Don't call it a comeback!
"Well I thought about the Army
Dad said 'Son, you're fucking high!'
And I thought 'Hey, there's a first for everything'
So I took my old man's advice
Three sad semesters
It was only fifteen grand spent in bed
I thought about the Army
I dropped out and joined a band instead"
--Ben Folds Five
"Army"
Hello out there to everyone in internet land. I am back from an extended hiatus to both blog again once more about the complexities of the universe and make fart jokes. I haven't blogged in months because all my free thoughts have been consumed by the markets (if you don't know what I'm talking about, or don't have a 401(k) plan, feel free to educate you're self here
). Since my job prohibits me from talking about it on the interweb, I've just been plumb out of ideas. However, it's been a very busy week, so on to the new stuff...
At my father's bequest (pestering?) and out of my desire to better myself, I've decided to (finally!) go back to school. I didn't really want an MBA for a couple of reasons: 1) All the part-time schools have in class components, 2) all the web-based programs are full time, and 3) the one part-time, web-based school only offers management and marketing conentrations, plus it's synchronous, meaning that the class has a scheduled meeting time each week, it's just online through a chat room instead of a class room.
Given all these obstacles, I've (and my parents since they're paying for it) have decided it might be best to go for my Master's of Science in Finance from The College for Financial Planning. It's the same place where I got my first master's from, so I already know what to expect. For instance, here's the syllabus for my "intro" course in research methods (It's only three weeks, instead of the standard eight).
Week 1: Reading
Week 2: Reading
Week 3: 7 PAGE PAPER!!!!!!
I am not looking foward to all this writing. I had one class last time that I probably wrote about 80-100 pages of papers in eight weeks. Seriously, it was like a ten page paper every week. Granted, a ten page paper on investments is easier to write than a three page paper on Shakespeare (for me anyways), but that doesn't make it enjoyable. My thesis is supposed to be a 40-60 page document, which is not bad per se, but what sucks is that I have twelve weeks to write it.
On the bright side (or dark side, since I'm not thrilled my parents are fronting me all this cash), I'm getting a brand new laptop. I'm going to need one to work outside of the home, and since Julia uses mine all the time for editing, it's just not practical not to get a new one. The good news is, since I'll be passing my laptop off the Julia, we should be able to write the new one off on our taxes as a business expense (Julia is technically considered a sole proprieter since she works as an independent contractor, and a laptop is required for her work). I spoke with Dell today, and the system they reccomend is going to run $1,100, but after we adjust for tax dedcutions, the actual out-of-pocket cost is only $800 (I also found out today we may be able to write off a portion of our mortgage since Jules does 99% of her editing from home).
Dad said 'Son, you're fucking high!'
And I thought 'Hey, there's a first for everything'
So I took my old man's advice
Three sad semesters
It was only fifteen grand spent in bed
I thought about the Army
I dropped out and joined a band instead"
--Ben Folds Five
"Army"
Hello out there to everyone in internet land. I am back from an extended hiatus to both blog again once more about the complexities of the universe and make fart jokes. I haven't blogged in months because all my free thoughts have been consumed by the markets (if you don't know what I'm talking about, or don't have a 401(k) plan, feel free to educate you're self here
). Since my job prohibits me from talking about it on the interweb, I've just been plumb out of ideas. However, it's been a very busy week, so on to the new stuff...
At my father's bequest (pestering?) and out of my desire to better myself, I've decided to (finally!) go back to school. I didn't really want an MBA for a couple of reasons: 1) All the part-time schools have in class components, 2) all the web-based programs are full time, and 3) the one part-time, web-based school only offers management and marketing conentrations, plus it's synchronous, meaning that the class has a scheduled meeting time each week, it's just online through a chat room instead of a class room.
Given all these obstacles, I've (and my parents since they're paying for it) have decided it might be best to go for my Master's of Science in Finance from The College for Financial Planning. It's the same place where I got my first master's from, so I already know what to expect. For instance, here's the syllabus for my "intro" course in research methods (It's only three weeks, instead of the standard eight).
Week 1: Reading
Week 2: Reading
Week 3: 7 PAGE PAPER!!!!!!
I am not looking foward to all this writing. I had one class last time that I probably wrote about 80-100 pages of papers in eight weeks. Seriously, it was like a ten page paper every week. Granted, a ten page paper on investments is easier to write than a three page paper on Shakespeare (for me anyways), but that doesn't make it enjoyable. My thesis is supposed to be a 40-60 page document, which is not bad per se, but what sucks is that I have twelve weeks to write it.
On the bright side (or dark side, since I'm not thrilled my parents are fronting me all this cash), I'm getting a brand new laptop. I'm going to need one to work outside of the home, and since Julia uses mine all the time for editing, it's just not practical not to get a new one. The good news is, since I'll be passing my laptop off the Julia, we should be able to write the new one off on our taxes as a business expense (Julia is technically considered a sole proprieter since she works as an independent contractor, and a laptop is required for her work). I spoke with Dell today, and the system they reccomend is going to run $1,100, but after we adjust for tax dedcutions, the actual out-of-pocket cost is only $800 (I also found out today we may be able to write off a portion of our mortgage since Jules does 99% of her editing from home).