Tuesday, March 21, 2006
There's a bear in my tummy!
Or so the Germans would have us believe! I am so frickin hungry it's ridiculous, and my stomach is growling so loudly you can just call me Sister (10 points to whoever catches that reference). It's 9:53pm. I had my snack chips at 6:30pm. I offered to order and pick up food at 8:30...but NOOOOOOO, we're almost done. Riiiiight. So I had my power bar at 9pm. I don't understand this. Are these people human? Do they realize what happens to me when I don't get fed at a decent time????!!!!??? And it's now 9:55pm and we're not going anywhere in the next 5 minutes, which is when the restaurants in this city stop serving...including the room service at the crappy hotel we're stuck in because of the World Figure Skating Championships. I mean honestly, who goes to that? Why is the entire city booked??? This is insane. I just don't understand. Somebody make it stop!
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Waiting in Vain?
So I'm waitlisted by Kellogg. Not really sure how I should feel, but I do know that I was pretty sure that was my best application package, so if they didn't let me in, will anyone? No other updates to report.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Weekend Warrior
Wow. What a weekend I had. If you're the sort of person that is irritated easily by complaining, then I suggest you stop reading now...unless you really want to hear about the horrors of my weekend travels and how they almost ruined my interview!
So first of all, thank you to all of you who sent me messages, or even just thoughts and prayers of good luck for my interview. Content wise, I believe it went really well. Good feedback from the guy, with the necessary "try not to take anything I say as a yes, no or maybe since I just send in my comments - the admissions committee holds the key to the final decision". That being said, I barely made it to the interview, I looked like I had been mugged and had my shoes stolen, and I smelled of smoke. Here goes...
So I was scheduled to fly from Calgary to Denver, through Salt Lake City, on Thursday night, and my sweet brother was going to pick me up at 9:45pm. Well naturally, my first flight was delayed due to weather, and I landed at 8:30pm...I thought my connecting flight departed at 8:45p so I sprinted off the plane, half way through the airport, where a cart guy picked me up and raced me down to the gate (this was like 10 minutes...a VERY long way and I was VERY out of breath) only to arrive and discover that my plane actually left at 8:25pm. And there were no more flights with availability for Frontier to put me on until late the next night. Mind you, my interview was scheduled for 11:30am in Fort Collins the next morning, so this obviously wouldn't do. So I jumped on my phone with travel, and booked a ticket on the first flight out in the morning with Delta. Then I tried to book a hotel since I was stuck for the night. She found me a room at the Embassy Suites, which she confirmed...in DENVER! Hello? Why would I need a room in Denver when I'm stuck in Salt Lake??? So then she had to go through cancelling and trying to get my money back since it was within the cancellation policy range. finally got that sorted out, but meanwhile I called my brother from a payphone to tell him to turnaround since there was no way I was going to arrive that night. We agreed I would call to wake him up in the morning as I was boarding the plane since that would be just about the right timing for him to arrive to pick me up for my flight, now landing at 8:15am.
where was I...oh, travel...so we get the room cancelled and get my money refunded...but then it turns out there is a convention in Salt Lake, and the nearest hotel with availability is 30 minutes away and only has smoking rooms left. At this point it's 9:15, I'm exhausted after averaging about 3 hours of sleep each night during the week, and my bags are missing. I tell her to book it while I wait in the baggage services line. I finally get to the counter, I'm told they'll send a runner to get the bags from Frontier and that they should come out on the baggage carousel within 30 minutes. So I go to get dinner, but only a little cafe is open on the non-secure side, and they're pretty much sold out of everything. Airport chile it is! After 30 minutes, no bags, and I've now calculated that I have to get up at 4:30am to return to the airport, so I start stressing about trying to get to bed so I'm not a walking zombie for my interview. I decide I can live without my bags for the night and have them make a note to put my bags on the flight I'm on in the morning. MISTAKE! but more on that later.
