Heading to Spain

So I am leaving for Barcelona tomorrow. I am excited!! I have been wanting to go to Spain since I studied abroad in Salzburg about 5 years ago (wow, putting a number on the years makes me feel old! Was it really that long ago?!). Now I am finally heading there. It better be as great as everyone says it is!! The only bad part about traveling to Spain this weekend is that I have to wake up at 4:30am tomorrow in order to get to the airport on time. :( So much for relaxing!!

Spain will add another number to my list of countries visited. Tanya (my roommate) told me that in order to be considered a true Globetrotter you have to have as many countries as years you have been alive. Since I'm 25, I need 25 countries. I will be 26 by the time that I leave Asia, so 26 is my goal!! Good thing there are lots of little Asian countries for me to hit up! Right now (counting Spain) I have 17. I will keep everyone up-to-date on my progress! Wish me luck!

This last week was exciting. Well not really overly exciting, but my group did present our business plan to the panel and did a decent job. We didn't put in enough effort to have done a wonderful job, but we passed and the panel liked our idea. We didn't win the £700 prize (£100 for each of us), but we really we're expecting to, so it wasn't too much of a dissappointment.

Speaking of dissappointments, I went to a Cardio Kick Boxing class last night and it was worthless! I'm pretty sure that I got more of a workout from the walk to the gym (about 30 mins each way) than I did in the actual class. I was looking forward to a kick ass Cardio Kick Boxing class like the one that I used to take on Saturday mornings at Life Time, but I was serverly let down. I barely broke a sweat. At the Life Time class it use to be a struggle to get to the first water break which was 20 minutes into the 60 minute class. Oh Brits and their lack of tough exercise!

But anyways. Back to the Business Plan. It is very exciting for it to be over, because now the real work for the London MBA is over with. I can now take a break! Well actually I'm not taking too much of a break because I want to have most of my final research paper done with before leaving London. The final research paper is our final big project for the whole MBA. We have to write a paper, minimum 35 pages, and defend our research in front of a panel. Scary!! I can't wait for that to be over with! Thailand is going to be really stressful to begin with. We have 4 weeks of classes for 3 classes, then a month off to do our research, then 4 more weeks of classes. So we are going to be moving at a very fast pace. Probably writing a couple of papers a week and/or presenting. Its might just be hell on earth! That is why I am trying to get as much of my research done as I can before leaving London. I don't want to have Becker travel all the way to Asia with me and then not be able to spend any time with him! That would just suck for the both of us!

Speaking of Becker . . . 6 weeks from today he'll be here!!!!!

And less than 6 weeks Mom, Dad, Auntie Kathy and Auntie Sandy will be here. That'll be fun and exciting!

Stuff

Lets see . . . . what has happened since the last time I wrote?


Last week was an intense week at work. They started laying people off on Tuesday, but did not lay most people off until Thursday. They started right at 9am on Thursday, but they didn't get to our department until around noon. Only two people from our department got laid off. Which is good, the previous rumor was that five people were going to get laid off. So two was a relief for everyone.

This last weekend was another lazy weekend. Loved it! Its so relaxing when you get to sleep in and do nothing! Tanya and I did make it to the gym both days though.

I had my meeting with the academic director from Thailand. I have started writing my disseration paper already, so he didn't really have much to say. Just said "well I guess you have it figured out"! I was expecting some more feedback, but oh well. He did give me a name for an advisor, so hopefully my advisor will give me more advice and direction.

In a day and a half from now I will be done with my business plan presentation (thank God because I'm sick of my group). And I only have 35 days left at work!!!!!!!! Yeah!

Nothing much

I saw The Reader movie on Thursday night and Slumdog Millionaire last night. They are both good movies! If you're bored you should check them out!



Today I got to sleep in!! Tanya and I both slept until 10am. It was great! Now I'm going to head to the grocery store and then to the gym.



