Billy’s 19th Birthday

My little brother is finally 19! He seemed to have a pretty good birthday too. He went parasailing with his girlfriend, and had a family dinner with us.

I gave him a slightly sappy card, which he seemed to appreciate. And then I also gave him a microwave. He really really wanted a microwave to take to his dorm. In the picture, he’s proud that he was right and that’s what he got.

Mom, on the other hand, got him a mini-refrigerator, and a button that says “One Great Son.” He wore the button most of the night! It was cute. He also stamped himself with my book stamp that says “This belongs to the Library of Jessica.”

He also really wanted the fridge. He was especially happy that we found one that had a decent sized freezer in it, because they are so hard to get.

He made out pretty well this year, and now he’s prepared to go off to college and live in a dorm.

Happy 19th Birthday Billy~!

 

80s Night

Monday (June 8th), I was invited to go to 80’s night at the Castle with some of my friends. This turned out to be a lot of fun, and something I’d like to do again if I get the opportunity.

So, from the left, there is Danniela, Maria, Me, and Juan. In the spirit of the night, we all tried to dance 80’s style for the most part.

My overall feeling toward the Castle is that it’s not my favorite. I generally prefer the pop-y atmosphere in a regular club. But, I will give the Castle 80’s night, because they definitely rocked it. It was $3 to get in, and completely worth the drive! It was a lot of fun to hang out with Juan and Maria outside of class and AMA events. I hope we get lot’s of chances to keep going out together!

 

Barry and Meredith’s Wedding

Barry and Meredith got married June 7th, 2009! This wedding completely suited them. It was very laid back: attire consisted of jeans and tees. The entire ceremony lasted about 2 minutes.

The location was Arts on the Park in Lakeland. This was a very nice gallary. There were several pieces that I really enjoyed.

The both of them were really cute and nervous. Meredith had to hide from the “paparazzi” (her term, not mine ). And Barry dropped the ring in the beginning. But, it just made things that much sweeter because you could see that, even though the ceremony was short and simple, they both felt it as a big step in their lives. 

Afterword, there were some snacks and Red Velvet cupcakes for us to pick at. And then the party moved down the street to a nice bar. I had a lot of fun getting to talk to some martial arts (Kenjutsu and Akido) people again. It made me really want to start attending class again, and I’m seriously trying to find a way to go to the Largo dojo.

And finally, a picture of the newly-weds:

 

Mother’s Day

So, usually for Mother’s day, we make mom breakfast in bed. My brother and I have been doing this since I can remember, and it’s always fun. This year, however, I had to drive in from tampa, so Billy took on breakfast by himself.

When I got back to St. Pete, I said hi to Mom, and started working on my present: a Red Velvet Cake. This is mom’s favorite cake, so I wanted to make it for her. I found this recipe online, and went to work. I did have to modify the recipe a bit, because I couldnt find the right flour, and I didn’t have anything to sift with, but I had fun making it, and it came out pretty good!

I did frost it a little earlier than I should have, so I showed it to mom as soon as it was finished to take a picture.

Afterword, we decided that Mini-golfing would make for a fun day! We hadn’t been in forever, and so we went to Pirates’ Cove. It was a lot of fun to do that – it’s something we’ve all enjoyed together for a long time.

We came home and had a nice dinner together. And of course, we had dessert afterword.

 

Graduation!

Hey everyone! So, I graduated from USF (in the Spring ‘09 semester) with a B.A. in Management and a B.S. in Marketing. There really is no difference, I just wanted the fact that I earned two degrees (and I didn’t just have two majors) to stand out.

I was suprised, because finishing was really an emotional event for me. Graduating high school, I just had to continue. But, this time, I’m really able to say “I’m done.” It’s amazing to me.

My Dad arrived the friday afternoon before my graduation. That night, him, my brother, and I went to Gators to get some dinner. And then he and I just kinda chilled a little bit at my apartment. My graduation time was at 9am, and so we got to the Sundome very early (it was about 8:30 – the school recommended 7). The ceremony was 90 minutes, and very nicely done.

