Great Weekend

Music: What You Own- RENT Soundtrack
Mood: Relaxed

This weekend was amazing. I'm not sure why. I'm still very tired and have tons of homework, but I really enjoyed the weekend. Saturday night, I had a nice dinner with a BC (Business Council) friend at an authentic Vietnamese restaurant. It was really tasty, and we got these things where you could make your own rolls. Also, BC Texas Revue tryouts were this saturday as well. I totally butchered the dance because I freaked out and messed up my dance moves. Hopefully we made it! Then, a friend in the MPA program who is in Dallas doing his accounting internship came down for the weekend and had a get together at his house, so I went to that.

Sunday, I woke up, went to group cycling (which was intense.. I was debating whether to wake up or not, but it was worth it because I ate lemon meringue pie for dessert afterwards). Then I had a case competition meeting with my group. I'm not sure why I signed up for case because I'm so busy and honestly don't have time to do it, but I guess it's much more fun than doing regular homework. Afterwards, I worked on some statistics homework for a bit before going to a "family dinner" with my "family" from HBA (Honors Business Association). My family won the family challenges last semester to HBA treated our whole family out to a restaurant of our choice. I ate WAY too much, but it was delicious and now I have tons of work to do.

Tomorrow, I have to wake up early to make to an 8AM BA 101 class to make announcements about the blogging website. I still have to do philosophy, finish statistics, work on my study abroad essay, psychology paper (due next Monday), and try to do a study abroad scholarship due next Monday but needs 2 letters of recommednation.

Sleeping in Class

Music: Satellite- Dave Matthews Band
Mood: TIRED

Wow. This week has been INSANE. I started writing this post on Wednesday after the career fair but never got around to finishing it. Although I'm in less classes this semester (15 hours), and I have less school work to do, I feel that I'm constantly meeting with others and busy. I never have time to myself, and when I do, I don't want to do anything. I find that I don't even have time just to hang out with friends. I'm SO busy. I scheduled my classes so that I'd have my afternoons free, but since I have my afternoons free, I'm also meeting for my orgs or at the gym. On a normal day, I leave my room around 9 or 9:30 and don't return until 6. Even after I get back, I grab dinner with friends and then head off back to do meetings, homework, or work for BHP recruiting or my new research job. Similar to last semester, I going to the GYM is my favorite part of the day.

These past few days, I've gotten NO sleep. On top of that, I haven't really had time to hang out with friends. I mean, it's not terrible, my life, but it's constantly busy. Sometimes, I realize how simple it was to intern (or work full-time). Just go to work from 8 to 5, occasionally have to take work home, but I find that there's a work-life balance (at least when I was interning). Being a full-time students, I find myself living and breathing college. It's my life and what I dedicate my energy to. Of course, being a student, that's my job. That's why I'm paying to go to UT and why I'm working so hard--my future. =)

So let's breakdown my week:
Monday: Same old, same old.
Tuesday: The company I'm working for during the Summer took me and a couple other interns out to dinner, which took the whole night, so I didn't start my homework until like 11.
Wednesday: I went to career fair from like 1 to 3. Had BHP recruiter meeting, went to the gym, ate a quick dinner, had the BC meeting, and then met with my case competition team to discuss ideas. I don't know why I keep going to career fairs. Okay, I admit it. My name is Eric and I am a career-fair-holic. Something about career fairs has me energized. Perhaps it is the free goodies, or maybe it's talking with industry professionals. I think it's because I am a recruiter for BHP, so I'm used to talking to new people and enjoy it. I hoped to get good contact from potential companies I'd work for during Junior year and possibly full-time, but I didn't find any companies that interested me. I did, however, get an 8 pack of mini-boxes of cereal, binoculars, some pins, a bag, and a laundry bag.
Thursday: I had class till 3:30, went to group cycling till 5:30, then rushed to get dressed to go to the Interactive Diversity Forum. This dinner was well worth it. I sat with the diversity recruiter from an Investment Banking company. I told her about me working in Dallas this summer and studying abroad in Hong Kong in the fall. She said that she'd put me in touch with recruiters in Dallas and Hong Kong so I can meet them when I'm at those locations. I'm not sure if banking is for me, but I'll entertain the idea.
On Friday: I had one class at 10, but stayed up the previous night reading articles to prepare for my meeting with the professor I'm research assisting with. I also stayed up doing online shopping, which is a problem for me. It's so easy to just generate a one-time use credit card number through my credit card and purchase things online. This one clothing website was having a huge sale, and I nabbed some fashion polos, dress shirts, and sweaters. I also had Texas Revue practice with BC on Friday.

