Why I’m Super Busy Even Before Starting My MBA

I’m not going to sugarcoat this and just apologize upfront for being mia for quite some time now!  I’m wondering if I need to reintroduce myself… I mean.. I’m not going too… but the thought crossed my mind.

So phew… I found 10 minutes to myself where I can write this blog post – at friggen 2:30 am. Let me just start by telling you why I’ve been so busy.

Well for starters, my new job, while less stressful, is more time consuming. I’m freelancing at an agency now and am working on a big restructuring of an account so I’ve been putting in 11/12 hour days. I know some of you are going to say “So what? 11/12 hours who cares?”  That’s just AT work. You have to keep in mind that I commute 1.5 hours to and from work everyday. So that’s potentially 14/15 hours of the day that I’m busy.  I’m not complaining about the hours because I enjoy what I’m doing, but in terms of being able to find time to write a blog post it’s been slim.

So aside from work what else has been keeping me busy?  Well.. there is a lot of preparation that I have to do for CTLS, a conference in New York to help incoming students prepare for their MBA experience.  The CTLS conference is next week from the 7th – 11th. To prepare for it we have to read some cases, attend some webinars, get our resumes in line, etc.

In addition to the preparation, I’ve been working with my Career Coach at Cornell’s Johnson School to get ready for OP (an event held by The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management in Minneapolis).  This includes more “assignments” … mock interviews… webinars… et. al. This is at the end of the month from the 24th – 30th.  So there’s another week of June that’s essentially taken up by pre-MBA activities. I will say that it IS  a TON of work but it WILL pay off come May!

I just finished updating my LinkedIn profile.  It was recommended that we do that before these two conferences.  So if anyone would like to link to me on LinkedIn – here is my profile url.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/richardbattlebaxter

IF YOU DO LINK TO ME… JUST TYPE A MESSAGE LIKE “I READ YOUR BLOG” or something of that nature just so I know before I accept you.  Otherwise you’ll sit in my Friend Request Box for months..

I’ve also been trying to square away my housing situation.  I have the roommate… did the whole credit check thing…. got approved… now just need to send the deposit check to the management office and then sign the lease.  So I’m trying to track down the person who sends out the leasing agreements.  I’m also on the look out for furniture!  My roommate and I are renting most of our furniture but we need the little things… plus I want to buy a Keurig Machine!

Now I have to run around trying to get my doctor to sign off on these health forms.  That one was my fault because I totally let that slip my mind!

Yesterday (well on June 1st) I submitted my 2nd deposit!  So at the very least that knocks like 2% off of my tuition since your deposits go towards tuition. Gotta look on the bright side right?  So no less than 48 hours after I submitted the deposit, did I get the email for Math Camp. Now I knew that I’d be going to Math Camp so that wasn’t a surprise.  But the cost for it was an initial shock.  So today I shelled out another $600 in total for math camp and some orientation week activities.  But at least now I know that there is only 1 more thing that I’m going to have to pay for and that’s only $150. I think that’s for the background check. I’m going to look into what I need to do for that tomorrow.  Actually, I’ll shoot off an email to someone right when I’m done with this blog post.

That’s all I’m going to write for now.  I have a lot to catch you guys up on but I need to take my body to bed.  The morning comes very quickly!

This report is adapted from Richard Battle-Baxter’s blog posts at “Ellipsing My Way…To Business School.”

Previous posts by Richard at Poets&Quants:

Should You Hire an MBA Consultant?

Study for the GMAT or Polish Off an Essay?

Am I Really Cut Out For This?

My First Round Applications Are Looking Elusive

A Frustrating Day and Night on GMAT Prep

Having Trouble Hitting the Submit Button

It’s Nearly Midnight. Where Are All My Friends?

“Why An Admissions Consultant Objected To My Essay on Coming Out”

“Brain Racing at 4 a.m. Thinking About Business School”

“After Scoring a 620 on My GMAT, I Want To Die”

“Walk Me Through Your Resume” – My Interview at Dartmouth’s Tuck”

“My GMAT Students Are ‘Totally Obsessed Weirdoes With Unbelievable Work Ethics”

“With Apologies to Paul Simon, 50 Ways To Tell You’re Getting an MBA”

“My 30-Day Countdown to an MBA Acceptance”

“Tis’ The Season For Racing Hearts & Sweaty Palms”

“East Coast Blizzard Means More Time To Work on MBA Applications”

“Fear, Loathing & Panic In the Wee Small Hours of the Night”

“The Waiting Game Kicks In & It’s Brutal”

“If I Get Into a Top B-School, It Will Be the Happiest Day of My Life. If not….”

“25 Reasons I’m Over Obsessing About B-School.”

“An Invite to Interview from Cornell”

“Eight Things for New B-School Applicants”

“The Sheer Joy of an Acceptance”

“After Getting An Acceptance, I’m Thinking About…”

“A 20-Day Emotional Roller Coaster: One Acceptance, Five Rejections”

“How Will I Pay for My Cornell MBA? Good Question.”

“Preparing for Business School”

“Countdown to Cornell’s Johnson School of Business”

“An Open, Very Candid Letter to All New MBA Applicants”

“Countdown to Cornell’s Johnson School”

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