Reindeer Roasting On an Open Fire...

So, now that finals and IP are over I get 4 weeks off. I was hoping for some contract work, but that didn't work out, so now I get to spend the time with my family. Even better! We just got back from Tulsa a couple of days ago--we spent about a week there and had a great time despite every single one of us getting sick except Lexie. But isn't that what Christmas is all about!? Oh, wait, no, Christmas isn't about that at all....

It was great to see family and friends. Even though we have been in Texas for about 4 years now, we just don't have the same kind of relationships that we left back in Tulsa. People who know us well, have a history with us, recognize what makes us different & special and who are excited to see us. At least now, though, we have a date by which our transitory state will be over. When I graduate in May 2010, whether we stay in Fort Worth, go back to Tulsa or end up somewhere else in the world, we will at least put down some roots somewhere!

So, anyhow, we had a fantastic time. Special thanks to the Darcy family, who we did not see while we were in town but who were generous enough to let us use their house in their absence, hopefully with minimal physical damage to their house or psychological damage to their cats.

For those we did not catch when we were in town and those who live elsewhere, Merry Christmas. There is a reasonably good chance that we miss you very much and would love to hear from you!

It's Getting Closer To the Present!

Well, it's hard to believe another week has already gone by and Integrative Project (IP) is over (you don't have to imagine new squiggly lines--they are continued from last post--in case I forget though, plan to imagine squiggly lines at the end of this post to bring you back to the present again). Basically, IP is a 6-day intensive business simulation designed to force us to implement everything we have learned in our various classes in the first semester. The faculty makes us work from about 8am to 9pm every single day to simulate a real, stress-filled business environment. It began the day after finals mainly because they're sadistic.

The short story is that my team and I worked very hard, designed and stuck to a clear vision, executed as well as could possibly be expected and came in third out of five due to the unrealistic nature of the simulations and factors that were impossible to predict. Or maybe that's just sour grapes. We were graded on the simulation as well as two presentations, both of which were very strong, if I do say so myself and ended up with an A minus. I would complain a little more, but that would probably be unfair to those students who worked just as hard and ended up with a B. On the upside, we had the opportunity to present to a bunch of real live recruiters, so I had a chance to demonstration my skillicity as a presentator and the interesting word usements I structure. I'm sure they are all just waiting for the winter break to end before calling me with a job running their companies. I'm not technically holding my breath, but I am saving some of my CO2 in a jar, which is essentially the same thing.

So now the semester is officially over and I am breathing a big fat sigh of relief. Only 12 more shopping days until Christmas!! (cue the squiggly lines)

Life After Finals

Well, it's the week ending 12/05, and I just finished finals (imagine some squiggly lines like we're going back in to the past). Hoo boy was this a tough week. Spend all day every day studying as hard as possible. The accounting final was particularly tough. It was really hard to read the test questions because of the drops of blood dripping from my forehead. But I lived through it.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict some minor disappointments plus one or two happy surprises and an overall acceptable GPA considering it's my first semester and I'm old and I haven't been to school in a long time and I promise to do better next time. Of course, I can't actually put my GPA right out here for you to see because, well, I don't know you all that well. Perhaps we can spend a little time swapping war stories, you let me in on a couple of your own confidences and we can start talking numbers. Suffice it to say, my scholarship is not in jeopardy!

Well, I better get some rest because integrative project starts tomorrow!! I can only just wonder how that will go.....

Welcome To the Past. In advance.

So a lot has happened since my last post. I'm going to pretend like it hasn't happened yet and unfold the recent events of my life serial-style over a few blogs. If I was a more careful writer, the posts would be fraught with foreshadowing, symbolism and universal significance. More likely, they will resemble a really dull soap opera with no plot twists.

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! Finals Stress

I will live through this week, I will live through this week, I will through this week, I will live through this week.............

Barack Where We Started

By the happenstance (my fake word of the day) of fate, I was about six blocks from Grant Park in Chicago on Tuesday night, when and where the whole city was happily celebrating the election of our next president. I was in town on a marketing trip and in the company of a diverse group of classmates: Republicans, Democrats and a couple of foreign students just to make it interesting. As a wholehearted conservative and less-than-halfhearted Republican, I hadn't been too thrilled about the election, but I must confess there was a tangible excitement in the air on Tuesday. Though I have significant concerns about the next four years (I would have had concerns under the old guy, too), it was fun to be on the streets that night.

A few of my classmates (particularly the foreign ones) decided to witness history and go join the madhouse in Grant Park. The rest of us jaded Americans sat it out where we were, fairly confident we wouldn't actually get to see Oprah or her appointee Barack anyway. A small part of me wishes I went. The rest of me says, "eh". I do think it is a fabulous thing that a black man was elected president. With any luck, it will have a profound impact on race relations in America and inspire more black youths to set their sights a little higher. However, if Obama is the idealist that his campaign made him out to be, I think he will be completely inequipped to accomplish anything in the White House. If not, then we have yet another principles poor predictable politicking president (how's that for alliteration!)

