Z-Made In Rio

So busy! So crazy!

Busy busy busy busy…that's all can say! Hehehehe

I don’t even know how to explain how busy I’ve been in the past week, and will be on this next week.

No finals for any of my classes, but they all have group projects to be presented next week plus individual assignments, which actually takes way more time than just studying for a test…OMG!!!! Crazy crazy crazy!!

On top of all this, the China class starts this Friday. Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you guys…I’m going on the China trip this May….so exciting!

And my parents are coming for the weekend on the 24, which I love because I get to go shopping with them… :-P

I’m going to the Sox game this Friday!!!!! I can’t study 24/7…I need some relaxing time too…

There are some other things to talk about in terms of my internship search for the summer, but I really can’t do it right now….but I’ll let you know that it’s looking good (not as good as I thought I could do, but definitely good).

 

Hopefully next week I'll be able to take some time to write a little bit more of what I've been up to :-)

“It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it.”

     Charlotte Bronte (1816 – 1855), Jane Eyre, 1847

Things are looking better...

I told you that I was going to a summer co/op job fair organized by Suffolk, right? Well, when I got there I found out that the fair was actually for undergrad and that we (graduate students) were invited to come, which would have been ok if the companies knew about it. Four companies that I went to were quite surprised with the amount of graduates they were seeing in the fair, and most of the openings do not fit with the profile of a MBA candidate (If I was an undergrad I would be happy to apply for these jobs, but I’m not 20 anymore and we are here at Suffolk as an attempt to grow in our careers, to speed up on the “Upward Spiral”..…ohhhh, sorry, I didn’t even give examples of these “opportunities”..…park ranger, hostess, swim instructor and so on). There were 2 companies that I made contact with that might be promising, but unfortunately I’m not expecting much.

Moving on to better news…

I had an interview yesterday!! Not sure how it went…I sent a thank you email confirming why I want the job but I still haven’t heard from my interviewer.  The company is in the marketing industry, which is what I want, and they are still small and beginning to grow. Which I believe to be the perfect environment for me to grow faster than if I was in a big corporation. The job they are offering is unpaid, and not very towards the managerial side, but as I mentioned, this could be a good opportunity for growth. Well….let’s hope I hear from them with good news…

…if not, I have another interview tomorrow which I’m quite excited and nervous about it because it’s over the phone. As you know – and probably realized by now through my writing – English is not my first language and to be honest talking on the phone is quite a challenge for me. I reserved tomorrow morning on my calendar to prepare for the interview (it’s in the afternoon) and be 100% prepared when the interviewer calls.

As I mentioned my calendar up there I realized I never mentioned here that it’s hard for me to organize my school work load and internship search as well as I wished. So, in order to take care of this issue I downloaded and printed a weekly planner that I carry around everywhere I go.  You must be thinking, why doesn’t she use Google calendar, Outlook or any other software? Well… although I love the IT possibilities, for some weird reason they seem to not work for me in this situation as well as this paper that I printed for each week.  The website link is below, and I use the Full Week Landscape Planner in case you were wondering: http://www.calendarsthatwork.com/category.php?categoryId=free&sid=3sqZ3ZN4

                                                                  

 

 "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."  (Anon)

One month left

Spring break is over and now we have only one month left for the end of the semester. How awesome is that?!?!?!

So, for Spring break I went home to get away from this horrible weather and to visit my friends and family. Although it was only one week I was able to enjoy a lot....had awesome food, enjoyed the beach, went on a boat ride and spent a lot of time with some good old friends. Now that I think of it, it's not the weather, the food or the beaches that  I miss the most, it's my friends. Oh no...I'm getting home sick...hehehehe

Moving back to reality...on my last post I mentioned I was applying to several companies for a Summer co/op. Well, so far I got nothing!! The worst is that I don't know what the problem is...why don't they even contact me?

There's a Summer co/op fair at Suffolk this Thursday and I really hope something good comes out of it. If not, I'll have to change my whole game plan, whih I will let you know once I figure out what it's going to be.

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances."     Martha Washington 1759 (1732 - 1802)

Oh London!

This semester is flying!!!! Although I’m taking fewer courses than last semester I feel like the work load is way bigger than I’ve ever had before. One good reason for that might be the fact that I’m searching for a summer Co/op and that takes a lot of my free time.

Well, let me update you on what I’ve been up to in the past few weeks:

I went to a job fair in another business school to get some information from the companies that were there. It was productive, but unfortunately most companies were hiring US Citizens ONLY. I was told that this is a way to narrow down candidates since they have fewer spots because of the economy. I’m not sure how bad this is going to be for all of us, international students, but I feel that we will need to put much more effort than we thought we would’ve to. From my point of view, I would try to increase the spots for co/ops and entry levels in an economy like this. We are all students eager to learn and show ourselves to the business world for a salary smaller than the salary paid to professionals in the industry already. Well, that’s just how I feel.

Last week I had the mock interview day. It was great! No matter how prepared you are for an interview it’s always good to get an opinion on what to say and not to say. If you have a chance to do it just call the career services department and schedule one with Michele Rapp.

