touchpoints

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I am now an official MBA student. I’ve heard the magic word at least fifty times today. Growing up, you might have heard that the magic word was “please.” But come real close to the screen…I’ll whisper the real magic word to you.

Networking.

I’ve learned of the magic of networking today, amidst other things. Time management. Setting goals and keeping priorities. Being involved. I’ve been doing it since eight this morning. I’m tired.

I suppose that I’m tired somewhat because we were going all around today, trying to tie up loose ends and going to meetings. But I think that more of my tiredness can be attributed to the fact that I’ve networked all day today for the first time in a long time.

You see, I’m basically an introvert in nature. I generally will be quiet for the most part, even in “orientation” settings, maybe offering a comment here or there in the conversation so that people don’t shovel dirt on me and put a piece of granite near my head. But I realized that today would be an important day for me. Today would be the day that I would make a first impression, with not one but over 60 other people, with whom I would be sharing the MBA experience of the next two years. The whole thought of it was about as overwhelming to me as the whole idea of MBA school altogether.

And so I tried to be an outgoing version of myself. And I did okay, I guess. But it was exhausting. It’ll take a lot out of someone who’s not very adept at doing stuff like that. And that’s one of the first things that I’ve learned as an MBA student…

Networking = Tylenol at the end of the day.

Now, obviously, I don’t think of this whole thing as just a headache. It was time well spent; I’ve now met at least 2/3 of my class in some capacity or another. The experience has given me something very valuable…what I like to call a “touchpoint”.

Touchpoints don’t have to be people. They can be anything, anywhere, or anyone that you can go to and feel at least somewhat comfortable around. For example, I went to visit a relative this past weekend. She lives in a place that I had never been to. But knowing that she was there beforehand and the weekend that I had while there helped establish a new touchpoint.

Computers are touchpoints to me. I feel comfortable sitting down at one and doing things like writing about the day off the top of my head, which is something that I don’t even do with a lot of people. (I’ve decided to keep a journal of my MBA experience, a la a good book that I just finished tonight, Snapshots From Hell: The Making of an MBA, which should be required reading for anyone considering this track (and no, I am not getting compensation for this 🙂 )).

People, obviously, are touchpoints as well, and there are countless other things that I consider touchpoints in my life. But for every touchpoint that I have, there are things that I am not very comfortable about. This whole networking thing is still one of them. I still am not enthusiastic about the idea of mingling with 50 or more people that I’ve never met before and knowing something about them when the day is done. It’s fun, in a way…but it’s also scary for me. But at least, for now, I’ve talked to most of my classmates and learned something about them. While I still don’t know a lot about them, I know that I will eventually know a good deal about some of them, and I also know that I never know everything about any touchpoint that I have. That’s one of the good things about person “touchpoints”, also known as friendships in the non-Brandon world…

You don’t know everything about each other, but you know a lot about each other, and yet you like each other enough to hang around together anyway. 🙂

the great “interstate or 82” debate

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Okay, this is the closest thing to a useless thought that I’ve ever put on this page. But it’s something that I’ve dealt with for four years now, and will for at least two more (plus the title is a nifty piece of alliteration), so here goes.

The question at hand is this: when traveling from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery, and vice versa, which route is quicker, going interstate all the way through Birmingham, or using US-82, which goes straight to Montgomery? Obviously, 82 provides a more direct route, but at the cost of only being able to go 55 miles an hour (legally) over most of the trip. So let’s take a look, piece by piece, of the 82 trip and see how long it takes compared to the interstate route. We’ll look at it from the perspective of Tuscaloosa to Montgomery.

The first part of the trip is Tuscaloosa to Centreville, 30 miles away. This part of the trip is the only part in which one can legally go 65 mph. So this trip takes a little less than thirty minutes (about 28, to be exact). It takes about 10 minutes to get through Centreville if you have no luck and hit every red light. After you get out of Centreville, you are 55 miles away from Prattville, according to a road sign. You can only go 55 at this point, so obviously it takes you an hour to get to Prattville. It also takes about 10 minutes to get through Prattville (I get off of 82 at this point, and get on Alabama state road 6) if you have to stop at all of the traffic lights on that path. Eventually, you end up getting off of 6 onto I-65 at exit 179. Total running time: 28 + 10 + 60 + 10 minutes = 1 hour, 48 minutes.

Now, in one hour and 48 minutes, going 70 miles an hour, one can drive exactly 126 miles. So let’s figure out how far you can get down the interstate going this way…

The quickest interstate route is to go I-59 to Birmingham, then I-459 to bypass downtown, then I-65 to Montgomery. You start at exit 73 going toward Birmingham. The I-459 exit is at exit 106. 106 – 73 = 33 miles so far.

After you get on I-459 (the start of it), you have to go to exit 15 to get to I-65. 15 more miles. 48 so far.