This weekend, Honors Business Council had a camp-out in cabins Friday night. I went to that and got back Saturday (today) around noon. That was a lot of fun, but now I've got so much homework, and the sad thing is that I haven't even started yet. We had BC tryouts at 5:30, and I spent the entire afternoon preparing for that and warming up for the skit. And I forgot many of the moves during the actual audition. Oh well, at least that's done, for now at least.

Okay, since I haven't blogged in a week, I feel like I have so much to say. I started working on my PHL paper last weekend, but I ended up spending an equal amount of time on it during the week to have it ready by Friday. I'm still worried about the paper. Philosophy isn't like normal paper writing. You have to think and keep questioning what you write and then defend your claims. It's challenging, and I'm afraid that I've made a fatal leap in logic or there might be a flaw in the paper.

This weekend, I plan to work on my psychology paper (which is due on Friday) and also finish my study abroad application! Additionally, since I'm working on the BizIT case competition, I've got to work on that as well and make sure our group puts tons of effort into the case. It's just hard to find the time to do extra work. I'm already doing extra work as a research assistance. For me, that's like another class (another 3 hours, putting me at 18). However, it's such a unique experience, but I read the articles and understand them and then chat with the professor one-on-one about the content and how the experiments in those articles will impact our study. So I'm not just studying and reading to prepare for a test or for some group project, rather, I'm actually doing work for academic reasons and for my understanding, and that's such a shocking change. I love it! =) Related to my psychology paper, one of the topics is about the accuracy of laboratory experiments. I just read a couple articles about that same subject for my research, so I might write about that.

Also for my plan II psychology class, I'm required to participate in 5 hours of experimental studies. I took a pre-screening test and was contacted by a researcher who is doing work on claustrophobia. Apparently, I'm pretty claustrophobic, so I'm going to participate in their experiment and get full credit for the hours I need for the psychology class. I'm sort of worried. On Wednesday, I'm supposed to go into the psychology building to take some tests and essentially be a lab rat. Hopefully, I'll be okay. They better not lock me up in a closet or elevator. Ekk.

I'll try to keep ya'll updated more this week on what's going on. My week is already pretty booked, so I'll be BUSY, but what's new?

Burning Street Light

Music: The Dolphin's Cry- Live
Mood: Peaceful

This week was good. I've been pretty busy, but overall it was a great week. I've been trying to get lunch and dinner with different people I haven't talked with in a while. Yesterday, I had dinner a Moonshine, which was pretty good. I thought it was strange that instead of giving us bread to start off with, they gave us popcorn. But it was nice. Today for lunch, I ate at Foodheads (Guadalupe and 34th). They have really good sandwiches, and the setting is really nice. It's in a home that's been turned into a restaurant.

This week, I've been busy not only with school but also practicing for Texas Revue. Undergraduate Business Council is putting on a skit to try out for Texas Revue, and I'm going to be a dancer! I've been learning the dance moves and really getting to know the other members in the skit better. 

Oh, the company I signed with for an internship this summer will be in Austin for career week and invited me to dinner with the recruiters and other summer intern on Tuesday. Wednesday is the career fair, which I plan on attending. I also signed up for the interactive dialogue forum which is on Thursday. I'm so glad I don't have the stress of finding an internship or recruiting. Seriously, recruiting last semester was like an extra class. 

Ok, so to explain the title of my post. Today, I was walking back to my dorm, at 24th and Whitis, when I saw a lamp post burst into flames. It was going for a good 20 to 30 seconds before the flames went out and the light remained out. Being concerned, I called UTPD and reported that there was a small flame and that it went out. While I was on the phone, the light randomly went back on. I was really confused, but UTPD sent a cop out just to take a look at it and make a note of it so that maintenance could fix it. I bet the cops thought I was strange because the light was on and appeared to be working all right. But I promise, the light went up in flames for a bit, and some other people saw it too. Maybe it's a sign... whatever that could mean.

