I am officially three days into my summer actuarial internship. I love the people at my job - they are all friendly, funny, and brilliant! It's still a bit overwhelming and I'm a little anxious to start working on my first project, but I know that God will be with me and help me through it!
All in all, however, this week has spoiled me! Tuesday my mom and I drove here, I moved into my hotel, and then I went to the Brewer game, where we got to sit in the Dew Deck! Wednesday was my first day of work, and it featured a LOT of introductions, meetings, and getting to know my way around the office. Like I said, everyone is super friendly and welcoming! They also took us out to lunch at Stir Crazy, which was delicious. After my first day of work, Alex and Colleen met me at my hotel and we went out to dinner to celebrate Alex's birthday. The food was not pleasing in the slightest, but afterward, we went to Kopp's for custard, which certainly made up for what the food lacked!
On Thursday I had a bit more open time but also more meetings and introductions. When we went down for lunch, a group of coworkers asked us if we wanted to play Telestrations with them. It was a ton of fun! Then, after work, I ventured to a nearby Walgreens and successfully purchased some cookies and Tupperware! Later in the evening I went to Alex's house for a bonfire and got to meet some of her friends.
Finally, that brings me to today. We were free all day today at work - which meant a lot of time to spend just looking through company files and excel sheets. It still went pretty quickly, though. And one of the other longer-term interns approached us around lunchtime and asked us if we wanted to join them for lunch. So we walked across the street to a local mall and ate in the food court.
Tonight has been relatively low-key. I found a grocery store nearby and bought a few more things. Then I ran and have just been taking it easy for the night! My roommate/the fourth intern comes tomorrow night, so I'm enjoying my last night of living by myself! :) It is a bit boring though. I might go to sleep soon just for lack of anything better to do.
Anyways, that's my life, at least recently. May God be with you!
Friday, June 6, 2014
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Busy busy busy
In the last week and a half, I have bought a car, applied for a Norwegian student residence permit, booked flights to and from Oslo, and applied for credits that won't charge me foreign transaction fees. I'm slowly checking things off my to-do list before leaving for the Milwaukee area next Tuesday. While much of my time recently has been spent researching things about Norway and studying abroad, I decided today to take a little time off from that. I have over two months this summer that I will be spending in the Milwaukee area, which offers plenty to do! I think it'll be a good idea for me to write down some of the things I'm finding now; that way, when I'm looking for something to do, I can just check back to my list!
Milwaukee Summer Bucket list
Milwaukee Summer Bucket list
- Hike the Seven Bridges Trail in Grant Park
- Go to Mass in the Basilica of St. Josephat.
- Go to a Brewers game
- Milwaukee Art Museum (free on the first Thursday of the month)
- Bastille Days - Maybe do the 5k?
- Walk the length of the Milwaukee River Walk
- Take a Jelly Belly tour
- Visit Cave of the Mounds
I'll probably post this list somewhere else where I can keep adding to it/checking things off, but here's a good start!
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Yet again, the end is coming
Wow, the last month has been action-packed. I've been (somewhat) preparing for studying abroad while studying for (and sitting for) the 3rd actuarial exam, Exam MLC. I've gone out to dinner with my best friends, had my last bible study of the year, and last night went to the Actuarial Science and Risk Management/Insurance banquet. And now, it's time to prepare for my 5 final exams and 2 final papers. It is, officially, nearing the end of the semester.
In under 100 days, I will be in Oslo, Norway. This is absolutely crazy! There have definitely already been some trials and things that have not gone as planned, but I'm crossing my fingers that this is all just part of the experience. The program is starting earlier than I was anticipating, no one from Madison will be attending with me, and a few of the classes I wanted to take are not offered in the fall. I'm very anxious about travelling alone, but for now I'm just doing my best not to think about it. My plan is to get through the end of the semester, and then finalize things like my visa, ticket, housing, etc.