So I take a cab to the hotel...$50 and 30 minutes later I arrive, only to realize that I promised certain documents to my manger, which I had planned to complete on the 2nd flight, that I obviously hadn't had time to do. So I stayed up til midnight finishing that stuff with the windows open and my door cracked to try to get some of the smoke smell out of the room. After my 4 hours of sleep I woke up feeling like a smoker.
Another $50 cab ride and I was back at the airport, but baggage services was closed so I couldn't get answers if my bags were onboard. As we were boarding I called my brother, but no answer. So then I text-messaged him. Then I had my boyfriend call him after I was in the air. But when I landed I called to find out where he was...and he was still in bed! It takes over an hour to get to the airport, so there went my time to shower and get dressed with my own stuff (since I didn't have my bags the night before).
Not that it mattered. Went to get my bags but they weren't there. Possibility that they were coming in on a Frontier flight that was landing right about when my brother finally arrived, but Frontier doesn't scan their bags, so they could neither confirm nor deny this rumor. Grrr. As time ticked by my brother parked, we got some breakfast in the airport, I gave Delta my info, and then finally had to just give up and go, or risk being late for my interview.
So then I did my makeup and hair in the car, changed at a Kinko's (I was cautious enough to pah, then went in for my interview...in my brown suit with my black loafers, wearing the same turtleneck I had been wearing the past 2 days, smelling vaguely of cigarette smoke with static-y hotel shampooed hair. Man, I was hot.
Bags didn't arrive until yesterday morning, about 2 hours before I had to turn around and head BACK to the airport. Sweet. Gave me an excuse to buy some new jeans and a couple new work shirts, so that was good. And you can bet I'm going to go after Delta on this one. I'm good at writing letters (I get that trait from my mom) :) Oh, and they arrived with somebody else's sleeping bag. Nice.
Crazy weekend. Couldn't help but feel like maybe I just wasn't meant to go to LBS. But like I said, the interview went really well. So we'll just have to wait and see. Other than all of those horrors, I did enjoy the time with my brother. We bonded and watched movies, and I got to go shopping with a friend (everybody loves panties!) and I ate at the Rio and PF Changs. So it wasn't a total bust, even if I did look like a moron and smell like your dirty laundry.
Here's hoping your weekend was better than mine!
So first of all, thank you to all of you who sent me messages, or even just thoughts and prayers of good luck for my interview. Content wise, I believe it went really well. Good feedback from the guy, with the necessary "try not to take anything I say as a yes, no or maybe since I just send in my comments - the admissions committee holds the key to the final decision". That being said, I barely made it to the interview, I looked like I had been mugged and had my shoes stolen, and I smelled of smoke. Here goes...
So I was scheduled to fly from Calgary to Denver, through Salt Lake City, on Thursday night, and my sweet brother was going to pick me up at 9:45pm. Well naturally, my first flight was delayed due to weather, and I landed at 8:30pm...I thought my connecting flight departed at 8:45p so I sprinted off the plane, half way through the airport, where a cart guy picked me up and raced me down to the gate (this was like 10 minutes...a VERY long way and I was VERY out of breath) only to arrive and discover that my plane actually left at 8:25pm. And there were no more flights with availability for Frontier to put me on until late the next night. Mind you, my interview was scheduled for 11:30am in Fort Collins the next morning, so this obviously wouldn't do. So I jumped on my phone with travel, and booked a ticket on the first flight out in the morning with Delta. Then I tried to book a hotel since I was stuck for the night. She found me a room at the Embassy Suites, which she confirmed...in DENVER! Hello? Why would I need a room in Denver when I'm stuck in Salt Lake??? So then she had to go through cancelling and trying to get my money back since it was within the cancellation policy range. finally got that sorted out, but meanwhile I called my brother from a payphone to tell him to turnaround since there was no way I was going to arrive that night. We agreed I would call to wake him up in the morning as I was boarding the plane since that would be just about the right timing for him to arrive to pick me up for my flight, now landing at 8:15am.
