second of two emails I received last week from our Finance professor Kent Womack warned us that the first 2 weeks of Q2 might kill us - in his words

"I am going to warn you now, that my course is very tough for the first two weeks (ask the 2nd years!), then life will get better. So please get a lot of rest this weekend and be ready for the initial sprint."

The first email was entitled: welcome to finance, you're up! I'll admit, I didn't recognize the sender name so I almost deleted it thinking it was from one of the clubs. Luckily, I'm obsessed with email (almost too much so) so as I was procrastinating for my exams, I was reading each and every email (some twice) in an effort to be efficient in my procrastination. The contents were ominous and nearly caused me to spit out my drink:

"You and your study group have been “randomly” chosen (not exactly!) by your new professor (me) next week to give a short 6-8 minute presentation using PowerPoint, somewhere in the middle of the first class of Finance 1 on Tuesday.

Here is the topic: Should Megan get a Rotman MBA? Your group will answer the question for “you”, the real person."

The presentation was a *surprise* for most of the class. Some people had caught wind vis-a-vis other sections, but for the most part, it was a bit of a 'what the...' moment.

While it was tricky putting a presentation together right away, it was fun to do and didn't require much research - I know myself pretty well. Plus, we are done for presentations for the rest of the quarter (awesome!) so can now concentrate fully on the homework assignments.

Other than the surprise presentation, today's class was really interesting. Finance is (so far) not as scary as I thought it would be and seems to be really applicable. I'm just sitting down now to complete tonight's homework. This week is condensed because there is a Leadership Conference on Friday so we have Finance class again tomorrow morning.

I thought we were unlucky being assigned the presentation last week during exams, another team is presenting tomorrow. While it was posted on RWorld (the Rotman portal) last week, I'm not sure whether anyone really went though it in detail considering we were all recovering from exams. One poor group has tonight's 3+ hours of homework PLUS a research presentation due tomorrow.

Now I see that the *mystery presentation* was a blessing in disguise.

Thank you dear professor.

Q2 = Sanity Killer

Goodbye social life. I'll miss you svelt figure. May as well handcuff myself to this laptop because I predict we'll never be far apart this quarter. I'm already on hour 11 with no end of work tonight - and this is just day 1 of the quarter!!!

In other news, we received a curious email from the program services office this afternoon...

"From time to time there are students who switch cohorts in order to complete degree requirements. When this occurs, it is necessary for us to incorporate these students into pre-existing Project Teams for any team or project work.

For Q2, you will have an additional member for your project team for Finance and Strategy."

Our group has been working well together, but it's always great to have another mind in the mix. Particularly for Strategy where I think that different thoughts and ideas will be a real asset. I met him by chance this morning and he seems really nice. Plus, according to his RWorld profile, our new member is quite the finance star.

Delightful!

Tie Monday

A lot of people are wearing suits today. I wonder what's going on...

Let's Get International

I'm making curry tonight to celebrate Friday's good news. I've been accepted to the Spring Study Tour to India and I'm thrilled about it!

I've always wanted to be a global citizen but haven't travelled as much as I would have liked. I try to go on a trip every couple of years, but I've never been very far East.

One of the interviewers asked me whether I'd ever been in a situation where I encountered culture shock. I can honestly say that I haven't. I've been to Europe and Cuba, but that's not all that different from here. Plus, Toronto is such an international city. I can't wait to go someplace that is really different from home. This isn't going to be a pleasure trip though. We're going to be touring a bunch of different companies in the hopes of gaining a better understanding of how business is done in India and what opportunities might exist once we graduate.

I truly can't wait to be more of a world citizen and I'm thrilled to have been selected for this trip!

Hip Hip Hooray!

The air was full of good cheer at 12:01 PM this afternoon as pens were dropped and exam books neatly closed. 3 cheers for me and my classmates who have all finished Q1!

I wrote this haiku to celebrate:

My mind relaxing,
Exams are finally done.
One eigth MBA!

