# Mba



## Artrella

Hi! I was looking up MBA and I found this >> ABBREVIATION FOR Master of Business Administration: an advanced degree in business, *or a person who has this*
Can I say "I'm an MBA"?
Thanks


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## Jana337

I'd prefer _I am an MBA *student/graduate*._

Jana


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## VenusEnvy

I agree with Jana.   

Or, "I have an MBA." I searched "I'm an MBA" on the internet, and apparently, some people in the corporate world say it as a way of defining who they are, or their position in society.

One may often see this:
Mr. Robert Watson, MBA
Alfonso Brocke, Ph.D.


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## Artrella

Thank you very much Jana , Venusita and LGS!


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## la grive solitaire

"I have an MBA" is better. It's just like: "I have a BA/BS, an MA/MS, a PhD, an MD, etc.


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## cuchuflete

I'm an MBA.  I have an MBA.  Both are correct.  Both are common.

I've used both, sparingly, as it sounds a little pretentious.  

When people ask about my undergraduate degree, and I reply, "A.B.", they tend to get flustered and ask if I mean "BA".  In fact, my college awards AB degrees.   I've never referred to myself as being an AB, so it's curious that I use that construction for the other degree.


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## Wordsmyth

la grive solitaire said:
			
		

> "I have an MBA" is better. It's just like: "I have a BA/BS, an MA/MS, a PhD, an MD, etc.


 With you on all these, la grive, except for MD:

"He is an MD" - He is a Doctor of Medicine
"He has an MD" - He has a Doctorate in Medicine"

W


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## touaregsand

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> I'm an MBA.  I have an MBA.  Both are correct.  Both are common.
> 
> I've used both, sparingly, as it sounds a little pretentious.
> 
> When people ask about my undergraduate degree, and I reply, "A.B.", they tend to get flustered and ask if I mean "BA". In fact, my college awards AB degrees. I've never referred to myself as being an AB, so it's curious that I use that construction for the other degree.



I'm not arguing that both are or not correct. But I don't recall every hearing "I am an MBA" in America.


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## la grive solitaire

Wordsmyth said:
			
		

> With you an all these, la grive, except for MD:
> 
> "He is an MD" - He is a Doctor of Medecine
> "He has an MD" - He has a Doctorate in Medecine"
> 
> W



Good point, Wordsmyth--thanks! 

lgs


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## panjandrum

I have often heard "She's an MBA".
But as suggested above "I'm an MBA" would be pretentious. How to communicate that you ARE an MBA without saying so would be lesson five of "Power Image Management 101".
"I have an MBA" would be OK in answer to an appropriate question.

Is there a doctor in the house?
Or at least someone who can spell medicine?


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## lsp

panjandrum said:
			
		

> I have often heard "She's an MBA".
> But as suggested above "I'm an MBA" would be pretentious. How to communicate that you ARE an MBA without saying so would be lesson five of "Power Image Management 101".
> "I have an MBA" would be OK in answer to an appropriate question.
> 
> Is there a doctor in the house?
> Or at least someone who can spell medicine?


Agreed. It sounds pretentious in the first person in typical circumstances, but in the third person it's as common as salt.


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## Wordsmyth

panjandrum said:
			
		

> [...]
> Is there a doctor in the house?
> Or at least someone who can spell medicine?


 Oooooops! Thanks, pan

Excuse: Living in France, where 'un médecin' practises 'la médecine'

Oh well, better go have a stiff drink to recover (for medicinal purposes, of course  )

W


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## timpeac

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> I'm an MBA. I have an MBA. Both are correct. Both are common.
> 
> I've used both, sparingly, as it sounds a little pretentious.
> 
> When people ask about my undergraduate degree, and I reply, "A.B.", they tend to get flustered and ask if I mean "BA". In fact, my college awards AB degrees. I've never referred to myself as being an AB, so it's curious that I use that construction for the other degree.


 
I'm AB sounds like your telling someone your blood group!


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## mjscott

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> I'm an MBA. I have an MBA. Both are correct. Both are common.
> 
> I've used both, sparingly, as it sounds a little pretentious.
> 
> When people ask about my undergraduate degree, and I reply, "A.B.", they tend to get flustered and ask if I mean "BA". In fact, my college awards AB degrees. I've never referred to myself as being an AB, so it's curious that I use that construction for the other degree.


 
In the PacNW, the preceding A is an associates degree:
AAS - associate in Arts & Sciences
AS - associate in Science (lots more math, less touchy-feely classes)
AA - associate in Arts (more touchy-feely, less math)

Is this the same?

