The Beast

The following people should go on the record stating that there will be a fire sale on July 31, 2011: johndyce Marty34 Milkman delivers If others can't watch this team and will continue to gripe about prices, then why follow these teams? Also, is Boston or the Cubs going to have a fire sale because they are underachieving in terms of records? Cubs: 8-8 NYY: 9-5 Boston: 5-10 Also...why should the Sox offer discount codes when the Cubs suck for a vast majority of that 81 games and still charge full price? $5 tickets? How about no? Buy the standing room only and watch the game if you can't afford it.

What happened?

QUOTE (The Gooch @ Mar 24, 2011 -> 01:01 PM) I have a friend who work for Red Frog. She gets to travel all over the world and plan fun events. She loves it there, and it does sound like an awesome job with some great perks. They are also an organization that will allow an intern to learn different facets of the job and actually do things to learn some skills. It is paid and doesn't require the student to obtain college credit. Groupon is also on my list to apply to. These Chicago based start-ups or small businesses with a presence in Chicago is starting to really intrigue me and want to go after these jobs.

Went to the job fair today and targeted two organizations I might be interested in working for whether it be the work or the mission statement of the organization. Hy-Vee would like to have a phone interview with me to go over available openings and determine if I am a fit for their organization. The organization that kept my attention today was that of Red Frog, which promotes, markets and plans different running events. It seems like the company culture is a lot like Google, has a lot of nice perks and a decent salary. I bet that it, like Groupon, might be a bit difficult to get into but that doesn't mean I am not going to try. EDIT: Congratulations on the job, Wite.

Cancer.

For anyone pursuing graduate school, this link guides you to the new general GRE exam. Evidently some graduate schools will be accepting this exam as a substitute for the GMAT when the test gets revised (August 1st, 2011). They are also offering a 50% discount for taking this exam...lucky for me, they won't be able to screw me on having to take two exams to have options for business or graduate school.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Mar 16, 2011 -> 03:06 PM) I'm in the same situation as you. Except you haven't even graduated. I've been done for a year now and still have nothing. I blame myself though. I have no idea what I want to do and find it hard to work at getting something when I don't have a desire for any field out there. You should be glad that you at least have some sort of notion of what you are interested in. At least you can get out there and start trying to make connections that will lead you in the direction you want to go. It really sucks when you have no desire for any job out there. You have no interest in anything? What was your undergraduate degree? What did you want to do as a kid? What are your skills in?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 16, 2011 -> 01:26 PM) Good lord man, all you ever see and talk about is what you DONT have and CANNOT get. People who want it, get it. End of story. Sometimes you gotta muck around in the s*** before you sit in first class. no pun intended. Just because a door is closed doesnt mean you cannot open it. That may have been one of the better comments I have seen you post - thanks.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 16, 2011 -> 12:47 PM) I agree 100%. I did Beta Alpha Psi and Accounting Society and it set me up with a huge network. I know people in all the big 4 firms, plus mid-tier firms and as those people go into private industry I still know them and than have connections within a lot of finance/accounting departments. In addition, as you work, your network continues to grow as you work with lots of different people who also go on to do their seperate things. In the professional world, you can only go as far as your network. Yes, you need to have smarts, but you also need to know people because that relationship can open to the door to new avenues and opportunities which wouldn't have been available to you without the network (or at least much more difficult to get in). Okay, but for someone who finished his undergraduate degree at a school that didn't have PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) and was a small private liberal arts college, contacts were limited. I'm thinking of the only way to get into an organization that is close to where I want to work/be is at DePaul, where they have the Master's in Public Relations degree. Otherwise I am not sure of what organizations to join since all I did in school was work for a radio station and newspaper for the first two years and then the sports information department at my institution. This isn't exactly applicable to what I want to do in the business world (PR), so I am going to have to find the limited paid internships out there.

QUOTE (The Gooch @ Mar 15, 2011 -> 02:50 PM) Honestly, networking is the best option. Go beyond job fairs and careerbuilder. Find a club or organization for a field that your interested in and join it. Ask friends or relatives for opening in the companies they work for and get a referral or a direct email to the person in charge of hiring if possible. Knowing someone in the organization and getting a referral is your best shot at getting an interview. Check out temp agencies to see if they are offering anything that matches your interests. Those temp jobs can often turn into full time gigs. Even taking an internship can turn into a job, or at very least it will give you more experience (which is vital as the market for entry level positions is still awful). How do I get involved with something even if I am graduating this June? Is that where the grad school comes in? And what if internships in the "field" I am interested in require that I be a college student for credit? Temp agencies aren't something that I thought of so I will be looking at those and following up with your other suggestions - thanks!

