I did not know about the cheat sheet before coming to business school. I had no idea! When we were first told we were allowed to use one, I felt like I had won an adjustable mood ring in a plastic bubble from one of those prize machines with the claw. WHAT?? You can just bring a double-sided 8×11 sheet with key formulas written out to an exam?? In reality, it’s not as easy as it seems; if you don’t understand the material (at least loosely), it won’t help you that much.
Man, creating a cheat sheet for an exam is so weird when you stop and think about it. It’s like, “My entire semester is reduced to this?” Here is what my Managerial Economics cheat sheet looked like today:
But I was thinking how funny it would be if I showed up to every exam I take with just this like, “This is all I need, bitchezzzz!”:
NO WAY! I’m not a huge fan of Fendi, but this is kind of cool. For $1,300 you can get a Paint-Your-Own Baguette kit from eLuxury. Ok, the excitement has worn off for me, but it’s still worth mentioning.
Well, I was going to write about my new favorite product and how it works magically, but the ladies at The Beauty Brains had to go and ruin it for me. I’ve been totally obsessed with Smashbox O-GLOW, the “intuitive cheek color” that is clear in the tube and then turns a cupcake-frosting pink when applied. Aaand, it turns out it’s all a lie. You can READ ALL ABOUT IT here. Apparently you can apply it to anything - even inanimate objects - and it’ll turn pink. You know what? I don’t care. It is my Official Summer Product. That and MAC Clear Lipglass. It is the summer of product in a tube. So there.
I finally received my Nike+ SportBand on Monday after pre-ordering from Nike.com. I decided to take it out for a spin today. Here are my observations:
Design:Pretty cool, very lightweight
Function: Weeell…
The USB connector is poorly designed when it comes to actually inserting it into your laptop. It has a slight curve to it so as to fit the contour of the band but if your laptop is on a flat surface (such as a desk), it won’t plug in properly or at all. So weird that Nike didn’t think of that - did they test it at all?! This reminds me of the Nokia N-GAGE case we read for IT Strategy…sidetalkin’…haha.
Also, Pause vs. Stop Workout is sort of unclear. Perhaps I should read the manual but since there’s only one button it’s kind of hard to figure out. I really do like the audio cues you get when using the iPod+.
The battery life is only two hours. Not that I can run for that long, but it means you have to be conscious about keeping it charged. It does have a battery indicator on the screen so that helps.
The screen is easy to read and toggling between Distance/Pace/Calories while running is also pretty simple.
Botom Line: Eh. Not sure how I feel about it yet. I’ll still listen to my iPod while running, but I’ll continue to use the SportBand (partially out of necessity, since my Nano screen is busted and I can’t navigate to the Nike+ menu). It’s not bad for $60.
BTW - am I the first person to use this thing? I couldn’t find reviews by people who had actually used it anywhere!
Someone should really warn you about business school.
I’m sitting in my Strategy class and feeling wistful, thinking about that first traumatic day at the beginning of the semester - the day I was introduced to the cold call picker, or as I like to call it, the “mean fox”.
Let me set the stage for you: I’m sitting in class, having read the first case (on Ducati, pretty cool case, whatevz) but not really sure what to expect. My cohort-mates and I had been trained in the Ways of Melvyn, our first-semester marketing professor who had us prepare each case meticulously. Melvyn had a weakness, though – if you looked prepared, he didn’t call on you. Not sure if it was subconscious or what b/c I was always prepared and I never got called on but the people that were sitting there shuffling their papers always did. Anyway, so I’m sitting there all pleased with myself and my case preparation. Here’s what happens: Professor introduces himself and mentions that he’s really quite friendly despite previous-year student complaints that he’s “arrogant and unapproachable.” Cool. Then, the projector comes down. We see an application with a list of all of our names up on the screen. Channeling Al Pacino in Scarface, Professor says, “Say hello to my little friend” and presses a button on his desktop with what looks like a jumping fox on it. The names begin to scroll quickly until he presses the button again. It lands on a name. And so began my first experience with a cold-call picker. The mean fox. BTW, I don’t think the mean fox is so random considering it picked me when we did the Gucci case. I know, RIGHT?
