Alex, I'll take "What's Behind Door #1?" for $800, please

As of this morning, I am officially employed! Thank you to everyone who gave their insights and advice...it's amazing that the overwhelming majority of people really value the work environment over anything else. I guess it shows that, when you boil it down, it's more about the people you work with than about what you do.

I've decided to go with the first firm I listed in the last post. I, like most people I talked to, just couldn't walk away from the great work environment and the wonderful people. And I think the work will be interesting, too. I also had my very first salary negotiation, which was nerve-racking, but successful!

So now that the job search is officially over, what am I going to do with all this free time?

Decisions, Decisions

Not too many weeks ago, I was complaining about how slow the job search was going. Well, I now have four job offers and need a little help in deciding which one to take:

Behind Door #1: Is a small firm (40 peeps) with a main office in Atlanta and one in Durham. The culture is awesome - wear jeans to work, bring your dog to work - and the people are truly awesome. I would get to do a lot of international traveling (which I love!) and the salary is great. I would be doing market research, which is something I wasn't exactly looking for, although it could be interesting to try out. I would basically be a niche consultant, working with a broad spectrum of clients.

Behind Door #2: Is a much larger firm (25,000 peeps) that specializes in doing lab testing. I would be working in their IT area, acting as a liason between the IT people and the lab people, discovering needs and concerns and coming up with strategies to solve them. Sort of like an internal consultant. Corporate culture with very nice people. I would have about a 50 minute commute each way.

Behind Door #3: Is an insurance company (4,000 peeps) where I would be doing segmentation marketing and figuring out which segments are profitable and how to target and communicate with that segment. Corporate culture with nice people.

Behind Door #4: Is a small company that specializes in all-natural cosmetics (I won't say the name of the company as it might bias you to pick this company). Cool culture with laid-back attitude and a focus on the environment (it's one of America's most socially-responsible brands). The marketing job would be mostly tactical, implementing marketing programs and working closely with the brand managers.

All great companies, and each has it's own pros and cons. So I need your help! Which door would you pick, if you had to choose?

Costa Rica!

It's been hard to adjust back to school after a two-and-a-half-week spring break. So this past week, I've found myself daydreaming in classes and what better thing to dream about than our upcoming trip to Costa Rica!

From May 2-May 9, the hubby and I (and our friends Abby and Nathan from Chi-town) will be traveling to Costa Rica. It's kind of a pre-graduation graduation gift since I don't graduate until that following weekend, May 12. Plus, it'll just be fun to have a relaxing vacation.

We'll fly into San Jose the afternoon of May 2 and spend the night there. The next morning, we'll be shipped off to Tortuguero, which is on the Carribbean side of the country. The Tortugero area is primarily all rainforest and hopefully not very touristy. I'm hoping to get a ride on the zip-line and see lots of monkeys (of course!). We're staying at the Laguna Lodge, and I think it's going to be too cute!

After several days, we're flying to Corcovado area (in the lower pennisula) and staying at Bosque del Cabo, with the adorable thatched huts! Here, I think we'll get a lot of beach time. And hopefully see lots of monkeys!

I'm so excited...I've even been eyeing some new swimsuits at J Crew. Just six more weeks...

The Spunk is Back

I was a little crazy in high school. Imagine how a highly-caffeinated, neurotic person would act, and that was me...all the time. In college, I mellowed out a bit. But I was still a bit neurotic (blamed partly on my mother) and still a touch crazy.

But in the years after graduation, I think I lost some of that "spunk." Maybe it was because I got busy with work. Or maybe because I lost some of that as I matured. I used to be "that person" who would start talking with you in the grocery line for no reason and I was happy all the time, but some of that went away.

That continued even last year during grad school. I noticed I was less outgoing, a little more shy, a little less comfortable in my own skin.

But over the last several months, and especially during this second year at grad school, the "spunk" is returning. Without consciously thinking about it, I'm randomly talking to people at the Krispy Kreme. I feel happier and am really comfortable with who I am. Maybe it's a bit of confidence with graduating from school. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's the fact that I know my hard work is paying off (did I mention I have some offers to choose from??).

