Oh Christmas break... that glorious time in which I can read a book for the sheer joy of reading it rather than to glean ideas for a research paper or as required reading for a class. Dad gave me a book by S. Truett Cathy for Christmas. He came and spoke at Harding awhile back as part of the American Studies Distinguished Lecture Series and I found what he had to say very interesting. He was a witty old man; the type that made you feel comfortable and wish he was your grandpa. He was selling books after his speech but I didn't have any money with me so I asked for some of them for Christmas. "How Did You Do It, Truett?" (Copyright 2007) is the story of how he made Chick-fil-A into such a successful business. It's a short read - only 95 pages with pretty big font - but I found the following passages of interest:
"When we're fully committed to something, we're not likely to give up or be discouraged...When you're fully committed, you see strange and unusual things happen that otherwise wouldn't if you were not committed. That's been a key to my life, a key to success. When you're fully committed, you're not likely to fail."
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"Closing on Sunday turned out to be the best business decision I ever made. We generate more sales in our restaurants in six days than many other chains do in seven. So I tell our customers, 'You eat with us six days a week, and I'll give you permission to eat somewhere else on Sundays'."
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"We gradually become a part of those people we associate with, whether good or bad. If you want to be a great preacher, you associate with other great preachers, and something rubs off on you. If you want to be a great businessman, you associate with other great businessmen, and something rubs off on you. For instance my sons have been associated with me all of their lives, and look at them. Both of them are going bald."
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Let Me Rephrase That
*another humorous email from my Uncle Bill*
Judy Wallman, a professional genealogical researcher, discovered that Stephen Dion the leader of Canada's Liberal Party great-great uncle, Robert Dion, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Quebec in 1889.
The only known photograph of Dion shows him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture is this inscription:"Robert Dion; horse thief, sent to Quebec Provincial Prison 1883, escaped 1887, robbed the Canadian Pacific Railway six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted, and hanged in 1889."
Judy e-mailed Stephen Dion for comments. Dion's staff sent back the following biographical sketch:
"Robert Dion was a famous horseman in Quebec. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave in 1887 to resume his dealings with the railroad. Subsequently, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Dion passed away during an important civic function held in his honour, when the platform on which he was standing collapsed."
Judy Wallman, a professional genealogical researcher, discovered that Stephen Dion the leader of Canada's Liberal Party great-great uncle, Robert Dion, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Quebec in 1889.
The only known photograph of Dion shows him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture is this inscription:"Robert Dion; horse thief, sent to Quebec Provincial Prison 1883, escaped 1887, robbed the Canadian Pacific Railway six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted, and hanged in 1889."
Judy e-mailed Stephen Dion for comments. Dion's staff sent back the following biographical sketch:
"Robert Dion was a famous horseman in Quebec. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave in 1887 to resume his dealings with the railroad. Subsequently, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Dion passed away during an important civic function held in his honour, when the platform on which he was standing collapsed."
Friday, December 26, 2008
I'm the Mom, That's Why
Check out this link for an excellent rendition of the William Tell Overture. This lady has got some talent and a great sense of humor!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMhuAtyFCrw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMhuAtyFCrw
Jewels from Papa
I found these quotes saved on my laptop. Both were made (by my tall but gentle grandfather who wouldn't hurt a fly) when looking at a picture of a guy he didn't find all that attractive...
"He's pretty in two ways. Pretty ugly. And pretty apt to stay that way" - Papa
"I've seen better lookin' heads on cabbage" - Papa
Oh Papa, you crack me up!
"He's pretty in two ways. Pretty ugly. And pretty apt to stay that way" - Papa
"I've seen better lookin' heads on cabbage" - Papa
Oh Papa, you crack me up!
Fondue and Family Time
Well I got over missing Matt the other night and had a nice pork chop dinner and then decorated cookies. It was so much fun! There's pictures of the puns and hilarity that ensued on Facebook.
Christmas Eve I got to sleep in and Dale got home from work early. We did the gift thing and I got some really great stuff. And I love watching my family's reaction to the presents I got them... it makes me smile! After that we started the long but delicious process of a fondue dinner. We had 2 pots of regular oil and then a pot of beef broth w/ mushrooms and onions. For food we had: beef, pork, shrimp, salmon, onions, peppers, mozza sticks, and jalepeno poppers (the latter 2 have to go in their own pot because they are battered and chunks of batter fall off into the oil). For dipping sauces we had: marinara, seafood cocktail, orange ginger, teriyaki, thai, sweet & sour, BBQ, and ranch. MMMMMMMM good! To let our dinner digest, we then played the game of Life. I ended up 3rd (which is better than the last place I've been getting in all other family games as of late). I was a married college-grad-turned-Superstar making $70 000 and living in a mobile home with twins. Oh my! It was fun to play though... I don't think I've played that game since Jr. High or maybe early High school. Then we busted out the grapes, bananas and strawberries for a chocolate fondue... MMMMMM that was tasty too! Fondues = very high on my favorite meal list right now! Dale took Ev to his mom's and then brought me here to Dad's. I visited with him for a bit over a cup of hot chocolate and then went to bed.