Also, on the subject, it is more common (if at all) to hear, "I have an MBA" than it is to hear, "I am an MBA."


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## Wordsmyth

mjscott said:
			
		

> [...] AA - associate in Arts (more touchy-feely, less math) [...]


 Not sure I'd want to put AA after my name : "Alcoholics Anonymous" !! or "Automobile Association" !! (at least in the UK). 

W


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## cuchuflete

mjscott said:
			
		

> In the PacNW, the preceding A is an associates degree:
> AAS - associate in Arts & Sciences
> AS - associate in Science (lots more math, less touchy-feely classes)
> AA - associate in Arts (more touchy-feely, less math)
> 
> Is this the same?
> 
> Also, on the subject, it is more common (if at all) to hear, "I have an MBA" than it is to hear, "I am an MBA."



Hi MJ...No, it's not the same...".   (XXXXXXXXX follows the tradition of Latin degree names—"artium baccalaureus" translates  to "Bachelor of Arts.")

Many of the older colleges and universities use AB rather than BA, but the meaning is the same.    It's not "Associate in Business" or whatever else may have the same initials.

In the first person, it is a lot more common to hear "I have an MBA." than the other description.  In the third person, both usages are heard frequently: He/she is/has an MBA.

cheers,
Cuchu


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## Amityville

You'd only put this stuff on a CV wouldnt you ?
Someone I knew did a degree in Nursing whose qualification was called a B. Nurse, which sounded funny to me (b being a bit like f) 

You see BA(Hons) quite a lot, it sounds as if you have got a distinction or something but it's nothing out of the ordinary, forget exactly what it does mean for the moment. 
BA(Failed) would make you stand out from the crowd; according to the press it takes a lot of effort to fail.


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## mjscott

Amityville said:
			
		

> You'd only put this stuff on a CV wouldnt you ? (What's a CV?)
> Someone I knew did a degree in Nursing whose qualification was called a B. Nurse, which sounded funny to me (b being a bit like f) (which are like....?)
> 
> You see BA(Hons) (Bachelor of Arts with honors--IMHO) quite a lot, it sounds as if you have got a distinction or something but it's [nothing out of the ordinary,]--(guess I'm wrong--a Bachelor of Arts with honors is something out of the ordinary) forget exactly what it does mean for the moment.
> BA(Failed) (never heard of this one; people who fail don't get their BA) would make you stand out from the crowd;(yes, failing and still getting your degree would definitely catch my attention!) according to the press it takes a lot of effort to fail.


 
_If you have any light to shed on any of the above areas in red, please--I didn't mean to mark up your answer quite so--I would be interested in clarification. It is interesting that degrees are posted so differently in different parts of the country!_


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## Amityville

Hi MJ, I feel I'm in the dock now. I was a bit bored and was writing flippantly, forgetting people may not understand the references, sorry.

CV - Curriculum Vitae or Résumé. This is international I think.
b***** and f***. People sometimes say eff off and effing, ok, and in the UK they sometimes say bee (for bloody). Not all that funny, you're right.
Re Honours I'm really not sure - I have an honours degree but not sure why, I didnt do anything special - someone else will know.
BA(Failed) - this was a joke. You wouldn't really put it on your CV if you'd failed.
Have you heard of BA(aeg) - that's short for aegrotat meaning you were sick at exam time but were awarded the degree anyway -it was sure you would have passed. 
In the UK a degree qualfication is divided into 3 classes with 2 sub-divisions expressed like this I,i or II,i or II,ii. I,i is also known as a double first, highly respected.
Hope that's of interest ?


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## panjandrum

BA(failed).
This is familiar to many of us.
It is just possible that Amityville did not mean it all that seriously.

The first appearance of the concept, as far as I am aware, relates to BH (Calcutta) failed

If you do check out that link, I would highly recommend a click to go back to the menu then another click to explore the eyeballs in the sky.


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## mjscott

Cheers, Amityville!





			
				Amityville said:
			
		

