OK, where did that extra hour go?

Homework's my guess.

Five hours on our assignment due on Tuesday and we're still not done. That's on top of individual research we did last week. Marketing is the name, and demand estimation is the game.

I don't get it. It should be simple. Everybody will buy our product ;)

This is the song I'm listening to: Against All Odds, The Postal Service.

Reading, browsing...

It's always amazing that will all the reading I have to do for class, I still manage to spend some time reading other books. I have just finished reading what was probably one of the best books I've read on management: First, Break All the Rules, by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman. The result of a massive investigation undertaken by Gallup, the book has a refreshing insight on great managers and how people typically want to be treated in the workplace. It talks about promotions (promotion from a specialized position to a managerial position is often done, but not often a good idea), evaluations and their traditional focus on weaknesses... I strongly recommend this book, even if you are not a manager. There's even a chapter on managing your manager! Next up, I'm reading The Ecology of Commerce, by Paul Hawken.

Here are also a few interesting sites I've bookmarked lately:

• Cooking for Engineers. I thought this was cute, recipes written specifically for people with analytical minds. I tried their rosemary lamb chop recipe a few weekends ago when I had friends over for dinner and it was a success.
• Environmental Career Opportunities. It was insteresting to browse and read about jobs I had no idea existed (Aquatic Ecologist, for example). There are a few Project Manager openings in Florida and California...
• Language Log. Really clever blog about language and the proper (or often improper) use of words.

This is the song I'm listening to: Hide and Seek, Imogen Heap.

It's the fall, y'all

I had to turn on the heat today, it was too cold inside to sit in the livingroom and study. And it was too cold outside to sit on the balcony and study.

I noticed that the last set of pictures I posted was about The Weekend to End Breast Cancer. What can I say, I'm not going out much these days and since I don't really have a great source of photographic inspiration at home (i.e. pet or kid), you'll have to suffer a break in the pictures for a little while. I promise to take pictures at Christmas ;)

This weekend, I officially broke my sad trend of NOT working out regularly and went to the gym twice. Every week, I had one or more excuses for not going, for not running. Little did I notice that I have been making up excuses for almost two months now. This is not helping with my energy level (neither are the short days). So, I downloaded a really up-beat compilation from iTunes and broke the trend. Send me good energy vibes so I can continue this for the weeks to come.

The pace of assignments is increasing, while weekly readings are just as heavy as they were at the beginning. I have to admit though, I prefer many assignments over the course of the semester than a mid-term and a final. I don't have exams this semester, only projects. Large, complex projects, but they require no cramming of information in my already busy brain.

And I'm starting a small protest. The university published our schedule for the spring (Jan-March) and one of our courses is held on Tuesday afternoons (1:30-5). Uh, hello? Part-time student working during the week here... When did I sign up for afternoon classes. I made sure that all other part-time students knew about this little scheduling blunder and asked them to complain to the school if they didn't like the idea either. Let's see how the school responds.

That wasn't so bad

"You are an independent consultant hired by company to assess two Venture Capitalist (VC) proposals and offer advice on which proposal the founders should accept."

These were the instructions for my Finance assignment. One week ago, I had never read a term sheet, let alone tried to understand what the terms actually mean. Here's a sample term sheet, for your reading pleasure ;)

Well, I just completed my analysis and I think I now understand term sheets enough to be able to assess which proposal would be better for the company founders.

I am often amazed by these little victories :-)

What do you do when it's cold and rainy outside?

You cook up a storm and invite friends over for dinner!

Yum. That was tasty. Lara, Charles and Gerri came over for dinner tonight and we had bean soup (13-bean mix), lamb chops marinated in pineapple, orange juice and rosemary, baby potatoes with lots of butter, asparagus, and Mayan Chocolate ice cream from Haagen-Dazs. Oh, and a couple of nice bottles of red wine.

It almost felt like the big Thanksgiving dinner I made last year, without all the turkey leftovers.

Nothing else to report about this weekend, lots of homework, got my mark back for the one-week intensive course on Leadership (A, yay!). This week will be busy, I have class tomorrow night, an assignment to finish on Tuesday, an online session for Finance on Wednesday, a strata meeting on Thursday (I think) and... about ten meetings already scheduled this week. Yikes!

You must comply

(Last time I watched Star Trek was a few years ago, OK, so don't be too hard on me.)

I've been kindly invited to report for duty on November 6: jury duty! That's a big first, and I always wondered how people were picked for this process. Not that I have an answer now, but this tells me it's pretty random. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket.

So, I show up at the Law Courts at 9:15 in the morning (that will be a first, going to the Law Courts for something else than salsa!), go through some kind of interview and by noon, I should know whether or not I am picked to actually sit on the jury. Cases are typically 3-5 days long, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. I'm hoping this is not for a complicated criminal case where they have to lock me up in a hotel for months. Yikes!

To tell you the truth, I'd be pretty excited to be able to sit on a jury and witness our legal system at work. I know it'll be nothing like Law&Order ;)

New shoes! How white... not for long!

