I'd love to take the time to say CONGRATULATIONS to all Alpha Lamda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma members for winning the Order of the Torch award as one of the top 5 chapters in the NATION!

I'd also like to say congratulations to the new officers of Alphar Lamda Delta and Eta Phi Sigma!

Candidates sent in an application to be considered. A large amount of people applied and they decided to go with Co-Presidents! The new officers are as follows:

ALD Presidents:
> Gayle Brunner
> Stephanie Flagg

PES Presidents:
> Ashley Horstmann
> Jenae Huffman

ALD VP:
> Tiffany Blackgrove

PES VP:
> Amanda Hartman

ALD Secretary:
> Meredith Lindgren

PES Secretary:
> Erica Foreman

ALD Treasurer:
> Stephen Reusser

PES Treasurer:
> Jennifer VanMeter

ALD Membership/Publicity:
> Brittany Moser

PES Membership/Publicity:
> Rose Soliven

ALD Historian:
> Samantha Deitz

PES Historian:
> Katrina Durbin

ALD Webmaster:
> RJ Finch

PES Webmaster:
> Edgar Torres Ponce

If you'll notice, I've been elected Treasurer of Phi Eta Sigma!

Riding the Rapids!

One minute your stuck on a large bolder, then next your on top of the world, the next your under your raft grasping something to pull you out of the water, and finally your stuck on a bolder.  This was the story of our trip down the Pestigo River in Wisconsin.

My brother’s family and my family enjoy white water rafting.  Last year we went on a river in Montana that is fed by the melting glaciers in Glacier National Park.  They estimate fewer than 30 years for these glaciers.  According to the ranger, they were at least twice the size when my family visited these when I was a child, about 30 years ago.  Comparing pictures from then to pictures we took last year, I would have to agree.

The Pestigo River can be quite the ride also, but water levels were low.  Only one-man rafts were allowed.  The owner said that he’d have to issue hiking boots for part of the river if it go any lower.  It was definitely a good workout, as we got stuck on many of the boulders in the river, many totally unavoidable, like a dam with hundreds of holes letting the water through.  Despite the many low areas where my raft got stuck, the journey was great fun.  The best parts were riding over the 5 foot falls, going over a smaller 4-foot falls, and then a longer rapids that moved down about 15 feet over a 50 foot stretch of the river.  The final portion was smooth sailing.

Below is a link to the company we road with.  I also attached a group shot in my picture space online.
http://www.kosirs.com/rapidsreport.html

There’s a lot of parallels between business and riding the rapids.  You can’t let the issues that you get stuck on prevent you from finding the way to your goal.  You can’t change direction (mission) just because of a few bumps in the road.  A business that jumps from one product to the next never develops competency in anything and will suffer in the long run.  Finally, hitting the right market is like a successful ride through the rapids, it's well worth the effort.  However, as our guide warned, don’t take you eyes off the path ahead to admire the past journey too long, conditions change and half the people thrown out of their raft (bankrupt) will not see the next change in the river and capsize, even in the calmer part of the journey.

Wedding are always a great time! The excitement of starting a new life together, moving into a new place,…This excitement was evident on both Ben and Bryanne’s faces as they said their vows and talked about their wedding.  I know they are on the right track starting together.

No they were not part of the record wedding crowd on 7/7/7.  July 7, 2007 broke a record in the US for the number of weddings performed.  I guess 7’s are Lucky.  I asked my niece, Bryanne, why they choose the 14th and not the 7th.  She planned her wedding well over a year ago, but the hall was already booked for the 7th.  Now the 14th will always be their lucky number.  For my wife and I, it’s the 13th.  We were married on the 13th of August and we both graduated from college on the 13th.

The service was wonderful.  The church is a traditional steeple church with an alter designed in the 1930’s or 40’s.  I like the old style gothic church buildings with the tall steeples, high roofs, and alter settings.

View my blog pictures for a picture of the happy couple.

Weddings are also a great family reunion.  It was great getting together with family and friends that I had not seen in ages.  It’s also fun trying to get the kids out on the dance floor, or in my case, just remembering how to dance.  I’d post some pictures, but my kids would probably not talk to me for a week if I posted pictures of them dancing on my blog.