Things You Should Know About Business School
You get a big-ass name card and you have to have it on you at all times, otherwise the professor might call you “Heidi”.
You pretty much have to create a powerpoint for every time you go to the bathroom.
“Open book, open notes” isn’t as good as it sounds.
If you don’t already have an annoying, dysfunctional family that’s all up in your grill all day, you have one now!
Ok, I SO should not be blogging right now b/c I’m working on a take-home Strategy final due tomorrow at 8AM. BUT I’m in the library right now and I must say I’m struck by the number of Nicole-Richie-Three-Years-Agothrowbacks that attend this fine School of Management. I am certain they’re undergrads. But COME ON! Those damn big ass grandma glasses don’t look good on you! I lovelovelove Nicole Richie and think she’s like the most beautiful ever. This horribly unflattering picture below is just meant to illustrate what I have to fight to get to class every day. TOTALLY jejune!
Reading my friend Pauline’s post about wanting to swim with pigs in the Bahamas reminds me of Jamaica. There’s a place called Braco Stables where you can ride horses bareback, in the water. Their ad is all like “Once upon a time I rode a seahorse into paradise…I winked at the waves.” Is it just me or is this not totally weird and somewhat inhumane? Look at this picture! The horses all look tired and pissed off from having to chauffeur snotty-nosed kids around all day. Like, you’re not even riding them, they’re being pulled along. And, um, technically…they’re not seahorses. WHY DO THIS? And also, why would you wink at the waves? That sounds kind of condescending, like “Ha Ha, waves, look at me! Aren’t I special, riding this here horse?” But the pigs are cool. Totally different story; you’re swimming with them, not on them.
According to Nielsen’s 2008 Global Luxury Brands Survey, Gucci is #1 and Louis Vuitton a paltry #4. Idk, LV is still the best in my book. In my opinion, Marc Jacobs revitalized LV more than Tom Ford did Gucci - at least from a creative perspective. Jacobs is a true artist and Ford is just a perverted businessman.
I’m a huge fan of my Nike+ iPod. And during my week of technology revolting against me (my crappy HP tablet died the week a presentation was due - thank goodness for Buzzword and Google Groups), the screen on my Nano cracked, which I suppose was my fault and now I can’t track my runs because I can’t get to the Nike+ menu to activate it. So what I want to know is:
a) WHY THE HELL DOES NIKE+ NOT WORK WITH ANY OTHER iPODS?
b) Is it worth me buying the new Nike+ SportBand that comes out on April 18th?
The SportBand looks pretty cool, but I’m not sure if it’s worth the hype. When you compare it with using Nike+ iPod, I think it falls short. I kind of like hearing Lance Armstrong tell me that I reached a personal best on my iPod. BUT, I really dislike the shape of the 3rd generation Nano and I have a video iPod so why buy another iPod? I’m kind of stuck here.
My teammates think I’m joking. For one of our final projects this semester, we had to pick a public company to do some economic analysis on. And basically, the fewer the inputs and/or goods that the company manufactures the better since it makes the project easier. Jewelry? Chocolate? Nope. Disgusting sandal made out of Croslite, some proprietary material that makes your foot look like a neon, bulbous clown wart? Yes. Why, oh, why? I tried my best to veto, I kicked and screamed, I tried to explain to them the aesthetic aversion I’ve had to Crocs since they were released to the public, like toxins from a nuclear explosion but it’s too late. PITY ME!
Yes, I have been locked up in business school. Since I last wrote, I have amassed a ridiculous amount of information in my brain, which, I’m afraid if I tilt my head, will somehow pour out like sand and then I’ll have lost everything. I am wiped out from running everything through Porter’s Five Forces and [insert myriad other buzzwords/frameworks here]. So, I decided to go tanning, possibly the most brainless thing I could think of. And it was amazing. I highly recommend it.