where was I...oh, travel...so we get the room cancelled and get my money refunded...but then it turns out there is a convention in Salt Lake, and the nearest hotel with availability is 30 minutes away and only has smoking rooms left. At this point it's 9:15, I'm exhausted after averaging about 3 hours of sleep each night during the week, and my bags are missing. I tell her to book it while I wait in the baggage services line. I finally get to the counter, I'm told they'll send a runner to get the bags from Frontier and that they should come out on the baggage carousel within 30 minutes. So I go to get dinner, but only a little cafe is open on the non-secure side, and they're pretty much sold out of everything. Airport chile it is! After 30 minutes, no bags, and I've now calculated that I have to get up at 4:30am to return to the airport, so I start stressing about trying to get to bed so I'm not a walking zombie for my interview. I decide I can live without my bags for the night and have them make a note to put my bags on the flight I'm on in the morning. MISTAKE! but more on that later.
So I take a cab to the hotel...$50 and 30 minutes later I arrive, only to realize that I promised certain documents to my manger, which I had planned to complete on the 2nd flight, that I obviously hadn't had time to do. So I stayed up til midnight finishing that stuff with the windows open and my door cracked to try to get some of the smoke smell out of the room. After my 4 hours of sleep I woke up feeling like a smoker.
Another $50 cab ride and I was back at the airport, but baggage services was closed so I couldn't get answers if my bags were onboard. As we were boarding I called my brother, but no answer. So then I text-messaged him. Then I had my boyfriend call him after I was in the air. But when I landed I called to find out where he was...and he was still in bed! It takes over an hour to get to the airport, so there went my time to shower and get dressed with my own stuff (since I didn't have my bags the night before).
Not that it mattered. Went to get my bags but they weren't there. Possibility that they were coming in on a Frontier flight that was landing right about when my brother finally arrived, but Frontier doesn't scan their bags, so they could neither confirm nor deny this rumor. Grrr. As time ticked by my brother parked, we got some breakfast in the airport, I gave Delta my info, and then finally had to just give up and go, or risk being late for my interview.
So then I did my makeup and hair in the car, changed at a Kinko's (I was cautious enough to pah, then went in for my interview...in my brown suit with my black loafers, wearing the same turtleneck I had been wearing the past 2 days, smelling vaguely of cigarette smoke with static-y hotel shampooed hair. Man, I was hot.
Bags didn't arrive until yesterday morning, about 2 hours before I had to turn around and head BACK to the airport. Sweet. Gave me an excuse to buy some new jeans and a couple new work shirts, so that was good. And you can bet I'm going to go after Delta on this one. I'm good at writing letters (I get that trait from my mom) :) Oh, and they arrived with somebody else's sleeping bag. Nice.
Crazy weekend. Couldn't help but feel like maybe I just wasn't meant to go to LBS. But like I said, the interview went really well. So we'll just have to wait and see. Other than all of those horrors, I did enjoy the time with my brother. We bonded and watched movies, and I got to go shopping with a friend (everybody loves panties!) and I ate at the Rio and PF Changs. So it wasn't a total bust, even if I did look like a moron and smell like your dirty laundry.
Here's hoping your weekend was better than mine!
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Sleep deprivation in all it's glory
Right so I got less than 4 hours of sleep last night. Worked until 2am and had to be at breakfast for a meeting at 6:30am. It was all to prepare for an 11am meeting today. And you know the "best" part? We didn't use a single thing I worked on after 7pm last night. Decided it was better to put all my stuff in an appendix, that we decided not to attach to avoid questions. Looking on the bright side, we will end up using it for an even bigger meeting next week, and now it's done, so that's one less thing I have to finish up before that meeting...but still...kinda sucks. Oh and this is just fantastic. I was just informed that all of the data cuts I've done confuse the client, so we're going to represent the numbers in their original formats which make no sense for our project but won't raise concerns and therefore will have to be forced to work. Which means again, my last 3 weeks are pretty much null and void. Except for scheduling. I'm now the project admin.
So, since the project wasted so much of MY time last night, I'm going to take a moment to waste some of it's time. Well, not really because I actually am waiting on my team to get back from a meeting to discuss next steps and deliverables expected of me. So it's kind of like that commercial, when the CEO guy says "It's my way of stickin' it to the man" and the dude says "aren't YOU the man?" right.
