This superman may not fly but he does tea parties

2011 continues to suck it. I can't believe it isn't even the middle of January yet. As I am sure you are aware, the Southeast was struck with a combination of snow and ice starting on Monday. Coincidentally I was also in Charlottesville when it hit and the shut down of the Charlotte airport necessitated in two extra nights there.

My flight to Charlotte on Monday was one of only two that wasn't cancelled. I kept checking my phone for the status update during my interviews of intern candidates at Darden. All was on time. Happily I returned my rental car and headed through security. 2 hours later it was official. No flights in or out of Charlotte. I informed DH and booked a hotel.

Needless to say, any amount of snow results in a shut down of everything in Charlotte. So while I was interviewing students, DH was stuck at home juggling a toddler and work. Like so many other transplants, DH and I have no family in the area. Which means if we end up in a situation without childcare, we have to juggle our calendars. In the past, I typically work from home and we trade off based on meeting schedules. Unfortunately we both have jobs that require a lot of meetings and conference calls and just keeping work things to evenings wasn't an option.

DH persevered and we both planned that my 5:25 AM flight on Tuesday would bring me home to help out. But an automated phone call in the middle of the night pushed back my flight to 9 AM (at least I didn't have to wake up at 4 AM!). While waiting at the airport it was pushed again to 2 PM. Right at 2 we were told that Charlotte was shut down and re-booked again for the next day. Thank goodness I was in a small regional airport. If I had to deal with that craziness at Atlanta I would have broken down crying several times. Customer service at Charlottesville was excellent.

My Tuesday delay meant poor DH had to endure another non-daycare day with Cameron. And he did an awesome job. Every time I called Cameron was laughing and chatting away in the background. He was definitely tired and stressed but helped keep my spirits up as I whiled away far too many hours in a hotel room and airport lobby. DH definitely got the short end of the stick on this particular parenting challenge. Especially since Cameron is obsessed with her new tea set and insisted on several tea parties an hour. DH is now a pro at clinking "cheers" and dipping his cookie into the "tea."

OK, I've bitched enough about 2011 although post is coming about the early advent of terrible twos. Time for photos! Just a couple since sickness and mouth sores have kept the camera from coming out a lot. But enough to keep the grandparents and great-grandparents happy, I hope!

Despite it being her "time out" chair, Cameron still likes chilling there.

DH is pushing the Yankees paraphernalia.

2011: No place to go but up

I consider myself a pretty optimistic person. I usually just anticipate that things will work out and I've rarely been disappointed. True, a planner by nature and type A personality helps guide things down the right path. But just 6 days into 2011 and I'm ready for it to be 2012.

Poor Cameron. And frankly, poor me and DH. She has barely eaten since Saturday and we're lucky if she goes 5 minutes without crying. Daycare worked with us on Tuesday and Wednesday so we were able to work normal hours. Thursday was a whole different story.

I started to suspect on Wednesday that there might be more going on with Cameron than just a sore on her lip. The not eating coupled with uncharacteristic constant crying and fussiness was just too much. I blocked off my Thursday afternoon and busted my butt at work in the morning in case we got the dreaded call. And it came at 10:45 AM. The teacher told me that Cameron suddenly had sores all over her mouth, inside and out. I had amused myself by Googling hand foot and mouth disease last night so I pretty much knew that was what she had.

But who am I to deny myself the 4th doctor's co-pay since we got back from the holidays? I made a doctor's appointment hoping for some advice on pain management and getting her to eat. And also, her breath stinks. I'm mean it's kind of close to gagging terrible. 6 days with negligible amounts of food was making me emotionally overwrought. Poor Cameron wants to eat but every time she put something in her mouth she would start crying. And don't get me started on trying soft, cold, bland foods. I went to the grocery store twice to stock up on food and she has refused everything. Heck, she refused ice cream!

