Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Day 2!

I think I'm feeling a little better today. Okay, a lot better. I don't have much time to write a lot because it's already 11:30, I've been studying since 4, and I still have more to do, so I'll do a little recap like yesterday:

7:45 - bus to school - SO crowded... I think I need to ride a bike instead

8:30 - team meeting. My team is turning out to be really cool. I hope they other members feel the same way! I had volunteered to "moderate" the marketing case today, which was a bit of a mistake. It was sooooo long and boring! Oil well motors in northern Canada. Yikes. Anyway, I was in the middle of that when our team advisor, Fede, walked in and introduced himself. It was great to finally meet him, and he was very reassuring about school and life and stress, etc. Apparently some French student couldn't find a place to live last year and stayed with Fede for 2 months, so obviously he goes out of his way for his students. Anyway, our meeting continued and then it was time to head to class.

9:45 - Decision Analysis. I like this class much more than I expected. It's very logical, and I especially like it now that I know how to do probability, more or less. We had to decide whether or not to harvest some grapes prematurely at our vineyard, and I opted to wait. Right answer. Cha-ching.

11:15 - Analysis of Business Problems. I noticed that one of my classmates is absent, so I switch to his seat in the 2nd row. Our professor for this class writes really small, so it's still very hard to read the board (I'm not the only one with problems here!) but at least I can sort of follow what's going on. Unfortunately I'm totally lost on this case - a 1950s drugstore that is debating whether or not to outsource their currently killer ice cream production - so sitting close doesn't help all that much. The weird thing is that I instinctually seem to pick the correct answer, and so the problem is just trying to explain and prove it. I mail fail this class, but at least in life I'll get the right answer and my business won't crap out. I'll have accountants to figure this stuff out for me anyway.

12:30 - Lunch. I'm discouraged after ABP, but I enjoy lunch with friends and try to eat something. I'm not doing very well in this regard, but I'm trying anyway!

2:00 - Marketing Management. I've decided that I like this professor, Carlos. He's funny. And this class today reminds me that I need to worry less about numbers (thank god!) and remember that there are people involved in all of these cases. I don't like any of the number-related options, but the one people-driven one is off-putting to me because I'm so obsessed with trying to become a numbers person. Why should I wear a hat that doesn't fit? Again, I'll find someone else to run the numbers for me. The problem will be that I can't do this on the test... Note to self - come up with short-term how-to-do numbers solution. Anyway, the class was good, Carlos was entertaining, and apparently I was too because after class when I went to ask him a question, he said, "Are you a comedian?" I took it as a compliment.

3:15 - Class is over! Whew! We have only 2 cases to prepare tonight, and one is about... A FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY! And it's for decision analysis, which means another probability problem (I really never thought I'd be happy about such a thing) and decision tree. The decision tree is my friend. I ran all the numbers and came up with the "right" answer, but my background tells me it's actually the wrong answer. Actually, my background tells me I need to see the script first, and then I need to cover most of the budget with international sales, but unfortunately neither of these options is available in the case. I might just have to bring it up in class anyway.

5pm - I arrived home after trying to do a little reading outside on the IESE campus. Too difficult. Worked on the movie case and then started on the marketing case, which is about an actual themepark in Tarragona, about an hour from Barcelona. The marketing cases are SOOOOO long. Oof. Fortunately, I'm in the half of the team that is focusing on the movie case tomorrow morning, so I can learn from the others on the marketing one.

It's now almost midnight and I'm hoping to get to bed soon. Last night I finally got to sleep around 2 I think. Even when I finally fell into bed, I couldn't sleep. I was too busy thinking about oil rig motors and starting torque and whether my northern Canadian motor company should produce a specialized motor. I mean really.

Oops, so much for a short update...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe you should be a business AND a literature major? This saga is sure to become a best seller! What a hoot! Hold out on the film rights. Of course, I'm sure you'll know exactly how to negotiate that deal...it'll be intuitive. Then ask your accountants to explain out how to justify the exhorbitant figure.

Anonymous said...

Maybe you should be a business AND a literature major? This saga is sure to become a best seller! What a hoot! Hold out on the film rights. Of course, I'm sure you'll know exactly how to negotiate that deal...it'll be intuitive. Then ask your accountants to explain how to justify the exhorbitant figure you are seeking for the rights.

? What a hoot!

NoellieBellie said...

I sound like a business major?!?! This frightens me. Really, I'm still clueless. Seriously!

Anonymous said...

I see i'm not the only one that comments on your superior writing skills! hehehe And, uh, you are sounding business majorish....I knew you had it in you!!