In any case, I'm excited to be back. I feel that I've regained a part of me that was silent for awhile. I don't think I'll quite regain my high school nickname of "Crazy Laura" anytime soon (which is probably a good thing for all involved), but I'm the happiest I've been in a long time. And I hope that spunk is here to stay!

Free the Duke 3? Puhlease.

If you've been following the Duke Lacrosse scandal lately, you know that the rape charges against the Duke Lacrosse players have been dropped. The only charge that remains in a kidnapping charge, which is anticipated to also be dismissed.

Sales of Duke Lacrosse t-shirts have increased by over 8,000% at the Duke bookstore (that's not an exaggeration) and students are wearing blue bracelets that read "Free the Duke 3. 6 13 45" (the numbers being their jersey numbers.) I saw a bumper sticker on a car the other day, which had the same slogan, along with the website www.disbarnifong.com.

I can't help but think this is a little like dancing on a grave. Sure, evidence overwhelming supports the case that the girl in question was lying. And Nifong probably acting unethically in presenting his case. But while these boys may not have done anything illegal, they are far from innocent. Here's what probably happened: during a night of drunken debauchery, the team hired strippers to perform. Specifically, they hired white strippers. Two black strippers arrived and the guys yelled racial and derogatory slurs at them. One of the girls got mad and decided to get even. Heck, one player has even been convicted in DC for assaulting a homosexual man. One way or another, bigotry runs in this crowd.

The real victims in this case are the future rape and assault victims. What girl, white or black, is going to be taken seriously now if she comes forward with a rape charge? Through this "Free the Duke 3" campaign, proponents are essentially intimidating rape victims and throwing a healthy dose of skepticism the way of any girl that may come forward in the future. And I can't help but feel that this campaign legitimizes the Duke Lacrosse team's actions, however legal they were. Rape, bigotry, and assault are not things to be taken lightly, but this campaign somehow makes them the punchline and diminishes their seriousness.

The victims are not Collin, Dave or Reade. The victims are anyone they have hurt through their words. And those who do not yet know they are victims.

You've come a long way, baby...maybe

Two of these Tab commercials are from the 70s, one if from the 80s. My first thought when I saw these was "Wow." It's hard to imagine that, at one point in time, this type of advertising was acceptable. In one sense, we (women) really have come a long way in changing what is acceptable and what is important to us.

But have we? Or is this type of sexism just hidden under the guise of political correctness? And what have we traded to get here? Do we as women still fantasize about being a mindsticker? Sure, many of us exercise and diet to be healthier and feel better, but how many do that purely for the health factor? Deep down many of us do it to be noticed by the opposite sex. It's all around us - we see women shaking their booties in rap videos and even drunken girls in bars doing things to get male attention. And just look at how "shape" obsessed we are...these commercial models in the 70s and 80s were considered sexy and shapely. Today, they would be characterized as "plus-size" models.

While these may at first seem a bit appalling (as they should), perhaps, under the surface, not much has really changed since then.

TaB cola ad 1982

1960's Tab Commercial

Hotlanta

I took a little road trip down to Atlanta this weekend to see my friend, Chris. He just moved down there this past summer, and I wanted to see his new digs...he bought his first house!

While there, we went to the Fox to see Spamalot, which was hysterical. I've never seen Monty Python's The Holy Grail (I know, I know...I lead a sheltered life), so I wasn't sure if I was going to totally get the humor in Spamalot. But I did - so funny and so well done. Well worth going to see if you get the chance!

While there's lots of great places to eat and fun bars and hangouts, Atlanta is expensive! Not only is the cost of food more, but everything there is valet parking. Plus, with all the cute boutiques around, you can't help but drop a few "dubs."

