So. This morning was normal. I woke up early, showered, ate, did a little studying for probability. I was greeted with a bit of a surprise this morning when the parking lot in which I normally park was closed. Thankfully there is another commuter lot nearby. In investments we discussed how one of the main theories used for protecting against interest rate changes doesn't actually work. Then we talked about what people actually do... which is reasonably close to the theory, but not precise. We got a little bit into interest rate swaps (basically when two people who have access to different interest rates help each other out for mutual benefit).
During Atrium time I think we just studied. Talked about how easy it is to waste time on the internet. A little bit about how we get near exam time and how sometime in the next week I'm going to be initiating hard-core mode... oh joy. I'm thinking that Monday will be the beginning of that.
During probability we met the likely new professor for next year. His name is Rich Owens. He watched a little bit of our probability class... so we all looked REALLY smart. Ha. Anyhow, I felt like I did decently on this quiz. There were only 3 out of the 14 I didn't know how to do. So... not awesome, but I'm confident on the ones that I did know how to do. So we'll see!
After class I needed a bit of a break, so I got some lunch, played a game, folded laundry, did dishes. Then I did a little more studying. I called mom and we talked for a while. Mostly about wedding stuff. And about studying. I mean... I don't know that a whole lot is going on in my life outside of that...
I made spaghetti for dinner. Then I talked with my friend Alysse via Facebook chat. We hadn't talked in a very long time, so it was nice to catch up with her and everything.
At 7:30 Rich Owens (probably the new professor) came to talk with some of the students about his background and give us a chance to get to know him. It was good. He talked about his education, his job at Metlife, his current research... a lot about his current research. But was good. Then we opened up for questions and stuff. He (very very impressively) passed all nine of this exams on the first try, which there is roughly a .03% chance of doing. This number is not entirely accurate because it assumes the probability of passing an exam is random, while it is, in fact, not random at all. But you get the idea. People were asking all sorts of questions about his career, which was great. I tried to ask on-topic but different questions. Like whether he liked living in New Jersey. Surprisingly he said that he did! At one point someone asked him a question and he answered... some question. Then he forgot who asked so he just kind of generally asked "What was the question?" But he was looking directly at me... and I got flustered because he asked again and no one said anything... so I just said the first thing that came to mind (which is really a gamble on whether that given thought is safe to exist in the real world): "Do you like pie!?" He said that he generally does not, because when he plans to intake calories he prefers it in a different manner. I respect that. I'll just have to assume he was referring to bacon.
Anyhow, during his talk he made a very big focus on doing things intentionally and how if something in school or in your job wasn't working properly or efficiently, then it's up to you to do it better. And that really motivated me in my studying. I know there are things I can be doing better. It's been very difficult for me to get into studying for this for a number of reasons. Partially because it's very mentally taxing to go from one exam to the next without a true break. Study for these exams is very life consuming... and you really should have a good break in between them. I did not, and that makes getting into study mode for the next one very hard. Additionally, I think I have a mental block against some of this stuff because I've had it in two other classes and I didn't understand it there... so now my brain is convinced that I still don't get it. Even though I probably do. It's also been difficult for me to get into this because I feel as though my math background should have prepared me better for this exam... but it has not. It's very humbling to realize that the exam most relevant to your bachelor's degree is not any easier for you than it is for people who do not have a bachelor's degree in math. Humbling and a bit discouraging. I have a piece of paper and 2 lines on my resume that verify that I'm good at math. I can differentiate, integrate, find modular congruence, create primes and pythagorean triples, approximate error terms to the nth degree using Taylor polynomials, do matrix multiplication and reduced row-echelon form... yes when asked to find the probability that X + Y < 1... I flounder. Even though I know the knowledge is in there. Bleh. Three and a half weeks. I know that's plenty of time. I just need to get my mind in place. I'm getting there. I really need to pass this exam in May because my brain needs the summer to take a break from studying.
Ok. It's time for bed. Good night everyone!
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