OwenBloggers: Isha - MBA '08

Independence Day

About 7 am my sister asked me what I was planning on doing today. She was halfway across the world at work, and she had more plans to celebrate American Independence Day then I did – she was planning on having a BBQ. Me? I just got up thinking how to reply to a particularly difficult e-mail relating to job search. Plans, what plans? I had none. But things come to even those without plans. Soon an Owen Alumni messaged me on Facebook and as we talked he suggested seeing Hancock mid day. And I thought what a great idea! I’ve been thinking about seeing the movie, but at a no specified time, which for me often means when it comes out on video… BTW, it’s a pretty good film – definitely worth watching.

As I was getting ready to go out, Brie called telling me that she would be at my place about five. A quick look at the calendar reminded me that I asked her if she was going to the fireworks show at the Riverside Park downtown. Silly me, and I thought I had no plans…

So after the movie, four ladies went downtown for a dinner and a fireworks show. Originally, we wanted to sit by the stage and listen to the music (concert started at noon and went all day until the fireworks finished close to 10 pm), but it was so crowded we gave up on the idea. We ended up by the Woodland Bridge. Not only we had a great view for the fireworks (minus the music that went with it), but also we avoided all the smoke that comes with it. The wind blew it all at the nice folks right by the stage… It was so smokey that I couldn't see the very well lit Batman building. But it was a very nice show. If you are in Nashville on July 4th, do check it out. In the meantime, you can check out the video of the event form someone who was apparently in my vicinity.

After the show it was so crowded with all the people moving away from the river and to the parking lots. I was a bit scared that it will take us longer to get out of downtown then the time we spent there. But nothing is as it seems. Since we parked further up Broadway, it took us less time than I expected, so we ended up at home at a reasonable hour. It started raining as we were maneuvering through the crowds, but it started to pour few minutes after we got out of the parking lot. It was raining so hard, we couldn’t see the road. And all I could think of was how glad I was for not walking home.

Song of the day:
Martina McBride - Independence Day

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Global Obesity Boom

It came to me as a bit of a shock coming back from Poland. Even though Poland might not have the thinnest people in the world, on average we are not overly obese. When I was in NYC for three days, I didn't see much of it either. In a place where people walk a lot, it's hard to keep on hundreds of pounds in excess weight. Well, that's not the case in Nashville.

I went to an open air movie at the Centennial Park with Brie last night. There I was confronted with a sad reality of the overweight South. It's been said that it's a pandemic. I think it's a self induced one. I mean, when I see a mother giving a soda to a small child/toddler, my blood boils. What we put in to our bodies has an immediate (and long term) effect on our health and well being. I had a long conversation with a friend in Poland about it, so it resonates even stronger with me now.

Looking at the facts, CDC announced couple of days ago that the number of Americans with diabetes increased to 24 million. It's interesting to read comments on WSJ Healthcare blog about this issue. Statistically speaking, about ten of my classmates (Owen MBA Class of 2008) have diabetes. And some, statistically speaking, don't know about it and the illness goes undiagnosed and untreated.

Talking of college, last week Reuters had an article on how Freshmen 15 can lead to obesity in women. Maybe it’s time for the universities to offer healthier options. No, not offer, impose healthier options on incoming students? I remember my time in dorms and school dining halls – it wasn’t pretty… “Healthy” consisted of a tiny salad bar and an oatmeal cookie. On special occasions we had bran muffins. And I did go to a large California University. I hope times have changed, but looking at Vandy it’s a slow moving progress. The cafeteria’s burger section is about a third of the whole area. Going healthy is slow process.

Of course there are those that see obesity as means to get rich. I am not revering here to vultures preying on the desperate, but rather on those who try to change people, lifestyles and perceptions. Although the Journal refers to the “Healthier Living 15” there are plenty of companies that try innovation to not only get ahead, but also get healthy.

