Bragging rights...

So - I'm not bragging - BUT, this is pretty cool, no?! Check out what US News & World Report says about Thunderbird School of Global Management...

And, once you've read that - be sure to check out what the Financial Times is saying about Thunderbird as well....

Gotta LOVE TBird :)

The search is on...

So, i know everyone is sick of me saying it, writing it, probably even thinking it - but I really love Portland! It's about time that I start searching for apartments there, because I'll be moving back in the summer!!! It's a beautiful city and thanks to Getty Images below you can see just how amazing this city is....

Group nightmares...

It’s been long enough now that I can sort of look back at this past semester and laugh at some of the painful group experiences of mine and some of my friends. We always joke that this is just part of the Thunderbird experience.

You know you have a bad group when….

• They call meetings for no other apparent reason but to call a meeting
• They arrange early morning meetings only to NOT show up because they were out drinking/partying the night before
• They don’t do their work, and show up to meetings and laugh about not having done anything
• They spend the entire group meeting either complaining, playing on their computer, iPhone or other electronic device, or just staring off into space
• They talk incessantly in meetings – but don’t really say anything of value
• They send you their portion of the project at 4:00 a.m. the day it’s due, and apologize for not having sent it earlier, but they were “too drunk” and the assignment was too hard for them
• They have this incredible information and details for the project – until you realize that the concept of “citing sources” doesn’t occur to them
• Better yet, they cite the sources, with totally irrelevant information and NOT in the format you need so you have to spend additional time reformatting everything
• They send you work that looks like it was completed by a sixth grader, totally off-topic, or just plain bad, that it faster to just re-write the entire section than to try and edit it
• They miss meetings due to shopping, hair appointments, or drinking sessions
• They send an email after the project has been turned in, and having not done anything during the group work, that it was a "pleasure working with you"
  

Have any other ones?!....

Just one to go!

Thursday morning at 9am, after getting, hmm, let's see about 15 minutes of sleep, I finished my last final of the year! Handing in that final marked the 3/4 mark of my MBA degree - I can't believe I just have one more semester left!! Insane!

Anyway, after a whirlwind 2 weeks of complete craziness we officially celebrated the end of the Fall Semester with drinks at the pub on Thursday night (I think)! haha.

Friday, I was lucky enough to have dinner with my Aunt, Uncle, cousin and her husband along with their baby girl. It was great to see them again! Followed by the last Indian party of the year.

Sad to say, I have NO clue what happened, but I did NOT take very many pictures - so, I'll have to wait until my friends start posting their's, and I can steal (I mean ThunderSHARE) their photos :)

Now that the semester is complete, my stress levels still have not subsided - and it still has not set in that I'll be heading to Amman in less than 2 weeks! Nor the fact that we'll be spending New Year's in Jerusalem. But for now, as I slowly make my way East - looking forward to some R and R and my mom's house in New Mexico.

Done.

I missed yoga!!!

You know it’s bad when you are literally running around like a chicken with its head cut-off, that you can’t even spare 2 hours of your time for a nice, relaxing yet challenging hot yoga session!

Ugh! I feel exactly like this song (Flight of the Bumblebee that is playing on my blog right now)!! Just now, I finished inhaling my dinner, so I could have 20 minutes to myself to type up this blog entry before I have to go to 2 back-to-back meetings, one of which will probably last until the wee hours of the morning!

To do:

• We have a fricken presentation for global enterprise tomorrow morning
• The opportunity analysis plan for global enterprise due Sunday
• 6-page marketing case study (with 20 pages of exhibits), due tomorrow morning
• Operations management project due Friday
• Marketing hotel survey in Costa Rica project due Monday
• A 20-page comparative analysis of change management analyzing the cultural and leadership dimensions of German and Venezuelan employees working for a company in Venezuela due TODAY!
• My 5-page personal leadership development plan – due Thursday
• Group paper on a global negotiation due Thursday
• Study for global leadership final on Saturday morning at 8am
• Study for operations management final on Monday evening
• Study for global enterprise final next Wednesday
• Study for international market research final next Thursday

I’m sure I’ve forgotten a couple other deliverables… HELP!!!!!!

What the HELL is wrong with people? (part II)

To give you a little background on the situation; in one of my classes this semester (global negotiations to be specific), each class section is participating in game called the "commons dilemma." The basic premise of the game, is that there are a total of 6 votes for this class - if everyone in the class votes to "cooperate" all six times, the entire class will have the option to walk out of the final with an A- on the exam (not in the class, ONLY on the exam). However, should one person screw up the system and decide to vote "compete" than this person will gain extra points based on how many people decided to cooperate, and they could wind up with a higher grade, meanwhile the rest of the other people in the class are stuck studying for another final. So basically, the premise is simple - be nice to your fellow classmates and vote to cooperate so we all don't have to take the final...

Anyway, of course, getting 44 people all to agree to cooperate is one hell of a negotiation, and there are always a few stubborn people in the class who aren't quite sold to cooperate each vote. Luckily, so far, 5 out of the 6 votes everyone has chosen to cooperate. HOWEVER... for vote number 6 we have 1 person in the class who is leaning towards competing. Apparently, someone in our class took it upon themselves to deface this person's car with the nice and encouraging message: "vote cooperate you D-bag." So now, this person who was thinking about competing, has now chosen to compete for sure unless the idiot culprit comes forward with a public apology...

Ok, seriously! Why on earth would you deface some one's car (on Thanksgiving), over something so ridiculous as this?! I mean seriously, we are ALL stressing out now, when each of us has about 15 things due next week on top of difficult finals to study for. But to think that someone (who is graduating with an MBA from a top school) would think it is a good idea to write a horrible message on some one's car in hopes of swaying their opinion - that's just downright ludicrous! I don't remember our professor ever mentioning personal property damage as an effective negotiation strategy...

