Archive for the year 2006
Present Woes and Future Plans
Posted on December 10, 2006 by Ching under Life, School.
It’s hard to believe that it has been a month since my last blog entry. They say that time flies when you’re having fun. Well, I can assure you, the last few weeks have been anything but. The end of the semester usually brings with it many challenges and frustrations. This semester has been no different. To be sure it has been one of the most challenging I have ever experienced in my entire academic career.
It was a crazy idea to take four courses this semester. It is challenging enough to take four courses without being employed fulltime but I had this crazy notion that I would complete my MBA in three semesters while continuing to work fulltime. After having performed below expectations this semester and submitting mediocre (in some occasions sub-standard) work to my professors, I realized that this goal is not attainable. I really hate turning in crappy work, but sometimes because of time and resource constraints you just have to settle for what you are able to reasonably accomplish. Then again, we are our worst critics so maybe they won’t see the work as “crappy” necessarily. Maybe. If I’m lucky. Seriously, though, by my estimation I should come out with a B overall so it’s not like I’m flunking out. I just made a bad decision (driven by my desire to finish early) and now I’m paying for it. Anyway, I should still be able to finish my MBA come spring 2008.
The plan is to take three courses this spring, two in the summer, two in the fall and then one last course the following spring. Then I should be finished. At least for the time being. I’ve often thought about pursuing a doctorate later on as a retirement plan of sorts. I figured I would be really bored if I stayed home after retirement. Teaching seems like a fun thing to do to pass the time. When the time comes, hopefully, I will have had many interesting experiences to share with students. Besides, in this day and age we have to be creative because (let’s get real folks) when the time comes for our generation to retire there won’t be any social security. I’m not even counting on it. To this end, I’ve been more aggressive with my 401k contributions.
When I first began it I was actually content with contributing 6% of my income, which is all the company will match. As I get older and closer to retirement I’ve decided that it really doesn’t matter if the company won’t match the rest of my contributions. The more that I save the more that I will reap later. My current rate of contribution is 10% and I’ve elected to increase my contributions by 2% each year. This is something that I’ve picked up from Jan. I wasn’t aware of the One Step option until Jan told me about it. I’ve learned so much from her.
It’s so strange to be so future-oriented. I used to not be so. When Brian and I first met, I was completely directionless, hedonistic, lived only for today, motivationless, and driven solely by the need for instant gratification. It’s remarkable how life can change and mold us to the people we are..
Anyway, I just wanted to check in because I hadn’t posted anything in a while. I will try to blog more after finals. Check back next week.
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McAlister’s Deli
Posted on November 10, 2006 by Ching under Flickr, Food and Drink.
Brian and I finally got to try McAlister’s Deli. Their restaurant reminds me of Jason’s Deli. The prices are about the same.
They are located on Rock Road where Hana Cafe and Red Beans used to be. They took over both units and converted it into one. There’s plenty of room inside. Their process is a lot like Jason’s Deli except they have multiple registers instead of only one.
The food offerings are pretty similar except Jason’s Deli offers better quality fruit and has a salad bar. Brian also wanted me to mention the free dessert from the autodog. That’s what Brian calls their frosty machine because frosty comes out of the spout like dog poop. I’m not sure if that’s the official name for it but that’s what Brian has always called it.
Anyway, our food was good. Brian had the Spud Max and he really liked it. I had a chicken salad wrap just because that is why I usually get everywhere else and that’s how I compare different places. So far the Upper Crust is in the lead. They have the best chicken salad sandwich (and chicken salad period) in Wichita. McAlister’s chicken salad wrap is pretty good too but what I really liked was my Kentucky pie. It’s pecan pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream covered with whipped cream and drizzed all over with chocolate syrup. It was yummy!
Anyway, the place is pretty nice and the food is good. I wouldn’t mind going there again. You all should try McAlister’s Deli if you haven’t already.
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Thanksgiving Plans
Posted on November 10, 2006 by Ching under Family, Flickr, Food and Drink.