Well, it's really late right now, so I suppose I'll go to bed now. I've got to write a philosophy paper this weekend, check my stat homework due on monday, do a philosophy report, work on my study abroad application, and do some other chores as well. I planned to go to spinning class Saturday at 12 to 1, but all spinning classes got canceled both Friday PM and all of Saturday, so instead I plan to go on Sunday instead. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Ice Cream and Peanut Butter

Music: Miami- Will Smith
Mood: Sore

I love my group cycling class. Actually, I take that back; it's more of a love-hate relationship. During the day, I look forward to it, but when I'm actually in the class, I find myself constantly looking at the clock wondering when it's over. But then when I'm done, I feel so much better. Today, I went to CORE Cycling, where we cycled for 45 minutes and then did ab exercises for like 20 minutes. I was SORE. So, at Kinsolving today, I rewarded myself with ice cream mixed with peanut butter. Yummm.


Gosh, I feel that nothing else is going on in my life than sleeping, going to the gym, eating, going to class, and doing homework. Life is quite boring, though I feel like I'm always in meetings. I'm going to work on my philosophy paper this weekend that's due next Friday. Managerial Accounting is interesting and so much better than financial accounting. It's nothing like debits and credits; rather, it involves equations, formulas, and more high-level analysis than financial accounting. Still, I don't think I'm going to be an accounting major. It's not that I absolutely hate accounting; it's just that accounting isn't as exciting or interesting as other subjects. I feel accounting is so nit-picky when I'd rather just get the overall concept.

In fact, I officially declared my major yesterday to Finance: Corporate Finance! Horray! So I updated my resume to include my new major. I guess it really doesn't make a difference because I'm still taking the same classes right now; it'll just effect what classes I take abroad and what upper division classes I take. Oh, and if you search for my name under UT-Directory, my three majors come up! So horray for that! Oh, and regarding study abroad, I'm sort of worried and nervous about it. My class schedule is so tight that if I don't get a class that I need in Hong Kong, then my whole schedule will be thrown off. I'm meeting with the study abroad adviser next week to talk about registration and such. Of course, I still have to do my study abroad application and with that, scholarship applications as well to go abroad. That application is due on March 1st, but I want to get it out of the way; I just haven't had time yet.

Well, that's all for now. Oh, and I was mistaken. The Texas-A&M game is actually on February 18th, not on Feb. 7th. I know I'm going to the career fair on Wed, Feb 6th just to talk to recruiters, get contact information, get free things, and say high to my recruiter contacts. I'm debating on whether to attend the Interactive Diversity Forum on Thursday, Feb 7th. Free dinner would be great, but then I have to dress up and talk with recruiters. Which can be a good thing, depending on which company I get assigned to. And my philosophy paper is due the next day, but if I finish the paper this weekend, I'll be good. Oh, and about research assistant, I'm going to be working with Professor Ethan Burris this semester. I haven't done anything yet, but I've read some of his research and research he's working on right now. I'm really excited about this because he's going to have me running his third study and helping with his research. It's interesting because I just declared my major as finance because I like numbers and find it interesting. I know I'll major in Finance, but if I were to become a professor, I'm not certain what I'll do my research in. We'll see.

Oh, and there was a PostSecret this Sunday that was really related to blogging. I hope noone spies or stalks me. Hehe. But if you read my blog and you see me around, be sure to say hello!

Cycling is Intense!

Music: Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)- Wyclef Jean featuring Akon, Lil Wayne, and Niia
Mood: Cycling

Thank goodness for short weeks. I don't know what I'd do if it were a 5-day week this week. My trip to California was amazing! I haven't seen my cousins in two years (since Christmas my senior year) because I took winter school during both freshman year and this year. So my parents flew to Sacramento from Houston, I flew up from Austin, and my brother flew in from Seattle. I had a blast just hanging out with cousins and eating great Chinese food my uncle cooks. I love crab! Then I had a red-eye flight Monday morning with a layover in Houston that had me back in Austin by 8am Monday morning. Nonetheless, I was exhausted and slept all day on Monday. Oh, and I tried out this exciting Indian buffet called Bombay Bistro.. I think it's near 183 but I'm not sure. I thought it was a little better than Clay Pit for about the same price.

