MBA Ladies Dinner

Okay, okay! So I exaggerated a bit - the MBA ladies are not getting together for a wild night out on the town, but to spend a sedate dinner to catch up and discuss how we can help other female MBAs succeed (Can you really imagine MBAs rocking a place down? - I think not!). It's a good crowd, though, 21 MBA ladies show up at Guajillo's in Rosslyn (biggest crowd yet).

Everyone is shocked by the changes in my appearance:

"Your hair is straight!"
"You look so alive!"
"Have you lost weight?"
"Yes, I've joined a running group" (no, I can't tell them I joined a "drinking group with a running problem" - they wouldn't understand - I do have to maintain my prof rep, you know!)

I'm asked if I'm still at Hecht's and if I'm looking for other work. I explain that I was close to locking in on two jobs but they fell through in the last month (what a major disappointment!).

Others are in transition too:

• One is moving in with her sister in Florida and going to begin a job search there while unemployed
• Another can't stand her consulting job and is looking for referrals and suggestions from us
• Another loves her new job at Blackboard (she started 3 weeks ago)

And, of course, the inevitable pregnancies. Why is it that once women have checked off all the major accomplishments in their mental to-do list (getting a MBA is one), they go, "Time to start a family"? Two classmates pregnant already, I'm sure I'll be encountering more and more in the next couple years.

So this wasn't a party, but an extremely frigid jump into a pool of reality (about time I needed a wake-up call!). Have I sobered up? - hmmm, not quite, but I will try to concentrate on the task at hand.