Coincidentally, Sean and I ended up sitting in the last row that would walk across the stage. This had the cool effect of the entire stadium clapping while we walked across the stage (I know, I know, it was for the end, but still). 

Afterword, we had a small party at Mom’s house. She made me an awesome cake! It actually turned out to be a pretty fun event. Dad, Uncle Rich, Armie, Sonny, Meredith, and Emily came. Plus, of course, Mom, Billy, and myself. There was a lot of good food, and a lot of Guitar Hero World Tour – turns out to be a great party game!

I had a really good time, and I still can hardly believe I’ve graduated. It’s such an amazing feeling to me to have moments where I’m free to do what I please.

As for what’s happening now, I’m still a student at USF. Right now, I’m doing an Internship as Independent Study at CBS Radio. I’m also taking French. I really like the teacher I have now, and am happy I get to practice french again! My plan right now is to work for the summer (getting a job on top of this) and save up enough money to live in Manhatten (at least to start with three months worth). So, we’ll see where I am next winter.

 

What I Wish I Knew Before I Went To College

Since I’m graduating next week, I’ve been thinking about the things I’ve learned, both inside and outside of classes, since I’ve started attending USF. I was also thinking about how much easier some things would have been had I known about them ahead of time. So, here’s the list:

Join Social Groups
I didn’t join AMA (American Marketing Association) until the beginning of my last semester. I had a great time with this group, and also met a lot of awesome people while gaining a lot of experience. When I joined ZERO (dance club in Japan), I had a great time and improved my language skills.

There are a lot of groups for common interest on campus, and you can meet a lot of great people. There are also tons of professional clubs (such as AMA) for all the different majors. These are a particularly good idea because you can expand your network in your future field.

Of course, don’t forget sororities and fraternities. The traditional style ones still prevail, but there’s an emergence of co-ed fraternities lately. I wish I had checked these out when I first got to college.

Group Work
Choose your group members wisely. Try to find people who have the same goals in mind concerning the project (for example, make sure everyone in the group wants the same grade you do). Also, find people who are willing to meet you outside of class.

Establish a leader. It might seem unnecessary to choose someone, but if there’s a conflict later on, or work needs to be divided up, it’s good to have someone responsible to give the final word. Also, this will designate someone to put the final document together and do any last minute formatting (but please, have everyone do their own spell/grammar check).

Don’t be afraid to do things the way they work for you. If you need to work by yourself, and get distracted easily working in a group setting, tell your group. Say that you work better without distractions, and that you would like to set a meeting time to go over what you’ve come up with. While this isn’t possible all the time, it does make your overall schedule better.

Student Life
The on-campus off-campus debate is never ending. As a freshman, and even a sophomore, it might be more convenient to live on-campus. There’s more access to social events, and it’s easier to meet people.

However, I prefer off campus living; particularly for upperclassmen. This allows you to keep your own schedule for studying and partying as you like. And, you don’t have to move in and out throughout the year.

The most important thing as a student is to balance getting work done with having fun. It’s important to do both, or you’ll burn yourself out one way or the other.

Study Abroad
Do it. Period. This is the best opportunity you’re going to have to live abroad without actually working (as a career). Take out the loan or the extra semester, or both, and go where you want to go. The lessons you’ll learn abroad are priceless. Plus, the experiences look great on a resume later on.

When you’re abroad, don’t just hang out with other people from the US (or whatever country you’re from). Get involved in the local culture. Join groups you’re interested in, and try stuff that is typical of the local culture (food, entertainment, clothes, etc).

Work
Get a part-time job, and stick with it. When you start looking for a job, it’ll look great that you stayed with the same company for years. Or even if you had two jobs the entire time you were in college. It’ll show future companies that you are able to commit, and that you have experience in the working-world. And, it won’t hurt to have some extra cash in your pocket. (^_~)

 

Visian ICL (Intraocular Contact Lense)

I’ve worn glasses or contacts since the second grade. I had a -9.0 perscription, and I couldn’t even see the big E on the vision chart without help. For years, I’ve been waiting for my eyes to stablize enough that I could get lasik.

