As the saying goes, there’s a first time for everything. And I must say, there have been a lot of firsts since I’ve started business school!

Mario & Toadette all set for MarioKart!

A good place to start would be with the fun stuff. Recently I played golf, real golf on an 18-hole golf course, for the first time. Every year the MBA Golf Association organizes a scramble style tournament. After hemming and hawing over my mini golf skills (or lack thereof) I created a team last minute. The organizers said there were awards for best costumes so how could I resist? The outing was more fun than I expected as teams went all out in costume and the fun ranged from navigating rogue golf carts to watching collegiate golfer classmates. My golf skills definitely need improvement although I did manage to make contact with the ball on my third golf swing ever. I’m still a little upset that my MarioKart team did not win the costume contest but it adds more motivation for next year’s costumes.

Mario and Wario warming up for some golf

Right around a month after I moved to Austin, I discovered that I had allergies for the first time. I thought my immune system was succumbing to the stress and new germs brought upon from moving but when the symptoms quickly faded then returned a few weeks later I realized that this was something new. After speaking with others and a quick google search I discovered that Austin’s geography and climate made the perfect setting for all types of allergies. But don’t let the pollens deter you – a quick trip to the drug store is a small price to pay for the benefits of being in Austin!

On to another first – this time in the world of academics. I officially survived the first set of b-school finals and every single bschool student, whether here or elsewhere, will tell you the first round is no fun! It’s definitely a rite of passage and will definitely be one of the memories you won’t forget.

Not the best afternoon energizer!

Now onto one last piece of fun for the finale of the post. My cohort has switched from morning classes to afternoon classes and as an early-riser and morning person the change has been hard for me. For an afternoon energy kick I decided to try the new candy-corn-flavored-white-chocolate-M&Ms. My classmates will tell you that I love candy corn and M&Ms – earlier this year I was generously sharing large bags of both.

However, this new product was not to my liking and I definitely assert that I have never had anything like it before! For the rest of the semester I’ll look out for other afternoon energy perks and other first experiences!