Thanksgiving Break

Music: Live Like You Were Dyin’- Tm McGraw
Mood: Content

I absolutely LOVE Thanksgiving break!!! =)

I’d that this is one of the best Thanksgiving breaks I’ve had in a long time. My brother came down from his job in Seattle and I came down from Austin, so it was nice to have the whole family together. I left school on Tuesday evening and now I’m on my way back. I’m actually on the road right now, stuck in traffic. I think everyone on I-10 right now is on their way to Austin.

Anyways, so I haven’t really blogged in a while now. Last week was the worst week in college ever. I didn’t do to well on my accounting or Spanish test so I really have to work hard and study hard to do well on the final in those classes. I’m pretty worried about my grades. And then, I had three papers due on Monday. Philosophy, Management, and French Revolution. I pulled my first overnighter for college. It was pretty rough. I stayed up till 6AM Sunday night/Monday morning writing my papers. I wrote my philosophy paper on Wednesday night and just had to edit it on Sunday. Then on Friday, I celebrated my birthday with my friends and then on Saturday, I celebrated my friend’s birthday at Kyoto Sushi, and then we went to Driskill Hotel and Café to get dessert. The desserts there looked pretty, but I’d say that if you’re really craving a good dessert, don’t go to Driskill. The sherbet was good but the thing I got wasn’t too good. But other than that, last weekend was pretty good. Then after a night out downtown, I went to finish my management paper. Sunday, I spent the entire day editing and making adjustments to my management and philosophy paper. I spent the afternoon in the FAC reading up and outlining my French Revolution paper. Thank goodness I had been talking with my professor about what I wanted to write about, as she provided me with a lot of guidance as to where to take my paper and what to elaborate on. So after dinner last Sunday, I had a meeting with my management group to discuss our presentation and our group paper. Then I finally got settled down to work on my paper around 11 or 12 at the Union. The Wendy’s at the Union has free coffee after 5pm with any purchase. So I grabbed a yogurt and a free coffee and went to that new area around the Starbucks and worked. Around 3pm, I got kicked out of the union because it was closing, so I gathered my stuff and relocated to the Joynes Reading Room in the Quad. That’s one big complaint about UT. There’s no 24 hour study area that’s open to most students. I’m lucky that Joynes is open but when I move off campus, I wonder where I’d study because I cannot work in my room. So I worked until 6 and went straight to bed. I work up at 8:30 to edit my paper and run off to class by 9:30. It was the most intense studying/working I’d done in a long time, but thank goodness it’s over now. Hopefully I did well on my papers! We’ll see maybe this week.

Oh and before I talk about my great Thanksgiving, I’m happy to say that I know what I’ll be doing this summer. It was such a hard decision, and I am fortunate that I was able to have four different internships to choose from. I made a spreadsheet of all the pros and cons of each offer, and talked to my parents, my brother, my friends, and even a FCC career services counselor to help me evaluate my offer. In the end, I will be working at the hedge fund capital management company in Dallas this summer! I was debating between audit and this finance internship, and I ultimately choose to work for the hedge fund company because I wanted exposure to finance and trading. This internship doesn’t provide housing, but it is in Dallas and the pay is supposed to be enough to cover a sublease. I’m thinking of getting a sublease with some business council friends who will be working in Dallas. I’ll be working in operations with the hedge fund company so it won’t be exactly doing the trades but rather it will be working on finalizing the trade, tracing the wires and following up with the investment banks. I’m also excited that I’ll be in Texas because that means I can drive to Houston or Austin to visit friends, and I also don’t have to pay state income tax. The only thing is that the social aspect of this internship will be more homey. In Detroit, I made amazing bonds with some of the coolest people across the nation. In fact, we’re planning a get-together ski trip in Michigan this winter break. So I’m excited. But nonetheless, my internship this summer should be fun. At least I won’t have to worry about recruiting any more. I can focus more on my grades and extracurricular activities. Next semester, I want to get more involved in research with a professor. I really want to get co-published with a professor or gain experience doing research and writing. So we’ll see.