Needless to say, the doctor diagnosed it as the coxsackie virus and gave us a codeine prescription to help with sleeping/pain. We haven't filled it yet because I am allergic to codeine and the last thing I want is for Cameron to break out in a rash on top of this stupid virus. He warned me that this is a 5-7 day type virus and told me that her bad breath would resolve when the virus does. I'm not sure I can wait that long! Interestingly, the doctor seems to think that Cameron's strep was a total coincidence. So I have hope that this virus started Saturday/Sunday and she'll be ready for daycare again on Monday. DH is hoping so too because I'm traveling to Darden on Sunday for a recruiting trip. As of tomorrow I will be done one sick day and it's only the first week of January. Good thing I can use my sick days for Cameron.

Please send us good thoughts and prayers for quick healing. If you saw Cameron's mouth you would think she has leprosy. I tried to find a picture example online but everything I saw was nothing compared to what she has. If she let's me take a picture of her mouth tomorrow (unlikely) I'll post it for you sickos who want to see it.

All I got was this lousy education

DH was in a bad mood last night. This is extraordinarily unusual for him and can usually be tied back to a specific source. Money. Or rather the amount of money that seems to be gushing out of our checking account at an alarming rate.

This past weekend I opened a letter from the State of Virginia Tax Department asking me to file taxes for 2009. I showed it to DH and laughed because we haven't lived in Virginia for more than two years. North Carolina and the Federal Government get enough of my hard earned money, thank-you-very-much.

We ain't laughing no more. Yes, that sentence did require a double negative to convey my annoyance. Turns out that when we filed taxes for 2006 we neglected to file a state income tax for me. Why? Because I did my internship for BigFinance in North Carolina and properly filed my NC state taxes. Both of us totally spaced on the fact that because I lived in Virginia for that year even though I made zero dollars in the state and paid out tens of thousands of dollars in tuition I still owned them money. The best part? Despite rock bottom interest rates we have been charged 42% in interest. Thank you, Virginia! I'm especially thrilled because even though my husband worked in the state during my tenure at UVA I somehow didn't qualify for in state tuition. But you better believe they will also charge me for income I didn't even earn in their state!

I'm hoping we can work some magic with the numbers and get the total down a bit. Isn't it lovely that this occurred right around the holidays? So, has anyone else had run ins with state or federal tax returns? Do I have any hope of getting some of that interest dismissed or is this a suck it up kind of situation?

Update: DH just told me that we now owe zero to the lovely State of Virginia. Woot! Apparently they credit us for what we paid to North Carolina which ended up being more than twice what we would have paid to Virginia.

Is now the best time to get an MBA? Yes, if you can get in.

There has been a significant uptick in the number of applications to business school over the past year. I'm sure Mommy, Esq. can quote similar statistics for law school. Over the past 20 years it has become a given that in bad economic times, people go back to school. Why? It's probably the best time to go back because career advancement and salary increases are less likely.

Adding to one's education and business credentials in a downturn can be a smart investment, particularly if the economy starts to right itself once you come out of the program. I've had the odd experience of being employed just before economic hardships. I came out of my post-graduate year at Carnegie Mellon in 2000 and immediately found a job, about 6 months before the Internet bubble burst. Similarly, I have come out of UVA's MBA program 12 months before the market tanked. I am hopeful that BigFinance will continue to do well and I won't have to worry about layoffs (at least at my level/division). I did survive 4 layoffs in SmallResearch, as did DH. DH is still there so we are both hoping his tenure of 7+ years will help him through any potential layoffs.

But while going back to school during bad times is a good idea, it's also an idea that thousands of other people have. On top of that, international recruitment for top MBA programs is way up. At Darden, more students are international than are women. So that means if you want to go to a top 30 school (and frankly it's not worth 100K in debt if you don't) you need to be assured that you are unique and offer something that the school can't turn down. Me? I had a couple of things: a liberal arts undergraduate major, 5 years work experience at the same company, being a women (yes, I'll use it to my advantage), significant career progression, and multiple activities. My test scores weren't that great.

I recommend an MBA program in particular if you are looking to switch careers. I didn't want to stay in Sales or Consulting and I wanted a bump in my salary. Going back to business school and having access to a great career center was a must. Working with a MBA career center is very different than an undergraduate one. CMU's was useless but UVA had more than a hundred big name companies solicit resumes and conduct interviews. That is why it is so critical to get into a top MBA program. A small college is not going to have the same exposure or resources. So why pay 40K a year in tuition? A couple of people have recently asked my advice about applying to business school. Here are few tips:

1. You should have at least 4 years work experience with career progression. That means advancements or job changes. It is best if you can stick with one company but we are becoming a country of job hoppers so it's less of an issue.


