Oh wow. Just... wow.
I decided to take a practice exam this afternoon after church. Since I take my exam in 3.5 weeks, I figured I needed to start working on my time and seeing how fast I can get through these. My exam is structured to be 30 questions in 3 hours. So I sat down with a practice exam and got to it. After 2 hours I'd attempted about 20 questions (4 of which I couldn't get a solution that matched any of the multiple choice selections). And my brain was in serious agony. Oh my word, I thought something had exploded. I've had my brain feel tired... sometimes very sore... but it was incredibly painful. I decided that I would not finish my remaining hour because I wasn't going to benefit from it. Instead I took a nice long break to let me brain recover from the torture I'd just put it through.
Kimmy made us some very tasty dinner, then I continued my break. I made an attempt to do some grading (and at least be a little productive while not studying), but I just couldn't focus. So I stopped.
After my brain had recovered (mostly), I decided to do some more problems. This time, I started working through a selection of sample problems that was created by the same organization that writes the exams. These are different from the exercises/practice exams in my study manual. It turns out that the sample problems are significantly easier than the practice exam I tried earlier today. That was comforting.
I think my next plan of attack is going to be working up to a 3-hour test. I'll start at 1.5 hours (maybe 2 hours), and just work up from there. We'll see how it goes. I know I still have over three weeks... but it will go by way too quickly. Yikes.
Ok. Time to get some rest. Good night.
2.10.2013
Day 628
I tell you what. I'm tired.
Not really physically tired... just drained. It's been a about two months since I've gotten to take a full day without working on either school, my exam, or work. Even the idea of only having to cook and clean and run errands for a day sounds great. I would love a day where I could just do that. But as it stands, I do those things when I'm not working or studying. 26 more days until my exam.... wow that seems way too close.
In more exciting news, Kimmy and I had some extra money so we got new dishes! Macy's had a really good sale, so with Kimmy's employee discount and everything we ended up two sets for less than one set is at full price. We're pretty excited. AND we got girl scout cookies. What a day.
I tried to study this afternoon, but it just wasn't going to happen. I needed a break. So I tried to relax for a couple of hours this afternoon to wind down before I got back to studying.
After we made dinner, Kimmy went to work and I started studying. There are less questions that I'm not understanding, but there are still too many questions that I miss because of something else. There were about three today that I just felt were poorly worded (or they'd left out an important detail). I never finished fixing all of the errata in the book, so I guess it's possible. Either way, I'm hoping to get all of my issues ironed out in the next week or so. Ugh, I just want it to be over.
I don't think I really have much else to report. So.... the end. Good night.
Not really physically tired... just drained. It's been a about two months since I've gotten to take a full day without working on either school, my exam, or work. Even the idea of only having to cook and clean and run errands for a day sounds great. I would love a day where I could just do that. But as it stands, I do those things when I'm not working or studying. 26 more days until my exam.... wow that seems way too close.
In more exciting news, Kimmy and I had some extra money so we got new dishes! Macy's had a really good sale, so with Kimmy's employee discount and everything we ended up two sets for less than one set is at full price. We're pretty excited. AND we got girl scout cookies. What a day.
I tried to study this afternoon, but it just wasn't going to happen. I needed a break. So I tried to relax for a couple of hours this afternoon to wind down before I got back to studying.
After we made dinner, Kimmy went to work and I started studying. There are less questions that I'm not understanding, but there are still too many questions that I miss because of something else. There were about three today that I just felt were poorly worded (or they'd left out an important detail). I never finished fixing all of the errata in the book, so I guess it's possible. Either way, I'm hoping to get all of my issues ironed out in the next week or so. Ugh, I just want it to be over.
I don't think I really have much else to report. So.... the end. Good night.
2.07.2013
Day 626
Oh boy, what a day!
I got up early this morning to go to a meeting up on campus. Then I stayed up there, did some studying, and other work. My first class was canceled, so I ended up just studying some more and talking with other students and professors. It was productive.
So, I gave a test today. I didn't think it would be too bad, especially since I'd taken some questions off from the last version of this test that I gave. But at the end of the period there were still 6 people who hadn't quite finished. We all went up to the floor where my office is and I let them finish. There is a row of single-desk cubicles where people can study or take tests, so I had them use those (since my office is waaaay too small for 7 people). I technically could have just taken the exams as there were at the end of the period, but I didn't feel like that would really be fair. It was a minor inconvenience for me that could make a fairly significant difference for some of my students.
When I got home, Kimmy and I went for a short walk around our neighborhood-area. It's the first day in quite some time that a) Kimmy hasn't had to work (after standing on her feet for 4 -8 hours, she doesn't usually feel like going on a walk and I don't blame her) or b) it hasn't been really cold. It was a tad chilly, but not too bad.