Clearly I still need some much needed sleep to recover, but I have seriously never felt so on top of the world. My cheeks still hurt from all the smiling this afternoon. I'm definitely not in the top 10% of my class, but then again, neither are 90% of my classmates! What I am though is 6 weeks closer to my goal of being an MBA. The best feeling though was opening the accounting exam today and understanding the question.

What I've learned over the past six weeks cannot be measured by a percentage, GPA or a Rotman 9-point scale. Today I read the business section of the newspaper and really 'got it'. I look differently at the world around me, I feel connected, and most importantly, I'm EXCITED to wake up every day because I know that I'll learn something new.

I made a vow this afternoon to be more studious next quarter. Not because I want my marks to improve.... ok, not ONLY because I want my marks to improved, but so that I can continue having these 'Ah Ha' moments that happen every so often. MPO class would say that now that I've made my vow public, I'm more likely to live up to it. Thank you MPO - and thank you Rotman for challenging my brain more than I would have thought possible.

Focus is fading.

I have gotten into the habit of bringing a novel with me for my commute home. I need some time to unwind after class and leafing through a well-worn paperback has always been a sure fire way to bring my mind back to earth. This week's tale is 'Bloodletting and Other Miraculous Cures'. I picked it for a couple of reasons - first, it has nothing to do with business and second, it has a cool title.

Unfortunately, it has failed in it's intended purpose which is escape and ultimate relaxation - the first page begins with a detailed account of exam writing (1st year med students.) The stress pouring off the page seeped in through my fingers, mingling with my already soaring blood pressure and feeding my budding ulcer.

Sigh.

It was good to reflect and contrast with my own test-taking experiences. I could see myself in the description of one of the characters, Fitzgerald, as he tried to get inside the material to truly learn what it was all about. Unlike the other main, Ming, who spent time learning the trivia and details in order to ace her exams. I am certainly not the top of my class (hopefully not the bottom either), but I have really been loving classes and the learning that I've been doing. My brain has never been so stretched. I feel pulled in a thousand directions. And I'm loving every second of it!

Only one exam left and it's my arch nemesis: Accounting.

I have learned one really important lesson this term - hire an accountant & treat him/her REALLY WELL because they are doing important work that is actually quite boring. Accountants should get a nice, cushy office with a window and an endless supply of coffee, because heaven only knows how they keep their eyes awake.

In all seriousness, the course has been challenging, but it is a necessary evil. I may not love every second that I spend on the subject, but I can see how useful the material will be. This is our midterm examination so the course continues next week.

As tired as I am, I can't wait for next quarter to begin - even though word on the street is it will in fact put me in the ground.

Replacing MPO, FIT & Economics are Finance, Strategy and Managing Customer Value (hereafter to be known as MCV).

We had an into session for Strategy in our last week of classes. The prof (her name escapes me at the moment) seems really dynamic. I love when people are excited about their work. We are supposed to spend 3 hours preparing our case studies so that class time can be spent discussing various aspects of the case. I love talking, so hopefully the class will be all I'm hoping it will be (and more).

Managing Customer Value is our marketing class. Clearly I'm excited about that because I'm a big fan.

I'm a bit wary of Finance because it's so foreign to me. It is also going to be a lot of work - 3 hour homework assignments prior to each class. Homework is submitted online so we can't half-ass it. We will also each be giving a presentation.

While my focus for this terms topics is already fading in my weariness, I'm already looking ahead to next quarter (next week) and the new challenges that await. Oh what a nerd am I?

New Business Etiquette

The handshake is out and the fist bump is in! Full story at cbc.ca

I guess it's better than greeting someone and immediately dousing your hands in Purell!

Shhhhhh!

(I kind of like stats... don't tell anyone, it'll ruin my rep)

Sick just seconds after submitting an essay - par for the course or someting more sinister?

I sucessfully completed and submitted my final FIT paper this morning. For countless hours my fingers danced across the keyboard with precision and grace as the words flowed out of my fingertips. My laptop and I became one. I edited as no one has edited before. I organized. I exhibited. I... threw up?

Did my brain and body simply cease to function in sync? Was it because I dared to eat chips while working on a paper for a subject with the acronym FIT? Or was it something more sinister *sinister organ music begins to play*.

