The Countdown Begins

Music: Money, Money, Money by ABBA
Mood: Indifferent

I officially have two weeks left of my internship, and I'm definitely ready to be finished. My goal for these next two weeks is to save, save, save. I'm done learning pretty much all that I can learn or get out of of this internship. I've had a lot of exposure to finance and corporate America (even at a hedge fund). If I were to finish today, I don't think either I or the company would win or lose out on anything. I'm flying out to Hong Kong on Thursday, August 21st... exactly 17 days after today. Obviously, going abroad is going to be expensive, so my goal is to spend as little as possible and save up for Hong Kong. This means eating out and going out as little as possible. (I have no reason to spend money eating out if I have food at home.) And going out on the weekends, I figure I can do that on a budget. As for shopping, I need to cut that out entirely as well. I did a lot better for the month of July, coming off of my June shopping ban. Hehe. All I'm eyeing now are some Cole Hann driving moccasins which I probably won't buy anyways because their too pricey. I was wanting to get a new iPod because my current one (from high school) keeps dying on me occasionally, but I'm waiting for the new iPod updates which are expected to come out around the holiday season. Oh, and one other item I was looking to buy that I'm so upset I didn't get earlier is a UT track jacket. I bought one for my brother back in June and I really wanted one for myself but couldn't get one because of my June shopping ban. Now I can't find one I want for the price I'm willing to pay. Bummer, huh? Or I suppose that means I'm saving money! =)

In other news, I didn't spend a single weekend in Dallas for the month of July. July 4th- I went home. July 11th, I went to Austin (on what was supposed to be my last weekend in Austin before January). Then July 18th, I was planning on spending in Dallas, but my mom suggested that I go to Austin again and I did. (Oh, the power of suggestion.) This past weekend, July 25h, I went to Houston. A chemical company I recruited with in the Fall, got an internship offer, but turned down for the internship in Dallas, invited me back to visit the company on Friday to attend a leadership conference. They flew me down on Friday morning to attend the all-day leadership forum. Then after dinner, they took us out to an Astros game, my first for the summer. I can't believe my first Astros game for this season was in August. Boy, has the summer flown by. We ended up winning the game in the 8th off a grand slam by Loretta. It's only the 2nd grand slam I've seen in person at Minute Maid Park. Also, Backe, the pitcher, had a homer! It was an overall good game. After the game, the company put me up in the Four Seasons, which was a really nice hotel in downtown Houston. The next morning (Saturday), my parents picked me up from the hotel and we had lunch in Chinatown. I spent the weekend at home, just relaxing. reading, and enjoying home. My flight was to leave Houston for Dallas at 4:30, it was delayed because of weather and we didn't end up taking off until like 6 and didn't land until about 7pm. It was a long travel day, but I actually able to just sit and finish reading my book (White Teeth), which didn't bother me at all. Now I'm starting Pigs in Heaven and I also want to start the Kite Runner.

This summer has flown by so qucikly! I can't believe I've already been here at the company for 11 weeks. A 13 week internship is killing me, and it's sad that the only thing motivating me is the money. It's horrible. I was having a conversation at lunch on Sunday with my parents about going full-time. I know in my mind that full-time work stinks. It absolutely stinks. It's sort of like my schedule right now, except there is no end in sight. That's a scary thought. I couldn't ever do that. That's what my parents do, that's what most everyone else does after graduation-- go to work to make money, pay the bills, and live for the weekends. That's so fustrating, who wants to live for the weekends? I certainly don't, but I don't know what job will allow me to do what I want, have fun, and still earn money. That's the big delimia that I'm supposed to solve by the time I graduate, and I fear that I'm running out of time. I've narrowed down my choices to a few large cateogries-- consulting (I won't be chained to a cublice, but at the same time, I'll have no life outside of the firm); PhD program in business (a lot of research and pressure to peform, but the rewards are great); law school (but that means having to study for the LSAT, studying a lot more, etc); or just be normal and go into the regular corporate finance positions open.

Well, that's it for now, I guess. I hope this week goes by smoothly and painlessly. I'm ready to jet-set, but not ready to leave Austin behind. I feel junior year is so much more fun. My friends got season tickets and are planning a trip up to Dallas for OU Weekend. I hope I don't miss out on a lot, but I know I've got so much ahead of me myself. I'm excited yet nervous, and I have NO idea how much money the trip is going to cost, either. Oh, and a final note: I'm thinking of going abroad again next summer... I really want to go to Europe, and if I can fit that in along with a 10week internship, I'd be cool with that. So the countdown till the end of my internship and my leaving for Hong Kong ensues. T-minus 17 days. Eeek.