In my marketing strategy class we started a simulation that our entire class is competing in. We get to research fake products that have different dimensions and satisfy five different segments that the software outlines. This is already proving useful in giving us an opportunity to see how our decisions as managers effects our company’s bottom line. Not only that, but the decisions that we make are weighted against our competition to make it even more real. This term is chopped full of fun software and simulations that will give me way more insight into business, marketing and management. I love grad school!

In late February, the finance class I’m taking at Atkinson Graduate School of Management(Willamette) started a stock market simulation. I have learned a lot and enjoyed this simulation extensively. The first day I acted on a dumb, uneducated guess on a few stocks that had risen over 5% that day. Within a week, I had lost almost $100,000 of my initial $1,000,000. Since then, I have been reading a good amount(and listening to my finance professor) and am now profitable over 25%. Over that same period the S&P is up 9% and overall the market is up almost 500 points. It has been a good time for investors even with joblessness and the threat of Greece’s economy failing. Now of course it is much easier investing fake dollars and as my professor said, “It takes a large fortune to make a small one.” I look forward to earning my spot in our economy and having the ability to invest my real money.

I know. I have been violating rule #1 in blogging. I haven’t been posting regularly or at all for that matter. The MBA program down at Willamette is who I will blame, but the blame is all mine.

Anyways, back to the blogging and I need to remember rule #2. Blogging should be about what you love and you always have time for what you love.

Can you forgive me?

Beginning an MBA program sound daunting, intensive and downright dumb sometimes, but so far so good. The first week is almost finished and we’ve had group meetings, lectures, assignments and team building. I bet that we’re right on track.

I had the good fortune to land a GA position and will be working with Professor Paul Dwyer. I am really looking forward to it as we are going to be looking at Facebook or Twitter Apps and deducing the viral effect. I am going to be reading about the back-end of these apps so look for some tips coming soon.

I feel like a dry sponge that is just beginning to absorb the water around it. Still a bit stiff, but getting there.

As I fell violently down from the platform, my heart thumping loud in my ears, the thought that crossed my mind was not what I expected. After dropping almost 20 feet with my partner the steel mesh wire tightened and began to swing us out over the hillside and up into the massive trees growing outside of Salem, OR. As our bodies began to fall back towards earth we were over 80 feet off the ground, but it felt as if it were 500. Instead of yelling or crying out for help a distinguishable nose lept from my mouth. MOOOOOOO! This strange sound is what all Eager Fushia Bearcats make when they are startled or excited. I was not excited. Today was one of the most fun, distressing, limit pushing days I can remember. Hopefully, the rest of my MBA experience will mirror my thought as I was plummeting towards earth, “I can’t wait to do this again.”