back home... for now

I'm back from Australia - what a beautiful country! I think the beauty of Oz is how different it is. I got a small sampling of a few things it has to offer - desert, rain forest, urban living, wildlife. I'll post a few pictures after I sort through them all. I know consulting is not for me as I'm already tired of airplanes and hotels after two weeks (and two more shorter trips in the upcoming weeks) June is looking to be wide-open so I'm debating how to fill the time with things other than reading and being a big gym rat. My father asked if I wanted to consult on a technical project for his company, which does not interest me at all. I'm even considering retail to get a big discount on clothes though perhaps that is not the most valuable way to spend my free time :)

Thanks to the blogosphere for voting me into the top 10 of MBA applicant blogs this year. It was certainly surprising and unexpected. Subsequently, I was asked to be one of the judges for Accepted.com Beautiful BSchool Photo contest, which was a lot of fun. There were some pretty neat pictures in the group so it was harder than I expected! The winner should be announced in a few weeks.

officially unemployed!

Yesterday was my last day of work. I've already moved out of my place and am now at my parents' house. I had a fun goodbye party, a teary happy hour that lasted until midnight, and countless lunches out. It was a great run, and I was sad to leave. Next step is Columbia! :)

Well, the real next step is vacationing. I take off for Australia in a few hours and I'm finishing up my (annoyingly) detailed itinerary and packing up my toiletries. I can't wait - pictures to come! Don't be too jealous while I scuba at the Great Barrier Reef!

really?

I was nominated for Clear Admit's best of blogging award among applicant bloggers. I am pleasantly surprised, and feel that I'm in very good blogging company.

Thanks Clear Admit for the shout out! :)

the deed is done

Thanks to everyone who weighed in on my "when to tell them" dilemma. I decided to give my company one month notice before my final day, which I did earlier this week. I really couldn't have asked for it to go any better. I was pretty nervous; it took me 2 weeks to draft the "perfect" resignation letter. I've worked at the company since graduating from college and I've developed a really strong community. Most of my friends, the people I hang out with on the weekends, are from work. In short, work, even outside of work, is a big part of my life. So, I approached the meeting with my manager with both sadness and apprehension.

When it came down to the actual talk, my manager was a bit surprised, but very encouraging. He expressed a bit of jealousy and told me that I should follow my dreams. It was a more emotional and whimsical response than I expected from my technical-minded boss.

As news has started to spread throughout my area, all of the managers have stopped by and expressed congratulations. They've also been really accommodating in terms of finding me an assignment to fill my time for the next month; I actually have more on my plate now than I did a few weeks ago! So, I guess I just worried a whole bunch for nothing. :)

Hi friends in the blogosphere... I didn't forget about you, but in all honesty didn't have anything interesting to post lately. Work is still going smoothly and pretty quietly as well. There have been tons of budget cuts and projects have been delayed. As none of the management team knows of my plans to leave, things are a bit sticky for me. I had a project close last week. There are a few things still open that I can work on that should keep me busy for a bit longer, but there are no new projects expected to open until mid-April. My last day is slated for April 25th. I was hoping to give at least 4 weeks notice, but with not a whole lot going on, I wonder if my manager will just tell me to leave. Thoughts from any of you out there? For those who did not have a current manager write your recommendation, how much notice are you planning on giving before your last day?

I did attend Open House at CBS last weekend. With the vast majority of the admits thus far being Early Decision, most of us were bound to attending, which really excited me since I know I'll be seeing most of these people in August. Initially I was really overwhelmed by the number of people and ongoing events, but after I got acclimated and into a networking groove, I had a really good time.

Moreover, I'm really excited about the changes that are going at Columbia. The entire website has been reskinned; as a software developer, I was pretty frustrated by the design, which could/should have been a lot better. It is now :). Columbia is also starting to write their own cases called decision briefs, which will have less information and more uncertainty which will hopefully mimic reality closer than a detailed case. And the new curriculum will be inaugurated with my class, allowing even those who do not exempt out of core classes, to take two electives second semester. Pretty cool!

head in the clouds

After a thoroughly relaxing holiday -- including watching all of Season 1 of Heroes in about three days, I am back at work. But work is no big deal. I spend a lot of the time daydreaming. All I can think about is the perfect New York City apartment, going to Australia with my best friend, and my last day of work, which has already been picked out.

*big smile*

Happy New Year!

Best wishes to all of you out there as we begin 2008! And good luck to those of you working on applications for those upcoming R2 deadlines!