Let's examine the evidence:

Situation 1: Summer, 2009. Media planning was in full swing and while I had already tendered my resignation, I was still working countless hours in a small, windowless office with poor circulation. Was I stressed out? CHECK. Was I up against a deadline? DOUBLE CHECK. Did I throw up? NO!!! Granted I did develop an eye twitch that lasted for more than a week, but that is technically not a sickness. It's just weird. I therefore conclude that stress doesn't make me sick.

Situation 2: April, 2001. I was in the midst of writing my first year final exams. I was surprisingly studious when compared to my other first year compatriots. (Then again, I hadn't developed, what is now a most sophisticated beer palate, so it's not surprising that my nose was stuck to a book while others' lips were stuck to a beverage). Exams were spread out over 3 weeks, stress was low. I was smart. I was prepared. I was... poisoned? Yes dear readers, just mere hours before my final kinesiology exam, I caught what can only be described as the single most severe case of food poisoning that has ever been witnessed on Earth. It was so bad that I actually showed up to the exam with a bucket in hand and strategically seated myself near the exit. (I studied for that exam gosh darnit, and i refused to miss it!) In this case, sickness struck, but stress was low (and stubbornness was high, but that's neither here nor there).

So what insight did we just uncover? Absolutely none. Stress does not cause sickness (but does cause strange facial ticks) and sickness happens in the absence of stress (but does seem to bring out stubbornness).

I must therefore conclude that today's episode was caused by other, unrelated factors.












I certainly hope my FIT paper was more coherent & conclusive than this blog seems to be. I blame the fever.

WOW

What I remember from the time between 12:45PM and 3:15PM.

12:55PM
PROFESSOR: I'd like to make an announcement. In Question 7, the price is $4, not $5.

Exam room 100 explodes with a collective exclamation of relief. (GREAT news! I actually got a question right!)

1:45PM
Has someone actually finished already??? Oh no, I'm nowhere near finished. (panic, panic, panic). I've completely screwed up this exam. No bell curve will ever save me. Why on earth did I think management was for me *heart racing, sweaty palms*. They must have thought this was really easy. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap.

Wait a minute. They're coming back to their seat. They must have just gone to the washroom. I can breathe again. Good thing I didn't panic there! I'm as cool as a cucumber.


1:46PM
PROCTOR: The time is now 1:46 PM. You have 2 hours to complete your exam.

*hum in classroom*

PROCTOR: Correction. You now have 1 hour to compelte your exam.

*hum gets louder*

PROCTOR: I meant to say, one hour has past. You now have one and a half hours remaining.

ME: *Sigh*


2:59PM
ME: Great, I'm done. I should totally hand this sucker in. Hand starts to raise...

3:00PM
PROCTOR: The time is now 3:00 and there is 15 minutes left in the exam. You must now all reamain in your seats until the exam has finished.

ME: *sigh*

3:15PM
PROTOR: The exam is now finished. Please stay quietly in your seats until all exams have been collected and we have realeased you.

3:16
Stay quietly in your seats

3:17 STAY IN YOUR SEATS

(I guess we don't take direction very well!)

3:20 - Exam done. GREAT! Everyone thought it was hard! Even the smartest guy in the class. This is FANTASTIC. I thought it was really hard too. Sure wish there was more time to ponder over these concepts. Econ is really interesting, but 6 weeks is definitely not enough time to learn everything properly!

Now it's time to get FIT... and by getting FIT, I really mean write a FIT paper while eating chips.

Cheers!

Moving To Canada to go to Business School?

I heard the most horrifying ad on the radio earlier today. The Canadian obsession with winter has begun.


They say that Canada only has 2 seasons - snow and mosquitoes - but I assure you, there is no need to panic and buy your snow tires just yet. Temperatures have barely started to dance around that magical 0 degrees. We can still wear our cute fall boots and not these:

Give it at least another week.

I am so smart, smrt

I don't want to become one of the Rotman bloggers who stops posting just because exams have started. That being said, expect shorter, less fun posts until Friday when I will either be celebrating, crying, or nursing an ulcer.

