03.12.06 open head and pluralism

Ok, this is going to be brief. We are studying for exams now, and that all begins one week from tomorrow. 6 exams in 4 days. No notes, no take home, no PENCILS, just me and my pen and my subfusc and whatever I can remember about these classes. Friday night was spent on organizing and getting my “developing effective managers” act together. I spent saturday, saturday night, and today going over practice finance problems. They are hard. I am not a math guy. But, the stuff is slowly creeping into my head. Reba is gone to London this weekend for a flamenco workshop, which is good: no one to talk to or distract me. There is a lot more review to go, but I’m making progress. Here’s the neat thing: this last 8 weeks, and especially the last 48 hours, have opened up my head. By this, I mean that I am beginning to be able to see new information, see the structure of it, and retain it in my brain. Normally, life sort of spoon feeds you what to do, what to say, etc., and you don’t have to actually crunch information very often. ESPECIALLY as an IT manager. Sort of like how you watch the history channel, see a bunch of facts and figures, nod your head and say, “that makes sense” and then forget it all 20 minutes later. That doesn’t work here, obviously.

I really noticed this today: I took a break for lunch, went to the Head of the River pub, and read my Oxford history book as a little switch from math. The author made a point about how many early Oxford colleges were founded by bishops, and how their foundation was really only possible because of pluralism and celibacy. I saw the structure there, noted the concepts, and now they’re stuck in my head. Previously, I would have just breezed by that info and couldn’t even tell you that I read it 20 minutes later, much less talked about what pluralism and celibacy meant to english bishops in the middle ages.

I think that the massive information overload coupled with the semi sadistic demands for retention are cracking my head open so that new stuff can go in, and maybe even stay there.

Ok now I will try to get more finance into my brain. CAPM and Portfolio Variance, you little bitches, I am coming back in: get ready.

Me and the Merton Men’s Crew C