2. Take a GMAT course. I studies on my own but the money I spent on the Princeton Review was totally worth it. There were 5 people in my class so we got a lot of individual attention. It also forces you to study several hours a week. I'm sure Natalie and DH remember me spending hours at the kitchen table.


3. Start volunteering. If you don't have activities you've been doing for a few years, it is never too late to start. But 6 months in a volunteer role won't impress. So if you have nothing but your job, consider waiting another year.


4. Have a plan. Know what schools you are targeting and why. I applied to 6 schools (Harvard just for shits and giggles) and would have been happy at any of them. It is expensive and there is a lot of paperwork. Harvard was almost $400 when I applied 4 years ago! I decided to focus on schools with strong general management program (no specialization required) and utilization of the case study method.


5. References are critical. I lined up my references 9 months before I started the application process. In order to make things easy for them I put together a packet of information on me. My resume (more detailed that you might use to apply for a position), list of all my activities and why I did them. Both were professional references so I also included several projects I worked on where I contributed significantly. I provided a detailed list of strengths and weaknesses. Why so much work? You must be consistent when you apply to a program. You will be asked to share your strengths and weaknesses and you want your answers to match theirs.


6. Visit the school. Darden required me to visit for an interview and they probably did it because the campus is so beautiful. But a visit even when not required demonstrates a level of commitment.


7. Be a minority. Sorry, guys, but it's going to only get harder for white men to get into school.


8. Consider a part-time program. It can be more challenging to switch careers with a part-time program. Also, the career centers tend to not be as good as full time programs. But if your company will help defray costs and you don't mind it taking more than 3 years, it could be a good middle road.

Here's a couple of articles I've come across recently:
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1853093,00.html http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mba5-2008nov05,0,595378.story

Do others have advice about graduate programs?

Is now the best time to get an MBA? Yes, if you can get in.

There has been a significant uptick in the number of applications to business school over the past year. I'm sure Mommy, Esq. can quote similar statistics for law school. Over the past 20 years it has become a given that in bad economic times, people go back to school. Why? It's probably the best time to go back because career advancement and salary increases are less likely. Adding to one's education and business credentials in a downturn can be a smart investment, particularly if the economy starts to right itself once you come out of the program.

I've had the odd experience of being employed just before economic hardships. I came out of my post-graduate year at Carnegie Mellon in 2000 and immediately found a job, about 6 months before the Internet bubble burst. Similarly, I have come out of UVA's MBA program 12 months before the market tanked. I am hopeful that BigFinance will continue to do well and I won't have to worry about layoffs (at least at my level/division). I did survive 4 layoffs in SmallResearch, as did DH. DH is still there so we are both hoping his tenure of 7+ years will help him through any potential layoffs.

But while going back to school during bad times is a good idea, it's also an idea that thousands of other people have. On top of that, international recruitment for top MBA programs is way up. At Darden, more students are international than are women. So that means if you want to go to a top 30 school (and frankly it's not worth 100K in debt if you don't) you need to be assured that you are unique and offer something that the school can't turn down. Me? I had a couple of things: a liberal arts undergraduate major, 5 years work experience at the same company, being a women (yes, I'll use it to my advantage), significant career progression, and multiple activities. My test scores weren't that great.

I recommend an MBA program in particular if you are looking to switch careers. I didn't want to stay in Sales or Consulting and I wanted a bump in my salary. Going back to business school and having access to a great career center was a must. Working with a MBA career center is very different than an undergraduate one. CMU's was useless but UVA had more than a hundred big name companies solicit resumes and conduct interviews. That is why it is so critical to get into a top MBA program. A small college is not going to have the same exposure or resources. So why pay 40K a year in tuition?