Today was a good day too. Did the gifts thing with Dad this morning and then used my Best Buy gift card he got me to buy the camera I wanted online. It should be here by the 5th :) I could have gone to the store to get it but they are having a sale that ends on the 4th and I don't know if I'll be in the city shopping before then so I might as well order it now. Also, I got a web-only deal that if you buy a camera you can have an 8 GB memory card for only $9.99! Now THAT'S a sweet deal. Went to Uncle Bill & Aunt Norma's for the rest of the day. Uncle Don & Aunt Linda are out from Ontario and my cousin (their son) Brett is out from Victoria. After a little gift exchange with all them, Brett & I played with Aunt Norma's new Wii. Dallas joined in when she got home from her bf Matt's house and Dad even came downstairs for a couple tennis matches and a quick game of baseball. Then we had a big dinner with everyone. Matt, Dallas, Brett & I just chilled on the couches downstairs and watched 3 episodes of Season 1 How I Met Your Mother. Came home and sang a few Christmas songs with Dad and now I'm chatting online to my boy.
Yep, it was a good Christmas :)
Christmas Eve I got to sleep in and Dale got home from work early. We did the gift thing and I got some really great stuff. And I love watching my family's reaction to the presents I got them... it makes me smile! After that we started the long but delicious process of a fondue dinner. We had 2 pots of regular oil and then a pot of beef broth w/ mushrooms and onions. For food we had: beef, pork, shrimp, salmon, onions, peppers, mozza sticks, and jalepeno poppers (the latter 2 have to go in their own pot because they are battered and chunks of batter fall off into the oil). For dipping sauces we had: marinara, seafood cocktail, orange ginger, teriyaki, thai, sweet & sour, BBQ, and ranch. MMMMMMMM good! To let our dinner digest, we then played the game of Life. I ended up 3rd (which is better than the last place I've been getting in all other family games as of late). I was a married college-grad-turned-Superstar making $70 000 and living in a mobile home with twins. Oh my! It was fun to play though... I don't think I've played that game since Jr. High or maybe early High school. Then we busted out the grapes, bananas and strawberries for a chocolate fondue... MMMMMM that was tasty too! Fondues = very high on my favorite meal list right now! Dale took Ev to his mom's and then brought me here to Dad's. I visited with him for a bit over a cup of hot chocolate and then went to bed.
Today was a good day too. Did the gifts thing with Dad this morning and then used my Best Buy gift card he got me to buy the camera I wanted online. It should be here by the 5th :) I could have gone to the store to get it but they are having a sale that ends on the 4th and I don't know if I'll be in the city shopping before then so I might as well order it now. Also, I got a web-only deal that if you buy a camera you can have an 8 GB memory card for only $9.99! Now THAT'S a sweet deal. Went to Uncle Bill & Aunt Norma's for the rest of the day. Uncle Don & Aunt Linda are out from Ontario and my cousin (their son) Brett is out from Victoria. After a little gift exchange with all them, Brett & I played with Aunt Norma's new Wii. Dallas joined in when she got home from her bf Matt's house and Dad even came downstairs for a couple tennis matches and a quick game of baseball. Then we had a big dinner with everyone. Matt, Dallas, Brett & I just chilled on the couches downstairs and watched 3 episodes of Season 1 How I Met Your Mother. Came home and sang a few Christmas songs with Dad and now I'm chatting online to my boy.
Yep, it was a good Christmas :)
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Home Sweet Home
My complete exhaustion from 2 days of traveling and a whole semester of busyness and stress, combined with some rather icy roads in Edmonton led me to believe that staying home Sunday morning and getting some rest was in order, despite missing out on church. I slept in a little and then woke up in time to see Mom's reaction to the new dining room table that Sandra (her partner from It's A Crock Country Store) had given her for Christmas. Mom was out that morning doing a consultation for a show home with Sandra and Dale & Evan had set it up while she was gone. At first she was too busy talking to notice the new table and then she stopped mid-stride and mid-sentence and for one of the few times in her life was speechless. It was marvelous. Oh how I wish I woulda been at a better angle to get a picture of her face.
Once she recovered from the shock, we had a big brunch on the new table. Bacon and eggs and Dale's famous french toast. Then we played Yahtzee (I got last place) and then I had a shower and went to town with Mom to get a couple groceries and got to drive our new car...2008 Impala SS... HOTT! Then we started baking. We baked butter tarts and pecan tarts and got the dough ready for gingerbreads and sugar cookies. We then had a nice big dinner with roast & the works and started playing Rummoli. Dan stopped by to say hi and have a visit with the fam before he disappeared to Thailand for 3 weeks. It was good to see him again. When Dan left we started baking cookies. After Operation Cookie Sheet was completed and the missing pan was found, we had a blast cutting out the shapes and getting flour all over each other and fighting with the rolling pin. It was by far the funnest (yes, funnest) sugar cookie baking experience ever. Then we finished up our game of Rummoli (which I also got last place in... it was not my day for games I guess). It was the perfect day of family stuff.
Yesterday Dale had to work and Mom and I took Evan back to his Mom's cuz he had hockey practice and then I got my hair done. I got bold and changed colors! Pics soon to come on FB and maybe one on here... Then we ran errands and just chilled at home. I went over and visited with the neighbors for a little bit and got to play with their little 1.5 year old daughter Faith before she went to bed. Stayed up late chatting online and adding pics to FB of the baking adventures.
Today was some more errands with Mom and then wrapping presents. We're gonna decorate coookies since we have Evan again now (Dale brought him home after work). I'm looking forward to it but I'm missing Matt a lot tonight...
I made a goal for myself to BE where I am over the break and enjoy the time at home. Allison, I remember talking to you about this before... it seems when you're at school you just can't wait to get home but when you're at home, you miss people like crazy. I told myself I was not going to complain about missing people over the break but just enjoy the time at home. And don't get me wrong, I am enjoying it A LOT. It was just hard when I was texting with Matt earlier and he was going snowmobiling this afternoon (which he wanted to do with me over Thanksgiving but there wasn't enough snow). And then he's going out with some friends from high school tonight and he said he wished I was there too...
