The MBA Student Voice

Ander-flu gone; now back to work

So I'm finally recovered (I think) from the dreaded Ander-flu and can finally put up a better blog post than my last one. 

As I mentioned in my last post, the Ander-flu is actually not a flu virus, but is the bug that gives nearly 50% of the first-year class anything from a sore throat to a painful head cold.  The Royal Opera could compose a symphony with all of the coughing, sneezing, and throat-clearing.  At one point, our poor marketing professor had to stop her lecture because we were drowning her out.  

So I finally cured my Ander-flu by sleeping eight hours a day, drinking fluids, and eating vegetables.  Funny how that worked. 

* * * * * *

Time for me to come clean: I don't wear a wedding ring. 

There are two reasons for this: one, it doesn't fit; and two, I don't like rings or jewelry on my hands.  I don't wear a watch, either, for the same reason.  Somehow, I feel imbalanced.  Mrs. V is ok with this - so she says - and frankly I'm not trying to hide the fact that I'm married.  

Some of my female readers think I'm a bit daft for not wearing it, and I can kind of understand why: it's all a bit suspect, isn't it?  I say I'm married but I don't wear a ring and no one has met Mrs. V yet.  Well, both of those problems will be rectified this week - at long last, Mrs. V arrives to Los Angeles on Tuesday. 

Some of my male readers think I'm a bit daft for not wearing it, as they subscribe to the theory that wearing a wedding ring helps you meet women.  I'm not a believer yet in that theory but certainly am willing to try -- especially if Leighton Meester happens to be about.

(Note to Mrs. V -- that was a joke).  

* * * * * *

I was lucky enough to pass the waiver exam for for one of our core courses, Financial Markets, which meant that I could take an elective course.  However, we have two "intensive" courses that meet four times a week for five weeks instead of two times a week for 10 weeks.  Marketing is the first one; after that's finished, Financial Markets starts in Week 6 of the quarter.  So to take this elective, I have to sit five courses when my classmates are only sitting four. 

Is it worth it?  My early prognosis is: most definitely.  I'm taking Professor Johnson's course, Media 2015, which looks at the development of business plans in the media space between now and 2015.  I've really enjoyed the readings for it so far, even the textbook, and am really looking forward to getting involved in the meat of the discussions.  Most of the people in that class are either second-years, are from FEMBA (an Anderson-ese acronym that essentially means the part-time program), or are exchange students -- in fact, my group project team involves two exchange students from London and one from Toronto. 

* * * * * *

I appreciate that it's easy to criticize maintenance and far harder to provide solutions.  So credit goes to them for (finally) increasing the temperature of our classrooms from 0 (at least it seemed to me) to a more respectable 20 degrees.  

But there's another maintenance mystery that I would love to resolve.  My section finishes classes every day at 14:30.  On some days there is another class at 16:00; on other days, the classroom is empty.  In both cases, I prefer to stay in the classroom and get some work done. 

But on three different days this week, maintenance decided to paint the room. 

I'm not entirely sure what they are painting.  The only part of the wall that is painted is one section near the door.  So why are they compelled to paint it so often? 

Certainly can't help the Ander-flu outbreak. 

* * * * * *

There are a lot of ways to measure diversity in the class, but here's a fun way: favorite sports teams.  There's another United junkie in my section, as well as a couple of Capitals fans -- well, they are from DC and are more Redskins fans, but they humor me.  Within the class, I've met Arsenal, Liverpool, and Spurs fans -- but surprisingly, no Chelsea fans.  I've also met fans of all 32 American football clubs, even Arizona Cardinals.  And I've met quite a few hockey fans, supporting Toronto, Montreal, Philadelphia, New York Rangers, Dallas, and of course Anaheim and Los Angeles.   

I bring this up for only reason: as an excuse to wind up my good friends and fellow blogeteers (I like that word) John Park and Matt Kerbel, who are proud citizens of Maple Leaf Nation and probably didn't enjoy very much watching my Washington Capitals take a convincing 6-4 win tonight over their Toronto Maple Leafs.

(And so it begins...) 

-- Sreesha

First Post!!

Hello!!

I'm Keishi Ishida. This is my very first and so late post to Student Voice.The reason is that I got stuck on some technical problems... Now, it's all clear and I can start posting!

As you can see in my profile, I'm an international student from Japan. I would like to tell you a story from the international student perspective and also a story about entertainment industry in LA. My aspiration to came here, Anderson, is to change my career in consulting industry to entertainment industry.

See you in the next post!

Orientation: A Response/A Recap/A Retrospective

So I've been slacking on this blog over the past few weeks.  Not for a lack of noteworthy inclusions, but rather that during my precious spare moments my body demands sleep, food, and the occasionally high-velocity impact with my surfboard (yeah, Jordy Smith I'm not).  Sorry, faceless internet readers, but this ode to summation will have to suffice.

Lots of my fellow blogateers (think musketeers but more prone to sunburn and spontaneous games of Risk) have touched on some of the more outstanding elements of UCLA Anderson's Orientation Program. We took metaphors to the extreme with the Odyssey Ropes Course and left with a better appreciation for our own capabilities and the strength of our peers.  We also spent a good portion of our adult lives orientation learning about the substantial career, academic, social resources available to us at Anderson.  At times, my brain screamed "uncle" and tried to crawl out my ear, but I can say with confidence that the information overload was of tremendous benefit.  While still slightly daunting, the prospect of achieving academic excellence, building a robust life-long network, and crafting a successful career path seems much more feasible thanks to the Orientation Program.  I owe a "slap/bump" (when you get here, this will become clear) to Susan Corley, the 2Y Orientation Leaders, and the wonderful folks over at the Parker CMC.

However, my personal favorite takeaways were the efforts of the rhythmically-challenged to learn the nuances of the UCLA 8-Clap (next: shoulder dancing!) and the wallflowers who were forced to exit their comfort zone and improv about robots.  Why robots?  Why not?  Lastly, the skits performed by each section showed that while many of us were Excel jockeys, pitchbook wizards, and masters of mgmt. consulting synergistic optimetrics in a past life, we do have the ability to bring the funny when it counts. Ultimately, orientation was an incredible opportunity to see that we are not just a collection of undergraduate degrees and job titles, but a dynamic set of individuals ready to take the reins at a moment's notice.

I'll admit that I had a healthy amount of skepticism towards this Orientation after the first day.  I thought some of activities were more inline with summer camp rather than preparation for an MBA.  This is serious stuff!  We have business cards (eggshell with romalian type) and well-pressed suits!  However, I quickly realized the benefit of building a cohesive team.  By stripping down our pretenses and forcing us to think and react quickly, often in an unnatural setting, we built the foundations of trust and respect that will carry us through this experience.  While this may sound like your cue to bust out the acoustic guitars, I'm being entirely sincere.  Even after a few short weeks, strong bonds have been developed and the collective success of the Class of 2011 is everyone's priority.

Our Fall courses started last week and I'm waist-deep in acronyms, demand curves, and T-accounts.  The clubs and recruiting are also starting to ramp-up quickly.  While it may feel overwhelming, I remain calm knowing that I have a tremendous faculty and peer group ready to pick me up when I need a lift.  Check back soon for some insight on the core curriculum, the career search, and where to find a burrito the size of a football.