Song of the day:
Weird Al Yankovic - Fat

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Late night entertainment - Isha style

I couldn’t sleep last night, so I was just laying there trying not to think about all the things I need to do when I finally get up. Suddenly, I heard the muffled sound of glass breaking. I couldn’t quite ignore it - a week ago, I watched as a guy ponder why all the stuff that was in his car was now laying on the sidewalk next to a pile of broken glass. At least they left his personal belongings… In any case, I looked outside, but the street was empty. Yet I kept on hearing noises. Then a guy appeared from the passenger side of the car. He wasn’t looking around; he wasn’t in any sort of a rush; he just casually walked away. 3 am it started, by 3:02 I called the cops. (Hail to the non-emergency line for Nashville police.) This morning there is a note on windshield. I bet it says: we know you’ve been broken into, we are working on, we will never recover your stuff, and you should never park here between 2 am and 6 am, because there is a break-in on those 50 yards of the street just about once a week. Enough said.

I wish that would mean that the police will monitor the area more often, but we all know that lifting a radio from a car is hardly high priority in a town when meth labs are blowing up all the time. OK, maybe not all the time, but often enough that Vanderbilt is specializing in treating victims of such explosions. Makes me wish I lived back in Glendale where the cops are really nice, but the police is feared and respected, as they are relentless - just like they should be. Then again, the birds there don’t sing as sweetly in the morning as they do in Nashville.

Song of the day:
Matchbox 20 - 3 am

Blinded by the morning sun

6:18 am and it's one of those mornings. I'm checking my e-mail, looking at new job posts and listening to Moloko's - The time is now. Suddenly  and the sun hits me in the eyes.  I'm blinded by the golden light. All I can think of is how right the words are. So much is happening around me; excitement, buzz, anticipation. The moment passes, the sun is no longer in my eyes, the music changed, but the feeling remains - the time is now and it's up to us what we do with it.

Song of the day:

Bopping to the inner music

Sunday afternoon. Kind of lazy day. It was pretty nice in the morning so I decided to take a walk to utilize the day better. I ended up at the local Starbucks, afraid to cross the street and end up at Owen. It’s not my school any more. I still find it hard to believe. Anyway, I was sitting outside on the patio sipping my Mint Mocha Chip Frappucino and taking advantage of the nice sunny day. Suddenly the clouds covered the sun (I noticed because I actually saw my computer screen) and then I noticed drops appearing on my now visible screen. Somehow I thought that my laptop might not appreciate getting soaked (and living in Nashville it’s a given that with a sudden rain comes a downpour), so I scrambled to get inside.

Now, sipping on my frozen coffee, my head moves to the rhythm in my headphones and the body seems to twitch ever so often following that rhythm. And as I look around, other people, in their own little worlds of music follow their own rhythms as their bodies move to their inner sounds.

Song of the day:
2 Unlimited - Nothing like the Rain

Beauty of the Google Reader

If there is a shadow of a doubt why I'm not writing, then I have a one word answer: finals. But I am trying to keep up with my daily blogs - reading them that is. That's why I love google reader. There are probably other feed aggregators out there that do a spectacular job of keeping it all organized, but it's not about the engine, it's about the content.  As I plough through 100+ blogs (on a slow day) it's great to have the opportunity to star items to come back later.  So right now I have more starred items then unread ones --> things to come back to when I have some time (anytime after 9pm CST today that is). And there is plenty to get excited about: malaria, vaccines, politics, healthcare costs, antidepressants, airlines and biofuel, inflation, and old ladies. The last one is a real treat...

Life at Owen does get intense sometimes. You can see it in the faces that pass you by at the school over the past few days. I don't think the first years feel it yet, but even though many of 2008 class have jobs already, we are still here to learn. And sometimes learning is hard...

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Our chasers are salty

I’ve been doing research on Doritos and in general on Frito-Lay brands trying to figure out the positioning they use, estimate target demographics, etc., so my group can figure out if the current  promotions of Doritos are in line with the target groups. (I hope they are since I am sorry to say that I absolutely don’t get this year’s Super Bowl commercial.) As I am cruising the internet searching for useful bits of information, I came across this blog about Lay’s dill pickle chips. The author talks about drinking vodka like a Russian. I don’t know about smelling bread, but in Poland we definitely use salty things as a chaser. And rarely it’s in a liquid form… Dill pickles make spectacular  chasers, so does kielbasa (and no it has nothing to do with the imitation of goodness that you can purchase in American supermarkets), bread is a good choice, but so is marinated herring (yes, a fish in vinegar). Then again herring in oil is pretty good too, especially if served it with onions and bread. Yummy! And although all of this might sound a bit odd, I just would like to add that we have a different drinking culture, and parties can be a bit different then you would see at Owen’s Thursday night socials... 