However, I am off to enjoy the time with my family since it is so short and I will have a whole semester (and probably a lifetime...) to be with Matt. *Did I just say that?*
Pork chop dinner here I come! :)
Once she recovered from the shock, we had a big brunch on the new table. Bacon and eggs and Dale's famous french toast. Then we played Yahtzee (I got last place) and then I had a shower and went to town with Mom to get a couple groceries and got to drive our new car...2008 Impala SS... HOTT! Then we started baking. We baked butter tarts and pecan tarts and got the dough ready for gingerbreads and sugar cookies. We then had a nice big dinner with roast & the works and started playing Rummoli. Dan stopped by to say hi and have a visit with the fam before he disappeared to Thailand for 3 weeks. It was good to see him again. When Dan left we started baking cookies. After Operation Cookie Sheet was completed and the missing pan was found, we had a blast cutting out the shapes and getting flour all over each other and fighting with the rolling pin. It was by far the funnest (yes, funnest) sugar cookie baking experience ever. Then we finished up our game of Rummoli (which I also got last place in... it was not my day for games I guess). It was the perfect day of family stuff.
Yesterday Dale had to work and Mom and I took Evan back to his Mom's cuz he had hockey practice and then I got my hair done. I got bold and changed colors! Pics soon to come on FB and maybe one on here... Then we ran errands and just chilled at home. I went over and visited with the neighbors for a little bit and got to play with their little 1.5 year old daughter Faith before she went to bed. Stayed up late chatting online and adding pics to FB of the baking adventures.
Today was some more errands with Mom and then wrapping presents. We're gonna decorate coookies since we have Evan again now (Dale brought him home after work). I'm looking forward to it but I'm missing Matt a lot tonight...
I made a goal for myself to BE where I am over the break and enjoy the time at home. Allison, I remember talking to you about this before... it seems when you're at school you just can't wait to get home but when you're at home, you miss people like crazy. I told myself I was not going to complain about missing people over the break but just enjoy the time at home. And don't get me wrong, I am enjoying it A LOT. It was just hard when I was texting with Matt earlier and he was going snowmobiling this afternoon (which he wanted to do with me over Thanksgiving but there wasn't enough snow). And then he's going out with some friends from high school tonight and he said he wished I was there too...
However, I am off to enjoy the time with my family since it is so short and I will have a whole semester (and probably a lifetime...) to be with Matt. *Did I just say that?*
Pork chop dinner here I come! :)
Happy Trails
After celebrating Nikki's birthday Thursday night and then packing and cleaning, Friday morning we left for the airport. I dropped Nikki off and made my way towards Ft. Worth. Between some hilarious text messages (thanks Dan!) and some good tunes, the drive actually didn't seem that bad. Traffic didn't get bed till about Bedford/Hurst and the 820 was pretty slow going but other than that it was great. Luckily I got there before rush hour so that helped. Nana let me do some laundry at her house and I'll even have clean towels to pick up on my way back through! Visited with them and went to bed early. They took me to Uncle Lyle & Aunt Carrie's for a short visit and then Uncle Lyle took me to the airport. My flight was delayed but I wasn't too worried. I read my book and watched the cute antics of a little girl that looked quite similar to my cousin Karli. Read a little more on the flight from Dallas to Albequerque where we briefly touched down to let some passengers off and a few more came on. I made friends with a Southwest flight attendant named Keith and we chatted most the way from Albequerque to Phoenix. He was super cool and we're even facebook friends now haha. I was too early to check in for my WestJet flight to Edmonton so I took advantage of the wireless and checked FB/email/chatted on MSN. Went to check in and there was a slight glitch with something regarding payment for the flight so while I waited to hear back from Mom I talked with the WJ ticket agents. The one, Lori, was running on the conveyor belt like a treadmill and then actually got out from behind the counter and did some cartwheels. They were totally bored but so was I so it was a good combo. They even gave me this little rubber pencil topper shaped like a plane and signed it for me. I guess it was a good day for run-ins with airline employees (and it helps that Mom is one so I kinda know their lingo)! My flight to Edmonton was a few minutes late leaving but nothing compared to some passengers who were trying to get to Calgary. Going through customs didn't take too long but waiting for my bags took some time since there were 3 flights that came in around the same time on the same carousel. Oh well, I made it through that last customs guy and through the double doors to see Mom, Dale, Evan and even Phil & Jon waiting for me! It was a happy reunion and despite my complete exhaustion, I ended up staying up excitedly chatting with Mom & Dale until almost 2. Wow, it was good to be home!
My first 2 days at home have been great but I shall save the description of that for another post... there's pics on FB tho!
My first 2 days at home have been great but I shall save the description of that for another post... there's pics on FB tho!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Relief
1) Turned in my take home final to Dr. Oliver and I am now officially done with my first semester of my senior year!
2) My rim got here on time (and it's the right one!). The guys at the tire shop just charged me for the used tire not the labor so I got a sweet deal there. Everything is mounted and balanced and glorious. Hooray!
3) Today is Nikki's birthday so I'm taking her out to dinner and then we're playing games and taking fun pictures on campus tonight
Today is a good day. Minus the having to say goodbye to Matt a little while ago.... ugh, I hate goodbyes... Oh well, only 3 weeks! ;)
2) My rim got here on time (and it's the right one!). The guys at the tire shop just charged me for the used tire not the labor so I got a sweet deal there. Everything is mounted and balanced and glorious. Hooray!