Last week was preview week at RecSports and after trying out group cycling, I absolutely loved it so I got a pass. I went to 8am cycling both Tuesday and today... YES, I know.. who wakes up at 8am to go cycling, but I thought it'd be better to start my day early and get more sleep.... I am actually a morning person, but lately, I haven't been getting too much sleep and my classes haven't exactly been the most exciting so I've been dozing off in some some of them. (ehm. Philosophy). So if you're looking for a really good workout, I encourage group cycling. Also, that song, Sweetest Girl, is one of the best songs to cycle to or jog to when you're doing sprints or intervals because I think the chorus is catchy and fun to work out to. They always play it during my cycle class and that's why it's my song for the day.

One of my goals this semester has also been to starting doing research assistance with a business professor. Over break, I randomly emailed some professors who I found through the business research database. I met with several of them, and some were excited and had research opportunities for me. I ran into my management professor from last semester, Ethan Burris, and he told me about the research he was doing and the help he needed in conducting his final study for his research on inner-circles and the effects on group productivity. That sounded interesting, so now I'll be doing some research with him this semester, which will be great because it'll give me more exposure to the research side of business that is often ignored or hidden by business undergraduates! If any of y'all are interested in getting involved with research this semester, check out the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Fair on Wednesday, January 30th from 1 to 4 in the 3rd Floor Special Events Room next to the atrium. You don't need to dress up, just swing by to chat with some professors about their research. I was surprised by how many professors were interested in giving me an opportunity to do research with them. The thing I found out about a big university is that there are so many opportunities that many students don't take advantage of. It doesn't hurt to ask. In fact, I emailed the associate vice president of research during my mass email craze to find a research assistance position and Dr. Peterson invited me to meet in his office in the main building to just talk about various research opportunities and what being a professor and an administrator is like. I thought it was pretty cool and will definitely be in touch with him again just letting him know how my research goes this semester.

Other than research and cycling, there's not much going on in my life right now. I'm a little behind on my philosophy reading but that's because I just haven't gotten around to reading it. Other than that, I'm up to date in my classes and enjoying the semester. I just need more sleep. On the recruiting front, I finished with recruiting last semester, so that's a relief, but I know the career fair is coming up Feb. 6th. BBA Career Services is having a lot of preparation events such as Resumania, Mock Interviews, and an etiquette dinner, so definitely check those out. I'm thinking of going to the career fair just to get some contacts from companies I'm interested possibly interning with next summer and to also get some free stuff! Also, the McCombs Diversity Council Interactive Diversity Forum (with free dinner) is on Feb 7th. It was good last semester and last year, so I'm thinking of going again just to say hi the some of the recruiters I've meet and to get a good meal. However, the only dilemma is that UT basketball plays TAMU on that same day at 7pm. Last year, I remember waiting in line for 3 hours to get tickets to that game, and it was worth every second. So I'm debating.. free dinner or great basketball? =)

Well, I've got to run and grab lunch before my next class. Hope everyone has a great rest of the week.

Gummy Bear Lost Among Gummy Worms

Music: Taking Chances- Celine Dion
Mood: Calm

School is great right now. This week was a struggle simply because I wasn't used to so many 1.5 hours classes.. I guess I just don't have the attention span to sit for so long and listen to a lecture. Other than that, the week was great! I'm done with classes early, have time to GYM, am staying caught up in classes (so far), and plan to do research with a professor! All is well. Calm and stress-less (for now...).

Tomorrow evening, I fly out to California to visit family and cousins, and I'll be back Monday morning, so I'm excited about that! Other than that, not much going on.

