Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Back to school!

Yesterday night marked the beginning of a new semester for me. I am taking a capstone class, which is the last hurdle I have to go through before I can get my MBA. The whole course is built around a marketplace business simulation. So basically, my team and I get to run a company over the semester, applying all the knowledge we have acquired so far. Only one company wins, so there is the competitive element in this, too.

One thing I know is that this class is going to consume a lot of my time. My team - consisting of A, N, G, T, and myself - already has to come up with a few decisions for tomorrow:
1) Company name
2) Team member responsibilities
3) Team norms
4) How much money to put in the certificate of deposit
5) How much market research to purchase

As someone working in the market research field, I am determined to spend the maximum on market research, but not sure if my team agrees. This is going to be a fun and challenging game. The team is meeting tomorrow for the first set of decision-making.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Iowa State Fair 2009

Every year, the State Fair officially marks the end of the summer for me. Since I am not a fan of big crowds, I wasn't planning to go this year. But then my friends made me go. They always make me do things.
The view from the Midway.
SB and me on the Midway. We were a tiny bit scared of the heights.
S, SB, and me resting after a long walk. Food-wise, I only had a monkey tail (frozen banana dipped in chocolate), a Bud Light Lime, and then at the end I caved in and bought some fried pickles. They were surprisingly good!
SB posing by the infamous butter cow.
Good times, despite the crowds.