A couple of people have recently asked my advice about applying to business school. Here are few tips:

1. You should have at least 4 years work experience with career progression. That means advancements or job changes. It is best if you can stick with one company but we are becoming a country of job hoppers so it's less of an issue.


2. Take a GMAT course. I studies on my own but the money I spent on the Princeton Review was totally worth it. There were 5 people in my class so we got a lot of individual attention. It also forces you to study several hours a week. I'm sure Natalie and DH remember me spending hours at the kitchen table.


3. Start volunteering. If you don't have activities you've been doing for a few years, it is never too late to start. But 6 months in a volunteer role won't impress. So if you have nothing but your job, consider waiting another year.


4. Have a plan. Know what schools you are targeting and why. I applied to 6 schools (Harvard just for shits and giggles) and would have been happy at any of them. It is expensive and there is a lot of paperwork. Harvard was almost $400 when I applied 4 years ago! I decided to focus on schools with strong general management program (no specialization required) and utilization of the case study method.


5. References are critical. I lined up my references 9 months before I started the application process. In order to make things easy for them I put together a packet of information on me. My resume (more detailed that you might use to apply for a position), list of all my activities and why I did them. Both were professional references so I also included several projects I worked on where I contributed significantly. I provided a detailed list of strengths and weaknesses. Why so much work? You must be consistent when you apply to a program. You will be asked to share your strengths and weaknesses and you want your answers to match theirs.


6. Visit the school. Darden required me to visit for an interview and they probably did it because the campus is so beautiful. But a visit even when not required demonstrates a level of commitment.


7. Be a minority. Sorry, guys, but it's going to only get harder for white men to get into school.


8. Consider a part-time program. It can be more challenging to switch careers with a part-time program. Also, the career centers tend to not be as good as full time programs. But if your company will help defray costs and you don't mind it taking more than 3 years, it could be a good middle road.
   

Here's a couple of articles I've come across recently:

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1853093,00.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mba5-2008nov05,0,595378.story

Do others have advice about graduate programs?

Best in Show

When DH and I moved to Charlottesville in the Spring of 2005, I knew we were going to get a dog. We had been living together for almost a year and I was about to embark on a very strenuous first year program at Darden. DH was able to move down to C-ville with me and work from home (which he has done ever since). To keep him company while I was away from home (7 AM - 11 PM most days!) I convinced him that a dog was the way to go.


We knew we wanted a puppy just because we could mold it from the very beginning (he he he). Before we started our search at the C-ville animal shelter, we stopped by a pet store (not one that had dogs for sale) and saw a bunch of dogs outside of it from another town's animal shelter. DH went in to the store to get a crate and I spent time with the puppies. There were two in particular I loved. One was all golden in color and very rambuncious even in the 90 degree weather. The other was a mix of colors but mostly black and was peacefully sleeping in his crate. I picked up the quiet one (named "Bongo") and snuggled with him while DH completed the purchase. After he came out I said, "I want this one!"


As you can see, I got my way :-)



DH was convinced we would find one in the C-ville animal shelter so he made me leave the cute puppy behind and drive off. Well, when we got to the animal shelter they only had one set of puppies who were all spoken for and needed another month before they could be brought home anyway.

I told DH it was fate and we had to get the puppy we saw in front of the pet store. We left a message with the shelter and found out that they were open on Sundays so if he wasn't taken yet we could go the next day and adopt him. I was so worried all night that someone else had adopted him from the pet store! We drove about 40 minutes to the shelter and asked to see Bongo again (the first thing to go would be that name). DH and I walked back to a cage where the dog (soon to be our dog) was with two of his litter mates. There was the male golden puppy and a female on in a similar color. DH immediately wanted to adopt all three but common sense prevailed and we brought our puppy home.

We debated endlessly about what to call him. DH lobbied for Jack Bauer but I really wanted Charlie (after Charlottesville). A little slyly, I said, "Why don't we start with Charlie and see how it goes? We can change it later if we want..." And so, Charlie entered our lives on a hot summer day in June.

If any of you have met our dog, you must admit that he is the best-est dog in the whole wide world. And probably the most spoiled. How, you may ask? Well, let me share.

