An update...

Seems like I'm slacking more and more when it comes to updating my blog. I think it's my fault of setting a really low target of updating it once a month at least. Even that, I think I'm barely meeting the minimum. Oh well, I'll try to make up for the lack of frequency with severity. So, I'll try to write a long one here.

Thanksgiving came and I didn't travel to Richmond, VA like I did last year. I didn't spend much on Black Friday either. I bought a shoe rack, a couple sets of tools and a vacuum cleaner. I'm so proud of myself for not succumbing to all the 'temptations'. What I did over the long weekend was just eating, drinking, watching tv and reading. How relaxing!

Can't believe it's December already! Well... in less than 3 weeks, I'll be done for the year. I'll be heading down to VA to celebrate Christmas and New Year. On the way back from VA, I'll be stopping in NY to attend my cousin's wedding dinner. Maybe even stay a day or two in NYC. :-)
However, that translates into slightly longer work hours, just to make sure I can get my stuff done before I take my vacation for the year.

(Took another week off here...)
Last week, in separate visits to stores and Amazon.com (thanks Trent for hooking me up with Amazon Prime!), my Christmas shopping's done. I still need to wrap them up, most probably will do that while watching football tomorrow.

Anyway, just found out that I PASSED CAS 6!!! So, 6 downs, 3 more to go.

I've been reading more, as some of you might be able to tell with those quotes and all. Currently, I'm reading Super Crunchers by Ian Ayres. Hopefully to be able to get a few more books in before I start studying for CAS 7. Given CAS 7's reputation (most material among all CAS exams), I'm pretty sure I'll be spending much more time preparing for the exam. Also, given it's the exam to ACAS, a lot more is at stake. :-)

So, working on Monday, and I'll be done for the year! I've said 'time flies' too many times now, but really, it certainly does. In less than 2 weeks, we will be entering the year of 2010. That's mind boggling!

Again, it's been an amazing year. Just want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have supported me in any way.

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Enjoy this video by Straight No Chaser - an a capella group with their version of 12 Days of Christmas

Another quote...

Hi guys,

I'm writing another post which isn't a quote, but that's going nowhere at the moment.

So, here's another quote, this time, from Superfreakonomics: Global cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes and why Suicide Bombers should Buy Life Insurance by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner.

"Who among us wants to describe ourselves as "typical"? If, for instance, you added up all the women and men on the planet, you would find that, on average, the typical adult human being has one breast and one testicle - and yet how many people fit that description?

That's why I read...

Lifted from Thomas Friedman's "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" (Yes, I started this a year ago, was halfway into it and actuarial exams took over... and a few other books to be blamed.)

"A recent study found the average American golfer walks about 900 miles as year. Another study found American golfers drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year. That means, on average, American golfers get about 41 miles to the gallon.
Kind of makes you proud.
~From the Internet"

Minesweeper...

This is hilarious!

Finally, it's over... It's done...

So, for those that know actuarial reserving, enjoy!

Winter's here..

Hi guys! Sorry for the long hiatus from updating my blog.

Anyway, I've been around. Just that I didn't have the desire to update this blog. I can't even pin point why the lack of desire but many times I wanted to write something, I just ended up watching some tv shows and forgot about what I wanted to write.

So, enough is enough, instead of watching the tv exclusively, I decided to write this post while watching the tv. Problem solved. Currently, I'm watching the New England Pats kicking the Tennessee Titan's ass, badly. Not sure if it's really the weather, but Titan is just playing so badly that it's not even fun to watch.

Anyway, lately, life's been pretty routine. Work is work, exciting and frustrating at the same time. There's the ups and downs as expected. Other than that, there's the studying. I've been going into office at 6, study til 9/10 for the last 2+ months. Sometimes, there's the additional hour or two at night. So, with all that, the gym sessions are getting less.

Few weeks back, I went to DC for an exam seminar. It was a 5-day seminar, Friday through Tuesday. It was rather rough as I flew down to DC on Friday morning, and flew back on Tuesday afternoon. So, woke up at 2.30am of that Friday, get ready and all, drove to the airport and reaching there at around 4am for my 6am flight. Got into DC at about 7.50am and caught the shuttle that took me to Hyatt Reston, where the seminar was. Everything went smoothly. Checked into my room at lunch. First day was not too bad, other than I had 4 coffee throughout the day. Was too lazy and tired to venture out to get dinner, hence, grabbed dinner at Panera and used their wi-fi to check my work email and stuff, and drop dead at 8.30pm. At first, I was planning to wake up early the next day to go to the gym, but I was just too tired. For the next 3.5 days, it was pretty much breakfast, seminar, lunch, seminar, dinner. Repeat.