But yes, this thanksgiving was amazing. It was so nice to see my family again. It was my first time back since August, and while I don’t really miss Sugar Land / Missouri City, it was nice to be in the suburb and be back in my own room. I actually got a decent amount of work done as well. I wrote my 10 page paper for the BA 353 class (the internship class that’s pass/fail), and I also worked on my management group paper, read and got caught up for management. Now when I get back (if we ever get out of this traffic) is work on my accounting and then work on Spanish. But Thanksgiving, we had the traditional thanksgiving food (yummmmm!) with our family friends, like we normally do. Then I went Black Friday shopping with my brother starting at 5am. Gah. It was early, but nonetheless, it is tradition. We got some tech items and some clothes. I also got new shoes from Macy’s. They were having a pretty good sale, coupled with the $10 off $25 purchase coupon, I got a good deal on black dress shoes. Too bad they didn’t have my size for the brown shoes I wanted but oh well. Bostonian dress shoes are amazingly comfortable, and I recommend them to any guy who needs comfortable dress shoes.

GAH! I am still stuck in traffic, we left about a hour ago, and I’m still in traffic. The sign says 23 miles till Columbus. Bleh, we’ve got a long ways to go. I think there’s an accident. But oh well. Oh I didn’t even see an accident. Now we’re going pretty fast. Gah, what the heck.

Well, hopefully this week is less stressful and more relaxing. I really want to go to the Trail of Lights at Zilker park. Maybe the steady stream of updates will come again this week. I hope everyone had a great break!

I went sky divin',
I went rocky mountain climbin',
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull name Fumanchu.
And I loved deeper,
And I spoke sweeter,
And I gave forgiveness I've been denying,
And he said someday I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dyin'.
Live Like You Were Dyin'- Tim McGraw

"And finally see what it means to be living"

Music: Fast Car- Tracy Chapman
Mood: Apathetic

You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere

Anyplace is better
Starting from zero got nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make something
But me myself I got nothing to prove

You got a fast car
And I got a plan to get us out of here
I been working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
We won't have to drive too far
Just 'cross the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
And finally see what it means to be living
~Fast Car- Tracy Chapman

This weekend has been strange. This week has been the most stressful week in college so far. I've gone through mood swings as if I were of middle-school age. I don't know what it is. Just so much going on. I'm really worried about my grades. I did poorly on my accounting test, Spanish quiz, and Spanish test. Tomorrow, my management, philosophy, and history papers are due. I've finished my rough draft of my PHL and MAN test. I stayed up till 4am last night doing my management paper, and now I've got to churn out a history paper. I'm just really worried about my grades. I don't know why. But thankfully, I've got amazing friends who have been there to talk to me and help me de-stress.

On Thursday, we had the BHP Austin Prospective Students dinner. Here we treated prospective BHP students from Austin area high schools to dinner and answered any questions they had about BHP. I absolutely love BHP and UT, however, every time I speak with the seniors, I feel so uncertain about my future. I find myself constantly reevaluating my career path and what I want to do with my life. It's just so uncertain, and I cannot stand it. The thing is, I've recruited heavily for a summer internship and now I have to decide which internship to take. Here's what I'm deciding between:

• Audit Services with an automotive company in Detroit, MI where I interned this past summer
• Management Audit with an entertainment company in California
• Corporate finance rotational internship with a chemical company in Houston
• Operations internship with a prominent hedge fund company in Dallas

