Slow start

Sorry for the inconsistent updating lately, but I haven't had that much inspiration to blog. Anyway, yesterday me and my friend went to Europol to have a meeting with Mr. Hesztera about a school specialization project we're going to do there. It's really interesting and so nice that we get to do it there. The report that we're going to hand in at the end counts for three different courses, so it's basically around 15 credits. No pressure at all.

Apart from this internal communication project, I'm really not motivated for this term. It feels like we just ended the project and I would need at least a week to recharge my batteries. So, it's week one now and I've already skipped two classes. Good start. Anyway, in exactly a week me and my boyfriend will go to Sweden for the weekend and just relax. I feel like I really need that, I haven't seen my family in almost three months.

Update: the project

I've been quite bad at updating lately, but in the weekend I just needed to relax after the intense exam week. I was feeling a bit weak (stress hangover?) so I spent the weekend at my boyfriend's place, just chilling. This week I'm really busy with the project that is due on Thursday. We have to make a Pecha Kucha presentation, which is a special way of presenting, using an autorun powerpoint with 20 slides that each are displayed for 20 seconds.

Here is an example of what it can look like:

Working 9 to 5

This week I've worked full days at GDCC, which is very exhausting and a bit stressful actually, because I have exams next week. Today I ran out of numbers so I had to cut flyers (recruiting material for the company) for two hours. That was a bit boring, to say the least.

After that, I started calling on a hospital project. I actually hadn't had an interview with that yet, but today I got two. The annoying thing is that they were just after each other so I sat for about 2 ½ hours straight, interviewing. I told the respondent that the interview would take about 30 minutes because that's what they'd told me on the briefing, but it actually took about 65 minutes to complete it. I felt pretty bad for the poor IT managers who had to listen to me going on and on about "how well implemented would you say your IT system is on a scale of one to 5 regarding...?". My voice was totally ruined after talking constantly like that, and now I'm really tired. 

Anyway, tomorrow I'm free so that means staying at home and study. I'm going to have coffee with one of the Swedish exchange students though, that'll be a nice break. 

Wednesday

What a day. Went up way too early this morning because I had to work the morning shift. At work I got briefed on a project, called an hour or so on another project, and then translated questionnaires from English to Swedish the rest of the day. After work I went straight to uni to have a group meeting with the project group. We made a powerpoint and discussed some possible insights to base the marketing strategy on, and then we went to the Project Coaching Session.

That was by far the worst part of this day. It went on for 2 hours, discussing and presenting ideas related to the project. I also didn't eat anything else than a tiny cheese sandwich in the whole day, so I was almost fainting when we had to stand up and present. When the class finally was over, me and my roomie went straight home and sat like zombies on the tram.

So, tonight I'm going to write on my Expert Analysis report which is about corporate blogging, but first I'm going to take a break and relax a bit. My brain is simply not functioning anymore.

Busy busy Wednesday

I've reached this point of the term when I'm skipping classes to be able to read at home. It's crazy, really. Today I skipped the first two classes, Cross-cultural management and Expert analysis. Around noon I went to school to have a meeting with the project group and prepare for the coaching session (that we were going to organize). In the class, we discussed segmentation techniques and what we've chosen within our group etc.

One group had a segment called "the Drama Queen" which was basically a hypochondriac who got a thrill or a kick out of getting examined and tested. It was also a person that thinks he/she has a serious condition whenever there is something abnormal going on with his/her body. I have to admit, I felt like they were talking about me.

Anyway, after the class we had to rush home to have an interview for the project with the pharmacy on our street. It was very rewarding and she gave us a lot of useful information! Now I'm going to write the transcript I think.

Monday = no classes

Although I haven't been to school, today has been a quite long day. This morning I biked to the International Health Clinic where I had an appointment. Igot the tip from a friend here, it's really good for internationals living in The Hague! They were really nice there, so I can strongly recommend it. So, no huisarts for me.

After I came home I started working on the project, creating a customer journey map together with a girl in my group. It took quite some time, and we actually just finished it. Now I'm going to enjoy a nice pasta dinner!