Two weeks ago I went to London! Ohhh London!!!! I love London!! My family went there to visit for the first time, so I took the plane and met them over there. Unlike most people think the English are real nice people… willing to help with a smile on their faces. Of course we went to the London Eye, Harrod’s, the Big Ben, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Camden Town, Portobello Market in Notting Hill, Picadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Museum of National History, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham palace and the change of guard, Oxford Street… and for the shopping lovers I have great news!!!! A few months ago they opened a huge mall!!!! The Westfield mall…from the Central line (the red line) go to Sheperd’s Bush and it’s right there…huge!! Amazing! I never thought they would find space to open such a big mall in London. Unfortunately, after 5 days I had to come back…I had to go to classes after all J

I’m going to try to send all the rest of my applications this week to the companies I am interested in…I just hope I have enough time to do it since the sooner the better.

“Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results.” (Anon)

 

It is NOT a snow day!

For all international students who come from warm countries I must warn you about a school snow day.

Not just because all high schools and a few colleges have cancelled classes because of a half foot of snow, Suffolk will cancel classes too. So, yesterday, after watching on the news that we were going to get a lot of snow in the morning and after talking with a few classmates I thought classes were going to be cancelled today.  I have never had the experience of having classes cancelled because of snow and that is because it doesn’t snow in my country :-) I was so excited that I would probably wake up today and get a message from school saying classes were cancelled and then I would spend the whole day relaxing…just watching the snow fall from inside. Well, I don’t know how the decision of closing the school or not is made, but they decided to not close the school (understandable…it wasn’t hard to get here at all)! It’s good because we don’t have to make up for classes later on, but I must say…I was so happy about the idea of not leaving the house in a cold/snowy/rainy day.

So, international students from warm countries that never had school cancelled because of snow, when you find out the snow is coming on a school day, pretend nothing is happening. Plan your day as if it was a normal rainy day…that way you won’t get disappointed when school doesn’t get cancelled or you will be extra happy if it does.

So, I'm going to go back to my normal rainy day with classes until 10pm and just look forward for tomorrow.

“Don't count the days- make the days count.” (Muhammad Ali)

Happy New Year

I’m alive! I know it’s been a while since my last post, but things got really crazy after last semester’s mid-terms.

So, last semester ended really well. I was extremely pleased with my grades, and I do feel that I learned a lot from all the classes. If you are a new student, and you are taking the core classes, here a few tips:

MBA 600 – Just because you only meet a few times and all you have to write about is your career plans, don’t think that this course is a guaranteed A  if you don’t put any effort into it. I know many students did not get the grades they were expecting.

MBA 630 – TAKE NOTES! If you have prof. Torrisi you must write everything he says in class if you want to do well on his tests. Also, a good way to study for his tests is to make cards with each concept you study.

MBA 660 – Participate! It was very helpful to read the chapter and case prior to class.

MBA 670 – The group project is graded by the students and professor (50/50). In my class the worst grades came from the students…they were very harsh on every group.  So, be ready for it!

MBA 680 – A lot of work load! Read the cases and participate…it’s a lot but they are all very interesting.

I hope I could help J

Yesterday was my first day of classes.  It actually feels good to be back.

This semester I only have one required class (MBA 780), the other 4 are electives. I’m going on the China trip in May!!! I’m so excited about it!

I hope everyone has a good first week!! I’ll be back next week.

 

"We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality."
(Albert Einstein)

Midterm week…wow, time flies. Next week is midterm week, and I’m still trying to figure out how to do everything I have to do. Not even the holiday on Monday helped me get ahead of my studies, and that’s scary. I only have one exam next week, but my main problems are the papers and projects due next week or the other.

For MBA 600 I have to write a paper about my career planning. It seems easy right? Well, not so much if you have no idea what to do with your life in a year from now. I’m still hoping for a miracle to happen and I figure out what to write on this paper very soon. Oh, and for my online class I also have to write a huge paper similar to the MBA 600 but I have to apply all the articles and theories we saw in class. And, besides the paper I have a group project for this same class, and I must tell you, I couldn’t be more lost. Everything is just so subjective that it’s really hard to understand exactly what to do or to make sure everybody is in the same page. OMG!!!!!!!!

Obviously that’s not all, or else I would be just watching TV the whole day (which I love and wouldn’t mind at all). I still have marketing project, IT project, IT exam, Ethics articles, ethics exam…..oh, and did I mention it’s my birthday this weekend?!? Yes, well, perfect timing ha! Just because I have plenty of time to stop everything and celebrate…. :-/ Anyway, I’m probably going to a bar or something like it.

Last but not least, what’s up with the sox bullpen?!?! Tonight’s game is going to be interesting, we must all send positive energy to Dice-K and the rest of the team, they have to get their act together. So, let’s cheer for the sox tonight, and hopefully we will all be cheering for the final game on Saturday.

Good luck to all on your exams, projects and papers.

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” (William Penn)

It's Soxtober again!!

Sorry for not writing anything last week, but I had some trouble with neck, which put me behind my readings…but I’m almost 100% now.

