From Consumer to non-consumer

The last 2 and a half weeks have been quite exciting. During that short amount of time, I have already learned quite a bit about myself, as well as from many of my new colleagues. I hesitate to call them classmates, because while we are all here for school, we are here for a much bigger purpose. Saying classmates, students or anything to the like does not recognize the attitude we are all coming in with, and more importantly, the amount of work and dedication we are going to put into over the next 18 months. I can already tell, these are colleagues I will have for the rest of my life, no matter what industry in what ever part of the world we end up in.

But as promised, here is my last update before school starts! At 9:00 am tomorrow morning, we will all be excitedly heading towards the doors of MBS to get started on our journey! So on to what I have learned so far:

Running is an amazing way to adapt to a new situation. I had been talking about running a marathon for quite some time, but never was able to fully commit. I always said, let me train first, then see how I feel. But then I wouldn't have the discipline to train the way I needed to. I decided that when I got my visa sorted out, I would sign up for the Manchester Marathon in Nov. Everything was to be perfect, plenty of time to train, running the race in a new city. I even got a colleague from Brazil (Andre) interested in the race. Thankfully, though, neither of us signed up for the race. Turns out, it was a great race, had I planned to move to Manchester, NH, USA! Dang, those plans went right out the window. Back to the vortex, wait till I was properly trained, but not training enough!

Right before I was getting ready to leave, I received a message encouraging me to sign up for the Liverpool Marathon with 2 other colleagues (Andre and Maanas, from India.) The time frame was a bit shorter, but I was naive enough to agree to a race less than 10 weeks away! We were even able to convince another from Brazil, Rafael to run with us. Yet I still didn't start training, figuring I would start in Manchester.

My 1st run in Manchester was a short 16 km, and all my hopes and dreams of finishing the race in a decent time were destroyed one overcast sat morning. At that point, It was a matter of holding on for dear life for 42 kms of missery with the hope of finishing the race! But thanks to Rafael's training plan, some other research on training plans, and quite a bit of dedication, I easily cruised through 25 km this weekend, and am back believing in my ability to finish in 4:30. (Note: a great marathoner will finish in less than half that time! But 4:30 averages out to just under 10 mins a mile, for 26 miles, and I'll proudly take that!)

My runs here have been amazing. You can't find much better running weather, it doesn't get too hot, normally a nice breeze to cool you off. The humidity is there, but that is by far from the biggest challenge Manchester runners face (what few there actually are.) While I have enjoyed my exploratory runs - where I can just run about the city looking at everything (with the aid of a gps watch for distance) - trying to dodge the cars that could care less how many kms you have gone and the hoards of business people trying to get home is less than ideal. So far the only true running place I have found, besides parks that back home in CO would have no attention paid to them because they are so small, is a canal running from the south part of the city out west. The only problem is the canal is essentially a single track trail with barely any room to pass other runners, and geese that are less interested in your run than the businessmen are, and more than willing to stand in your way and hiss as you try to tip toe around them. At 1st I was suprised to see no runners, but after a few runs, I can clearly see why, and am thankful for that fact.

Running puts me at amazing piece. I use to run to finish, so focused on where I would end up, and not about the solitude I should have been enjoying. I imagine that is why I got away from running for so long. Even when I wanted to start back up, at several times, injury and lack of enjoyment completely derailed me. If you are at all interested in running, I encourage you to read the book "Born to Run", by Christopher McDougall. It completely reshaped my thoughts on running, and gave me needed advice on how to properly run without injuries! You may find the freedom and love for 2 hours at a time, with nothing but you, your thoughts and your headphones(a runners must for their play list - Eye of the Tiger!)

Running also helps counter affect and unintended consequence if you will of moving to a new city. Being one of the early birds, I had quite a bit of time to get settled down and know the city. I have also had quite a bit of time to get to know the local pubs, bars and clubs of Manchester. You see, with the excitement of moving to a new city, making new friends, the natural thing to do was to get to know each other over drinks. At first, our group was small, we had some from a summer programme that were able to show us new 10 or so folks around. But then the following day a few more showed up, and then a few more. It seemed like every other day there was a new level of excitement, and more people who wanted to go celebrate and get to know each other! One thing is for sure, beer is a common language for the entire world! In the social settings, I have been able to learn about so many of my colleagues, and hopefully likewise to them. The nice (and sometimes dangerous thing) is that the later in the night, the more people are willing to open up! Who would have thought!?!?! But all good things must come to an end, I am quite excited to have a daily purpose with classes, and the beer meetings will be strictly a weekend thing, when I don't have any other projects to be working on (and yes mom and dad, I mean that!)

The last big thing to cover is reflected in my title. Back home I was what you could call a consumer. I was fortunate enough (and did it sometimes when I wasn't) to enjoy some luxuries in life. I could have the upgraded tv package, buy the clothes I wanted, not needed, and go out to dinner whenever I felt like it. I had no problem doing my part to stimulate the local Denver economy. I was set. Until I quit my job. I went from having a steady income stream, not having to worry about a budger to living, not of a budget, but a lump of money to last me for the next 18 months. No longer can I buy what I want (except that whole iPhone thing, but I really really wanted that!- As you can see I am not totally ready to make the switch!)

One of my big issues with the new apartment was a lack of TV. I have never in my life lived without a TV close to watch when ever I wanted to. So simply, I was just going to buy one, then a license on top of that. But thankfully I didn't, and the last week with no TV shockingly hasn't been bad at all! I am reading more,  getting prepared for my studies, and getting out of the house. When the MBA starts, I'll have even less time! There is hope for me yet!

I have also taken to liking the local store brand - Asda - for many of my groceries. Back home I had a mental road block that I would never do such a thing. I think it even effected my taste buds when I was brave enough to try! But living on a pile of money, and needing to make it last, I have found amazing deals and cheap meals, and quite tasty to boot. It is funny how in one country I was too good for something, and now, can't seem to get enough. I have to remind myself only to buy enough food for just the week, so I don't let much go to waste. And thankfully, the cost of food here is actually a little less than Denver, so that should be a big big help too!

Well as always, I hope that gives you a little insight to what is going on here in Manchester. I am excited for school to start tomorrow, and more excited for the next 18 months of my life. As many of the 2012 MBAs have relayed on to us, we will work harder than most ever have in their life, sleep less, yet still have one of the best times of our life. And I am looking forward to it!

On a side note, if you made it this far, once again, thank you! I know I said my 1st one was my only long post, but turns out I can ramble a little bit. Who knew? I love you all and thank you for letting me share my thoughts and experience with you!