The birth of Sophia Elizabeth Cattallani late Saturday night makes me a step-aunt! Despite my step-father's fears that his first grandchild will have to, by virtue of her initials, be an SEC lawyer, and family jokes about her parents (one a psychiatrist the other a therapist) influence on her psyche, baby Sophie is a joy for all. Apparently she is as cute as one could hope, totally healthy, happy, etc. YAY!


Someone remind me that should I ever, foolishly, decide that I need more degrees, I must go to a school with semesters. On Wednesday I take my 4th set of final exams in less than a year. The 9-week summer quarter, though only one-week shorter, feels so much more intense then the rest of the year. Maybe because we had less than a week between spring quarter finals and first week of summer, maybe because macro was so boring...I dunno. All I know is that I won't be reading Paul Krugman's articles for some time, and once I am done with my Macro textbook I will be VERY happy.

Also, it's not the equations, it's the graphs. algebra I can do. I SUCK at visualization, always have. That's even what they told me when they tested me for learning disabilities (turned out I was just unhappy, not dyslexic or ADHD. geeeeee...), which has of course made it a self-fulfilling prophecy. I do jigsaw puzzles out of spite, but actually with no sense whatsoever of what the picture will look like. I also really can't read plans all that well. It's one of the many many reasons I suck as a designer. So being given questions that tell me to explain the effect of a tax cut graphically...I'd rather do the damn algebra. Once I derive the freakin' equation I can plot the graph and trace it, but they never give us enough numbers for that kind of mathematical accuracy, we're just supposed to figure out which curve shifts or moves which way. Yeah, I can't do that. For the midterm we only had one graphical model, and we're allowed a page of notes. the only notes I brought were term definitions and lots and lots of graphs and what any shock would do. Unfortunatetely we have way more models now, and more shocks...so I'm kinda screwed...

Furthermore, someone at the GSB has the sobig.f virus. Since I only use macs, my computer(s) are untouched. This has not prevented me, however, from receiving approximately a gabazillion (somewhere between a billion and a zillion, I think) emails with one of the following subjects:
Re: Thank You
Re: Details
Re: My Details
Re: Reapproved
Re: Your application
Re: Wicked Screen Saver
Re: That Movie

and an (because I have a mac) unreadable application that, were I to be stupid enough to open, would wrec havoc on my computer. Now, any email from anyone@gsb.uchicago.edu that has the subject "re: your application" or "re: details" I am likely to open--it's too likely a subject! I've applied to enough classes/conferences/etc. that need to send me details...Furthermore, often such emails contain a max of one line of text, something like "see attached announcement for details about our upcoming event". Which means I totally understand why/how it keeps spreading. but several people who are allowed to post to the all-student listhosts have gotten the damn virus...and I can't filter anything from a gsb address as junk, for obvious reasons.

GRRRRRRRRRR.

Actually, I have to confess that before I started getting warnings about the virus I had twice tried to open what I no know was a virus attachment. Thank god for Steve Jobs. But in my defense, my apple-loyalty has in the past made gsb emails turn into attachments when others saw them as plain email text.

whatever.

I'm hyper concsious of advertising right now, as I am working on my marketing final.

Current least favorite: walking along the pedestrian pass over hubbard street (as I do to get from class to the el) there are a series of banners for Lakeshore Fitness Club (sport club? gym? lakefront? something like that)
they read as follows...
"If the only set you know is your TV"
"If the only iron you pump is on your clothes"
"if the only spin cycle you know is on your washer"
"come to the club where chicago works out!"
you have to picture the really annoying graphics at the bottom to get the full idea...

and the current Aquafina campagin sucks: Gigantic billboard by my home (okay, near Wrigley field. Same dif)
"Pure Wrigley [change font&size] go cubs-holy cow-the ivy-blue w white L-homers on waveland-$40 parking (easy out)-red line to addison-more stupid phrases about the cubs-cubs win!-cubs win!-[font change] Pure Aquafina"

I mean. Really. Thank god I chose sides in the Coke/Pepsi war long ago.

(pepsi=evil)

I have no motivation to study for my exam or do my final case write-up. Which is really unfortunate because I need to do well on these finals to get good grades in these classes...but somehow, eh.

You know, if I had ever gotten a B in college I would have FREAKED. okay, I did get one. and I FREAKED about it. it was also the quarter before I went on leave, which explains some of the freaking (and some of the not studying). Now, in grad school, I am happy with my B's.
Part of this is that there are no + or - grades at the GSB, and all classes are curved to a 3.25 So I can feel the same about a B at the gsb as I did about an A- in college: damn happy. I'm not going to be the curve buster in the class, few students get Ds, few get As, I'm happy with the Bs. And yet the little voice in my head hears my dad telling me (about 15 years ago, I should note) that he would never expect any of his children to get anything less than straight A's.

It should be noted that no one should think that my college academic record is something to be entirely proud of. I spent hours every day at the library and literally drove myself crazy studying. I never had a steady relationship, and drove many of my friends away from me. I was also just a teeny bit self-destructive. I think I would probably have been happier if I had gotten a couple more B's.

Wouldn't you think that at my advanced age (I was, after all, born in the '70s) I should be able to shrug off the ghosts of my past?

Yeah right. Just like I'll be able to forgive my mom for saying "that baseball person who was on your brother's soccer team in grade school...Steinbrenner?" No. No. No mom, Epstein. Theo Epstein. VERY VERY different.

Perhaps Theo Steinbrenner and "that Magic Jordan fellow" should get together and shoot the shit.

Showtunes tonight. Yippee!

I should study, but I'll be out of town (on my way to IRELAND!!!!!!!) next week, and then the school year starts...yeah. I need one more summer revel at showtunes. It's not like I'll fail. and I only need c's to graduate.

(could someone please go back in time and show my college-self this post? it would do her a lot of good)

The cat is being whiny. At moment's like these she is "the" cat or "Margo's" cat. When she's cute and cuddly she's "my" cat. I need to pay attention to her now.
- posted by Heidi @ 8:45 PM