First is Always Better Than Second

This weekend, boyfriendpants and 4 of his b-school buddies competed in a "business bowl", which is a competition between peers on a business case and who can make the best presentation given 4-5 hours to prepare. It is an extremely subjective contest where the same set of judges doesn't even see every contestant in the class--in fact, judges see competitors in several different classes. Freshmen through Grads compete in their respective classes. Their case was reportedly about "fluff", or as I like to call it, Corporate Social Responsbility, and making the argument for (or against) it in terms of profitability.

Since I happen to be knee deep in this sort of data on a day-to-day existence, I was hired as a consultant. (I'm being paid in sexual favors, in case you were wondering). The event also includes some pretty incredible face time and networking opportunities with people in the industry and active recruiters, as those people are chosen as the judges.

The prizes are $350 (to each of 5 team members in each class), $200, and $100 for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively. So considering all of these facts you probably not surprised to learn that boyfriendpants and company were beyond livid about coming in second. Or maybe you're a rational human being and realize that it's a) a ridiculously subjective test of ability b) not based in fact or accuracy--no factchecking happens c) a great networking opportunity d) that 2nd prize still gets you $40/hour e) it gives you good high-pressure experience and networking opportunities to blow your mind.

Despite the fact that they took full advantage of all the opportunities presented to them, they were still pissed. So the night proceeded with a slightly different flair than we had all hoped for.

In any event, I went on with my life especially having an increased understanding of my firm's place in the market and in the thought leadership realm--a very good solid place, I'll have you know.

Today was more productive than it could have been especially with my renewed sense of purpose and understanding from this weekend's research, but less productive than I expected. First, I left early. Good sign right? Evidently not. It took me 25 minutes to go what is usually a 3 minute T-Ride. So my commute was about 55 minutes instead of 25.

Then I get to work, get in the flow, get things started, finished even, and then the beeping starts. "What is that?" said Michelle. "Oh it's just the copier again" said Kathleen. Then people start evacuating. It's actually the fire alarm. For real this time. And no, it was not my fault, nor was it attributed to anyone in my office despite the fact that our little waffle experiment did go a little haywire last week.

Evidently it was nothing because we were back in the building within 10 minutes. The firetrucks came, but left shortly after.

I get a call about an hour later from boyfriendpants on the subject of accounting. As it turns out, some team in last weekend's competition called a score audit and as a result, it was determined that his team actually won. They came in FIRST in the graduate competition. It was then that I realized that 1st really does feel better than 2nd.

Sorry Sasha.