Wow...how time flies. This month, i will be celebrating my first 365 days in the United States and yet it seems just like yesterday when i first stepped out of the plane that took me from Lagos, Nigeria to Amsterdam where i caught a connecting flight to the States. I remember almost running back into the plane 'cos of the cold... it was freezing. Up until then, the coldest temperature i'd ever seen and felt was from the refrigerator in my apartment back home in Nigeria.
A lot transpired in 2008, some good, some bad and some pretty ugly. A friend of mine on facebook has taken it upon himself to do a recap of 2008 and he's titled it "events that shaped 2008". I've decided to share his recap on my blog, grouping them into four quarters. Here's the first part...the first quarter.
January
Jan 22....Actor Heath Ledger of Australia dies of a medication overdose.
Jan 24....Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi is forced to resign following a lost vote of confidence in the Senate .
Jan 28....Inflation in Zimbabwe rises to about 150,000%. The Zimbabwean dollar is essentially worthless.
Jan 31....United States presidential election, 2008: Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama hold the first two-person debate.
February
Feb 4....U.S. President George W. Bush introduces a Federal budget of $3.1 trillion and a near-record deficit just ahead — $410 billion.
Feb 22....The Northern Rock bank is formally nationalized by the British government.
Feb 27....Microsoft is fined a record €899 million by the EU anti-trust commission.
March
Mar 5....Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is named the richest person in the world by Forbes magazine.
Mar 14....Queen Elizabeth officially opens London Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 5.
Mar 16....JPMorgan Chase announces plans to buy investment bank Bear Stearns for $2 a share following liquidity problems caused by the crisis.
Mar 16....Scientists from Harvard Medical School announce a breakthrough technique that could stop cancer cells' growth by inhibiting the enzyme pyruvate kinase.
Mar 22....Ma Ying-jeou is elected President of the Republic of China with more than 58% of the votes in the 2008 presidential election, handing the presidency back to the Kuomintang (KMT) after eight years under the Democratic Progressive Party.
Mar 26....Ford Motor Company announces it will sell its British luxury-car brands Jaguar and Land Rover to India's Tata Motors for $2.3 billion.
Watch out for the second quarter on the next blog. Happy New year once more.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Wallace Forbes - Guest Lecturer
We had a guest speaker last week at the University of Arkansas. A distinguished lecturer well known and respected both in the business and financial world. Not only because he is part of an established legacy but also because he is a man of character.
Wallace Forbes, known by friends and close associates as "Wally" is the president of the Forbes Investors Advisory Institute, the division of Forbes Media that publishes the Forbes Special Situation Survey, Forbes Growth Investor and the Forbes Stock Market Course. He is the youngest son of B. C. Forbes, founder of Forbes Magazine and served as vice president and director of Forbes.
L - R: Ben, Prof. J. Ozment, Newton, Wallace Forbes, Keerti, Eghosa, Jason, Dev
It was an interesting lecture that saw everybody present listening with rapt attention at what this "icon of accomplishment" had to say which was quite a lot in terms of entrepreneurship and the present financial crisis.
Not to mention there was lots of pizza and soft drinks and yours truly got a chance to have a one on one discussion with him after which some of the MBA students present took pictures with him.
It sure was a nice way to end the week.
Wallace Forbes, known by friends and close associates as "Wally" is the president of the Forbes Investors Advisory Institute, the division of Forbes Media that publishes the Forbes Special Situation Survey, Forbes Growth Investor and the Forbes Stock Market Course. He is the youngest son of B. C. Forbes, founder of Forbes Magazine and served as vice president and director of Forbes.
L - R: Ben, Prof. J. Ozment, Newton, Wallace Forbes, Keerti, Eghosa, Jason, DevIt was an interesting lecture that saw everybody present listening with rapt attention at what this "icon of accomplishment" had to say which was quite a lot in terms of entrepreneurship and the present financial crisis.
Not to mention there was lots of pizza and soft drinks and yours truly got a chance to have a one on one discussion with him after which some of the MBA students present took pictures with him.
It sure was a nice way to end the week.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Time, Time, Time ........
I agree, i haven't been keeping my end of the bargain of updating this column with articles as often as i should but believe me, its not as if i don't want to, its just that with so much to do, time has become one resource that is in such short supply.
What do you do when you have so many worthwhile activities competing for your limited available time? Do you cancel out on some or do you keep postponing them? What if they all have deadlines within the same time period that makes them all look like quadruplets or quintuplets?
Well, in my case i chose to postpone the ones without deadlines and that is how yours truly ended up putting off the posting of an article on this column for the past three weeks. So before you judge me, think about that time when you had so much to do and you had to postpone some in order to achieve the others.
With that said, what have i been up to? More assignments, more case studies, more exams and some job interviews. Not to mention the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Class which has taken a new dimension as various groups have started working on their ideas towards the upcoming competitions.
My group is working on a technological idea that will see us become millionaires sooner than expected (you think am bluffing right?). Well, just wait and see, the Walton MBA is about to produce the next Bill Gates, the next Warren Buffet and the next Donald Trump. I'll keep you posted.....
