1st Day: Preparations

So, I am still travelling across Canada to get to Kingston. Currently I am in the city of Sault St. Marie and I just happened to check the student portal. A notice had been posted notifying students of the need to show up for 9 AM on Monday May 5th in "business formal attire". I have no issue with this requirement, but I am a little surprised that the notice has come so close to the start date of the program. I have pretty much everything, but I do need to acquire a new pair of dress pants since all of the ones I currently have in my wardrobe I was wearing for quite a while and are looking pretty much finished. I thought I would have a few weeks until this was needed and I could make a trip into Toronto, but I guess not.

Is this some sort of weird test? SURPRIZE! We changed things on you. Now lets see if you can jump through this new hoop!

Now I need to navigate the single lane undivided TransCanada highway while trying to think where I'm going to find men's wears stores in Kingston. To top that off I will still need to settle in, unpack, and complete some more pre-study statistics review. I really wish they would have made this requirement known a few weeks ago.

I shouldn't have any issue meeting this new requirement, but I'm not impressed with the late timing of the notification.

Travelling: finally we depart for Kingston.

So, we are finally off today. After continually pushing our departure date and working like dogs we are ready to leave Calgary for Kingston. I am again reminded just how much both my wife and myself are investing in this opportunity. Quit our "good" jobs, leave our apartment, leave our families, drive across Canada to a strange place, and then spend lots of money, time, and effort to earn an MBA. I am pretty sure this is going to be worth it, but if there is one thing life has taught me it is that life writes no guarantees.

Bunch of us are arranging to meet, through facebook, sometime on May 3rd at a pub in Kingston. Should be a blast! Look forward to meeting some of my future classmates

Well, without further ado I'm off. Good by Calgary...Hello Kingston.

Travelling: Finally get to start the long drive.

So, after much hardwork and continually pushing our departure date we are off to Kingston. If we plan to leave today an arrive on May 1st. I am really glad that I have completed all the pre-study material that was sent. I still have to complete the excel tutorials and the statistics review, but I'm sure I can do a little of that along the way.

I am again reminded just how much I am investing in this program. Both my wife and my self have quit our "good" jobs. We are liquidating our apartment, driving across the country, and then spending lots of money, time, and effort to complete this MBA. I'm pretty sure that this will pay off, but if there is one thing life has taught me todate is that there are no guarantees.

Bunch of us are arranging to meet, through facebook, at a pub in Kingston on May 3rd. That should be a lot of fun! Plus the drive across Canada should rock! It will take us 6 days.

Well, without further ado I am off. Good bye Calgary...Hello Kingston.

Preparation: The schedule for the next year

Here is what the schedule for the next year is looking like:

• Between April 23 to April 25th Depart Calgary
• Drive across Canada (Calgary to Regina to Winnipeg to Thunder Bay to Sue St. Marie to Sudbury to Kingston)
• April 29th or 30th Arrive in Kingston
• Setup new living accommodations
• May 5 Classes START. The 1st Day of Classes
• May 19th Victoria Day (no classes)
• July 1st Canada Day (no classes) Hope to go to Ottawa for Canada Day
• July 28th to August 1st EXAM WEEK
• August 4th Civic Holiday (no classes)
• September 1st Labour Day (no classes)
• September 29th to October 3rd EXAM WEEK
• October 6th to 10th BREAK/INTERVIEW WEEK
• October 13th Thanksgiving Day (no classes)
• October 16th "University Day" (don't know what this is)
• November 11th Remembrance Day (Tuesday so don't know if they will have classes or take a different day off)
• December 1st to 5th EXAM WEEK
• December 13th to January 11th BREAK (4 WEEKS OFF)
• December 13th to December 20th Visit my family
• December 21th to December 27th Visit my wife's family
• December 28th to January 11th? Take a trip to somewhere else for 2 weeks?
• Must be back in Kingston on the evening of January 11th at the latest
• January 12th Classes start again
• February has "Carnaval" which is held in Quebec City. My wife wants to check this festival out, but I don't think I will be able find the time to go with her.
• April 24 Classes END. This is the end of the specialization classes. The program is finished!
• May Convocation TBA. Probably will not attend since I'm not planning on being in Kingston at this time.
• Take an extra 2 weeks to drive to PEI before going back to work? Return to Calgary? Move to Toronto? Move to Paris? Move to New York? Move to London? Who knows...
• Probably try to start work for the start of June or July?

That is looking like a pretty busy year. There is still a lot that isn't on there. I know there is going to be various activities through out the program that are going to make this even more entertaining!

Preparation: Things are gearing up

Things are now getting busy. I am into my last 2 weeks at work and they want every productive second they can squeeze out of me.

My wife and I are busy packing. With all the packing our apartment is a disaster and there are boxes everywhere. Already we have made a trip to both of our respective parent's houses to store items there while we are away. We were going to rent a storage locker, but I don't really know where I will end up after the program so that could have ended up being costly and inconvenient. A special thanks goes out to my parents and inlaws as they are providing crucial support to make this possible.

After receiving the letter that my student loan was approved most of the details surround the financing of this great adventure have fallen into place. So glad this has finally been sorted out.

I am still slogging through the last 1/3 of the accounting textbook sent as part of the pre-study material that needs to be completed prior to the program starting. It is hard to find time in the evening to work on it when I'm not already tired from everything else. I haven't even tried to review any of the statistics that were mentioned for one of the other courses. However, I have completed all the other pre-study material. The draft of my resume in the template sent by the Career Centre is complete, the personality testing is complete, the career quiz is complete, and the personal strengths finding material is complete. To top that off I have read most of the "career profile" material provided through the web portal for the various investment banking, venture capitalism and consulting positions that a lot of grads go onto after completing their MBAs.

I have purchased and received my laptop. I still need to get a carrying case and perhaps some other items for school yet. Just more items to add to an already long list.

Still don't have a possession date for our suite in Kingston. We need this date so we can commit to a departure date and book accommodations along the way ahead of time. We are already planning to drive 8 hours a day and I don't really want to have to drive around each town searching for a place to stay if it can be avoided.

That reminds me I need to call the utilities, phone, and cable companies to cancel all our services at the end of this month.

On top of that we are trying to see all the friends and family we can before we leave.

With all this going on I have pretty much given up on trying to go to the gym.

I have also been getting in touch with more and more of my future classmates. Turns out there is even a facebook group started for "Queen's MBA 2009". If you are reading this and you are part of "the Queen's MBA class of 2009" and haven't already looked the facebook group up, do so and join!

Okay, back to being busy.

Financing: Student loan secured

Finally got my student loan straightened out with Alberta Learning Information Systems. Originally I applied online and it was processed within 2 weeks. However, the online application only had December 2007 and June 2008 start dates available to choose from among the choices for "program". Of course I needed "May 2008", but pick the date of "December 2007" since "May 2008" wasn't in the menu.

HUGE MISTAKE!

The result was a very lengthy cancellation procedure and an even more drawn out "re-application" by filing out a paper form.

All done and said I got a student loan! The amount I received is the same as what I was assessed automatically online. I get about 2/3rds for May 1, 2008 and the remainder form November 1, 2008. These funds combined with what I have saved and the line of credit available through RBC from Queen's should allow me to complete the year.