Making progress

Tomorrow I will break the 20 page threshold with my thesis, at the moment I have about 18 pages written. I should be pretty much done with the first draft of theoretical part by the beginning of February as requested.

I've also been listening to Hungarian quite a bit during this week. My goal is to listen about 1 hour each day for 6 days a week. Next week I will also incorporate some written exercises to supplement the listening comprehension stuff. Since I am listening the same clips over and over again (approx 25-30 times per week, 6 clips), I am really starting to recognize the words immediately without problems. And the best thing is that I can also reproduce many of the sentences and structures on demand. Granted, the texts are still quite simple, but it feels good to see some progress. Lets hope the same continues when I gradually move in to more challenging texts. Feeling optimistic!

Hustle time

I learned yesterday that we have to have our first draft of theoretical part of our thesises ready in the beginning of February. Of course I had seen the info before, but totally forgot it. So time to start hustling!

At the moment I have written about 11-12 pages of ready text, so I need about 30-35 more pages. to do that, I have about 3 weeks of time meaning I should write approx. 10 pages per week. Definitely doable, but not ideal.

Anyways, back to work. I have huge goals for this spring so now action really matters.

Globetrotting 2010 in retrospect

I realized that I've been around quite much during 2010. Overall the whole year has been a good one, almost bordering great. During 2010 I had LOTS of new experiences and I saw way more than I thought I would. Some highlights in numbers:

• Had address in 3 different countries (Finland, Hungary and a couple of days in St.Pete, Russia)
• Visited or lived in 6 countries (Russia, Finland, Hungary, Mexico, Italy, Slovakia).
• Had overall 17 flights (oops, sorry about the carbon footprint...)
• Studied 3 languages (Russian, Spanish for a couple of weeks, Hungarian)
• ....and spoke or tried to speak 5 (previous + Finnish and English. Also few lines of Swedish)

My only gripes about the year was the summer - great weather, but not good from financial or career point of view. But, as often happens, there is a silver lining to everything. Because of the relaxed summer, I had lots of time to think about my future and things that I want. Now I know where to aim. If things go as planned, 2011 will be a year of major changes and achievements. 

I am sure 2011 will be a great year for me!

Grades from Corvinus

The grades from the last course from Corvinus were up today. My results are following:

- Decision methods 92/100, final grade A

- Decision making and negotiation strategies, 93/100, final grade A

- Global strategy and competitiveness, 95/100, final grade A

Obviously, I am very pleased with the results :) These should all be scaled as 5's at LUT scale. Does good for my average :)

Last exam in Corvinus and MITIM program

I can't believe it, but today I will have my last business exam during MITIM program. The whole thing has gone by so quickly! During the spring I still need to pass one Russian course and do the thesis, but otherwise my studies are done. Sweet.

Second exam in Budapest

Today I have my second exam at Corvinus. The topic is Global strategy and competitiveness. Overall the course was mediocre, many of the classes were extremely boring not only because of the teacher but also because of lots of student presentations which were mostly... well, not interesting.


I feel I am quite well prepared for the exam since the teacher gave us some topics beforehand. Good grade should not be that hard to achieve, but lets see how it goes.

Short update

Many things have happened since the last update. Sorry for not writing that often. Anyway, here is a quick recap:

• Wrote thesis proposal & commented one. Got good feedback from Olga about mine, still waiting to hear something from LUT & GSOM....
• Contacted FinPro today to ask whether they would be interested in doing collaboration about my thesis topic. I hope the answer is positive.
• Been doing presentations & groupworks. One more paper left to deliver as well as preparing one last presentation. It will be cooool :)
• Been totally neglecting Hungarian studies. My priorities have not been good. I will correct my behavior (this time for real).
• Bought a cool woollyhat :D Also bought gloves. Now maybe I need to buy another scarf....
• It has snowed a bit in Budapest. Today was the first day when I saw some snow in here. Apparently there has been some also in some other days but have melted before I have left the apartment.
• Watched El Clasico. HUUUUUUUUGE win for Barca! Probably one of the most convincing performances I've ever seen on a football pitch. Well, that and Milan's 3-0 thumping of ManU few years ago.
• I was a bit sick, but now its better.
• Exams are starting soon. My first one is already next Tuesday!
• I can believe its Christmas in about 3 weeks. I don't want to leave Hungary
• ....which reminds me that I need to book my tickets back here for New Years and January.

I guess that's about it.