When you get on I-65, you’ve used exit 250 to do so. To exit 179, where we got off of 82, is 71 miles. 71 + 48 = 129. But if it takes you the same amount of time to go 126 miles on this route as it did to cover the entire way on 82, that means you’re still three miles up the road from where you could have been, even if you would have stopped at every red light on the 82 route!

So why do more people go the interstate route? I think that it’s because of the illusion of speed that the interstate gives you. Plus most people will talk of getting stuck behind trucks and the like and only going 40 or so. But in all of my drives of 82, I’ve never had that experience. Plus the scenery is so much nicer when you go 82, in my opinion. It’s a nice drive.

Well, there you go…a detailed analysis of something completely useless. But at least I feel better for having said my piece. 🙂

on neighbors moving out

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My neighbors from across the hallway moved out tonight. I didn’t even know their names.

Now, I haven’t been in my new apartment all that long. But it’s been long enough to where I would have thought I would have at least met them or something. Instead, the first time that I actually met them was tonight, when they knocked on my door to ask for a pair of scissors to use.

You know, I’ve never been one to be very outgoing or anything when it comes to meeting new people, but it seems to me that most people nowadays don’t really get to know their neighbors all that well. In college, it’s kinda understandable at first…you can have people on different schedules and the like. But you’d think eventually that I’d meet my neighbors. Nope…I never did. Never in four years of college did I do it.

I have to wonder…how many friendships have I missed that way? How many friendships has everybody missed because of someone not taking the courage to say hello?

And for that matter, what about other things? I wonder how many marriages never came about because one of the two couldn’t get up the nerve to say hi. How many business partnerships never were formed?

And what of society? We’ve become a nation that knows people across the nation via the Internet better than we know the people across the hall. The more we keep to ourselves, the more that spirit will foster. Knowing your neighbors leads to a sense of community, which is pretty much a good thing. The more that people get to know each other, the more compassionate they’ll be for their fellow man, and that’s definitely something that’s needed in today’s society.

So maybe we should take the time to get to know our neighbors…who knows what may come of it? After all, it’s more fun borrowing stuff from your neighbors when they’re your friends too.

living for God

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Passage: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

One thing that I’ve learned is that I’ve got a lot left to learn. Another thing is that I tend to forget a lot of what I’ve already learned, making it necessary for me to go back and re-learn it.

Case in point: living for God. You’d think that I should have learned this basic concept by now. But it struck me the other day as I was listening to a lesson on this…everything literally means just that…everything. Nothing in a Christian’s life should be done without the desire to be doing it to please our Father.

Do we always do that? Do we ever? I had to really stop and think “when was the last time I stopped and asked myself I’m trying to please God?” I mean, I do things that I know please God, but I’m thinking of those times like right now, when I’m editing web pages. Or when I do my homework in school…or when I watch TV…or whatever I’m doing.

God gave us a lot of different things that we can choose to do. I like to design web pages, among other things. Someone may like to play an instrument or a sport. Etc., etc. I don’t do this often enough, but I hope to be able to get to the point where I live for God in the true sense of the phrase…everything I do I do for Him. Because I find that everything I do is that much more enjoyable for myself when I live for Him.

Parting Shots 1999

(or, some of what I learned this year)

Many many things. I learned this year that free time will be a luxury from now on. ECE 480 taught me that for the most part, but just that fall semester in general taught it to me as well. I worked harder than I ever have in school that semester. I was proud with the result, but I learned the hard lesson that sometimes sacrifices have to be made in order to achieve some things. In my case, I had to sacrifice going to the BCM a lot. I feel like I missed out on a lot of stuff as a result.

I also learned that sometimes you *are* just a number. UA Housing taught me that lesson quite well over the years, but never harder than the last time. Having them say one thing, then say and do another, without any good reason for doing it, cost Ricky and I the apartment that we held dear.

Which brings me to the next thing…stability is a precious commodity. If you have any in your life, you’re better off than most. 1122 Productions lost its headquarters and its nucleus. Ricky will be living at the BCM next year, while for the first time since my freshman year, I will not have a roommate at all. But at the same time I realize that while we lost the apartment that gave the company its name, we haven’t lost the true backbone behind the company. Which, of course, is us…for true friendships last longer than mere stone and plaster can possibly hope to. (New 1122 motto: “It’s not the apartment…it’s the attitude.”)

And now I’m a graduate. And being a graduate entitles one to a few perks. One of which is the eventual money that I’ll make in my job (though I’ve still got MBA school to get through before that happens). But there seem to be even more obligations than there are perks.

For instance, you have to be a grown-up now. I’ve also learned, just in the past few days, that being a graduate is another one of those definite signs that I’m now a full-fledged grown-up. And while I feel in some ways that I’m not really going into the “real world” yet, another part of me feels as if I’ve been there for a while now. And I’m getting a big dose of it as I type this…I’m paying bills for the first time ever.

