Spending the week with Pandora

Pandora is my new favorite website especially since I can't find my iPod

I thought I remembered where my iPod was but it wasn't there

I was disappointed

I hate accounting even more today than I did yesterday

Only one more GMAT class to go

I need to start riding my bike again

My beard looks like a beard now, not just scruff

Halloween is tomorrow. I don't really care that much

Except for the free candy

I got some new tools that I'm excited about

I found a really cool roadtrip/live in van for $300

It has a stove and a bed

I'm to poor to buy the van but if my lease doesn't get renewed I might buy it because it costs as much as a month at my house

Elections are next week

I'm voting for......

This lady at work got really really really mad today over a little problem that was fixed very easily

She needs to calm down or lock herself in her office

Or I can lock her in

7 weeks to graduation

I'm not counting though

I get to talk to the Univ. of Washington tomorrow about grad school

Congrats Laura!!!

Why I HATE Group Projects

I absolutely hate group projects. Besides having to go out of your comfort zone and be put in groups with people who you would have never associated with, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, they are usually impossible to make work. I've only had one that ever worked really well and that was because we'd been working together for 2 semesters in a row. Here are 3 examples of why I hate group projects, (and these all happened in the last 3 weeks).

Scenario 1
Class: Venture Capital
Assignment(s): Market segment research, comparative data analysis for Bluehouse Skis.
So we have these assignments to do but everyone in the group goes to school full time and works, some are married and have kids. We figure that we're all mature adults and can divide up the assignment to do on our own time. We set up a meeting time to figure out the assignment and decide who's going to do what. We get an email 30 minutes before we meet from one guy, I don't remember his name so I'll call him Flake, who says his car broke down and can't make it. No big deal right? We email him with what we need him to do and when he needs to have it done. Unfortunately the email never comes and another guy in the group does some extra work. For the second assignment we set up a time to meet by email, and the meeting is in 2 days. Once again Flake is a no show so we don't bother giving him anything to do because who knows if he'll even do it? I get home and see an email from Senor Flake saying that he just saw we were going to meet that night and he was to late to make it. Well, we met after our class Monday night to go over everything and he comes and asks how everything is going on it. We ask him where he's been and why he didn't do his work but he swears that he sent it in. Of course when we ask him if he used the Reply All function he says he did but he can't explain why we didn't get the email.

Scenario 2
Class: Corporate Finance Cases
Extra: Everyone in the group has to do 2 case writeups during the semester to get writing credit
Assignment: Group Case 17
So we get an explanation of how to do the case on Monday morning and it's due Wednesday morning. The only time we can meet is Tuesday afternoon. I plan to meet Tyler and Rossy at 3:30 to start on it and Adam is coming at 5 when he gets off work. Tyler sends us a text saying that he has to stay late at work and then go to his second job so he can't help. Rossy has to leave for another class but promises to come back. Adam shows up and we do all the calculations and write up the case by ourselves. Rossy comes back and says she'll proofread and compile everything to turn in. They next morning Tyler doesn't show up and Rossy show's up with her name on the case so she can get credit for the writing that Adam and I did.

Scenario 3
Class: Corporate Finance Cases
Extra: Everyone in the group has to do 2 case writeups during the semester to get writing credit
Assignment: Group Case 7
So we meet again on Tuesday to do this weeks case and Rossy and Tyler both say they'll help. Adam is there too, helping as usual. We figure almost everything out after 4 hours (because certain members of the group do not understand the subject at all). At this point I'm an hour late for an avalanche class that Dean Cummings is teaching (one of the top Alaskan heli-ski guides) and so Tyler says that he'll do the sensitivity analysis that we need to turn in with the assignment and Rossy will do short answers to all the questions so the writeup won't take me to long. I get home from the avalanche class and there's an email from Tyler saying "Sorry, I couldn't figure out the sensitivity analysis" and a text from Rossy saying "Sorry, I don't feel good so I'm lying down and can't answer the questions." Of course, who ever heard of using their laptop while they lay down? Well, I stay up until 1 doing the sensitivity analysis and correcting the other spreadsheet that had some problems and then got up at 6 this morning to write the paper. I got to class and everyone acts like everything is cool and like they didn't bail on me.

And that's why I hate group projects, especially in the last 3 weeks.

