Meal Plan

I'm going to stay with my partner over the holidays so I'm creating a meal-plan for our breakfasts & dinners over the three weeks his family is away. Since he works full-time I'm going to be doing most of the cooking. I'm really looking forward to it, it's a chance for me to experiment with some new dishes & gain some independence. If all goes well I may consider moving in there.

Freedom!!

My finance exam didn't go very well but I'm happy that I'm now free! Problem is now I don't know what to do with my spare time. I'll be going to the gym tomorrow & I might go shopping.

Micro Exam

My exam went very well today & I think I'll be pleased with the result. Now I just need to cram some revision for Finance tomorrow. It's hard to believe that I'm going to be free in less than 24 hours. So excited!

Serious Shock

I went on LMS today to check my assessment results for micro & received a nasty surprise. Firstly my assignment 2 had only received 8.5/15; I can't understand why as I spent quite a bit of time on it & felt it was  decent. Secondly I was only given 3/10 for my tutorial mark. I had missed a few tutes & I'm very quiet in class but I was expecting at least 5. This means my unit average is 50%. I'm very embarrassed & shocked by this, it's the lowest average that I've had in 2 years. This means that to just get a credit overall in the exam I require 40/60 or roughly 66.7% (assuming minimal scaling).

In light of this I'm now going through all tute questions & answers in detail, perhaps there's something wrong with the way I've been interpreting the material. The sad thing is that I actually really enjoy this unit so there's no reason I should be doing poorly in it. The topics have been both interesting & relevant. Perhaps my weakness in the unit is that I lack skill & interest in the area of statistical analysis and thus try to explain concepts via verbalisation & graphs rather than equations. I hope I manage to perform well in the exam, I would be absolutely mortified if I were to fail this unit.

So Close

In only three days I'll be free of exams. Today I read over 9 weeks of microeconomics slides because the lecture capture system isn't working. I won't have time to watch all 5 lectures tomorrow, even if it is working by then so I think I'll just continue to study like this.

Today I also completed my workout regime at the gym. My record with the rower is 1.4km & I ran for roughly 6min. I did some more cooking & I feel I'll be able to take even better charge of my health when exams are finished.

I've decided I'd really like to go to the Good Food & Wine festival in July.

Two Exams Down

Had two fantastic exams in the last two days. Now the only ones left are Corporate Finance & Microeconomics. I'm not as confident about these two but I think with a bit more study I'll be able to tackle them nicely.

Finished HR Study

So I finished those three last HR chapters today! I've also lost 1 kilo, putting me at a BMI of 22.3. I'm pretty happy with that, I think I'll probably start gaining muscle mass as I go to the gym more so I shouldn't expect my weight to go down by much more. I'm feeling a lot healthier & fitter already.

My first two exams are tomorrow & Friday, wish me luck!

Procrastination

Today wasn't very productive, I did watch one lecture but I lost concentration after that. I need to make sure that I read all three HR chapters tomorrow so I can't afford another day of procrastination.

Oh Yes

So I just found out that my group received a mark of 85% in our Marketing assignment--- the assignment was worth 30% & I was already sitting on a HD average so I can officially say I've passed the unit! To get a HD overall now all I need is 66% in the exam; I really hope I can manage that, I've never managed a HD average for a unit before.

Today I watched micro lecture 5 & read chapters 8 & 11 for HR. I must admit I'm starting to lose my focus but my first exam is on Thursday so it'll all be over soon! There's only three HR chapters left for me to read & eight micro lectures left to watch.

After the Storm

The fence is looking pretty bad & we're not sure if the RAC will cover it--- it had a pretty overgrown creeper on top of it. In other news though I've been to the gym & I'm about to try making Pumpkin & Spinach Cous Cous.

Stormy stormy day

I've just gotten home from the shops... & we no longer have a fence! It's fallen over in the storm, along with some of our bushes. Apart from that though I've had a fantastic weekend; I made a hoisin chicken, pumpkin & celery stir fry from Michelle Bridges' book & spent a lot of time with my partner. I only managed to read one chapter & watch one lecture but I should still be on track for my exams.