We ate at Varsity's (apparently, a Hotlanta establishment), where I had two chili cheese dogs. And in the afternoon, we went to the Coke museum, where we tasted Coke products from different countries and I discovered how ethnocentric I really am ("I can't believe they like this stuff in Italy! Gross!"...in my defense, it is disgusting).

A fun, fun weekend! (in the picture, L to R, Chris' friend, Brett, Chris' g-friend, Anne, me and Chris)

Sugar and Spice and Puppy Dog Tails

I was milling around Target last week, having already found the items that I needed but looking for items that I wanted (but didn't yet know that I wanted), when I wandered into the greeting cards area.

There was a special card section, announing "New! from Target." They were birthday cards, some for girls, some for boys. All the "For Girls" cards had My Little Ponies and rainbows on them. All the "For Boys" cards were Garbage Pail Kids' versions of balls (baseballs, footballs, soccerballs) with eyes popping out and green stuff oozing from their stitches.

What is wrong with this picture? I'd be fine if Target just displayed an array of birthday cards, without specifying if they were for boys or girls. But by labeling them, isn't Target just continuing the stereotype of boys and girls? Surely there are some girls that like gross balls, just like there are some boys that may love ponies and rainbows.

It's a little issue, I know. But my favorite mass merchant retailer rubbed me the wrong way. No more stereotypes, no more pigeonholes. Let's just offer the choices and let people make their own selection.

Lions and Tigers and...Monkeys?

CISARUA, Indonesia (AP) -- Call them the odd couples.

A pair of month-old Sumatran tiger twins have become inseparable playmates with a set of young orangutans, an unthinkable match in their natural jungle habitat in Indonesia's tropical rainforests.

The friendship between 5-month-old female baby primates Nia and Irma, and cubs Dema and Manis, has blossomed at the Taman Safari zoo where they share a room in the nursery.
After being abandoned by their mothers shortly after birth, the four play fight, nipping and teasing each other, and cuddling up for a shared nap when they are worn out.

"This is unusual and would never happen in the wild," said zoo keeper Sri Suwarni, bottle-feeding a baby chimp on Wednesday. "Like human babies, they only want to play."
The four have lived side-by-side for a month without a single act of hostility, she said.
Indonesian tigers and orangutans are both endangered species, threatened by rapidly shrinking habitats.

Conservationists estimate there are fewer than 700 Sumatran tigers still alive, while fewer than 60,000 orangutans remain in the wild. Around 90 percent of the jungle has been destroyed by illegal logging, poaching and cut-and-burn farming practices on Borneo and Sumatra islands.
The exceptional friendship will likely be short-lived, said veterinarian Retno Sudarwati, because as the animals grow up their natural survival instincts will kick in.

"When the time comes, they will have to be separated. It's sad, but we can't change their natural behavior," she said. "Tigers start eating meat when they are three months old."

The Human Body is Awesome

It always amazes me how life - any life - can start out with just two cells (or, in some cases, a single cell) and, almost magically, become a human or a horse or a carrot. A sprinkling of amino acids, a dash of peptides and there you have it - life.

Last week, I sliced my finger with a tomato knife while cutting, well, a tomato. It hurt like a monkey and I used a whole paper towel to stop the bleeding. I didn't do much to it - just wrapped a band-aid around it to keep the flap of flesh smooshed down to protect the wound. And now, a week later, it's almost completely healed.

How does that happen? How does the body know what to do? Or even that it needs to fix something? Without me paying much attention to it - I went along my way going to class, studying, searching for jobs, doing yoga - my knife wound healed all by itself. And it goes back to just the way it was before - no scar, no disruption in the fingerprint grooves.

What amazes me is that I don't even know how my own body does it; I mean, I must know - my brain must be orchestrating the production of more blood to make up for what is lost and the production of more protein - but I don't know. Are the mind and brain two separate entities?

Good stuff. Although it hurts my brain to think about it. Or is it my mind? Either way, at least my finger is all better.

A Little Green Man Named Oscar

For those of you watching the Oscars last night, you saw Penelope's dress that looked like it was made from a muppet. You marveled over the quirky "shadow people." And you heard that the Oscars made history by going green.

