This MBA is Done Like Dinner

Monday night I had the last exam in my 2-year full-time MBA program at the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business. Although I thought I had the upper hand, the program had one last surprise in store for me.

The exam was scheduled from 7pm-10pm on Monday night, but the class was normally held from 6:30pm-9:15pm, so halfway through the exam I got mixed up and thought that it ended at 9pm. This nearly gave me a heart attack at 8:45 when I looked at the clock and thought that I only had 15 minutes to finish a third of the exam. I didn't figure it out until 9:01 and the professor still hadn't stopped the exam. For a while there, I thought I was going to fail.

But don't worry -- I'm quite sure I passed (95% confidence).


You can't just go to sleep after such a monumental event, so fellow graduate SM and I headed out for Chinese food at Sun's on Center Street. We didn't order the jellyfish heads, the pig's ear or the deep fried intestines, so everything was pretty tame.


After that exam scare, my stomach couldn't handle anything too crazy.

-D, MBA

I Heart (Free) Excel Stuff

Does you heart quicken at the mention of spreadsheets? Do you have a t-shirt that says "I Heart Excel"? Well, I'm guilty on both counts, so I was ecstatic to hear from a guy at school about this webpage:

Free Excel Spreadsheets

Woot.

(The guys in the picture my MBA class. We had these shirts made up to wear to the final exam for our "Decisision Modeling" course last year.)

CFA Level One

I didn't want to make much fuss about this until the results came in, just in case I didn't pass. The results were published this morning for the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) exams, Level One of which I wrote at the beginning of June. This is a professional designation that I am pursuing to complement my MBA degree. I studied nearly every day for weeks leading up to June, and then took the last week ebfore the exam off of work to study.

There are three levels in the CFA examination process before you can become a charterholder. The exams are held in June each year (plus an extra date for Level One in December), so if you fail a level, it means it will probably be another year until you can retake the exam. The historical pass rates for the exams are about 50%, and very few people manage to pass each exam on their first try, so it often takes more than 3 years to complete the process.

Usually, you aim to get higher than 70% on the exam to ensure a pass. My practice exams hovered just above that 70% mark, with a lot of improvement coming along in that last week.

The exam is written in two 3-hour sections, one in the morning and one in the afternoon -- 120 questions in each section. I was in a gymnasium with 750 other people (writing all the levels together) and I did really well in the morning. In fact, I finished the exam 29 minutes early in both sections. Unfortunately, they don't let you leave the room once there are 30 minutes left (to preserve quiet), so I had to sit there and count volleyballs stuck in the rafters until it was over and they'd collected and counted all the exams. Painful.

But it all paid off, because I passed!

I'm absolutely ecstatic, but R is almost happier than me, because this means she won't be missing one husband in the months leading up to the December exam date, when you can rewrite Level One.

Next stop, Level Two in June 2009!

Credit Card Protests at U of C

This morning I was studying in the MBA lounge here at the University of Calgary and suddenly I heard a loud rumbling. As it turns out, right next door to us there is a meeting of the University Board of Governors this morning to review a decision to discontinue the use of credit cards as a method for tuition payment, and a group of students decided to rally a protest. Campus security is standing by, but it is certainly distracting to have such a ruckus going on just down the hall.


There's a guy on a bullhorn leading the chant and a lot of people are banging garbage cans, but I'm still waiting for them to break into "Do You Hear the People Sing?" from Les Miserables.

You on the barricades listen to this...

Babies, MBAs and Excel Lovers

Some Mondays, R drops off baby Scott at the University so that I can watch him for a few hours during the afternoon while she does performances with her singing group. Scott puts on a little performance of his own, distracting a large number of MBA students who don't need much of an excuse to drop their accounting homework. Here he is sitting with Toronto native and former investment banking analyst AV. I am certain that AV is teaching him Excel shortcuts to help improve his productivity. Right now, Scott mostly tries to tear the keys off of the computer, so any tips would be helpful.


Speaking of Excel lovers, yesterday morning we had a hilarious incident during our decision modeling class (basically an Excel course). Our class meets in a lab with windows running down each side that look out across a narrow hallway to a row of glass-walled study rooms and another computer lab. The whole class became uncomfortably distracted when two students started making out in one of the study rooms right across from us. Finally, our instructor decided to bang on our windows and wave her arms to get their attention, effectively throwing a bucket of cold water on their intimate little moment.

When they realized what was going on, the girl turned beet red and dropped back to her books and the guy grabbed his backpack and bolted without looking up once. I took a picture after everything was over, but you can see the study room through the windows on the left.

Oh, it still makes me laugh to think about it.

Haskayne MBA Lounge

Since the MBA lounge at the University of Calgary is the place where I spend the majority of my time, I thought I should take a few pictures. Walk with me on a tour of the facilities...


This is Scurfield Hall, the home of the Haskayne School of Business at the Unversity of Calgary. The building is conveniently located near a light rail (C-Train) station and an LDS chapel. I have received parking tickets at both locations.


Here is the interior of Scurfield Hall, as viewed from the 4th floor, which is where the MBA lounge is located.


