Saturday, July 29, 2006
Fellow Merage Blogger
I think it is well past time that I post some links to fellow Merage School bloggers. Billy the Kid is an incoming MBA/MD student from Orange County. I met him at our Admit Weekend and found him a fascinating guy. Have a look at his blog at http://doctorbill.blogspot.com/
Trying to Get Organized
Summer is moving quick. September will be upon Lindsey and I in a blink of the eye. Unfortunately, our situation is still very unsettled. We haven't sold the condo and we haven't received any details (or confirmation) of our guaranteed housing from UCI.
The condo sale has been a series of disappointments. We have had numerous viewings but no takers. Even worse, units in our complex that I would classify as below ours have sold. It is confusing because whenever I am present for a viewing, all I hear is how nice the unit shows??! I am trying to decide if I need to change realtors. Our is a very good marketer and gets foot traffic, but I question his ability to close deals. He only follows up with realtors who view the unit once. When I asked him why he doesn't do more follow ups with promising leads, he responded that he did not want to look desperate??! I think there is a difference between driven to make a deal and looking desperate. Coincidentally, he doesn't think it looks "desperate" to aggressively drop the listing price? I think we may have philosophical differences on how to get a deal done. I understand he is the expert and I usually defer to their expertise, but when the results aren't there and your gut tells you different sometimes you may have to go against them.
The appeal of the guaranteed UCI housing is beginning to lose some of its luster. I still haven't received any confirmation or details about our housing arrangements. My application was filed back in April and I haven't heard from them since. I understand that this is out of the MBA program's control because it is a separate bureaucratic department that handles these applications, but if you are going to guarantee housing you need to have some strong ties with that department. I was given a contact name in the Housing Department, but she has failed to respond to two of my emails. The lack of information is creating problems for our relocation.
As we live in Canada, this is a big move to the west coast, across a border. We want to use a professional moving company. We can't book a mover until we know when we can move in. We don't even need the final address, we just need dates! And housing hasn't even responded with those details.
International Orientation starts the week after Labor Day, assuming we need a week to drive out to Cali, we got about four weeks until we depart - even less time to book a mover! I think I am a patient man, but my fuse is nearly at its end. We are not some undergrads who can put some t-shirts in a bag and start school, we are a family relocating! I need some details ASAP!
Other than that I am looking forward to meeting my classmates. UCI has an admit site where incoming students can post a picture and profile. There are a lot of interesting backgrounds that are going to collide once the program starts. It will be exciting to learn how to work together.
The condo sale has been a series of disappointments. We have had numerous viewings but no takers. Even worse, units in our complex that I would classify as below ours have sold. It is confusing because whenever I am present for a viewing, all I hear is how nice the unit shows??! I am trying to decide if I need to change realtors. Our is a very good marketer and gets foot traffic, but I question his ability to close deals. He only follows up with realtors who view the unit once. When I asked him why he doesn't do more follow ups with promising leads, he responded that he did not want to look desperate??! I think there is a difference between driven to make a deal and looking desperate. Coincidentally, he doesn't think it looks "desperate" to aggressively drop the listing price? I think we may have philosophical differences on how to get a deal done. I understand he is the expert and I usually defer to their expertise, but when the results aren't there and your gut tells you different sometimes you may have to go against them.
The appeal of the guaranteed UCI housing is beginning to lose some of its luster. I still haven't received any confirmation or details about our housing arrangements. My application was filed back in April and I haven't heard from them since. I understand that this is out of the MBA program's control because it is a separate bureaucratic department that handles these applications, but if you are going to guarantee housing you need to have some strong ties with that department. I was given a contact name in the Housing Department, but she has failed to respond to two of my emails. The lack of information is creating problems for our relocation.
As we live in Canada, this is a big move to the west coast, across a border. We want to use a professional moving company. We can't book a mover until we know when we can move in. We don't even need the final address, we just need dates! And housing hasn't even responded with those details.
International Orientation starts the week after Labor Day, assuming we need a week to drive out to Cali, we got about four weeks until we depart - even less time to book a mover! I think I am a patient man, but my fuse is nearly at its end. We are not some undergrads who can put some t-shirts in a bag and start school, we are a family relocating! I need some details ASAP!
Other than that I am looking forward to meeting my classmates. UCI has an admit site where incoming students can post a picture and profile. There are a lot of interesting backgrounds that are going to collide once the program starts. It will be exciting to learn how to work together.
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