1, 2, 3

Music: 3- Britney Spears
Mood: Lounging

This weekend was amazingly fun! It was my first OU weekend, and I cannot believe I hadn't been to one until my senior year. While the game wasn't as exciting as previous years, I still enjoyed the whole atmosphere of OU weekend. I drove up early on Friday morning and visited the consulting firm I signed with for a nice lunch with a few recent UT grads before chatting with a few more senior members of the firm and getting a tour of the office. Visiting the office and meeting more people confirmed my decision to accept my offer!

Besides visiting the office, this weekend was filled with OU festivities, which included yelling Texas Fight too many times, wearing too much burnt orange, chilling with friends, and eating a bunch of fried food. The winner of all the fried stuff I tried was fried peaches and creme. Other things I tried were fried oreos, fried ice cream, funnel cake (of course), fried cheesecake, and fried green beans. I wanted to try the friend butter but the line was too long.. and i was too full and didn't have enough tickets left to try the fried Peanut Butter Banana Jam and the fried grilled cheese... and they ran out of fried coke. =( Needless to say, after all that fried stuff, my friends and i went to Jason's deli and I had health food. I'm eating salads and healthy food for the rest of the week.

My seats were pretty amazing! 12 rows from the field!

After we beat OU 16 to 13, the team came towards our section to celebrate the Win.

And Fried Peaches and Creme was DELICIOUS! 

Fried Ice Cream!

Lastly, apart from the new song by Britney being stuck in my head, I've been avoiding doing work as much as possible. Frankly, I'd rather be reading and relaxing than worrying about school, and for the most part, school has taken the backburner! I looked at the classes I have to register for and I'm not looking forward to the school work of next semester (11-2, M-TH), but I am looking forward to the continuation of an enjoyable senior year! =)

I'll leave y'all with a flashback to old Britney.. that is.. a cover of Hit me Baby One More Time by 2 twins on Britain's X-Factor.. I frankly love their performance! haha. Let me know what you think.

Austin Weather Blues

Music: You and I by Ingrid Michaelson
Mood: Stuffy Nose

The Ingrid Michaelson song You and I has been stuck in my head since Sunday..

"Let's get rich and buy our parents homes in the South of France

let's get rich and give everybody nice sweaters

and teach them how to dance

let's get rich and build our house on a mountain

making everybody look like ants

from way up there, you and I, you and I, you and I"

And apparently the guy she's dueting is Jason Mraz!

I don't feel like doing anything tonight (though I should be going to bed soon), so I figured I'd blog again. I know it's not a good thing to talk about the weather, but GOSH, this weather is driving me nuts. They say Texas doesn't have seasons but that is false.. we have seasons within a week. It's supposed to hit 80 tomorrow and then hit the upper 80s on Wednesday.. and this is after it was in the 60s this weekend.

I blame Austin's moody weather and the temperature changes for my stuffy nose. Grrr. I'm just popping the vitamin C pills hoping that I recover very quickly.

So today was pretty productive. Apart from trying to take care of Mortarboard stuff (which is taking unnecessary amounts of paper-shoving time), I presented at the McCombs info session about UT, I then went for a jog (and my left foot continues to fall asleep/go numb after about mile 2.. it's annoying and i think I need to go back to RunTex to have it looked at). Then, I spent some time in the library getting books for my plan II thesis... I finally have some time to start reading for that.. BUT I still need to find a thesis adviser. After a Plan II thesis meeting from 5 to 6, i went home, cooked dinner, and watched some How I Met Your Mother before reading some more of "Smartest Guys in the Room," a book about how the corruption at Enron led to it's downfall.

I also spent a good amount of time trying to figure out how to dispute a charge from a restaurant I ate at in New York City last week. The bill was $40.63 and my portion was $14.63. The people I ate with paid cash, and I charged the rest to my card. I was paying my bill today and noticed that the entire bill was charged to my card, not just my portion. This is the first time a restaurant messed up my credit card bill. So I called the NYC restaurant and they said to call back tomorrow when their credit card person was in, so i have to do that tomorrow. I also went ahead and filed a dispute a charge notice with my credit card company just to get the paperwork going. In my conspiracy theory, the waitress kept the cash that was meant to cover the rest of the tab and charged the entire bill to my card. What I don't understand is that I signed for $14.63.... so i'm wondering if they actually still have that receipt? We'll see tomorrow.

And in my creepy, but quick phone photo skills.. I saw this lady with the cutest umbrella.

I don't know if you can see it, but her umbrella has a shark on it, and that pointy thing is the fin of the shark.. Also notice how the umbrella is tiny (most likely a child's umbrella). So, [1] she gets cool points for a cool umbrella, and [2] she gets cool points for having a green rain coat. =)

And i thought this blog was supposed to be career related?... yea, on that front. It's such a relief to have a post-graduation job lined up! In fact, I'm visiting the firm in Dallas on Friday afternoon before the OU festivities begin! =) And I'm also thankful that I don't have to be wearing a suit in this weather.. but best of luck to those who are still interviewing!!! I'm rooting for ya!

