The Calm Before the Storm

It's been very very quiet the past week. The sun finally came out! I won't share too many of the details of going to the beach, playing golf and tennis on the hill, going to parties on terraces, attending dinner parties, and...playing Wii (the new Nintendo console) fanatically. The idea of not having a job doesn't seem so bad anymore :) You can be so busy doing nothing!!! I've also been catching up on doctor's appointments, meeting with my intercambio, shopping, and other stuff. It's great! I had thought that with the month of April off I would want to do all this traveling. As I've stayed in Barcelona hanging out with only going away on a 4-day trip, it really is nice to just be....The only problem is that I stay up late and can't get up before 11:30AM most of the time. This idea of just hanging out has been wonderful, especially knowing that I will be travelling for 3 weeks straight soon.

Quick reviews
Movies: 'Notes of a Scandal' - creepy thriller with great acting from Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. Just saw 'Little Miss Sunshine' which really warmed the heart. I completely guffawed out loud at certain parts.
Book: 'Time Traveller's Wife' - so glad I finished this one that I started last year. I cried at the end because it was just so sweet! Clever writing to make this book work. And really nice descriptions of Chicago...Home Sweet Home! And now on to 'The End of Poverty - Economic Possibilities of Our Time' by Jeffrey Sachs. Should be good!
TV: Finished the 5th season of '24'. Sooooo good!!! I'm upset that I can't see the new episodes over here! I really idolize Kiefer/Jack. He is so mental it's awesome. Gotta also love Chloe. I spotted her in 'Little Miss Sunshine', acting as an assistant for a Beauty Pageant show....a far cry from saving the U.S. from terrorists at CTU!! How lame!!!

Mama and Papa Chan to arrive on Thursday! Whoo hoo!

Besos

Happy Easter Musings

I'm back from my trip up North. Thumbs up for San Sebastian (beautiful) and Bilbao (surprisingly cute)! Great food, cool sites, and great shopping! The Guggenheim in Bilbao - AWESOME! Amazing piece of architecture. Definitely worth seeing. Also saw some religious processions with people dressed up and wearing hoods a la that organization that has several K's in it. (shudder) I learned that the hooded thing is only a Spanish thing. Must remember to google what's up with the hoods and the connection to aforementioned organization. It was interesting because I thought it was only a practice in the South.

The weather was pretty mal - cold and rainy. Brrrrr! I was pretty wiped out by the time I got back. Good thing today was absolutely beautiful in Barcelona. Sunny and gorgeous. We've been lacking the sun for awhile surprising. The few days before I left for the trip I was virtually house-bound because of the endless rain and cold. I hope some suffering will lead to a payoff of excellent weather for the next month! I've been spoiled by the weather in Barcelona!

American Food!
It was a slice of Americana today. I hit a great brunch place called Milk in El Born. I had yummy salmon eggs benedict. I had been craving the typical American brunch ever since I arrived and finally I found it! Things you never know you'll miss when you're away! We took a brilliant walk to the beach and sat out in the sun in a 'chiringuito' (little bar on the beach) and drank pitchers of sangria. Afterwards, we were craving some Tex Mex and had a wonderous meal at Rosa Negra in El Barrio Gotic. I had fantastic guacamole, nachos, and beef tacos. I then downed it with a margarita and a delicious brownie with walnuts. I truly indulged.

Unfinished Business
It's been nice getting stuff done that I never had time to do. Like going to the allergist. I discovered finally the mystery of all my terrible sneezing. Apparently I'm allergic to dust. I think there's gotta be more to it than dust. I did a blood test so hopefully I'll find out more. It's funny how I just never went to one when I've been suffering with allergies for so long.

I finally finished 'The Life of Pi'. I had borrowed it from Pauline before the MBA but only got to read 1/2 of it before I returned it. I picked it up during the Christmas Break and decided to start from the beginning...but only managed to read 1/2 of it again before the term started. Last week, I started from where I left off. Incredible. It was a bit difficult to get started and get into it. However, I'm so glad I stuck with it and finished it. Loved the ending. Double thumbs up. Now, I'm onto another book that I started but never finished - 'The Time Traveller's Wife'. It's cool that it's set in Chicago which I love reading about.