For the first time in years Brian and I are on our own for Thanksgiving (his parents who usually host Thanksgiving will be visiting Aunt Verna in Houston). You’d think, having been married for over four years and as old as we are, that we would have plenty of experience hosting Thanksgiving. Sadly, though we thought we were the entertaining type years ago, we realized we don’t like to entertain at all. Thus, our house is often in grave disarray and not in the best form to accept visitors.
I tried to see if mom would mind hosting Thanksgiving dinner. After all, her house is perfect for parties. There’s lots of room for everyone, their home is beautiful and always picture perfect, and mom is a consummate host. She even has all the fancy chaffing dishes and stuff. Alas, mom already had Thanksgiving plans. Because we’ve never really celebrated Thanksgiving (there’s no Thanksgiving holiday in the Philippines) we just treat it like any other day. As it turns out, Tita Beverly is having a fancy soireé for her 50th birthday on this very day. So mom and dad are out. Back to the drawing board we go. (more…)
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Distance Learning Assignment
Posted on November 8, 2006 by Ching under Reviews, School.
Brian thought I should share this with everyone. It’s not that great but it is about one of our most favorite TV shows. I wrote it to satisfy my distance learning assignment in Dr. Graham’s Organizational Behavior (MGMT 862) class. Anyway, since Brian wrote a long blog entry I figured I might as well post this one. After all, I’m not one to be outdone. 😉
Show Information
Episode Title: Fannysmackin’
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Episode Number 145, Season 7
Aired October 12, 2006 at 8:00 PM
[ Sidenote: This is the episode with Kevin Federline aka Mr. Britney Spears. It is his first TV gig. Not that he is of any importance but I thought I would share that bit of trivia. ]
Character Analysis: Leadership Style
The character I have selected for this analysis is Gil Grissom. Grissom is the night-shift supervisor of the Clark County, Nevada CSI team. The team works closely with detectives and the county coroner to investigate crimes in the Las Vegas area.
Based on this episode and other episodes of the show, Grissom’s leadership style would fall under delegating—a style that is both low in relationship or supportive behavior and low in directive behavior. This suits Grissom’s personality quite well because he is dispassionate and anti-social. He provides minimal supervision to his team members and allows them to work independently. Fortunately for Grissom, his team consists of high-performing crime scene investigators who have the necessary skills, willingness and confidence to perform their jobs so the delegating leadership style works effectively. This style of leadership would not be effective or be appropriate for a low-performing group that does not possess a high level of follower readiness. Readiness is a follower’s ability to set high but attainable task-related goals and willingness to accept responsibility for reaching them. Follower readiness is an important consideration when selecting the best leadership approach to use. (more…)
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Movies to Remake
Posted on November 8, 2006 by Brian under Life, Movies, Wishlist.
In this day and age it’s obvious that imagination has lost its spark. The muse that once was all around us has gone and we are left with remakes of films that at there conception, were considered to be fabulous! Here is a list of the top ten movies that I would love to see remade in my life time;
10. Planet of the Apes Saga
I know that they have already made one of the films but I think in the next few years they should remake the rest of them. The original was considered to be a great film with great effects and makeup that was outstanding for its time. It gave us a glimpse of what the world would be like if evolution took a twisted turn.
9. Death Race 2000
This was, even for its time, a rather cheesy film. It focused around a deadly car race that was considered to be the greatest sport in National History. It was a game that involved racing across specific zones, the more pedestrians you hit the more points you rack up. David Carradine was the bad guy with a grenade for a hand. But this could easily be redone with modern graphics and a perked up story line. Think “Fast and the Furious†meets “Commandoâ€.
8. 2001 / 2010.
Now everyone is probably ready to jump through there computers and strangle me. But give me a chance. I do not want to change a thing on these films. They were what I considered to be Iconic films of there time and they were even better books. I just think that if we are going to move into an age of remakes, let’s remake something that was considered to be outstanding even it is day. Just imagine the imagery that we can create from redoing these movies with today’s computer graphics and make-up artist. (more…)
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