The schedule is as follows:
Monday: Econ exam worth 80% (eek!)
Tuesday: FIT paper worth 60%
Wednesday: Stats midterm worth 30%
Thursday: MPO final exam worth 50%
Friday: Accounting midterm exam worth 35%

Now, coming into the MBA, my goal was to learn how to run a business, I had never planned to worry much about grades. Then my 55+ year old Dad completed his Executive MBA last year (also from Rotman)on the Dean's List and my cousin did the same at Columbia. Suddenly I feel like I have to keep up!

Thus far, I think my performance has been pretty darn average. Our first group assignment grade wasn't exactly stellar (B+) and as I study for this Econ exam worth 80% (Double EEK), my brain is starting to get all fuzzy.

I think I need to refocus my efforts on my primary goal of running a successful business. Put the focus on marks aside and focus on the learning - grades will follow.

I wish all my fellow 1st years an ulcer free week!

M.P.Oed

It's been a really productive morning. We completed our FIT presentation. It's tough being the last group because everyone looks like a bit of a zombie. Not sure if it is a good sign, but there weren't many questions. Either everyone was too tired to be bothered, or our presentation was really clear and didn't require any clarification. I'd like to think it was the latter.

A lot of quality presentations in class. Poems & skits graced the 'stage'. A lot of fun as an audience member.

I also just submitted my MPO paper via e-drop box. It was difficult to let it go, but I'm glad that I bit the bullet and submitted it. Hopefully it's worth an 'A' or 'A+', but as this was the first essay I've written in years, I'm not holding my breath. An A- will do :P

The Case of the Unread Case

Looking around the room, it's clear that very few people have read or prepared the Case for today's Accounting lecture. MBA homework is all about prioritization and unfortunately for Franco (our prof) it seems that we've all focused on the MPO paper (due tomorrow), FIT presentation (also tomorrow) and FIT paper (due next week). Not to mention exam prep (NEXT WEEK, argh!). There are a couple of people who are on the top of their game. Matt, Lauren and James not only read the case, but answered questions & made conclusions about the material. I wish I had their time management skills, but alas, I am with the other 50 people in the class.

Last Lecture

This morning is our final Economics lecture before the final. Not sure if this is a good sign, but my classmates and I seem to be on the same page. I keep leaning over to my neighbour asking for clarification and then a classmate will ask the same question aloud. I really need to stop worrying about asking a dumb question because there actually are others in the class thinking the same thing.

On another note, today we have the best discussion going than we have had all term. Maybe we need the threat of an exam before every class...

When Essays Fight Back

Like most overachievers, (AKA MBA Students), I'm trying to put together the perfect analysis for my Managing People in Organizations course. I've created tables, graphs and exhibits galore all in the hopes of explaining the behaviour of one 5 person group.

Sounds like it's going well right?

Here's the hitch - we're limited to using only 4 models from the year. I literally just spent an hour scouring my notes to determine which of the models will have the honour of being the final two in this document. Not an easy task mind you, but hopefully the time spent learning the concepts will cut down my exam study time for this class. Still, this is really frustrating.

Why can't these papers simply write themselves???

At wit's end

I wish I had time to put together a properly clever post, but alas, I am at wit's end. I had ZERO time to put against MBA this weekend as I was at a delightfully romantic wedding. While I loved seeing my friend marry the man of her dreams, I am now woefully behind in my studies.

While it is discouraged, I am resigned to skip my dance lesson tonight (Rotman Dance Club) in order to catch up. I had more than enough dancing at the wedding.

In other clubs news, I sadly didn't get elected to a club rep position. I suppose it's for the best what with all the volunteering and sports that I'm already involved with. But I stand by my earlier statement - I will still be involved in the clubs, but it still would have been nice to be elected.

And before I forget - I had my interview for the India Study Tour this afternoon. I REALLY hope that I get selected to be part of the tour! International experience was one of the (many) selling factors for me. The trip is really competitive and I have my fingers crossed that I sold myself today.