What do you do when you have so many worthwhile activities competing for your limited available time? Do you cancel out on some or do you keep postponing them? What if they all have deadlines within the same time period that makes them all look like quadruplets or quintuplets?
Well, in my case i chose to postpone the ones without deadlines and that is how yours truly ended up putting off the posting of an article on this column for the past three weeks. So before you judge me, think about that time when you had so much to do and you had to postpone some in order to achieve the others.
With that said, what have i been up to? More assignments, more case studies, more exams and some job interviews. Not to mention the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Class which has taken a new dimension as various groups have started working on their ideas towards the upcoming competitions.
My group is working on a technological idea that will see us become millionaires sooner than expected (you think am bluffing right?). Well, just wait and see, the Walton MBA is about to produce the next Bill Gates, the next Warren Buffet and the next Donald Trump. I'll keep you posted.....
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thank God it's Friday.........
Okay, so everybody loves friday cos it's the start of the weekend, a time to click pause on all office and school work, a time to relax and let your hair fly even as you blank your mind to anything that constitue work. For some, its a time to indulge and i mean INDULGE.
Let me define indulge - Close from the office or finish your class for the day, get to your homes and apartments then the phones start to ring, weekend networking just began. Then as it gets dark, all roads lead to Dickson Street, the hub of the clubs and bars in Fayetteville and there, you will find the "indulgees" till the wee hours of the next day.
But for me, the value of this particular friday seriously appreciated after surviving the myriad of tasks that was lined up at the begining of the week even though it seems as if next week is gradually assuming the likeness of this week (sigh).
Well, even as i journey through the Walton MBA,...my phone is ringing...., i guess the networking has begun. I'll keep you posted
Let me define indulge - Close from the office or finish your class for the day, get to your homes and apartments then the phones start to ring, weekend networking just began. Then as it gets dark, all roads lead to Dickson Street, the hub of the clubs and bars in Fayetteville and there, you will find the "indulgees" till the wee hours of the next day.
But for me, the value of this particular friday seriously appreciated after surviving the myriad of tasks that was lined up at the begining of the week even though it seems as if next week is gradually assuming the likeness of this week (sigh).
Well, even as i journey through the Walton MBA,...my phone is ringing...., i guess the networking has begun. I'll keep you posted
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The Headache.......
I woke up on Saturday morning with a headache. No, not the type that delivers a hammer to your head and makes you convert sound to light while seeing flashes of all the available colours of the rainbow.
You know the type that tells you "you've got a problem", yes that was my kind of headache. I opened my eyes still lying on my bed and suddenly staring down at me was an array of "to do" list for the coming week and just like in those horror movies i froze.
And so there it was, the list -
I guess some hours of sleep will have to be murdered and lest i forget, I just found out i've ran out of groceries, sh..!!!
Yes, i told you the last time i was going to keep you updated on the soccer match, guess what...we are double champions. whoo hoooo
The journey continues.........................
You know the type that tells you "you've got a problem", yes that was my kind of headache. I opened my eyes still lying on my bed and suddenly staring down at me was an array of "to do" list for the coming week and just like in those horror movies i froze.
And so there it was, the list -
- Management Acounting Case Study and group assignment due on monday morning,
- Organizational Management quiz due on monday morning,
- Organizational Management reading (whole chapter)
- Entrepreneurship & Innovation readings and Business plan evaluation due on monday,
- Transportation & Logistics readings (several) due on tuesday,
- Transportation & Logistics assignment and presentation due on tuesday,
- Business Ethics reading (whole chapter) and a quiz due on wednesday.
I guess some hours of sleep will have to be murdered and lest i forget, I just found out i've ran out of groceries, sh..!!!
Yes, i told you the last time i was going to keep you updated on the soccer match, guess what...we are double champions. whoo hoooo
The journey continues.........................
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Finally...Up and Running
At last i can breathe a sigh of relief, not just for being able to have this column running but from all the madness that succeeded in putting it on hold.
First, all the presentations, meetings, career fairs and the tight MBA schedule for the first one month of the fall semester have eased a bit even though i must say it was kind of fun.
Secondly, the soccer intramural tournament which saw a lot of us training and having to play matches every single day for the past two weeks came to an end yesterday and am proud to say yours truly's team - The Thunderboyz - are the new champion of the University's Men's Open, though we still have to play the winner of the Fraternity league to determine who the overall school champion is and that is going to take place tonight but i'll let you know next time how we defeated them ( 'cos we will).
So now that things are gradually returning back to order, i promise to try and keep you guys posted of my MBA Journey...Here and Now
First, all the presentations, meetings, career fairs and the tight MBA schedule for the first one month of the fall semester have eased a bit even though i must say it was kind of fun.
Secondly, the soccer intramural tournament which saw a lot of us training and having to play matches every single day for the past two weeks came to an end yesterday and am proud to say yours truly's team - The Thunderboyz - are the new champion of the University's Men's Open, though we still have to play the winner of the Fraternity league to determine who the overall school champion is and that is going to take place tonight but i'll let you know next time how we defeated them ( 'cos we will).
So now that things are gradually returning back to order, i promise to try and keep you guys posted of my MBA Journey...Here and Now
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