I was writing an email recently and wanted to indicate the possessive of Charles.  I vaguely remember being taught that it should be Charles’ with no extra “s” but since then I had read styling guides that said technically it should be Charles’s, though really either is acceptable.  To some people, Charles’s may seem wrong, but it is not.  For the sake of not confusing people, I tend to use Charles’ since I know that was commonly taught in schools across the nation.  However, I much prefer using Charles’s; if it weren’t for the fact that some people were never taught that was correct, I’d use it more often.  After all, who wants to go into a grammar/punctuation lesson in the middle of an email exchange?

I actually did do that in this case, but only because the thread included very bright people who probably knew exactly what I was talking about and maybe even experienced the same hesitation using Charles’s vs. Charles’.  I was happy to have that feeling validated when one of the girls replied confirming my statement and offering a source that explains the use of apostrophes: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe (This site is also a great source for other interesting, entertaining, and information infographic cartoons.

This incident gave me confidence to go forth using Charles’s from now on.  Who cares if other people think I’m wrong and don’t know the rules of English?  Those who really know what they’re talking about will know the truth.  ;-P

I finally got my GMAT over with!  That’s the first big hurdle in the process and I did alright with a 710.  It’s not as good as I had hoped I could do, but right on par with how I had been performing on practice tests.  It’s also a good enough score that it won’t hurt me in my application, though I was shocked to find I only scored in the 76th percentile on the quantitative section, even with a scaled score of 47 (which I thought was decently high).  In the verbal section I got a scaled score of 41 and that put me in the 92nd percentile, which was also the overall percentile I ended up in with my 710.  Curious – do many people do that well in math but poorly in English?  Am I competing against a lot of foreign test-takers or something?

With that off my back, tomorrow I’m heading off on a site visit to check out both Berkeley and Stanford’s MBA programs.  I’m hoping to make some friends with my fellow travelers, all of whom either took a class with my GMAT teacher or know someone who did.  Hopefully we’ll all end up at our dream schools!  I’m looking forward to seeing the Stanford campus again and maybe even learning something I didn’t know that will help me with my application.  Once I get back from that, it’ll be time to buckle down with my application essays!  At least I’ve gotten the recommendations underway, with all of my recommenders aware of the questions and deadlines.

I have just over a month to complete my applications and I’m really hoping I can put together a strong profile that will get me in.  I don’t have as much work experience as most of the other applicants, but my experience has been a super-condensed rollercoaster ride that has taught me a lot.  That should make up for a lack of years worked.  That’s the great thing for working for a small company!  You end up learning and growing so much more than you might have at a large corporation, espeically with all the hats you have to wear.  I’ve even been adopted into the engineering team more recently, since I’ve been working with our CTO on some things that he used to take care of.

It feels good to have time to dedicate to my applications now, but those essays are daunting.  I really want to present myself in such a way that they can’t help but take me.  That will be the hard part!

Today’s my mom’s birthday!  I can’t believe a year has come and gone.  I remember this time last year she wasn’t here, so we didn’t really celebrate.  This year I’ll be going back to see her later in the week and hopefully we can get a nice dinner in before resting up for an early flight that she’ll need to catch.  Soon, I’ll have my birthday too.  My how it all flashes by!

I feel like there hasn’t been that much to pace my life by, since a work day is pretty predictable.  I’m nearing two years of employment at my company and so much has changed, yet the pattern of each day makes things blend a lot more than during my school years.  Within the next year or two I’ll be changing all of that though – it’s about time for a shift in my life.  Going back to school will offer me a change in scenery and pace of life.  I always enjoy shaking things up a bit!

For now I’ll just prepare for that next stage and marvel that in 2012, my parents will be twice my age!  Has it really taken that long to get to this point?  Sometimes I feel older than I am, but of course there is still so much more to grow.

I spent the entire day watching episodes of Charmed and boy have I learned my lesson!  It’s no good to sit/lay in front of a screen for that long, especially not when you’re watching the screen at all different angles.  I’m sure it would have been better if I was sitting properly, but I would lay on my side, my belly, even my back to watch.  Now I’ve got this terrible headache so it’s time to stop viewing any screen and rest my eyes.

This harkens back to the days when I would binge on episodes of Princess Pearl, a popular Chinese drama from over a decade ago.  At least I watched those on a TV screen, so wasn’t so close and didn’t lay on the floor.  Still, I would wrap myself up in a blanket and surround myself with food much as I did yesterday.  It’s not the best way to pass a day and I’m looking forward to spending some time outside tomorrow, breathing fresh air and enjoying natural light.

