{Ukraine's Got Talent}

I decided it's about time I share another youtube video.
This is pretty awesome! She's drawing that all with sand!

Dallas trip

This is the last of my three part series on my adventures with management consulting so far. One, I had the overview of Management Consulting and my 90 applications to different firms. I talked about how I've been on three networking trips, one to D.C., one to Houston, and my most recent trip to Dallas.

This email is all about that trip to Dallas - a unique trip for me, because this was the first and only networking trip so far that wasn't piggy-back riding on something else. With the D.C. trip, the real reason for going was to attend a political fund-raiser with my dad. With the Houston trip, I was really just down there for Christmas. On both trips, however, I made an occasion to make some great connections while in town.

I went to Dallas with two other undergrads (there was supposed be a third, but he was trying to fly standby and didn't make it - so sad!) and had a phenomenal time. On Thursday, we went to McKinsey's office, and on Friday we went to the offices of Boston Consulting Group, Bain, and AT Kearney. We also had lunch with a guy who works for Delloitte Consulting.

It was incredible - McKinsey, Bain, and Boston are consisted lauded as the top strategic management consulting firms - and also the hardest to get in to. Again, with only a 3.72 GPA, landing a job there, much less an internship, might be difficult, but visiting their offices and making a very solid, positive face-to-face connection with them hopefully helped.

Some photos from the trip:

The two undergrads I went with, Anthony, and Andrew in downtown Dallas, being awesome.

Anthony and I, dowtown.

Andrew and I right in front of the spot where President JFK was shot. That building closest to us, in the top right window was where the shooter was.

Aon, phone calls, and tons of emails

In my last post, I talked about what I've been up to for the last couple months.

In this post, I'll give you more of the juicy details of it all. You might remember my trip to Washington D.C., if not, click here. During that trip I met with 5 federal consultants (rather like management consultants, but they consult different governmental agencies instead of businesses).

Since then, I've had a great phone conversation with a fellow who works for Accenture (a management consulting firm that specializes in IT consulting), and a good dozen or so email conversations with consultants at firms like AT Kearney, and Aon.

I've had two great face-to-face networking opportunities since the trip to D.C. One was in Houston, and the other in Dallas (I'll write about my Dallas trip in my next post).

You probably know that both Heidi's and my families live in the same corner of Houston, so we've gone down there for the last several Christmases. Well, last October or so, a huge consulting firm named Aon was on campus for full-time recruiting, and there I met one of their employees who works in the Houston office. I told him I'd visit him over Christmas break, and I was true to my word. He was great enough to set up a lunch with himself and another Aon employee, so I could get a better feel for their business. He then took me on an hour long tour of the office, introducing me to just about everybody there, including several of the office's senior VPs.

During lunch that day, he asked about my dad's job, and after I explained my dad's business to him, he got really excited because he had just finished a case (an engagement) with a very similar firm, and wanted to know if my dad might be interested in their services.

Two phone calls and two days later, I was sitting at another restaurant eating breakfast with my dad, my contact at Aon, and their senior vice president of Sales for the entire Houston office, watching the SVP do the sales pitch to my dad. It was incredible - such a great opportunity to get that inside look at Aon, how they work, how they sell, and the services they offer.

I was very lucky to be able to see all of that. Oh, the powers of networking. I'll tell you about the Dallas trip soon.

Where I've been the last two months

If any apology is due for being absent from this blog for so long, sorry. I've been very, very busy.

What has consumed me for the last two months (and will for the next week or so)? Prepping myself and applying to internships. So far, I've applied to around 70 firms (no joke - I just counted the 50 cover letters I've written so far, and there have been around 20 or so postings that didn't ask for a cover letter). Then on top of that, I've sent "inquiries" to around 20 or so more firms, so I guess I'm looking at a number closer to 90 or so. Jeesh.

Where am I applying? Management consulting firms, of all shapes and sizes (and specialties).

Now, I know that nearly everyone I've spoken to about my career aspirations gives me that face like "Yeah, I know what you're talking about... kinda.... I know what management is, and I've heard that retired people like the President consult sometimes... But you? What do you know?"

So here's the skinny: Management consultants are essentially hired brains. When a business has a problem (whether the health care laws change, or there's a new competitor coming into their market), a lot of times they don't have the time or resources to do the analytics or research to know what to do next. So they hire consultants. That doesn't mean I or my colleagues know their business as well as they do, but we do have the time and resources to do the research and analytics and find out what they should do - that's why they hire a management consulting firm. Not many firms are large enough to warrant their own strategy department, so you can think of them hiring a management consulting firm as outsourcing their business strategy analytics.