Festive Special

I hope that my new international friends have done sufficient mental preparation for the feasting that is ahead of them. This weekend is Thanksgiving - a glorious weekend of turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and for me Tofurkey (yuck!).

I have done an informal poll of the newcomers to Canada (AKA I just asked the guy sitting next to me) and found that we've clearly done an inadequate job of explaining this holiday. Luckily, Wikipedia is always just a click away...

I am going to a wedding this weekend so I unfortunately won't be hosting dinner, but I hope that someone will take pity on those who don't have family nearby.

Whether you have a feast, or just a quarter chicken dinner at Swiss Chalet, I wish you all a very happy thanksgiving!

No Rest for the Weary

Fridays no longer hold the same allure as in my past life. Fridays mark the passage of time and bring me ever closer to Q1 finals - only one week away!!! What looks like a relaxing short week, will actually be quite hellish. We have a number of assignments (FIT & MPO)and presentations (FIT) due next week.

Lazy Dog

Last night was the Lazy Dog Sport Night which is essentially games that don't require breaking a sweat. From all reports, it was a great time, but sadly, I wasn't able to attend because I was spending time with my lazy dog. There are a plethora of events that are organized every day, which is great, but as a student from Toronto, with a network of friends and responsibilities, it is extremely difficult to participate as much as I might like. C'est la vie!

Two thumbs up IT!

IT was really helpful. There was an issue in our room so they reset the port and helped me download the latest drivers. They were also delightful in general & were very patient with me. Two thumbs up!!

Networking at Rotman

Generally when you think of Rotman ‘networking’ you are probably picturing shaking a few new hands and distributing business cards. Today though, I’ve been more concerned about the kind that results in screens like this: As Rotman students, we are required (or very strongly encouraged) to have laptops. In addition, all of the class notes are uploaded to a website known as RWorld. Since I’m trying really hard to be environmentally friendly by not wasting paper, I’m thrilled with this concept – in theory.

Connecting wirelessly in the classroom has proven to be a little bit of a crapshoot. For example, over lunch today, I tried to download our stats course notes for over an HOUR so that I’d be able to prepare for the class.
Class had been in session for 30 minutes before I was able to open the file. This is beyond frustrating!

I will be the first to admit that I am not very computer savvy, so there’s likely an easy fix. It might even be a problem on my end (although it doesn’t seem to be a problem at home). Either way, time is precious and being bumped from the internet every 2 seconds is really frustrating.

I’m going to wander down to talk to IT this afternoon to see if there’s anything wrong with my laptop...

More Logic, Less Math!

Economics Quiz #3 this morning and it went better than expected. By that I mean that there were more logic questions than math questions. When we took up the test, it became obvious that the class did better on the 'math' questions than on the ones that required logic, so I actually did pretty well in comparison. Fingers crossed that logic will continue to play a big part in the course because the math confuses me!

Your civic duty

It's election time for clubs and associations. I'm running for first year representative of the Entertainment and Media Association and there is some seriously stiff competition! 9 candidates for 4 positions but not nearly as bad as the finance association (23) or consulting club (20)!!!
Not that any of my classmates read this blog, but considering that we aren't allowed to actively campaign (i.e. no signs, no emails), I thought I'd passively put my candidacy out there...

Win or lose, I hope to contribute to the club, after all, I have worked with a ton of media companies over the years. Based on the bios for other candidates, I have to say that I'm confident that club will be spectacular this year.

(All that being said - VOTE FOR ME)

Swine Flew

Thank you Porter Air. There's nothing like studying economics with a complimentary glass of wine in hand while being soothed by the gentle sway of the aircraft. I swear I get my best studying done in transit.

I was relieved that there was no apparent coughing or sneezing on board - the pig was not on the plane.

I been so paranoid of getting sick. Ridiculous considering in the past 5 years of working, I took a grand total of 1.5 sick days. There is so much at stake with classes, but as our Econ prof said on day 1, if there really is a flu epidemic, we really shouldn't worry about classes.

We'll be worried about getting enough canned food.

Leaving, on a prop plane...

I'm mentally preparing for 2 guilt filled days away from Rotman.

