So I received my first cold call this week, in Managerial Economics. And, of course, it had to happen the morning after I slept a grand total of 15 minutes thanks to having to get assignments done and to just not being able to sleep.
Not that I'm making excuses.
It must have been quite clear to the professor that I was having a hard time staying awake during class. I didn't help my own cause much by getting to class later than others and therefore having to sit in Row 2; I'm easily a back-row guy both from personality and academics. Here's a tip: if you think the professor can't see you blinking and nodding heavily, you are wrong. So I should have guessed that a cold call was coming my way at some point during class.
I wasn't as bad as Alex Ovechkin singing the Eastern Motors jingle but it wasn't a million miles away from that. The question was about an article in the Wall Street Journal that we were meant to have read and analyzed before class. I had read it but as the professor surely knew I hadn't analzyed it much.
Prof: "Why would they follow this strategy?"
Me: "To gain market share."
Prof: "Why do they want market share?"
Me: "Because they want profits."
Prof: "Do they want all profits?"
Me: "uhhhh...no....uhm, they want profits until Marginal Cost equals Marginal Revenue." (Class erupts in laughter.)
Prof: "Do they want short-term profits?"
Me: "Yes, I mean...no, they want long-term profits."
That's the answer he was looking for. The professor went on to say that he wasn't just pushing back at me, but that he wanted us to understand what type of push-back we may experience in an interview. I appreciated that, but like Henrik Lundqvist must have felt after giving up this goal to Niklas Backstrom last week, I wish I had that one back.
Capitals update: 4-2-2. Wished we had played better against New York Rangers and Detroit, but this would put us on pace for 41 wins and 102 points at the end of the season so not panicking just yet.
'Till next time, keep Rocking the Red, whereever you are!
-- Sreesha