I did it!  I finally scheduled my GMAT exam, which brings me one step closer to getting my applications ready for b-school.  It’s in just under two weeks, so I’ll definitely need to do some final prep work over the long weekend.  After that, I will transfer all my energy towards applications and pump them out in a month.  It all sounds daunting, but a little bit of pressure usually gives me the motivation I need to take care of business!

I’m optimistic that I can put together a profile making me a strong candidate, but the reality is that only 5-10% of applicants get in and I’m definitely on the lower end of the scale when it comes to work experience.  Hopefully I can make up for that and state a good case for my qualifications.  The good thing is, it wouldn’t kill me to get another year under my belt and I’m not in a huge rush to get an MBA right away, so even if I don’t get in to Harvard or Stanford (the only two I’m applying to this year), I’ll just try again next year.

Of course I’m definitely hoping I do get in for the entering class of 2012, but at least I have the luxury of more time if I need it.  There is definitely a lot of experience I can still accrue with an additional year.  However, I feel there are a lot of opportunities at work out of my reach without an MBA to back me up.  Getting that degree would really help me over a hump in my career that otherwise may take two or three times as long to overcome.

I’m looking forward to getting the test out of the way so I can focus all my energy on my applications.  If I can, I’ll definitely want to make a classroom visit too!

I attended the Oppenheim lecture tonight, about green chemistry.  It’s a growing sector that is coming up with innovations that are not only environmentally safe and sustainable for the long term, they work better and make more sense for the bottom line as well.  While there are definitely plenty of “green” products that cost a premium, it doesn’t have to be that way.  As our economy and society demand better, companies will respond with great new solutions to consumer needs.

Many of the solutions that Dr. Paul Anastas, the main speaker, pointed out were rooted in bio-mimicry.  It’s a topic I’m fascinated with, since most (if not all) of the solutions we search for are already present in nature.  For example, he told us of the pain of trying to redo a bathroom because of all the hardened glue you have to scrape away.  It’s tedious and can be quite toxic too.  Instead, we can learn from mussels, which very strongly adhere themselves to rocks and other things just as well, but need no dangerous chemicals to do so.  By learning from the multitude of creatures in the world around us, we can find brilliant, simple, yet effective ways of solving many of our issues.

In addition, Dr. Anastas pointed out that we really have to allow disruptive inventions to come along.  It’s not good enough to just improve some of the products we have now; we have to be willing to adopt a method that could completely upheave the way we’re used to doing things.  Once upon a time any city would have telephone wires running overhead all over the place.  Nowadays that becomes more and more unnecessary as we shift towards wireless signal towers.  In the case of detergents, it is becoming a very real possibility that we could have self-cleaning clothes, which would wipe out the need for detergents!  Or, when creating clothes, rather than using dyes that could be harmful, they are now experimenting with growing cotton that in itself already has color.  It’s a willingness to completely rethink our approach to common issues that can lead to wonderfully disruptive changes to our lives and our way of life.

He also made sure to emphasize the fact that a company’s bottom line does not have to suffer for the sake of these new methods.  In fact, these can be built into very lucrative businesses.  What he said rang so true to what I’ve been learning from Opportunity Green as well: sustainability and environmental responsibility and very much in line with profitability, and not just because you’d have a green image.  In fact, if you don’t even consider the environmental impact, so many of these solutions are just plain superior as is.  Why wouldn’t you go with them?  I think a lot of sustainability and the green movement has been misunderstood.  People still think that to be eco-friendly is to be pricier.  We need more companies out there to show people that this isn’t the case so that the general population can start adopting products that are better for us all – people, the environment, the world.

I’m hoping that part of my impact in the future will be along these lines.  To break people away from the prejudices and misguided opinions of what it takes to be good to our environment.  To show them that they can save money, save the environment, and make our world a better place all at the same time.  It’s about time more light be shed on the beauty of green choices!

I’m not sure why, but I have had an aversion to following seasonal trends in the past couple of years.  I guess it’s because after reading so many articles about Christmas, New Year’s, or the like, I don’t want to be contributing to all that.  After all, how original could you get with that stuff?  Instead I prefer to enjoy the season, where people are hopefully making positive changes in their life as they look to family and re-evaluate their priorities.