The Academy didn't give too many specifics on how they went green this year, but I was excited to see a influential body make a statement and encourage others to do the same. By bringing conservation to the forefront of everyone's minds, they set a good example to a celebrity-captive audience.

Granted, there is still some work to do be done. For example, it would have been nice to hear more about the Academy's greening efforts throughout the night, rather than just a mention by Al Gore during his presentation. And the story about the Academy going green didn't even make it to the front page of Oscar.com...I had to click a bit to find it. But a journey of a thousands miles begins with a single step...or something.

You can also click here to read the Academy's tips for the rest of us - what we can do everyday, to make a small difference.

America is Really Bored

February is just about the time of year when people start getting bored. The holidays are over, New Years' Resolutions aren't so shiny anymore and Spring is a long way off. Never mind that the groundhog didn't see his shadow and spring is right around the corner - it's still really cold!

But that gives no excuse for the sad state of media affairs lately. First, it was Anna Nicole Smith. Now it's Britney's hair. Really?

It's one thing for these stories to make front page of The Superficial or People or US Weekly. It's quite another when it makes the front page of CNN and MSNBC. Are we truly that bored with the rest of the world that we devote all our energy to Britney's shaved head? And why do we devote video clip upon video clip about her motivations? Someone who has millions of dollars shaved her head. Why is this more newsworthy than, say, genocide in Darfur? Or, say, the Chinese New Year? Or, say, just about any other event that's going on that has some kind of connection to the rest of the world?

I know us Americans love our celebrities. And I will be the first to admit that I get hooked on celebrity gossip (just check out my link to the right). But there is a line, and we have crossed it. Maybe it's time to break out those New Year's Resolutions again...

You are a Superstar!

Have you noticed how "You" is everywhere? First, You posted your own videos on YouTube. Then You were Time's Person of the Year. Next, You were producing SuperBowl commercials for Doritos. And now, You performed live at the Grammy's with Justin Timberlake.

When did You become so popular? Last week Fuqua hosted a Marketing Conference, where many of the panel discussions focused around consumer-generated media. On one hand, companies like Frito Lay (the maker of Doritos) love this stuff, because they are able to accurately target their market and truly understand this demographic. And it's super cheap. On the other hand, are we going a little overboard? Now I see that Jeep is partnering with Marvel comics, encouraging people to create a comic centered around a new Jeep product. Are we getting an overdose of You?

And when did this trend start, anyway? I guess it could be traced back to blogs, where people finally had a way of voicing their opinion and really getting the attention of big business. And then it mushroomed when people had the chance to visually show their creative sides, courtesy of YouTube. But I think it started long before blogs.

My theory points the finger at reality TV and, specifically, Survivor. Being the mother of all reality TV shows, Survivor was the first chance to give real people, You and Me, a chance at 15 minutes of fame. We tuned in each week to watch ourselves compete for a tiki torch. And as more seasons were bought, it wasn't uncommon for us to know someone who knew someone who went to school with one of the Survivor contestants. Which made the show all that more real to us.

And slowly, through Darwin's natural selection, we've evolved from Survivor to American Idol to blogs to YouTube to SuperBowl to Grammy's. Surely, You will start to either die out, or continue to morph into the next great thing. Maybe it should be We.

Because I like to ruffle feathers

I contribute regularly to the Fuqua Times, Fuqua's weekly magazine. This week, I submitted the following article. While I did contemplate hiring a bodyguard (as much for the protection as for the view), I was pleasantly surprised by the reactions. Scott was sure that I was going to burn networks, and maybe I have, but I've also received a lot of e-mails from people who agree with me. I had to share...

I Don’t Heart Duke Basketball

Welcome to ACC Country, where rivalries run blood deep and team colors are more sacred then religion. Perhaps the deepest seated rivalries in the ACC run along Tobacco Road, the 75-mile stretch of I-40 that starts in Winston-Salem and ends in Raleigh and whose history first began when tobacco tycoons RJ Reynolds and Washington Duke battled it out for cigarette market share in the late 1800s.

