Day 152

I have successfully survived another day of grad school.  No matter what else happened today, I call it a victory.

I got up a little early this morning so that I could do some more research before my interview.  Then I had some breakfast, read up on Lincoln some more, showered, got dressed, and headed off to my interview!  I got there a little early so I just sat and talked with Daniel, who is a sophomore Actuarial Science student.  He's already taken FM and is studying for P.  I guess that makes sense that they're try to get them through the exams as fast as possible.  It's just weird to think of all the math classes I've taken, but most of these kids just get through the calculus classes and probability, then focus on economics courses.  They'll miss so much good math!  No differential equations, numerical methods, modern algebra, number theory, discrete math, or real analysis.  It's so sad....

Anyhow.  The interview.  I thought it went really well.  I answered all their questions and they seemed to like my answers.  For the most part I was able to give them good, concise answers but also use humor appropriately.  My theory is that if I can make them laugh or at least smile regularly and at the appropriate time, I have a higher probability of being remembered, thus increasing my chance of getting an internship.  I also try to either get the first or last interview of the day.  If you interview well, getting the first slot of the day will give them a measuring stick against whom  they will compare everyone else.  So doing well can make you look really good against everyone else. Going last also gives you the advantage of being the person they will remember best because they don't have new faces to see and remember at the end of the day. So hopefully I left a good enough impression.  One of the guys asked me what I was looking for from a future employer.  I looked him dead in the eye and said "a job."  He thought that was pretty funny.  It seems that each company likes to have some question at the end that is unique and atypical.  Lincoln's question was "What do you think will set you apart from everyone else when we discuss all the interviews at the end of the day?"  So I said "Well. If you were two women I would mention my incredible good looks."  They both laughed a lot at that.  The one guy said to the other "Do you want to write that down?"  and the other said "No... I think we'll just leave that one here."  But overall I had a good time.  I honestly like doing interviews.  I don't get nervous.  I just like talking with these people and telling them about myself. I mean...who doesn't like doing that?

After my interview I went to the atrium and hung out with my friends there in between classes.  I missed finance because of the interview.  Then we went to life contingencies.  We have a test in that class on the 28th.  So, you know, that'll be fun.

Then... I taught.  Kind of.  Apparently there were a decent number of my students who didn't recall me telling them to type everything.  So I had to think of some way for them to get that to me.  Mostly I just let them email me.  This is going to be a mess to grade.... Then we had story time.  I read the story of the fisherman and his wife, where the fisherman catches a magical fish who grants wishes and the wife isn't content and asks for all the things.. and eventually gets nothing.  After story time we went over a few homework problems.  At this point it was way later than I had anticipated.  And I forgot my lecture notes.  So with only half an hour left... My class convinced me to just call class early for the day.  I was fine with that.  I plan an extra day in for studying, so I told them they won't get review day.  They seemed fine with it.  Personally I think they're going to regret that, but it was their decision.  They're grades, not mine.

In the office I read some life contingencies and did some stuff on Blackboard. Answered some emails.  After the office I came back to my apartment.  I thought about doing homework... but just didn't feel like it.  So I played video games and cleaned.  Then around 5 I went to the gym to go work out with Kathryn.  We ran.  I hate running.  Especially on treadmills.  I just get overheated and dehydrated so quickly that I can run as fast or as long as I can outside.  So I was not amused by my running performance.  But that's ok.  I got a good workout.  I didn't get back to about 6:30, then I showered and got some dinner.  I made chicken and rice.  Next time I make chicken I need to remember to defrost it prior to putting it on the stove.  That would have made things go way better.  Anyhow, it worked.  But I started feeling kind of like I was having a stuffy nose.  Which is not ok.  But I guess I don't have much of a choice.  So after dinner I just started doing some more life contingencies.  Right now I'm working through problems and trying to not to look in the book for the formulae.  It's been going ok.  But I have a week to get better.

And I'm exhausted.  So I'm going to bed.  Night!

Day 151

Alright, back to school today. Ew.


I got up this morning around 7:15.  Then laid in bed for another 10 minutes trying to decide if I really needed to get up yet.  I did.  I slept remarkably well last night, considering how terrible the couch on which I slept was.  Oh, Mount Vernon couches.  I talked with Keith for a few minutes, then headed back to Muncie!  It was a fairly uneventful trip, aside from the constant rain and slowed traffic around Columbus.  I guess going around Columbus at 9am wasn't the best idea... but I made it.


When I got into Muncie I stopped at Aldi to get some groceries for the rest of the week.  Then I went back to my apartment.  I didn't show in Mount Vernon, so after I brought all my stuff in I took a nice hot shower.  Then I had some lunch.  Since I wasn't buying food for the full week I didn't think I'd use a week's worth of produce.  So I just bought sandwich stuff.  I haven't done that in a long time.  But it was good.