Either way, I think by the end of four years, this country will be as messy as ever, if not messier. How's that for a little slice of sunshine!!? On the upside, we got to see where Ronald McDonald lives while we were in Chicago, and he is alive and well. As are Coca Cola and Wal-Mart. Despite what our president says or does, the real symbols of America are moving forward with gusto. As long as that keeps up, I will stay confident that everything will be all right.

A Blort Shog Due to Timited Lime

So I'm working on consistency with the whole blog thing. Seems like things have taken a turn for the busy! Most days I get home in time to spend a couple of hours with the kids and then start back on homework as soon as they are asleep. I'm not complaining, I'm just offering up an excuse (for those who can't stand people who make excuses, I'm not making excuses, I'm just complaining).

I just had my first job interview on Friday with Lockheed Martin. I think it went well, but it's very early in the internship search, and there are a few other companies I am interested in, too, so it's way too early to make any predictions. Unless we're talking elections, in which case my money is on Huckabee!! Oh, wait, make that Obama. There's got to be some consolation there--we missed out on having a President Huckabee, but I think President Barack Hussein Obama will be a fine substitute, speaking strictly on terms of ironic syncopation. Which, by the way, I think should be the primary standard for all important leaders. Just think, instead of Ronald Reagan, we could have gone with Inglebert Humperdink. But we missed our chance, didn't we?

I know what you mean Sonny Bono...

See what happens when you go 2 weeks without posting!!? Your former employer gets shut down by the government and bought by a competitor, the market finishes collapsing, pretends to rebound, the bailout fails then passes and the Office gets pre-empted by a debate. I'm guessing by my next blog, we'll be colonizing Venus. Wonder how their economy is doing?

On the home front, Ethan has started kindergarten. Alexa is dealing with it pretty well, although she does want to stay there with him. Zach just turned one and is in the 96th percentile for height and weight. Val is slowly recovering from a badly sprained foot and I am studying for mid terms every waking moment. And the beat goes on and the beat goes on...

At some point in life while all this normal life is happening, you begin to realize that regardless of your intentions or plans, life keeps going by, people get older and certain things in your life are now etched in stone. For example, the fact that I am past the age when the average NBA player retires suggests that I will never join that esteemed organization. Of course the rational mind realizes that there was never any ghost of a chance of ever having been a professional or even college basketball player (I didn't even start playing in earnest till after high school), but the unreasonable part of me says, "Dang! I missed the boat!" Ditto for any other completely unattainable closet dreams (movie star, rock star, you name it).

That's why, as a clear-headed, responsible adult (yes, I said it), the only appropriate course of action is to start pushing all of these ridiculous fantasies on my children and saddle them with guilt if they fail to meet up to any of these unreasonable expectations. And finally my kids are getting old enough to start perpetuating the unending cycle of not being world famous. Important life lesson: if you try for something and fail, that makes you a failure, but if you never try, you still have all kinds of untapped potential, and who knows how far you could go if you really applied yourself!!

Having said all that, I just realized I'm old enough now to be president of the United States!! Hmmm.....

Because It's an Election Year

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPy2alWEZ-U

Quite possibly the best thing that has ever been on television!! Jesse is in rare form!

When the world is running down, you make the best of what's still around

Okay, so I bought a car, but it's not a Co-rolla. I got a Honda Civic. Since the beginning of the year, I have hit the Japanese car trifecta: Toyota-Nissan-Honda. It's a stick, so I have to get used to that again--it's a nice enough old car, though.

I have gotten a couple of quizzes back now-so far, so good. I think the professors are taking it easy on us grade-wise, for which I am very grateful, especially in Statistics. Also, I was elected as one of two representatives from my class for the MBA Marketing Association-one more step in my quest to take over the world (I'm taking the long, slow road). Essentially what this means is that in addition to my class load, career search and family time I get to go a bunch of meetings and think of ways to make Neeley a more relevant marketing force in the universe. Then next year, I will get a real title, like president, vice president, treasurer or janitor. Piece o' cake.

So, how 'bout that economy? Few have been hit harder than WaMu. New CEO last week, stock prices around $2 this week and openly courting buyers! I would say it can't get much worse than that, but then I think of Countrywide, Lehman bros, AIG, Freddie, Fannie, etc. I guess it could get worse. While the company on a whole is in trouble, but I can't help but think the Commercial Group will come out relatively intact. It is still profitable and it has more apartment loans than any other bank in the country. Even if WaMu is bought by another bank, it won't have the infrastructure in place to originate & service these loans. They would have to retain the organization and personnel in place to manage the portfolio. That's my two cents (these days, that's almost enough to get you a share of stock).

Hopefully, the economy will recover before I finish school so I can get a job. Hopefully, whoever our next president is won't make things worse by fixing everything. Hopefully, my 401K won't be worthless before the end of the year. Hopefully, "America as we know it" isn't over. And hopefully, this season of Heroes will be worth the wait. Cause let's face it--what really matters is that the writers are back and it's almost time to plug in our IV of televisory anasthetic and forget what is going on in the world. I wonder if my teachers will start grading even easier, now that "must-see" TV is back. They have to--it's called "must-see" for a reason.....

