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May 06, 2004 - Thursday, 11:50 p.m.

Well... school is winding down for sure. All the classes are done now. Just the 3 finals to do... (plus turning in that one case study). I sound like a broken record. However, I'll be glad to be done with the semester.

Rosie gave me a ride home after class tonight. (She's been giving me a ride for a few weeks now.) We sat and visited before she dropped me at home. She is almost done with her MBA. She has 4 more classes that she'll take online over the next two semesters. She'll be moving to the east coast to work and I can tell that she is looking forward to it. However, this is her last class in the classroom for her college career. I could tell that it was a little unsettling for her. It's interesting. I know that when I was her age, I certainly wasn't as focused on a career as she is. I am sure she'll do well. It is interesting to be at the other end of the spectrum. She has the ability to move and go where the job is as she isn't married and doesn't have any kids. I, on the other hand, am done raising my kids (or almost) and have the same freedom to go where the job is as well. It is a little unsettling to think about moving far away from my family, which I have really been around all of my life. But, you know, I am kind of looking forward to it as well. In a way that I wasn't really able to look forward to it twenty years ago. I was alot more frightened of going out into the world then.

I would love to be embarking on this stage of my journey with a partner. It would be more exciting to think about going out into the world with someone beside me... someone to share the successes and failures with. One of the most enjoyable parts of working on my MBA is the feeling that I am going through it with this group of people. Not all by myself. I very much enjoy taking my classes with Dan. I just really enjoy Dan, period. I could really get used to having him around. He is definitely one of those people I've mentally let into an inner circle. There are people I never forget and am forever a loyal friend to, and he had dropped into the circle. Heck, even Gary is still in that circle. We've been divorced for almost 14 years. But I still have a tendency to stand up for him, and continue to be proud of him in his successes. That loyality that I give might be a little work to gain, but I rarely back away from it.

The experience of graduate school, is really different from the undergraduate experience, at least for me. I enjoy it a lot more then I did my undergraduate years. I like feeling like I am interfacing with the instructors on a more equal level. I like feeling like I am a part of this group. Each class I take I take with the same people, or at least many of the same people. It's a great experience.

I've been pondering where I am going to go with this degree. I am pretty sure that the Operation and Technology Management is where I want to be. I see my strengths as having the ability to understand the technical and communicate it to the masses. I have a very good grasp of process... of understanding that there is a HUGE difference between what the engineer envisions and how production actually does the work. The realization that you have to breakdown the engineer's idea, into what the operator can actually do. Understanding the actual flow of work as compared to the ideal process created by the engineer. I am very good at standing in the middle and understanding the problem from multiple angles. Will be very interesting to see if what I think I can do and see will match up with what I learn in the actual operations classes. Will be nice to see if my 'experience' in the work world will translate well to the academic. Am looking forward to getting into the meat of some of this.

Am tired... it's nearly midnight. Time to climb into bed and try to relax. Gah!! I hate having such a hard time unwinding...

Later.... M.