Midterms, Bubble Wrap, Asset Impairment, Power Tools, Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

That really describes the past week for me. I've been wrapped up in discussing cases surrounding Bubble Wrap, Impairment of Assets and Valuations based upon cash flows, and studying for my first midterm. I'll be honest, there is a major time crunch happening here. Some people are handling it better than others. I would say that I haven't been stressing out as much as other people, but then again, I did spend my Friday night in the study room trying to crack the marketing case. However, in my defense, I place blame squarely on my significant other since her flight was delayed until 11:30pm on Friday.

Other than that, school has been pretty good to me. I've been going to school all day, networking with some companies that I might be interested in working at someday and also exploring other options that I may have never thought about.

One of those options is home improvement. I've grown to love the local hardware store as well as Home Depot and Lowes. In fact, I think I'm going to ask for a power drill for Christmas. All of this started when my marketing class performed a case study on the Black and Decker corporation. I remembered how much I loved playing with power tools. I went home and went on a rampage. I borrowed my friend's drill set and did the following to date:

1. Hung a huge mirror over the couch. This might sound like a minor task, but it was a good intro to the world of power tools and home improvement. After a failed attempt where the hang wire actually was shredded by the mirror hardware and the mirror crashed onto the couch, we figured out a way to safely hang the large mirror so that it wouldn't threaten to behead people relaxing on our furniture.

2. Installed curved shower rods. This, too, may sound like a minor task, but it was a lot more involved than I had thought. These shower rods had to be drilled into the tile. But that brought up an important concept that I hadn't thought about previously. Tile is brittle. And tile shatters if not drilled correctly. So I went to Home Depot and bought some glass and tile bits and the job was pretty easy. It even ended up level in both bathrooms which I was pretty pleased with.

3. Installed wire shelving and drawers in my walk in closet. Now we're starting to move up degree of difficulty. Not only did I have to get the back supports level, but I also had to do this while drilling half inch holes into our walls and utilizing what is called a Toggle Bolt. Basically, it looks like an open alligator clip that flips open once it is on the other side of the drywall. This gives the bolt the ability to support enormous amounts of weight without tearing through the drywall itself. Mission accomplished.

4. Pantry shelving. This was an interesting project since it required me to get inside of the pantry closet, which isn't much bigger than myself. In all honesty, it wasn't much different than the stuff I put in my closet, but it did ratchet up the degree of difficulty since I was working with mixed sized shelving and space requirements.

Next stop, I think I'm going to get a pair of low riding levis so I can show my butt crack and pick up plumbing.

Drunk Blogging

Not that this isn't obvious, but blogging while intoxicated can lead to some pretty interesting results. I'm not sure if any of you caught this, but, yes, I had a couple of drinks when I wrote about japanese salad. In fact, I am at the local pub right now typing while sipping a tasty adult beverage. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale to be precise.

I'm actually getting a little reading done and waiting for my peer advisor to come so we can go through my resume and career plans. Not a bad life. Too bad it will be over before I know it.

Outside of that, things are going a bit better. I have a place to call home. I've met some very cool people at school. My cohort isn't filled with complete idiots. My study group is actually intelligent. And I had a chance to connect with one of my professors at his office hours. I think I'm getting a ton accomplished, but as it is with anything, there is always much more that I could be doing.

This weekend is the Ohio State game. Everything practical tells me to stay at home and get some reading done and sell my ticket, but I think that I should go to the game. After all, going to business school isn't all about school and grades. Alot of it has to do with experiencing new things, meeting new people and seeing things that you would never see at home.

I actually think I am down to a schedule. If I manage things correctly, I think I can actually start working out again. Things have been just too hectic lately.

Japanese Salad

No, I'm not talking about the mini salad that you get from Benihana with the ginger dressing. Instead, I'm talking about my pitiful existence and the fact that I couldn't find proper silverware and I was forced to eat salad with two sticks that somewhat resembled chopsticks instead of a fork. Also, I was forced to check email by "wardriving" around the neighborhood since our internet service can't get turned on until September 11. An even then, they promised they will be at our new condo between 8am and 5pm. Thanks! No, I really mean it. Thank you very much. You are awesome for providing such an accurate response time.

On another note, we closed on our condo today. It feels great to be a homeowner. It feels even better to know that I'll probably qualify for in state tuition next year. But what feels best is that I actually own something and I'm not burning money in rent every month.

Well, enough for tonight. I've got to watch the video about the "Hopi River." I'll give details on that later.