I am extremely fortunate to have so many different offers to choose from, and I know that regardless of which offer I choose, I can't go wrong. I have to decide which one to pick by this Monday, as the automotive company has already given me about a month to decide, so they want to hear from me by Monday. Having to decide my internship for the summer in addition to all the pressures from school have caused me to lose my mind. I just don't know what I want to do with my life. It's such a frustrating internal debate. I can totally see myself as a professor, but at the same time, I'd love to experience industry some more. I just feel that I don't belong in corporate America. I mean, I have three papers due on Monday. If I can write so much and survive, I feel I can succeed in business academia. I love writing, but on my own schedule. This sounds nerdy, but it's very exciting for me to write research papers, and as a professor, I can actually make a living writing papers and being nerdy. o.O Next semester, I think my goal will to be pick up a research assistant position with a business professor. The thing is, I just don't know what major to be. I mean, I'm very interested in Finance and numbers, but at the same time, I've very interested in marketing and management research. I think I'll end up majoring in Finance, and if I go into Ph.d in business, I'd pursue marketing or something like that. We'll see. It's just such a different career path then I ever imagined. I think it's difficult for me to let go of what I've been dreaming of since I was little. I've always imagined myself as a CEO or corporate executive in some large business. Now, having this idea of being a professor is totally deifying that dream, and it is difficult to let go of that. So I'm just not sure what I want to do. I know I can gain experience in industry through internships, and realize that I still don't like the corporate world.

Oh well, at least this week is almost done. I'm going home on Tuesday evening! Thanksgiving is totally my favorite holiday of the year, even better than Christmas. I just LOVE Thanksgiving food and then Black Friday. There's just something about it that makes Thanksgiving better than Christmas. The food, the family, the shopping. To me, Thanksgiving is such a more genuine holiday than Christmas. People get so stressed out about Christmas and corporations have ingrained in our minds a consumerism attitude about Christmas that I think we forget the true meaning of the holiday season, and that is family. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is so genuine. Just food and the family, and giving thanks. What more could you ask for? Maybe a second or third helping of green-bean casserole? and then more pumpkin pie? =) Yumm. This thanksgiving, however, will be spent studying like crazy. I need to write my BA 353 essay about my summer internship, I also need to study accounting to bring my grade up, read management to catch up with the reading, study Spanish to bring my grade up, and read more on the french revolution. =( I think I've said this so far, but one of my favorite classes (if I'd have to pick one) is the French Revolution class because it's caused me to think in ways about history that I've never thought about. And then I get to express myself in an essay. Albeit it is a lot of work, it's sooo rewarding and I love it. Oh boy, I'm such a nerd.. just a nerd with really bad grades right now.

Okay, Robespierre and the Terror are calling my name again. My GPA and my future face the guillotine if I don't finish this paper and write it well.

I know things will get better
You'll find work and I'll get promoted
We'll move out of the shelter
Buy a big house and live in the suburbs
~Fast Car- Tracy Chapman

Times like these make me hate college.

Ok, so I know that most people's week's leading up to Thanksgiving are rough, but I think I just need to vent.

I'm SICK of college. Seriously, SICK OF it.

Here's my schedule, if anyone cares.

Monday- Spanish Presentation

Tuesday- Accounting Test

Wednesday- Spanish Quiz

Thursday- My 19th Birthday

Friday- Spanish Test

Monday- Management Paper Due

History Paper Due

Philosophy Paper Due

Just thinking about what I have to do is pretty depressing. =(

D-Town

Music: This Is How A Heart Breaks- Rob Thomas
Mood: Apathetic

I spent my afternoon in the 1st floor of the UTC in the McCombs Media Services Lab. I had to convert all the DV tapes from the case competition to wmv so that we could put them online. What I expected to take only an hour at the most turned into 2.5 hours of waiting. I first had to import the DV files into the computer, then in turn, convert the file to wmv so that Media Services could put online. So, here they are, for your viewing pleasures, the finals rounds of the Fall 2007 Case Competition. Case closed.
1st place- Black Ink Consulting

2nd place- Delta Consulting Group

3rd Place- T&G Solutions

Non-Placing Finalists:

Paradigm Solutions

Team Maverick

I also went to the gym today. I'm still preparing for the 10k on Thanksgiving Day. I haven't signed up yet because I'm not sure if I'll be able to do 6.22 miles.. but I really want to! I just did 1/2 miles on the treadmill and then got sick of the treadmill, so I went on the indoor track, and did a mile sprint, and called it a workout. Nonetheless, I really need to prepare and build endurance. My goals is to do the 6.22 in under an hour.. Which I think is totally doable.. but we'll see.