After lunch Timbo came over and we went through some stats.  He was able to explain some concepts to me, so that was really helpful.  We had a quiz today at 4.  That actually went pretty well, I think.  I was really scared at first because it was 5 questions and each one built off the previous question.  And when I was handed the quiz... I had no idea how to do the first question.  I was terrified.  It used the gamma function and we haven't even mentioned that yet in class.  And won't for a few more weeks.  Apparently I was just supposed to know that the gamma function represented a constant... which I guess maybe I could have known... but we never talked about it in class.  When we discussed the quiz after we handed it in she made it seem as though we just should have known it.  The rest of the quiz went well.  I think she just forgets the sort of things we do and do not know.  Like on one of the questions we were supposed to know some equality related to integration and the gamma function (which we still have not talked about).  So when someone asked what we were supposed to do, she said not to worry about it, as long as she saw how we set it up.  Until the same person mentioned that we needed an answer to solve another problem.  So she just wrote some equality on the board... as if everyone should just know it!  She wasn't upset that we didn't know it, I just guess it hadn't occurred to her that we didn't know this equality.  But otherwise the quiz was fine.


After class I went to the Lincoln financial group presentation with Dustin, Kathryn, and Jacob.  I have an interview with them in the morning so I figured that I should go.  We got there and the first speaker informed us that it would probably be pretty boring.  So... that was good.


When I was done there I went to go help Jordan and Erica with the finance assignment.  Then I came back, watched some TV with Andre and Kathryn (who was doing her laundry here, since her apartment complex charges to do laundry), and now I'm going to bed!  Good night, friends.

Day 150

So today. This morning I formally decided that I'm not going to get much more studying done before tomorrow. So i just did some other stuff. Like plan for my lesson. I need to make sure that I prepare for my interview on Thursday. Yes. I need to do that. Anyhow, I got my lesson planned. Then Kimmy and I had lunch. I made pasta and it was tasty. After lunch we went to the jeweler to see if he could resize Kimmy's ring. It would have taken a week... So we decided to have it done in Mount Vernon.

After that we went to Becky's to get pictures. And say good bye and things. That's always a sad time :( After Becky's we went to George house where I introduced Kimmy to chat milkshakes. She's a big fan. They taste like pumpkin pie. Then we went over to see the grand folks. I told them how I proposed and that little story. Then we just sat and talked. I like doing that. They were telling is about how different it is growing up now and the sort of things althst used to be normal back then. Like drive in movies. Or how the main entertainment for their parents was weekly gathering around the piano to sing. It was neat to hear their history.

Sadly we had to leave. We got to mount vernon and waited for Jared and Kanissa. In the mean time I figured some homework out from school people and ran into/talked with Lindsey for a little bit. She was not amused that I hadn't told her about Kimmy and me being engaged. But she understood that I hadn't people to tell. Sorry, friend!  After that we met up with Jared and Kanissa for dinner at Hunan garden. It was fun. I like them. After dinner we played orange ball. Then we all had to be responsible and they left.

I helped teach dance tonight. It was fun. I miss that. After dance I took Kimmy back to her apartment.

And now I'm at Tyler and Adams apartment, getting ready for bed. I have an early morning tomorrow... Night!

Day 149

What an exciting day I had today!  It started off fairly early.  6:15 to be exact.  This was the time at which I normal wake up.  But not today.  No, today I smiled to myself and turned my alarm off.


I finally did wake up around 8.  At which point I had a bagel with apple butter.  I was still hungry, so I had another bagel but with peanut butter this time.  They were both really good.


After breakfast I took a shower.  I spent most of the morning going between playing a game on my phone and doing some homework.  I've been trying to study for my stats quiz on Wednesday.  It's been less than stimulating.


For lunch Kimmy and I had grilled cheese and tomato soup.  And watched How I Met Your Mother.  And then watched some more.  Then... I did some dishes.  And some more homework.  It was a wonderful afternoon.


A little before 4 we got ready to go run some errands and get dinner.  We went to the shoe store so Kimmy could get rain boots, but they didn't have any that fit her.  So no boots were had.  Then we journeyed off to Hobby Lobby so Kimmy could get some charcoal for her art class.  And we saw mom! Apparently you don't have to bring in a physical coupon.  You should need to show the cashier the coupon from the website on a smartphone.  That was neat.  I did not know that before.


