Sunday, December 18, 2011

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

I am proud to share HEC Montreal's lipdub entry for the 2012 MBA Games. I am so honoured to have been a part of this project. You can view the video here or click on the image below.

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It's crazy not to have spent a weekend doing readings and writing assignments. I've actually managed to take a break from schoolwork the entire weekend to do some Christmas preparations, including decorating the tree.

Tomorrow I will return to my school routine by working on assignments at 8:30 in the morning. For now, I am enjoying the silent days and nights.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Making the Team

The first thing I found out this morning:  I had made the team for the CSR case competition! Congratulations to Twill, Fabio, and Mukul, my new CSR teammates! I'm so excited and I just can't hide it! What's also great is that my academic team is doing an assignment for Globalization on IKEA that's a CSR case, so that will be good practice for me for the competition.

It's so hard to believe that I actually get to have a nice, relaxing weekend, basking in the glow of victory. Even though we haven't won yet, I already feel like we have a winning combination of talent.


This morning, I attempted to do some Christmas shopping but was unsuccessful. Instead, I bought myself a travel bag from Tommy Hilfiger that will certainly be used on my Toronto trip next month. For anyone who is interested, Tommy is currently having some great holiday sales!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

Today was a big day! I guess all the excitement for the week was saved for the very end. We started off the morning with the dreaded Finance quiz, but I feel like all of my daily studying actually paid off. Of course there were questions that left me dumbfounded, but for the most part, I felt that I finally had a solid mastery of a majority of the material. I am shocked, but I also know that with perseverance and determination, I can accomplish anything.


Between classes, we had a birthday celebration for the December babies. Happy Birthday from the AEMBA (and thanks for giving me an excuse to eat chocolate cake)!

In the afternoon, we had our final class in 2011. The next time we sit in a classroom, it will be a new year. After class, it was officially vacation, but I had to wait around at school since I had a CSR case competition try-out at 6:00. To kill time, I joined the students who were preparing for the MBA Games to see what they were up to. It turned out that they were working on their lip dub video and needed a short person to fill in, and there I was, ready to take on my surprise role. I'm looking forward to seeing if they use one of my takes for the final version! It was at least a fun and relaxing way to spend some time before trying out for the case competition. But that brings me to the other thing I'm anticipating - whether I made the team! I hope to find out soon!

This is now the first evening of my vacation and I will happily enjoy it. I wish happy holidays, a wonderful new year, and safe travels to those who I will not see during the vacation! Good luck at the MBA Games to those who are competing!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Mental Vacation


There is some international MBA news. Apparently, Yale has added a Master's in Management degree that will connect students from global universities. You can read more information about it here.

To be honest, this week has not been very exciting, except for the feedback and grades we've been getting back. Otherwise, I've just been focusing on studying for the Finance quiz. Ever since the weekend, I've been on a mental vacation and it's been hard to concentrate on schoolwork in a way that I'm used to.

Today I just have to attend my Globalization class and study a bit more for Finance. Then, I plan to have a nice, relaxing evening so I will be in tip-top shape for tomorrow's quiz. Wish me luck!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Having a Ball


Here is a photo from last night's holiday party with the International Affairs Committee. We had a professional photographer there, capturing the zany moments. Kudos go out to Chris, our VP of Student Life for organizing a fabulous evening.

As for the reality of schoolwork, we now only have three more days to go and then it's vacation! Unfortunately, my class will be hanging on edge until the end, due to Thursday's one hour Finance quiz. Even though I'll be working on papers and studying during the Christmas break, I will definitely be taking advantage of my newly purchased (but free for one month!) Netflix every day for much-deserved breaks.

Friday, December 9, 2011

To the Max


Considering I spent a large portion of the day discussing the upcoming Strategy case (IMAX:  Larger than Life), I thought that it was appropriate to share this Harvard Business Review article that gives five common strategy mistakes. As for Strategy, it was great to have the opportunity to discuss the case with two of my classmates. I definitely think I am on the right path now and I will have a lot to write tomorrow.

I sense that this will be a productive weekend filled with Strategy and Globalization writing, as well as Finance studying. At least I can look forward to our holiday party on Sunday night! I can't believe I only have to get through one more week and then I'll have three weeks of vacation!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Worker Bee

Busy, busy day! I felt like a little worker bee buzzing around school, hopping from class to class, and studying for Finance in between. During our IT class, we had another in-class group assignment and this time, we got a picture of the whole team.


After class, I got a haircut and now I have my bangs back! Yay! These are the exciting things in life that I look forward to now.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

I am Canadian

It's official... I'm a Canadian citizen! Here is a photo of me right before the ceremony, laughing about the guy who slept for the entire first hour we were there.


This is me during my celebratory dinner...

And now, I can finally say that I AM CANADIAN!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Koodo


Today was my new group's first presentation for P3. We did a Marketing Management presentation on Koodo Mobile. Here you can go ahead and view my portions of our assignment. The only positive feedback I have received thus far from the professor:  I wore an appropriate outfit. Finally, my fashion consciousness has paid off!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Roger That

So on this side of the border, the unemployment rate isn't looking too good; on the bright side, the Americans are doing better than before!


This morning, I had to make a couple phone calls to Rogers and BMO, and what I discovered was that I kept thinking of case studies and the material I've learned in class, and how it relates to these organizations. I have to say, actually, considering all the flak they get, these companies must be saluted for their excellent customer service and how they handled my situations today. Normally, I complain about the cellphone industry in Canada and how their fees are crazy compared to the US, but somehow the Rogers customer service agent made me feel like my bill was worth it. That's what we call paying excellent attention to post-purchase behaviour!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Seeing Eye to Eye


Here is a photo of my group (minus one member) during our IT class today. The best is that Stu is standing normally and I'm standing on a chair! Our group definitely has an awesome pool of talent and I'm looking forward to beginning our group assignments tomorrow.