3) Today is Nikki's birthday so I'm taking her out to dinner and then we're playing games and taking fun pictures on campus tonight
Today is a good day. Minus the having to say goodbye to Matt a little while ago.... ugh, I hate goodbyes... Oh well, only 3 weeks! ;)
Smilin'
I'm about to head to bed but I'm going to bed smiling. I got a Christmas package in the mail from Matt's mom today - she's so sweet! Mylah made it back this afternoon earlier than expected and we finished the group section of our final. I got my Christmas date with Matt after all and it was wonderful. I have one of the sweetest boyfriends in the world! I finished the individual part of the final after our date. I just have to turn it in tomorrow morning and I'm done for the semester - whoa! And according to the UPS website, my new rim is on it's way from Little Rock to Searcy tonight so it should be here by tomorrow as promised.
Things are looking up.
Things are looking up.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The good: Finished my POM final (he said it would take up to an hour but I finished in 20 min!)... I got my process improvement project back and aced it!... Matt and I got to study IB together, play pool and grab a bite to eat at Arby's
The bad: The ebay seller emailed Matt today and said they didn't get our email (with confirmation that we wanted the expedited shipping) in time so they just sent it out ground. It SHOULD be here Thursday morning but I'm really worried w/ the holiday rush (and my luck) it might not get here in time.
The ugly: Mylah (girl in my group for the 440 group take home final) has been in Corpus since Friday for her sister's graduation and was supposed to be back this afternoon. We had planned to meet tomorrow afternoon to work on the last little bit so we can turn it in Thursday morning (which was an extension already because originally it was due this afternoon). Matt and I had planned to have our Christmas together tomorrow night. We were gonna do dinner and exchange gifts and stuff. Well, with all this crazy weather, Mylah won't be back till sometime tomorrow and she'll call us when she gets in so we can work on it. But if she's coming all the way from Corpus, it'll take her awhile to get here. So I have no idea when we're gonna work on the group final and it'll probably have to be tomorrow night so Matt and I can't have our Christmas thing. He has a final on Thursday and we will *hopefully* be getting my rim mounted at the tire shop and then he works from 4-12 and I leave first thing in the morning on Friday. So... I don't know if we can do our Christmas thing. I'm kinda bummed...
The bad: The ebay seller emailed Matt today and said they didn't get our email (with confirmation that we wanted the expedited shipping) in time so they just sent it out ground. It SHOULD be here Thursday morning but I'm really worried w/ the holiday rush (and my luck) it might not get here in time.
The ugly: Mylah (girl in my group for the 440 group take home final) has been in Corpus since Friday for her sister's graduation and was supposed to be back this afternoon. We had planned to meet tomorrow afternoon to work on the last little bit so we can turn it in Thursday morning (which was an extension already because originally it was due this afternoon). Matt and I had planned to have our Christmas together tomorrow night. We were gonna do dinner and exchange gifts and stuff. Well, with all this crazy weather, Mylah won't be back till sometime tomorrow and she'll call us when she gets in so we can work on it. But if she's coming all the way from Corpus, it'll take her awhile to get here. So I have no idea when we're gonna work on the group final and it'll probably have to be tomorrow night so Matt and I can't have our Christmas thing. He has a final on Thursday and we will *hopefully* be getting my rim mounted at the tire shop and then he works from 4-12 and I leave first thing in the morning on Friday. So... I don't know if we can do our Christmas thing. I'm kinda bummed...
Auto Parts, Freezing Rain and Finals
Well I must say things are lookin' a little brighter than they were a few days ago (minus the weather to be discussed shortly). Went to the tire shop and they told me I needed a new rim. We went to the dealership and a new one would be 300. After a little searching, Matt found a rim on eBay and they can have it here by tomorrow. The guys at the tire shop had one last used tire that would work and they will mount & balance everything for me on Thursday so I can still leave on Friday as planned. What a huge relief!
I was supposed to have an 8:00 POM final today but it is moved to tonight at 6:30 due to some nasty freezing rain yesterday that has made all roads complete skating rinks with a couple inches of ice. I managed to get to the tire shop yesterday before the really ridiculous weather kicked in but there was still quite a layer of ice on my windshield. My ice scraper is at home (thinking I wouldn't really need it in Arkansas). So, being the somewhat creative person that I am, I put the defrost on full blast for a few minutes and then used a CD cover to scrape off the ice. I later used the same CD cover to help Matt scrape off his enough to see so we could go to AutoZone and buy a scraper. I crack myself up sometimes... but hey, at least it got the job done!
I took my SBM final yesterday morning and feel pretty good about it. There were some I was unsure of but I calculated it and I only have to make a 53 on that one to keep my A so I think I'm gonna be just fine. We also got our business plan projects back and between the written plan and the oral presentation we made a 95% overall! It was so nice to see that all of our hard work (group meetings EVERY week and lots of individual work outside of those meetings) finally paid off. Frazier & Emerson said that with some polishing we can definitely make the Top 12 in the Governor's Cup competition next semester!
I was supposed to have an 8:00 POM final today but it is moved to tonight at 6:30 due to some nasty freezing rain yesterday that has made all roads complete skating rinks with a couple inches of ice. I managed to get to the tire shop yesterday before the really ridiculous weather kicked in but there was still quite a layer of ice on my windshield. My ice scraper is at home (thinking I wouldn't really need it in Arkansas). So, being the somewhat creative person that I am, I put the defrost on full blast for a few minutes and then used a CD cover to scrape off the ice. I later used the same CD cover to help Matt scrape off his enough to see so we could go to AutoZone and buy a scraper. I crack myself up sometimes... but hey, at least it got the job done!