For dinner we went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries.  It was so much goodness.  Their hamburgers are literally a double stack of heart attack with juicy diabetes and cheese.  It's the best thing in the world.  And the fries taste a little bit like heaven.  A very very salty heaven.  Let's see.  After dinner we went on a little adventure.  Kimmy asked where we were going, but it was a surprise.  So off we went.  Eventually we got to a small church.  I will not name this church, as the person with whom I worked to acquire said church did not get permission from the rest of church staff.  The groundskeeper simply let me use the building under the radar.  So I will keep it's location anonymous.  But we got there.  It was a really nice church.  We walked in the front door and music started playing!  What a surprise!  It was "Once upon a December" from the movie Anastasia.  It makes for a lovely waltz.  So we did a waltz.  And then the magical jukebox played "Zoot Suit Riot," to which we danced a nice swing.  After it was over we went for a walk.  Which was about 5 steps over to the altar where there was a nice little wooden box. So I grabbed the aforementioned box and opened it up for Kimmy.  This little box contained a small piece of jewelry, typically worn on the fourth finger of a female's left hand.  It was at this time that I believe Kimmy and I became formally "engaged."  So that was pretty neat.  Becky and James came out of hiding and got a few more pictures (which will hopefully be coming shortly).  Becky and James pretty much made it all happen.  They found the church when my other option didn't work, Becky took pictures, James got the music... and they both made sure I didn't go crazy from being too nervous.  So thanks, friends.  Also, Kimmy immediately recognized the company from whom I ordered the ring (Brilliant Earth) and she was very excited that I had picked them.  Go me!


After all that business was over we went to go get ice cream at Cold Stone.  I decided that buying my friends ice cream was the very least that I could do for all their help.  After Cold Stone we went to Wal-mart and bought pumpkins for carving!  Well... Becky and Kimmy carved.  James and I sat and discussed economics and politics.  We tried to understand the "Occupy" Movement, but neither of us really knew much about it so it proved to be useless.  So we just started talking about video games.  Then we got sent on an errand to get candles for the pumpkins.  And butter.  It took us a very long time to find candles (because we kept getting lost in conversation...then lost in the store).  But we eventually found them and made it back.


Umm... I was tired so I came home.  Talked with parents and told them about how it all happened.  And then... I started updating my blog.  After I updated Facebook to say that Kimmy and I are now engaged... well my computer has pretty much been exploding with people asking me about how it happened. I feel like a celebrity :)


But now it is bed time.  Good night, friends!  I will try to get pictures up soon.

Day 148

What a day.  It started off very early.  Like 5:45 early.  Everyone except for Kimmy and me left around 6 this morning.  I got a shower after mom and dad left, then Kimmy and I went to breakfast a little before 6:30.  We both forgot that we were supposed to hurry (it was early and we were still tired), so we didn't end up leaving until 7.  At this point I remembered that we were supposed to be parked around this time... oops!


Dad gave me some directions, but my GPS had me going a different way.  And at 7 am... the GPS won.  We got into Columbus alright and dad had given me a parking garage in which we could park.  So when we got off the highway we pulled into a gas station so I could figure out where we were supposed to go.  We ended up finding a parking garage, but it seemed very empty.  Oh well, we just decided to park and get going.  It took me a few minutes to figure out where to go, but eventually we were on our way.  It seemed strange that there was nothing race related going on...


Yeah.  It appears that there are multiple parking lots on Neil Avenue.  Dad parked at the one on the south end near downtown.  I... did not.  I parked on the north side, by the hospital.  So Kimmy and I had about a 4+ mile walk ahead of us.  It was a lovely walk, but we were both very tired by the time we found mom... over an hour after the race had started.  After we collected ourselves we went off to the 9th mile marker, where there were apparently a lot of people.  This particular place was at an intersection where the runners were turning and the crowd of onlookers had formed a tunnel on the street through through which the runners were going.  But the resident police force was less than amused by the cluster of people clogging the roads.  So they made us get onto the sidewalk.  I decided that this was unacceptable, so I found another spot closer to the race where we could stand.  Eventually we did dad and Amber and Jessie.  Go team!  We also saw Meghan Comer.  I didn't hear who she was watching, but I think it was her sister.  Or some family member.


After that we went to the finish.  Well.  We headed to the finish.  There is a lot going on at these races.  So we started heading over in the direction of the finish, but there was a road to cross.  Thankfully, the wonderful Natoinwide building had a skybridge for us to use, so we could go over the road.  Eventually we found our way to the finish.  We ran into the Church family after Alli had finished.  And she was still alive, so we were quite pleased for this.  Then we went off to find out party.  Which we did end up doing.


Then things go complicated.  Dad was very cold and needed to go back to the car.  Jessie was going to go watch Richard finish the marathon.  And I was parked in the middle of nowhere.  So Jessie went to go find Richard and the rest of us went to Amber's car.  The parking garage was very full of people, but when we eventually found her car we all piled in and headed back to where I had parked.  Naturally the race was still going on and they were running on the only road that we could take to get to my parking garage.  So... Amber got close, but eventually we realized there was no practical way of getting to the garage.  So I got out and just ran the rest of the way.  It was only a mile or so.  But I did find it.  And I guess that lot has free parking on the weekends!  Yay!  On the way back I had the lovely pleasure of trying to maneuver my way around the race... and through a crowd of runners... and all the mess.  But eventually I found my family.