Self-reflection
It's good to get criticism about yourself. I tend to shy away from it. I hate getting feedback from managers. I'm going to think about that in my time off - am I being the best daughter I can be? the best sister? the best friend I can be to my friends? Do I promise things without following through? It's hard to think objectively about one self. I wonder - do I truly give as much as I can to friends and family?

Stick a fork in me! I'm DONE!

Friday afternoon at 5PM. Click! I just submitted my Globalization Strategy take home final. I was done! After a year and a half of pure go, go, go...I was done. Just like that! So anticlimatic. It was a strange feeling. I was used to this feeling of being overwhelmed with tons of shit that I had to get done or do, parties to go to, practices to attend, or meetings to run to. Now what do I do?

Even up to Friday I had a lot on my mind. Wednesday we had a graduation party at this club Sutton. I drank as much as I could to account for a 45 euro fee as it was a private party just for IESE. I dragged my sorry butt to bed at 4AM and had to get up 4 hours later to give a presentation in my Emerging Economies class on the country of Cameroon. Then, I had to stick around for a Responsible Business Club meeting in which we had the dean from Dalhousie University give a presentation on his perspectives on BOP, a.k.a. Bottom of the Pyramid strategies. I was so tempted to skip out on the lunch with him and a bunch of Ph.D. students afterwards because I was insanely tired and hungover but I stuck it out. Lately I have been in the networking mode. It turned out to be good as I gained two more contacts that could potentially help me out with their contacts. Finding a job is real work - I've been applying to as many positions as possible and networking as much as possible. I feel like I've been sending many, many emails out - only to have a few responses trickle back in and they all have been rejections. Waaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh

Anyway, I high tailed it out of school after lunch, which was at 4PM in true Spanish style. I was suppose to go to the annual IESE play and a Women in Business event but just could not do it! I instead took a 2 hour nap and it took all of the evening to read the case for my Global take home exam. I woke up at 6:30AM or so to study for my Emerging Economies test which was futile because I hardly read any of the cases and missed a bunch of classes. The class is super interesting but just because it is on Thursdays and Fridays at 8:15AM it was impossible to prepare for and attend. I took the exam which wasn't too bad. Then I had my last class of the MBA - The Art of Diplomacy with Brian Leggett, a fabulously laid back Irishman who is one of the old guards that have seen and done everything and takes life with a grain of salt. It was one class I was really glad I took. I'm deathly afraid of public speaking and so was resistant to the class. In the end, I got through 2 speeches and got some good feedback on it so I know what I have to work on in the future. I had lunch with a 1st year student who has contacts in development so hopefully he can help me out. In the afternoon, I worked on my Global exam.

During the day, I had a phone conversation with family in the states. If you remember, before the MBA I had doubts about leaving home to go across the Atlantic Ocean and move to Spain because of some personal issues. I was stressed out and distraught. Now, one and half years later and a MBA (pending any surprises) in hand,.....the phone conversation was AMAZING - as amazing as one could hope for. I was so happy. That despite me being gone, the situation has vastly improved and is totally on the right track. Life is cool that way - things that you are so worried about turn out even better than expected!

Afterwards, I went home and chilled out and got ready for a birthday party. It was at this flat with an fabulous rooftop terrace. It was freezing that night. The weather really hasn't been accommodating lately. Anyway, I hadn't been on that terrace or the flat since a party way at the beginning of the year. Life comes full circle. We went to Sutton (my 4th time in a week) and I partied my ass off and closed it down at 6AM. I recovered last night by sleeping nearly 13 hours. Hmmm maybe I was recovering from a year and half of pure madness.

Now, it's all about reflection on this MBA experience and it's been great. I'm excited that now I can pick up a book and read something that isn't a case or a technical note. It's so surreal that I am really done!!! I'm in total shock still. So now is the time I must really focus on finding a great job.

It is la semana santa - the week before Easter in which most people have off in Spain. I will be flying to Bilbao in the north of Spain, the Basque Country, on Wednesday and driving to San Sebastien where it is suppose to be absolutely beautiful and has some of the BEST, yummy food! Can't wait! But first, GAP class tomorrow to burn off some calories before I take in a whole bunch!