Orientation

Today is the first day of b-school, otherwise known as orientation.

I started getting ready at 6, said goodbye to Brian at 7 (he's in Louisiana this week and I hope he didn't get hit by the storm), took care of the cats until 7:20 then drove to school.

A bunch of us thought the events started at 8 but learned that it didn't start until 9:30, so we had social hour. However, the pace sped up pretty quickly. We had a 45 minute formal welcome which basically started with us having to put on colored t-shirts representing the section to which we belong; I'm in section 1 and got to wear the red shirt (my fav color). This time also included the stats of our class. Among other things, the following was listed:

• 162 full-time students
• 29% female
• 45% International (27 of the 45 is from Asia & Pacific Rim)
• 4% management consultants
• Ave age is 28

Next 2 hours were allotted to taking care of administrative details such as loan status, parking stickers, etc. One of the suprises I had was to stop in at health services and get my 2nd hepatitus B shot! Ow!

Lunch was consumed while in our group sections. Section 1, the group I'm in, is a fun group. There were quite a few people I was happy to see there, but I was sad to learn that some were in other groups. Waaa! Oh well. We played a little meet & greet game where we were given a list that showed one "fun fact" for each classmate in our section. While standing in line for health services earlier, I started getting people's fun facts (Kiwi thinks I'm nerd for starting early, but I'm okay with that), so I completed all but 3. My nerd-like fact was "Around the age of 11, I sang the National Anthem for the Seattle Sonics once and the Mariners twice."

At 2 everyone regrouped in the auditorium where we listened to an alumni panel then we broke into small groups to ask questions of another alumni panel. I have to admit that Babson is really good at ensuring your questions are answered since this is probably the 10th panel discussion I've participated in and we haven't even started school yet! They also had 2nd year students roaming around all day in case we had questions for them.

Afterward was a "networking cocktail reception" where I spent a little time goofing off (like we hadn't done enough of that already) then I came home for dinner, am quickly writing this and will now go play with my kitties.

School Dayz & Kittiez

Well, yesterday was the accounting class and it was slow. I expected it to be slow, but wow...it was sloooow. Didn't help that I felt antsy 15 minutes after class started and I watched the clock too closely during the last 2 hours. Oh well. It was great to see everyone and meet a few new people.

Kitty update: they're starting to accept us! Last night Brian and I were sitting on the couch when the girl walked behind me and dropped sideways onto my shoulder and started purring. Shortly thereafter the boy kitty jumped on Brian's lap and started purring. I guess the kitties have each selected their pet human. We also have preliminary names - the boy might be Leo (like a lion) and the girl might be Kallisto (greek for "most beautiful") which will be shortened to Kali (pronounced Kaelee). There's still time to change them if you can think of something better since we're having a hard time picking great names.

Anyway, back to school. Today we started the econ/quant portion. We began with a lecture then broke into pre-assigned groups to work problems then return to class where the professors randomly select teams to share their findings. We go through this process about 4 times each day. We're also cold called throughout the day and right at the end I had a great brain fart on a really easy problem. Oh well...if you can't laugh at yourself...

THEY'RE HERE!

The kittens are here! The kittens are here!

And they are so cute.

While waiting at the airport, I overheard two American Air employees:
Employee 1: We found that dog that was supposed to show up here.
Employee 2: You're kidding! Where was he?
1: He was shipped to Montreal by mistake!
2: Why did he go to Montreal? Did he have proper documentation?
1: No. They just accidentally put him on the wrong plane.

Anyway, fast forward 2 hours to the vet where they were so patient when being handled. The vet's assistant referred to them as Kitten1 and Kitten2 since we don't have names for them yet. The vet had plenty of praise and thinks we should show them (we likely won't due to time constraints, but it was still nice to hear).

Fast forward another hour to home. The three of us (B's not home yet) are already having fun. Both used the litterbox immediately. After checking out the litterbox, they toured the edges of the basement (this has been designated as their room). They found their food, played with a few toys on their own and I introduced them to my fav kitty toy, which they keep revisiting on their own. Surprisingly, they seem to have no interest in the couch, but have already designated the stairs as their cat tree. They have insto-purr capabilities (they purr as soon as you touch them) and they're getting more comfortable every minute.

Here kitty kitty

Due to reasons beyond our control, we have to wait until SUNDAY to get our kitties (it's been too hot to ship the cats this week). On Sunday morning they'll fly from Columbus, OH to Washington DC to Boston. I hope Delta doesn't lose them. Sounds a little funny to image an airline losing two cats...

...but did you realize airlines lose the luggage of approximately 4.8 of every 1,000 passengers? (CNN.com) May not sound like a lot, but it is and it's definitely not Six Sigma. Let's say we're on a Boeing 737 that has a little over 130 seats per flight, and on a certain airline the BOS to EWR route alone has 12 rountrips per day. This means that on that route about 15 passengers will lose their luggage that day. And that's just one route on one day on one airline.

An article on CNN.com noted that 85% of lost luggage is actually traced and delivered within 48 hours. That means 13 of our 15 passengers will receive their luggage within 2 days. That could sound good or bad...you decide. Personally, I don't like it.

I remember flying to Green River, WY (Ever heard of it? Not likely) a few years ago for a client. I arrived at the airport, but my luggage didn't. I sighed and went to the lost baggage counter...