To have lasik, it’s important to make sure the eyes have stabilized to create an accurate prescription. Lasik is also primarily for those people who are near sighted, and need their faraway vision corrected. What happens is that the doctor measures the cornea, and determines how much change is needed to create 20/20 vision.

Then, in surgery, the doctor cuts the top layer of the cornea so that the middle layers are accessable. The doctor then shaves down the middle layers to a perscription that is acceptable, and replaces the top layer on the eye. It takes approximately 3 days to completely recover. While older technologies had the doctor actually do each cut by hand, the newer trend is to use a laser to get a more even effect.
This year, my eyes were finally stable enough for me to be considered! Unfortunately, my eyesight has progressed to the point that it is no longer possible for lasik to completely fix my vision. Luckily, Dr. Updegraff also does multiple procedures, including inserting ICLs.

ICL stands for Intraocular contact lense. This procedure is geared towards people with eyesight so bad that it cannot be corrected with lasik. This procedure is done in three stages:

1. Creating two pinholes in the iris to allow the fluids in the eye to flow normally despite the new obstruction of the contact lense.
2. Insert ICL in the first eye (my right eye was first).
3. Insert ICL in the second eye after a week.

The first procedure is very fast and easy. I sat at a machine that looks like the one that puffs air into your eye. However, this machine is actually a laser. As the patient, my job was to do the best I could to focus on a red light, and hold as still as possible.

It takes a few shots to get the whole completed (took me three for each hole). The feeling is like that of a dull needle pressing and then breaking. It hurts for less than a second, and not actually that bad.

I was told that light eyed people have a slightly easier time because there is less pigment in iris. Thus, less is needed to complete the hole. I remember there was a trade-off for brown eyes, however I cannot remember exactly what it was. For both eyes, a slight headache is common for the first few hours.

To insert the ICL, the doctor creates a small incision at the side of the pupil, and the ICL is pushed in through the incision. Then the contact lense is unfolded, and settled into position behind the iris and before the contacts natural lense.

After surgery, they test you to see where you are immediately. Then you are expected to return four hours later for another check. The second day, you go in for a third check, to make sure everything is moving smoothly. The next follow-up is a week later, then a month later, and then three months later.

Recovery consists of drops for a month in the eye. The first day, it’s every two hours, then 4 times a day for a week, and tapered off by 1 time a day every week. For the first day or two, you can slightly feel that the eye is rough where it was cut. However, after that, it’s completely unnoticeable!

It takes about three months for complete settlement of the eyes to take place. Fortunately, my first eye was 20/15 by the second appointment the first day. My left eye reacted more normally, however, and it’s taken until the first month follow-up for my left eye to reach approximately 20/20. What’s holding me up is an astigmatism. The doctor says that this often will correct itself by the three-month follow-up.

It is so amazing to me that I can see without contacts in or glasses on. It still takes a moment at night when I’m in bed to remember that I didn’t actually forget to take my contacts out. I absolutely love that I can see so well all the time now!!!

 

USF Spring ‘09 Case Competition!

March 27th, at 9am, the College of Business Undergraduate Case Competition case was unveiled to 16 spring graduates. The format of the competition is a 24 hour sprint to grasp a company’s ideas, analyze it, and present recommendations to a judging panel made up of prominent businessmen and the company’s executives.

I participated in a team consisting of myself, Sean Houghtaling, Jennifer Glenn, and Jelena Vuksanovic.

The sponsoring organization was privately owned company, TAMCO> Jack Thompson, Chairman and CO, was truly helpful, allowing students full access to all available information. TAMCO also provided someone to answer any questions the teams may have had. Jeremy Cartwright, the TAMCO Controller, was very helpful answereiing all of our questions, despite us asking the same question 3 or 4 times.

TAMCO is a ‘Telecommunications Equipment Leasing Solutions’ Co company. This sounds very simple up front. And it is, but that made it incredibly difficult to grasp. A simplified version of the business format is that TAMCO works with distributors, AKA partners, who supply customers with telecomm equipment. The partner sets up lase terms with the customer, and TAMCO then pays the parter the cost of goods, getting the money through its bank relationships.

