Monday, March 30, 2015

Year 1: By The Numbers

It's been awhile, so thought I'd provide an update along with some stats.

The first year is nearly done: one semester down and a second almost finished.  I've also completed a Winter "BEST" session (an intensive MBA curriculum that all doctoral students in the business school are required to take over their first two years).  And I've been actively working on research.

So here are some numbers.  I'll update these at the end of this semester.

Semester 1 Classes
  • Pages read for classes: 1,365
  • Classes taken: 3
  • Pages written for classes*: 39
  • Words written for classes*: 13,797
Semester 2 Classes (as of 3/31/2015)
  • Pages read: 2,997
  • Classes taken: 4
  • Pages written*: 35
  • Words written*: 11,118
Active Research Projects
  • Number of active projects: 10
  • Number of experiments conducted: 8
  • Pages written: 108
  • Words written: 28,880
  • Number of non-class presentations: 5
  • Number of slides created for presentations: 66
Other
  • Articles in my citation manager: 502
  • Seminars attended: 28 
  • Cases read for BEST: 21
  • Children born: 1 



*These numbers don't include papers I worked in on classes as part of ongoing research projects; these were exclusively class assignments that didn't contribute to active projects.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Happy Birthday, Addison!


Today, January 15, 2015, Addison LaRae, our fourth child, was born.

She's our first (and likely only) Boston Baby!

She's healthy, and beautiful, and has gorgeous blond hair--just like her mommy!

I'm in love all over again!


Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Imposter!

Moving day is drawing nigh, and I'm overwhelmed and nervous, and am daily more convinced than ever that the adcom at the university I'll be attending made some sort of clerical error when they admitted me, and are now just too embarrassed to tell me, and plan to let me flounder about until I realize it for myself.

I have the worst case of impostor syndrome.

I'm told, though, that it's a condition that afflicts many in this profession, even among faculty in the higher echelons of the profession.  Which is an interesting paradox (might be worth researching, now that I think about it)--but I'm less interested in interesting paradoxes at the moment than I am in some validation.

And now I've resorted to groveling out here in plain view, hoping for someone to tell me "you're gonna do great!"

In all truth, I'm pretty nervous--very excited, but also feeling a great deal of trepidation.  But I'm reminded, almost daily, of how fortunate I am to be surrounded by such an incredible support system.  My wife (who never dreamed of leaving her home town, let alone moving across the country--and who is the least demanding, and most content person I've ever encountered), has turned out to be an amazing cheerleader.

She's told me at least 10 times (a day) that I'm gonna do great, and that we're going to be fine--in fact, that we're going to flourish.

Yes; we're going to flourish.  Despite a move across country; an income a fraction of what it has been; a house half the size of the one we're moving from; snow (that's bigger than you might think for a girl who grew up in a California beach town); and a baby on the way.

Oh, yeah!  I forgot to mention that, years after giving up on having another child--Shawna is pregnant!  We're ecstatic!  But, of course, this adds a level of stress to an already stressful situation.

But back to the point: despite all of this, Shawna is my biggest fan--and is holding me together when my insecurity gets a little too extreme.

And the kids have been amazing!  Alexis is actually looking forward to this (and as the one in our family with the largest social network--by far--I was a little worried about her), and Gentry is pretty excited.  Even Amiyah is excitedly telling everyone she encounters that she's moving to "Boston, Massachusetts" (yeah; she says the city/state combination almost every time--just in case someone is confused, I guess).

So, my team is charged up and ready to go.  With them behind me, I can't go wrong, can I?

Next up: moving truck arrives next week!

Friday, April 25, 2014

Moving

Moving across the country is stressful.

We're moving to a pretty desirable area, which means it's hard to find available places--and when you find them, they're very expensive.  And the availability issue is compounded by the fact that houses are old in the area, and Massachusetts is a pretty paternalistic state, and has some pretty rigid laws regarding children under six living in houses that haven't been deleaded (we have a 4 year old).

And, of course, I'm 3,000 miles away, so when something pops up, I either have to go for it sight unseen, or get out to Boston ASAP to visit.

Preparing for the move is exhausting, too.  We've been married for almost 15 years, and we've accumulated a LOT of stuff over the years.  But there's nothing like quote of $3.35 per cubic foot moving quote to make you question the wisdom of keeping your My Little Pony collection.  And I'm suddenly not so sure that I'll ever actually need to reference issues Model Train Enthusiast from the mid-90s.

But these are all just unfamiliar circumstances that I have to navigate; the stress and uncertainty are just a result of that unfamiliarity.  I've encountered--and conquered--situations far more complex (and complicated) than this.  In just a few months, I'll be fully engrossed in the pursuit of my dream, and this will just be part of the "how we got here" story.

Until then, though: can someone give me the name of a mover who is trustworthy, shows up when they say they'll show up--and is cheap?

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Harvard Bound

As of today, it's official: we're Harvard Bound.

We've been pretty certain of the decision for the last few days, but wanted to sit/sleep/pray on it for a few days before locking it in.  But we've decided.

So here goes!

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Sweating Season

I'll try to remember to keep this list up-to-date with interviews, acceptances (fingers-crossed), and rejections (cringe).

Interviews
  • Wharton: Skype interview (1/17/2014)
  • HBS: Skype interview (1/31/2014)
  • Arizona State University: telephone interview (2/3/2014)
  • Penn State: telephone interview (2/5/2014)
  • University of North Carolina: Interview notification (2/6/2014)
Admits
  • Arizona State University (Email 2/7/2014; Offer declined: 2/21/2014)
  • Harvard Business School (Telephone 2/7/2014; Offer accepted: 2/21/2014)
  • Penn State (Email 2/13/2014; Offer declined: 2/19/2014)
  • Michigan State (Email 2/14/2014; Offer declined: 2/21/2014)
Rejects
  • Wharton (Email 1/29/2014)
  • University of North Carolina (2/19/2014): wonderful call; indicated they would love to have me, but felt like I was leaning elsewhere (based on my conversation with them), and didn't want to run the risk.  Best breakup call ever!
Withdrawn
  • NYU Stern 
  • USC Marshall
  • University of Michigan, Ross




Where I Applied

A list of the programs I applied to (not in order of significance or desirability--in fact, in no particular order at all):


  • Harvard Business School (Management, DBA)
  • University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler (OB)
  • University of Michigan, Ross (Management)
  • University of Southern California, Marshall (Management and Organizations)
  • The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (Management)
  • Michigan State University, Broad (OB/HR)
  • Arizona State University, Carey (Management)
  • Pennsylvania State University, Smeal (Management and Organizations)
  • New York University, Stern (Management)