CFA studies, day two.
Just finished up with SS 4 of schweser - microeconomics. It’s amazing how much I learned in the past two yrs of bschool, since nothing was new. Review, certainly and there were a few things I need to go back and hammer out (didn’t learn them well the first go-round, ie. relationship btwn product and cost curves). Grabbing a quick lunch and on to SS 5, marker structure and macroeconomics.
Why old books smell good.
“Lignin, the stuff that prevents all trees from adopting the weeping habit, is a polymer made up of units that are closely related to vanillin. When made into paper and stored for years, it breaks down and smells good. Which is how divine providence has arranged for secondhand bookstores to smell like good quality vanilla absolute, subliminally stoking a hunger for knowledge in all of us.”
What do i take with me?
Graduation later today, just taking care of a little packing yet this morning… I am struck by conflicting ideas of what to bring with me to my “new” life, what to pack for a later date and what to simply purge? I am, by my nature, a collector of things. I like stuff but also think that it clouds my thoughts with excess, which at times prevents the pure thoughts on what want to do. Not sure if this is making any sense to you, but it seems that parts of me still want to hang on to the old life I’m giving up/leaving behind. It makes sense, however Madison me != Manhattan me. And I want to cut the ties that bind; guess there’s my answer.
Last exam? Check.
So earlier today I just finished the last exam of my MBA career. The exam itself was fine but most importantly I left thinking that I may never be back in school. Strange, right? Two comments on that - some people may love the idea of never going back, but as a lifelong learner, that thought is somewhat sad… So much of who I am and who I wanted to be was wrapped up into the prior two yrs. The MBA has enabled me to take my life back and plot the course that I want. Thinking of it coming to an end is rather melancholy. And although a whole wide world of challenges await me, the fact that this particular one has come to its end feels kinda like im braking up with someone who I have gotten to know so well over the years.
What is my purpose?
Having just read an article about Peter Marino http://on.wsj.com/kLusnV I am struck by wonder. At what point does one’s life become about living the dream, rather than chasing the dream? By that I mean, there are many things I would like to do with my life but seem to be my own worst enemy when it comes to achieving those (going out/getting hammered, for example; dealing with the hang over the next day, etc). Can that life of ‘consumption’ coexist with a life of ‘production’?? And if not, does letting go of that life also mean letting go of the personal relationships (friends, mostly) that life has made?
About me
it's OK, i used to work in tech. new chapter, new theme, new life. soon-to-be MBA grad heading out to the Big Apple... wanting to document my thoughts, goals and dreams of the new life I'm about to embark on. it's been a long time in coming but the journey is about to be well worth the effort.
