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how? what? huh? CNN.com - Unexpectant mom shocked by birth - Oct. 20, 2003

I'm constantly shocked by people.

Other things I'm often shocked by. Rankings. I periodically get alerts from the GSB updating our ranking in various publications that do that type of thing. Often they read like the one I got today: "Today, the Financial Times released its annual ranking of executive M.B.A. programs. The GSB ranked 2nd; in last year's ranking, the GSB was ranked 7th". Sometimes the shift is the other way. I think the various rankings choose 9 top schools and then pull the top order out of a hat. It is so inconsistent from year to year--not who is there, but what order they are in.

TIMEOUT. just went searching for a Business Week article to make my point. Had to register for a free account...name, email, age range...
pulldown list of job title options: Chairman, board member, managing director, c-level, president, senior VP, controller, sales rep, .... etc. down to clerical/support staff.
company size-1-5, 5-9, etc.
industry: aerospace, advertising, agriculture, banking, business services, computers and communications, consulting, construction, education, entertainment, government, healthcare, insurance, investment/financial services, internet, legal, mining, manufacturing, personal services, publishing, real estate, retail, software, telecom, travel, utilities, wholesale.

um. I've been unvalidated. I suppose I *could* choose either education or entertainment, but I'm not really in either. Actually, I suppose I'm very much in both, but with some caveats. However, if I were working at any non-academic theater in Chicago I'm not sure I'd want to choose "entertainment" as the category. Not because theater isn't entertaining, but because the "entertainment industry" usually means TV, film, and the WWE. I suppose big budget commercial theater and spectacle too, but not your typical Chicago store-front shoe-string theater.

That caveat aside (and please, those of you who work at clearchannel or in LA, I am really not saying that there is anything bad about being in the entertainment industry), what if I worked for a museum? Or an NGO? Or for the UN (which shouldn't count as government, not really)? Or for anything that could reasonably and easily be qualified as "non-profit"?

I'm so annoyed at the lack of no non-profit option that I'm going to drop what could have been an insightful thread. Yes, it is the little things.

SO, my next rant is about NPR. I just renewed my WBEZ membership. As should all regular listeners. They only get 8% of their funding from the government, the rest comes from listeners like you. And as an avid listener, I feel obligated to be a member. Nevertheless, the pledge drives tend to confuse me as to when I should pledge. For example, if I had pledged today (and today only!) I would have been entered in a drawing to win a $1,000 shopping spree. If I had pledged during morning edition last Thursday my gift would have been matched by someone really rich. If I pledged Saturday when Jim Nayder was on the air urging me too I would have won the annoying music show box set. Etc. Etc. If I put it on a credit card I get Newsweek in addition to whatever gift. Etc. etc. etc.
There's also a "buy back the drive" incentive to pledge early. So I pledged during the first day--which makes me feel less guilty when I switch stations during the pledge drive interruptions.

You know?

Chicago's insta-fall is almost over. I left for New England last week and the trees were green. I returned and they were colorful. And now most of the leaves are on the ground (despite todays' 80 degree weather. this being Chicago, it's supposed to be 55 tomorrow). It's very confusing.

-insert relevant segue here-

There are 2 parking lots near the Gleacher Center. Actually, there are more than that, but only 2 that I know how to access. Validation is available for either. At one lot it is $10 with GSB validation after 4pm, at the other it is $11. Being a contrarian, I usually park in the $11 lot even though it is about a half-block farther away and more expensive. Why? Because when 500 people get out of class at 9pm and half of them go to their cars they are all in the cheap lot. It is well worth the extra dollar to avoid waiting 30 minutes to exit the lot. Except maybe it isn't. In the last year I've driven to an average of 1.5 classes/week, 10 weeks/quarter, for 4 quarters. So I've spent an extra $60 or so.
Usually I would have no problem justifying that. $60 is very little compared to the $12,000 I've spent on my half-price tuition (which doesn't include books at about $200/class). But today I got out at 8pm after my midterm. So I definitely wasted that dollar.

Again, it's the little things.

In the best baseball news in a while, USA Today is running a simulated World Series between the Red Sox and the Cubbies. It includes highlights from the "games". And I've so far devoted much more time to it than to the actual one. You know, if I didn't get fox (which I didn't pre-cable because the signal is so crappy) I could very easily convince myself that it was the real one and forget all the heartbreak of last week. Hmmmm.

Showtunes tonight. I'm very excited.
- posted by Heidi @ 8:16 PM