And what of what I’ve learned over these entire four years? In my freshman year, I compiled a list of college “tips” that I’ve been looking at. I had to laugh out loud at some of them because they were antiquated ($1500 for a Pentium-120 back then…my, how the times have a-changed), but most of them still ring true. “Keep your checkbook balanced.” (I still need to remember that one.) One of the tips actually talked about me starting my own web page “soon”. Now I really feel old… But they don’t talk about a lot of things that I’ve learned since then, such as:

  • It’s impossible to keep up with everyone you meet at college. As a consequence, some friendships fade, and some die out. However, those you keep as friends, you’ll pretty much keep forever.
  • Never let small things get in the way of relationships. You will regret it in the end.
  • Graduating is a wonderful thing. At the same time, it can be an event that causes trepidation, because it means finally, really, leaving the nest. (Except for me right now. 🙂 )

Et cetera, et cetera. But perhaps the biggest thing that I’ve learned over these four years can be found in 1 Corinthians 13:11…

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”

So it’s time to start really, truly, being a man. That doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy things like cartoons any more…I seriously doubt that. But it does mean that my thoughts and attitudes now have to be that of a college graduate…of a grown man…of a Christian…always. For I am answering to my God one day about the things I did here. That’s a lesson I have to continually learn.

Parting Shots 1998

(Or, some of what I learned this year)

Well, another year has come and gone. It seems like it’s all going by so quickly now. I’m about to be a college senior, and I can easily remember when I was a high school senior. So much has changed since then…

Well, what have I learned this year? Many things…for one, how to budget my time a little better. (I’m still in the learning process on this one, as my project in CS 434 right now can attest to.) But I’m getting better. I learned how to play bridge this year…I still have yet to learn how to play well. (A pretty interesting game, for those of you out there who have never learned how…) I’ve learned some things in class, but I’ve probably forgotten most of it.

One of the things that I really have learned this year, though, is that people are very unpredictable. You think that you understand who they are and what they’re like, and then they change in an instant. I kinda knew that already, but it’s really interesting to me, considering that during the course of the year, I can name at least two examples of people changing dramatically. The change doesn’t have to necessarily be for the worse, either. One of the changes I am speaking of was of a young lady who a lot of people thought was very quiet. Of course, you know the rest of the story. She turns out to be this hilarious, interesting, and just slightly crazy person when you start talking to her.

Another thing that I learned was how to open up a little more to people. I’m usually one of those people who don’t share a lot about my life, just because usually I don’t see anything really special about it. But I developed a idea that I stand by now…you are the only person who thinks your life is boring. The reason why is very simple…you’re the one living it. Things that you have done that you consider to be routine or ordinary will be things that will fascinate other people because they haven’t experienced them. God made us all different for many purposes…one of which is that by telling other people about the “boring” things that we do and have done, we’ll let them in on experiences that they’ve never had. And, of course, vice versa. I can think of at least two people who have told me about things that they’ve done that I haven’t, and then followed it up by, “But anyone can do that.” To which my reply was, “Maybe so, but it’s interesting because you’ve done it, and I haven’t.” Another good thing about opening up to people is that they will feel closer to you, and reciprocate. And that’s what friendships are built on…taking a leap of faith, making yourself vulnerable, and having the other person accepting you and do the same.

I’ve also learned that people, even those who seem to be able to do just about anything, can be self-conscious about things. It seems that everyone feels, to some extent, that they’re inferior to other people (or maybe just a couple of “example” people). The wonderful thing is (and I’m still in the process of learning this too) that we don’t have to consider ourselves better or worse than other people…as a matter of fact, we can’t. We have no guideline to serve as the measuring stick. It’s not money, it’s not power, it’s not intelligence or humor or beauty or anything like that. None of those things are all-encompassing. Not to mention that they are things that one day won’t even matter. When I die, I’m not going to be judged by any of those things. So why do most people try to belittle themselves? If I knew that, I wouldn’t still do it. So that’s something that I’m going to have to keep asking God…eventually, I’ll learn the answer.

Thanks to all of my friends for everything this year…I’m going to miss all of you, no matter if you’re in Oregon and Washington, or the Ukraine, or even if you’re just going home for the summer. (To those of you who are coming to summer school, I’ll miss you too, but for only a month or so. 🙂 ) You have all been my teachers this year in some way, and for that I am grateful. And for those friends of mine who are graduating, (especially Misti Atwood, the young lady who brought me to the BCM for the first time (and many others besides), and Stephanie Davis, my first good BCM friend and other “big sister”,) I am going to miss all of you so much. Good luck in everything that you do, and may God bless each and every one of you.