Studying over the weekend

Toronton’ian weather has not been so great for the past two weeks, its been cold and yucky (i.e., rainy), so you pretty much cant do lot outside. I love taking walks after dinner time but haven’t had the chance to do in the past week. On the other hand, its great since i can study at home and not envy people who are enjoying the great weather ha. You must be wondering, i haven’t written for a while now, its because i have been busy studying. I believed i needed help, so i decided to join the classes so all the materials in my brain could be refreshed. It did help, i got more done there than at home.

Now, I will end studying April 30th and start practicing exams/tests. If you are not finished reading, just start practicing questions, and especially the ones provided from the CFA institute since they are highly talked of. This way there will be no surprises on the exam. 

Anyways, write to you soon.

Tim Horton versus Starbucks

Tim Horton’s started off in Hamilton (100% Canadian) and deserves the loyalty from its citizens; I salute Timmy’s for being so good at what they are, whether it is coffee or croissants. I love eating Timmy’s blueberry muffin, whole wheat carrot muffin, choco muffin, choco timbits, choco Danish, French Vanilla, regular coffee — and my weekend favorite medium steeped tea with 2 milk and 1 sugar.

There are three juices that came out recently: strawberry banana, mango peach, and wild berries; I tried all of them in the past two weeks and they are amazing — even more when you get yogurt in them, trust me! My ‘favouritist’ flavor is the mango peach, because it has a zing to it. I believe the small is about $1.99 plus 70 cent extra for yogurt, mmmm…
Starbucks, an American company (from Seattle) sells great Americano. I love their breakfast sandwiches, lemon poppy seed loaf, oat bar (the healthiest), tiramisu lollipop, apple pie yummmm. Currently, there is a deal going on till Apr 22^nd where 2 petite treat costs $2 plus tax (about $2.10 in Ontario). Another advantage is you can collect points in your regular starbucks card but make sure you register the card on the website; since I buy my drink from Starbucks everyday, I have a GOLD card with my name on it (so cool), plus I get a free drink coupon every month which my partner uses. He always grabs the most expensive hand crafted drink with all the toppings available, weird guy lol!

My all-time favorite drink is Venti Earl Grey Tea with an inch of steeped milk, and I put in little bit of honey (no syrup and two tea bags) and I am set – kind of boring eh lol. Another thing I like about them is, I find starbucks employees always cheerful and energetic, maybe they drink coffee all day behind the counters but the truth is, and they are always happy and willing to help you. Employees at the nearby Starbucks know my name and drink, and it’s nice to have positive individuals around.  

So I can’t pick between them because I love them both, and I don’t think I could survive without them. My family and friends love Timmy’s while my work colleagues prefer Starbucks; people who love strong coffee are Starbucks’s lover. In the end, I would like to say, keep up the good work Tim Horton’s and Starbucks!

CFA Update – 50 days left…

What will I do now? I have to write the exam no matter what, so I began reading other CFA posts to see how other candiates process of learning was going and I came across “The Cone of Learning” which really helped me to plan my PLAN B.

What is my PLAN B? If you are still reading, don’t worry, everybody goes through this stage at some point or another, so let’s focus on what to do next rather than thinking about the past. Say to yourself, its just an exam…

Please find Edgar Dale’s “The Cone of learning” below which assured me that 50% of what we ‘see and hear’ is what we tend to remember (after two weeks or more – i believe) and ta-da gave me an idea of trying out another technique to study for the exam. So I stopped reading and started going over the Videos for the readings I have not touched. It’s definitely a different kind of experience but I like it – of course, its not a Drop Dead Diva episode where your undivided attention is at the TV but it is way faster than reading+ understanding the books. Whenever i do not understand, i repeat the lecture so it sinks in my brain.

Problem: It will cover the big topics and will run through the sub topics quickly but it will give me an overview, and the words will pop up when I will be going through the quizzes and exams.

Short-term Plan: Finish all the videos or try to go over as many videos as possible in the month of April; and practice quizzes and exams in the month of May. Note: This is purely based on my opinions.

The Cone of Learning by Edgar Dale

Good Luck!!!

CFA Update – 51 days left…

Yes it’s correct, there are 51 days left for the exam because 52^nd day is the EXAM. Are you nervous? Are you feeling overwhelmed? and tired? Yes, yes and yes for me. I am nervous about how will I do in the exam? Will I go over all the materials before the exam? How will I do a 6 hr exam, since I have no patience? Ahhhh, take a deep breath in and out, it helps. First thing is first, stop stressing out, think of ways to decrease and diminish your stress i.e. walks for me and yoga once a week.

What do I do? I keep telling myself if I fail (God forbid) I will re-write in December 2012. When I look at it that way, I feel a bit better. So calm yourself because if you are not, you will fail no matter what. You need to build the confidence and overcome the nervousness. When all else stays calm, you will give your best in the exam – btw this last sentence is by me.

How much is completed? I have finished the last two books of the Schweser materials (out of five books), Scared?

What is my PLAN B? If you want to find out, stay tuned for my tomorrow’s post.