Monday, 19 October 2020
the forecast is bleak
“University, he said quietly. It sounded like a dream; it tasted like damnation.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court
I'm midway through my part-time Masters, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage. After a rather long day at work, I have only now managed to log off and turn over to some recreational activities (it's currently 10pm). Said recreational activities are nothing more than writing in this diary whilst listening to Amy Grant's Unguarded LP, which has just been re-issued in a brilliant sounding 180g white vinyl edition in celebration of its thirty-fifth anniversary. Yikes. Was it really that long ago?
The Masters is in retail and digital banking, and my employer is funding it, so I feel terrible for complaining. I'm finding this particular module - financial markets and management - so difficult though. Some of the modules have been a lot of fun, some a good challenge, but this one is off the scale hard. Numeracy was never a strong point of mine, and I remember telling my Maths teacher, very confidently, that I "will never need to use algebraic equations in real life", as I turned on my heel and flounced out of his classroom, off into the sunset.
Oh, if he could see me now. I've spent about four hours on numerous cash flow forecasts for specific scenarios, desperately trying to work out a bond's yield to maturity rate, praying I plug my calculations into Excel correctly. For someone who still struggles with their multiplication tables, this is well and truly my limit exceeded. My assignment - consisting of numerous equations, calculations, and forecasts, plus a 1,500 word essay outlining my reasoning for my projections and recommendations - is due next Monday.
What fun.