Who needs the Caribbean?*
*Note: I found this picture on the internet - I’ve never actually seen a tanning bed that looks like this and if you have please let me know ASAP and I am SO there.
I’ve been running for a little while now. Well, if you want the full history, I won many a bronze medal on the elementary school racetrack at P.S. 91 and then in high school I ran the 400 meter dash on the varsity track team. Yeah, I had a varsity track jacket and everything and have it saved to this day mainly as evidence because everyone that knows me now knows me as an extremely lazy person. Oh, not to mention I completed the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge one year in a row. Yes, I did pretty much walk the whole way and by the time I reached the finish line they were actually tearing down all the signs and dismantling the tents and all of the finish-line water squirters had gone home, but whatevz. I have the t-shirt to prove that too.
Anyway, what’s my point? My point is that now I run. I am a Runner. And only a real Runner knows what an uglyface is and has one. I wish I knew what mine looks like but I imagine I look somewhat like this, especially when I run up a hill.
Also, I just got these Nike Shox Turbo + Vs, but apparently, according to real Runners the Shox aren’t very good on the achilles tendon. But they are so totally pretty and my stance (on pretty much everything) is, if you want to be official, you need to first look official.
I went to a new dentist today and he prescribed me some Valium to take before my follow-up visit next week. This is pretty much how the conversation went after one hour of me squeezing a white stress ball shaped like a molar (on which I noticed a cavity on the lingual side BY THE WAY) like I was trying to milk a rock or whatever.
Dentist: “I’m prescribing you Valium. It will take the edge off.”
Me (thinking to myself): “How does he know about The Edge?”
Dentist: “Take one or two this weekend just to see what it’s like.”
Seriously, what if Valium takes the edge off of my life? And I love it?
On a side note…WHAT?!?! So, he’s not only handing me the promise of a halcyon, edge-free life, but he’s also condoning recreational drug use. I actually said, “Dr. So-and-So, you’re condoning recreational drug use?”
What at first glance looks like something that should be called the iRazor is actually a “next generation” hair removal system that uses “gentle heat waves” to “painlessly destroy hair follicles”. This looks interesting. But what the hell was Sephora’s marketing department thinking? Couldn’t they come up with something better than “no!no!”? I thought they were trying to promote the fact that it’s painless. Unless the name is referring to the fact that the hair is unwanted…a “no-no”, if you will. But then there would be a hyphen separating the “no”s. Why the emphatic exclamation points??? Oh well, at least the “no”s aren’t in caps. It’s really bothering me. Perhaps I will write to Sephora to inquire about the etymology of the “no!no!”.
Do you know who is worse than the person who asks how your weekend was so they can tell you about theirs? It’s the person that comes in and declares loudly “Boy am I beat after the weekend I just had!” hoping that everyone within earshot will think to themselves “Wow, so-and-so must be so popular and important, I wish I were popular and important. I will ask so-and-so what they did this weekend because it will KILL ME if I don’t know and maybe next weekend I will do what so-and-so did and I will be popular and important too.” I like to not give those people the bait at all. Like even if it’s just me and them and they say “I can’t believe how late I was up last night!” I just ignore it.
Also, I was on the T this morning minding my business, doing my Metro crossword and two women sat on either side of me and proceeded to talk over me. They were making loud touristy comments like, “Oh, this is not as crowded as the NY subway” and “Park Street, that’s the one we want!” and “Are we sure we want to get off at Park Street?” They were both literally turned towards me and were conversing OVER me. At one point, I thought the one to my left was going to place her coffee cup and muffin on my leg and start eating on it.
Whatevz, maybe this cute puppy will make it all go away.