Felicia: "My luggage didn't arrive."
Employee: "Were you on that flight from Denver?"
Felicia: "Yes."
Employee: "That is soooo funny! The same flight came in yesterday and nobody's luggage was onboard!"
Felicia (not amused): "Ha. Great."

My luggage appeared the next evening, but not before I had to run to Wal-Mart and purchase a mini-wardrobe.

And imagine: British Airway's statistics show 5,000 bags disappeared permanently in 2003! Just be rest assured that if it happens to you, the airline apparently has to pay you as much as $2,500.

But I don't want $2,500...I want our cats!
Of course we also have to worry about heat. What if they get dehydrated?
And what if they're placed next to a pitbull?
Then their crate shifts all over during the flight?
How tramatized will they be once we get them?!?

Geez, I get myself all worked up over the dumbest things. What a waste of a blog entry.

What's my motivation?

Woke up today at 6:30 and got ready the same time as Brian. What a sunny, beautiful day! And wow, I have so much energy!

He put on his work clothes while I suited up in my cycling clothes. We walked to the garage together and while I was pumping up my tires, he reversed out of the garage. We stopped to wave and memorize one another, then he drove off and I finished pumping. I put on my helmet, gloves, glasses and watch. I readjusted my seat, took off the bike bag Brian and I used on our last trip (we often cycle to the grocery store on weekends), and replaced the old water bottle with a fresh one. Walked the bike outside, locked the door, got on the bike, put my right foot on the peddle...and noticed it's a little chilly out right now.

I paused and put my foot down.

I thought back to the big cycling trip and remembered all those brisk mornings. Yes, I remember starting out chilled then getting warm within a mile. It's warmer now than those mornings in New Zealand. Shoot, we rode through fierce winds that knocked a woman clear across the road and lifted a guy right up over a guardrail. We layered up and rode through snow. We battled our way down a pass as rain blasted at our faces. We survived narrow highways, cattle/sheep crossings, construction detours, and 115 degree weather with terrible humidity!

Whew, I'm worn out just thinking about it.

I got off the bike, unlocked the door and walked my bike back inside the garage. I've been riding every other day for the last 3 weeks, but not today. Today cycling will just be a memory.

We're getting kitties!

Brian and I are having twins! That's right, a red-head boy and a blond girl!

Seriously, after much discussion, we have decided to adopt two Burmese kittens, a red boy and a cream girl who are just over 12 weeks old (they're the two laying down in the pic to the left). They're getting shots tomorrow and will ship to us either Weds or Thurs. I'm probably getting the kitty toys, food, etc. today.

We're a little worried about them scratching up the sofas and speakers on the main floor, so I'm working to get all the training tactics in line before they arrive. This place will look pretty funny for the next month (aluminum foil on kitchen counters, dining room table and drum set; tape around couches and speakers; water pistols every where; etc.) so no one is allowed to visit! (Just kidding)

We also just bought a camera to take pictures of our new family, so this blog will likely be inundated with pics for the next few weeks. Just bare with me as I "over pic" this site...
Woohoo! This is so exciting!

Going AWAY...away...away...

Well, we had the last going away party on July 29th and boy was it fun. Vanessa sent out the invites and everyone came from all over the continent, including Mexico! Kate took pics of part of Friday night:

http://www.dotphoto.com/MemViewAlbum.asp?AID=2724349

Basically, about 8 of us met at Brian's and my place and we hired a van to take us into downtown Boston. We met up with others and eventually had about 25 people at Rock Bottom for dinner. In order to fit everyone, the table had to loop around like a "J." People came that I really didn't think would make it such as Nate and his wife, and Patty and her fiance.

Afterwards we hit a bar (where the pics were taken) then took cabs home. 7 people stayed at our place and slept everywhere from the attic to the basement and every where in between...even on the living room chair (Will - I told you to AT LEAST take the couch).
I slept in until 9am and came downstairs to learn a few managed to run off to Habitat for Humanity at 6:30am, two had already left for the airport, two people went running and two went for coffee. What ever happened to the good ol' hangover days?

Anyway, a group of us went downtown to meet back up with a certain male friend who met a new female friend the night before and was considerate enough to escort her back to her hotel and make sure she was safe all night long! Once we found him, Jason, Annette, Ashley, Kevin, Danielle and I ate outside at Au Bon Pain and let me tell you...I'll never forget that moment: perfect weather, perfect friends, good people watching, and a homeless guy that kept repeating the same phrase, "I've run out of excuses so can you just spare some change for booze?"

Finally we left there and broke into two groups: one to help Kevin get fitted for a tux and another to bring a house key to Brian back at the house. I won't get into details, but plans changed several times and included Kevin getting into trouble from Danielle (bad K!), watermelon icees, Jason babysitting a bag that no one noticed was "missing" until hours later, Annette and Ashley getting lost, and laying on grass in the middle of Boston Common for a very long time. Ya, it was fun.

Anyway, great job to the Habitat group. This was the first group philanthropic event completed by Celerant and congratulations to Megan for arranging it! Saturday evening on the porch was in honor of this group. Note: not surprisingly, the Director of HR was a no call/no show.

So we woke up on Sunday and had a group breakfast of 7 at the dining room table hosted by Jason and Kevin. Everything tasted so good (even the pancakes)! And afterward everyone even took their linens to the laundry room so cleaning that afternoon was easy!

Thank you, everyone, for a great weekend. Can't tell you how much I appreciate it.