maysblog

I have a problem. It’s a good problem, but a problem none the less. I have reached a crossroad (actually it’s metaphorically more like a ‘star’ intersection) in my career path. This week I have to choose which track of the Professional Program I am going to take. Each track takes you to the same destination (a Master’s degree and eligibility to take the CPA exam), but the scenery is a bit different along the way. I wish Google Maps could just tell me which direction to go. Read the rest of this entry »

This is another blog about being an in-betweener.  I’ll continue with Southeast Asia shortly.

Upon returning to Aggieland, I extended my feelers for some temporary part-time work that would allow me to be in College Station while I prepared for graduation and the elusive ‘real world.’  Wanting more than just a meager paycheck, I sought out ‘experiences’ rather than jobs.  Out to lunch with the director of the Business Honors Program, Kris Morley (a gem of a woman who helped me put my life back on track after my dreaded freshman year), she mentioned a professor who might need some research assistance this spring.  An hour later, after meeting with Kristi Mora (the Management Department advisor who has supported me throughout my upper level education, indulging me in my every educational whim) I repeated the professor’s name, as she excitedly ushered me into his office just outside her door!  Speaking with him briefly, I was surprised at how quickly he was on the phone, trying to dig up money to pay me for my time. Things were looking up… Read the rest of this entry »

While my schedule this semester hasn’t permitted as many trips to Mesquite as I would like, watching an interview with black country singer Darius Rucker turned into hymn night on the Grand Ole Opry last night–and I was home.  Vince Gill said something about music speaking to him more than words and there–standing, alone in my living room, waiting to be picked up for a late movie–I felt as much peace as if the week hadn’t been hell. Read the rest of this entry »

Something about rain sliding down the window sills right next to my bed makes me want to sleep all day.  The minute I start thinking about designing another page of the magazine I’m working on, though, I am ready to go.

Many–if not all–of the people interviewed for this Influential Leaders of Aggieland edition of The Edge share that finding activities to be passionate about is the key to success.  Dr. Marty Loudder, an associate dean at Mays, said to “find something that you wake up excited to do” or else resign to an unfulfilled life.  While learning InDesign well enough to singlehandedly lay out 60 pages was not on my to-do list for the year, it brings me the same childlike joy that scrapbooking once did.  It causes me to jump out of bed, run down stairs and logon to my computer before I’ve even brushed my teeth.  Read the rest of this entry »

I stumbled upon the best website ever today. The Sartorialist, is a blog by a photographer in New York City. He goes around the world taking pictures of everyone - celebrities, as well as regular people on the streets. The blog started in 2005 and still continues to be updated monthly.

So if you forget how amazing and fascinating people and the world are, please check it out. Get inspired perhaps ?!

Read the rest of this entry »

Life can get very stressful if you don’t find time to relax. Many people make the mistake of working through breaks or staying up late at night trying to catch up with their work, but in reality they are just setting themselves up to fall further behind. When lacking rest, the body and mind will not function as efficiently. Taking a break is the last thing a stressed person is willing to do, so sometimes they have to be forced. Last Friday was the PPA retreat, so all PPA courses were canceled for the day. Thank goodness for mandatory fun. Read the rest of this entry »

After making my way through customs, withdrawing about 5 million Dong (Vietnamese currency… roughly equivalent to about $270), navigating the public bus transportation system (all without a translator) and arriving at my hostel, I was ready for some of the infamous Vietnamese food.  It had been reiterated to me time and time again that the cuisine in Vietnam is a gastronomic dream, but just get ready for your intestinal track to make steady unpleasant payments on your meal.  My take on the experience is always ‘You only live once’ so I went headlong into my bowl of Pho Bo (Beef, noodles and soup with greens and spices) and iced Vietnamese coffee.

Dining overseas is always an experience, reminding me of the truth Michael Pollan points to in his book In Defense of Food that for centuries our diet has been dictated by our culture (a fancy word for mother) rather than science (a fancy word for nutritionists).  I am all about going out on a limb and trying new things, but there are certain tastes that are truly acquired.  For instance, take a glance at this shot I took of the menu at this restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City:

I don’t think a Chicken Egg Soda will ever sound appetizing to me. Read the rest of this entry »

Interestingly enough, today, January 27, 2010, a day which I set aside for reflection specifically over my experiences in Vietnam, is the anniversary of the ending of one of the longest, most expensive wars in American History.  That’s right, on this day in 1973, North Vietnamese and American representatives signed an agreement in Paris.  37 years…  to think if I were just a generation older, my tour of Vietnam would have been quite different.

Of course this isn’t the first time this thought had occurred to me.  While in Vietnam, everywhere I went, I was asked four questions: What is your name? Where are you from? How old are you? Are you married? Those exact four questions, and in that exact same order.  Like instinct, they asked me these questions, and equally instinctual, I’d be guessing their age and calculating in my head how old they were during the Vietnam war, considering whether I was in the North or the South, guessing their impressions of Americans… Might I be the first American they’d met without a camera or a gun?  A French woman I met in a market, who claimed to be ‘the first tourist to Vietnam’ exclaimed how good it was that finally, Americans were coming to visit Vietnam, and even now, there weren’t many of us.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mom always taught you to look both ways when crossing the road.  When crossing the road in Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), it’s best to forget this advice. Ignore the mass of motorbikes whizzing towards you; they see you, and if you keep walking at a steady pace, they’ll navigate around you.  There was a chicken on the side of the road.  Of all the roads in the world for him to cross, I will never understand what was SO important that he had to get to the other side.

Across the narrow alleyway of the hostel, there were two women throwing colorful, feather light papers into a bin of burning fire.  Intrigued, I watched them, but my interest was not ignored.  Unable to speak English (like most Vietnamese) they offered me a stack of papers to join them.  Sitting by them, burning papers, as they would look at me, chat amongst themselves, offering me candy and packaged pastries, smiling often.  We sat together, just watching the papers burn, unable to speak, we communicated appreciation for the company of one another.  For the rest of my trip, I would always see them sitting on their small stoop, playing with babies, eating, painting each other’s nails, tiding up.  It wasn’t until I later saw the woman who had sat next to me sweeping that I noticed her severe limp.  Her impairment made me wonder… What happened? Was it a motorcycle accident? Was she born like that? Could this defect be a result of perhaps something my country was responsible for?

Read the rest of this entry »

This summer I was blessed by being able to take the Marketing Study Abroad Program through Mays Business School. We traveled throughout Europe learning about local cultures, international business and the world we live in. This video blog documents our experience and gives you some insight into the adventures we had, the things we learned, and the relationships we formed.

Click here to watch it…Prost!

This video is part two while I was in Munich…all of the music used in these videos was local and recorded from various local musicians from each respective place.