Summer after TMMBA Graduation
Tom Mackey, TMMBA Alum
Some of you current TMMBA students are probably wondering what you will do with all that free time after graduation. In my case, at least, the question is “What free time?” Heh — it is amazing how fast it gets filled in with bits of vacation, household tasks, the J.O.B. that helped fund your studies, and both new and old personal pursuits. Two weeks after graduation found us in Eastern Washington, specifically, taking a tour of the Hanford Site. They open up tour dates in April and the slots fill up in just a few hours. We have wanted to take a tour for several years, and this was our “post-grad” treat. Our roses and other landscaping had really suffered for the last 1.5 years, and this summer I have spent a lot of time getting things pruned, watered, fertilized, and watered some more. The hot spell this year made it extremely challenging to keep things alive without running up the water bill too much. It seems I’ve spent just as much time on the computer as before, only now instead of writing papers, I’ve been researching more personal interests and discussing possible business ideas with Marilyn. And finally, I’ve started back into painting the final interior pieces of our house, and I’ve already been informed that the laundry room, one of the first things I painted when we moved in, will have to be painted a different color soon! It reminds me of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco — when they finish painting it they shift back to the other end and start all over!
So what bits of knowledge from the TMMBA program have I been using lately? The things that come to mind, in no particular order are:
Macro Economics — the knowledge we got from Karma helps every day in understanding what I hear and read in the news. It’s nice to be able to explain what is really happening when we hear that the “Fed is printing money”. And did anyone see the article in the March 21-22 Wall Street Journal titled “Fed Doesn’t Need a Press to Print Its New Money”? I now keep it at work to show folks the difference between Federal Reserve notes and the overall money supply.
Wall Street Journal — I renewed my subscription on the student rate. If not offered next year, I’ll switch to electronic. I try to read it every day, but often have to skip all but the first section and then try to skim through the rest on the weekends.
Negotiations — I have to say that the Negotiations class was only a primer — I am getting my real education from Marilyn as we plan a purchase of an Airstream Travel Trailer in which to further explore this great country we live in. The one thing that she has made clear to me that the class did not is that as soon as you make contact with a new car or RV dealer, you have engaged in a war over the contents of your wallet. Pure and Simple, everything you say, and the way you say it, will be used against you if at all possible. Luckily we have some time before we get serious, so with one possible exception, my initial dealings have not had an impact on our wallet. In that one case, we will probably choose to exclude that dealer from our possibilities as he will probably remember a comment I made and know that we have a vulnerability in one area. More on this topic in a later post…
Leadership — Well, that’s something we can all improve upon, right?
Managerial Accounting — Has helped convince me even more that getting our home paid off is the best use of any extra cash we happen to have. Where else can you get a guaranteed 5% return on your money right now? And it sure is nice to see that “Interest Charged” amount go down with each extra payment made!
Marketing and Entrepreneurship — Every day Marilyn and I discuss possible business ideas — does it play to our strengths? How would we market the goods or service? Is it worth the time and effort required to make it work? So far, we have not come up with a winner, given our particular circumstances, but it could happen on any given commute, our normal “brainstorming” time.
Hi to TMMBA Alums. Happy Summer break to Class 9. Welcome to incoming Class 10+. Comments welcome!
-TomM