I'm sitting in the Porter lounge waiting for my flight to Ottawa for the Scouts Canada Leadership Summit. This is an exciting time for Scouts nation wide as we are in a great position to grow youth membership.

What being in business school means is trying to BALANCE everything because time and life marches on. All of the responsibilities pre-MBA still exist. For me this means occasionally flying to Ottawa for the weekend to meet with my committee. For others it might mean putting the books down to spend time with the family. Whatever it is, you have to make a serious effort for personal time.

I'm in the airport right now awaiting my boarding call. Thankfully the Porter lounge not only offers free, delicious coffee, but free wireless as well. This is some much needed time spent working on my MPO paper. I can't believe how quickly this term is coming to an end. It literally feels like I just started yesterday.

Good news for the weekend - I feel REALLY good about the stats test. Hopefully this means that my brain has finally awoken and it'll be downhill from here. (Wishful thinking???)

Miracle on 134th street

I just had an intelligent conversation with my classmates about statistics. This goes to show that even an arts major can and will learn quant courses. In fact, I predict that chances are within 2 standard deviations from the mean that you will appreciate the value of statistics in management.
(stats quiz this afternoon)

Media and Entertainment Club & Google Canada

Media and Entertainment
Last night was the first meeting of the Media and Entertainment Club. It was a small crowd, but we were all thrilled to see that the dinner provided was NOT pizza! Thus far, the M&E club is the least structured of those I've attended. The reason given was because Media and Entertainment companies do not actively recruit on campus, thus the club executive must make all of the industry contacts on their own. The plan for the year has a lot of 'expect to see speakers from these places' but nothing firmly booked.

Clubs elections will be happening next week. Most clubs have 1 rep for each section, so a total of 4 first year reps. I've self-nominated myself for the REMA first year rep so VOTE FOR MEG :)

Constant Dissatisfaction
Jonathan Lister, Canada Country Manager, Google

As mentioned, Rotman has an impressive speaker series that students are invited to attend. Last night Jonathan Lister, Rotman Alum, spoke about Google's take on social media. While most of the talk centered around Google and Google's products (much like the presentations that Google present to media ad companies), there were a few gems that I took away:

Google is obsessed about search - while they have a bunch of other interesting products, they don't forget about their core product. For instance, recently they changed the size of the search box, (I personally didn't notice).

Launch Early and Launch Often - Google doesn't worry about perfection, they just worry about being FIRST. Launch now, and then refine based on the user feedback. This could be disasterous for a company with a physical product (imagine launching something dangerous), but it is a technique that has kept Google ahead of the curve.

Marketing is the New Finance - This was based on the fact that online advertising is measureable, you can tell the cost of the click and how many impressions were seen. I didn't like how he implied that an online only media campaign is as good as one with multiple media (because research shows it's not), but I did have a little bit of a chuckle at the slide title.

Doodle for Google - Marketing to kids is always a point of contention, but this seemed non-treatening, which is what makes it so clever. Google actually gets school children to redesign their logo which gets posted for 1 day. Not only do they get some good PR (winner from an orphanage in Egypt), but they get kids to prefer Google.

All in all an OK presentation. Where Mr. Lister really shone though was in answering the audience questions. A wide range of questions from personal "my son has to submit school assignments via Google docs, does this mean that the US government is spying on him?" to business "does Google feel guilty about lowering the standard of journalism since newspapers can't afford to keep publishing?" to the ridiculous "I'm holding a concert and I advertised on YouTube - there are still tickets by the way".

Uh oh - prepared the wrong reading!

The quant courses have proven to be extremely challenging for me thus far so I thought I'd do the assigned readings BEFORE accounting class instead of my regular practice of reviewing post class. Looks like my good intentions have gone awry... Apparently we're behind schedule and the syllabus doesn't match. Sigh! Lesson learned - even the syllabus requires extra readings to understand.

Score:
Accounting 1 / Megan 0

The good old days...

Speaker interference didn't happen in these days:



It is seriously starting to be a major problem. Please keep your phones, blackberries, pda's turned OFF!