June Workout Plan

Just in case I forget I thought I should write out my workout plan somewhere accessible:

Warm up: X-Trainer 10min

Legs: Leg Press 2*12reps, wt 35; Leg Curls 2*12reps, wt 5, Lunges (6kg, walking) 2*10reps
Chest: Chest Press 2*12, wt 12
Back: Chin ups Assisted 2*10reps, wt 15
Arms: Tricep Dips 2*12reps, wt 3
Abdominals: Hanging Leg Raise 2*10reps; VSit Medball 2*15reps, wt 3; Medball Situps 2*15reps, wt 3; Plank Hold (increase to 60secs) 2reps

Cardio: 5-10min Rower, 30min Treadmill Intervals (running time increasing as I get better)

Cooldown: 5min Bike & Stretches

Nearly the Weekend

So far I've read chapters 6 & 7 for HR and have watched micro lecture 3. I'm also planning to read HR chapter 9 this evening. So psyched that I don't have to work this weekend! My man should be coming round as well so it's going to be great.

So Anyhow...

I've finished the first 5 topics of HR & topics 1 & 2 of micro so far (I read 2 chapters today & watched 1 lecture). This morning I went to the gym at 7.30am for my appraisal & completed my new workout for the first time. I felt great afterwards & I intend to complete the workout at least twice a week during exams & three times a week after. I'd like to be able to do the 3 minute running intervals by the end of the month.

What I've Done So Far

So anyway.... So far I have gone through all my finance & marketing topics. I have also gone through micro topic 1 & HR topics 1 & 2 so I'm over half way! Today I read 4 chapters & watched a two hour lecture.

Some Interesting Points

In the past week I've learnt some very interesting things through reading my textbooks. Today I came across a section in my finance textbook talking about Japanese companies; I was surprised to find that they don't operate in a market-based system as our companies do but rather a bank-based system. Companies tend to be  organised in 'keiretsu' networks around a bank & financial institutions. The companies collaborate & their CEOs meet regularly. They also have an internal funds market, own each others shares & work to bail each other out during crises. I actually didn't realise this was how some markets operated---- I think it's quite a good system to follow though it means that shareholders enjoy less rights & that companies may be propping up their insolvent business partners.

A couple of days ago I also found a personality model used by marketers called the VALS consumer segments model. This model is used to help marketers define market segments according to the psychological traits of certain groups. Naturally I was curious so I went online to complete a VALS test. I'm pleased to report that my primary VALS type is achiever & my secondary VALS type is innovator.

Weighing up

My work for today was reading chapters 9, 10, 11 & 12 for marketing & finishing off finance topic 10. Typing this now I've completed all the marketing reading & I have about 10 pages to go for finance chapter 32. In terms of my study plan I'm on-track & should have everything done by exam time. However I can see that my study at this point is quite superficial & might not be adequate for a high mark---- I need to review the main topics extensively before the exams.

I finally worked up the courage to weigh myself today & found that I'm 70.1kg--- a BMI of 22.6. I'm absolutely disgusted with myself as only a month ago I weighed less than 68kg & found myself at a BMI of 21.95. I haven't weighed in at over 70kg since the start of last year so I obviously have to make some serious changes. I think I've gotten slack because my weight didn't seem to be changing, despite doing less exercise during the semester. I also let my guard down while I was sick & ate an entire tub of ice cream. To get back on track I have to get my mind back on track---- start counting calories as I usually do & not let myself be tempted by other people eating the wrong things. I was making excuses for myself by thinking that it's a bad idea to diet during the exam period but it's clearly necessary if I'm putting on weight at this rate. I've also been using bad foods to try & cope with the stress of working during the university semester---- this is also the reason I haven't had much time to exercise. Truth be told though if given a choice between my job & my fitness I would choose my fitness; Perhaps I should be reconsidering my decision to try & maintain a job during the semester.

My main weakness is that I've been drinking sweet drinks in between meals such as mocha chill, ice coffees & frappes. My need for caffeine is at a point where I get withdrawal headaches if I don't have a coffee once or twice a day. However I have to cut down severely on these drinks as I believe they are responsible for my excess calorie intake. I'm going to try & replace them with water & diet coke/coke zero then eventually wean myself off the diet coke/coke zero. I've done this before so there's no reason why I can't do it again.

I'm still committed to toning my body & I intend to continue my gym work--- yesterday I did 35min of treadmill, 12min cross-training & 23min weights. Hopefully my instructor on Thursday will be able to give me a routine suited to my needs. I have a good idea of how to tone my thighs & butt, but I'm not entirely sure what to do for my abs/stomach other than sit-ups.

Daily Update

So I woke up at about 10am today & I just spent 3.5 hours reading through Marketing chapters 6, 7 & 8. I was hoping to finish 9 as well but I've given myself a migraine so I think I'll head to the gym now instead. When I get back I should get at least one more chapter done.

My Sunday

Today I finished reading marketing chapters 3, 4 & 5. I have time off work till after exams so I hope to get a lot of study done this week.