Patrick is a NINJA CPA Blogger.
I've noticed that I tend to use a lot of analogies in my writing, so bear with me, but with a few days left, I have a feeling in my gut that brings me back to the first time I jumped out of an airplane.
After two weeks of training in Georgia, which is known for its temperate, dry climate, and two weeks of harassment, two weeks of pull-ups before every meal, and two weeks of running everywhere you went outside in full uniform, I wasn't sure if I was ready to jump, but I wanted more than anything to get out of that airplane.
The thought of bodily injury, death, or humiliation was the last thing on my mind. We were packed in there like sardines.
I went through about 300 Wiley MCQs on Saturday, which is a good day for me. I took breaks with the kids in the pool, or wrestling inside the house. One of our favorite games is “Try to get past” where I try to prevent them from getting through various choke-points inside the house.
Very physical game where people often get hurt, including myself. We've been playing it for over two years but had to stop while living on the boat. Sunday was not productive. The Admiral decided to take the kids ice skating to give me some quality study time. It was not.
I can't quite remember what I did but it's safe to say, I didn't earn any additional points on Sunday. I think it's so interesting that I was more productive when my family was home.
I'm getting burned out on the MCQs. It's not to the point where I have the answers memorized; they still make me apply concepts. But it's boring to read the same questions over and over so I skim through the questions and miss a critical peice of information, and get the question wrong.
I typically do questions in 20 to 30 question spurts and my scores will range from 55 – 75%. When I think back to my last Reg performance, I don't feel like my percentages have increased significantly, and yet, my general understanding of the topics has improved many times over. My wife noticed it yesterday when she quizzed me for the first time in over a month.
I feel like my brain is at capacity. When I get a question wrong for lack of knowing some trivial piece of information, I feel like learning that piece of information will displace some other trivial piece of information. So I think it's critically important to focus on the fundamentals that you know will be on the exam, and develop a sixth sense for answering the minutia.
I thought about rescheduling for an earlier date, but I know I should try and use these last few days to my advantage. I feel more like I'm pulling than pushing.
I just want out of the plane.