EXAM MLC IS BEHIND ME. Again, this is hard to believe. I have been preparing for this exam since the beginning of September, and intensively for the past month and a half. This year was the first time that it included a combination of multiple choice questions and written answer questions. I know that some people struggled with completing the exam within the allotted time, but thankfully I finished. The results aren't released for 8 to 10 weeks, so for now it's time to just wait! It's hard to guess as to whether or not you passed, because the pass mark is so up in the air, but right now, I'm feeling pretty good. I'd say there's around a 75% chance that the beginning of July will bring me good news!
In the little free time I've had, I've walked down to the farmers' market on Capitol Square, had Culver's with my bible study, watched the Badgers play in the Final Four game (although sadly with a heartbreaking loss), gone out to dinner with some of my best friends, and gone on a creative date that included a bonfire at picnic point and a scavenger hunt around campus. It's been a great, though sometimes stressful, few weeks. I'm excited to make the most of the last few weeks I have with my friends here, before moving back to Oshkosh for a few weeks, then starting my internship in Brookfield.
I hope that you are all enjoying the springtime (and I hope it has been warmer wherever you are than it has been here!).
-T
In under 100 days, I will be in Oslo, Norway. This is absolutely crazy! There have definitely already been some trials and things that have not gone as planned, but I'm crossing my fingers that this is all just part of the experience. The program is starting earlier than I was anticipating, no one from Madison will be attending with me, and a few of the classes I wanted to take are not offered in the fall. I'm very anxious about travelling alone, but for now I'm just doing my best not to think about it. My plan is to get through the end of the semester, and then finalize things like my visa, ticket, housing, etc.
EXAM MLC IS BEHIND ME. Again, this is hard to believe. I have been preparing for this exam since the beginning of September, and intensively for the past month and a half. This year was the first time that it included a combination of multiple choice questions and written answer questions. I know that some people struggled with completing the exam within the allotted time, but thankfully I finished. The results aren't released for 8 to 10 weeks, so for now it's time to just wait! It's hard to guess as to whether or not you passed, because the pass mark is so up in the air, but right now, I'm feeling pretty good. I'd say there's around a 75% chance that the beginning of July will bring me good news!
In the little free time I've had, I've walked down to the farmers' market on Capitol Square, had Culver's with my bible study, watched the Badgers play in the Final Four game (although sadly with a heartbreaking loss), gone out to dinner with some of my best friends, and gone on a creative date that included a bonfire at picnic point and a scavenger hunt around campus. It's been a great, though sometimes stressful, few weeks. I'm excited to make the most of the last few weeks I have with my friends here, before moving back to Oshkosh for a few weeks, then starting my internship in Brookfield.
I hope that you are all enjoying the springtime (and I hope it has been warmer wherever you are than it has been here!).
-T
Monday, April 7, 2014
To Oslo I will go!
It's been a long time so there's lots to share, and it's late at night, so this won't be the prettiest, but here we go!
I have officially been accepted to study abroad in Oslo, Norway for next fall semester! I'm terrified, excited, nervous, unsure - all of the emotions you can imagine, I'm probably feeling. Last week I also freaked out because I am 99% sure that I am the only person travelling from my school to that specific program - something I was not expecting and still don't know how I feel about. I technically have until April 15th to decide/commit to going for sure, but I'm hoping that I don't chicken out and decide not to go. So yes, preparations are beginning with that.
I have also applied to the Wisconsin School of Business! I was undecided whether I wanted to pursue actuarial science through the business school (and give up some scholarship money) or through the college of letters and science, but after much deliberation and praying, I decided to go with my gut and apply to the business school. I won't find out until mid-summer, but if all goes well, I will be graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a BBA. :)
Another thing I will find out this summer - the result of exam MLC! I am very nervous about the next actuarial test, which is three weeks from today! I am not feeling prepared at all. It is difficult to study and devote time to that exam while also trying to stay up on school work and current classes. In fact, I took a test tonight and have two more this week. It's a lot to handle, and it's really testing me on my ability to rely on God to give me strength and peace.