When we got back, we had some dinner, then I got to working on homework. Yuck. I worked on an assignment that's due on Friday for a while, then began studying for MFE again. Tomorrow is the 4 week mark. I'm feeling a bit better about some of the harder topics now that I've gone over those chapters again, so I'm doing more review. We'll see how it goes.
Ok. Time for bed. Good night, everyone!
I got up early this morning to go to a meeting up on campus. Then I stayed up there, did some studying, and other work. My first class was canceled, so I ended up just studying some more and talking with other students and professors. It was productive.
So, I gave a test today. I didn't think it would be too bad, especially since I'd taken some questions off from the last version of this test that I gave. But at the end of the period there were still 6 people who hadn't quite finished. We all went up to the floor where my office is and I let them finish. There is a row of single-desk cubicles where people can study or take tests, so I had them use those (since my office is waaaay too small for 7 people). I technically could have just taken the exams as there were at the end of the period, but I didn't feel like that would really be fair. It was a minor inconvenience for me that could make a fairly significant difference for some of my students.
When I got home, Kimmy and I went for a short walk around our neighborhood-area. It's the first day in quite some time that a) Kimmy hasn't had to work (after standing on her feet for 4 -8 hours, she doesn't usually feel like going on a walk and I don't blame her) or b) it hasn't been really cold. It was a tad chilly, but not too bad.
When we got back, we had some dinner, then I got to working on homework. Yuck. I worked on an assignment that's due on Friday for a while, then began studying for MFE again. Tomorrow is the 4 week mark. I'm feeling a bit better about some of the harder topics now that I've gone over those chapters again, so I'm doing more review. We'll see how it goes.
Ok. Time for bed. Good night, everyone!
2.05.2013
Day 624
This was a pretty full and exhausting day. I woke up around 7:30. Then I had a really nice blink and it was 8:30. At that point I decided I really needed to get up. I knew it was going to be a very full day, so I wanted to get some studying in before I went to class and everything.
I did end up getting some studying done. I really hope that more things start to stick in the next week. There's just so much material. On the four tests I've done (total of 120 problems), there are only about 2 or 3 that I didn't know how to do... it's just a matter of remembering how to do them, which model to use, and what the trick to solving the problem is (because they can never be straight forward).
After some studying, I got ready for school, then went up for my office hours. And studied some more. I certainly get more done in the morning... but the morning goes away so quickly! There needs to be more morning. And afternoon. And evening. And night. Actually, I just need to not need sleep. That would be a dream right now. If there was a pun in that last sentence, it was not intended.
So then there was some class and some teaching. Today was even more evidence that my students really do not listen to anything I say. It was funny, but unfortunate for them. I think I told them at least 4 times that there is a test on Wednesday (this is the third class period I've mentioned this), the study guide is on Blackboard, and the take home portion is also on Blackboard. I should make them recite everything back to me.
After teaching I made a quick stop at home to start cooking the meat for dinner, then went to go tutor. Tutoring was ok. We're making progress, but it's going to take a few more sessions to really figure out how to best teach both of them.
When I got home, Kimmy had made some amazing chili! We've both recently become big fans of Cincinnati chili, so we decided to try to make some from scratch. And we did! More accurately, Kimmy did! And it was super tasty.
After dinner I did some more studying. This round was less productive than I would have liked... but my brain was just so tired from everything that I had a hard time figuring the problems out. So eventually I just called it a night. I also talked with mom and dad on the phone. Mom's having hip replacement surgery tomorrow. No more hip pain for her! Yay!
Ok. I'm going to try to get an early start tomorrow... and hopefully no hour-long blinks. Good night!
I did end up getting some studying done. I really hope that more things start to stick in the next week. There's just so much material. On the four tests I've done (total of 120 problems), there are only about 2 or 3 that I didn't know how to do... it's just a matter of remembering how to do them, which model to use, and what the trick to solving the problem is (because they can never be straight forward).
After some studying, I got ready for school, then went up for my office hours. And studied some more. I certainly get more done in the morning... but the morning goes away so quickly! There needs to be more morning. And afternoon. And evening. And night. Actually, I just need to not need sleep. That would be a dream right now. If there was a pun in that last sentence, it was not intended.
So then there was some class and some teaching. Today was even more evidence that my students really do not listen to anything I say. It was funny, but unfortunate for them. I think I told them at least 4 times that there is a test on Wednesday (this is the third class period I've mentioned this), the study guide is on Blackboard, and the take home portion is also on Blackboard. I should make them recite everything back to me.