And today, I finally got my flight information for my office visit at the Hedge Fund company. I really hope this goes well, as this is my target company, and I would love to spend my summer working in Hedge Funds. To give you an idea of my schedule tomorrow. My flight leaves for Dallas at 8AM, meaning I'm catching the 6:44 AM airport flyer bus to the airport... which means I'll wake up around 6. =( Then after a string of 4 interviews and lunch, I'm catching a 4pm flight back to Austin that'll have me on the ground by 5. Then I'm going to catch the airport flyer back to campus and then make it out to the UT volleyball game against A&M! Tomorrow will be a busy day.. I'm just glad I don't have to do any work for classes tomorrow (this means no Philosophy, no French Revolution, and no Spanish... all my liberal arts classes.. hahah!) Oh well! I'll tell ya'll how things go later.

Oh, and today, I met with a study abroad adviser. We ruled out Spain because only a few business classes are offered in English. Thus, I'm pretty set on going to Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. All I need to decide now is what I want to major in. If I do the iMPA program, the adviser recommended that I postpone my study abroad because of a needed MPA class. However, if I do finance, things could work out. So I'm not sure. So I need to get the syllabuses of the different courses offered at HKUST and then make sure they'll transfer over to UT credit by getting approval from the various departments. I'm probably going to take FIN 357 and OM 353 (i think thats the course number) and then 2 humanities classes to fulfill my Plan II requirements for Art or Music or Dance History.

Well, I need to get to bed if I want to wake up at 6am tomorrow.. I've got my boarding passes printed as well as information about hedge funds and the company to read up on so I'm more familiar with the industry and the company. G'night Austin, Good Morning Dallas!

and because everyone loves Disney! Here's a happy picture:

A Calm Week, maybe?

Music: Young- Kenny Chesney
Mood: Tired

So after case competition, I just slept until the 5k the next day. On Sunday, I ran in the Susan Komen Race for the Cure 5K. My time was 28 minutes, which I'm okay with. I would eventually want to get a 25 or even a 24 minute 5k. That means shaving off about a minute or so per mile. But nonetheless, running in the 5k was a moving experience. I was my first race, and I really enjoyed it. Running amongst cancer survivors and others who were running in the memory of loved ones who have fallen victim to breast cancer was moving. My fund raising goal was $100, and I was actually able to make it. My parents donated $50 and a coworker from Detroit also donated $50, so I was extremely happy about that! =) Now, I'm training for the Houston Turkey Trot 10k on Thanksgiving Day. The Turkey Trop 10k goes to help senior citizens though the Sheltering Arms Senior Services charity. I still have to sign up for this, but I think I'm up for the challenge. 10K is 6.22 miles. I'm hoping to do it under an hour.

In other news, school is going well. I have a lot of homework to catch up on because I didn't have this weekend to do homework. I have over 200 pages to read in French Revolution. I have a paper over the Terror of the French Revolution due on November 19th. I also have a philosophy paper due on November the 19th as well. I have to read so much for that paper as well. I'm writing on revelation and how God communicates with his followers. We've read two texts about Christianity. Today, I just finished read The Bhagavad Gita, and next I need to read about Confucius. In Management, my group is still working on our consulting project. Our group executive summary is due 11/12 and then our presentation will be the week following Thanksgiving. Oh, and I also have a management reflection paper due on 11/19 as well. So though my birthday is Nov 15 (Thursday), I won't be able to relax and celebrate too much because I basically have 3 papers due the Monday after my birthday. =( I also have a lot of stuff to do in spanish as well, a cultural presentation, a quiz, and a test too. Ekk. Haha. Well, enough ranting about what I have to do, I bet everyone has so much to do leading up to the Thanksgiving break.