MBA students have access to a lounge with 7 "breakout" rooms, a lunchroom, a computer lab and a common area. The lounge is in constant use from about 7am to midnight (you can stay late if you want, but the doors to Scurfield Hall lock at about 11pm).

Some MBA students hard at work.

We have lockers in the basement of Scurfield Hall, which is not that convenient, given that we do all of our studying on the 4th floor. Our classroom is on the 2nd floor, but I didn't take any pictures of that. Just try to imagine a room with wood panelling and stadium seating for 50.

One Huge Cheque

How often do you get a chance to take a picture with a cheque this size? I went to the Calgary Society of Financial Analysts Annual Forecast Dinner last night and our group received this donation from the proceeds of the dinner. The amount will be used to increase the size of the portfolio that we manage as part of our finance education.


We also snapped this picture with the new Dean of the Business School, Dr. Leonard Waverman. He's just arrived in Calgary from the London Business School. He was very pleasant and quite willing to pose with us.

The Real Canadian Butter Chicken Rant

When I was about 18 years old I received a letter from the grocery store. It was in response to a card I had filled out for their comments box, in which I said I was disappointed that they had increased the price of chocolate dipped donuts from 3/$1 to nearly 50 cents apiece. The price increase had pushed the combined cost of a donut and a litre of chocolate milk to more than two dollars, requiring me to break a $5 bill to make my favourite purchase. In response to my comment, the store manager sent me a letter explaining the economic concepts of supply and demand, somehow trying to blame the market at large for this unfortunate turn of events. In a way, he was right -- at the higher price I consumed fewer donuts.

I had hoped for a more lucrative response, like the time I left a comment for the wave pool management. I noted that it was a very long walk down a very cold corridor to get from the boys change room to the pool deck. I suggested that they think about heating the corridor. I think I was 10 years old at the time. To their credit, the pool managers sent me more than just a patronizing letter about the demand for hot air -- they also enclosed a pass for a free family visit to the pool. Although I didn't use the pass myself (my oldest brother used it to take a date to the pool, along with my 7-year-old youngest brother... quite the date, I'm sure), I appreciated the gesture.

Now I'm considering writing another letter to the grocery store. It's the same store as the donut incident -- "The Real Canadian Superstore" at 5251 Country Hills Boulevard in NW Calgary. I have always thought that was the strangest name for a grocery store; however, it is much more descriptive than the name of the company's stores that appear in Eastern Canada: "Loblaws". I remember when we moved to Ottawa, we kept seeing all these buildings with "Loblaws" written on the side, but we had no idea what a Loblaw was. Apparently, a Loblaw is a grocer, since the stores invariably sell groceries. A Loblaw is not to be confused with a similar species of Ontario grocer called a "Loeb". I digress.

I want to write to The Real Canadian Superstore because they are always out of President's Choice Butter Chicken Cooking Sauce (PCBCCS). After eating at a few Indian buffets I fell in love with butter chicken (served with rice and naan bread); however, R didn't always feel up for the trip to my favourite Ottawa buffet (Moni Mahal at 164 Laurier Ave). Luckily, R's sister introduced us to a simple alternative: The PCBCCS. We could enjoy the rich goodness of this mild curry dish from the comfort of our own home. It was as simple as buying a jar from the local Loblaws.

Unfortunately, that is not as simple as it sounds.

Our Ottawa store carried several PC-brand Indian cooking sauces, but the PCBCCS was always low in stock, and often ran out completely. A popular item, I guess. This was just a minor inconvenience until we moved to Calgary, where the "Real Canadian Superstore" managers long ago surrendered to the forces of supply and demand. We normally buy our groceries at the nearby Safeway (what a pitifully short name), but we sometimes make the trip up to Superstore for PC brand items like butter chicken. Since August we had never found any butter chicken on the shelf, until this week (we've tried Patak's and it just doesn't compare to PCBCCS).

When it finally came in, R bought 4 jars. You basically have to hoard the stuff if you want any.

I think a fairly short comment to management would make my point: "Stock more butter chicken, you ninnies!" I'll mull it over and decide whether I should include a patronizing explanation of the economics of inventory stocking that I learned in my Operations Management 601 class this semester. I could perhaps photocopy the pages from the text book or print a few powerpoint slides for them with formulas about how to formulate a proper stocking strategy and avoid stockouts.

Aside from the general satisfaction I would get from venting my frustrations, I would hope to receive two benefits by writing such a letter:

1. More butter chicken on stores shelves, so people don't have to start looking on ebay;

2. A coupon for a free donut and chocolate milk.

The Rubber Chicken Circuit

Have you ever heard of the Rubber Chicken Circuit?

That's what my father-in-law calls the endless stream of formal dinner engagements that have been his life for the last 10 years as a politician. When they need to serve dinner to several hundred people all at the same time, they usually dish out reheated chicken breast. By the time it's been cooked, packed up, transported, reheated and served, it's pretty rubbery.

I was on the circuit a bit this week, but on a smaller scale. A lot of the big banks come on campus to recruit pretty early in the school year -- actually, it gets earlier and earlier each year. They're looking to hire graduates, but we first-year MBAs go out to shake hands and talk about summer positions. It's pretty low-stress for us, since they don't even think about hiring for summer jobs until December or January. We try to chat with a few people, and we try to get as much chicken as we can.

