Considering the state of my blog, I have come to a clear realization of just how much time I really used to have! It almost seems like working gave me so much more free time! Sad...so sad...
I have seriously been out-of-my-mind busy since I arrived in Eugene. After getting settled in and my apartment near acceptable, I jumped right into school.
The two-week "Orientation" later dubbed "Prologue" was an intense ten days in the classroom, 8-hours a day. We learned a lot about each other and a lot about ourselves, learned how to work in teams, how to do a case study, learned some things about making the most of our MBA school years, attended a few networking events and essentially were immersed in what was the start of the next two years of our lives. Though the days were long, I actually enjoyed the classroom learning and the tests of my skills. And the best thing to come of it was a closeness among all of my class. By the time school actually started, we all knew each other pretty well and it has made studying and the social aspect really easy to adjust to.
Prologue culminated to a service project at the Mt. Pisgah Arboretum where we laid sod and evened the ground on a popular trail. And then we got to relax floating down the McKenzie River for some white-water rafting.
Since school has started, I've been bogged down with way too much homework. I feel like every teacher thinks their class is my only class! The first week was rough and I felt overwhelmed with all of the homework that had to be completed. But this second week, I am getting a better hang of things. Either the pressure of completing homework is getting easier to handle, or I am just getting lazy. Let's hope it's the former...
Overall, my life is totally different. I play softball now, my most hated sport. I play basketball on Saturday mornings, a sport I have neglected. I can't remember the last time I filled up my gas tank, though the sight of so many bikes around town still throws me off. I am rarely on my phone. It's actually cold outside. I can think of few things that are the same other than the things I possess. But change is good, even when there's a lot of it.
One of the biggest changes for me has been the social scene. I pretty much just hang out with my classmates and literally, we do everything together. This picture was taken last night at the University of Oregon v. UCLA football game and is pretty much the norm for me. With only 10 girls in the program and 30 boys, these odds are about normal.
A typical night out usually means going to a school function of some sort and then hitting up bars around town. People drink a lot of beer! I drink of a lot of Diet Coke and water! A naive confession: I have come to realize that bar-hopping is one of the few options for a social activity and that people actually do hop from bar to bar. I don't really understand it, but I go anyway to socialize and be around friends.
Homecoming was last night as well and with so many Alumni in town, our entire Saturday was filled with seminars and networking events. Ducks sports are HUGE around here and the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center hosted a tailgate before the game.
The highlight of the entire day though was probably the opportunity to meet Founder of the Warsaw Center, Jim Warsaw. Jim was quite an amazing individual, not just because he has accomplished so much, but because of his attitude and sincere appreciation for everyone around him in spite of his battling with Parkinsons disease.
He spoke to us for a bit at a seminar all the while struggling to speak, yet applauded us for what we have accomplished and encouraged us to do more. I can tell he is a man well-respected not because of his career success but because of his character.
So, yes, it's been quite an adjustment, but it's been enjoyable all the same...
On another note, I have become the picture and blog girl around here as well, so to keep up on other things going on up here, visit other places that I blog if you are really curious.
http://www.oregonmba.com/blog/
http://www.warsawcenter.com/blog/
