October's almost over!

This month has been the craziest of my college career. Good news though - I found out one of the classes I thought I had to take next semester is not actually required. I will be taking 15 credits next semester instead of 18! That is going to be weird because I am so used to a crazy course load.

Interviews have been going great. I have gotten second round interviews from every company I've interviewed with! I am excited about all of them. I'll post more details when the process is over. But, in the next few weeks I am going to be traveling all over the country it looks like.

Next week I am going to home to Atlanta! I am really excited about the interview there, but I also am hoping I'll be able to finally meet my nephew. He was born a couple weeks ago, but I have not been able to make it home yet to see him.

And this weekend is Halloween, the last one of my undergraduate education. I feel so old. I still have not decided what I am going to be because I need the perfect costume. Several years I have ended up going to the mall on the day of Halloween to find something, haha. It always works out though.

I'll let you know how my weekend goes with a post!

I was right

This week was crazy as usual, but actually a slow-down compared to the week before. I have one interview next week. Pretty exciting - then I am waiting to hear from a few more companies in the next week or so.

And now I am sitting in the library again all day. I work in all the computer labs across campus, including the big one on the first floor of the library. That's why I spend all day in the library - because I am getting paid. For studying, I prefer sitting in the comfort of my own home. For some reason I am so much more efficient that way.

Lately it's been hard being at school, a nine hour drive away from my family. My brother is expecting his first child on Monday, and my cousin just got married last week. I am missing both events, unfortunately. There is always something that happens that I can't help but miss. Jackson (my nephew) is going to be born on Monday at 6am.

Guess what I will be doing? I have an exam in econometrics that day - but I also have a job interview the next day which I absolutely cannot miss. There will be time for me to go home later; I am just sad I can't be there the day he will be born.

A distraction

I can tell this week is going to be another crazy one - so I wanted to go ahead and get in a post.

Today was fun - I had an exam in Game Theory! In other words I stayed up really late studying last night and am now, at 8:51pm, exhausted. Do not practice my study habits - they are a result of doing way too many things.

I still think I scored at least at the average. We'll see.

Every Monday night I have a 2.5 hour class - the Economic Consulting Workshop. It is a really interesting class, but also pretty challenging. Tonight we learned that we will use EVERYTHING we've learned in business school for economic consulting. It is fun to apply things I learned back in managerial accounting and macroeconomics, it will just be interesting trying to remember things I learned 3 years ago. I just keep in mind that what I learn in this class will be directly applicable to whatever I am doing in my full time job next year.

Other than school, I am looking forward to going home to Georgia in a week and a half. My nephew Jackson is going to be born! I am pretty much going to have to drop everything to go see him - but it will be completely worth it. I'll be an aunt for the first time... which makes me feel a bit old for the first time also, haha.

Will post again this weekend and probably talk about how I am studying like crazy for my statistics test on Monday!

Time... where is it?

Wow this was a crazy week. I'll give you a brief overview of one of my days so you will understand what I mean by crazy.

Tuesday; pretty representative of my week:

9:00am - wake up and study for two hours before my International Trade and Policy class
11:15am - Class (International Trade)
12:30 - 1:00pm. I have thirty minutes to get from the business school to the library, grab lunch and talk to my boyfriend, and walk 15 minutes to Ballantine for my English class. Everyone on campus is doing the same thing as me it seems like, and there is usually a 20 minute line to get food, haha. By the time I get out of line I usually have about 2 minutes to eat.

1:00pm - English L354 - Modern Literature since 1914 (we are reading The Grapes of Wrath in this class - very interesting since I've never read it)

2:15pm - 3:30pm - work on homework for my Econometrics class - it's always due on Wednesday.

3:30pm - 4:30pm - I close the Bagel stand every Tuesday, and it usually takes me about an hour. My club runs the stand, and lately we have been selling out every day - of everything!

4:30pm - 5:00pm - This past Tuesday I had to sprint home, change into business casual, grab food, and run back to the school, literally, to make it back before 5:00pm.

5:00pm - 6:30pm - Interviews for Women in Business! We recruited new members this week and did 2nd round interviews. I sat in on both rounds of interviews and was impressed with everyone! It was a hard decision to make, but eventually we narrowed down 127 applicants to 31 members.

6:30pm - 7:15pm - Private event with the CFO of Whirlpool, Tax VP, and employees in the program I am interested in. It was an awesome event because I got to network with a CFO!