I've been to three of these events so far: Scotia Capital, RBC Capital Markets, and CIBC World Markets. Each event was catered, and each event had technical problems with their PowerPoint presentations. Scotia couldn't play their DVD, RBC couldn't get the projector to work, and CIBC showed a video with no voice track -- just the background music, which was some funky beats and the sound of water. In one instance, the chicken was served on a stick.

Things are never dull on the rubber chicken circuit.

Landmarks

I missed the date by two days, but I would like to point out a landmark of sorts: This blog is now one year old.

I started it at 1:00am on September 12, 2006 and I've put out 279 posts since then (including this one). Now that so much has been going on, the pace has slowed somewhat, but it won't dry up entirely. I've got too much time invested in this thing to just let it stop.

Landmark #2: R has arranged for her first singing student since we moved here. That means that we'll have to get some more of the boxes out of the living room, I guess. Even still, we're not really sure where to put a piano -- either stacked on top of one of the couches, or maybe hanging from one of the walls like a painting.

Landmark #3: I went to my first information session on campus last night. Scotia Capital came out and made a recruiting presentation. I was the only person from my first-year MBA class to show up -- it was mostly fourth-year BComm students in attendance. Because I came early, I happened to be the first student to arrive. They all descended on me -- not just for my magnetic personality, though. Apparently, they had a DVD to show, but the laptop they brought didn't have a DVD drive. I ended up saving the day. That's the kind of first impression you just can't plan.

There's probably some more stuff going on that deserves mention, but I need to save something for post #280.

Big Barrel Race

The rodeo is an essential part of any MBA degree. At least, that is what I assume from my own experience.


On Friday, we had a "team building" activity at the Rafter 6 Ranch in the foothills west of Calgary. While the rain poured down on us, we stood on bleachers in bright yellow rain slickers and cheered our classmates in various equestrian events. I took part in a barrel race, where I had to ride a white horse named Merlin around a triangle of barrels. My time was not enough to win, mainly because I couldn't figure out how to kick Merlin hard enough to get him to move. My team was very supportive of me, despite my loss.

We went out Saturday to support R's dad as he officially withdrew from Alberta provincial politics, after serving three successful terms (beginning in 1997). I managed to get a little bit of his announcement on film, before he called the family to come up to the front and stand with him:

Here's a picture of us all standing together during his speech.

And one of R and Scott looking cute.

Speaking of Scott, he's such a hoot to play with these days. He's really started to laugh and giggle. Unfortunately, he usually stops as soon as I get out the camera. I put together two mildly successful clips of him laughing with his mom as they play together.



We have to keep these great moments in our minds when he stays up screaming for an hour or two instead of going down to sleep for the night (which he has taken to doing since we arrived in Calgary).

The Ethics of Dishwashers

Today (day 2 of MBA Orientation Week) we had a one hour introduction to business ethics from one of the professors. Of course it was fascinating.

Meanwhile, on the home front, R used our dishwasher for the first time. She said it felt like cheating. You see, we haven't had a dishwasher since mid-2002. I don't think dishwashers will come up in any of our ethics courses.

It's nice to have a few timesavers around, since Scott has been quite fussy lately. We attribute it partially to the disruptions of changing routines and environments, and partially to his first cold. R and I came down ill on the weekend, and it seemed to be only a matter of time before Scott caught it too. His little coughs and sneezes are sad, but cute. We've had to wipe his nose for the first time -- something that he doesn't like very much.

I'm feeling much better now, and it seems that R and Scott have also turned the corner on this cold, so things are looking up... and ethical.

Life Is Better In Alberta

As part of their ongoing efforts to purge the house of unneeded items (in preparation for their upcoming move), my in-laws assembled a large pile to take to the second-hand store. Before jettisoning these priceless treasures, they first gave all of their kids a chance to rifle through the collection for anything we might want. I passed on the white cowboy hat and the purple sunglasses, but I decided to keep the shirt that says "Life Is Better In Alberta".

I passed on this scooter, but I kept the blue shirt that I'm wearing in the picture. On the back, in big white letters, it says "Alberta Seniors & Community Supports". My little niece didn't pick up the scooter either. The last t-shirt I got is orange and says "Count Me In -- I'm In With Jim". It's a campaign t-shirt for a guy who lost the recent leadership race to be the new Premier of Alberta. Can you tell I'm related to an Alberta politician?

We had a surprise visit from fellow blogger and longtime associate, T. You may recall her from a posting I made about baby pictures, where I inferred that she doesn't like babies. This caused her some social discomfort, so I was glad to include this un-staged photograph of all the babies enjoying themselves in T's lap. They seem drawn to her. It's really magical.

That all happened two days ago. Today was the first day of school for me. I had a half-day as part of orientation week in the MBA program at the University of Calgary. They provided us with sandwiches, drinks, t-shirts and chapstick (Tangerine flavour). I will spend nearly every day in this same room with these same 30 people for the next two years. At least we won't have to worry about chapped lips -- at least until the tangerine wears out.