After teaching I made a quick stop at home to start cooking the meat for dinner, then went to go tutor. Tutoring was ok. We're making progress, but it's going to take a few more sessions to really figure out how to best teach both of them.
When I got home, Kimmy had made some amazing chili! We've both recently become big fans of Cincinnati chili, so we decided to try to make some from scratch. And we did! More accurately, Kimmy did! And it was super tasty.
After dinner I did some more studying. This round was less productive than I would have liked... but my brain was just so tired from everything that I had a hard time figuring the problems out. So eventually I just called it a night. I also talked with mom and dad on the phone. Mom's having hip replacement surgery tomorrow. No more hip pain for her! Yay!
Ok. I'm going to try to get an early start tomorrow... and hopefully no hour-long blinks. Good night!
2.04.2013
Day 623
It's official. I don't feel like going back to school tomorrow.
Well let's see. Today.... today started off with going to church. It was good. Pastor Mark continued from his sermon last week and talked about how we know what things are truly important to us, versus what we say is important. And as always, it comes down to where you spend your time, money, and thoughts.
After church we went to Pizza Hut for lunch with Jessie and Richard. As we were discussing our living situations for next year, it became apparent that Jessie and Richard are starting a new hobby: collecting living rooms. It seems that their new house has (technically) three living rooms. So I think they're off to a good start. Kimmy and I are going to start collecting dining rooms. Our current house has one (a solid start). We then discussed how awesome it would be to have a dining room that resembled a Norse dining hall:
Fire pit in the middle, tables all around the outside. I seriously can't think of anything more awesome than this... sitting around eating huge meals of meat, potatoes, and vegetables, talking with your friends and family around the heat of the fire. With the candle chandeliers, of course.
This afternoon was... studying. Today was bit frustrating. I worked really hard to solve each questions without looking at the solutions... and if I really couldn't even get started, I'd look in my notes (or I'd look in my notes to verify a formula before I started a long series of computations). But the questions are just so difficult. I have about 4 and a half weeks to get my speed down and memorization up. Ugh. I did a little bit better on average today than I have been the past few days, but still not where I'd like to be. The other frustrating thing that happens is that after a certain point, my brain just doesn't function anymore. There is still time in the day to study, but I can't even do simply problems because my brain is fried. It's very frustrating. I try to get other productive things done at those times... but I wish I could be studying.
Well, here's to another busy week. Cheers!
Well let's see. Today.... today started off with going to church. It was good. Pastor Mark continued from his sermon last week and talked about how we know what things are truly important to us, versus what we say is important. And as always, it comes down to where you spend your time, money, and thoughts.
After church we went to Pizza Hut for lunch with Jessie and Richard. As we were discussing our living situations for next year, it became apparent that Jessie and Richard are starting a new hobby: collecting living rooms. It seems that their new house has (technically) three living rooms. So I think they're off to a good start. Kimmy and I are going to start collecting dining rooms. Our current house has one (a solid start). We then discussed how awesome it would be to have a dining room that resembled a Norse dining hall:
Fire pit in the middle, tables all around the outside. I seriously can't think of anything more awesome than this... sitting around eating huge meals of meat, potatoes, and vegetables, talking with your friends and family around the heat of the fire. With the candle chandeliers, of course.
This afternoon was... studying. Today was bit frustrating. I worked really hard to solve each questions without looking at the solutions... and if I really couldn't even get started, I'd look in my notes (or I'd look in my notes to verify a formula before I started a long series of computations). But the questions are just so difficult. I have about 4 and a half weeks to get my speed down and memorization up. Ugh. I did a little bit better on average today than I have been the past few days, but still not where I'd like to be. The other frustrating thing that happens is that after a certain point, my brain just doesn't function anymore. There is still time in the day to study, but I can't even do simply problems because my brain is fried. It's very frustrating. I try to get other productive things done at those times... but I wish I could be studying.
Well, here's to another busy week. Cheers!
2.03.2013
Day 622
You know what's really awesome? Saturdays.
On this particular Saturday, I got up a little after 9, around the time that Kimmy was getting ready to go to work. She had a pretty long day today at work. After she left, I had some breakfast and started studying. I got a little bit done, but mainly I was just working a few problems while I ate breakfast. My study manual has 11 practice exams and each exam has 30 questions. I'm trying to get through at least one exam a day.
Kimmy came home for lunch, but she didn't get to stay very long. On her long days she gets an hour for lunch, but after accounting for travel time she's only at home for maybe 30 minutes. After she went back to work, I started studying again. Yeah, that was pretty much my day. I keep a regular schedule of studying for around 2 hours, break for 30-60 minutes. Then back to studying for a while longer. And then another break.