Here's a great example of management consulting at work that you might recognize: Target used to be a standard "big box" store, like K-Mart or Walmart - but before Walmart was a threat. As Target saw Walmart coming into their market, they hired a management consulting firm to figure out what they should do. The result? The firm told Target to basically get out of they way - that Target could not fight Walmart head-on successfully. Working together, Target and its management consulting firm (I don't know which one, that's usually kept quiet from the public) decided to move Target "upstream" - re-branding itself as a high-class, high-quality big-box retailer. Target was able to make that transition successfully, and they're still a strong player in the retail market - unlike K-Mart who tried, and failed, to fight Walmart head-on.

Isn't that cool? That's what I want to do. Hence to 90 applications... Part of the reason of why I've applied to so many is I have one big black mark on my application: my GPA is only a 3.72. These firms usually only look at 3.8's and above, so I'm hedging my bets by applying to as many firms as possible. A lot of the more specialized firms aren't so picky. Hopefully my minor in Business Strategy should help, too.

{Little Green Man}

Anyone else find this awkward/weird/interesting/[insert other vague adjectives]?

It starts like this: Everyone is walking at their own pace...... spaced out...... and then everyone gets clogged up at the cross walk waiting for the little green man to show up:

That lovely little man means that you can continue on your merry way. But until he shows up you have to stand next to all these people that you don't know. You all stand around, avoid eye contact, and space yourselves out so that you're not standing too close. It's weird. Maybe it's just me.

And is it possible for someone to "cut" in "line" while waiting for the crosswalk? I mean, they just arrived to the waiting herd of people and then weasel their way to the front of the crowd. Is that considered cutting? I have no idea!

And then there are those 2 people who, when walking, were about 5 feet behind and you could hear their whole conversation [how could I not?] but as soon as they approach the cluster of people the conversation dies and one of them says, "Oh, I'll tell you in a minute" and then as soon as everyone starts walking their conversation picks back up and you can still hear what Jamie did last weekend.

There's also that person with their music that's way too loud. If I can hear all of the lyrics clearly standing 3 feet away from you on the sidewalk next to a busy street then it's wayyyy too loud. Why aren't your ears bleeding??!!!? I can feel my maternal instincts building up and I feel I'll explode into "Turn down that music! The whole state of Utah can hear it!!! Do you want your hearing to be gone by the time your 30? Music that loud will melt your brain!!!!" Luckily, that hasn't happened yet lol.

Then there's that person who tries to strike up a conversation. Sometimes, this is enjoyable and can make the wait much more bearable. But once the little green man shows up do you continue your conversation? do you cut it short? What if they want to continue but they don't? What if they walk a lot slower than you have time for? Awkward.

Next is that guy who walks across the street even if the little green man hasn't given permission yet. Everyone exchanges glances and there's that "Well, he did it, are you? does that make it ok?" Usually everyone just stays where they are, but sometimes there's a snowball effect. Yes, there is a clearing, but... but.... the little green man isn't there!! Well, I'm not angel and I have jaywalked multiple times [example] but I just can't bring myself to do it if there's a crosswalk and a half a dozen people watching.

Finally after all this waiting the little green man shows up. And everyone starts walking. There's that weird first minute or so when everyone is still clumped up but eventually everyone's individual pace spreads them out.

For that minute or two everyone is together waiting for the same thing - the little green man. And then as soon as he shows up everyone goes back to being individuals heading their own direction. It's interesting.

{Married life is awesome}

Well, there are many reasons why I love being married - too many to even count. But today there are just a few that I would like to mention.

I love wearing my husband's coats. LOVE it. His fleece is my favorite. It is by no means flattering, or cute on me, but it's way comfy, warm, and it smells like him. I would wear it everyday if I could (I am currently wearing it while writing this blog). I have also commandeered a hoodie of his for the same reasons.

I also love wearing my husband's sweat pants. Yes, I have 3 dozen pairs of my own so why wear his? Because they're WAY too big and super comfy and I love them.

I also love stealing my husbands slippers. Yes, he bought me new slippers of my own last Christmas, but if those are all the way in the bedroom and his are in the front room I'm going to wear his.

I was a little sad about losing a roommate and being able to share clothes (Lisa, you're the best!!) all the time, but what I did not realize that was that my comfy clothes selection would double. It's been awesome. There's something great about wearing your bf/fiance/husband's clothes - it's like a giant hug all the time. Yup.

{Slip-up}

This morning I slipped on the ice on my way to work. I pretty much looked like this old man:



It happens at least once every year.