Feeling the heat of graduation coming and the desire to do something useful after graduation instead of just sitting on my ass, I figured I should research growing industries, jobs in the future and where the needs are at. So I entered keywords into Google and read through the search results. The results of my search? Nothing too helpful - engineering and math/science still dominate the list. I searched again and more information arose that wasn't helpful at all. So I looked at my interests and abilities and determined that the following "fields," "jobs," and "Graduate Programs of Study" would apply to me: Human Resources, Paralegal Studies, Marketing (not sales, but perhaps market research), School Counseling (Guidance Counseling), Public Relations (background of communications and journalism would help this, but if there is cold selling involved forget it), university jobs (such as being an admissions counselor while the grad school part of things is paid for) or sports information jobs. Having searched jobs in these categories, I found that sites like career builder and monster are pretty useless for entry-level positions. Someone wiser than I said that I should start researching organizations, learning about their industry and looking into positions at the organization, but even in doing research, how does that lead to finding an interview when the jobs aren't matching my skills (communications)/interests? Instead of just b****ing about it, I would be interested to know how soxtalkers would approach today's job search as a freshly minted college graduate. Also, what do you guys think about where the jobs will be in 2011-2013? I can read bls.gov and Google that question all day but I would rather hear from today's employees where they think the jobs will be and what kinds of industries recent college graduates should go into/get retraining or further education to get into?

Why did the Sox allow Barry Zito to look like a god today?

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Mar 8, 2011 -> 10:32 AM) What do you do in the baseball offseason then??? He writes code.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 5, 2011 -> 02:36 PM) 2-0 Indians. Error by Teahen at 3B. Just release the guy...please. Cut your losses. If they did release Teahen, how much money do they owe him? I don't know how contracts work in the MLB when a player with a large contract is cut...

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 5, 2011 -> 02:21 PM) Double for the birthday boy. He ain't old yet. Wasted effort as Quentin pops up, Teahen flies to left and Viciedo strikes out. Thank you Konerko for not having your head up your ass and happy birthday!

Did he miss by much when he walked Choo on four straight balls (MLB.com gameday)? Where was the location of the ball when LaPorta knocked Choo in?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 3, 2011 -> 01:21 PM) i think you find this kind riding unicorns in never never land Sweet.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 3, 2011 -> 11:58 AM) So do you love thick girls who play hard to get or skinny girls who give it up easy? -I should have just said thick girls or girls who fake bake. Skinny girls who are classy and have morals are my kind of women. And no, these aren't girls from Wheaton College. They are hard to describe. But nevermind. -Cocky Iowans...silly statement but there are plenty of Iowans that hate Chicagoans and think that those who are from Chicago or the Chicago suburbs are elitist. -People put ketchup on hot dogs/bratwurst outside of Chicago. It's weird. -Plenty of people love the notion that it is about who you know and not exactly what you know to get the job.

Atheism Call of Duty: Black Ops Halo Ketchup on hot dogs/bratwurst Sam Adams Rap Most, if not all, country Jersey Shore Twitter Republicans/Tea-baggers Ugg boots Spray tanning Soccer College sports NBA UFC/MMA Rex Ryan/Clay Matthews/Aaron Rodgers Ozzie Guillen/Oney Guillen Employment system of America: "It's not what you know, it is who you know, so you can dumb as s*** and still get the good job." Anti-Gay/Lesbian groups Organized religion - "Religion kills, Jesus saves" (Catholicism would be fine if they didn't have the political views that they do...) Dipping/Chewing/Mari-J Chicago Cubs Thick girls who give it up easy Bar scene (sometimes) Cocky Iowans Rock Island Arsenal, John Deere, some elitist Industrial Engineering students I know

Kap, I didn't want to have an emotional response to what you said so I waited to do so. Keeping it short, I feel that I am doing work and I am willing to do stuff to advance into a career. I have always been torn on what it was that I really wanted to do and am real upset that I can't just pick something to work on. I'm a hard working individual who wants to do something well and be successful. After all, nothing is guaranteed in life. So I wonder what I should do...the themes that I keep coming up with is working towards my strengths: building relationships with people, my writing ability, my desire to help people and do some sort of work that I can be proud of in terms of the results. Career tests can't yield much, so that is why I guess I should just get out there and try different things instead of diving into grad school right away. This is why I have created opportunities and evaluated them. In the economy I can't be picky but I figured I should try and work towards something I can take pride in day in day out. I doubt this will change my image but I felt that I should say something since I didn't want to argue.