This was made somewhat more difficult in that this wasn’t fully explained upfront. Until around 4pm, our group was unsure of whether partners and distributors were one in the same or not. (One of the questions we called Mr. Cartwright about several times.) It wasn’t until this competition that I fully understood the importance of visuals, because it wasn’t until we had a map drawn out that the group was able to grasp the concept.

To get the ball rolling, the team went out to Friday’s to have lunch and talk about the different possibilities for TAMCO. WE came up with many options, and we spent a very large amount of time discusiing each idea. Toward night fall, fuses were a bit short. But, after a short breather, we talked it out and moved past it. After that, we really got to work! We spent until 4am getting the whole of the project done. And worked for another hour and a half finalizing information and the power point for our presentation.
We broke for an hour and a half to go home, shower, and prepare ourselves for the day. At 8, we started seriously practicing the 30 minute presentation. At 11am, we met the judges, and began to speak.

In the end, our team ended up with three recommendations. Our primary recommendation (the one we did the most research on) was to go ahead and create an Express Partnership segment to add to the existing partnership segments (Select Partners and Premier Partners). As this was one of the questions asked of us when we were presented with TAMCO, we chose to research this more fully. One of our two secondary recommendations was to expand outside the telecomm equipment industry and finance for another industry as well. The other was to take the returned equipment from a standard lease, and work with a partner who will sell only used equipment, rather than just sell it for 5-7% of the original cost.

At about 12:30, there was a very nice banquet lunch put on. It was a great opportunity to socialize with the judges and others present at the event. This was one of the best experiences I’ve had in the College of Business. I’m really honored that I was able to participate, and I’m proud of the work my team and I accomplished. I am also very thankful to TAMCO for allowing us to study them so in-depth. As a final acknowledgement, I will say thinks the USF professors who went through so much to provide us with this opportunity.

 

Big East Career Fair in NYC

This past friday (13th), the “Big East Career Fair” was held at Madison Square Garden in NYC. Fortunately, USF is one of the Big East Schools, and we were allowed to attend. I talked to a lot of companies while I was there, and got a few leads. However, many companies were not openly looking for the skills I can provide.

Because I flew in that morning, I was exhausted. So, after eating lunch with a couple friends, I met my Dad at the hotel at 3:30, and crashed for about 4 hours. That night we walked around Times Square for a couple hours, and then had dinner at a restaurant up the street from the Virgin Megastore (which is closing btw).

The next day, Dad and I went down to Ground Zero to see the memorial. Unfortuantely, a lot of it was closed off for construction, so we couldn’t see much. We did, however, find a guy who knew a lot about the event, and had photo-books from 9/11 that were very moving.

Afterword, we walked up to Chinatown to look around. I really enjoyed being here, with all the offers available for bags, watches and jewelry. I got a good deal and bought a couple bags here. This is also a great place to practice barting, by the way. It seemed like everything there was negotiable, so it was fun to see how low you could get stuff.We spent some more time seeing the sights, including the empire state building before heading back uptown to the hotel to get ready for the night.

We bought tickets to see “Reasons to be  Pretty” and had really good seats. This broadway play was histerical, and if you get the chance you should go to see it! It is about what happens after a long-term boyfriend says something about how his girlfriend’s face is just average, and his friend’s girlfriend calls her and lets her know. Regardless of if you are male or female, you can relate to all 4 characters.

I had a good time while I was there, and hope I get the opportunity to do it again.

 

AMA – Men Vs. Women Cook-off!

In February (last month), as part of a social event, USF AMA had a cook-off. The rules were 2.5 hours to shop and cook a meal, and you could spend no more than $5 per person.

Of course, the guys decided to ignore the rules completely. We managed to cook an amazing meal within the constraints though!

We made an appetizer of motzarella sticks and dip that was absolutely amazing, and caprese as our salad.  The main course was chicken and eggplant parmigiana with pasta and home-made sauce. For desert, we had a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

The boys made an Italian appetizer: melon rapped in smoked ham. I’d never heard of it before, and it was alright, but not something I’d jump up-and-down to get. Their salad was a regular tossed salad with almonds. Their main course was awesome: shish kabob with shark, scallops, chicken, and vegetables. For desert, they made a pineapple upside down cake!