Lastly, any comments would be lovely.. The last few posts have been comment-less. =(

Weekend Daze

Music: Be On You- Flo Rida feat. Ne-Yo
Mood: Groggy

It's Sunday already. I cannot believe another week has passed. This semester is going to fly by so quickly, and even though I have a J-O-B now, I still feel like I'm perpetually busy with one thing or another. It's an annoying feeling when you can never feel completely DONE.

I think my last post was when I signed my offer letter for the strategic consulting firm in Dallas. I apologize for never updating about my trip to New York. New York was fun, but again, it is New York. I've discovered that New York and I don't really get along too well. I've concluded that it's such a big city, and every time I visit, I feel a bit overwhelmed and out of place. That's really weird though, because I feel in love with London, Paris, Rome, Hong Kong, Seattle, and many of the other big cities I've visited. It's just New York doesn't mesh with me. Last weekend though, I did get to see a friend I studied abroad with in Hong Kong and another friend who went to high school with me. I was also able to experience NYC night life (which is expensive and getting around can add up as well..), and the highlight of the trip was going to the new Citi Field (formerly Shea Stadium) and watching the Mets clobber my home team  Houston Astros. On my quest to visit every MLB stadium, I'm at 6 (Houston, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Seattle, and now NY Mets)!

Apart from New York last weekend, this past week has been pretty anticlimactic and this weekend was fun, but cold, and my nose is starting to run, which is no bueno.

I'm going up to Dallas on Friday for OU Weekend and I'm sort excited! Hook 'em Horns!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered!

Music: Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Stevie Wonder

Mood: Jovial, but sleep deprived!

This is my official announcement that I have signed my offer with my top choice a strategic consulting firm starting in 2010 in Dallas!!

Since recieving my full-time offer last Friday, I don't know why I have been putting off officially accepting my offer, so today, I finally "signed, sealed, and delivered" my acceptance of the full-time offer! I mean, I canceled all my other interviews and have already started zoning out of school.

I'm also going to New York TOMORROW, which I am really pumped about. I need to check the weather, figure out how to get around in the City, and what I'm going to do around the conference, but I'm stoked. The consulting firm I've signed with is sponsoring the conference in New York, and some of their represntatives reached out to me to grab lunch and meet up before the confernece. I'm pretty excited about meeting them and getting to know more about the firm now that I'm not recruiting with them.

I just need to get through today. I have 2 tests today, and I only started studying last night, so that's why I stayed up late last night (ie. 3.30am)! (Don't follow my lead!) It's pretty bad! But my STAT test went well. It was fairly simple, though I haven't checked my grade yet because I want to get through this second test first. I've got my LEB (Business Law) test in 30 minutes, and I just finished taking the sample practice test. I'm definately ready for it, but there could be tricky questions just due to how gray law can be.

But that's it for my quick update-- Signed, Sealed, and Delivered! =)

Full-time Offer!!! =)

Music: Howie Day- Be There
Mood: Relaxed and Fulfilled

If you're gonna be there, be there
If you're gonna stay, stay tonight,
Start livin, out with the old, I'm on the up,
Must be the good life

I am thrilled to officially announce that I have received a full-time offer to work in Dallas with a strategic consulting firm after graduation!

I never thought this announcement would come, but after much hard work, preparation, and stress, I finally accomplished my goal of getting an offer in strategic consulting, and let me tell you, it is extremely satisfying and humbling to be done with recruiting.

I interviewed with the firm on Tuesday, and then I got a call back for a 2nd round on campus again on Thursday, and then on Friday, I got a call from the partner at the firm (whom I interviewed with on Thursday) extending me an offer at the firm after graduation!

It all happened so quickly that I'm still processing it right now. This weekend, I went to the Business Council informal retreat and I got my physical offer letter with compensation and offer details yesterday! Today, I sent in my background check information and I hope to accept my offer soon. I am still waiting to hear back from one other consulting firm I interviewed with on Thursday and Friday, but regardless of whether I get that offer or not, there's a 95% chance I'll take this offer. It was my top choice, but now that I've got it in the bag, I feel weird accepting the first offer I've received and not having to "options". I think psychologically, we like to keep our options open, even if we don't need them. In Michael Gladwell's Blink, he talked about options and how people will keep options open for them, even if it hurts them because they can't stand doors closing, even if they know that their current option is amazing.

That being said, with the firm I got an offer with right now: The opportunity for growth is amazing, I know a lot of people at the firm from Business Council and BHP, I've enjoyed talking to everyone I met at the firm, I think the work will be challenging and engaging, and I most importantly, it's what I wanted! Call me crazy, but I should be submitting my acceptance offer now.

