My cat has a new favorite toy: iPod earbuds. And really, I can think of no better use for the ill-fitting and extremely painful low-sound-quality POSs then that.

I just finished my first homework assignment for Pricing. The honor code dictates that I not discuss my results with anyone until everyone has handed theirs in, and probably I shouldn't talk about any answers online as that could facilitate other people's attempts to violate the honor code. Or something.
Anyway, I was warned (as I believe I mentioned before) that this would be a highly quantitative course. I decided that I needed to get over 16 years of "girls don't do math" indoctrination (my age minus 3 years of "girls should do all the math and science and sportscasting in the world" indoctrination in 7th-9th grade at Winsor minus 6 years of friendship with math-teacher-in-training Kesa). I also realized that I've taken enough micro at this point to blow away my belief that I should take only fuzzy-behavioral-psych based management courses.
However, it's not the math that gets me. No, it's the combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis. If I'm thinking math, I'm thinking math (this extends to simple word problems, including basic demand determinations, utility values and market sizes). If I'm analyzing a case, I'm doing it qualitatively--except for with the actual charts. (NB, this has gotten me into trouble in the past. Plus, I'm overstating it a little for effect).
The hard part is reading text and translating that into numbers.
The case analysis that was half of my homework tonight was 3 qualitative questions about market size, demand, consumer preference, etc. The rest asked me to come up with the EVC price for the product. No surprise, this is a pricing class. But that involved more complex equations than I've dealt with since first year college "hitchhikers guide to calculus" and more statistics than either Mith Marthall or Prof. Abreveya ever prepared me for. Actually, I should rephrase: more than I retained, not more then they prepared me for. The class I'm in, after all, has no prereqs other than intro marketing (which has only intro micro as a prereq).
I think my biggest stumbling block was that the next-best-alternative product was priced at $2, and I kept coming up with prices of over $150. This actually makes sense, given that the new product never needs to be replaced and saves 20% on labor costs, but at the time it was disconcerting.

So, I may have just proved why I don't belong in B-School. But at least I got to break out a smidgen of pricing theory at the ut committee meeting last week.

On another note, I had long ago decided that the only way to fight the inevitable Easter-blues (I'm sure I'll write more about this later this week) was to immerse myself in homework, go out with friends, and generally ignore hyde park and thinking about my family (usual sources of the blues).
Course, that didn't allow for having to be in hyde park all day Saturday, my family's insistence that I call them on Easter, mid-day Sunday plans that prevent homework, or most of my friends being busy/out of town and therefore unable to distract me.
On the upside, I may not be able to go home for the most important holiday in my religion of upbringing and family tradition, but I'll be traveling AGAIN next weekend. Surrounded by family to boot. I'm sure that after that I'll be glad to retreat back to sweet home Chicago.

Which reminds me. Last weekend, in Boston for my aunt's 70th birthday, my brother was VERY amused (and comforted) to hear my boyfriend whine that I'm never free to do anything. Apparently my family thought I was making up being busy and really just avoided them all the time. I was not amused. I was even less amused when an email to friends explaining that I was cell-less and therefore would love their phone numbers elicited 6 (yes, 6) emails that included some variation on "not that you have any need for my phone number since you never call".
I'd like to repeat that I miss all my friends, that I do feel isolated and alone when I'm stuck at work late or doing homework all Friday night, but I made this choice when I went to grad school. I hope that it won't irrevocably harm friendships, and I do like everyone as much as I did before I started. There are only 3 people who hear from me on any sort of regular basis, and that doesn't even include my mother.

Now I'm just avoiding going to asleep. Or perhaps looking for another (excuse to use parentheses).

ooh-here's one. My new phone arrived yesterday. It is far more phone than I need. The color screen is nicer then my computer's, and every icon animates itself when appropriate. The wallpaper is changeable, and all animated (which, frankly, is a little distracting). It's my first flip phone (welcoming me to the future, I suppose) and weighs about half as much as my next-lightest phone (which was not exactly heavy). It's less than half the size of my iPod and weighs about 1/10 as much. It's far more technology then I need, even though I elected not to activate the camera feature or internet/email stuff. But it's damn cool. And it only cost $32.16 (including shipping costs, rebates, and upgrade deals). But how long until I lose it? I hope long enough to earn another upgrade...at the rate of technological change I expect my next phone to scramble eggs.
- posted by Heidi @ 10:44 PM