Here's a quick update:

• Research Assistant (RA)- I've contacted various business professors and got overwhelming response about helping as an RA. I hope to finalize by Monday or Tuesday who I'll be working with and what research I'll be doing, so I'll definitely let y'all know what's going on there.
• Group Cycling- I went to a preview class on Wednesday for group cycling and really liked it. I'm going again tomorrow at 12, and I'm going to buy a pass for the semester. It's such a good workout and feel it's better on my knees than jogging. So in addition to treadmilling, I'll be group cycling! I'm SUPER excited.
• Yesterday, I was playing apples to apples with friends and was eating gummy worms.... and I made a striking discover... a gummy bear in a bag of gummy worms! =) Just thought I should share that with all of y'all. I couldn't stop laughing for 5 minutes when I made that discovery.. hence my post title.
  
• BHP recruiting is going well. It's definitely picking up this semester with some prospective students finding out their admissions decisions and contacting me for more information about BHP. Others are still applying, so there are plenty of questions about that. Also, the sophomore transfer application is coming out in mid-March, so I'm getting questions about that too. Overall, I'm exciting about this semester because after all this BHP recruiting, it'll be rewarding to see who ends up getting accepted into the program and then who chooses to matriculate.
• Finally, Go Patriots! I see the city of Boston sweeping the sports championships... First the World Series, Next the Super Bowl, Then the NBA Championship. I don't really follow hockey, but I don't think the Bruins are too bad either, though Detroit Red Wings are a pretty stellar team. We'll see.

Hope everyone enjoys the long weekend!

Here's a picture of my friends and I at Trail of Lights in December. (Old Picture, I know, but one of my favorites from December)

2008

Music: Friends Like These- Mobius Band
Mood: Relaxed

I haven't written a post since school let out in December, so I wanted to write to let everyone know how my break was and what I'm looking forward to this spring semester.

Break has been nice. I've been taking Gov 312L during winter school at Houston Community College, and let's say it's been really easy. Last winter, I took Cal 2, and it was definitely a lot of work. During break, I've been going to class from 9 to 12 (or 9 to 11, if the professor dismisses us early). Then I head off to the gym for about 1.5 hours, grab lunch, and then I have the afternoon to hang out with friends and enjoy my break. This has been one of the most relaxing breaks in a while simply because I've stayed in Houston and haven't done much. I usually go to California to visit relatives for Christmas. Oh, and I didn't have to get my wisdom teeth taken out because the dentist person said to wait more year to let the 2 teeth that are still deep in my mouth grow out.

So in summary, here's what I've done over break:

• HCC Winter School (Government)
  
• Meet up with a former cowoker from Detroit who was in Houston visiting family
• Went to a Jazz bar (that was really exciting)
• Chinatown, Houston, Texas (I think that's all I need to say)
• Been working on my fitness (during break, I've been able to stay at the gym longer and get in better shape)
• Celebrated New Year's with friends and fireworks
• Watched: Juno (which was... cute), High School Musical 2 (which was a let down), Ratatouille (which I loved!) and plenty of NCAA Bowl Games
• Followed the primary race for the democract and republican presidential nominations
• Sugar Land Town Square
  
• Shopping at the Galleria
• Had hot-pot with friends and 2 former high school teachers
• Visited the high school to get a transcript
• Hung out with Friends
• Discovered the band The Mobius Band (check them out on Myspace.com!)
  

And here's an idea of my schedule for spring 2008. I really like my schedule, a lot. And it helps that I only have one class on Friday! (finally... gezz. Most business students don't have class on friday because classes are either MW or TTH, but liberal arts classes are usually MWF.

Since I have most afternoons free or off, I'm going to try to find a professor to shadow and do some research with. As y'all may know, I'm interested in doing finance and going into the corporate world, but I'm also interested in getting my PHD, doing research, and teaching. I think working as a research assistant or something would help give me exposure to the field and allow me to see if I like it.

These are my goals for this coming semester:

• Do research with a business professor
• Get involved with a charity organization
• Apply for study abroad and get lots of scholarships to go abroad
• Maybe rush for a business fraternity?
• Get all As (last semester, I got an A in accounting!!!! But wasn't as successful in Philosophy. Last semester, my favorite class was my french revolution class. This semester, I'm pretty excited about my SS 301- Psychology class. Overall, this semester seems a bit easier, so hopefully that can be reflected in my GPA before I go to Hong Kong)

Well, that's all I have for now. Off to have a grapefruit and then go to bed so I can make it to class tomorrow by 9. I hope everyone had a great winter break and a happy new year!