I think I owe credit to Rach for this one, but I got it from Charli..reply with your response or post it on your own!
Read through the comments below about your friend and then make sure you read the instructions at the bottom
1. What time is it? 7:56PM (Calgary time) - Tuesday, March 7th 2006
2. Name: Lucky Canarde (quack!)
3. Piercing:? 3 (1 in each ear and 1 in my belly button that I can't get out!)
4.Most recent movie you have seen in a theater: Memoirs of a Geisha
5. Eye color: Brown/hazel depending on the day and time
6. Place of birth: Kansas City, MO
7. Favorite NEW food: well I'm not really a fan of old food ;) i haven't really discovered anything new recently, although I did discover that I don't like Bloody Marys
8. Ever been to Africa: No - but would LOVE to go
9. Ever been toilet papered: Oh yes, and I've done more than my fair share (homecoming tradition in high school...all night tp'ing binge)
10. Love someone so much it made you cry: people i've loved have made me cry - not sure i've cried b/c i was in love though...that just seems slightly, I dont know, unstable?
11. Been in a car accident: 2 minor ones and one in elementary school in my school bus!
12. Croutons or bacon bits: Definitely croutons. preferably from Cable's End. oh yum. now i want a cable's salad
13. Favorite day of the week: I actually really like thursdays b/c they are generally a shorter day, I get airline miles, and I know I'll be home soon to see my boyfriend and friends and enjoy the weekend! (assuming my flights don't get cancelled)
14. Favorite Restaurants: Bob's, Cuba, Pei Wei
15. Favorite Flower: I LOVE all flowers, but any lily (especially stargazers - nice pick meredith!) and tulips are my fave
16. Favorite Sports to watch: Golf, Mavs basketball, Avs hockey (in person)
17. Favorite drink: non-alchoholic: Mochas by my Daddy alchoholic: margaritas! and cuba libre's from Cuba
18. Favorite ice cream: Blue Bell Cookies & Cream, and Paciugos, and Ben & Jerry's chocolate brownie frozen yogurt and dreyers rocky road and just about any ice cream
19. Disney or Warner Brothers: Disney! I love Pooh bear!
20. Favorite fast food restaurant: Taco Bell with a Sonic Diet Cherry Limeade
21. What color is your bedroom carpet: I don't remember the name, but it's an oatmeal like color
22. How many times you failed your driver's test: None
23. Before this one, from whom did you get your last email from? My dry cleaning delivery guy
24. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card: Nordstrom!
25. What do you do most often when you are bored? i don't really get bored unless i'm at work and have nothing to help on, and that's usually when I update this or check my friend's pages
26. Bedtime: If it were up to me, 9:30pm and then I'd read til 10. But since I'm a good little consultant - 11-12 if I'm lucky.
27. Who will respond to this e-mail the quickest: not sure-it seems almost everyone's replied
28. Who is the person you sent this to that is least likely to respond: Well I didn't really send it to anybody...but i'm thinking jonny won't do it
29. Who are you the most curious about their responses to this questionnaire? um, i don't know, maybe random people that read my blog? But that's assuming that random people find me even remotely interesting, which is a stretch.
30. Favorite TV shows: Grey's Anatomy, Lost, 24, Boston Legal
31. Last person you went to dinner with: Peter and Tom (co-workers - I eat out every night in Calgary) but if you mean personal life, and you count Whataburger at 2am, then Matt, Erin and Brian :)
32. Ford or Chevy? Chevy!
33. What are you listening to right now: chatter between my manager and the client that is controlling our work
34. What is your favorite color: Red or purple (it's the color of royalty)
35. How many tattoos do you have: 0
36. How many pets do you have: I have a plant - and I've actually managed to keep it alive for over 2 years now! That's a record for me! And I consider my parents dogs to be mine as well. Sophalita and Lizzie Loo!!!!
