C-Dawg's Post M.B.A. Career Plans

"My post-M.B.A. plans cumulate to myself holding a C.E.O. position of a leading pharmaceutical company, on par with Bausch and Lomb or Johnson & Johnson, by the age of 46. I expect that with my knowledge accumulated at this fine institution, I'll climb rapidly through the ranks in the Business world. My past education, being a B.S. degree in Biology and three years of academic research on Alzheimer's Disease, have given me a wealth of knowledge in the inner working of the Biological sciences arena. As such, when complemented with an M.B.A. from a world renowned school I will be an unstoppable force focused on a single goal and armed with the ammunition to succeed."

Lesson In Brevity

While working on my Simon application essays, I received the following note in the mail:

"Melisa,
Thanks a lot for the money. I really appreciate it. Can't wait to bug you about being so short. Miss you.
Love,
xxxx" -written by my cousin who recently graduated from high school

It made me smile as I was trying to make my own sentences concise and clear.

And The Winner Is...

It was great to see that voter turnout was higher than anticipated. The winner is:

Choice #1: YAY!

This was an exciting race with a few unexpected turn of events. Due to a glitch in some voting machines, one vote was divided equally among all three nominees. An additional hopeful emerged, hoping to secure a place on the ballot as a write-in candidate.

The final results are listed below:

• 61.90% : "YAY!"
  
• 19.05% : "YEAAH!"
  
• 19.05% : "YAAAH!"
• 00.00%: "YEEHAW"

The formal concession was sent via iPhone at 10:49am.

Thank you to all who came out to vote. The polls are officially closed.

How do you spell....?

What is the correct way to spell the word that Jessica shouts with enthusiasm when she throws her arms up in the air? Your choices are:

1. YAY!
   
2. YEAAH!
3. YAAAH!

Please vote in the comments section for the official spelling of Jessica's trademark line.

2 Simon Promises

While contemplating spreadsheet models and the wonders of Crystal Ball , two members of my study group and I made promises to each other:

1. When we all get into the program, we are painting the town red. Clark is going to wear a suit; Jessica and I will fancy it up. The other group members will soon be informed of this plan. And they will love it. YAY!
   
2. When we all graduate, we are going to spend a week in Marco Island painting the town with every color in the rainbow. Super YAY!
   

CAKE!

There aren't many reasons to bake a cake with multiple layers and a three page recipe on a 90 degree day in an apartment without A/C. However, there are some traditions that can beat the heat.

Ali and I had originally planned to get together in May to celebrate our shared birthday but the best laid plans don't always work out. Between Ali's recent trip to Spain and my exam schedule, yesterday afternoon was the first date that worked for both of us. And of course, no birthday celebration is complete without candles. Ali and I decided to bake a cake called "Berry Surprise" because our kitchen escapades are always full of mishaps and surprises.For example, this cake wasn't supposed to be a layer cake but it was only half an inch high when we took it out of the oven which made it challenging to hollow out half an inch to make room for the filling. Believe it or not, it was still delicious. Just ask my roomie.

When we finished baking the "Berry Surprise, " the fans she bought us in Spain did not keep us cool in the apartment which had also been baking at 350 degrees. We walked to Spot Coffee for iced beverages because it was cooler outside than it was in her apartment. Upon our return, we discovered that my car was parked in the middle of a parade route and we watched the festivities from Ali's bedroom window:

When the parade was over we decided to watch Labyrinth, an old 80's classic, while we sat down to enjoy our goat cheese salad and vegetarian twice baked potatoes. We had a great afternoon and are looking forward to choosing another recipe with lots of ingredients and multiple steps for our next kitchen adventure.

Congratulations Amelia!

Congratulations to Amelia for being chosen to represent SPCC on Rochester's Preventive Coalition!

I have no doubt that she will do a fantastic job and this was also an excellent opportunity for her to redeem one of her birthday coupons: "Good for a celebration (for ANY reason) at Lola's - Melly's Treat." We had a great time catching up at dinner, putzing around the mall, and finally relaxing at her house this evening.

On a completely unrelated note, my passport arrived this afternoon. It came a few hours before I received an email tracking update from "donotreply@state.gov" to alert me that my passport had been mailed. Hmm...

17.5%

I just completed my 4th midterm and am officially 17.5% finished with my degree! Even though it is a small milestone, I think it is a reason to celebrate. I felt more prepared for this exam than ever before (and have been happy with my grades thus far). When I walked out, I didn't feel like like I was sinking on the Titanic or had just been run over by a bus. Between office hours and tri-weekly study sessions, I know that I couldn't have possibly worked any harder.

I will never forget how proud I felt on Sunday night/Monday morning. Our study group had planned a study BBQ to get through our optional problem set. When Jessica and I touched base in the morning to plan our grocery run, we promised each other that we would not go to bed until we had finished all of the problems. Our BBQ started at 3:00 and we were all diligently working and helping each other when we got stuck. After we finished our burgers and massive amounts of ice cream, it wasn't long before our group members began to finish up. The first person finished at 7:00 and everyone else had finished by 9:00. Jessica and I were still struggling with problem 4 and were determined to keep each other motivated to complete the problem set. We stopped at Starbucks for a mental break because we knew we would be up for awhile. As the night dragged on, our light bulbs were finally going off and keeping us energized. Problem 9 was the first time we didn't consult each other or the solutions. At 1:45am we both hit "Run Solution" at the same time and held our breath as we checked our answers against the Professor's. Upon realizing that we were both correct, we jumped up, hugged each other, and screamed (not very quietly) with excitement. Shortly after that, we heard both of her dogs barking and her husband's footsteps as he tried to shoosh Phoenix and Farrah back to bed. True to our word, we kept our promise and completed the 10th and final problem at 2:11 am.