It’s the Post season and the Sox are on it!!! Tonight is game 4 of this series and we are leading 2-1. Once we pass the Angels (which hopefully will happen tonight at Fenway) we will play against the Rays or the White Sox. Let’s go red Sox!!!

If you haven’t had a chance to go to Fenway Park, please go!!!! Fenway Park is america's most beloved ballpark. I know it’s really hard to get tickets, especially for the post season, but try going to Craigslist.com and you might get lucky. But even if you don’t go to a game they have tour at the ballpark everyday, which is really cool.

Last Friday we had the Dean’s networking event at the Gamble Mansion. It wasn’t bad; the place is awesome, the food was very good, but I felt like it was more like a social event for faculty and students. Maybe it would have been better if there were more alumni…I don’t know…maybe it was me.

Mid terms are right around the corner, and it’s time to study, study, study and study a little more…I don’t know what’s worst, have a big group project instead of the midterm or having the midterm itself. Well….after it’s all done I’ll let you know.

"Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise." (Anon)

We all need some time off once in a while

For all of you who have never been to Vermont, now it's the perfect time to go. In my home country we don't have all four seasons (summer, fall, winter and Spring) and New England is the perfect scenario to see the beauty of each season - specially Vermont. Foliage season is starting this week, and if you have a chance to go there between now and mid October you will see the most amazing colors on their forests. The leaves colors vary from green, yellow, orange, red and brown...beautiful. I know it's hard to take some time off with all the reading and projects we have for each class, but I guarantee it's worth putting the books aside for a couple of days. If you don't have a car, there are plenty of bus services to Burlington (http://www.greyhound.com), or you can rent a car that doesn't charge by the mileage. Here are some pictures of this past weekend:

I’m starting to get used to the work load I have, but I still feel that I need some more free time…I haven’t been to the gym since school started, and that’s not good at all. So far I really like all my professors, which is awesome because a couple of them, based on the website www.ratemyprofessors.com, did not get the best evaluations from previous students and I was really worried.

Since school started I’ve increasingly became more lost in what I want to do after school than I was before school started. I think it’s because with all the people we meet we start seeing all the other option that there might be out there for you. I’m very confused right now.

Oh, remember I mentioned something about getting my license last week?! I got rejected on my driving test!!!Well, I went to the RMV on Friday morning for the driving test…about an hour before I drove around to practice parallel parking with my car and 3 point turn. After checking if all the outside lights were all set, the test guy asked where the e-brake was located, and I said on my left foot, and because of that he had to reject me (he has the option to pass, fail or reject). He said it’s for safety reasons, so I couldn’t take the test, and now I have to find a car that has the e-brake between the drivers and passenger seats. So disappointing…

Have a good week everybody!!

“An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't.” (Anatole France)

I can't believe it's been a week already!!!! And I thought I would be able to post at least twice a week...

Last week I had the MBA 600, and it was great. I went on Friday and Saturday thinking that I was losing my weekend, but got out of there with a different idea of it. Not only I met great people, but it was very productive and fun. For who doesn't know, MBA 600 (Effective Career Planning) is a class that helps you create your career development plan, basically give you tools to find yourself. After all the work we did on the weekend we had to give each other a feedback, which was really tense at first, but once we started I was amazed on how every feedback was saying basically the same thing. I must say it was very eye opener.

Oh, I remember I mentioned something about my online class on the last post, right? Well, it’s much better now. My heart beep doesn't go up like on the first class, and I think I found the main source of the problem, I tend to talk with my hands (making gestures...) and I feel that people understand me better when I do that, but on the online class nobody can see my hands and arms, so I feel they don't understand what I mean (I’m over it now, I just have to deal with it).

Very important! If you are an international and is trying to get your Mass License and need some help just let me know, I think I’m becoming an expert....hehehehe. A couple of weeks ago I got all my documents ready, read the book and went to the RMV near my home, waited for over an hour and when i got to the booth the lady said my I-20 wasn't stamped (at immigration, when I entered the country they should have given me stamp, and I don't know why they didn't). So I left, very upset for wasting all that time. After talking with Tiffanie, I had to go to the airport, terminal E at the Immigration office to get it stamped. Surprise me, they were nice!!!!!!!! Can you believe it?! Anyway, I finally went back to the RMV yesterday, took the written test, PASSED (study the whole book!! even the stuff about Junior Operator License and Motorcycles....there were a few questions about it). Once I got out of the room, the lady asked why I had stopped the test. What does she mean?!?! I finished the test!!!! Apparently, the system went down (according to her) and she was not able to get to my information. The weird thing is, the system was working fine for everybody else. I waited for about 1 hour....and nothing....unbelievable. I left the RMV, went home, study for hours.....around 3pm she called saying I was all set. I still don't know exactly what happened; all I know is that I'm taking the driving test on Friday (exciting!).  Here are the documents I brought to the RMV (in case you are thinking about getting your license):

· Passport

· I-94

· I-20

· Cell phone bill (as prove of residency - they did not accept my health insurance letter)

· Social Security (if you don't have one you need to get the SSN Denial Notice)

· For the written test they charge $30.00

“Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be managed. “ (Peter Drucker)