About nine months ago I made a fateful decision – it was time to upgrade to an HDTV.  For years I had lived with a 20-inch RCA TV/DVD combo, which seemed sad for a guy in his 20’s.  I could never get anyone to come over for a game and, though my fiancé and I love movies, it’s hard to get excited watching a 2-inch version of Tom Cruise as Maverick or Cole Trickle ("Days of Thunder", remember? - Tom wasn’t always a crazy tabloid headliner more famous for his marriage and his baby than his movies, you know).  After some surprisingly easy negotiations with my future wife, we settled on a 50-in plasma with a built-in DVR, which is every bit as excellent as you would expect.  And that leads us to the point of this post:

Summer is, hands-down, the worst time of the year for television, HDTV or not.  Granted, there a few gems out there ("The 4400" – not in HD, for some absurd reason), but most of our favorites (“How I Met Your Mother”,  “The Office” and the always classic “Law & Order: SVU”) are on perpetual reruns.  The poor DVR has set virtually empty until last week when I discovered a new show – “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” on CNBC.  It’s a nightly talk show that focuses on new ideas, innovative products and entrepreneurship – which makes it a must watch (though maybe not on a nightly basis) for anyone with dreams of running a business or owning their own business, which, if my conversation with incoming freshman are any indication, include more and more Kelley Indianapolis students each year.

If you truly are interested in learning how to own and grow your future business, you could do worse than to supplement what you’ll learn in the classroom by listening to frank conversations with other successful entrepreneurs.  And the host of the show isn’t just one of the random guys you see when you guiltily watch VH1’s "Best Week Ever".  He just so happens to be the Chairman of Deutsch, Inc., one of the nations’ top 10 advertising agencies.  Check out his bio and then check out the show:

As Chairman of Deutsch Inc., Donny Deutsch implemented his "leaner, meaner, faster, smarter" philosophy to transform a small advertising shop into one of the nation’s top 10 agencies. The $2.8 billion full-service agency has provided clients with strategic marketing programs that are intrusive, effective and talked about. Prestigious clients include GM, Johnson & Johnson, DirecTV, Novartis Worldwide, and IKEA.

My best friend got married this weekend! It was an amazing wedding, and I am so glad he married who he did; they are perfect for each other. I made so many good friends at the Kelley School, the type of friends that you keep for life.

Work is great...busier than usual, but since day one I have been busy, so no problems there. I keep learning a lot and still meeting tons of people. A little word of advice, try to learn from everyone as much as you can, you can even learn from the administrators and believe me, they are really helpful. The worst thing one can do is show up in the office believing that one knows everything- that shows arrogance and little humbleness.

It feels like summer is coming to an end, the weather feels cooler and it is starting to get dark earlier. Every summer I have so many plans, but for one reason or another I do not get to do all of them. That is one of the things about life, we have so many lists of things to do before we die, but how many of those do we actually do? Personally, I wish I could balance better my work and personal life. But again, I guess that is part of the learning curve of life. If you have any suggestions, please share!

Keep it simple,

Jaime

Oh my goodness.  If my summer wasn't hectic enough I decided to move while I was taking a full load of summer classes.  Okay so the first time I walked into my new apartment it kind of smelled of cigarette smoke.  I thought it was just from the previous tenant or something.  But the smell started to get stronger and I realized the smell was coming from the downstairs unit.  Also, when I was moving my things in, the next door neighbor's dog was barking ridiculously loud.  It wasn't like a yippy little dog it was a HUGE dog-- I can only imagine the immensely large beast that must have been on the other side of my neighbor's door. 

    Okay so then my parents came up to help me move some more stuff but they said they really couldn't smell the smoke (I think they were just trying to be positive and not get me all worked up).  Well, THEN as I went to wash my hands the water was NOT getting hot.  I asked my dad to look at it and he discovered the breaker switch to the water heater was switched off.  Then my parents decided to tell me that my couch would never fit up the stairs because it was too narrow of a path.  That was the last straw.  I completely broke down at that moment.  "What do you mean my couch won't fit?? Ahhhh!!! I'm gonna be stuck in this stinky, smelly, noisy, and UNFURNISHED apartment for 6 months???"  Now...each of these problems by themselves were not that big of a deal but with the addition of a full load of classes and the fact that i'm EXHAUSTED all four problems turned into a huge fiasco for me. 

   So, my parents tried to reassure me that it didn't smell and that the dog wasn't that loud-- although as they were saying this I had to say "what???" like 3 times just to hear them over the stupid dog. (not really but it would've been a good effect, right?)  Anyway, so they took me out for ice cream and then they went on home an hour away.  I went back to my stinky, lonely, and unorganized apartment only to find the smoke was even worse.  I just sat in the middle of my living room where my beautiful couch was supposed to be... and cried.  I felt like such a baby-- like how I felt on my first day of Kindergarten when my mom said I would have to stay at school ALL DAY without her! I called my sister, who right away put me in my place, and pretty much told me that I was being stupid and that I should go to the leasing office and get it fixed.  She was right. 

