With my essays done, I submitted my application around Noon on December 1st. A few days later, I got a confirmation from the admissions office confirming all of my materials were submitted properly, and that I could expect a decision in 4-6 weeks.
Normally, waiting 4-6 weeks would be a big deal, but since this was running into the holiday season, I expected to receive my decision in early 2009. In the meantime, I had just proposed to my girlfriend the day after Thanksgiving, so there was still plenty of people to tell, work was making the push for the end of the year profit target, and Christmas was in the air.