So, naturally, many people were baffled when this Wake Forest graduate told that she was attending Duke for graduate school. The question continues to pop up in interviews. And my answer is always the same: I have internal conflict. Because while I love Fuqua, I can never, I will never love Duke basketball.

However, by attending Duke University, it is assumed that I must love Duke basketball. The assumptions started the first day of FY orientation, when we were all herded, wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, into a room where we were taught several Duke basketball cheers. I stood there, fuming, with my arms crossed, refusing to participate. Or when I received dirty stares from those in the student section at last years’ Wake-Duke game in Cameron (granted, I was dressed in all gold, screaming at the top of my lungs for the Deacons, but really?). Fast forward to SY, where I get quizzical looks from classmates when I mention I’m rooting for Clemson over Duke. Does it really surprise people that there are many students at Fuqua who despise the Blue Devils?

While I could give concrete reasons for this animosity, it really comes down to something much more irrational – emotion. For four years, I was bred to hate our rivals, who include Duke and Carolina. And we were truly rivals, as the Deacons were just coming off their back-to-back ACC Championships when I started (something that won’t be repeated this year, unfortunately). Like any true fan, we smeared it in our rivals’ faces when we won and hated them when we lost. How can anyone erase four years of wonderful college memories, rooting for the beloved Deacons? How can you replace hanging out in bars with the basketball team players? This is my alma mater, after all. Nothing will ever come between me and Wake Forest.

I can understand getting excited about Duke basketball if your alma mater wasn’t a big basketball school. And I don’t deny that it’s an experience to be squeezed into Cameron, deafened by the jeering crowd. And yes, I camped out last year, but it was just for the experience. I’ve done this basketball thing all before so I just can’t get excited about the Blue Devils…except when they lose. So, Orientation Leaders, please don’t force-feed cheers to the new class. And let’s make Fuqua a safe place for those whose loyalties lie elsewhere.

I love Fuqua and I will be proud to call myself a Duke Alumna when I graduate. But I will never cheer for the Blue Devils. I am, and will forever be, a Demon Deacon.

Laura is currently petitioning ESPN to star in a “Never Graduate” commercial, featuring pudding wrestling with the Deacon, the Devil and the Ram. Hunky male applicants for these roles are now being accepted.

The Power of Brand

I'm just going to go ahead and admit it: I'm a dork.

This past summer, my treat on the train ride from NYC back to CT was to pick up that week's The New Yorker and read it cover to cover in a mere 40 minutes. The articles are interesting, the writing is fantastic, and I loved to learn about all the goings-on in the city.

I'm not a big magazine reader to begin with, especially with school in full swing. I didn't renew my Traveler subscription because I never got around to reading it. But I found, in the months I've been back in NC, that I've missed my New Yorker.

So I subscribed. I may be the only North Carolinian to have a subscription to The New Yorker, but I love it. I love reading the articles, appreciating the writing, and learning about all the goings-on in the city, even though I'm too far away to appreciate them. But it's just a short plane ride away, right? Plus, I like being the only North Carolinian reading The New Yorker. I feel sophisticated, educated and cultured. At least, that's what the brand tells me I should feel.

I'll still get my celeb updates on thesuperficial.com, but I'm also chic enough to read about why Lieberman sees himself as the Lorax. Now that's good marketing!

Baby steps

Inspired by the curmudgeon, I've decided to try to lower my electricity bill for this upcoming month. This past month's bill was $71! And we only live in a 1200 square foot aparment. Part of the problem, with the onslaught of colder weather, is that our apartment is not well insulated. If you stand by the windows, you can feel the cold air seeping through. So our heat runs non-stop. So, to help save the environment, and to help save for our upcoming trip to Costa Rica, I'm taking a few baby steps. If you have other suggestions, please let me know!