But then... just too add a little more colorful commentary, this person who's car was written on, is using this as a control/power trip - this person very much enjoys holding this over our heads while we wait in much anticpation for him to vote one way or another. It almost appears like this person doesn't really care that someone wrote on their car, because to this person, it's yet another thing he can hold over us! I am SO sick of people trying to exert power over others... it's complete and total crap...

Seriously!! I'm so glad I go to school with such mature and rational adults....

What the HELL is wrong with people?!

Ok, seriously WTF is wrong with people?!!

First the despicable attacks in Mumbai - I mean how can people be filled with so much hate in their hearts that it suddenly seems like the right thing to do to take innocent human lives, to destroy beautiful historic buildings, and to cause terror in the minds of millions across the globe?! It is absolutely sickening that these COWARDS think that by killing innocent people that they are getting a message across of their strength and getting people to heed their warnings - well, actually it only makes these groups look even more unscrupulous, cowardly and downright abominable.

And, on a smaller scale - the "incidents" of people shooting and trampling people on "black Friday" so they can be sure to save that extra 10% on holiday items. Apparently some poor temp worker in New York was trampled to death at Wal-Mart as scores of idiot shoppers broke down the door and didn't look back at the employee that they were stampeding over to get a good deal on some cheap item. And then, apparently, there was a shooting at Toys-R-Us yesterday as well. I mean how STUPID are these people - it is absolutely maddening that someone would take another life over a small discount. If you really were that strapped for cash that this really mattered, perhaps you shouldn't be at the store anyway - now there's an idea!

It is out of my hands now!

I really hate relying on other people to get things done - but sometimes, there is just no way around it.

This winter I'll be heading to Amman, Jordan to work on a consulting project for a mobile phone application company!! Ordinarily, holders of U.S. passport are not required to apply for a visa ahead of time, as they can simply purchase a single-entry visa at the Jordan airport. Well, of course I'm not going to travel all the way to the middle east without a little adventure first.... unfortunately, this complicates things a little bit....

Because I am planning on arriving in Amman, and then taking the bus into Jerusalem, the bridge and port of entry I'll be crossing back into Jordan on does NOT have visas available for purchase (and if they did, no one really knows their hours of operation), I was cautioned by a clerk of the Consulate of Jordan to apply for a visa ahead of time....

So just like that, I had a whirlwind experience at the post office, signing, stamping, addressing, paying and getting passport-size photos, and my passport is out of my hands, and officially at the mercy of the good people at the Consulate of Jordan in San Francisco and the USPS. Let's hope it comes back in time...

Christmas Spirit in Glendale

So I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet - but I can't help it - when it comes to Christmas, I am like a little kid. I absolutely LOVE this day. So, taking a break from the rigors of studying, my friend Meike and I decided it was time to get into the Christmas spirit and decorate our rooms. Check out the pictures below. My room is complete with a string of white lights around the window, a little tree with red bows and snow flakes in the window, and even a mistletoe in in the doorway! Also, included another random picture, because I realized my family has not ever see my door room before! Well folks... here it is :)

Tis’ the season!

No no... not quite time yet for being merry and full of glee – for us here in Glendale, it’s time to be full of anxiety, stress, and SHORT on tempers and time. It’s a time when sleep is a luxury not afforded to the students, but homework is given at a premium!

Yep, it’s the crunch time and final push until final exams when just about every class has major papers, case studies, presentations, readings and just about everything else that could possibly be due right before finals! I know, I know – I’m in grad school, this is what I signed up for right? It’s not just about being able to effectively demonstrate understanding of the material – oh no, that would be WAY too easy! It’s also about being an effective time manager juggling a multitude of activities, classes and work; dealing with and managing conflict and lack of participation within groups; and preparing compelling, comprehensive and sharp presentations and final papers and projects.

It’s precisely this time of year, when I remember what my Dad used to say to me EVERY time as I neared the end of a school semester from the time I swear I was in 1st grade to even NOW… “what do Moye girls do this time of year when everyone else slacks off?” BEAR DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Although, I must admit, I think I left most of my motivation at 8,000 feet somewhere in the Grand Canyon last week, I have a little bit left in the tank to carry me through these last few weeks!!! All I can say, is Dec. 11 is my LAST final… and the day cannot come soon enough… until then… BEAR DOWN people!!! ;)

The Incredibly GRAND Canyon

So, after the hike in Sedona, we continued north until we hit the tiny little town of Tusayan which is just 3 short miles from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon! Amanda and I were adventurous, perhaps a little too much at times, and hiked below the rim of the canyon on the South Kaibob trail for a couple miles... and wow, it was STEEP! A testament to the steepness of the hike was the fact that it took us longer to get down than back up! And, on the way back up, we actually stopped frequently to take photos (and catch our breath)! Anyway, we had a fabulous time, the canyon is simply breathtaking - words and photos don't do this place justice. Sorry for the short entry, figured as always, to let the pictures tell the story...

Lovely Sedona

Officially half way through this module, it was time to break away from Glendale, and take a road trip... first stop... Sedona! My friend Amanda came down from San Diego for the adventure, and on Friday morning (not too early of course) we set out for Sedona! It's amazing how in just a couple short hours the scenery can change so drastically to be so beautiful. Honestly, the red rocks and the blue skies are gorgeous... such a pleasant change from Phoenix! We spent a couple hours hiking around a 5.6 mile loop stopping to take NUMEROUS pictures along the way... check out of some of the snaps below...

Going back in time...

Ok, thansk to Jess who found this site... it's hilarious! Yearbook yourself...

I just got back from running 10 miles (woo-hoo)!!!, so I obviously, couldn't start working right away :) Definitely was having way too much fun with Yearbook Yourself!

Check out the pics below...

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