No turkey

This weekend couldn't have been more different that last year's Thanksgiving weekend. I could have hosted another dinner, but having been invited to a few myself, I thought it would be a lot more fun (and a lot less work) to be a guest this time around.

On Friday and Saturday, I had the pleasure of having a visitor. Monique, a long time friend of the family, was dropping by on her way back from three weeks in China. It sounded like she had a memorable trip (and 900 pictures to prove it). We had a chance to catch up (I usually see her at New Years Eve only, if I happen to be in Montreal) and see a bit of Vancouver. Last time she was here was 1995 and it rained. Unbelievable, I know ;) Monique left on Sunday and is probably still trying to recover from the time difference.

Last night, I had dinner with Charles and Lara. I hadn't seen these two for a few weeks now and it was long due. It's good seeing them together again.

Now, after not spending too much time reading and preparing assignments, I'm due for a day of school work. I have to step out to look for a new pair of running shoes, my old ones being so worn out they are becoming dangerous. Last week I ran 5 km and on my way back home, the sole of my left foot started hurting like mad. I was limping the following day. Since the pain eventually went away, I know this is not an injury, but there's no way I should be running in those shoes anymore.

Tonight, I have been invited at my friend Typhanie's place for a Caribbean dinner. She has a friend from Martinique who wanted to prepare us typical dishes from her country. Can't wait!

Thinking strategically about my life

I think this quote found in a book I'm reading for Marketing, Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore, accurately reflect why I felt I had to so such intense soul-searching lately:

"f you don't know where you are going, you probably aren't going to get there."

Yup, simple enough but true. I’ve been planning to pursue an MBA for a few years now but it’s only recently that the purpose of this MBA became clear. My current job is very challenging, it keeps me busy and motivated; however, I always felt that I was missing something, that I would feel much more satisfied if my work made a difference.

I entertain two passions that have not yet crossed paths in my work. My first passion is technology. I enjoy reading and learning about new technology and scientific discoveries. I have spent the past seven years working in a variety of high-tech industries (optical networking, IP networking, business applications). Although I do not have an Undergraduate degree in Engineering or Computer Science, my interest in technology has allowed me to develop the necessary skills to explain this technology to others (Technical Writing) and provide the guidance for designing applications that focus on an optimal user experience.

My second passion is the environment. I stay informed on recent developments in sustainable living. I’m a supporter of various environmental organizations such as The Land Conservancy (TLC), the World Wildlife Federation and the David Suzuki Foundation. I enjoy keeping up with newstories about people and organizations who make the environment their focus. I don’t own a car, buy local whenever possible and consciously make efforts to reduce my ecological footprint.

My plan for the next few years is to merge these two passions and seek a career as a Project or Product Manager in a company developing sustainable technology, preferably technology that can also help solve fundamental issues in developing countries (provide clean sources of fuel, improve agricultural practices, and so on). I am pursuing the Management of Technology (MOT) MBA as a part-time student to build the foundation needed to solve common business problems encountered by high-tech companies. I started the MBA this fall (2006) with a few courses already completed, which then happens to leave me with a free semester in the fall of 2007.

Between September 2007 and December 2007, I plan to volunteer for an international development program focused on sustainable technologies in developing countries. I have already started looking into projects sponsored by a variety of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and charitable foundations. Groups like MBA Without Borders, the Aga Khan Foundation, One Sky (The Canadian Institute for Sustainable Living) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development are regularly looking for trained professionals to help with projects all over the world. I am looking for a four-to-six week project abroad, with some planning and analysis work done part-time while I am in Vancouver.

I also plan to work with a local company developing sustainable technology for my final MBA project. I am reading through a variety of publications to familiarize myself with the sustainable technology industry in Vancouver, including some of the publications by Business in Vancouver. I have not identified the specific problem I want to help address in my MBA project at this point, as I am not starting the project until early 2008. However, during the Western Canadian Environmental Technology Forum held in Vancouver in 2003, representatives of western Canadian environmental technology companies identified areas where the industry was facing tough challenges, including:

• Gathering market intelligence, especially in countries with large populations that represent a significant market potential
• Developing demonstration projects to showcase the technology
• Defining sector needs for commercialization to reduce risks for investors and new technologies

Any of these areas could potentially become an interesting project for my MBA. Some of the text in this blog was included in a letter accompanying my application for a $10,000 scholarship offered by SFU. With the scholarship, it will be easier for me to take an unpaid leave of absence for the volunteer project. I believe my employer would let me leave for four to six weeks, but obviously, I wouldn't get paid during that time. Expenses are typically covered in international development projects, but covering my expenses and saving for tuition is a bit much if your income is cut back by almost two months.

Even further down the road, I'm even planning for a trip with Annie in 2008 in South-East Asia. The intent of the trip is to obviously discover this area's rich culture and beautiful scenery, but also to familiarize myself with potential markets for sustainable products.

So, this is my vision going forward. Having formulated what it is that I intend to do helps me focus my efforts. I also communicate this vision with friends and contacts because I want to share my enthusiasm about these new goals but also because they might hear about people or companies who are doing business in my area of interest. Networking can be pretty powerful.

The road ahead is so clear now...