• Washing my clothes with only cold water
• Keeping my printer off until I actually print
• Putting my computer on "Stand By" at night and when I'm at school
• Lowering the thermostat when we're out of the house for long periods
• Shutting off lights when we're not in the room (I could buy those energy-saving bulbs, but I'll wait until the ones I have burn out)

'Tis the Season to be Stressed Out

There seems to be a lot of stress around Fuqua lately. The first years are just about fried by the summer internship interview process and are burned out from classes. The second years are stressed out because we are making decisions that will impact the rest of our lives.

Before school, our job and careers didn't really matter. We knew we would one day be returning to school and whatever job we held prior to school was just a bus stop on our journey. Our summer internship, while important, was just a way to postpone the inevitable decision. But now, NOW, we have to decide. And our decision is what will shape our future.

Where will we live? Where will we work? Am I choosing the right path? For some reason, my guy friends aren't as stressed out by these decisions as my girlfriends. Many of the girls feel torn between choosing what we want and what we'll compromise for. In many cases, husbands and wives want different things, but it's our husbands that get a loud voice. I don't see that in relationships where the husband is the student - he seems to make the decision that's best for him (and ultimately, his family). But why are we, as educated and career-driven women, forced to compromise? Why do we feel the angst of doing what is right for the whole family? Why are we the ones brought to tears as we struggle to make the right decision?

Perhaps, despite being as progressive as we'd like to think, we are still bound by an unspoken cultural tie in which the man is the head of the household. That he holds more power. Not that we aren't treated as equals, but we're also not the type of women to stomp our foot and demand that things go our way. Maybe we should. Maybe we're being too passive. Maybe...but I don't forsee any of my girlfriends who are in this situation doing anything differently.

Or maybe we're just trying to be fair to everyone in the relationship. But why does that burden fall on women?

Supersize This

So I just finished watching Supersize Me! and I have mixed feelings about the movie. On one hand, it was really interesting and eye-opening to see just what kind of effect a high-fat diet can have on the human body and how disgusting fast food is. On the other hand, it completely lacked fairness and balance.

The movie makes fast food companies out to be greedy, manipulative engines. Let's just get one thing straight: we live in a capitalistic country. The goal of most businesses is to make money. It would be great if, in the process of making money, they are also doing societal good, but that would only work if people (read: consumers) (read: you) supported these efforts. In order to make money, cosumer goods companies must make their brand top-of-mind. This means money spent on advertising, product placement, consumer research. So, yes, we expect companies like Target, Nike, Dell, Whole Foods, and even McDonald's to spend lots of money in order to make lots of money.

The movie accuses McDonald's of hooking children onto their product, reeling them in at an early age so that, later in their life, warm fuzzy memories of McDonald's playgrounds will lure them back for a Big Mac. Watching the movie, you'd think these execs sat around an office coming up with ways to get those kids at a young age; to hook them for life. Isn't this a bit of revisionist history? This is like interpreting a novel after it's been written when, truly, we have no idea what the author's original intent was. Maybe McDonald's did consumer research and found that, at the time, their main consumer (read: busy mom) needed a quick bite to eat and 5 minutes away from her noisy brats. The McDonald's PlayPlace is born...to appease adult consumers. But now we interpret that as McDonald's devising PlayPlace to implant happy memories into children's minds. Most likely, no.

Where's the personal responsiblity? Everyday, we are bombarded by ads and messages. No one is holding a gun to our head, forcing us to purchase their product or idea. That decision is up to us. It is up to us to teach our children good eating and exercise habits. By now, every person on the planet, all 6.3 billion of us, should have a vague sense of how bad some foods are for us. So don't eat them. And if you do, run an extra mile.

Supersize Me! did make this point...at the very end. The great thing about this country is that we have free choice, free will. Let's exercise that freedom and make the right choices for ourselves and our kids. Stop pointing the finger at the fast food restaurants and pushing the blame and responsiblity off on others. Because if we keep doing that, we'll never stem this epidemic that's slowly killing us.