Almost Done. Until We Start Over.

I am almost all the way through pre-term for school (one. more. presentation!) and couldn't be happier to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Which is kind of ironic considering official class doesn't START until Monday. It has been so whirlwind, I feel like I've been in school for ages already. Long enough for me to be annoyed by people and then cycle through to the other side and be fine with them. And vice versa. When you work so closely for 12-16 hours a day, it's intense. Which sounds dumb really. But you have to learn to like each other pretty quickly. At first impression, I was a bit daunted because I hadn't already hung out with anyone in my group in all my introductions and chatting. We are to do all projects together in every class for the entire semester. We are all very different (which was their point in assigning it I suppose), but over the past week, I feel like we've very much bonded and found some common ground along the way. We can crack each other up which is a good feeling. There is hope!

There are days, in sitting in class for 8 straight hours, that I feel like there is no way my brain can absorb any more information. My brain literally hurts. Focusing for that long is one of the most exhausting feats. And I love it, even though it makes me tired. I see Andrew sparsely, which is the down side, so I look forward to a more normal schedule during term where we can have a meal together here and there. Or WOW! Even see my friends outside the school-space.

In the spirit of new beginnings, fresh starts and experiences, I made the impulse decision to chop the hair. I cut 10 inches off - 10 inches that have been with me for about 10 years - and donated it to Locks of Love. My hairdresser almost didn't want to do it because it was impulse, and she was afraid I would be sad afterwards. Much to my own surprise, I haven't missed the long hair once yet. I think it helps to have donated it, because it is hard to regret when it's doing some good. Behold:


It's different, but I'm getting used to it. Kinda like school.

What I Learned on My First Day of School

From the MD-MBA students:

- If you pour really cold water in someone's ear, it will render them incapable of walking in a straight line.

- If you spin someone around consistantly for 15 seconds in one direction and then stop them abruptly, their eyeballs will vibrate and flutter back and forth.

From my own observation:

- It is much easier to give a speech you have 2 minutes to prepare in the hallway alone than it is to do it in front of 70 people. And a video camera.

- It takes way too many MBA students to figure out how to open the combination on a campus mailbox.

- Girls generally are more social than boys. I know this sounds like a complete "duh", but seeing it in action was interesting. The women were all meeting each other, making introductions and chatting, while for the most part, the men were more reserved. Maybe because they couldn't get a word in edge-wise. Oops.

- I am below average statistically-speaking in this class. Maybe I should try to shut my mouth and learn.

- Best thing about Rice thus far: On-campus garage parking RIGHT BELOW the MBA building = 2 minute access, car to classroom. If you've made the trek across UT campus daily, this seems like a luxury of epic proportions.

So far, this is totally worth it. Especially because I want to try that cold water in the ear trick. Any volunteers?

Let's call it a stressful sabatical

Today is my last day in the working world for a while, because Monday, I begin life as a full-time grad student.

Commence Panic Attack Here.

Overall, I am excited, a bit anxious (still! haven't! finished! homework!) and mostly in disbelief. It hasn't really sunk in that today is the last time, I will look out the window of my 11th floor office (I actually attained a window office, who knows when/if that will ever happen again) at the east Houston skyline. It is the last time I will walk across the parking lot to my car, admiring the downtown skyline near dusk, with the fiery orange and pink sky. This morning was the last time I picked up breakfast tacos at Villa Arcos for the remaining faithful taco club members.

I am more sentimental about this than I anticipated I would be.

There have people here who have made me sane, even made me enjoy myself, when work made me want to slit my wrists with mylars. Some I know I will keep in contact with, others I know it'll be a final good bye. It's bittersweet.

It's been real, it's been fun, and it hasn't always been real fun, but I'm thankful for the experience and the people.

For the Love of Edouard

Thank you, Houston, for being an entirely loony place to live. Really.

I ask my fellow Houstonians:

Have we learned nothing from Hurricane-Inspired Hysteria of the past?

On Monday, I was a bit groggy, having not slept much the previous weekend (can we say YEAH! I CAN STILL STAY UP ALL NIGHT! LIKE COLLEGE! Oy. My poor, abused fankles. See: Kasia's 25th-Not-David-Bowie-Themed-But-Sort-Of-Silly-Hat-Themed-Kinda-Dance-Birthday-Party-2008) and painfully returning to life in the over-heated urban area I call home. During work, there was buzz about "tropical storms" and "stocking up on water" and "what ever shall we do, the world will end." Andrew called me from San Diego to barrage with me with questions of "What's your plan?" Hmmmm. My plan is to sleep in? [Must. Catch. Up. On. Sleep.] So I jump on our trusty Weather Channel to investigate the Hubbub. No hurricane. Some swirling storms with a name which sounds like a yuppie hipster who pretentiously makes the spelling of something common, impossible [Hypocrite, table for one]. I continue to search the internet looking for something I might have missed. Are we getting excited about tropical storms now? Did the Rita traffic disasters give us all nervous ticks? On the way home, I stopped by the grocery store for dinner supplies and beer (which is redundant, really) and witnessed pure pandemonium in the bottled water aisle. My fellow citizens were stocking up on enough Ozarka to solve a water crisis in Luxembourg. It was as if everyone thought we would be without water and electricity for the remainder of 2008.

I get home and check the news again. Maybe I missed something in the past few hours? Nope, still no hurricane. And the sky is beautiful and sunny and blue, which is extra deceiving.

I wake up Tuesday morning to a light sprinkling of rain and think maybe it's starting? The calm before the torrential storm? Maybe I have been too languid? The entire morning is spattered with light April-esque showers. And I really did sleep in. Bless that tropical storm, work was cancelled the whole day.