This year I’ll be vacationing in China with my parents, which is a great way to spend the holidays.  It’s too bad Panda couldn’t be with me too, but we can do plenty of trips in future years.  I’m really looking forward to going back to China; it’s been 3 1/2 years and it will be nice to visit again.  You can be sure that around that time I won’t be writing about a tree and presents!  I’m sure I’ll have plenty of other wonderful things to write about and thank goodness for that!  If you want the same old holiday stuff, go watch some TV.  :-P

Lately I’ve decided that when I get my next phone, it will be white.  It’s not just an aesthetic thing though the brightness of white is kind of nice.  It’s actually much more practical: you don’t see fingerprints, smudge marks, or greasiness on white quite as obviously as you do on black.  The more I use my phone, the more convinced I am of the benefits of a white device.  I guess part of the problem is that I use quite a bit of lotion and the smooth screen of the phone gets covered in a layer of it.  After a couple months of use, no amount of wiping, buffing, or cleansing seems to work for very long.  I even have a microfiber towel handy at my desk to clean off the screen periodically.

My iPad is white and I if it weren’t for the screen turning black when it’s off, I’d probably notice the smudges only once every ten uses instead of once every use.  I know a lot of people use screen protectors for this very purpose, but I like how the screen feels with nothing on it to alter it.  Unfortunately that also means that I have to clean the thing every time I use it.  I think it’ll also be a nice change from all the black devices out there.  It’s nice to have a bright spot among all the dark.  I wonder if Apple will ever go back to trying to offer their products in a range of colors.  I think that could be quite nice too!  I’d probably be the odd one choosing orange to tout around, just because it is so cheery and eye-catching.  In the mean time I’ll just have to stick with white.

I’ve never attempted a diet to lose weight (my strategy is eat less, move more) and I don’t ever plan on partaking in one.  I go by what I have now dubbed the “hedonist diet” – also known as eat what you want.  I tend to follow my cravings a lot, whether it means snacks, greasy food, or even Ethiopian.  It’s the one thing I don’t control very often and I allow myself to enjoy almost unconditionally.  After all, why not enjoy eating and turn it into an experience each time?  It’s not just something we have to do, but it’s something we can love to do.  Food can bring us a lot of pleasure, from alluring smells to delicious tastes, and I like to appreciate every moment of it.

This is what makes me a terrible grocery shopper and a big spender on restaurants.  When I grocery shop, I usually have one or two things in mind that I want to grab, and then I end up wandering the snack or ice cream aisle and come out with way more than I probably should.  Last time I went to Ralph’s, I came out with four boxes of popsicles because they all looked appealing.  More recently, a Whole Foods run landed me some grapes, string cheese, Greek yogurt, and chocolate fudge bites – none of which I originally intended on purchasing going in.  At restaurants, I usually make the mistake of overestimating how much I can eat at that moment and get one dish too many.

Well, this is how I spend my money.  I don’t really buy clothes or shoes or makeup (or whatever else most other girls probably buy).  I don’t drink or smoke or gamble, which are all pretty costly ventures.  Instead my money goes into retirement savings, rent, and FOOD.  Lots of food.  It’s the greatest pleasure in life next to love.  At least it is in my world!  I am very content with my hedonist diet and I’m lucky enough that my genes allow me to eat a lot without bloating like crazy.  Hopefully that lasts me well into old age so I can always enjoy eating the foods I love when I want, and as much as I want.

I went out to the east coast for the weekend and on Saturday, it was raining or sleeting all day.  At times, it almost got cold enough for us to get some snow down in the DC/VA area.  Almost.  I hear that more northern parts did get snow, and quite a bit, and I’ve got to say I’m a bit jealous.  I was hoping for some snow to enjoy here as well.  While I’d all but forgotten the experience of getting into a cold car and trying to defrost the windows while warming up, I do miss snow.  Nobody said I had to miss all the unpleasant experiences that come with it, right?

My selective memory allowed me to remember a brisk walk with snow crunching under my feet.  Pretty positive memory.  It allowed me to remember building snowthings and catching snowflakes with my tongue.  Very positive memory.  It did not, however, allow me to remember the bitterness of a freezing cold car.  Not so positive memory.  Well, that’s how it goes I guess.  After so many years removed from this kind of life, I chose to focus on the things I did like about it rather than that which was less desirable.  Nevertheless, with all the pros and cons trying to weigh each other out, I still wouldn’t mind moving back to more volatile climates for awhile.  It’d make me appreciate LA even more when I returned, right?