I took my SBM final yesterday morning and feel pretty good about it. There were some I was unsure of but I calculated it and I only have to make a 53 on that one to keep my A so I think I'm gonna be just fine. We also got our business plan projects back and between the written plan and the oral presentation we made a 95% overall! It was so nice to see that all of our hard work (group meetings EVERY week and lots of individual work outside of those meetings) finally paid off. Frazier & Emerson said that with some polishing we can definitely make the Top 12 in the Governor's Cup competition next semester!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Twelve and One
Twelve pages. One night. Done everything but finals for the semester! HECK YES!!
(see previous post)
(see previous post)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
What A Rollercoaster
I can't even begin to describe how crazy this week has been. It's been so up and down it's ridiculous. Monday night we met to run through the business plan presentation. Despite getting a late start, we ran through it a bit and agreed to meet one more time on Tuesday to polish it up. Tuesday was class all day, another run through of the presentation (this one much better) and then doing a big chunk of my POM project. Those 2 days were busy but pretty standard... but then Wednesday rolled around...
Talk about a rollercoaster day. We presented our business plan idea first thing in the morning and the first words out of Dr. Frazier's mouth during the question/comment period were "I must say, that was by far the best presentation yet!" Which felt pretty good considering a) we've been working on this business plan stuff all semester and b) we were the 6th of 7 groups to go so he had quite a few to compare us to. Felt pretty good about knocking that one out. I celebrated by taking a nap since I had been up late the night before and then had a quick last meeting with my SAM case team to figure out our schedules for next semester and when we can meet. Since my POM project was due today, the next big thing on my list was to knock that out. However I needed a break part way through and decided to go to Staples to get ink for my printer. Before I even got off campus I got a flat tire. I managed to pull into the parking lot by the GAC to assess the damage. It didn't appear to be punctured anywhere but I have had a history of air leaking out around the rims on this car and I guess one finally had enough. Matt came and helped me change it which I was grateful for because I was cold and frustrated almost to the point of tears and probably woulda taken twice as long to do it. Dad's not gonna be happy about that one, especially b/c I'm probably going to have to get a new wheel. And I don't think he tries to, but he always manages to make me feel like I'm irresponsible when it comes to car stuff so I'm not looking forward to telling him about it. When I got back on the road and got my ink, the guy at Staples short-changed me a buck. It was just a buck but it was still annoying. Then I came back and ended up finishing my POM project before 10:00 (Booyah!) Managed to clean for H&S and squeeze in a walk through the Christmas lights on the front lawn with Matt before curfew. It was chilly but the lights were pretty and the company was wonderful. Then when I got back to the room I ended up having a great convo with him online before we went to bed.
Today I turned in my POM project with a sense of satisfaction and went to chapel to hear the 4th-6th graders from the Academy sing. But then I got some wicked cramps and all the fun that goes with that. However, some ibuprofen took the edge off that and Matt and I got to hang out in between classes and I found out that I won a $25 Best Buy gift card for taking an Aramark survey a month ago (Sweet...I never win contests like that!) Went to 440 and got our group take-home final and right after class met with my group for THREE hours to work on it. And we're still not done. Luckily Dr. Oliver extended the deadline for our group because one girl is going to be gone to Texas for her sister's grad and won't be back till Tuesday. We now have till Thursday morning to turn it in. Came back to the room excited to be done with classes for the semester (I don't have class tomorrow). I was also pretty exhausted but knew that I have a 12 page Code of Ethics due tomorrow that I had started ideas for in my head but at that point had nothing actually written down. Except for a quick break for dinner, I worked solid from 5-9. I now have about 7.5 pages...
I need to get back to writing because I would like as little to do tomorrow as possible (although I have till 5 pm if I need it). Just felt the need to rant about how up and down my week has been. 4.5 pages are standing between me and freedom... well, and finals... but let's not count those right now... :P
Talk about a rollercoaster day. We presented our business plan idea first thing in the morning and the first words out of Dr. Frazier's mouth during the question/comment period were "I must say, that was by far the best presentation yet!" Which felt pretty good considering a) we've been working on this business plan stuff all semester and b) we were the 6th of 7 groups to go so he had quite a few to compare us to. Felt pretty good about knocking that one out. I celebrated by taking a nap since I had been up late the night before and then had a quick last meeting with my SAM case team to figure out our schedules for next semester and when we can meet. Since my POM project was due today, the next big thing on my list was to knock that out. However I needed a break part way through and decided to go to Staples to get ink for my printer. Before I even got off campus I got a flat tire. I managed to pull into the parking lot by the GAC to assess the damage. It didn't appear to be punctured anywhere but I have had a history of air leaking out around the rims on this car and I guess one finally had enough. Matt came and helped me change it which I was grateful for because I was cold and frustrated almost to the point of tears and probably woulda taken twice as long to do it. Dad's not gonna be happy about that one, especially b/c I'm probably going to have to get a new wheel. And I don't think he tries to, but he always manages to make me feel like I'm irresponsible when it comes to car stuff so I'm not looking forward to telling him about it. When I got back on the road and got my ink, the guy at Staples short-changed me a buck. It was just a buck but it was still annoying. Then I came back and ended up finishing my POM project before 10:00 (Booyah!) Managed to clean for H&S and squeeze in a walk through the Christmas lights on the front lawn with Matt before curfew. It was chilly but the lights were pretty and the company was wonderful. Then when I got back to the room I ended up having a great convo with him online before we went to bed.