7:15-10:00pm - More interviews

10:00pm - 2:00am - Homework! Nathaniel actually felt bad for me I think and brought me dinner (Jimmy Johns!) and gave me company in the computer lab, so it wasn't too bad.

Next week things should slow down because I will not be conducting interviews every night and I should find out if I have some interviews...

I'll update again soon!

School started already?!

I have simply not had the time to post here in a whileeee. The last half of the summer was a complete whirlwind for me.

I finished my internship at Parliament, with a pending publication under my belt and an experience I will never forget. I was sad to leave my co-workers and friends I made while in London - I felt like I was really getting to know them well.

Now I'm back at school and it has already been super eventful. I am now the President of Women in Business, an organization I've been in now for over 3 years. We are interviewing new members this week - 130 people applied! I am always glad to see so much interest in our club.

In addition to heading up the organization, I am networking as much as possible so I can get a full-time job offer by the end of the fall semester. It is really competitive this year, but I know it will all work out.

...And in about two weeks I should have a new nephew! My brother and his wife are expecting their first baby, Jackson, on October 5th. I will definitely be making the drive home for him!

Now I am just working in the library, all day. Unfortunately I cannot get that much homework done because most of it is book based :(.

Tonight I will be building a cardboard boat with some friends from WIB. The Council for Advancing Student Leadership is having a race next weekend, and in order to compete you have to build a boat strong enough to hold two people, so you can paddle your way across one of IUs pools. It should be a really interesting night!

Scotland Update

This weekend I got to go to Edinburgh, Scotland for FREE! The other parliament interns and I went to visit the Scottish parliament. We met with a scottish MP and he talked about devolution in Scotland and how they are becoming more and more independent from England. The majority party in Scotland also would like to become completely independent. That was interesting!

The remainder of the weekend was spent sight seeing. We toured Edinburgh Castle (also for free!) and went to all the pubs and shops we could find. You can think of Edinburgh as a mini vegas. People were there from all over the UK, celebrating stag and hen parties. The people in the town were all very friendly and were happy to talk with Americans.

Even the train ride there was amazing. Some of the route took us along the coast of the ocean, where castles and ruins lined the sea side. It was an amazing experience I will not forget.

This week I go back to work at Parliament in Westminster and I am excited as usual. I have some pretty intense projects to finish. Tomorrow I have to write a letter to my MPs constituents that is an annual report, outlining all of the things she has been working on.

And then... my 21st birthday is (effectievly) this weekend! I will post again in the coming weeks about how that goes...

London Week ONE and TWO

My first week and a half in London has been a whirlwind. We got here a week early, so you can guess what all of last week was devoted to: sightseeing! I saw many, many amazing things last week.

Among them: St. Paul's Cathedral, Harrod's, Buckingham Palace, Parliament, the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, the National Gallery, and Hyde Park. I looked at alot of other sides in passing. London is an amazing place, with so much to do. This program is especially fun because you get to live in a house or apartment with several other students doing the same thing. At the end of the day, you can all come back together and talk about how it was.

I am definitely home sick though. I miss my boyfriend. A lot. But, I am staying extremely busy. Basically, my MP showed me the computer on the first day and I got to work on my research project. I am studying the effect of the recession on women, and whether or not they go into it with an unequal footing with men. It's interesting work, and I am going to meet with top union officials and women's advocates.

I am literally working or skyping all day, but I will try to post again after this weekend!

Winding down, then up again

My last final is tomorrow morning at 10:15am! I will be sooo happy when I am done. This week has been super stressful. I had four finals, one every day since Tuesday. At least they were not all in the same day though.

So the semester is winding down. Right now it seems like there is just not enough to do. Usually I do not have enough time to study, and this week all I have been doing is studying. Quite a change.

For the next two weeks I will pretty much be doing nothing. I will just be hanging out with Nathaniel AS MUCH as possible. We are going to miss each other so much when I am in London. After all, we have not been apart from for more than two weeks at a time since we've known each other, ha.

But, we will both be busy, so I am sure it will go by quickly as summers always do.

I will try to focus more on making the most of my experience. I am going to be really busy every day, working at Parliament, seeing the sights, eating, and taking a class.

I cannot wait! I leave in two weeks. The next few days will consist of my still trying to get my visa, packing everything up and then going home, unpacking once I get home. Then in two weeks I will have to pack everything up again and take an 8 hour flight.

I will be sure to keep this updated with tons of pictures.

Fun times

I know, I have been terrible about updating this regularly. I have been really, really busy. After all, the Little 500 was this weekend ;).

