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Monday 31 January 2011

February: The "killer" month!

Hope everyone is well! A quick reminder that we have an Open Day coming up on the 5th. Feel free to attend!

So it is February!!! A month in which is congested with coursework deadlines and a test. Ok... I have the Audit coursework due on the 11th, the CIMA coursework on the 23rd and the finally the finance test on the 28th. It may not sound much to some people out there but believe me... the amount of hard work and effort required is just unbelievable. If you put the time in then it will give you results... it's true. If I can get through this month, then that would be the end for coursework... whoo hoo!!! Then again, you have the May exams to worry about and time will fly as it always does. My primary focus after the month of February will be preparing for the exams ONLY.

Quick recap:

Do you remember the finance coursework? The grades were out on the 18th when I was at work. I didn't realise it but my mate notified me after work. Once again, I was feeling nervous on my way home. When I got home eventually... it took ever so long on our stupid "mobile broadband" network to hook up on the internet. When I managed to get on the results page, I saw what I got and I was so happy. I looked back at what I had gone through at the time of doing this coursework and it was stressful to say the least.

The finance coursework was ready for us to collect the following week and I picked up my one on Wednesday. I was left frustrated to be honest because there weren't any comments made on the work I did. It was blank throughout but there was this comment made by the marker on the title page of my report: "Overall good work but minor mistakes on calculations and interpretation". Come on... that doesn't help. My mate had loads of comments made on his and marked continuously. I wanted to know where I went wrong so that I learn. It feels as if the marker only skim read my report. Not good at all.

So what am I doing now? Obviously writing up this blog and actually writing up on what I have researched for both coursework so far. You just have to do a lot of multitasking these days and I am not joking about it. So far, it is going good. I hope the research I have to hand now is sufficient for the Audit coursework. The only reason for this is that I want to finish it before the end of this week (it would be ideal). However, I have my reservations for the CIMA coursework. That one is big (the word count) and don't worry, I will have a good go at it. I will take into account feedback given to me on my initial study (which I submitted back in November) and just build on that.

That would be all people! I'll write again soon! Take care!

Monday 17 January 2011

1 Exam Down!

The second term of university has started and we just done an exam on the first week back. It is such a relief to get one of your exams out of the way, considering I have four more to do in May! The exam I just did on Thursday was for one of my modules: Current Issues in Financial Accounting (CIFA). It was a morning examination at 9.30 in our Avery Hill campus.

In general, I was happy with the paper (the questions were decent) and my performance because I managed to finish it well before the finishing time, which allowed me to double check my work for errors. I always stay back until the very end and make sure that I am content with it and it actually does pay off at the end when you do receive your marks. I would say it is a good exam technique. I hope that I get a good mark because it counts for 60% of my final grade.

The day before the exam, I was in constant revision mode - practicing past exam questions (the three topics I really like) and improving my exam technique. Personally, I am not a fan of last minute revision and I believe it can backfire on you on the day... obviously you don't want that to happen. I have to be honest and say that I didn't have time to revise as much I hoped for in my three-week break because you know I had a lot on. However, the week of this exam is where I had put my head down and got the work done.

After the exam, we all heard that the grades were up for the Strategic Financial Management (SFM) report. We quickly went on the computer at The Dome to check them out. I was nervous because that report was hard. When I saw my result, I was so over the moon... I just couldn't express my delight. Double bonus on the same day and that prompted me to have a bit of fun with my mates... one of them called me up when I was on campus and then picked me up moments later and it was jokes afterwards. I haven't had a good laugh for ages and it was all worth it.

The next day it was back to work because there are only two assignments left and both are due in February. I also have a Finance test in February too... what a killer month it will be for me. It is beneficial to start your research early on, as you don't want to panic when the deadline approaches.

Until next time everyone! Take care!

Monday 3 January 2011

Sky...messed up!

Hope you are all still enjoying your well earned break!

Moving on...

Sky messed up in getting an engineer to our place to activate the phone line (arrrrggghhh) on the 31st of December. I phoned into notify why the engineer did not attend the agreed appointment. I knew from the start that there was something fishy going on as the assistant put me on hold for 15 minutes (talk about service!). When she got back, I was horrified to hear that my agreed appointment (31st of December) was changed to the 21st of January... that's a disgrace. I said to her why wasn't I informed about this change. Sky then have the cheek to say that “the only way we inform you is when you call in to notify why the engineer hasn't attended”. Can you believe this? I had enough and told her (politely) if I can speak to her supervisor.

The supervisor was on the line straight away and explained that there had been a breakdown in communication with BT Open reach... well that's not my problem! I wanted a speedy resolution and I wasn't getting any at all. All I heard was apologies throughout. I wasn't having any of it and I just ended the call (well not like slamming it... I am not a rude person). It's obvious that due to the Christmas break Sky must have had a backlog, which they have failed to deal with. Just don't know what to do now!!!

That left us (myself and my two sisters) with a big struggle as we all have exams and coursework coming up. We need our broadband back! Luckily, my uncle lives across the street which helps - he has his own kids and they need it too. Basically, I was looking at options and the only one that came to my head was mobile broadband. The next morning headed over to Car phone warehouse and they offered me a good pay as you go deal and I went for it.

If the problem with Sky continues, I will be looking elsewhere for a better provider.

I do hope this doesn’t happen to you too.