I was talking to the husband last week about how I hadn't slipped once yet this year. I was so nervous because I was sure it was going to happen any day. I was thinking about slipping on purpose when no one would be around just to get it over with and save myself the humiliation. Well..... I didn't slip on purpose. I slipped on accident on the sidewalk near my work building. It totally took me by surprise because I did not see any ice - it was invisible.
Luckily I didn't fall into the bushes right next to me......

My first year up here in the frigid snow I slipped probably a dozen times. Thank goodness that number has decreased through the years. Maybe I should just wear extra padding ALWAYS.
Like Randy from A Christmas Story:

I think it could be a good look for me.

{Broken-Hearted}

Thank you, January Snow, for obliterating my dreams of an early spring. I'm going to go cry in a corner now.

{Pet Peeve}

Ok people, please tell me I'm not the only one. This bothers me a lot:



It's worse during these winter months because you also get their huge winter coat draped across your desk as well. This is not fair. If you are wearing a coat, take it off before you sit down and put it on the floor, on your lap, hanging off the back of your chair making sure that it's not touching the other desk....Think about it, people!!

I do not want half of my desk consumed by hair and winter hoods...thanks!

{A little bit late....}

Happy New Year's!!!!

{The results are in....}

Remember this post about Pirates vs. Ninjas? Well, here are the results. I've had a couple more people respond since I've run this report, but the overall result would not have been any different. Here's the report for Captain Jack Sparrow:

Dear Captain Jack Sparrow,

Here are the results of the survey that you requested:

                We gathered data from 27 participants who found the survey primarily through Facebook or my personal blog.

We started off the survey by asking which group they thought was cooler, Pirates or Ninjas, just to see where exactly your group stood.

Based on the chart above created with the survey data, your “coolness” rating is still much higher than the Ninjas despite their efforts to dethrone your group. The major reasons that our respondents gave as to why you were so much cooler included things like your “swagger,” “clothing” including “eye patch and sword,” and your choice of “language.” The main reason that people gave for Ninjas being cooler was their “sneakiness” and “stealth.”

 Next, we asked the people who voted that Ninjas were cooler if they had ever thought that Pirates were cooler than Ninjas. The results are displayed in the chart below.

This chart shows that half of people who voted Ninjas cooler have always considered Ninjas cooler. This means that there isn’t a huge population of people who changed their opinion once the Ninja fad started.

Those who did say that they changed their opinions were for various miscellaneous reasons such as Ninja’s “masks and moves” but there was no major theme that accompanied the reasons.

This next graph is most helpful in figuring out how Pirates stack up against Ninjas. The respondents were asked whether the categories on the X axis were important in determining coolness level. The categories were then ordered on the chart with the category furthest to the left receiving the highest number of votes that it was important in determining coolness and the category of the right receiving the least number of votes of being important in determining coolness. The bars indicate how many votes each group got for being better than the other group in a given category.

Fortunately, in the categories that are ranked higher in importance the Pirates received the majority of the votes. In the “dialect” category Pirates completely sweep the board. But by looking at the chart it is easy to see that Ninjas outrank Pirates in “more likely to win in a fight” and “type of weapons.” By focusing on improving in these two categories you’re popularity will probably rise.

We also asked the respondents in an open ended question to suggest ways for how Pirates could increase their coolness level. The most common response dealt with hygiene practices such as “bathe more often,” “shower,” “change clothes every once and a while,” and “brush teeth.” Nine out of the twenty-five that answered this question had something to say about the hygiene habits of Pirates. Jack, if you teach your people how to shower and have a more kempt appearance their coolness level would probably rise.

Our final question on the survey asked the respondent which group they would join if they had the choice.  The results were interesting.

Despite the fact that Pirates were voted coolest by a large percentage, more people would rather join the Ninjas and a substantial amount wouldn’t join either group than join with the Pirates. My best explanation for this discrepancy is the fact that the people who took this survey generally shower more often and live in cleaner environments than what the Pirate life currently provides. As suggested earlier, if you can help educate your people about cleanliness than you chances of having a greater following will increase! 

I hope that the results from this survey are helpful in helping you know where Pirates stand on the “cool” ladder and in what areas they could improve on to increase their coolness level.

If you did not get to participate in the survey and would still like to, here it is!

{Pirates VS Ninjas}

For one of my classes I had to make a survey to gather information for a hypothetical situation. My hypothetical situation was that Captain Jack Sparrow asked for my assistance in helping him collect information about people’s perceptions of pirates. He believes that pirates are being pushed down the “cool” ladder due to the new fad of ninjas.  Jack is worried that if he is correct about this then his new movie release will not bring in as much revenue as the previous three had.  Captain Jack Sparrow would like to know if pirates are still considered “cool” despite the ninja fad and in what categories they could improve their “cool status."