This weekend was not only the best Little 5 for me, but it ranks up there for best weekends ever. I saw my favorite band, Flight of the Conchords, in concert on Saturday night. The show was awesome and they were hilarious, of course. After the show, me and Nathaniel decided to wait by the back door because, surely, they would come out some time and have to get on their tour buses. 200 other people got the same idea, and we ended up waiting outside for about an hour after the concert. Then, the crowd began cheering and Bret and Jemaine showed up from the side entrance of the IU Auditorium. They went down the line of people and met everyone, taking pictures and signing autographs for everyone.

I was lucky enough to meet them both, shake their hands, and get my picture taken with them! They were so nice and personable.

Come to IU and you will meet your favorite band.

Most likely.

Maybe.

Probably not, BUT there is a chance!

In other news, finals are next week, Little 5 was last week; NOT a good combination. I will spend the next few days studying, studying, turning in papers and assignments, and of course, studying. Then I will be a senior and off to London in a few weeks!

Good Update

The last few weeks have been much better than my last update. Nathaniel is now BACK and better! It's hard for him because he has had so much to catch up with, and has been busy every day from 9am to 12am. Tough. For me too :(. I am just glad he is back and well.

Tonight, I was elected the President for Women in Business next year! I am really excited to be one of the women that helps make the club better - and I hope to have a real effect on recruiting more women to Kelley. If you have questions about the club or Kelley, feel free to comment!

And my next big thing is going to be getting everything in order to go to London. If you are going to study abroad, be sure you apply for ALL of the scholarships you can. I have already missed some of the deadlines, so I am going to have to finance my trip with loans and credit, ugh. However, I am still waiting to see if I got any Kelley scholarships or IU scholarships for the summer. That could help out a lot.

I am starting to think more about how my internship at Parliament this summer will affect what kind of career I choose. As of now, I want to be a lawyer. After my internship, I might also want to be a lawyer AND a politician. Or an economist. I will definitely have some decisions to make in the coming year. I think I'm going to prepare to take the GRE, because I may want to pursue a graduate degree in economics. That option would open a lot of opportunities if I want to work with the government (to change the country of course! ha).

Spring Break and Other News

So Spring Break was not good. Nathaniel and I went out to Telluride, Colorado with a bunch of other couples intending to spend the week hiking and skiing in the Rocky Mountains. Unfortunately though, Nathaniel got really sick on Sunday night (the very beginning of our trip).

Of course I was happy to take care of him, but it was really upsetting to see him so miserable the whole time. He was running a high fever, among other things. We spent three days that week at the doctor until finally being told we needed to drive two hours away to a bigger hospital. We found out he had pneumonia and something else that had been making him sick (off and on) for a long time. All the while, we just thought he was susceptible to colds since the fall when in fact there was a cause for it.

In short, he ended up having to stay at the hospital until yesterday (one week) and I had to leave him on Saturday to come back to school. Needless to say it was a more stressful week than any I had experienced, even during finals, so both Nathaniel and myself did not get much rest.

I am going to suggest to him that we take off some weekend to take our own little break, since we were robbed of our spring break. I am so grateful, however, that he is okay now. It was in fact, because we went to Colorado to an altitude of 10,000 feet that we found out he had the illness. If not, he would not have been weakened by the altitude and we would not have found out about the illness until it was too late to treat it effectively. In that respect, we are grateful.

The rest of this school year is jam-packed. I am getting ready to study abroad and the process in lengthy. (Tons of paperwork and trying to get all the scholarship/loans I need.) However, it will definitely all be worth it in the end.

London Here I Come

I was just offered an internship with Parliament. That's right, Parliament of the United Kingdom! Of course I accepted, and I am going to intern with a member of parliament. My project for the semester will be researching the role of women in the economy. I am so excited, I can barely contain it, haha.

I am able to do this because of a program Kelley offers called the London Internship program through Arcadia University. Basically you take a class about the UK for 2 days a week and the other 3 days you have an internship. I was lucky enough to be placed at Parliament.

I am so excited about getting the opportunity to live and work abroad. I know this is going to help me when I go to law school and when I get a job after that.

...And I am going to get to go to the London red carpet premiere of the 6th Harry Potter movie! That is just a huge plus, haha.

I am going to miss my boyfriend a lot, but he'll come and visit.