• He is very smart. As DH and I like to say, Charlie understands a ton of words but he doesn't listen so good. I taught him how to bring DH his work gloves (for when they wrestle together) in two days when he wanted to play.




• He likes to lie in weird positions. Charlie has his Playboy pose and his chicken pose (see below).






• Charlie sleeps on the bed with us every night. Yes, it's true. We have become pet parents. We refer to each other as "Mommy" and "Daddy" when we talk to the dog. We judge other people by how much they love their dog and our dog. We prefer to hang out with people who have dogs so Charlie can play.




• The best thing in the whole world is coming home from a long day at work and having a very excited dog greet you. It will probably be years before I get that from the baby! Charlie also watches out the window when I leave in the morning and whines. So cute!
  
• He loves people, especially kids.


• He doesn't understand that with DH home every day he is luckier than any other dog in existence. Except for maybe Callie but that's because her mommy is home all day too.


• Charlie watches out the window to make sure that the neighborhood is safe and barks to alert us when a person is getting too close to the house. Of course, it is the same people walking their dogs every day but he's not that smart.

I realize that once we welcome the baby into our lives Charlie will be "demoted" to dog. But I still believe he will occupy a special place in our lives. After all, he was our first baby. And it only took three weeks to potty train him!!

A few more cute pictures to start your day...

A Return Trip to Darden

For the second time in a year I was asked to go back to Darden for a BigFinance recruiting trip. The last time was in the dead of winter with just one other person. We interviewed first year candidates for the internship position. This time there were at least 12 other BigFinance associates and we were not interviewing but giving a company presentation followed by two hours of networking.

I flew into the tiny Charlottesville airport in the midst of rain and gusting winds. I was already not looking forward to the plane ride back! Tiny propeller planes are not designed for a smooth ride. I had rented a car since (for a change) I actually knew my way around. It was a little surreal to drive back mostly because in the 18 months since I had been gone, nothing had changed. After I parked I had a few minutes before lunch so I decided to hit the Darden book store cum merchandise mart. That's when I picked up a couple of presents for Xmas (never too early to start!) and my first onsie. Yes, I broke down and bought a bright orange Darden onesie. It's too bad that the smallest they had was six months so unfortunately I won't be able to use it for a while.

I headed over for lunch and ran into a couple of Darden classmates who were also in town for recruiting: Kelly, Obumi and Katie. Then all of us walked over to the cafe for lunch. I was disappointed that the Career Center did not invite any students to sit with us. It is still early in the recruiting process (most SY interviews happen in October and FYs don't start until January) but considering how bad the economy is and the job market has to be, I was surprised students weren't lined up to meet with us.

After lunch we went into the company briefing. I ran into the intern for my program we had this past summer (hi James!) and we chatted for a bit. Great guy and I hope he comes back to work full time for us. The company presentation was more of a roundtable with a couple of executives and I think it went well. Selfishly I wanted the focus to be on my technology program but there were half a dozen other programs represented as well.

Then the schmoozing began. Apparently almost 70 people registered for the event. I would say that 40 showed up. Shame on you, Darden students! And almost every single one of them were FYs. What's up with that? I find it hard to believe that all the SYs are set in terms of jobs. On the Technology side I was inundated with foreign students (yes, mostly Indian) looking for visas. Um, we don't do that. It frustrates me that so many MBA candidates think you need to be coming from technology to do a technology job. I'm managing projects! It's just like any other MBA job. If I, a former Creative Writing major who can barely run my DVR can do it, so can everyone else! Technology gets no respect.

After it was over I drove a couple other people back to the airport including a senior executive I had been wanting to meet. So I got to schmooze too :-) Our plane was delayed about an hour due to the weather. It would have been fine except I got totally sick just before we landed. Good think I had my plastic bag from the bookstore because the plane didn't carry barf bags. I blame the baby since I rarely get plane sick.

Overall it was nice to spend a day out of the office with other BigFinance associates and to see Darden again. I'm curious to see how this year's FY and SY classes do in the job search process. I can't imagine it will be as easy as when I was looking for a job. Thank goodness I'm out of the program and gainfully employed! Even if it does mean I'm paying off loans...