This past weekend was great - I almost went to the final four game in Texas, but at the last minute decided to stay back in Madison. Although I'm sure Texas would've been fun, I had a really great weekend here. Of course, I studied a lot, but I also went to the Union on Saturday to watch the game with a bunch of friends (although the outcome was very sad, the day and game itself were great!). Then, on Sunday, my bible study was taken on a creative date by a sophomore men's bible study! They led us on a scavenger hunt throughout campus, ending with a bonfire at picnic point. It was a blast, and super nice to be served in such a fun, creative way. For dinner, we even had "build-your-own" baked potatoes cooked in the fire. I also learned how to play spikeball! I'm definitely a fan. It also left me feeling good about Cru - I may try to make it to a weekly meeting again sometime. I'm not a big-group kinda gal, so I haven't been attending the big-group weekly meeting much this year, but maybe I'll try it out again soon!
Although we were served wonderfully by the men, it led me to a stark realization. I still really, really like the same boy that has been on my mind for over a year now. Most people around me have known/seen this, but I always figured that if someone else came along, I would move on just fine. But this past weekend, although the intent was not a romantic date, I was thinking about how I would feel if one of the men started to pursue me, and I realized that I would simply be disappointed that it wasn't the one boy I'm interested in. I don't know what that means - I know that whatever God has planned for my life is way better than anything I could come up with, whether that includes this particular boy, or a different one, or none at all, but I also know that we have to be active in living out God's plan. I'm really starting to feel like I may need to take action to voice these feelings so that they can be dealt with. That's a terrifying thought, but I have the feeling that it may need to happen sooner rather than later. ...especially because of the small detail that we will also be working together this summer.
That's a fairly brief update of my life! I hope all of you are doing well, and are feeling as blessed in your lives as I have been in mine! God is so great; I'm thankful to be reminded of this everyday. :)
-T
I have officially been accepted to study abroad in Oslo, Norway for next fall semester! I'm terrified, excited, nervous, unsure - all of the emotions you can imagine, I'm probably feeling. Last week I also freaked out because I am 99% sure that I am the only person travelling from my school to that specific program - something I was not expecting and still don't know how I feel about. I technically have until April 15th to decide/commit to going for sure, but I'm hoping that I don't chicken out and decide not to go. So yes, preparations are beginning with that.
I have also applied to the Wisconsin School of Business! I was undecided whether I wanted to pursue actuarial science through the business school (and give up some scholarship money) or through the college of letters and science, but after much deliberation and praying, I decided to go with my gut and apply to the business school. I won't find out until mid-summer, but if all goes well, I will be graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a BBA. :)
Another thing I will find out this summer - the result of exam MLC! I am very nervous about the next actuarial test, which is three weeks from today! I am not feeling prepared at all. It is difficult to study and devote time to that exam while also trying to stay up on school work and current classes. In fact, I took a test tonight and have two more this week. It's a lot to handle, and it's really testing me on my ability to rely on God to give me strength and peace.
This past weekend was great - I almost went to the final four game in Texas, but at the last minute decided to stay back in Madison. Although I'm sure Texas would've been fun, I had a really great weekend here. Of course, I studied a lot, but I also went to the Union on Saturday to watch the game with a bunch of friends (although the outcome was very sad, the day and game itself were great!). Then, on Sunday, my bible study was taken on a creative date by a sophomore men's bible study! They led us on a scavenger hunt throughout campus, ending with a bonfire at picnic point. It was a blast, and super nice to be served in such a fun, creative way. For dinner, we even had "build-your-own" baked potatoes cooked in the fire. I also learned how to play spikeball! I'm definitely a fan. It also left me feeling good about Cru - I may try to make it to a weekly meeting again sometime. I'm not a big-group kinda gal, so I haven't been attending the big-group weekly meeting much this year, but maybe I'll try it out again soon!