    So the next day I got everything resolved.  They let me switch apartments but that meant I had to move AGAIN!!!  So, the only time I had available was after work that day, which meant I had to skip class *HUGE GASP*.  But I got everything moved but to this day things are still in bags and boxes all over my entire apartment.  Maybe I'll just keep it like that since I'm moving again in 6 months.  It'll be easier this way-- less packing! Somehow I am managing to keep my grades up and get my homework turned in on time.  Yay for time management skills!  Oh and I had a really good birthday.  I went out on the lake and got some sun!!! It was so nice to get away from stinky smells and barking dogs!

The Indianapolis Tennis Championships is only one week away (July 20-29). For nearly three months we have been working very hard putting together a world class tennis tournament and we are about to see it all come together. I remember starting my internship wondering, “How could it possible take three months to plan for a nine day event”, but now knowing everything that we have done I feel like three months was not enough time.  I have been to many different events in my life, and been able to enjoy all of them, but I have never really thought how much planning goes into the events. It is truly amazing to see all of the behind the scene action that takes place, everything from paying bills, to getting donations, to ticket sales, and site preparation.  Six full time employees, eight interns, and over 1000 volunteers are needed to put together this event and it will take the coordination of every one of us to make sure it all turns out to be one amazing tournament.  Indianapolis has been home to professional tennis for nearly 100 years now and the people of Indianapolis are lucky to have the ability to attend such an amazing sport spectacle in their back yards. If you have the opportunity you should really try to make it to one day of the tournament and witness world class tennis right here, on the campus of IUPUI, in the heart of the Midwest.

Well, I am happy to report that I survived yet another birthday. I think I'm finally at the age that this annual reminder isn't so welcome any longer.... However, my 27th birthday proved to be not so bad after all.

[Flashback Sequence Music plays....]

I had to work on my birthday, but no big deal. It gave my husband, Jeremy, plenty of time to go out and get me something fabulous! I came home to find a beautiful happy birthday cake waiting on me and a new cd to add to my collection!

As a birthday tradition, my husband and I went out to eat for dinner that night, my choice, of course! I decided that I wanted to go to Olive Garden, my all-time favorite! After eating entirely wayyy too much, we left the restaurant and went to a pet store.....

[Dun-Dunnnn Dunnnnnnn]

Now, we've always wanted a pet.... But for some reason never got around to actually getting one. I don't know if we were just drunk off the carbolicious noodles from Olive Garden, or what.... but we finally decided to pick out a kitten!

Let's see.....

Eenie....

Meenie....

Minie....

Mo?

After much looking around, we finally found a beautiful, black kitten that seemed to like us as much as we liked her! She was a little, black, shy girl who needed a home.

 Awwwwwwe!

Anyways, she's settled at home now and is very healthy and happy! After a week of calling her "Kitty" my husband and I decided on a name to suit her personaity: Vixen. I also have to take her to the vet tomorrow to get shots....

[Gulps]

Wish us luck! I'm sure I will have more adventures (or misadventures) with her!

     In an earlier blog I said that I LOVED summer sessions and that I would update you on my feelings about summer 2.  Well... this session is not so good.   I hate to say it but... i am really regretting this session. Going into it, I knew that I had a lot more going on in the second session than in the first.  Despite my gut feelings-- I went ahead and signed up for summer 2 classes just so that I could still graduate in December.  I have this habit of piling too much on myself and then adding more and more to it.  For example, I work three part-time jobs which equals out to about one full-time job (40 hours).  And then I'm in the middle of moving-- I sign my lease tomorrow (Friday the 13th-- oh no!!).  And then next Tuesday is my birthday.  I really haven't even had time to realize that my birthday is coming up.  I haven't made plans with anyone because I'm too busy writing a paper, studying for a quiz, or submitting weblogs and online quizzes!!! Who has time for a birthday with all of this going on???

     Is anyone else's life as crazy as I make mine out to be?? I'm serious-- I'd really like to know what other people are doing and how they spend their time.  For example, I know some of my classmates have children and I just could NOT imagine taking care of a child with everything that I have going on these days.  (Knowing me I'd most likely lose him and then 3 hours later wonder where he was.  Just kidding-- I'd take good care of him!!)

     I have a motto for my life, "If I'm not busy I'm not happy."  My months feel like weeks, my weeks feel like days, and my days feel like just a few hours!  After I graduate I'm not sure what I'll do with myself when I don't have all this homework to do.  Although, I'm sure I'll find something to occupy my time.  I always do.

It has been a crazy few weeks!!! Work is amazing, yet busy! I am learning so much about the company and the global economy. People would not think that there are so many global opportunities right here in Indianapolis.  This city is like a hidden treasure; we have all the commodities and amenities of a big city, yet we do not have to deal with the crime, traffic and other things that big cities, because of its nature have.