Oh good news as well. The Chemical company I interviewed with in Houston last Tuesday extended me an offer for an internship this summer. Their company internship program as a rotational program. I'm still waiting on offers from other companies before I make a decision. I hope to have my offers on my table and be able to make all my decision by November 15th. The company I interned with this summer extended me an offer in Audit for this coming summer. They gave me till November 15th to accept or decline the offer, so I've passed this offer deadline to the other companies I've interviewed with, so I hope to have my summer plans finalized by November 15th. =) I had a phone interview with an entertainment in California for a position in Audit. For some reason, the company also had me interview for a position in corporate tax, even though I'd be more interested in audit. They told me that usually, it takes about 4 to 5 weeks to hear back from them, but they said they'd rush my interview review so I could have a decision from them by Nov. 15th. Oh, and so on Thursday, I followed up with the hedge fund company I'm really interested in interview with in Dallas. I got a response from the HR contact, and based on my situation, she was able to set up an office visit for me. Thus, on Friday, I'm flying up to Dallas to do second round interviews. Ekk. I'm excited but I know I'll be worn and tired! Gah.

Oh, and tomorrow is the Fast-A-Thon! I'm super duper excited about this. I've pledged to fast for hunger from 5:30 am to 5:30 pm with the Muslim Students' Association. For every pledge they get to fast, money will be donated to the Austin Food Bank. My friends and I are getting up and going to Kerbey Lane at 4:45 to eat and enjoy ourselves. Then we're going to start fasting at 5:30 and then break fast at 5:30 in gregory gym. =) I also got a flu shot today. It was pretty traumatic... I absolutely hate needles and sharp objects... scissors, blades, knives, etc... ekk. talking (I mean typing about it freaks me out), but so I waited in line and then went into the booth at Gregory Gym. There, they had about 15 tables each with a nurse with tons of needles, bandages, and sterilization pads. I walked in and it hit me like a ton of bricks.. Inside, I really started to freak out and could feel that I was about to hyperventilate, but I stopped, took a deep breath, and got my shot, and then got out of there as fast as I could. It was pretty traumatic.. haha.

Oh well, that's pretty much all that's going on. It's now pretty late.... and I'm going to wake up at 4:45am to start fasting, eat, and then go back to bed.

Final Countdown

Music: The Final Countdown- Europe
Mood: Relaxing.. just a little bit

So I'm sitting here in finals, enjoying the third of five finalists presentations. I'm slowly losing steam, but I'm alive. So after lunch, the company representatives gave presentations, the finalists were announced, and then the non-advancing finalists received feedback. At 1:30, the first finalist began their presentation. I'm so excited that this competition is coming to a close. I'm running on fumes right now, but I think competitors, company judges, professors, and the students have enjoyed the day, and in the end, it was all worth it.

Just two more presentations, judges deliberations, and then we'll announce the winners. Then I'm hitting the sack!

Case Competition

Music: Left and Leaving- The Weakerthans
Mood: CASE! EEK!

So, here's a live update about case. Currently, it's 10:45am. I went to bed at 1:30 AM this morning and was up by 5:30 Am at the B-school getting ready for case competition. Nonetheless, I am sleep deprived and ready for this day to end. Everything ran pretty smoothly, however, the only goof we had was that HEB did not include coffee cups with coffee, so people were having to drink coffee out of plastic cups. Which is pretty unprofessional. However, we were able to scrounge up some coffee cups from Wendy's and the remainder from CVS. Also, we were going to video tape all the rounds instead of just finals, but I made a goof and didn't get enough video tape to record 35 x 4 teams for each room. Thus, we're only taping the finals rounds.

But other than that, everything is going well. Rounds are running and things are going smoothly. Jason's deli is supposed to come in about 7 minutes now, so I'll probably have to go tend to that in a second. I'm excited about case being over. I think from here on out, things should be going on smoothly (cross my fingers)! And after case is done around 5pm, I'm going to take a nap, get some dinner, then sleep! Then the next day.. i'll wake up to run a 5k.. THEN finally, after that, I think I'm going to crash... but too bad I have 200+ pages of French Revolution, philisophy, spanish, and tons of other crap.

OK, after running random errands, I'm back. Jason's just got here, so we're about to start lunch. See ya'll! Updates to come after this day is over!

Case-love!