Just looked and my last blog entry was in week 3.  Been a bit busy in the meantime.

We’re now in week 12 and it’s exam time.  Over the last 9 weeks I’ve made some new friends and worked as a team on the accounting assignments, where we did rather well.  I’ve done the online tests for both accounting and economics and submitted an economics assignment.  I’ve read every page in the text books and done loads of practice questions.  For accounting I’ve done all of last years past papers multiple times.  And now what?

I haven’t taken a closed book exam for 15 years.  I can’t recall what I’m supposed to be doing?  Should I desperately read all my notes?  Should I redo all the test questions?  Should I write out all the ratios that I think I might need?  These are possible good things.  What I’ve actually done is drink tea, go on Twitter and the washing up.  And write this.  Procrastination and avoidance appear to be the go at the moment.

These exams are odd.  I was under the impression that to pass the unit I needed to pass the assignments and pass the exam, which I thought needed at least 50%.  Turns out I’m mistaken I only need to pass the unit.  So I need 15/60 on accounting today and 20/60 from Wednesday’s economics and they’re passed.

Does this take the pressure off?  Yes, it does.  Does it make me more anxious as it seems too easy?  Yes, it does that too.  My wife and my accountant friend (doing her MBA with no exams this week) seem to believe that I’ve got this in the bag.  I probably have, but until I take a deep breath and see the paper I have no idea.

A long time ago as part of my Food Tech degree we had a business unit.  The night before the exam I was coaching my housemates on the subject, full of confidence.  In the exam, disaster, I had nothing.  I do not want a repeat of that.   I feel it’s unlikely, but until I get to see that paper at 2pm, it’s going to niggle at me.

I’ve 3 1/2 hours before I leave for the uni.  That’s a lot of time I can spend doing something.  Not sure what that’s going to be though.

The other odd thing is that #1 child, who is at the Rockhampton CQU campus (I’m distance with CQU at Bundaberg) is also taking exams today.  If you’d said to me over the last 20 years that there would be a day where one of my children and I would be taking exams at the same time, I would’ve called you out as being ridiculous.  Yet, this is where I find myself.  Funny how things work out.

I’m going to sign off with this gem from REM.  This was my pre-exam song throughout the early ’90’s at uni and when I did my brewing exams.

It’s not the end of the world and I feel fine!

For those of you also doing exams this week and next, good luck, you got this.