Saving the egg...

My team’s goal was clear: saving the poor egg when it crashed into the plastic basket from 10 feet high. So….. as soon as we were told that we had to plan and design how to build an egg protection device out of 8 straws and 2 feet of masking tape in 25 minutes, we first tried to figure out what kind of resources we had.

The finding: the only thing we had, except human resources, was a nail clipper.

Since we only had 25 minutes to come up with the ideas without actually applying them, it was hard to figure out which design would be the best in reality. There were several ideas we considered: a triangle-shaped device, a square-shaped one, and- the riskiest of the all- a basket shape. We were eager to listen to each other, which could have been a good thing in other situation, but it prevented us from going further. So, what happened? Till the last minute, we could not make up our minds about which one we were going to use. Therefore, when the 10 minute building period started, we still were not sure about what to do. Thinking about the possible alternatives was no longer an option, and as time went on, we were almost screaming. Everybody was focusing on the one thing. “Let’s build and finish it in time!”

I admit that all the members in my team tried and did our best, but our plan toward our goal was not planned well. From my perspective, the problem was our poor skill of managing the limited time and not knowing each other’s abilities well. When we have little time to finish a project, we should allocate time efficiently depending on what kind of resources we have. We should use human resources in an efficient way by specifying who does what. However, the way we did it was to do the same thing all together at the same time, which resulted in a waste of time.

In fact, it was a very interesting group project. To plan and come up with the ideas to build the efficient egg protective device within such a limited time with other classmates was very fun, but it wasn’t easy. To be more effective, in my opinion, we should have managed the time efficiently, and we should have known each member’s abilities better. In other words, our team should have made a decision as quickly as possible, thought about other possible ways to build it in case the first one did not work well, and most of all, organized each one’s role specifically.

My biggest management problem at the moment

The biggest management problem I am now facing involves my roommates. I have three roommates, all girls, with different ages. Right after we moved in February this year, we got together and talked about certain things to keep our place as pleasant as possible. Cleaning our place was one of the topics.

Our agreements: taking turns every two weeks; cleaning the kitchen, the living room, and the bathroom; not leaving any food behind.

It has been seven months since we began to share our place together, and cleaning our apartment is a constant issue. Depending on who is responsible for it, our place looks and smells quite different. It seems that some are aware of what should be cleaned quickly and do it, but others do not even notice if the smell from the bathroom makes others feel nauseous. We had two more meetings and discussed this issue. We clarified what were essential procedures to be done when cleaning in detail. However, we still have the same problems, and finally, a little and cute creature(as my friend described), a mouse, showed up in my place.

In my opinion, the problem I have comes from each roommate’s diffefent level of awareness and responsibility toward the same issue. I do not want to hurt my roommates’ feelings by pointing out dirty spots whenever I see them. On the other hand, I do not want to live with a mouse either.

Does anyone have good ideas about what to do in my situation?

Something about me...

What I believe…
I believe that I can make my dreams come true if I try hard, really hard. Though it takes time and sometimes I encounter an obstacle, going through the period of overcoming the obstacle, I find myself stronger and wiser. However, there is one thing I should always remember; that is the dream I am pursuing.

What I enjoy…
The best pastime for me is reading a book, especially a biography, lying on my couch. I just turn my body from the left to the right, over and over again, as I read through it.
If I feel tired?
Fall asleep and read it again…
I can spend a whole day like that and feel like I am in heaven. But, two years ago, I had a hard time enjoying it because of the book “My Life,” written by Bill Clinton. Why? Oh! Man! It was too heavy to hold… Try it! You will understand what I mean.

What I am not afraid of…
Some people want to stay the same in their lives, but I do love to try something quite new and challenging. Was I this way all the time? Noooooo….. I was such a shy girl as a teenager. As a result, doing any activities in front of others made me feel almost scared to death. Luckily, I had an opportunity to be a cheerleader in the college, and the experience changed me a great deal. I found another myself inside me, and it became the turning point in my life. As I tried something I had never imagined before, I got more confident and braver.
Living and studying in the States is another challege I am dealing with now. I had to give up a good job in my country, Korea, and there was nobody I knew in this country when I came here three years ago. And learning the new language, English, is one of the hardest things for me now. However, I believe that someday I will remember this time as one of the best decisions in my life.

What I am doing…
Except for being a student at Baruch, I am working full time as a pediatric nurse.

What else…
As for my age, I feel closer to most professors.