Today I turned in my POM project with a sense of satisfaction and went to chapel to hear the 4th-6th graders from the Academy sing. But then I got some wicked cramps and all the fun that goes with that. However, some ibuprofen took the edge off that and Matt and I got to hang out in between classes and I found out that I won a $25 Best Buy gift card for taking an Aramark survey a month ago (Sweet...I never win contests like that!) Went to 440 and got our group take-home final and right after class met with my group for THREE hours to work on it. And we're still not done. Luckily Dr. Oliver extended the deadline for our group because one girl is going to be gone to Texas for her sister's grad and won't be back till Tuesday. We now have till Thursday morning to turn it in. Came back to the room excited to be done with classes for the semester (I don't have class tomorrow). I was also pretty exhausted but knew that I have a 12 page Code of Ethics due tomorrow that I had started ideas for in my head but at that point had nothing actually written down. Except for a quick break for dinner, I worked solid from 5-9. I now have about 7.5 pages...
I need to get back to writing because I would like as little to do tomorrow as possible (although I have till 5 pm if I need it). Just felt the need to rant about how up and down my week has been. 4.5 pages are standing between me and freedom... well, and finals... but let's not count those right now... :P
Monday, December 8, 2008
A Break, At Last!
I normally have class from 6-8:30 but we got out a few minutes to 7. I thought for sure we'd stay the whole time because I knew there were a few people who still had solo presentations to do and then we had to finish lecturing and discuss what was on the final. Little did I know that last week when I skipped class to work on IB presentation stuff, she announced that we're not having a final! I wasn't really worried about that one anyways, but it's nice to have a small break in the system regardless. And it meant that after the solo presentations tonight, we were done! Which means that I have time before my meeting at 8:30 to get caught up on some stuff. Finally, a break in the craziness!
After my previous post today, I did however do 2 loads of laundry so I can now happily report that I have clean socks (and a bunch of other clothes) again! I figured out basically what I'm going to say for my part of the presentation too.
Update on the SSN/Birth Certificate fiasco: Matt was able to fax the forms from the office on Friday. Now I wait to hear back from them... and hopefully it's to hear that they've processed it and it's in the mail and not that something else is wrong with it!
Anyways I gotta go make use of my extra time!
After my previous post today, I did however do 2 loads of laundry so I can now happily report that I have clean socks (and a bunch of other clothes) again! I figured out basically what I'm going to say for my part of the presentation too.
Update on the SSN/Birth Certificate fiasco: Matt was able to fax the forms from the office on Friday. Now I wait to hear back from them... and hopefully it's to hear that they've processed it and it's in the mail and not that something else is wrong with it!
Anyways I gotta go make use of my extra time!
Going Out of My Mind
Or so it feels like. Actually I'm doing a little better right now than I was about half an hour ago. That is because I just got back from running some errands on campus and feel like I've actually accomplished something with my day. I cashed a check at the Bus. office, checked my mail (and had xmas cards from my cousin Dallas and the wonderful Maass family... hooray real mail and holiday cheer!), mailed some cards of my own (a sympathy card to a family friend who just lost her elderly mother, a bday card to my mom and an xmas card to Matt's family), and stopped by the ASI office and talked to Dr. Reely about my POM project. I feel a lot better about which direction I'm taking it... now I just have to get it finished by Thursday at 8:30 am!
My weekend was pretty low-key. Matt took me out to dinner at Boston's in Little Rock. They are somehow affiliated with Boston Pizza back home but they're not quite the same. Oh well, it was still neat to see some resemblance of something from home. Then we played around in Best Buy... checking out the huge flat screens, playing with the stereo equipment and trying our hand at Rock Band. Then we just drove around and talked and had a nice relaxing evening. It was fun. Saturday I slept in, went to Walmart for some groceries and then we just vegged most the day. Nik and Katie and I watched movies and played Catch Phrase. I had previously wanted to go to the basketball games but didn't really feel like going anywhere when the time came. Sunday was church, lunch, nap and then workin' on my POM project which led to some major frustration (which has now been resolved thanks to the aforementioned meeting with Dr. Reely) and I worked a bit on our presentation of our business plan.
So it sounds like things have been decent right? Why am I going out of my mind? I have class tonight from 6-8:30 and then a meeting at 8:30 to practice our business plan presentation. Which means I have to figure out my part of the presentation before 6. And we have a POM quiz tomorrow that I have to study for at some point. Before Wednesday we have to perfect our bus. plan pres and that POM project is due Thurs. Luckily I figured out my little issue but I still have a lot of work left to do. Then I have a 12 page "Code of Ethics" due by 5:00 pm Friday that I haven't even started. And I only have 2 pairs of socks left so I seriously need to do some laundry but don't really know when that's going to happen. Ahhh, I hate the end of the semester crunch. If I can just make it till Friday... then I have to study for finals but finals generally don't stress me out as much as the projects and presentations that are always due the week before.
To end on a good note: Mom said she's saving some of the Christmas baking to do when I get home so I can feel more a part of the holiday.... YES!! :)
My weekend was pretty low-key. Matt took me out to dinner at Boston's in Little Rock. They are somehow affiliated with Boston Pizza back home but they're not quite the same. Oh well, it was still neat to see some resemblance of something from home. Then we played around in Best Buy... checking out the huge flat screens, playing with the stereo equipment and trying our hand at Rock Band. Then we just drove around and talked and had a nice relaxing evening. It was fun. Saturday I slept in, went to Walmart for some groceries and then we just vegged most the day. Nik and Katie and I watched movies and played Catch Phrase. I had previously wanted to go to the basketball games but didn't really feel like going anywhere when the time came. Sunday was church, lunch, nap and then workin' on my POM project which led to some major frustration (which has now been resolved thanks to the aforementioned meeting with Dr. Reely) and I worked a bit on our presentation of our business plan.