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WBA Symposium – a day of difficult questions

The WBA Symposium was a great idea. I was impressed with the array of women that attended. Shame that men were too scared to come, they would have learned a lot. Some of the crucial issues revolved around family life.

What to do when you want to leave the job market? And what do you do when you want to get back?

It’s not the question of quitting a job, but taking a break for what ever reason one chooses. Be it having/raising kids, taking time off to come back to school, or to be an expat wife in some exotic (or not so exotic) country. There is a good chance that you will want to take a break from being in the workforce or at least in the corporate setting. This might primarily apply to women, but don’t be fooled, there are plenty of men that take a break and have no idea how to get back “on the horse.” The first panel I attended was very interesting, because it touched upon many fears and uncertainties of re-entering the workforce. We discussed strategies to enhance the resume, i.e. putting your home experience on your resume (after all, we are often the CEO’s, CFO’s, COO’s and other C’s of our homes) and how to stay on top of ever changing technology. We even touched on working for non-profits and volunteer work – both of which can be great resume assets if used properly. The idea is not to loose touch with the business world, but rather to maintain it and to take advantage of the time off to learn new things and expand your knowledge base.

Love thy Outlook? - Marriage woes of the career minded

In today’s world a woman getting an MBA is very likely to end up in a dual career household. And his career might be on a different track then yours, going as fast but in a different direction. So what do you do? A panel of three successful women and one successful husband answered questions about juggling your career and your marriage (and kids, and various other small animals) in a dual career household. We discussed various techniques from using outlook meeting requests to block out family time to division of chores and the main takeaways from the discussion were communication, and learn how to do it well, financial responsibility of each partner – participation upkeep of your home, and lastly, how not to sacrifice your career for him and/or for the kids.

Personal Strategy

A quick strategy lesson is all you need to remind you of where you are going with your life. Dean Bradford served us a refresher course in strategy and how to apply Porter’s five forces to personal strategy. I never imagined writing a personal business plan, but when the dean asked who has written one and several of the women rose their hands I thought that maybe there is logic to it. As the presentation progressed I saw exactly why writing a plan was not only a good idea, but seemed almost crucial to further career development. Writing any business plan forces us to think of the future and consider pros and cons of the proposed solutions. It also asks where you want to be in five or ten years. And suddenly personal strategy has a whole new meaning – it focuses us and gives us direction. And the best thing is that we learn what we really want and what awaits us on the way.

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WBA networking night

It’s not all that easy to describe what a room full of business women feels like. You may ask why it’s difficult. On one hand it’s simple, we behave differently. On the other it’s more then that. There is no boasting how great we are, what we have achieved. There is no ego trip or a power struggle to dominate the room, the conversation, or what ever else one wants to show off. But last night at the Women's Business Association Networking Conference there was a buzz of excitement as business women, at various stages of their careers, talked about how to be successful. Conversations ranged from babies to startups, and went through the whole array of “what are doing,” “what do you want to do,” and “here is my card, let me know if I can help you in your career search.” It was a great evening, and having a massage therapist giving a quick pick me up massages was a spectacular idea. I can’t wait for today’s events, to meet all the wonderful women and to hear their stories of success.

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Bad day?

It is SO uplifting when the first thing you read in the morning is that today is the worst stock day since 9/11, today is apparently the most depressing day of the year, a.k.a. Blue Monday, and I know not wat else.

I mean come on folks, today is a good day! If the stocks are down, buy them cheap. If you realize that you failed your resolutions, start anew on February 1. I guarantee you that no one will notice the slip up and you will be praised for persistence.

I can’t complain about the day being bad. Granted, it’s a bit cold today, and the forecast is nowhere near the actual conditions, but I’ll live. I’ve had 3 conversations related to job search over the past 24 hours, each with a different set of people, different projects, and somehow all slightly more entrepreneurial then I would have thought I would be interested in a year ago. But now I am. Interesting how B-school changes perspectives. Ultimately, today has a chance of being a very good day.

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