Kelley gave me a great introduction to global business, and I am really putting in practice what I've studied. For all of you that are getting ready to start I-Core, be sure to learn as much as you can. Especially the presentation and case studies that you will be working on. You will be doing the same stuff in the real world!!

On another note, one of my best friends is getting married next week- I am excited about the wedding. Moreover, last weekend we had his bachelor party and we had a blast. So what have you been doing over the summer? What is the most exciting thing you've done this summer?

Keep it simple,

Jaime

I’m a fairly young guy, and I’m as big a fan as anyone of today’s technological advances (though it looks like I might have jumped the gun a little early in electing to go with a Treo over iPhone, even though the iPhone is absurdly expensive).  That said, I arrived later than most to the blogging party.  Not only is this my first (and probably my only) regular blog, I hadn’t read a single blog before writing for Kelley.  However, once I started blogging, I started to check out what everyone else was up to and I’ve found that there is an incredible amount of information out there on just about every topic – including careers.

A quick Google search of the term ‘career blogs’ turns up 105,000,000+ results. That's where I started – and I clicked through hundreds of alternately boring, preachy, stale, inaccurate, and defunct blogs before I somehow found the 2 bloggers that I’d like to recommend you check out: Penelope Trunk and Jason Warner. 

The blogs written by Penelope and Jason have fresh takes on a variety of career-related issues and offer a steady flow of candid, easy-to-implement advice.  They have a sense of humor and provide some valuable insight into the myriad of issues nearly everyone is likely to encounter when job searching and/or advancing their career in today’s economy. 

It also just so happens that both are fairly accomplished in their day jobs:  Jason has recruited for Microsoft, CSC Consulting, Starbucks, and is now the head of staffing for Online Sales and Operations at Google.  Penelope is a career columnist at the Boston Globe and Yahoo Finance. Her syndicated column has run in more than 200 publications.  She is also the author of the book Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success, which I haven’t read yet, but I did have the office place an order for it last week (yes, these are the perks I get to look forward to working at a university).

Take a half-hour or so and read through some of their postings and I anticipate that you’ll come away impressed.  Let me know.

It is July and the middle of the summer.  For me, it is my “quiet” time of the year.  I actually have time to get caught up with all the things I tried to get done but didn’t during the first half of the year.  I already told you what the first half of the year was like.  July is my calm.

It won’t be long before I get hit with lots of appointments with students wanting to come back to school or transfer here from somewhere else.  The beginning of August reminds everyone that school is about to start and they want to join in again!

August is also the time we start admitting all the students who applied to Kelley for Fall 2007 and have finished all their courses in Summer II.  I am also getting the August graduates reviewed and certified.  Then school starts, we have orientation, induction and all the other fun stuff at the beginning of the semester.

So, I will get the degree progress report program updated with the new Supply Chain Management major and the Accounting major changes.  I will enter all the advising notes that I didn’t get done previously.  I will enter all the exceptions into the degree progress reports for students who have substituted a course for a requirement.  And maybe take a day or two off to have some time at home.

It is now time for a deep cleansing breath, relax...and get things done!!

Okay, okay... The last time I posted I was sweating my A201- Financial Accounting class..... studying for the dreaded final.... praying for an awesome grade.... waiting feverishly for my final course grade to be posted.....

[Pauses to build suspense...]

Well, obviously I didn't combust into a firey pool of left-over remains of a once sane student.

[Cheers]

Needless to say, I did survive (unlike what the Urban Legends suggest) and I've moved on to my Summer Session II class....

[Dun Dun Dun]

I'm taking E201 Microeconomics... which so far hasn't been so bad. We've reviewed Marginal Cost Curves [flashbacks to Calculus], Supply & Demand, and other basic ideas of Economics. These (and other ideas) will build our base foundation so we will be able to analyze "Real World" economic issues going on around us in business. I'm not saying it's a walk in the park, but it is more familar than the Perpetual-Inventory-Cost-of-Goods-Sold-Wages-Payble-General-Ledger thing we did in Accounting...

[Breathes in a paper bag]

Don't worry... I will be fine.

It seems like yesterday that they school year ended and I was starting my internship, but it has been two months! My internship has proved to be amazing thus far. For those that do not know I am working at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships (formerly the RCA Championships). I have been doing management and marketing tasks and I have been extremely busy. The tournament runs from July 21-29^th. It is starting to become crunch time at work as all of our deadlines are fast approaching.  I have learned many new things from my internship and I have been able to meet many amazing people from around the city. I cannot stress enough how important internships are. The amount of networking that can be done is second to none.  I have been in charge of tasks that I never imagined I’d be working on. The experience that my internship is offering me is amazing.