Study Tour Presentation

This was the follow up to our International Study Tour where the group presented events from our trip and discussed highlights.  I was a little disappointed on the turn out from Class 10.  I believe only 3 students from Class 10 showed up.  That was the same number of alumni from previous classes that showed up to the presentation.  Not sure what choices Class 10 will have, but I'm sure they'll have a blast.

There was tons of food from cheese and meats to kabobs and empanadas, and it was all good.  There was wine as well, even Malbec!  I ate a ton. It was great!  HAHA

Globalization is good!

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We learned that globalization, free trade, outsourcing, or whatever you want to call it is good....for almost everybody.  Free trade allows countries to exploit their comparative advantage, which benefits the country and provides consumers with cheaper goods.  Globalization helps companies run more efficiently and increases profitability which makes shareholders happy. Everybody wins!...except for the losers like the people who lose their jobs and the companies/countries that don't have a comparative advantage, which is where protectionism comes in!

Breakfast: assorted muffins & breakfast breads, meats & cheeses, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt & granola, fruit. We had the typically breakfast with the exception of having coffee cake and assorted muffins.  They went all out on this one.  The coffee cake and the muffin ended up being too much for me as I didn't finish the muffin.  I know! How can that be!  I shoulda eatin 2 muffins!

Lunch: Dixie's BBQ with pork ribs, chicken, beef brisket, garden salad, potato salad, veggie baked beans, rolls, fruit.  One word: R I B S ! ! !  That's becoming one of my favorite 4 lettered words along with eggs and food  =)   The Dixie's BBQ chicken and beef brisket was good, but I enjoyed the pork ribs the most.  I can't remember how many ribs I ate, but I remember that I had the ITIS all afternoon. haha

People, Structure, Culture!

Those are the intangible resources that feed (my hands are coming together and making an upward motion) into and support the value related processes, which in turn provide organizational performance and results that we want.  At least, this is what Greg Bigley aka Ben Stiller tells us.  You laugh, but you know it's true.  He looks just like him!

Dinner: create your own gyros with pita, chicken, lamb, and beef, olive & artichoke salad with mache lettuce, crudités of cucumber & carrot with hummus, and spanakopita.  That's a really description menu to say gyros with toppings =).  I actually really liked this dinner, but I think this was the meal where I may have upset the caterer.  As you can see, I could only fit one gyro, so afterwards, I went back to get a second gyro.  The caterer made a comment to me about not having any more tomatoes from what was out there, so I told him that he shoulda brought more tomatoes. =\  Next thing I know, a sign was posted up which said something about not getting seconds on dinner as there may not be enough food.  That was the first time I had seen such a sign for dinner during the program.

Welcome back!

This was actually my first class session after the break for the last quarter.  It feels to say that it's our last quarter of the program =)   So yeah, I missed the first class day of the quarter which was a Saturday.  It's always tough to miss a Saturday, but I hope it wasn't too bad since it's the first class of the quarter.  Besides, my parents may have gotten really upset if I didn't show up to my sister's wedding...

Dinner: mixed green salad, braised Chicken Cacciatore, Vegetarian Lasagne Roulades, fruit, garlic bread.  The chicken cacciatore was tender and tasty.  As you can see, I got the lasagne as well.  I thought it was part of the dinner, so I apologize if I took the vegetarian meal option that night.  The salad was good with the tomatoes.  The fruit, which I've noticed in a few dinners, is a welcome additional, as long as it's an additional and not a replacement that is.

5 down, 1 to go!

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Last class day of the 5th Quarter!  We can see the light!  Everyone knows that graduation is just around the corner.  Just 3 more classes, and we'll be done with the program.  It's kinda exciting!  And, a group of us will be going to the International Study Tour trip to Santiago and Bueno Aires over the break.  I'm looking forward to it, but first, need to finish up these exams. =\

Dinner: Chicken Picatta, salad, sides.  This meal was actually pretty good, even though it was chicken.  Maybe cuz it was fried and/or the cheese and sauce on top.  Maybe cuz it had rice. haha.  Whatever the case, I enjoyed this meal. Grill veggies, simple Caesar salad. All good stuff!  I know...I was just happy that it was the last class for the quarter =)

HomeGrocer.com Cluster F!

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It's great to have connection like Professor Suresh, or maybe it's the University/Program....little bit of both? =)  We had the original CEO of HomeGrocer.com, Terry Drayton, come speak to us about his venture and details of what had happened with the merger with Webvan. It was great to listen to him speak and get his point of view on what had happened, and of course, his learnings and takeaways. I really enjoyed it!

Breakfast: Donuts & coffee cake, hard boiled eggs, meat/cheese platter, fruit, yogurt, toast, rice cakes.  We may have had coffee cake, but as you can see above, I got this cinnamon roll thingy, which was pretty good.  Other than that, it was the regular Saturday breakfast.  We had our last Saturday of the quarter on the Seattle campus.

Lunch: Philly Steak sandwiches, chips, salad.  The philly cheesesteak sandwich was okay.  I believe some people liked it more than others.  The pasta salad and frito chips were decent as well.  Dessert!  We don't get that as often anymore, which prolly pushed this meal into the "good" meal cuz of it.

Laying down the Law!

We were fortunate enough to have a couple of guys form a local law firm to speak with us about IP, Copyrights, Trademarks, Patents, etc., and how they are applied in a technical environment.  It was good to have these discussions as it's something we all should think about, especially if you're going to have your own business.

Dinner: old fashioned meatloaf, roasted red potatoes, baby greens in raspberry vinaigrette, breads.  The meatloaf was okay. It kinda fell apart, but it tasted fine.  It's not chicken, remember. I liked the asparagus and the salad was good cuz I think it had mandarin oranges.  Overall, a pretty decent meal. I'd say above avg for the program. haha