Book Learnin'

So I lived through another week of mind-expanding classes and events. Busy as ever, but mostly doing worthwhile stuff. I particularly like my management class, where each session is spent discussing actual business decisions actually made by actual people in actual companies that I have actually heard of. Wonderful theoretic ideals such as balancing employee and stockholder interests, empowerment, etc. Right after the empowerment discussion where we all individually decided that empowerment is a wonderful thing that we will all implement at our very first opportunity, I read an article in BusinessWeek by Jack Welch explaining how in the real world, empowerment typically doesn't work and shouldn't be attempted. So, I am unlearning just as quickly as I am learning.
Speaking of book learning, I have learned recently that there are far more powerful lessons to be learned in popular literature than could ever be taught in a textbook. Apparently if I will temporarily suspend my manliness and read the teen vampire romance novel Twilight (the cover is 99% Fabio-free, by the way), I will understand women in ways in which I never before thought possible. I guess that's a good idea, although the book should come with some kind of guarantee that I will get my manhood back once I finish reading it. I'll get to it once I have read all of my textbooks cover to cover. Twice.
As a capstone celebration to the end of my income, I will be selling my car tomorrow (hopefully). This, the glorious Altima that I coveted for months and finally purchased. So after six months of that, my best guess is that by next week I will be back in an old Corolla again--probably a white one. While this may be a step backwards in my automotive pilgrimage, at least I know I can get along with a Corolla. I test drove an old Accord today--blech. Can anyone explain why Hondas cost more than Toyotas? Another cosmic mystery that Carl Sagan failed to answer before passing on.

1 Down, 80 or so to Go!

Well, it feels like I just started school 5 days ago, but I have actually finished a whole week already!! Only about 80 weeks left to go!! So, I'm pretty much done now, and I have to say, I'm not sure I learned all that much. Something about a balance sheet, if I remember correctly.

Val and the kids are being very patient with the busy schedule, although Zach has been giving me dirty looks every once in a while (that could be completely unrelated). I have been getting home at a decent time, but I have spent most of every night doing homework after the kids are in bed. With my laptop and all of my books, the kids are very excited to have more things to get in trouble for playing with. Amazingly, they get older every time I come home. Ethan is already acting like a teenager half the time. We're very proud. Alexa, by the way, just noticed that sometimes I have little tiny hairs growing out of my face. I tried to explain that these hairs are the reason I smear white stuff all over my face and drag that funny-plastic-thing-she-can't-play-with across it. She first noticed me doing that a couple of months ago and said, "Daddy, you are erasing you!" Not sure if she meant that literally or figuratively, but, either way, she makes a good point.

It is nice, though, to go unshaven and dress down a little more. I still can't quite feel comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt yet, but I'm rocking the jeans Friday all week long. Looking at my classmates, I see an amazing variety of dress, from the recent graduate in flip flops to the guy who can't stop wearing a tie every day. I think I am safely in middle ground, with a slight lean toward more dressed up.

I'm still trying to sell my Altima (any takers?), and find something that gets comparable mileage to a moped. I could probably just hitchhike on 35W every morning-I think they are all going to the same place I am anyway. I'm still a little annoyed that no one has perfected the personal jetpack yet! Apparently, people just can't get used to that warm sensation on their backsides; I mean, you could sell them with a pair of fireproof pants. I gotta say, the future hasn't quite lived up to the hype. What was I talking about?

I Hereby Christen My Blog

Hello bloggees! I am officially entering the 21st century by starting a blog, particularly to discuss the next big phase in my life and that of my family. For those who are not aware, I recently left my job at Washington Mutual to pursue an MBA at Texas Christian University. Because of this change, I will be out of direct contact with a lot of former co-workers, making new friends and contacts and hoping to re-establish contact with a lot of people that I haven't spoken to in some time. I decided that the best way to keep all of you wonderful folks updated on the events of my life and my progress in school is to start a blog. That way, if you are interested, you can check out my updates, which I hope will be frequent, and if you're not interested, you don't have to feel obliged to answer emails, etc. Of course, you are all more than welcome to make comments, and I look forward to hearing from you.

So, I just finished the START workshop to orient me to life as an MBA candidate. It was very informative and busy, but it's over and it has helped me get a better understanding of what the next 2 years will be like. The event culminated in a formal team presentation of a business proposal to a (mock) venture capital firm--actually second-year students who evaluated our presentation. In the final coaching session the day before the presentation, I performed my portion so abysmally badly that I began to wonder if I was in the right place. But with lots of practice, I was able to complete my part effectively and received some very nice feedback. So far so good.

There are all kinds of things to look forward to, including potential trips to Chicago and Germany, an internship next summer and plenty more opportunities to fail at a presentation! I will keep the updates coming as these and other potential plans materialize.