Tonight I'm making my Buffalo Chicken Lasgna. I brought buffalo sauce from Buffalo Wild Wings back with me, so the lasgna will be good. Better than any of the "hot" sauce you find in Britian. They seem to have something against spices. Its really sad :(



Tanya, Carmen and Aaron are coming over for the lasgna. Tanya and I are also going to make brownies and Carmen is bringing ice cream so that we can have brownie sundaes. Very exciting!!! Also, Aaron is bring over some wine, so it should be a good night!



54 days until Becker is here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

World's Best One Liners

1. I say no to alcohol, it just doesn't listen.

2. A friend in need is a pest indeed.

3. Marriage is one of the chief causes of divorce.

4. Work is fine if it doesn't take too much of your time.

5. When everything comes in your way you're in the wrong lane.

6. The light at the end of the tunnel may be an incoming train.

7. Born free, taxed to death.

8. Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.

9. Life is unsure; always eat your dessert first.

10. Smile, it makes people wonder what you are thinking.

11. If you keep your feet firmly on the ground, you'll have trouble putting on your pants.

12. It's not hard to meet expenses, they are everywhere.

13. I love being a writer... what I can't stand is the paperwork.

14. A printer consists of 3 main parts: the case, the jammed paper tray and the blinking red light.

15. The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the other three, he was the genius.

16. The trouble with being punctual is that no one is there to appreciate it.

17. In a country of free speech, why are there phone bills?

18. If you cannot change your mind, are you sure you have one?

19. Beat the 5 O'clock rush, leave work at noon!

20. If you can't convince them, confuse them.

21. It's not the fall that kills you. It's the sudden stop at the end.

22. I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.

23. Hot glass looks same as cold glass. - Cunino's Law of Burnt Fingers

24. The cigarette does the smoking you are just the sucker.

25. Someday is not a day of the week

26. Whenever I find the key to success, someone changes the lock.

27. To Err is human, to forgive is not a Company policy.

28. The road to success.... Is always under construction.

29. Alcohol doesn't solve any problems, but if you think again, neither does Milk.

30. In order to get a Loan, you first need to prove that you don't need it.

31. All the desirable things in life are either illegal, expensive, fattening or married to someone else.

Last "real" class in London!

Back to work, Back to work

So I'm back to work and have acutally been busy all week. That's good. Makes the days go a lot faster. 43 more days left of work at BGC!!

This last weekend we had our last "real" weekend of classes. We have one more weekend of class the first weekend in February, but its our goal setting/personal development unit. So it doesn't really count. We don't really have to do anything for it. So its exciting not to have to go to any more "real" classes while we're in London. I'm not completely done with the class though. I have to write one more paper that's due next Friday. Then 2 weeks from today we have our business plan presentations and then I'm done!!!!!!!!!

This week has been a pretty standard week. Just gym, work, eat and sleep. I did book a trip to Barcelona for the last weekend of January. I'm really excited about that. I have been wanting to go to Spain since the first time I lived abroad in Salzburg. I'm finally going!

Smile!! ;)

Back in London Town

So I'm back in London after a wonderful 2 weeks at home. Those two weeks were spent visiting my friends and family (mostly at bars! Yeah BWWs!), going to a wild game and hanging out at the cabin. The cabin is a little different in the winter! Just as much reading, but a lot less outdoor time! And Becker and I did get $1.50 cheeseburgers at the coral. That might actually be better than the minnow that we usually get during the summer when we visit that bar!

Now its back to reality . . . I don't wanna!!!! I miss my relaxing vacation already. Today I headed back to work. Booo. We're starting the year end packs. That should last the rest of the week.

School work has also started up again. I have a paper due each of the next 3 Fridays and in 3 1/2 weeks we have our final Business Plan presentation. Its going to be awesome to be done with the London portion of the MBA!!! Then I can stop worrying about papers and research for about 3 months. That will be a nice break!

An exciting thing that happened today . . . I booked Becker's and my Everest Base Camp Trek for August 12th. Its VERY exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait for all of my travel plans to actually start happening! I started planning this stuff about 9 months ago and now its only 11 weeks away!