37. Which came first the chicken or the chicken egg? God
38. How many people are you sending this e-mail to: Haven't decided yet
39. Ocean, River, or Lake: Ocean - I hate murky lake and river water! I can't see the creepy crawlers that are swimming around my feet! Oh, and I love the beach when you can hear the waves and smell the salt water!!
40. Diamonds or pearls? Seriously? You expect me to limit myself??? I don't discriminate against jewels and precious stones.
41. What is your favorite cuisine? Mexican!! I miss it up here in Calgary
42. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Michael Buble - It's Time
43. What characteristics do you despise? Backstabbing, lying, cheating
44. Favorite item of clothing? probably my gaucho pants. they are so dang comfy!
45. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? I'd buy a round-the-world ticket and go everywhere I could in 3 months. but specific next places on my list of places to visit are Australia, Greece, Italy and South Africa
46. Favorite time of day? Late mornings (on non-work days) Lunch time on work days!
47. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? Most of you know this but I have my interview with London Business School on Friday in Denver. Think good thoughts!
48. What did you want to be when you were little? A movie star! and a princess. Well actually, I was convinced that I WAS a princess...it was a whole Princess Diaries fantasy where my real family would show up and I'd be tormented with the decision of leaving my family i loved or being a princess...i know, i'm pathetic. but it explains a lot, right?
49. Favorite candy bar? Twix, butterfinger
50. What is your best childhood memory? gosh, that's a hard one. but probably all the summer nights in the neighborhood park - we played all sorts of old games and had so much fun!
So, since the project wasted so much of MY time last night, I'm going to take a moment to waste some of it's time. Well, not really because I actually am waiting on my team to get back from a meeting to discuss next steps and deliverables expected of me. So it's kind of like that commercial, when the CEO guy says "It's my way of stickin' it to the man" and the dude says "aren't YOU the man?" right.
I think I owe credit to Rach for this one, but I got it from Charli..reply with your response or post it on your own!
Read through the comments below about your friend and then make sure you read the instructions at the bottom
1. What time is it? 7:56PM (Calgary time) - Tuesday, March 7th 2006
2. Name: Lucky Canarde (quack!)
3. Piercing:? 3 (1 in each ear and 1 in my belly button that I can't get out!)
4.Most recent movie you have seen in a theater: Memoirs of a Geisha
5. Eye color: Brown/hazel depending on the day and time
6. Place of birth: Kansas City, MO
7. Favorite NEW food: well I'm not really a fan of old food ;) i haven't really discovered anything new recently, although I did discover that I don't like Bloody Marys
8. Ever been to Africa: No - but would LOVE to go
9. Ever been toilet papered: Oh yes, and I've done more than my fair share (homecoming tradition in high school...all night tp'ing binge)
10. Love someone so much it made you cry: people i've loved have made me cry - not sure i've cried b/c i was in love though...that just seems slightly, I dont know, unstable?
11. Been in a car accident: 2 minor ones and one in elementary school in my school bus!
12. Croutons or bacon bits: Definitely croutons. preferably from Cable's End. oh yum. now i want a cable's salad
13. Favorite day of the week: I actually really like thursdays b/c they are generally a shorter day, I get airline miles, and I know I'll be home soon to see my boyfriend and friends and enjoy the weekend! (assuming my flights don't get cancelled)
14. Favorite Restaurants: Bob's, Cuba, Pei Wei
15. Favorite Flower: I LOVE all flowers, but any lily (especially stargazers - nice pick meredith!) and tulips are my fave
16. Favorite Sports to watch: Golf, Mavs basketball, Avs hockey (in person)
17. Favorite drink: non-alchoholic: Mochas by my Daddy alchoholic: margaritas! and cuba libre's from Cuba
18. Favorite ice cream: Blue Bell Cookies & Cream, and Paciugos, and Ben & Jerry's chocolate brownie frozen yogurt and dreyers rocky road and just about any ice cream
19. Disney or Warner Brothers: Disney! I love Pooh bear!
20. Favorite fast food restaurant: Taco Bell with a Sonic Diet Cherry Limeade
21. What color is your bedroom carpet: I don't remember the name, but it's an oatmeal like color
22. How many times you failed your driver's test: None
23. Before this one, from whom did you get your last email from? My dry cleaning delivery guy
24. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card: Nordstrom!