But, I don't know what I'm waiting for though. I guess I'm trying to get through all the tests from this week (one tomorrow, 2 on thursday, and I still have to start studying! Yike.. senioritis much?) I'll probably send in my acceptance on Thursday or early next week. I have already notified companies that have called me back for 2nd rounds (namely investment banks) that I've got an offer for consulting and am no longer looking for a full-time offer in banking. I've also canceled all my interviews on OCR and withdrew my application from any firms that I had a pending application with. Let me tell you, that is an amazing feeling! Especially in this economy, I am very humbled to be extended an offer for the firm I want to work for. For all the other seniors looking for a job right now, I wish that you each will experience the same feeling soon!

So besides the excitement of not having to recruit anymore and having a full-time offer from the firm I really wanted to work for, life has pretty much been about the same. I can already feel myself relaxing a bit more and enjoying myself! I went to an Ingrid Michaelson concert last night and it was so much fun! I really like her music and seeing her live for the 2nd time was great. Besides from the 3 tests I have this week, I'm flying to New York for an all-expense paid business conference from Friday to Monday. The conference is only Friday and Saturday, but I'm staying on Sunday and Monday to just visit the city and catch up with friends in the New York area! I'm super excited about the city. I'm planning on going to the last regular season baseball game with the Mets playing the Astros (and of course I'm going to wear my Astros gear!). I'm also hoping to see a broadway, check out nightlife, and experience the city some more.

Besides that, I met with my advisor today to see if I could simply my spring schedule a bit due to me having a job now. I found out that even if I dropped my accounting minor, I'd still have to take intermediate accounting and my course load wouldn't change at all b/c I don't have enough finance classes for any other track besides the corporate finance track. So, unfortunately, my schedule will not be getting easier. In the spring, I'm taking intermediate acct, finance for lg corporations, management 370, capstone finance class, and writing my senior thesis. I was hoping to free up time to study for the GMAT or relax a bit, but it doesn't look like it. =\ Oh well, I have the job that I really wanted, so I'm not complaining.

One caveat, I've used the word job throughout my entry. I'm still weary of calling this a career, but in thinking to myself, I'm wondering what distinction I've drawn myself between a job and a career. I'd like to think of job as something that just pays the bills and allows us to get by and a career as a job that I like and that allows me to develop professionally and personally. Maybe I then, by that definition, I should be calling it a career, but that just feels weird, so I'll resort to calling it a job for now.

So, this year, I'm still going to enjoy myself, do things on my Austin Bucket List, and make my senior year enjoyable!! But enough of the rambling. I need to start studying for my Cost Accounting class. YIKES!

To Bank or Not to Bank

Music: Halo by Beyonce
Mood: Burned-out

It's only Tuesday, and I'm already suffering from burnout. Last week was non-stop and this week is even worse, and the scary thing is, the pressure is still on to get the job I want after graduation. I had about 7 interviews last week, and this week, I have a total of 10 first round interviews and a potential for 3 second round interviews this week.

It's been not only physically draining, but emotionally, I don't know how to even process what is going on. I'm so set on just getting a job offer in something that I'm not sure what I actually am recruiting for or if I'd actually accept if I got an offer from them.

I have been recruiting with the consulting firms and investment banks, but I'm not sure if my heart is even set on doing investment banking. I just don't know if I'm cut for the long hours and the stress involved with banking. I know for sure I'd do consulting. However, if consulting doesn't work out and I get a banking offer, I don't know if I'd be happy taking it simply because the work-life balance would not even exist.

I already have a second round interview with a bank in Houston this weekend, and I'm waiting to hear back from the consulting firms I've recruited with last week and this week. The company I interviewed with last week should tell me within this week. Another consulting firm I interviewed with today will tell me tonight and 2nd rounds will be on campus again on Thursday. I also have another interview on Thursday with a consulting firm and they'll make decisions overnight and have second rounds on Friday. Hopefully by the end of the week, I'll have a consulting offer in the bag. I just need to ace my case interviews (which I have been practicing very hard for as of lately).

Besides recruiting, not much is going on:

• Went to the Tech game, and my parents and brother was in town this past weekend
• I'm working on finding a research assistant position
• I'm talking with professors to develop a solid thesis idea and have 2 advisors

That's all folks. I'll have updates later as they develop.

Careers are Intense

Music: Ingrid Michaelson- Everybody
(She's coming on Monday, Sept 28th, and I still need to buy tickets, but I can't wait!! By then, I hopefully will have a job lined up.)

Since pictures are worth a thousand words...

I feel like OCR is my homepage and interviews and info sessions make up my day job.

What I've been thinking about often... I've woken at 7am everyday this week for either interviews or class at 8/8:30am.

What my fridge is like at home with my 4 other roommates (but I love my house and my roommates!)

Me and Vicki at the UT vs. Louisiana-Monroe game! I'm excited about Texas Tech on Saturday!!

And my brother is coming in town this Saturday to recruit for his company. I got him a Texas Tech ticket, so he'll be joining my crazy group!

I'll try to do a better update on Friday when things are less busy and I'm not rushing to go to bed! C'est la vie!