Although we were served wonderfully by the men, it led me to a stark realization. I still really, really like the same boy that has been on my mind for over a year now. Most people around me have known/seen this, but I always figured that if someone else came along, I would move on just fine. But this past weekend, although the intent was not a romantic date, I was thinking about how I would feel if one of the men started to pursue me, and I realized that I would simply be disappointed that it wasn't the one boy I'm interested in. I don't know what that means - I know that whatever God has planned for my life is way better than anything I could come up with, whether that includes this particular boy, or a different one, or none at all, but I also know that we have to be active in living out God's plan. I'm really starting to feel like I may need to take action to voice these feelings so that they can be dealt with. That's a terrifying thought, but I have the feeling that it may need to happen sooner rather than later. ...especially because of the small detail that we will also be working together this summer.
That's a fairly brief update of my life! I hope all of you are doing well, and are feeling as blessed in your lives as I have been in mine! God is so great; I'm thankful to be reminded of this everyday. :)
-T
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
I know the sun will rise!
I realize it's been a while since I last posted an update about my life. A lot has happened, so I will be brief about each. Spring semester at UW-Madison is well underway; at the end of the month, I have 4 midterms in 4 days. That being said, however, I'm managing to stay afloat much better this semester. Classes are difficult, but my base level of happiness and peace is leaps ahead of where it was in the fall. Winter is dragging on and on, although the high of 40 today brings much needed relief from the cold!
This morning, I bought my subscription to Coaching Actuaries, a website designed to give us actuaries the best chance of passing the actuarial exams. I used their services for Exam P and was very pleased with the result, so I've decided to use it again for Exam MLC, which is now 69 days away! I'm a little nervous, but I'm also hoping that I will be studying little by little to avoid the awful stress when my countdown reaches single digits.
This Thursday marks the 4 year anniversary of Natalie Bolin's death. Natalie was a swimming teammate of mine in high school, who died in a car accident involving 3 other swimming teammates. It's an emotional time, although also an inspiring one. Natalie's motto was I know the sun will rise. I've been striving to apply that mindset to my daily life. Natalie's birthday was also in February, on the 27th. This would have been her 21st birthday, so my home swim team hosts a memorial swim in which swimmers complete 21 repetitions of some distance. I didn't go to the event this year, although yesterday I swam 21x100's on my own. It was a tough workout, considering I have not been staying in shape as much as I'd like to, but I finished it! It was thrilling to finish in honor of Natalie.
Finally, my other big news is that I'm planning to study abroad next fall! I have almost completed my application, and will be submitting it shortly. My finalized list (at least for now) of top choices is:
This morning, I bought my subscription to Coaching Actuaries, a website designed to give us actuaries the best chance of passing the actuarial exams. I used their services for Exam P and was very pleased with the result, so I've decided to use it again for Exam MLC, which is now 69 days away! I'm a little nervous, but I'm also hoping that I will be studying little by little to avoid the awful stress when my countdown reaches single digits.
This Thursday marks the 4 year anniversary of Natalie Bolin's death. Natalie was a swimming teammate of mine in high school, who died in a car accident involving 3 other swimming teammates. It's an emotional time, although also an inspiring one. Natalie's motto was I know the sun will rise. I've been striving to apply that mindset to my daily life. Natalie's birthday was also in February, on the 27th. This would have been her 21st birthday, so my home swim team hosts a memorial swim in which swimmers complete 21 repetitions of some distance. I didn't go to the event this year, although yesterday I swam 21x100's on my own. It was a tough workout, considering I have not been staying in shape as much as I'd like to, but I finished it! It was thrilling to finish in honor of Natalie.
Finally, my other big news is that I'm planning to study abroad next fall! I have almost completed my application, and will be submitting it shortly. My finalized list (at least for now) of top choices is:
- Oslo, Norway
- Vienna, Austria
- Copenhagen, Denmark
To say that I'm excited would be to understate my enthusiasm. Not many of my close friends at school know about it yet, because I wanted to wait until it was finalized. Regardless, the friends that do know about it are excited with me!
I should probably be getting back to studying, so goodbye for now! Prayers for God's will in my adventures next fall, as well as all those who are affected by/remembering Natalie this week would be greatly appreciated! May the sun keep shining down on all of you. :)
-T
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