Amber and I were going to go pick up Jessie and Richard because they got a little lost, but we just gave them directions.  That was probably for the best, since it was going to be hard for us to get a car downtown.  Then we hung around in the Giant Eagle parking lot for a while. We got some food.  Then we all went home.


When we got here... some people ate.  Kimmy and I did homework.  But pretty much the rest of the day was spent lounging around.  Doing homework.  Eating.  That sort of thing.


And now...after a very long day... it is bed time.  Good night!

Day 147

This morning I woke up a bit early. Maybe 830? I just kind of slunk around. I got breakfast. Took a shower. Talked with the people who were awake. Around 10 Jessie and Richard and I went to visit the grandfolks. That was fun. Richard and I helped Poppy do some reorganizing in the garage so that the scooter would fit next to the car. Then we went back to the apartment and talked. We all got caught up on each other's lives. It was nice.

When we got back to the house we got lunch. I found some soup. And ate it. People made fun of me because I ate it cold... They don't understand. Silly people. Cold soup is good. After lunch we left for Columbus!

I've officially decided that I want to move here. I really like downtown Columbus. After I graduate I'd really like to get a job with Nationwide. There are some really nice duplexes and apartments in short north. I could live there. But we'll see.

We went to the expo for the marathon. There were a lot of people and vendors. So we wandered around for a while. Saw the Church family. Walked around some more. I found the nationwide booth and talked with the people there. I told them that I'm studying to be an Actuary. They had me leave my contact information. They sent me an automated "thanks for talking with us, learn about our insurance policies!" email, but we'll see if anything comes of that. I'm not holding my breath.

After the expo we went to our hotel, got settled, and went to bob Evans for dinner. It was good. I had meatloaf. Then we came back, had Jessie birthday cake, and just hung out. I did some homework. And now it's off to bed for an early morning before the race! But I'm not running this time. So good night!

Day 146

Today started off with me getting up.  I always like when my days start that way.  After I got up I showered and ate breakfast.  I finished my bread.  I need to get more when I go shopping on Wednesday.


In finance we look more at bonds and determining their cost.  It always seems so straight forward in class, but I know that it will become way trickier when I have to do the problems on my own.


In between classes I went to talk with Mr. Dean about my resume.  I've been really concerned with my lack of internship interviews so I brought in my resume to see if there was something wrong with it.  He has some formatting suggestions but he said there was nothing wrong with it except that I have not passed any actuarial exams.  I explained my schedule for taking them and said it was a very good plan.  But he explained the very thing that I was guessing: I have a fine resume, but nothing stands out.  Every person applying for these internships has a good GPA, is good at math, has worked jobs where they have to deal with people.  My programming and Excel/Access experience is helpful, but it's not enough to set me apart from everyone else.  Pretty much each of the things on my resume is helpful, but there is no one thing that sets me apart.  But he didn't seem concerned at all about getting an internship.  More than once he encouraged me that I will get a job even if I don't have an internship.  As long as I keep taking and passing exams.  He did say that it would be very appropriate to email the companies after I pass an exam with my updated resume on the chance that they have an opening (or can make an opening) for me.  Afterwards we just talked about being an actuary and he explained more about what work he has done and what I can expect.  He said that when you become a manager you no longer have to do data analysis and number crunching.  That's for the interns and analysts. As a manager I get to come up with the ideas and let everyone else work out the details.  And I think that sounds like a lot of fun. It was really helpful talking with him.  I feel much better about how things are going.  This semester I'm going to focus on getting good grades.  After this semester I'll start studying for FM and see how things go from there.  I'll be happy if I can take FM, P, and MLC before I graduate.  Taking MFE would be an extra wonderful bonus.  But I'll worry about the first three first.


After my meeting with Mr. Dean I went to his class.  Today we were in the computer lab learning how to construct life tables in excel.  It wasn't too bad. Putting in the formulas is always frustrating.  I was getting the wrong answer for so long because I had one parenthesis in the wrong place.  But after I got that fixed it worked just fine.


After class it was "get ready to come to Mount Vernon then Findlay" time!  Which meant eating, packing, and figuring out how to get to Mount Vernon. Apparently 36 was closed so I had to find a different way.  I finally left around 12:40.  It was a pretty uneventful trip.  I just... drove.  Listened to music.  Danced to my music.  Got some coffee.  Listened to more music.  Danced to more music.  Drove.  Rinse.  Repeat.  Arrive at Mount Vernon.  When Kimmy was ready we got her stuff packed up, got food, got gas, then headed to Findlay!


We got here around 7 or so.  Then just sat around and talked with parents.  I did some grading.  Jessie and Richard got here as well.  I finished grading.  Talked with people.  And...thus concludes my night!  The end.