Quite a bit has happened in the last week or so. I found out a couple days ago that I got past the IU screening part to study abroad in London! Now, I am just waiting to see where I am going to intern. I am really hoping to intern at Parliament - it should be awesome. I am already thinking about all the places I'm going to go while I'm there and all the things I am going to see. So far on my agenda are Scotland, Stonehenge, and the white cliffs of Dover.

This week I also decided to play intermural soccer with a couple friends. Our games are going to be on Mondays and it should be a lot of fun. I am a little rusty since I have not played since 2005, but I am looking forward to a reason to exercise regularly. Otherwise I am just not motivated to do so.

In other news, I am hoping to go to Indy with Nathaniel tomorrow to find a restaurant that serves good seafood. We really miss that part of Atlanta. The city is not far from good fishing, so you can go to a good restaurant and know you are getting fresh fish from the ocean. It's a little different here, since mostly I think Indiana relies on fish farms. We will see if we can fnid a good place tomorrow though.

Then, in two weeks, we are going to Telluride, Colorado with a bunch of friends to go skiing. Our friend has a mountain house out there so we are basically going for very cheap. He also has skiing passes for us so we probably don't have to pay for that. We just have to worry about gas and food. I am looking forward to it, but I am also worried because I have never been skiing before. And I am starting in the Rockies. Yikes. Maybe I will just watch...

V-day and other things

Good weekend. Nathaniel forgot to make reservations for Valentine's Day until Thursday... so instead he made me dinner! He made chicken picatta with mashed potatoes, green beans, and caeser salad. It was actually really good, although I had to help him out a LITTLE bit...

Friday night we went out with a friend for her 21st birthday. Of course Nathaniel and I could only go out to dinner because we are not yet 21. It seems everyone is turning 21 and going out to the bars, except for Nat and me. At least we can be youngn's together.

I found out the other day that I am going to be an aunt! My older brother is having a baby with his wife in October. We have been waiting for this for a while, so it's really exciting! I cannot wait to help babysit and watch the baby grow up.

I have been trying to write this post for like 2 hours now. I am working in the main floor of the library and everyone is here it seems, doing homework. I too am guilty of waiting until Sunday of the weekend to do all of my homework and studying, but today I wish everyone was not also a procrastinator, like me.

Crazy week

This week was not all that great. I got incredibly sick halfway through. I was not just sneezing or anything like that, i was in actual pain for a couple days. Apparently I caught some virus that cause severe throat pain (it felt like strep), ear ache, headache, fever, and cough. I could not move all of Thursday and was literally sitting in bed all day. I absolutely hated it. If anything gets me depressed it's having to sit in a room all day and feeling like I cannot do anything. I could only sleep and try to break the fever.

Luckily, I am better now (just minor coughing) and was able to sit for LSAT exam this morning. That was fun, but I do not really want to talk about it because then I am just going to have to think about it again. Just thought I'd mention it.

Last night Nathaniel (my bf) and I went to Finch's Brassierie to watch some of his professors play in a jazz combo. They were all really amazing and very nice. It is going to be awesome when I am going to see Nathaniel perform either with his bad or with a symphony he is getting paid for.

For those of you that don't know, IU is one of the best music schools in the country. It is awesome to see world-renowned musicians perform and teach here as professors. There is always a show (most of the time free) to see. In fact, I may be going to see a funk/fusion (or something like that?) band perform tonight. After work, of course. For now I get to sit in the library for 3 1/2 more hours!

Funny in Unexpected Places

As I mentioned last week, my boyfriend and I went to the Funny Bone on Friday night to see Arj Barker do a stand up routine. Now, he was pretty funny. You could tell most of what he was saying was improv, which really impresses me. I cannot even FATHOM standing in front of a crowded room of people and trying to make them laugh without having everything prepared.

The funniest part was that he picked a girl that was sitting on the front row and made fun of her the whole show. Of course, I found this especially funny because I was already resentful of the people that snagged the front row seats before I could get there. That fact almost ruined my night.

I was pretty funny that night too, though. When my boyfriend and I arrived at the club, we stepped into the front door and none other than the headliner, Arj Barker, walked straight up to us. There is something you should understand about me. I get star-struck. It is just to weird to see someone in person who I watch on tv every week. I can't take it. So, when Ark Barker walked up to me I did what any person would do that would want to preserve their integrity. I ignored him and talked to the person next to him. Ha.

What I did not expect of that night was that there were 3 openers for Arj, the last of which was the funniest comic of the night. Shes a comiedienne on Comedy Central - I do not remember her name. Anyway she had the entire audience in tears from laughter by the time she was done! I am going to have to say she was the best.

