Life as an Actuarial Student

There is a room at work just for actuarial students designated for studying. I refer to it as the dungeon – a term that I think is even going easy on the wretched place. The outside of the room is so unassuming that no one even knows it’s there. It’s hidden behind two heavy metal doors, which, once opened, you’d turn around and run if you could.

Upon entrance you’ll notice a sea of grey – cubicles, walls, even the carpeting. It’s enough to depress even the happiest person should they spend some time in there. The room has around 30 cubicles squished into a space no bigger than my bedroom. There’s a handmade motivational poster on the front wall which encourages you to “Study Like a Champion Today.” Some poor soul who knows the torture of spending hundreds of hours in there wrote beneath it: “…and tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that.” It’s clearly not the best place to spend your mornings and evenings.

The only thing that gets me through is the snack shelf towards the back. Newly designated FSAs (aka actuaries with all of their exams passed), who are so ecstatic that they never have to spend another minute in the room, gladly pile up goodies every exam sitting to help ease our pain. I’d like to blame the fact that I make many a stop to the snack shelf due to my being pregnant. However, I’m pretty sure that I’d make just as many stops had I not been. It’s full of goodies like popcorn, pudding, candy bars, etc (the kind of stuff I would never buy for myself) that just calls out my name. All too frequently I listen. I try to choose a time when no one’s looking, but someone always catches me. So, I make my way back to my desk to enjoy my treat, but there’s just one problem:

The room is deathly quiet. So quiet that you can hear someone chewing a banana (or at least I feel like it when I eat mine every morning). So quiet that dare you choose to bring an apple as a snack, the guilt alone from the crunchy noise of you eating makes you exit the room and eat it outside the doors. It is so quiet that they pump in white noise just to give us something to listen to so we don’t go crazy. But I do go crazy! I watch the clock, counting down the minutes until I can leave, only to return in the afternoon. So, while you all enjoy the weather, crafts, TV shows, or cooking this afternoon, just remember poor old me sitting in the dungeon at my desk. I'll have my slippers on (hey, I’ve gotta be comfy if I’m spending that much time in there!) and a tear rolling down my face as I know I'll have to do it all over again tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that...

That's One Loooooong Hiatus!

I can't believe it's been nearly a month since my last post! And with so much going on, I could've had material to post every day this month - had I had the time. I've been assigned another person's job duties after his departure from our company, and on top of mine, it's one heavy load! Whoever thought that salaried employees should be denied overtime pay was an idiot. It's just not right! Nonetheless, I've been hanging in there, bogged down with work, studying, baby stuff, more studying, and more work. It's a good thing that I had a vacation last month, otherwise I would've been mega stressed. "Vacation?," you say? There'd be no question had I wrote a lengthy (but entertaining) story about Chris' 30th birthday surprise extravaganza! This weekend, I promise!

Anyway, we've been scouring the internet and stores for the perfect baby gear - just looking, not buying. For those of you who are unaware, Chris is obsessed with Batman. Not in a creepy way, but I still think he'd name our child Batman if he had the opportunity. So today, I receive this photo from him:

That's right, it's a Batman onesie...for a GIRL. I don't think so! I'm almost praying to not have a girl now that I know what's coming! Please help!

And Baby Makes Three!

I've been keeping a private blog for Chris and myself (the modern day journal, no doubt) and would like to share our first entry from it. After many looooooooooooooooooooong weeks of keeping a secret, I can finally spread the good news!

And so it begins. After two pregnancy tests (one analog, one digital - for more accuracy!), it still hasn't settled in. I'm still thinking that they might be wrong, so I'm looking forward to the doctor's face when she tells me it's just too many Doritos and not baby weight. I stuck the tests in a baggie and hid them in the store room, as I thought it'd be fun to put in a scrapbook someday. Although, now that I think of it, that'd just be gross. No more than an hour after finding out, I get a call from Grandma. Grandma and I call each other often, but her comment after I answered the phone was a little eerie. She told me that "something hit her that she should call me." How weird is that?! I wish I could have told her just how weird it really was, but I'll just have to remember to let her know when the time is right!

Yes, Chris and I are indeed expecting our first child! We couldn't be more excited - and nervous! :) Our parents finally came up last weekend to celebrate what they thought was Chris' birthday. Little did they know that they'd also be celebrating their new Grandparent status. We found the cutest Valentine's Day card that had Grandma & Grandpa written above a dog and cat on the front - just to throw them off and think it was from our animal babies. Surprise! The inside was signed "Baby Brock." My mom went crazy, of course!

**Update**
It was indeed a baby and not too many Doritos after all! I've been feeling great, but not at all pregnant, so I was excited to hear the heartbeat for confirmation that the little dude/dudette really exists. No morning sickness, no weird cravings, just an expanding belly!

Now that the family knew, we could finally tell everyone at work. I think all of my friends were starting to suspect something anyway just due to me not drinking when we went out, wearing baggier clothes to work (I've even had to retire a few dress pants already!), and so on. The tradition at work is to bring in chocolate chip cookies to announce your pregnancy, so of course Chris and I had to make some delectable ones to bring in today! For a little twist, we made Snickers-stuffed chocolate chip cookies. Regretfully, I forgot to take a picture of them in their glory, but I will state for the record that they were a hit! I even had a few comments from co-workers that they were the best chocolate chip cookies they've ever had. Sadly, they were all gone before I had a chance to have one at work. Luckily I downed a few fresh from the oven last night!

Snickers-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: Joelen

2 Snickers bars, each cut into sixths

Your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe

Directions: Take one piece of Snickers and envelope it with the prepared cookie dough. Place on lined baking sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes at 350.

My cookies baked for 13 minutes at 335 as I like to cook mine at a slightly lower temp and higher time in order to get the soft texture that everyone loves. Now, I have everyone asking me for my top-secret chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I'm not so sure that I can part with it! I will consider it upon your offer of an equally delicious recipe!