Sunday, February 5, 2012

early semester thoughts

The semester is off to a roaring start. We've already had three weeks of classes, I've turned in a couple of papers and my group projects are already in progress. Some random thoughts/observations:

- I am beyond grateful that this is my last semester. I don't think I have the stamina to keep going for another semester.

- I'm taking 3 full classes and an internship. The internship has some assignments but mostly I work two full days/week. I also have a research assistantship for a marketing professor. I have 90 hours to complete during the semester. I think I have 80 hours left to go. One of the classes is a 5-week Saturday that starts after spring break.

- My worst day is Tuesday. I leave my house by 6:40am and after a full day at my internship and then class, I don't get home until a little after 11pm. Thursday is my second worst day as I leave my house by 6:40am, have a full day at my internship and then class but I'm home by 9pm-ish. I've actually discovered the joys of sleeping in on Wednesday and have bought curtains in my bedroom to help me recover as much as possible from Tuesday's marathon.

- I am so so so tired of eating almonds for snacks at work and in class!! If I don't find an alternative set of snacks, I think I am going to turn into an almond!!

- Though I have fewer classes this semester I feel like there's more work. Or maybe it just feels that way because I can't do any schoolwork on Tuesday or Thursday so I have fewer days to do the same amount of work? I don't know what will happen when my Saturday class starts and I have one less day to finish everything.

- A lot of my friends are graduating with me in May (May 19!!!) so the big topic of conversation is jobs. A few of my friends already have jobs; the rest of us can't figure out how to make the time to look for a job. It's overwhelming. The more I work at my internship, the more I can't wait to get back to work and start contributing again. It will also be nice to get a paycheck again! :-)

- Only one of my classes has a group project component this semester. It's for my strategic management class and the project is a semester-long online business simulation. We met for the first time yesterday to complete the first week's work and I am really really glad I have such a good group - smart, engaged, type-A, and focused. My kind of people!

- I am so over where I live. My condo association chopped down all of the trees on my street last month and there have been a few other things going on that have really started to bother me. I cannot wait until I graduate, get a job, and can sell this place! I feel like I live in an apartment complex that is slowly going downhill and hurting my re-sale value but I am powerless to do anything about it. It's affecting my happiness while I'm at home.

- Besides job hunting, the other big conversations among my friends are Who's going to graduation? and Who's having a party? Count me in for both!

- Over the January break my beau moved to a new apartment that's 2.6 miles away from me, which has made me ridiculously happy and has made it a lot easier for us to see one another. My semester goal, which my beau supports, is to see each other at least twice a week. So far so good. I am determined to not let this semester get the better of my relationship!

- Words can't express how ready I am for this whole program to be over. I am exhausted, mentally and physically, and really want my life back. I can honestly say that getting my MBA was a really really good decision and I am excited for the opportunities that it has created, but it's an intense program with a shocking amount of work and I am quickly running out of steam. I'm so close to the end, that every day that passes is one day closer to graduation. I can't tell you how good it feels to have the finish line so close!!!!

I'll post some thoughts about the semester when it's over but for now, I've got to put my head down and get to work! :-)

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