If you get a chance to visit Bloomington the Funny Bone is an entertaining place to stop, after you have dinner at one of the amazing restaurants on Kirkwood.

However, the BEST part about this weekend was that I found out Flight of the Conchords is coming to Bloomington for Little 5 week! Tickets are going on sale this week, and you can bet I will be there early in the morning to snag mine....

Okay, I mention FoC in the past like 3 posts. I am not allowed to do it again for at least another 3. You can call me on it. I do not want to seem like a stalker fan or anything...

Snow Day!

For the first time in 13 years, Indiana University closed the campus because of unsafe travel conditions due to snow. I never thought I would see the day, but I was so happy the minute I woke up at 7:30am and realized I could go back to sleep for 3 more hours!

Now, you would think a snow day is the perfect say to catch up on studying, reading, homework, etc. Well, I think it is the perfect day to relax - all day! I mean, it was a day that I would normally not have much time for studying anyway, so why not make it a day of rest! I believe yesterday was a gift, an opportunity for a well-deserved rest.

The snow piled up to over a foot I think. In my parking lot, the snow plows managed to push more snow on top of my car, making it impossible to even distinguish my car from all the others. After finding my car tonight, I spent nearly an hour digging it out of the snow. By digging I mean using my foot as a shovel and literally kicking the snow out of the way. I had to remove all of it, because I had to go buy a mustang that does NOT have all wheel drive.

Anyway - I am really looking forward to this weekend because a well-known comedian is coming to The Funny Bone (comedy club in Bloomington). I bought tickets yesterday with my boyfriend to see one of the guys (Dave) from the HBO show Flight of the Conchords. I am hoping he is as funny in person as he is in the show.

I will write again to let you all know how it turned out!

The Library

I possibly have the worst work schedule ever. I am required to work every night there is good tv, or nights that were just not made for work.

For example, one of my shifts is in the library on Saturday night for four hours. Only a select few come to the library on Saturday nights, and those that do are usually doing it for "fun." By fun I mean they are coming to the library to make a really personal poster and then print it out, megasize on our 36 X 108 inch plotter printer.

That part of my job can be somewhat entertaining, because some people have no shame. I am not saying I've seen really objectionable content come out of that plotter in the main library where anyone can see it. No, I am just saying some people are not afraid to make giant posters of "Dungeons and Dragons" or Star Wars and then claim that it is for a "school project." Right....

Saturdays are just not going to be good days for me for a while. I also have to go to class on Saturday mornings, from 10am to 1pm. I had to be all studious and sign up for a class on LSAT (which I am taking in two weeks). I definitely do NOT regret it, because I know it is forcing me to study harder than I otherwise would have.

Anyway, I found an application to perhaps the coolest job there is. On the planet. Basically you are a professional vacationer and you get paid $150,000 for 6 months of working for 12 hours a month. Sweet. I would not post it here if I thought I had a chance of getting the job because I would not want all of the extra competition, of course... but here it is:

http://www.islandreefjob.com/webdata/content/2/59.pdf?ts=1229652407

The best weekends are not had by going to a huge house party with tons of people you do not know, forced to dodge all of the inevitably splattering drinks.

No.

After a long week, all I want to do is sit down and watch a movie; relax with my boyfriend or hang out with a few good friends. I think the excitement of going to huge parties where you do not know the majority of the people there wears off (for people that do this to begin with) after freshmen year, and then you are just waiting to be old enough to go to the bars.

Anyway, if any of you are sitting around on one of these weekends, wondering what to watch, I highly recommend renting the first season of Flight of the Conchords. It's two guys from New Zealand that live in New York - they are trying to make it big as a two-guy band. It's hilarious because the way it portrays single men is pretty true - but it's done so blatantly. I think it is because the two guys just act natural....

And now that I have a three-day weekend, I am finding it even harder to accomplish in 3 days what I would normally do in 2. Too much time is not good for me (and I would think the same goes for most students...)

First Day Back

I started my first day of the spring semester yesterday, and everything seemed to go well. It is weird and sad to think I will only be here for three more semesters - it goes by so fast! Hopefully by my senior year I will be ready for the next big experience: grad school.

Now that I am in my major classes I hope to get higher grades and absorb even more from my classes. The class sizes are smaller, so I now get direct contact with all my professors. Also, I am especially interested in the subject matter (business economics and public policy).

I will let you know how I feel though ( if it's any different!) by the end of the first week...