Oh yeah, Mr. Groundhog? An early spring??? Harumph. Night classes have been cancelled for two days now thanks to your little early spring. I can't even find my car on the street even if I wanted to go to class because it is underneath a bunch of snow somewhere. Which reminds me that I am selling my car for my "real-world negotiation" for Interpersonal Negotiations class (by the way, my favorite class this mini), so if any of you out there know someone in Pittsburgh who wants to buy a 1999 Ford Contour with only 77,000 miles in excellent condition and with immaculate maintenance records, please tell them to contact me. Actually, they don't even need to buy it - I just need someone to show up and haggle with me over the price so I will have something to write about in this paper. Here are some pictures - see, isn't it a lovely vehicle? A great starter car for new drivers in the family - you know, safe with a good-sized trunk for moving into a college dorm, but red in color which makes it fun, right?
But I shouldn't complain about the cold because I actually came to Pittsburgh twice to visit Tepper, both times in February, and I STILL decided to come here - a decision which had more to do with character, and a lot more to do with community (see my Nov. 16th post - "The Paris of Pennsylvania") than with the weather. I remember visiting another business school that shall remain unnamed, but that has a much larger student population and an incredible endowment. Their campus was certainly impressive, but the image that stayed in the front of my mind after the visit was an enormous banner hanging in their main hallway that said - "Generate. Collaborate. Integrate." Now, you and I can have a conversation about whether the cheesiness level on a banner like that is acceptable for an institution of higher learning, and I think Tepperites would end up all over the place if you took a poll of who thought that was outrageously offputting versus a perfect summary of what business school should be. But that's all beside the point - or at least, beside MY point. Which is that I couldn't remember a single individual from my day there. No matter whether that banner was cheesy or not, I knew I wasn't going to give up an income for two years and pay the big bucks for a banner. I was going to do it for the people and for the place.
In stark contrast to the visit, when I came to Tepper, I met people that I kept in touch with afterwards. Real people with whom I might not agree on everything, but who I knew weren't going to school as part of a plan to elbow their way to the top of the food chain or prove to the world that they were smarter than everyone else. And when I came back home after the visit, I went to the school's website and saw pictures of actual students I had met there. That's what got me back there for a second visit and, finally, to enroll in the program. Moral of the story: VISIT THE SCHOOLS YOU APPLY TO!
Okay on to the next agenda item - did anybody see Chris Brown's performance at the Grammy's? That man can dance - I heart him...
Speaking of hearting people, my now-husband and long-time steady Jon and I finally took the great leap into matrimony on December 23rd. It was fabulous, if I do say so myself. We tied the knot at the Venetian in Las Vegas, cheered on by 125 of our closest family and friends, including a couple of the latest additions to my Friends-of-Rachel club from right here at Tepper. I know you're just dying for visuals, so here you go ... 
Now THAT's teamwork!!
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