Up until yesterday, I considered myself to be quite a hyphy individual. I really thought I had it down, but somewhere along the lines I must have lost my edge. Let’s see…
I have my stunna shades AND my Vans on
I practically invented the Thizzle Dance
I don’t even need to get stupid to get stupid
Yet somehow, I must have missed the memo on ghost riding the whip. WTF? I’m going to ghost ride the train to the DMV so I can get me a driver’s license immediately!
Remember how I saved $90 on those two Financial Accounting textbooks and I walked around all smug and self-satisfied for a week? Well I decided to purchase my Corporate Finance book via the same channel. This is what I got:
This is great, just great…I’m going to be that kid in class with the K-Mart sneakers again. Perhaps I can start a trend and cut up one of my old Louis Vuitton bags and make a cover for it or something because out of principle, I refuse to buy a legit version of this textbook. Ironically, this one cost $90.
I am offering 3 unopened packs of YO! MTV Raps Trading Cards and some Funky Cold Medina to the person that submits the best entry for my “About Me” page. I would write it myself but I have, like, so many other important things to do.
So, since you may not have the pleasure of actually knowing anything about me, here are some facts to work with (the rest you can make up):
I was born in Romania
I like silly things, funny things, shiny things and stupid things
I’m 5′8″ (so, technically I’m more like “La Grande Princesse”)
I cannot guarantee that you will receive the Tone Loc card pictured below (hell, don’t blame me if they’re all Vanilla Ice) but I pinkie swear that if you send me your address or a P.O. Box (I know, I’d be a little frightened of me, too) I will mail you the cards and you will love them.
Seriously. If you ask me for the time, I have to look at my watch for 5 seconds (longer if the minute hand is approaching 12) before I can even give you a ballpark estimate. My point is, I can’t tell time and I don’t care - I really superduper OMGlovelovelove the Chanel J12. And basically, at around $10,000 a piece, I can either go to business school or buy ten of these and wear five on each arm.
Here is the J12 with a custom after-market (what is this, a car?) 1 carat diamond bezel and a 2 carat diamond addition to the ceramic band. I like the original bezel much better (the quality is evident), but am totally a proponent of more diamonds.
Have you seen the commercials for CBS’ new reality show, Kid Nation? 40 kids ages 8-15 are tasked with creating a functional pioneer-style society in a deserted New Mexico town with absolutely no adult supervision.
This promises to be, quite possibly, the most annoying show to hit television. In the interest of time, I was going to recommend only watching the first minute and a half, but the entire thing is hilarious. Take a look!
Hahaha, I’m still laughing at the part where they all start crying.
DuWop, the maker of one of my all-time favorite lip gloss “suites”, if you will (Lip Venom, Venom Flash, Venom Gloss), has now come out with a SCANDALOUS new product that I want to try immediately - Lip Venom 2ND SIN! It’s “2ND SIN” because I’m yelling as I write this.
For a mere $27 this product promises ”immediate plumping results as the lips swell continuously for hours“(WHAT?!) and also “works over time after repeated use to create a larger pout.” Only available at Sephora.
If you’ve seen my Reviews page, you know that I love to completely gorge myself on anything délicieux and then purge because how else am I supposed to maintain this (KIDDING)?
Boston Restaurant Week is August 5-10 & 12-17 and as a seasoned participant, I’d like to offer some tips:
OMG 3 courses for $20.07 (lunch) and $33.07 (dinner)? WHAT??? Make your reservations NOW since these places book up fast! Most participating restaurants allow you to reserve online at OpenTable.The whole point of Restaurant Week is that you get to try the places you wouldn’t normally be able to afford on a regular basis. If the average price of an entree is under $22 (this is not an arbitrary number, I’ve performed a detailed economic context analysis here), skip it. For example, Vinny T’s (glorified Olive Garden), Eastern Standard, Brasserie JO and Petit Robert Bistro are on the list this year and while I really like the latter three and wholeheartedly recommend them, they’re affordable enough that you’re wasting your time.
