It's my last semester of school so I guess I'll take some classes.

I won't lie. I have senioritis. FULL BLOWN. The problem is manyfold (is that even a word?): I have a job, I have a lot less classes to take than in previous semesters and I am wanting to enjoy as much time with my classmates as I can before we graduate. This means school work is pretty low on the priority list. Plus, it's been 8 blissful months of no cases, problem sets or participation requirements.

But, despite my complaining, I do still have classes to take. And, despite all the moaning and groaning I've been doing, I think they should be pretty interesting. So, here's a short overview:

15.223 Global Markets: This is probably the class I am most excited about. It is focused on discussing different countries and their global/economic environments in order to help us learn how to be successful doing business in a global world. It's an H1 class, with a follow on H2 class that should be just as interesting. The topics of the first 2 classes included the cause of the US Subprime Crisis as well as discussion about the government's role in Singapore.

15.317 Leadership: This is one of two classes required during our final semester in LGO. It's only LGOs and is the continuation of the class we took during our first semester in the summer of 2008. It's focus is on giving us some final leadership tools to take us into our careers.

15.402 Finance Theory II: Despite the fact that this class will be hard work, I am excited about it. I am taking it with Asquith who comes highly recommended. He's no nonsense (in other words doesn't tolerate people making comments just to pretend they're smart) and he sufficiently scared us on day 1 about the difficulty of the material. But, I have no doubt I'll learn (and be working) a lot.

15.769 Operations Strategy: This is the 2nd required course for your second spring semester in LGO. This semester the course is being co-taught by Don and Charlie Fine. So far, I'll admit, I'm not sure how I feel about this class ... BUT, as dorky as it sounds, there are a few cases on the schedule that sound really interesting. Plus, I feel like there's a lot to learn that could help me with my work after graduation.

15.900 Strategic Management: Most Sloanies & LGOs take this during the first year - but I am just taking it now. I'd heard that many people really enjoyed it and felt it was important to get some strategy with my MBA. The class is all case based and focuses on teaching frameworks to help you evaluate strategic business decisions. Some of the focus so far has been on how companies create and capture value. The professor is new and pretty young, but so far, no real complaints (besides the work). ;)

*phew* And that's that. Here's to a quick (and painless) last semester!

My Big News

Admittedly, many of you already know this since this big news is actually over a month old… but I guess part of me couldn’t believe it was true and even though signing the papers makes it official, posting it on my blog REALLY makes it official.

So, the news… I HAVE A JOB! Paperwork signed and sent to…. Apple! Woo Hoo!

There’s a lot I could say about the process and my decision. But, ultimately, what it came down to was not the money, the name appeal or even what company “won” in the comparison matrix I built during a 4-hour drive to Amsterdam…. I chose Apple because when I walked out of the interview after meeting many Apple employees and talking about the work I could be doing there, I realized I wanted to be there and was really excited about it. And, fortunately they wanted me too.

When I graduate from LGO, I will be a moving pro.

Getting accepted and coming to LGO means that you are going to learn how to move your belongings quickly and efficiently. Ok, well, they don’t TEACH you that, but it’s kind of a matter of survival.

It begins when you find out you’re accepted… school starts less than 3 months from that date, not 6 like most MBA programs. This is Move #1. For me, it involved finding a place to live without being able to participate in the usual LGO Admit weekend (since I was in a wedding), selling my beautiful convertible and all of my furniture, storing most of my personal possessions in one of those Door-to-Door pods and shipping my clothes and a few other things from Los Angeles to Boston. Then, I flew myself, my cat and 2 enormous suitcases to Boston where I had to buy new furniture (thanks, Ikea!) and get my life in order before starting school again after about 6 years.

Move #2 was a bit better because LGO helps a lot. Move #2 is for internship. Novartis did some of the tough work for me… finding a place to live in Germany. But, I still had to pack up everything and get it into a storage unit. Not. Fun. Plus, ship a few boxes of clothes overseas and pray that they actually made it there. (They did!)

Move #3 has been a month long event. It started with me packing and shipping 4 boxes from Germany to Drew’s home in Cambridge because I had nowhere else to ship them. Then I flew from Germany to Boston with 3 exploding suitcases, 2 which I left at a fellow LGO’s place while I spent the 2 ½ weeks couch surfing around California. Thursday was move IN day in Cambridge. The U-haul was rented, the lease was signed and the unpacking and furniture search is near complete. The place is fantastic and I have a great LGO classmate as my roommate, which is also fantastic.

I realized the other day that at one point during all of this I had my personal belongings spread across 5 locations:

- Germany
- Storage Unit in Cambridge
- My Aunt’s house in a suburb of Boston
- Storage Unit in Los Angeles
- My Mom’s place in Sacramento

(and if you want to get even pickier, there was those 4 boxes I sent to Drew’s place before him & I left Germany, so that’s a 6th… but who’s counting? ;))

Talk about diversified.

Anyway, after this move, there’s only one more left! And although, it’s another cross country move, I hope it’s the last one for awhile!

A Rant About Lines (aka Queues)

Two posts in one day - this might be a first. But, I couldn't hold back, I just had to rant.

I, like most women, love to shop. But, I hate HATE waiting in lines. Especially lines that are arranged inefficiently. As an industrial engineer in undergrad, I took a course at USC, ISE 331, that included queuing theory. It was actually one of my favorite classes and I learned about efficient ways to set up queues. It's complicated and I know that my comments below simplify it, but bear with me. ;)

Today, as my Mom and I walked up to check out at a department store, there were 3 cashiers open and no line. We opted to stand in a location that didn't commit us to any line, naturally. A line formed behind us until one woman asked what cashier we were waiting for which led to a cashier stating that there should be one line for each of the three check out stands. This caused near chaos as everyone tried to identify the fastest line and re-shuffle.

This makes me want to scream. Anyone who has taken a queuing theory class has learned that the way to minimize average wait time of all customers is to offer one line that feeds ALL cashiers. ONE LINE. This then balances out those people that take a year to find their credit cards or who bring up items without price tags and allows no one to be "punished" for getting behind the slow pokes.

I know some people could argue with me about the details of service type, number of cashiers, etc... but, honestly, this is the way it should be. Group similar customers and put them in one stupid line. Just Do It. I promise, not only will it get customers through the lines on average the fastest but it will also limit the anxiety customers feel when trying to pick that "fastest" line.

Rant. Over.