> Hi MJ, I feel I'm in the dock now. I was a bit bored and was writing flippantly, forgetting people may not understand the references, sorry.
> 
> CV - Curriculum Vitae or Résumé. This is international I think. --Never heard of it, but I like the term!
> b***** and f***. People sometimes say eff off and effing, ok, and in the UK they sometimes say bee (for bloody). Not all that funny, you're right.--kind-of thought it might be something like that--just was seeing if we were on the same page--(b***** is not pejorative here--it's just an adjective describing the state of something)
> Re Honours I'm really not sure - I have an honours degree but not sure why, I didnt do anything special - someone else will know. Over my way you have to maintain a specific grade point average to graduate with honors--you can't have made too many slip-ups in too many classes
> BA(Failed) - this was a joke. You wouldn't really put it on your CV if you'd failed. Hahahaha! (See panjandrum's reply!) (I'm thinking if you wrote (failed) after a degree, you might not get your foot in the door to explain your answer as to why you failed--but panjandrum's link is quite a story!)
> Have you heard of BA(aeg) - that's short for aegrotat meaning you were sick at exam time but were awarded the degree anyway -it was sure you would have passed. --never heard of it. I think over here they would give you an incomplete and another opportunity to take the test--or you might have to re-take the class. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist over here, however.
> In the UK a degree qualfication is divided into 3 classes with 2 sub-divisions expressed like this I,i or II,i or II,ii. I,i is also known as a double first, highly respected. Don't know about that, either--but, again--Eastern Washington is not the be-all-to-end all!
> Hope that's of interest ? Yes!


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## Amityville

panjandrum said:
			
		

> I have often heard "She's an MBA".
> But as suggested above "I'm an MBA" would be pretentious. How to communicate that you ARE an MBA without saying so would be lesson five of "Power Image Management 101".
> "I have an MBA" would be OK in answer to an appropriate question.
> 
> Is there a doctor in the house?
> Or at least someone who can spell medicine?


 
Is this a British thing, to say "I'm an MBA" is like boasting but to say "I have an MBA" is more modest. (Although isn't it pseudo-modest, at heart meaning "I have an MBA but as a fully rounded person I have many other attributes and don't set all that much store by paper qualifications")

For that reason it's ok to say it of someone else (she's an MBA)  but not yourself.

Americans seem not to have similar qualms, tell me if I'm wrong, but I have heard "What are you ?" by an academic American.

Amityville (M. Phil)


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## mjscott

Amityville said:
			
		

> Is this a British thing, to say "I'm an MBA" is like boasting but to say "I have an MBA" is more modest. (Although isn't it pseudo-modest, at heart meaning "I have an MBA but as a fully rounded person I have many other attributes and don't set all that much store by paper qualifications")
> 
> For that reason it's ok to say it of someone else (she's an MBA) but not yourself.
> 
> Americans seem not to have similar qualms, tell me if I'm wrong, but I have heard "What are you ?" by an academic American.
> 
> Amityville (M. Phil)


 
If asked, "What do you have?" I would say I have an MBA.
If asked, "What are you?" I would still probably say (regardless of the form of the question) "I have an MBA."

I have heard said that an MBA is for More Bull Added, and that a 
PhD means Piled high and Deeper!

While a husband is earning his PhD, his wife is earning her PhT
(Putting hubby Through (by working)).


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## Amityville

But, MJ, though accepting the question on its own terms, you still wouldn't say "I AM an MBA" ?
I will Britishly say nothing about your breach of etiquette.

ps is 'hubby' commonly said over there ? Or is it just you ?


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## mjscott

Amityville said:
			
		

> But, MJ, though accepting the question on its own terms, you still wouldn't say "I AM an MBA" ?
> I will Britishly say nothing about your breach of etiquette.
> 
> ps is 'hubby' commonly said over there ? Or is it just you ?


 
The question isn't asked around here much, except on questionnaires on a warranty for a new product. If applying for a new job, the information is usually found on the rèsumè. Sorry about the breach of etiquette. All three jokes were heard long before I knew how much work both degrees take in their accomplishment. "Hubby" is not a common term--but was the form used for the spouse in the third joke when I heard it.
 
Cheers!


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## Artrella

Amityville said:
			
		

> But, MJ, though accepting the question on its own terms, you still wouldn't say "I AM an MBA" ?
> I will Britishly say nothing about your breach of etiquette.
> 
> ps is 'hubby' commonly said over there ? Or is it just you ?




I call "hubby" to my husband... my Daddy said it is common in California, where he lives.


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## Wordsmyth

mjscott said:
			
		

> [...] If applying for a new job, the information is usually found on the résumé. Sorry about the breach of etiquette. All three jokes were heard long before I knew how much work both degrees take in their accomplishment. "Hubby" is not a common term--but was the form used for the spouse in the third joke when I heard it.
> 
> Cheers!


Just to widen the breach: I've also heard of PhD as "Pretty huge ..."  

