Hibernation

I decided on "hibernation" as the title of my time of studying this summer/fall. Originally I was calling it death (as in... death is coming) but decided that was a little too harsh and may end up setting a negative tone on the whole studying thing. And I need all the positive I can get!

So hibernation it is. And it is coming. I have a week left to prepare and then my nose will be stuck in the books until November. And prepare, I have. Preparations have included:

• gathering study materials
• picking a new color scheme for materials (the last 2 attempts have been green, but that obviously wasn't working out, so I picked PASSING PINK this time around. I think it is a winning color)
• setting up a study schedule
• purchasing pink & white polka dot notebook
• ordering pink Japanese pens (theirs are better) and pink pencil lead
• borrowing (or taking) colored notebook paper from a lovely friend
• cleaning the apartment, as it will be neglected once hibernation sets in
• saying farewell to friends - or at least warning them of my hibernation
• stepping down from unnecessary activities (yay for saying no to things!)
• trying to get my "creativity fix" in and most of all...
• praying... lots and lots of praying that God would prepare my heart for this.

Because, if you haven't noticed, I am determined to PASS this exam now. I didn't give it my all the last 2 attempts and pretty much wasted 6-8 months on studying and stressing. But not this time. God has set out this task in front of me and He has given me everything I need to pass it. I just need to rely on Him for perserverance, motivation, energy and sanity. Because it is going to be hard.

I'm not quite sure what the effect of hibernation on blogging will look like. I don't feel comfortable in saying that I will be cutting out blogging completely. It may turn out that I need this as an outlet. But I'm guessing it's fair to say that I won't be blogging daily (have I ever?!)

Things that will not cease due to studying (in fact, MUST NOT cease BECAUSE I'm studying) include:

• exercise! every morning, I hope
• sleep! I need it
• work... the reason I'm doing all this!
• food - hopefully not too much of it
• time with Brad and Gizmo - they help keep me sane
• church on Sundays
• Bible study on Wednesdays (shout out to PROOF!)
• time with God
• a one week vacation half-way through
• occasional, necessary breaks to come up for air :)

So... here we go! T-minus seven days (or less, if I so choose). Will you pray for me?

Actuaries, Anvils, and Gilmore Girls (oh my!)

So I went to a business lunch today. We have them every month or so. We get to go to a not too terribly fancy ballroom, eat mediocre food and listen to the most recent topic on pension plans and related topics. Most of them are pretty interesting if you're someone nerdy like me ;)

Today my boss (my big-time boss - the senior actuary at our firm) gave the presentation. I even got to help him research it and prepare parts of the presentation, which is a big deal for me! It was on a topic extremely relevant to the work that I do - and in general, this guy is a great public speaker. So I was pretty excited!

Somewhere in the middle of the presentation he used the word "anvil". I can't remember exactly what the context was, since anvils don't exactly relate to actuarial work, but I think it was some sort of analogy involving pounding. Anyway, the point is, he used the word "anvil".

As soon as he spoke the word, I immediately started daydreaming about Gilmore Girls - which probably explains why I can't remember the context it was used in! I firmly believe that any and everything in life can be related to Gilmore Girls in some way. And, man have I learned a lot from that show. I learn something almost every time I watch an episode - even if I've seen it over a dozen times!

For example (here's where I finally tie together the uncommon trio of actuaries, anvils, and Gilmore Girls) I don't think I knew what an anvil was until I watched this scene of GGs. It's probably one of my favorites. And  though my boss probably doesn't know it, he completely made my day - not by giving me tons of insight into the Pension Relief Act of 2010, nor by crediting me in front of everyone for helping him make the graphs in his presentation - but by making reference to anvils and filling my imagination with all things Gilmore :)