When Kimmy was done working, we went grocery shopping. Apparently Aldi's is a little busy on Saturday evenings. In fact, I've found that the only time that it's not very busy is Saturday mornings.
Hm. I finally finished up studying around 9. My brain was pretty worn out from working problems, reading, and memorizing/deriving formulas. There are just so many! I have about 15 pages of formulas and notes I kept as I worked through the study manual, but I might re-write them and add some more things. Bleh, there's just so much to remember.
Ok. I'm done for now. Good night!
On this particular Saturday, I got up a little after 9, around the time that Kimmy was getting ready to go to work. She had a pretty long day today at work. After she left, I had some breakfast and started studying. I got a little bit done, but mainly I was just working a few problems while I ate breakfast. My study manual has 11 practice exams and each exam has 30 questions. I'm trying to get through at least one exam a day.
Kimmy came home for lunch, but she didn't get to stay very long. On her long days she gets an hour for lunch, but after accounting for travel time she's only at home for maybe 30 minutes. After she went back to work, I started studying again. Yeah, that was pretty much my day. I keep a regular schedule of studying for around 2 hours, break for 30-60 minutes. Then back to studying for a while longer. And then another break.
When Kimmy was done working, we went grocery shopping. Apparently Aldi's is a little busy on Saturday evenings. In fact, I've found that the only time that it's not very busy is Saturday mornings.
Hm. I finally finished up studying around 9. My brain was pretty worn out from working problems, reading, and memorizing/deriving formulas. There are just so many! I have about 15 pages of formulas and notes I kept as I worked through the study manual, but I might re-write them and add some more things. Bleh, there's just so much to remember.
Ok. I'm done for now. Good night!
2.01.2013
Day 620
Oh hey, happy February, everyone!
Today was a study day. Kimmy had to work most of the day, so I spent most of it studying. I got started during breakfast with some MFE, then I studied for my quiz tomorrow. It shouldn't be too bad.
After lunch I went up to campus to do some homework with Tim B. for our finance class. It was really cold outside. I decided to drive, partially to see whether it would save me any time, partially because it was really cold outside. It took about 10 minutes to get from our house to my building and normally it takes about 20 minutes to walk. So I'll probably still walk when it's nice out, but it was painfully cold out today.
When we were done with homework, I went to talk with someone about tutoring. A professor emailed the math department about getting tutoring for his kids, so he and I have been emailing back and forth. I'm going to start tutoring a few hours a week, starting tomorrow. It shouldn't be too bad. It will be nice to make a little extra money on the side.
When I got back, Kimmy and I made some dinner, then I went back to studying. I started going through chapters that cover material I've been missing on the practice tests. So I've been re-reading the chapters and trying to make more sense of things. It all makes a lot more sense the second time through. That's one of the most unfortunate parts about studying this material.... it usually makes little sense the first time, but I don't have time to read the entire book twice. Well, I do have time but it wouldn't be the best use of my time. It would be far better to keep working problems. At this point I have to find an optimal balance between how much time I spend reading and working problems.
Around 9 my brain was done. So I finished the evening with some budgeting and sending of emails. And now I'm off to bed. Good night.
Today was a study day. Kimmy had to work most of the day, so I spent most of it studying. I got started during breakfast with some MFE, then I studied for my quiz tomorrow. It shouldn't be too bad.
After lunch I went up to campus to do some homework with Tim B. for our finance class. It was really cold outside. I decided to drive, partially to see whether it would save me any time, partially because it was really cold outside. It took about 10 minutes to get from our house to my building and normally it takes about 20 minutes to walk. So I'll probably still walk when it's nice out, but it was painfully cold out today.
When we were done with homework, I went to talk with someone about tutoring. A professor emailed the math department about getting tutoring for his kids, so he and I have been emailing back and forth. I'm going to start tutoring a few hours a week, starting tomorrow. It shouldn't be too bad. It will be nice to make a little extra money on the side.
When I got back, Kimmy and I made some dinner, then I went back to studying. I started going through chapters that cover material I've been missing on the practice tests. So I've been re-reading the chapters and trying to make more sense of things. It all makes a lot more sense the second time through. That's one of the most unfortunate parts about studying this material.... it usually makes little sense the first time, but I don't have time to read the entire book twice. Well, I do have time but it wouldn't be the best use of my time. It would be far better to keep working problems. At this point I have to find an optimal balance between how much time I spend reading and working problems.
Around 9 my brain was done. So I finished the evening with some budgeting and sending of emails. And now I'm off to bed. Good night.
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