Given the context we're in, I guess I've never seen 'Fred Bloggs (hubby)' on a CV! .  However, I have a quite a few American friends and acquaintances who use 'hubby' -- but none from Eastern Washington  

W


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## Amityville

Wordsmyth said:
			
		

> Just to widen the breach: I've also heard of PhD as "Pretty huge ..."
> 
> Given the context we're in, I guess I've never seen 'Fred Bloggs (hubby)' on a CV! . However, I have a quite a few American friends and acquaintances who use 'hubby' -- but none from Eastern Washington
> 
> W


 
PhD - I don't get it....now you have to explain   

Fred Bloggs(hubby) that's hilarious. You don't hear 'wifey' so much though do you ? No one would dare.



Amityville, H, (BSc in Advanced Text Messaging, Nerdsley Polytechnic)


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## Isotta

mjscott said:
			
		

> I have heard said that an MBA is for More Bull Added, and that a
> PhD means Piled high and Deeper!



I have noticed that the MBA receives not a little criticism from the American academic world. I've heard many liberal arts express their distaste for the MBA and for business schools because one can learn much of what one would learn in business school on the job. Economics departments shrink as many of their students flock to the more financially attractive prospects of the post-business school world. Others counter with the fact that an MBA really serves to get the first interview and to give the job candidate an edge and thus is important. People who do joint MBA/M.D. and MBA/J.D. programs usually say that the business school component is far easier, but that it gives them a hefty competitive edge.

In terms of describing oneself degree-wise, I would say that there can be a discretion about it in America. I think degrees tend to come up when one is talking about one's profession, i.e., you know that a doctor has an M.D., that a professor has a Ph.D, an attorney has a J.D.  etc. Those who have MBA's often have jobs that are not exclusive to business school graduates, thus the degree does not come up as frequently in conversation, unless the person is being boastful or eager. I've never heard the first-person declaration, "I'm an MBA." 

Isotta.


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## Wordsmyth

Amityville said:
			
		

> PhD - I don't get it....now you have to explain
> 
> Fred Bloggs(hubby) that's hilarious. You don't hear 'wifey' so much though do you ? No one would dare.
> 
> Amityville, H, (BSc in Advanced Text Messaging, Nerdsley Polytechnic)


Explain? ... Nope, I wanna keep coming here!

Wifey: You mean you haven't read "A Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down", by Nicey & Wifey? (I think the author may have had an MBA: just to stay on topic  )

And you were at Nerdsley Poly? What year? I know someone who was there and might know you!  

Wordsmyth, OBE(wan), Kings Cross and bar


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## mzsweeett

Wordsmyth said:
			
		

> Explain? ... Nope, I wanna keep coming here!
> 
> Wifey: You mean you haven't read "A Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down", by Nicey & Wifey? (I think the author may have had an MBA: just to stay on topic  )
> 
> And you were at Nerdsley Poly? What year? I know someone who was there and might know you!
> 
> Wordsmyth, OBE(wan), Kings Cross and bar


Hey now, don't be shy.... we went there at the same time!!!! WE even shared 2 classes!! 

Wifey is a fairly common term over here as is hubby. As for the other usages for PhD and MBA... ahem I must say that yes these are also *vulgar*  terms, and very often used by people who are quite full of themselves!!

For proper purposes, I would stick to the safer true definitions.... and I would say that I _*had *_a PhD or_* had*_ an MBA.....

LOL,

Sweet T.


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## danzomicrobo

I thought that everyone in the US had an MBA, so saying I'm an MBA is like saying I'm an American.

Just kidding - but at the rate the degree is being granted, saying you are an MBA becomes almost meaningless.


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## cuchuflete

MZ SWeet... Wifey and hubby are common?  *Guess I hang out with the wrong crowd.   I thought those terms went away with Doris Day  movies and Nash Ramblers!*



			
				mzsweeett said:
			
		

> Wifey is a fairly common term over here as is hubby. As for the other usages for PhD and MBA... ahem I must say that yes these are also *vulgar*  terms, and very often used by people who are quite full of themselves!!
> 
> For proper purposes, I would stick to the safer true definitions.... and I would say that I _*had *_a PhD or_* had*_ an MBA.....
> 
> LOL,
> 
> Sweet T.





> and I would say that I _*...** had*_ an MBA.


 ....  Me too, but I left it in a railway station in Firenze.  Now I am just a former member of the ABAA...Antiquarian Booksellers of America Assoc., and an OC, optimistic curmudgeon.


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## mzsweeett

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> MZ SWeet... Wifey and hubby are common?  *Guess I hang out with the wrong crowd.   I thought those terms went away with Doris Day  movies and Nash Ramblers!*
> 
> .... Me too, but I left it in a railway station in Firenze. Now I am just a former member of the ABAA...Antiquarian Booksellers of America Assoc., and an OC, optimistic curmudgeon.


