Marathon Monday and How I Became a True Bostonian

Marathon Monday!

Fifteenth Week of Class
(April 16 - 22)

Monday is a holiday exclusive to Massachusetts: Patriot's Day (also known as Marathon Monday). I love this day off not only because, well, it's a day off, but because the city comes alive with the 25,000 marathon runners making their way from Hopkinton to the finish line in front of the Prudential Center. I simply adore watching the power of human motivation as these runners suffer through 26.2 miles of agony. Standing on the sidelines and watching them is enough of a workout for me.

After I get my fill of these super fit athletes I  head home for a small respite before meeting up with several of my classmates for dinner at Basho Japanese Brasserie in Fenway. It was quite good (particularly the steamed pork buns and shishito peppers) and I really enjoy that I have the time on this Boston holiday to go out and socialize with my classmates (I've been a verifiable recluse the past month or so).

The Ocean Spray truck was at work today!

Tuesday marks my third week at work! I spend the day continuing my research on different types of printing methods for some of our Craisins® packaging. Who would have thought that my new job at Ocean Spray Cranberries would make me an expert on the differences between Roto Gravure and HD Flexo printing processes?

Further along my adventures in printing technology I begin looking at the cost differences of the two methods and how each measures up in regards to Craisins^® packaging. I even get to meet some new people in procurement to discuss the options and look over tons of printing samples (fun!). 

After work I head to Entrepreneurial Finance. Fortunately, there are no more assignments due for the rest of the semester, so I just enjoy our class discussion while nibbling on Ocean Spray's new Cherry Juice Infused Craisins® with my classmates.

When I get home, I start the final edit of our Six Flags innovation paper (you might recall that our presentation was last week, but the paper is due tomorrow). The task, which I anticipated might take an hour, ended up taking triple that! Ugh! It's quite late by the time I pass it along to the rest of my group and then hit the hay.

Wednesday I'm up early for my 9:30 am meeting with the Director of Enterprise Solutions and Delivery for Northeastern University. Even though my last Mastering Business Intelligence class was on Saturday my final field report on Northeastern's IT system is due tomorrow. Fortunately, this session with the Director is actually quite fun! I actually get to go inside the Christian Science Center tower, up to the 23rd floor where Northeastern has offices. Not only is the meeting super helpful for my assignment, and the Director very generous with his time, but the view from his office is stunning!

After the session, I head right to campus to finish up my edits on the field assignment while it's all still fresh in my mind. Then, it's off to Reprographics to print and bind the final version of our Six Flags innovation paper (coming in at a whopping 30+ pages!).  After I have the sucker in my possession I head to to my final Innovation and Enterprise Growth class where I watch the last three groups present their innovation portfolios for companies such as The Ritz Carlton Hotel and Research in Motion.

When class lets out it's right to Snell Library to get cranking on my portion  of our Brand & Advertising project for Henniker Brewing Company. I'm meeting my group at 6:30 pm tonight for a powerhouse working session but need to fine tune my sections beforehand.

Once I meet with my team, I'm already tired, but alas, we spend another three hours (until 9:30 pm) finalizing the paper.

Thursday is a day dedicated to my Brand & Advertising final project. I take over a table in the library with one of my teammates from early morning until our New Product Development class at 5:20 pm that night. We are busy all day designing a mock Facebook page, Twitter account, logos, tap handles and more. I definitely make use of my Adobe InDesign talents today! In fact, I only take a couple of breaks from the project to work on my case readings for New Product Development and for a meeting with the Director of Program and Student Services of the Graduate College of Business.

My meeting with the Director was a last-ditch effort to try and petition for a Summer II class to count towards my Marketing concentration. You see, with work starting full time in just a couple of weeks, and two classes left in my MBA program, I was trying to spread out my course load across  both summer terms, so I would only have to take one at a time. Alas, the meeting does not go well and I am left with no other choice than to take a full course load during Summer I (class Monday through Thursday!), while working full time and commuting two hours a day.


I'm not going to lie, when I heard the final decision I was so upset I just tried not to cry in front of the Director. I was so overwhelmed and exhausted from the semester that I just didn't know what to do. I left the office only to run into some staff from admissions and, without even meaning to, just started to tear up in front of them. I just don't know how much more work I can take at this point.

With the stress of a full course load and full-time work weighing on my shoulders (not to mention the financial implications of paying for another class with such short notice and telling my new boss about my change of plans) I have to head right back into the lion's den and work on my Brand & Advertising project for the next several hours and still go to class tonight. I also resign and sign up for my second summer course: Marketing in the Service Sector, and send the professor an e-mail informing him of my situation (I already have to miss the second class for a work event). I guess on the bright side, I will now be graduating at the end of June, instead of August (hey, I gotta grasp onto something positive).

This view during lunch is exactly what I needed to de-stress

Friday is another day at the bog (well, near the bog). On the itinerary for today? I continue to work on my large Nielsen data pull for Craisins® research, attend some exciting new product meetings, and get my very first 1:1 session for work. You see, Ocean Spray has this great on-boarding process for new employees which includes more than a dozen one-on-one meetings with key staff across several different departments. Today I get to meet with the Director of Global Insights. The meeting is super informative and the Director gives me a lovely overview of her department and how my role will interact with Global Insights.

I guess this makes me an official Bostonian

After this long week I am happy to join my friend after work at Flour Bakery in the South End. I even find a parking spot right in front of the cafe! We spend the next hour or so catching up and indulging in sweets (OK, maybe it was just me that ate a massive cupcake).

I offer to drive my friend home in my new ride but as we approach my car and its 'primo' parking spot what do I find? A parking ticket! I have never gotten a ticket in my life and now, the first time I park on the street in Boston, I get that awful orange piece of paper. It's all I can do to laugh at my continued bad luck this week.

After dropping off my friend I rush home to clean up before Nick arrives for the weekend.

Saturday morning Nick and I get up for brunch at The Breakfast Club in Allston. It's quite cute with an 80s theme and my shaved sirloin eggs Benedict with spicy hollandaise is just what I needed. We even snag complimentary coffee mugs in honor of the restaurant's 10th anniversary.

After we get our fill of breakfast goodies, Nick and I head to my new apartment in Fenway for a tour. I arranged to be let in so Nick and I can take some measurements for furniture, etc. Lucky for us, the current tenant had done the same thing and remembered many of the dimensions off the top of his head.

The apartment visit is followed  by an afternoon showing of The Hunger Games and then dinner and drinks at recently-opened Yard House in Fenway. I was pleasantly surprised with the drink selection (more than 130 beers on tap!) and the variety of food at the restaurant. I order up a trio of tacos ranging from Korean BBQ beef to Baja Fish. Yummy!

Duck Confit Hash n' Eggs at Stella

Sunday it's time for another brunch outing; this time to Stella in the South End. I must say, for all its hype, I was a bit underwhelmed with their duck confit hash n' eggs. Nonetheless, I enjoy my last meal with the BF before he heads back to Montreal and I head back to my books.


*The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Northeastern University, Ocean Spray Cranberries, either entity's staff or affiliates.