So it sounds like things have been decent right? Why am I going out of my mind? I have class tonight from 6-8:30 and then a meeting at 8:30 to practice our business plan presentation. Which means I have to figure out my part of the presentation before 6. And we have a POM quiz tomorrow that I have to study for at some point. Before Wednesday we have to perfect our bus. plan pres and that POM project is due Thurs. Luckily I figured out my little issue but I still have a lot of work left to do. Then I have a 12 page "Code of Ethics" due by 5:00 pm Friday that I haven't even started. And I only have 2 pairs of socks left so I seriously need to do some laundry but don't really know when that's going to happen. Ahhh, I hate the end of the semester crunch. If I can just make it till Friday... then I have to study for finals but finals generally don't stress me out as much as the projects and presentations that are always due the week before.
To end on a good note: Mom said she's saving some of the Christmas baking to do when I get home so I can feel more a part of the holiday.... YES!! :)
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tie Me Up In Red Tape
"and stick a tag that says 'ANNOYED' on it" is how the rest of the title should read...
So I'm not sure if I've blogged about this yet but I've decided to get my MBA when I graduate. I'm getting it here at Harding so the plan is to come home for the summer as usual, then come back in the fall and get an apartment and take my MBA (approx a year and a half.) It'll be cool cuz Matt is staying here too to work for Public Safety for another year or two so I'll still get to see him on a regular basis. I have also decided to do the GA program. You work 20 hrs/week in an office here on campus and instead of a paycheck you get 3000/semester towards tuition. I figure it's a pretty sweet deal. I have already applied for the GA program and apparently won't hear back until late spring for an interview. I'm in the process of applying for the MBA stuff right now. Dr. Frazier has already agreed to give me a recommendation so I dropped off the form to him the other day. Now I just need one more. I'm thinking Dr. Sloan but I still need to talk to him... Anyways...
So I realize that if I'm going to work here in the US that I'm gonna need my SSN. I have dual citizenship but we left the States when I was 2 and therefore I never had a need for a SSN for working purposes or anything. So I look on their website for an application and it says if you're over 12 and applying for the first time you have to do it in person at one of their offices (which I was surprised to find out there is one in Searcy!). So I get Mom to mail me my birth certificate, fill out the form and take it and my BC to the SSN office one afternoon before break. They were a little confused at first about me being a dual citizen but once they figured that out they thought they could process everything using my American BC and my Canadian passport. Then they tell me that they need a "state-issued" BC and mine was "hospital-issued". They tell me to get a state-issued one and bring it back and they can process everything I need for my SSN. A little discouraged, I go back to my room and look up the NY state dept of health's website and figure out how I'm supposed to do this. My options were pay $30 for regular mail and they will process within 6-8 weeks of them receiving it. No thanks. Next I could pay $45 for "priority handling" which was still regular mail but they would process it within 2-3 weeks of them receiving it. My 3rd option was pay $53 to do it online and they would process within 5-7 business days! So I talk to Mom and ask her if I can do it online and put it on the credit card. After she said I could, I went online and had everything filled out except for the last step and then it was like "to verify your identity and protect you from identity theft, please input your DOB and SSN here". I was like WHAT?? The whole reason I'm applying for this stupid BC is to get my SSN!! So I click the help tab and none of the FAQ's answer my problem so I click "ask us a question". I send them an email explaining my situation and then have to wait to hear back from them. I hear back right away saying "thank you for your request. we will process it within the next 3 business days". Fortunately a guy replied the next morning saying that I needed to fax or phone it in instead and attached the fax form. I filled it out and today I used Nik's scanner instead of photocopying my passport. I gave the forms to Matt and he said he would fax them for me when he's at work tomorrow so I don't have to pay for it.
So now I wait. The shipping address had to match the billing address which is my home address so I'm hoping that they send my BC to my house while I'm home over break or else Mom is gonna have to mail it to me AGAIN. Then I have to go to the SSN office and wait for that to be processed. Oh how I love red tape! Luckily the lady in charge of the GA program said I can submit my application w/o the SSN as long as they have that info before I start working in the fall. It better be processed by then!!
So I just realized all of my paragraphs started with "so". Anyways, my contacts are drying out so I'm going to take them out and maybe go to bed early...
So I'm not sure if I've blogged about this yet but I've decided to get my MBA when I graduate. I'm getting it here at Harding so the plan is to come home for the summer as usual, then come back in the fall and get an apartment and take my MBA (approx a year and a half.) It'll be cool cuz Matt is staying here too to work for Public Safety for another year or two so I'll still get to see him on a regular basis. I have also decided to do the GA program. You work 20 hrs/week in an office here on campus and instead of a paycheck you get 3000/semester towards tuition. I figure it's a pretty sweet deal. I have already applied for the GA program and apparently won't hear back until late spring for an interview. I'm in the process of applying for the MBA stuff right now. Dr. Frazier has already agreed to give me a recommendation so I dropped off the form to him the other day. Now I just need one more. I'm thinking Dr. Sloan but I still need to talk to him... Anyways...