Wifey is not quite as common as hubby, I do admit that one. All of my girlfriends refer to their "other halves" as "hubbies". I am not so old either......lol.... anyway....... you know what they say.... history tends to repeat..... lmao. 
What's wrong with Doris Day and Nash Ramblers???  I love Doris Day!!!  Although I'm unfamiliar with the latter...I pick up on the vibes. 

Sweet T.


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## mjscott

danzomicrobo said:
			
		

> I thought that everyone in the US had an MBA, so saying I'm an MBA is like saying I'm an American.
> 
> Just kidding - but at the rate the degree is being granted, saying you are an MBA becomes almost meaningless.


 
Maybe for you. May you acquire as many degrees as is needed--or not, whatever you decide to do, in order to give your life meaning. For me getting a graduate degree was like getting pulled through a knot hole backwards.

PS:  A BA in my neck of the woods is a Bachelor of Arts degree--a 4-year college degree that now takes usually about 5 years (because education reform changes the rules every few years and requires some other class (while dropping a requirement you've already taken and gotten a grade for....)
You can get a BA focusing on classes in the Social Arts (psychology, education, history, anthropology, etc.)

Also, a BS is a Bachelor of Science. That 4-year degree is attained by majoring in math or science, chemistry, biology, etc.


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## Amityville

Wordsmyth said:
			
		

> Explain? ... Nope, I wanna keep coming here!
> 
> Wifey: You mean you haven't read "A Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down", by Nicey & Wifey? (I think the author may have had an MBA: just to stay on topic  )
> 
> And you were at Nerdsley Poly? What year? I know someone who was there and might know you!
> 
> Wordsmyth, OBE(wan), Kings Cross and bar


 
Hi your Lordship,
Re Pretty Huge whatever, I will make up my own, oof I am shocking myself, excuse me a minute, auto-modding myself off, ok, back again.

Re Nicey and Wifey, no I hadn't heard of them, but I think I get the picture - Doileyville ? Do you know the John Shuttleworth opus ? (cappucinos in B&Q) featuring John Cooper Clark on vaccuum cleaner. Think they both dropped out of MBA school.

Nerdsley Business School Alumni Reunion, planned for 2008 - will keep you posted. (Went on to do a masters, now lecturing)

King's Cross, what year ? Good heavens, that was you ?


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## Wordsmyth

mzsweeett said:
			
		

> Hey now, don't be shy.... we went there at the same time!!!! WE even shared 2 classes!! [...]
> 
> Sweet T.


 Silly of me to forget!    ... Now I look more closely at your avatar, Sweet T, I do recall ...  

W


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## Wordsmyth

Hello, ATM Bachelor


			
				Amityville said:
			
		

> [...] auto-modding myself off, ok, back again. [...]


 Nice one   (I've given it up myself -- can't find it on any MBA syllabus!).



> [...] Re Nicey and Wifey, no I hadn't heard of them, but I think I get the picture - Doileyville ? [...]


 Well "Tea-and-biscuits-ville". Seriously, it's good reading if you've ever dunked a digestive and lost it in the mug  (and there's no MBA course that teaches you how to avoid that!).



> [...] Do you know the John Shuttleworth opus ? (cappucinos in B&Q) featuring John Cooper Clark on vaccuum cleaner. [...]


  Not a lot, but then I never drove a Ford Cortina.

W


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## garryknight

In any of the high-volume forums, several of the above posts would have been deleted outright for being off-topic. Putting 'MBA' in the body of a post does _not_ make it an on-topic post. You're all very lucky to have such easy-going moderators. Now, please don't make me come over there...


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## Amityville

Thankyou, garryknight, we were pushing it, you're right, and we are lucky to have you, firm but fair, a prince among moderators. It must be a pain having a bunch of kids messing about at the back throwing paper aeroplanes.

(it was Wordsmyth that started it, ouch now he's pulled my plaits)


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## mjscott

As table monitor, I truly did try and get my group to stay on subject! Mr. Knight! Mr. Knight! Could I please be moved to another table?


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## garryknight

mjscott said:
			
		

> Mr. Knight! Mr. Knight! Could I please be moved to another table?


Don't tempt me!


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## Wordsmyth

You're right, Garry, of course. I was feeling very guilty for the last couple of posts, and didn't really believe that slipping in a few MBAs would fool anyone.  

Contrite and chastised, I vow to stop, no matter what Amity says to provoke me in the playground.   

Actually, now that the Search function is back, I'll get back to my old habits and be less tempted to stick around too long in floundering threads.

W


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## rubes1

I have also never heard the phrase "I am an MBA," never. I have heard "I'm an MD" though. Also you can say "I hold an MBA."


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