Oh yeah, “the Thrill is Gone.”
I just came back from the pub, and it’s a very strange feeling, as I’ve only had 2 pints in the last 2 hours. That’s way below quota. Way, way below; if I were a line worker in some dodgy Mainland manufacturing plant, I would probably not be getting my rice rations for the week.
What’s wrong with me? Instead of staying out getting thoroughly blottoed, I’ve actively decided to come back home and get on SWSF pages 669 to 672. What is this new, alien sensation overcoming me with utter disregard for rhyme or reason? Is that maturity and responsibility I see or just the big, gaping gash of a zero-point-zero on the Final Exam that’s just pulled me back in from some thoroughly missed bar banter?
Whatever the case, I do have to say I’ve started to look at the world with a bad-a$$ new set of lenses. The 24-hour store has morphed into a living lesson in PPP; my mates are no longer just drinking buddies, but “foreign labour surplus” (who just happen to get more than 4x what I get); and debits and credits have become a higher priority than whiskey and diet coke!
I guess this is one of those things that the CCMBA program was meant to do – you know, aside from “intentionally developing tension”. I guess, those 2 torrid, horrid weeks have re-aligned my thought processes and now I’m thinking “yeah, it’s ok to sacrifice an evening’s craic for a P=MBA.”
Sure, the thrill might be gone, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to stay gone. I’ve only got one shot at a better life; the next pint is always gonna be there.
(4:49AM)
Twitter: dukefuqua2010
Syed Husain // Sep 6, 2009 at 7:26 am
That last sentence pretty much sums it up.
Randy Zwitch // Sep 6, 2009 at 8:40 am
I’ve started to look at the world differently as well, especially on the job front. The ME class has really given me a new perspective on how people operate in the work environment. Things that I “knew”, but didn’t have a firm name for, are now so much clearer now that they have a formal academic treatment.
The problem is, what do I do with this new found knowledge? It’s not like I can go up to someone and be like “Hey, you know why we don’t get along? I’m the ‘Professor’ and you’re a knowledge broker!” Or, “Did you realize that I think our relationship is market pricing, and you think it is authoritarian ranking?”
People already look at me like I’m crazy when I start talking about statistical models. Can’t imagine what they’d do if I started talking like that! Such is life; Duke is giving us the tools to succeed, we’ve still got to figure out what to do with them.
Ian Comandao // Sep 6, 2009 at 11:15 am
this is actually one thing that i’ve been concerned about since starting on this path. even during the application process, at the back of my head there was a nagging voice saying “ok, you’re gonna know more stuff, but how exactly are you gonna be using it in real life?”
honestly, i still don’t know. but a lot of the sh!t we’ve studied so far is definitely more applicable to the real world now (after so many years of working), than the cr@p that i had to go through in undergrad.
so i guess it really is a change in priorities brought about by a change in perspectives. i’m just scared about how different we’re all going to be as people and individuals after this whole thing is over…