Commence Life

I can't believe I am now an MBA graduate!! I feel like I just moved back and now I am done. I have managed to accomplish a lot in the last 9 months though and the last couple weeks were intense. However, I did take a break to go to the Lilac Festival during my last week of classes. Mostly just because I love Kettle Korn! I attended commencement by myself. I figure, I spend all that money I may as well go see the speaker my tuition paid for. Bob Scheiffer from CBS News was an amazing speaker. He was pretty funny for an old guy. The bagpipers were great too.
Mom, Dad, Kyle, Devin, Amber and Kurt came out for my graduation Saturday (Don was rafting). It finally hit me then that I was done with college life forever. Unless I became a PhD candidate ;)
However, I didn't have time to dwell on the significance because an hour after I graduated I was hauling boxes out of Kyle and Devin's house. They recently purchased their first house (yeah!) and the family was all dragged in to help. It was only a few miles down the road from their own house so it wasn't too bad. My moves typically consist of packing everything I own into my car and tossing everything else so it was a bit overwhelming to move a whole house.
On one run back to their rental they forgot their keys so I had to throw Kyle through a window to break in. Then on the last run a box of packing peanuts flew open in the trailer and started flying all over the road. Oops.

Friday I treated Kyle and Don to one last lunch at RIT and in exchange they had to move my furniture. When we get together it always turns into a shit show and Friday was no exception. First, Don took it upon himself to back the truck and trailer right up on the sidewalk. Then Kyle somehow managed to fall into my closet and knock the door of its hinges. Once we got home, instead of unloading the trailer, we decided to have some fun. Kyle got on his dirt-bike and Don climbed on the 4-wheeler and I was the photographer. Kyle decided to go all Travis Pastrana and start pulling tricks in the gravel driveway. He crashed of course and managed to knock off part of his brake handle. I didn't get a pic of that unfortunately. Don then tried to ride a wheelie the whole length of the runway and taxiway. Once that was accomplished he decided to do some side wheelies and when that was done he climbed on and road it backwards. I continued on my country girl streak by doing hay on Saturday. It's hot, sweaty miserable work throwing 60 pound bales in an airless loft but I would do it every day if I could. I can't explain why I love it so but I do.
Don and I had the bright idea to ride the motorcycle out to Brown's Berry Patch in Point Breeze by Lake Ontario. It's an hour ride out there and we took the back roads. However, we took the Parkway back and got off that as soon as we could because it was such a rough ride. My helmet was bouncing around and slamming my sunglasses into my face. We were both numb by the time we got home.
I realized that in less than a week from my MBA graduation I managed to totally revert back to a complete redneck. AND I LOVE IT!! However, after my Florida vacation, I will be employed full time and will become a weekend redneck. I accepted a job with the KJT Group in Honeoye Falls. The people there are great and I'm excited to settle down and really work on my career and grow with them. It's funny in retrospect; my last blog post was imploring people to help me find a job and I got this one by just sending my resume off through the RIT JobZone.
What I love most about moving back into my parents house is that I now live in a tent. I loved living in the Bungalow last summer so I decided to sleep outdoors as soon as I moved home. I set it up in the backyard and set my air mattress in there. Deluxe living! I've got Max and a can of bear spray as my lines of defense and I'm loving it. Now I'm off to Florida for a week for a much deserved vacation. I usually do an annual Memorial Day roadtrip but this year I'm upgrading to a flight.

Looking back to look forward

Hello all, it has been a while. I am trying something new and different here so bear with me. I will be graduating in less than a month and have been fervently searching for employment to no avail. One thing (among many) that I learned in my MBA program is that social media is the wave of the future so here I am (just don't expect me on Twitter anytime soon). I don't know how many people actually read this anymore especially after my tremendously successful Great American Trek adventure last summer (it's hard to top that) but I hope you will read and pass it along to relevant parties.

A mantra that's been drilled into my head in this MBA program is the necessity of networking. I have been on Linked In for awhile but have only recently begun to build my connections. I'm hoping if you read this that you will find me and connect with me. http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kelly-burns/16/437/2b5

I think I'm more experienced than some in the art of looking for a job and if there's one thing people always tell me (Dad!) is that "it's not what you know but who you know". At a seminar, I even had a speaker say" I bet every single one of you in this room, at some point, has gotten a job because of someone you know". He would have lost that bet because looking back, every job I've ever had was because I had sent my resume off to the Internet abyss and then was called in to interview. I was picked because of my resume and subsequently hired because of my interview. That doesn't make me better than someone who got a job on some sort of inside connection (and I'm not disparaging those that have) but it does make me more proud because I know I was picked out of a crowd because something stood out about me that made people want to learn more.

Now, (after I get off my soapbox) I would like to say that this economy has forced me to look around and ask myself: who do I know? The advantage in being back home in Rochester is that the answer to that questions is: a lot of people! I am hoping someone who reads this knows someone who knows someone that may have a job opportunity for me. I never had home field advantage before (as I haven't worked in Rochester since high school) and now I am hoping it will come in handy. Granted, that doesn't mean I want to live in Rochester for I would take a job anywhere across America. I like having roots but I also like flying the coop and planting myself somewhere completely different (as history has shown...). Once again, the world is at my feet (or I'm at it's mercy, depends how you look at it...)

As most of you know, I had an...interesting (for lack of a better word) time out in Colorado but it's made me realize that, as much fun as that was, I want a career, not a job. Grandpa Burns always told me to do what made me happy and I want to commit to an organization that will commit to me. Leaving the hotel in Denver was one of the hardest things I had to do because I felt so valued there. I knew that I did my job well and I knew I was appreciated. The people I worked with were some of the best people I've ever met and I still talk to them to this day because I miss them. It would be so easy to go back there and fall into the same pattern but I want to challenge myself for more. I know I deserve it.

However, leaving RIT will be hard. I finally feel like I'm really fitting in on this campus. Just today at our Residence Life Brunch I was honored for being an Outstanding Programmer. This coming Friday I will be recognized in both the Global Leadership program as well as the national honor society, Beta Gamma Sigma. Last Saturday at Imagine RIT a professor I had in the fall sought me out because he remembered my love of dude ranches and hooked me up with a student that sold homemade saddle blankets. I feel like I've made an impact here (however small it may be) and I love being a part of something and connecting to the community. I am so glad I took the time to get involved on campus this time around because it has made my MBA so much more valuable to me.

On a lighter note, I will be going to Florida in a month! My best friend is moving home and I will be heading down there for a week in June. I am so excited. I haven't seen her since Christmas (when she came to New York!) and I know we'll have a blast.