I know it has been a while (yeah yeah, you can stop harassing me he hasn't updated either!) but tonight is just a quick post.

I'm on break from my negotiation class. 2 points. First, I just made a great deal in our first negotiation simulation. My confidential instructions said I could take anything over $10/unit. Most classmates reached deals at around $15-20/unit. I got $34/unit. One could reasonably assume that my partner simply gave in too early. Or that I kick ass. I leave the choice up to you, although in fairness I should add that we finished in 15 minutes despite having been allotted 30.

Second observation: at the beginning of class everyone introduced themselves, said what they did for a living, and explained why they took the class. There are 32 people in the class, 7 of whom are women. 2 of the women said they were taking the class so they could negotiate better deals on their upcoming wedding expenses. 1 said she was hoping to get a better salary next year. The other 4 of us (including me) said that we were too forgiving, or kind, or loath to be hard-ass, or some equivalent, to be successful negotiators.

Now, I'm post-feminist in a feminist way (gotta love meaningless terminology!) I'm as sick of the 2nd-wave v. 3rd wave distinction as anyone else, but sometimes I just wonder... A top business school in the country, which is only 20% female, and all the women are still worried about being the weak ones. I thought b-school was full of ball-busting butch women like the CEO of HP, but no. We're just like the rest of you. I'm not entirely sure what any of this means, nor can I decide if it's a "bad" or "good" thing, I was just struck by the contract.

Remember: insight, not analysis. That's what I give. Or something.

I should go back to class now. Future updates (due soon!) will discuss such fascinating topics as the arrival of the class of 2008, my last year in school, and my as usual kooky-crazy adventures with life, the universe, and everything.

Oh, and it looks like the Red Sox are making the post-season, and you know what that means! The Cubs might too, so look forward to some loving and some heartbreaking and some traffic nightmares.

- posted by Heidi @ 7:25 PM