Banking on a Holiday

Finally- a day off! The last Monday in October every year is an Irish Bank Holiday.

It's also the day of the Dublin marathon. In celebration- I went for a nice run (80 minutes) to the US embassy and back.

OK- I lied. It wasn't nice. It was miserable! It was cold, and poured rain on me half the time, and I had a head wind on the way back- but MAN! Did it feel good to just get out there and run.

Many in the program is seizing the holiday opportunity to get out of town, or lay about. I wish! I am taking the opportunity to catch up on Finance, Accounting, and to get done a marketing memo for next week.

Not that I'm complaining. I am having a blast, and despite the toughness of it- I'm certainly going to emerge from the MBA program with skills, confidence and resolve that I didn't have before- and it's not just rugby skills either.

Word Games

Some Irish words and phrases I'm exposed to and their translations into Canuck-speak.
Yer' man = that guy.
Stock = Inventory
Share = Equity

I am reading the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times (when I have time). Today I picked up The Wall Street Journal Europe and read a fascinating article by this year's Nobel Laureate Thomas Schelling on nuclear deterrence- the topic which he based his Game Theory on, which earned him his Nobel Prize for Economics.

I'm learning the basics of Game Theory in different topics- Managerial Accounting which uses Game Theory basics to predict costs in order to evaluate which course of action to pursue for the greatest return, and Human Resources Management which used Game Theory to explain the Prisoner's Dilemma, which illustrated how management and labor interests could be at odds, and how they might find a solution.

Accountancy in my future?

OK- so the previous post where I said I'm getting Accounting and Finance because I dreamed about it is probably not accurate.

To be more precise- I dreamed about accounting and Finance because it's something I'm working hard on and just dedicating time and energy to learning. So- the fact I finally am able to perform it with any authority is a reflection of that effort, not of my ethereal activities.

Besides- It has yet to be seen if I can perform it with any authority yet. All I know is that I'm getting better at it- faster- fewer mistakes, more comfortable. I'm not accountant yet, but who knows what the future will bring? I could decide accounting and bookkeeping is the life for me.

I certainly do get a huge rush from making the second line in the double underline...

Cold... so very cold...

I hate getting sick when I'm super busy. It's not always the way, but it's the way right now. Luckily- the worst has passed. My fever is gone, my sinuses (or is that sini?) are cleared again allowing me to do do my ujhai breathing in yoga, but there's my damn sore throat! You know what I do about it?

I keep working- I pop some ibu, and keep working.

On another topic- an anonymous classmate is leaving cheeky, surrealist but genuinely amusing comments on my blog. I suggest you wade through the spam being left in the comments now and check it out. This girl or guy is a little strange- but harmless and hilarious!

In the meantime- I am staying in Dublin over the X-Mas break. I finally get to see this beautiful city that I have called me home for a month and half now and have barely left campus.

All I have to do now is track down where to go and what to see. Because the program is packed with Dubliners (No- I mean locals, not characters from James Joyce Novels), I'm sure I can get some tips on where to go and what to do.

I'll get accounting... in my dreams!!!

I know I'm getting a good handle on the skills and logic used to apply the skills in Principles of Finance and Managerial Accounting (the two scary number-heavy courses) not only because I'm dedicating the time and effort to plugging away at it- but also because I've started dreaming about it.

Weird.

Same thing happenned when I was learning Java in Post-grad in '99.

Blank Checks

Ever have one of those days?

I had one last Tuesday.
I was having temporary personal issues with my team (who's great and I absolutely have no criticism of- hoenstly!) in a class (well because it's a professional team, maybe we should call it personel issues)... and because I was thinking of that- then when the professor was making the rounds- he called on me.

Mike? Any thoughts?
Um.... no.


I just blanked out. Wham. Everything I was thinking was just wiped! Yes, Smithers was experiencing a larger institutional problem that's common in manufacturing communities where the Engineers and the Operations have contempt for eachother. Smithers didn't help that by playing tree monkey with the wrong people (tree monkey in office politics- The people above see a smiling face- the people below just see an asshole)...

So Mike- any thoughts?
Yes. Several.
Ok--- er... care to share some of them?
No.
No???
No.
Um- why not, Mike?
I don't want to intimidate my classmates with my insight or take away from others who came to hte same conclusions or had the same views as me. I am empathy personafied, like a great manager should be. This is after all- Organizational Behavior.

Stuck in the Middle with you

I am in MIS and I am blogging.

How very apprepo!

So it's now half way through week number 4... wait - no it's 5. Alright- halfway through week number 5 which at the end is the half-way point between our start and our Finish in December. Oh- bad choice of words- I mean our exams in December.

I'll take the time in December to explore Dublin after exams. I'll finally have the time to see the city, peruse the galleries and museums, nibble at the eateries, and generally get my head out of books.

Speaking of books- I keep thinking of the book Natural Capitalism by Lovins et al. from the Rocky Mountain Institute. My German Sister was right- that book is really giving me a point of view that is refreshing and unusual and absolutely practical and required.

Anyways- class is starting now, so I'm back to it.

Notice how I didn't talk about how tired I am and how busy I am and how gruelling this is? I'm not in the mood to repeat myself- you must be getting sick of hearing it.

I guess I really am distancing myself from middle management...

Innovative Blood Lust

I had my first Rugby game yesterday.
I liked it. My ankle hurts like nobody's business at the moment, so I don't know if it's because of the general pitch turf and using cleats, or if it's because there are serious problems with my ankle... nothing some ibuprohen, a tensor bandange and an hour of yoga this morning didn't help a lot with.

So- If I can- I'll play some more rugby. If I can't- I'm sure I'll live.

Speaking of living- I'm taking a number of people's advice and making the most of my MBA experience and joined an Innovation Challenge team. I'm also spending as much time possible studying and working. Speaking of working and studying- I'll get back to it.