Help Captain Jack Sparrow out by taking my survey!

{Lotion-y hands...}

Don't you hate it when you put lotion on your hands and then you can't open anything? Doors....lids on jars....mascara...This happens all the time with me.

I am currently unable to open my Tupperware full of granola and yogurt at work because I just put on lotion and my hands keep slipping. This is terrible because I'm starving. Why didn't I eat at home? Well, I have an amazing ability to ignore my alarm clock, but I also have an outstanding inner-alarm clock. I woke up just in time to wash my face and make it to work on time...but no breakfast.

Hopefully I'll be able to eat my breakfast soon.....

{Life is Good}

Today I had one of those *moments*. Ya know, the kind that make you stop and think about how great life is? [Those *moments* don't happen nearly enough, I'm afraid]. I live such a blessed life, I really do. Sometimes I get discouraged or upset because things don't work out as I pray they would or that I have to do hard things [heaven forbid] or that I'm so busy and that I'm not sure if I have the energy to do everything that I want/need/should do. But life is good - life is so good. 

Sometimes things don't go as you have planned them, but that's okay. I am a child of God who loves me and that's enough. I know that He is aware of me and my life and my aches and pains and that everything will eventually work out as it should.

Life is good.

via

My li'l' bro!

I love my brother. We've had our rough spots, and our good spots, but all in all we like each other pretty well. In fact, I can say that he's been one of my best friends for a pretty long while now.

I intended this post to be a follow up to the post about his bachelor party, but it evolved into a tribute to us - he and I, so, consider this a prelude to the post about his wedding - perhaps shedding some light as to why I'd care to post about his wedding. I just like the guy, OK?

Pictures of the two of us got started early.

Us (and mom)

In our fort! We even had a broken TV that we found in a dumpster that we pretended to watch.

Us in our Power-Ranger suits!

(Our younger sister, Caitlan wedged in the middle there)

For a school play

Pinewood derby! (he beat me)

(Men In Black for Halloween)

.

. (an odd gap in pictures of just the two of us together)

.(which is made even more uncomfortable for you, as the reader, because I apparently lost 50 pounds over that gap)

.(Which I did)

.

New Year's Eve Dance

Christmas + Napoleon Dynamite = Super happy

Always experimenting... This reminds me of when we made mud-poison-drinks for "bad guys." Oh, that's worth a full post on its own in the future.

Right before I left on my mission

New Years, 2008-2009

At my wedding!

Hiking, June 2009

Hiking, June 2010

At his bachelor party

His wedding!

Opening the Christmas presents for each other. We have a tradition of wrapping each other's presents in some ridiculous fashion. My presents to him were wrapped in a series of tubes cut to look like a rocket, and his was decorated to look like a shaggy monster. :)

I suppose this post kinda precludes one I've had in the back of my mind for a while now, of my progression from cute kid to chubby tween to skinny teen to chubby missionary to me now. I'll write that one someday... Consider this your sneak peak.

Love you Brenden!

{Bubble Baths}

I love bubble baths - love them. I take about one a week.

What makes a bubble bath better? Reading a good book! Unfortunately, I am in school and good books are on the back burner and school books are number 1 priority.

Here's a story for you -

Last night I came home from Zumba and decided to take a bubble bath while I read one of my school books. Unfortunately I spent a little bit too much time unwinding/relaxing and actually fell asleep before I had a chance to read my book. Asleep? Who can fall asleep in the bathtub? Me. It's easy. I have even fallen asleep in the shower on more than 1 occasion as well. I have a special talent for being able to fall asleep in nearly any circumstance.  So yes, I fell asleep in the bathtub....for nearly 2 hours.  And....the Husband didn't come check on me because he had fallen asleep on the couch as well......Great way to start the semester, no?

So there ya go. Was it uncomfortable? Not until I woke up. Does my neck feel normal yet? Almost..... Will I still take bubble baths? Of course.

{San Antonio}

Another Christmas present that my sweet husband got for me was a trip to San Antonio! San Antonio is one of my most favorite places. I have taken many trips down there with the family and with my high school band and choir for competitions. I have often told Husband that we need to go down there sometime but we have never really gotten around to it. Thanks to Husband's grandparents, we were able for it to work out over the break! Husband has never been and I was more than excited to show him around!

This is where we stayed! It was right on the Riverwalk! Perfect!!!

They still had their Christmas lights up! So pretty!!!

We also went to the Alamo!!! It's a big deal in Texas History

And then we went to Sea World!!!! I love this place!!! We went to all the shows, rides, and exhibits! 

It was the best.