25. What do you do most often when you are bored? i don't really get bored unless i'm at work and have nothing to help on, and that's usually when I update this or check my friend's pages
26. Bedtime: If it were up to me, 9:30pm and then I'd read til 10. But since I'm a good little consultant - 11-12 if I'm lucky.
27. Who will respond to this e-mail the quickest: not sure-it seems almost everyone's replied
28. Who is the person you sent this to that is least likely to respond: Well I didn't really send it to anybody...but i'm thinking jonny won't do it
29. Who are you the most curious about their responses to this questionnaire? um, i don't know, maybe random people that read my blog? But that's assuming that random people find me even remotely interesting, which is a stretch.
30. Favorite TV shows: Grey's Anatomy, Lost, 24, Boston Legal
31. Last person you went to dinner with: Peter and Tom (co-workers - I eat out every night in Calgary) but if you mean personal life, and you count Whataburger at 2am, then Matt, Erin and Brian :)
32. Ford or Chevy? Chevy!
33. What are you listening to right now: chatter between my manager and the client that is controlling our work
34. What is your favorite color: Red or purple (it's the color of royalty)
35. How many tattoos do you have: 0
36. How many pets do you have: I have a plant - and I've actually managed to keep it alive for over 2 years now! That's a record for me! And I consider my parents dogs to be mine as well. Sophalita and Lizzie Loo!!!!
37. Which came first the chicken or the chicken egg? God
38. How many people are you sending this e-mail to: Haven't decided yet
39. Ocean, River, or Lake: Ocean - I hate murky lake and river water! I can't see the creepy crawlers that are swimming around my feet! Oh, and I love the beach when you can hear the waves and smell the salt water!!
40. Diamonds or pearls? Seriously? You expect me to limit myself??? I don't discriminate against jewels and precious stones.
41. What is your favorite cuisine? Mexican!! I miss it up here in Calgary
42. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Michael Buble - It's Time
43. What characteristics do you despise? Backstabbing, lying, cheating
44. Favorite item of clothing? probably my gaucho pants. they are so dang comfy!
45. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? I'd buy a round-the-world ticket and go everywhere I could in 3 months. but specific next places on my list of places to visit are Australia, Greece, Italy and South Africa
46. Favorite time of day? Late mornings (on non-work days) Lunch time on work days!
47. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? Most of you know this but I have my interview with London Business School on Friday in Denver. Think good thoughts!
48. What did you want to be when you were little? A movie star! and a princess. Well actually, I was convinced that I WAS a princess...it was a whole Princess Diaries fantasy where my real family would show up and I'd be tormented with the decision of leaving my family i loved or being a princess...i know, i'm pathetic. but it explains a lot, right?
49. Favorite candy bar? Twix, butterfinger
50. What is your best childhood memory? gosh, that's a hard one. but probably all the summer nights in the neighborhood park - we played all sorts of old games and had so much fun!
Thursday, March 02, 2006
TGIAF
Man - has this been a long week. Every night at the office, without dinner, until 10pm. Crazy. Ridiculous actually. Even when I made a very clear statement that I will work as late as necessary, but they MUST feed me or I will turn into a you-know-what...still they don't get it. I've started buying 2 lunches and sticking one in the fridge. I eat it between 6-8 depending on the outlook for the night (my outlook - not my managers, because he always thinks we're just 30 minutes from leaving) Anyway, I think we may actually leave here before 9 tonight...so of course we're going to go have a big steak dinner as a team. I hate that! I love big steak dinners...at 7pm, not when you finish eating at 11 and then have to go straight to bed to get up in the morning. Although really there will be no straight to bed for me tonight b/c I have too much work to do before my flight tomorrow.
Should be a good weekend though, assuming I get everything done! Oh...I just remembered I need to download Lost to watch on the plane! That's all for now!
Should be a good weekend though, assuming I get everything done! Oh...I just remembered I need to download Lost to watch on the plane! That's all for now!