Seattle Here I Come!

As promised, I've signed up to run the inaugural Seattle half marathon in June..yay! I'm so psyched! This is going to be my fourth one and hopefully, I can focus more on increasing my pace this time around. It is yet another reason for me to keep my fitness goals alive and well as I kick off the beginning of 2009. I know this year will bring many more new beginnings for me and I can't tell you how juiced I am about all of it. If you had asked me two years ago where I saw myself, I certainly wouldn't have been trying to complete my fourth half. BTW, if any of you considering joining me in Seattle, I do have a coupon code to get $10 off the current reg fee of $85. Just leave a message and I'll send it your way!

Whoo hoo! I can't wait to sink my teeth and my soles into the likes of Seattle. I've always been enamored with the birthplace of Starbucks and the home of the Space Needle...now I get to experience it myself. I'll have to catch some Foodnetwork and Travel channel shows to find the best places to dine on the freshest seafood--wowie! I can't wait! This is certainly going to keep me nice and occupied as I wait in limbo to hear back from my prospective Bschools...thank goodness!

My First Interview Invite...yay!

After feeling the post-MBA application blues for a few weeks, I was met with some great news in my inbox today at exactly 10:59AM PST...my very first interview invitation from the UC Davis GSM. I have to admit it caught be my surprise seeing that Davis was the last application I submitted, but I was elated nonetheless. I read the invite at around noon and when I tried to sign up for an interview, I was surprised to see that over half of the slots were already filled...geesh...aspiring MBAs are on top of their S3*! Anyhow, I signed up for mine a month from today, so it'll give me ample time to prepare. The cool thing is that they let you do a 5-7 min presentation on any topic you want, so for me, that's really nice...more room to shine!

I'm particularly drawn to the UC Davis MBA for a few good reasons. One being that a very good friend of mine has already gone through it and loved her experience. Secondly, the program prides itself on its intimate and collaborative team environment..both wonderful attributes of any great program. After I attended their Preview Day, I received a freshly signed letter from the Director..yep, it was real ink! I'm not sure how many people actually sign their own letters nowadays, but to me, it's a sign that people care about their prospective students and that earns extra brownie points in my book;) Thirdly, the GSM offers the program of study that I wish to pursue, Social Entrepreneurship...I looked it up and they have professors who actually teach the subject matter and are renowned experts in the field. Other reasons why I know the GSM would be a great fit for me is that I can do it part-time, thereby relinquishing my fear that a volatile economic downturn may leave me worried should I need to quit my job--I would be able to have my cake and eat it too (and I love cake)! And on a final note, Forbes did rank the part-time program as 16th in the nation, which is pretty awesome since I think since there's so many random ones out there these days. I get a whole slew of internet MBA thingies in the mail which I simply think is a bunch of crap. It seems that ever since I took the GMAT, I've been getting a ton of 'em. Oh wells..options are always nice I suppose. In the meantime, I'll continue to cross my fingers for more good news and grab some nice gifts for my wonderful recommenders.