New things in my life in the last 3-4 weeks

I am growing a beard

I plan to grow my beard for a few weeks

I found my favorite drink from Argentina at Dan's tonight

I sold 3 ski racks

I traded a ski rack for a pair of skis

I got a job at Snowbird

My job at Snowbird pays as much as I made when I graduated High School

I don't care, I'm ok with being poor

I don't think American Express likes me being poor

I'm drinking my favorite Argentine drink right now

I told my friend that the girl he likes is leading him on

My friend who is being led on isn't very smart and still hangs out with her

School is hard

The GMAT is hard

I'm better at algebra tonight than I was this morning

I'm still not very good at Algebra

The annoying guy at my not Snowbird job is being transferred

The grumpy guy at my not Snowbird job who always gets made at his girlfriend/mother of his child is probably getting transferred

I'm happy that some people are getting transferred at work

I quit my not Snowbird job in December

I wish December was here

I think South Park is right about the new Indiana Jones

Aliens? Seriously? Aliens?

Poor Indy

I built a desk

I am using my desk right now

I like my desk better than the floor

I hate politics

I think I'm going to write my sister in law and friend in for president and vice president

Eric Clapton can Change the World

I'm done for tonight

Damn You Mr. Douglas

So I'm getting ready to take the GMAT and I'm taking a prep class because its been a long time since I've done alot of the math. So algebra made sense in 7th grade when I took pre-algebra but in 8th grade I made a fateful change in schools. At Albion I had Algebra with Mr. Douglas. I blame him for every difficulty in math I've ever had. Mr. Douglas was eccentric to say the least. He was a skinny man, about 60 years old, bald with a mustache. He kind of reminded me of Rizzo the Rat on the Muppets. He was just as twitchy too because he would drink an entire thermos of coffee every morning. Instead of using chalkboard or whiteboard he would use the overhead projector and just write on the screen. The gross thing about this was that whenever he wrote something wrong he would lick his finger and wipe it off. Naturally his hands were black by the end of the day. The guy was so jittery and went so fast I had trouble following him, and it didn't help that I already had trouble with it. Well, I didn't understand algebra for the life of me no matter how hard I tried, and I tried really, really hard. Well, Mr. Douglas has come back to haunt me know because algebra is a large part of the GMAT. I thought I was better at it now but nope, I'm not. I "solve" the problem that makes sense to me and I find the answer I get in the answer bank and I think I'm so smart. Then I check the answers in the back of the book and I'm way off. Hopefully it will all click before the test or else I'm screeeeewed!!

Laura, this is for you.

Well, home will be Salt Lake this winter thanks to Connie and Tyler at Alta, but I'll definitely be visiting a few other places this winter. Unfortunately the US Freeskiing series isn't going to Squaw Valley this year but I'll be in California for Kirkwood most likely and hopefully the big trip will be ALASKA!!! If I do make it up there (and I have every intention to) I'm hoping to stay for a while and make the trip worth it and see what else is up there. I'll probably hang out with Tina..... I mean Sarah for a bit, maybe shoot a bear or a moose and talk about defended the homeland from those pesky Russians.

To Stay or To Go...........

This is my favorite time of year, when the leaves are changing and the snow is beginning to fall. I'm like a 5 year old the week before Christmas, except my Christmas is ski season. As usual around this time of year I start thinking about leaving Utah. I know we have the best skiing on earth but there's something that makes me want to see what else is out there. I could spend a winter in Truckee, Whistler or Jackson. Every other year I've had obligations at home holding me back, like school and work but this year everything has fallen into place. My rent contract expires at the end of December, I've told my boss I'm leaving in December and I graduate in December. I don't know how much better things could line up. We'll see though.

Life keeps changing though, for good and bad but thats life. How boring would it be if everything were perfect? There would be no late night cram sessions chugging Red Bull,no excitement or surprise when you pull off a good grade after a night of cramming etc. It's always amazed me though how quickly a good situation can turn bad. One moment things are great and then you blink. When you open your eyes everything has turned upside down on you. I read a quote today that I think explains it well.

"Sometimes good things fall apart so that better things can fall together."

That is life. All you can do is life it and love it for what it is, and make the most of it.

"Do what you can with what you have where ever you are"-Log Chair in Jackson Hole