It was a good 'break' away from work, and to eat out for dinner every night. But, I'm not sure if that's what I can do all the time (which will be very likely if I decide to pursue a job with in the actuarial consulting line.) Part of me want something like that, to be on the run, fast-pace work kinda life, but a part of me also want something more constant, something that I can return to after work. Yeah, that's what keeping me up at night (not really, but that's what on my mind.)

Also, seems like the weather totally skipped Fall, and it's already Winter. It snowed last Thursday night (Oct 15th) and it's snowing heavily outside at the moment (Oct. 18th). Go figure.

I'll be flying back to Ann Arbor this Friday for the Math Career Conference, recruiting effort for my company. It's gonna be fun, to be able to go back to Ann Arbor since leaving close to 1.5 years ago right after graduation in April 2008. So, will be able to see a bunch of my friends and few professors!

Also, I bought tickets to fly home for CNY next year! Will be home for 2 weeks! That's only 3.5 months away. Excited!

That's all for now! Take care guys!

And i'm counting again...

This time, is how long it's been since stepping into US for the very first time. Exactly5 years!

5 years ago, a bunch of us left home for US. Come to think about it, it had been a great journey. While I had some rough idea about what to expect when coming to college in the States, there were so many things that happened exceeded what I asked for and then some.

Through the 5 years, I've learned a lot about myself and have made some good and also some questionable decisions that I wished I can reverse. But how one thing leads to another and all really have me thinking that things do happen for a reason.

I guess one can't help but to learn to be independent and to grow and mature when you are alone. And, I like it.

5 years. That's a long time for someone who's not even 25 yet.
Highlight of every year: (I think it's easier for me to look at this in an academic year basis, as compared to calendar year basis).

Freshman year - Traveling to NYC and Washington, DC. That was an amazing experience, as not only it was an eye-opener to visit all the tourist spots, it was also a great trip with good company.
I was also glad that I made the decision to stay back in the States over the Summer as that was when I actually had the more 'real' US college experience, where I stayed in a house with 5 housemates that I didn't know going in, where I went to several parties and where I started working for real.

Sophomore year - Traveling to Florida (Disneyworld and Miami). That was fun too. Started working over the school year. Also, during Spring Break, I volunteered on a farm in TX. It was fun as a group of 10 of us drove down to TX and back. It was a totally different experience as I don't think I've ever work in a farm (milking goat, weeding and planting, and etc).
Went home over the Summer and interned with Accenture. It was a good experience as well. It was good to be home after 2 years.

Junior year - Went to England and Ireland during Spring break. Interned at Hanover Insurance Company. That was another interesting story as the timing was really tight. After my actuarial exam in late May, I went to Midwest games, and then, the next day coming back from the games, I flew out to Massachusetts for the interview for that internship position. And, at the end of the month, I got the offer. Between then and the starting date (June 12th, 2007), I needed to settle my housing over the Summer in Worcester, MA and also, to purchase a car, so that I can drive out there for the job. It was quite a feeling to be making so many big decisions and boy, my parents were worried. As I didn't have the chance to drive much while I was back home, I wasn't an experienced driver, even for a young driver's standard. So, the whole driver half way across the country alone idea didn't boil well with my parents.

Senior year - Well. I took less classes. Accepted the offer from Hanover. Went to Yosemite National Park, drove through Death Valley, then Grand Canyon, last but not least Las Vegas. Taught an exam preparation class. Graduated in April. Dad came for graduation and stayed for a couple of months.

First year out of college - Started my job on 2nd of June. It's been more than 14 months, and I still like the challenge from my job. That plus studying for exam really keeps me busy. Ran my first marathon last October. Initially planned to run 2 marathons this year, but injured my calf in June, and had to stop running for close to 2 months. Started running again though my calf still not at 100%, hopefully, I can increase my mileage enough to run a half marathon in Hartford come 10th of October. Took 2 weeks off and went home for Chinese New Year, while the journey home was long, it's been 5 years since I was home for CNY, so, it was all worth it. But, I will definitely try not to fly with Northwest Airlines (at least for international flights).

So, I'm like doing a summary of what happened for the last five years. But well, life's getting a little routine lately, not a bad thing, but it is not easy to blog about it. So, that's all for now.