Some places only offer the prix fixe menu for lunch. Pay attention when you make your reservation otherwise you’re in for an expensive (and potentially embarrasing) evening where you show up at Radius feeling really important, order your three courses and some really expensive drinks too because hey, why not, the food’s cheap only to find that when you get the check $33.07 is now $333.07 because you paid full price for everything. That happened to someone I know and I they were totally mortified.
I’m absolutely enamored by all things shiny, shimmery and sparkly. My girl Samantha shares the same condition and actually, reading her blog reminded me that I forgot to mention one more thing I never leave home without - my David Yurman Petite Albion Citrine ring.
FYI - typically, most stores (Saks, Neiman Marcus) carry only sizes 6 and 7. I just called the new David Yurman store in Boston to see if they can resize it for me, because it is a bit loose. Saks had originally told me it’ll take about 3 weeks and they don’t recommend it because of the detailing on the band and it looks like that’s the case with the DY store as well.
My toes are curling in anticipation of that delicious feeling one gets when she slips on her Uggs after a summer of exposing herself in sandals. I know Uggs are totally jejune and unfeminine and bulbous and tasteless and all, and I really do feel like everytime I wear them, the spirit of fashion dies a little (on the inside) BUT…I can’t wait to wear them in the cheesiest, most cliche, Jessica Simpson, baggy-sweatshirt-and-leggings-with-tall-chestnut-Uggs kind of way.
I absolutely love Juicy velour tracksuits! I stay away from the terry stuff in the summer (the quality’s not that great), but when this time of year arrives, I get really excited because that’s when the new fall colors come out. My favorite this year is Angel (pictured below). I prefer the track jackets to the hoodies - they look classier (as classy as a tracksuit can possibly look). FYI - if you wash it inside out it will help keep the velour poofier and softer.
My friend Julia says she can’t help but be attracted to any piece of clothing or accessory with a bow on it. The same goes with me and hearts. I love how Juicy puts hearts on absolutely everything. Maybe I’m having a momentary lapse of judgement, but I can’t tell if these shoes (the ‘Melissa’ flats) are horrible or not. I do know that I’d like to try them on with the tracksuit above.
I really want this bag (the ‘Royal Fairytale’) for school and can’t find it anywhere. It looks sturdy enough to carry my laptop and a couple of textbooks. It’s on the Juicy website but nowhere else yet.
My LV Speedy: I rarely go anywhere without this, it’s like an extension of me and looks great with seriously any outfit, including a baggy sweatshirt, sweatpants and Uggs.
My Blackberry Pearl: I had it first.
My Gucci shades: I know they’re men’s sunglasses but I saw them and fell in love and even though I have a pretty large head I feel like they cover up my entire face in a totally un-Nicole Ritchie sunglasses kind of way and I like that.
My iPods: So I can watch Entourage and Ugly Betty so I don’t feel compelled to shoot daggers at the people eating entire breakfast spreads on the train.
When buying books, I like to consider the cost per page. The lower the CPP, as I’ve dubbed it, the more likely I am to purchase. In 2000, I found a copy of David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest on sale at a CPP of $0.006. That’s $0.001 more than the CPP of Victor Hugo’s Le Miserables (the Signet Classic). WOW. Even the Guiness World Record title holder for longest novel ever written - Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time - has a retail CPP of $.01.
Anyway, I digress. I just bought these super hot textbooks, BRAND NEW, for $90. And the campus bookstore is charging $180. Now THAT’s financial accounting in an economic context!
NOT!!! OMG, I totally want Bling H20 for reals. But seriously, I don’t even drink water and I must have a bottle of this stuff. I bet it makes you pee diamonds.