There's no need to get the Ozzie plan or season tickets anymore, at least for college students. I can go to a game when I want without committing prior to that game. I'm not surprised that you got upper deck Cubs tickets since they are still out there and will be out there (overpriced scalper and team tickets) when it is close to the game. Last year I went with a friend to the game Zambrano s*** a brick at and we paid $100 each for tickets behind the plate. A bit overpriced, but it just proves that there are tickets and that you don't need to order one of the plans to get seats you would actually want. The same goes for the Yankees series...although I would rather watch the Cubs/Sox game and Yankees/Sox game at a bar instead of paying a premium to watch the Sox and a s***ty team like the Cubs play.

Thanks for the commentary about the MBA - do you guys think it would be worth my while at least taking the GMAT while I am in school mode? Then maybe I could work and go back within five years (assuming that is how long scores are good for)? Or would that hurt me in the end if I chose to go into something that was more GRE related? I've heard it is more of an intelligence test as opposed to content so that is why I asked now, since I still have study skills.

I wrote admissions counselors to ask about their daily job at universities and I got a helpful, lengthy response back from Northern that indicated they had an opening. I wrote a carefully constructed reply back to them last Saturday and didn't get a response yet. I'm thinking about calling and leaving a voicemail with the woman I have been emailing back and forth with to see if I can come in on spring break and learn more about the job opening...or at least to see where I should forward my resume/cover letter. Outside of that, my current school is wanting me to be a graduate assistant for sports information, while paying for the MBA. I would gladly go through with the assistantship if there were different programs available, but it appears that the MOL/MBA is the only thing that they'll pay for. I am a bit concerned that when I would get out of that program I would be a newly aged 25 year old without any work experience except for all that I did in undergrad and the potential graduate. So I was thinking of taking the GMAT and seeing if I could get in...and see how my work experience could get me into university work later on, since I have no interest in Deere or going international with the MBA degree. I also look at it from the social standpoint - most of my friends will be graduating and there's about 3,000 other kids that go here...about 400 grad students, most of who are probably not on campus. So I'm fairly certain for as social as I am (I can be real social), that it might be difficult to connect with the younger "kids."

This may need its own thread, but it related to the gym and dieting. I'm at about 200 pounds which isn't that bad considering I'm about 6'2'' and weighed in around 185 when I went away my freshman year. I work out about five times a week, but with the winter being the way that it is I have been running for only 20-30 minutes after I lift and am taking it easy in the weight room. I'm a novice when it comes to the weight room and I honestly need someone to just come up with a plan for me. St. Ambrose has a crappy weight room but it will have to do till May when I graduate. All that I am trying to do is tighten up the ass a bit, tone up the legs, maintain the current abs that I have/strengthen them a little and work on tone in my biceps...perhaps strengthen my back and triceps. What I'm doing in the weight room is as follows: Lat pulldown (10, 8, 6 reps - 105, 120, 130 pounds) Bench press (10, 8, 6 reps - 120, 130, 140 pounds) Pushups (20 before exhausted) Some odd weight machine that appears to strengthen deltoids (ranging 120 - 140 pounds at 10, 8 6 reps) 3 sets of planks (30 seconds each - I don't know what will reduce the shaking when I do them but I can complete them.) There's the seated row that I could do and also a tricep rope that I could do to strengthen that section. Cardio activity for 30 minutes following weights - random hill generator on the bike, average level on the oliptical (weak ass machine or I'm doing it wrong) or running on a treadmill for 30 minutes (the treadmills are facing against the wall without TVs, so I have to read and use music to keep myself motivated). I don't know who could show me how to do the dead lift or make sure I'm honest with squats (as most of my friends quit when it comes to lifting commitments) but I want to do them correctly and still be able to do cardio - is it best to just alternate days so that I can do so? I'm also trying to eat better but I've already done my research on that and am going to eradicate some of the s*** that I eat from my pantry along with kicking out some crap from my diet. If there's any further information that you need, please let me know. I want to do what is best for my body at this age.

Any time someone does something to drop the weight - is it really necessary for any exercises, and if so, why? Grunters, heavy breathers, big sweaty guys who don't rerack and leave the weights in random places on the floor.