So I realize that if I'm going to work here in the US that I'm gonna need my SSN. I have dual citizenship but we left the States when I was 2 and therefore I never had a need for a SSN for working purposes or anything. So I look on their website for an application and it says if you're over 12 and applying for the first time you have to do it in person at one of their offices (which I was surprised to find out there is one in Searcy!). So I get Mom to mail me my birth certificate, fill out the form and take it and my BC to the SSN office one afternoon before break. They were a little confused at first about me being a dual citizen but once they figured that out they thought they could process everything using my American BC and my Canadian passport. Then they tell me that they need a "state-issued" BC and mine was "hospital-issued". They tell me to get a state-issued one and bring it back and they can process everything I need for my SSN. A little discouraged, I go back to my room and look up the NY state dept of health's website and figure out how I'm supposed to do this. My options were pay $30 for regular mail and they will process within 6-8 weeks of them receiving it. No thanks. Next I could pay $45 for "priority handling" which was still regular mail but they would process it within 2-3 weeks of them receiving it. My 3rd option was pay $53 to do it online and they would process within 5-7 business days! So I talk to Mom and ask her if I can do it online and put it on the credit card. After she said I could, I went online and had everything filled out except for the last step and then it was like "to verify your identity and protect you from identity theft, please input your DOB and SSN here". I was like WHAT?? The whole reason I'm applying for this stupid BC is to get my SSN!! So I click the help tab and none of the FAQ's answer my problem so I click "ask us a question". I send them an email explaining my situation and then have to wait to hear back from them. I hear back right away saying "thank you for your request. we will process it within the next 3 business days". Fortunately a guy replied the next morning saying that I needed to fax or phone it in instead and attached the fax form. I filled it out and today I used Nik's scanner instead of photocopying my passport. I gave the forms to Matt and he said he would fax them for me when he's at work tomorrow so I don't have to pay for it.
So now I wait. The shipping address had to match the billing address which is my home address so I'm hoping that they send my BC to my house while I'm home over break or else Mom is gonna have to mail it to me AGAIN. Then I have to go to the SSN office and wait for that to be processed. Oh how I love red tape! Luckily the lady in charge of the GA program said I can submit my application w/o the SSN as long as they have that info before I start working in the fall. It better be processed by then!!
So I just realized all of my paragraphs started with "so". Anyways, my contacts are drying out so I'm going to take them out and maybe go to bed early...
Productivity Report
The 2 weeks after Thanksgiving break and before finals are always known to be crazy. However this year it seems especially true. Must be that whole senior year thing...
However, I am pleased to announce that today I accomplished the following:
-aced the POM quiz
-turned in the 20-30 pg group paper for IB
-gave our 15 min group presentation in IB
Major academic pursuits left to do before finals:
-another POM quiz next Tuesday
-presentation of THE business plan for SBM next Wednesday
-Process Improvement project due in POM next Thursday
-12 pg Code of Ethics due for... Ethics (how'd you guess?) next Friday
Here's to pluggin' away...
However, I am pleased to announce that today I accomplished the following:
-aced the POM quiz
-turned in the 20-30 pg group paper for IB
-gave our 15 min group presentation in IB
Major academic pursuits left to do before finals:
-another POM quiz next Tuesday
-presentation of THE business plan for SBM next Wednesday
-Process Improvement project due in POM next Thursday
-12 pg Code of Ethics due for... Ethics (how'd you guess?) next Friday
Here's to pluggin' away...
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
A Slight Glitch In The System
So before break I had gone over my schedule with my advisor, registered for spring classes and turned in my "request for degree" form to the registrar's office. I had checked, re-checked and double re-checked everything and thought I had it all figured out. Then I get this lovely email from the registrar over break saying that I'm missing 2 hrs of the 128 needed to graduate. I was rather frustrated/freaked out about it over break so I went and talked to the registrar Monday afternoon. Turns out when they originally told me that my ACT score got me out of taking Stats (3 hrs) they didn't bother to mention that I needed to take something else to make up for those hours. I had never even thought about and figured that getting out of it meant I was out of it and didn't have to worry about it anymore. I took Honors Human Situation (3 hrs) in place of Music Appreciation (2 hrs) so I was +1 for that but when you net it all out, I was in fact, as they said, missing 2 hrs. I was kinda worried how I would fit another 2 hrs into my sched (I only had 14 hrs scheduled for next semester but Dr. Frazier said to treat SAM case team as another class so I was thinking it'd be about right). However, after some figuring, I realized that the Bible class I was in was variable credit so I changed that from 2 to 3 and added a Kines activity class for an easy credit hour. Which one you ask? Get this... Beginners Basketball! I played basketball for 6 years (7th-12th grade)... If I can't make an A in Beg. Bball then I don't deserve to play ever again! Here's what my sched looks like for next semester. Still should be pretty decent. I kinda wanted to avoid an 8:00 for my last semester but beggars can't be choosers (and I have that nice 2 hr break after chapel if I want to go take a shower!)
MWF
9:00-9:30 Chapel
10:00-10:50 Prophets: Jeremiah-Malachi
11:00-11:50 Management Information Systems
12:00-12:50 Strategic Policy
TR
8:00-8:50 Beg. Basketball
9:00-9:30 Chapel
11:30-12:45 Consumer Behavior
1:00-2:15 Human Resource Management
MWF
9:00-9:30 Chapel
10:00-10:50 Prophets: Jeremiah-Malachi
11:00-11:50 Management Information Systems
12:00-12:50 Strategic Policy
TR
8:00-8:50 Beg. Basketball
9:00-9:30 Chapel
11:30-12:45 Consumer Behavior
1:00-2:15 Human Resource Management
Wish I Had Time To Update
I have a lot to say but not any time to say it. Tomorrow is going to be crazy but if I can survive it then I will be able to breathe a little easier and probably have time to update like I want to. Until then... here are some crazy pics I did in jr. high/high school that I found on Dad's comp when I was home last...
Homestarrunner that I drew on a piece of scrap paper from Dad's work
Some graffiti I made in Paint
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