People who eat on the T really piss me off. I just don’t get it. Do you not have any self control? How hungry do you have to be that you can’t wait a maximum of 1 hour to eat? According to the new and improved MBTA website, a commute on the C line is approximately a 47-54 minute ride from Lechmere to Cleveland Circle. I realize I can’t account for the riding times of those on other lines or those transferring to/from the Commuter Rail, but I mean really, still, come on…a burrito? Chinese take-out? TWO slices of pizza?? And you’re just spreading it out on the seat adjacent to yours where just minutes ago an old man farted before he got off at Coolidge Corner? You really must have not a care in the world if you are eating a full meal on the T. Either that or you have all the cares in the world and this is your only opportunity to eat. Mother Theresa eating a full dinner spread on the T - that I would have no problem with.
Eating on the T is not only disgusting, it’s actually prohibited (at least on THE RIDE and the Bloom bus, whatever that is, but still I am writing a letter to them right now to confirm that it is or they think it should be).
He is cute and I love him whoever he is but I still would not eat off of his seat.
I went into American Apparel this weekend to return some shirts expecting a full refund. Things did not go as planned. Granted, MY BAD for not paying attention to the practically flourescent sign on the counter (”EXCHANGES/STORE CREDIT ONLY”) but why oh why, angry edgy shop girl did you have to act so, well, edgy when I asked for a refund? So then I started fantasizing about what would happen if I found out this woman’s schedule and just started a cycle of exchanges that lasted for years and years. For decades. Like in my fantasy, we’re both like 50 years old and she’s still working there and every weekend I slap another pair of gold lamé tights on the counter or whatever’s au courant and every time she’s like, “Reason for return?” in this really sour, raspy voice and I’m like, “It just didn’t fit quite right” in this really annoying, matter-of-fact voice. And that is the dialogue for years and years and we’re like 90 years old. Well, guess what? That romper I exchanged for on Saturday? It really just didn’t fit quite right. So back to AA it is!
By the way, I would completely boycott American Apparel if it weren’t for their Unisex Tri-Blend Short Sleeve Deep V-Neck. That’s why I would settle for this:
I get really bothered by people that try to be different for the sake of being different, people who try to differentiate themselves primarily through their appearances or the subcultures they belong to prove to the world that they’re not like everyone else.
Since I have a migraine that’s currently preventing me from adequately going on about this issue at the length I believe it warrants, I decided to design a t-shirt that would convey my distaste:
Since I’m pretty much going to be spending the next two years of my life shopping at Old Navy and eating ramen noodles, I’ve been fantasizing about what my last pre-business school purchase will be. I figure I need to go out with a bang. A pretty big one. While I haven’t narrowed it down yet, I have come up with some criteria:
Must be a timeless piece (or at the least, something that when I look at it when I’m in the library at 11pm on a Friday night will motivate me to work even harder)
If you think this is a big mistake let me know, but I must warn you that I’m pretty stubborn when it comes to shiny things. I feel like I’m not going to shut up about the nameplate. I don’t know if I trust a site called “14kzone“ with my credit card, though.
Why am I so obsessed with what tokidoki does with the skull-and-crossbones design? Two years ago, I swore I would not fall prey to the whole urban pirate fad. And yet, here are two more of my Summer 2007 signature pieces:
I’m probably way behind the times here, but this past weekend I discovered Disney Couture. Rather, I discovered this, the pièce de résistance of my Summer 2007 accessory collection:
Swarovski crystals, white lucite, gold (plated, but hey)…I originally fell in love with it at Karmaloop, but then found it online at Label 360. It arrived yesterday wrapped in some very edgy skull-and-crossbones tissue paper. I think I might sleep with it under my pillow tonight.
What, praytell, is a “lifehack”? I’ve recently come across this term and find it utterly ridiculous. Enough people are hacking my life on a daily basis, why would I want to hack my own? And by virtue of living aren’t I “lifehacking”? Or is my living more of a “deathhack”?
I am told that nameplates aren’t very classy, but hot damn do I want one. A really obnoxious one with the first letter of my name covered in diamond shavings and the rest in 14-kt gold script. Scratch that. I want my entire name covered in diamond shavings. And since my name is really short, I’ll have to get a new name with at least 8 letters like Veronica, which is the name I wanted when I was 12.
