Updates

I don't think it's a coincidence that this blog materialized shortly after leaving one institution (University) and withered away shortly before joining another (Audit Firm). Now that I have a daily function I feel more at ease with life and thus less compelled to write, as well as the obvious fact that I don't have as much spare time as before and have a greater taste for 'doing things' i.e. I would rather blog in person, as it were, through conversation and the suchlike.

But tonight I do have a time. I have just enjoyed my first full week's holiday since starting my employment and do not believe I have packed so much genuine fun into such a short space of time in a while. The last four nights were spent in Manchester with 'that lot' (my Warwick non-housemate friends) for a classic long-weekend of scriptwriting, eating, playing boardgames and the occasional physical activity (in this case 'urban cricket') from which I returned today.

Seven months (nearly) have passed and I have completed my induction training, six exams and a busy season (to name but the highlights). This time last year was pretty much the low-point of applications, and it is satisfying to see how far I have come in a year.

But I do not know what to expect really over the next six months. Well, I know what to *literally* expect: six more exams, a couple more clients, a few more weeks of holiday (I have about three of'em saved up!). The one thing I've realised is that the intensity and difficulty of the actual work varies quite a bit. January was a 'character builder', February a sort of flourishing and March... I was pretty exhausted by March, as we all were. But I do think though that even the busiest part of busy season was far less intense than study was, or will be.

At least study has the benefit of beign compartmentalized. You know exactly what the 'nature of the beast is' - you just need to study very hard to slay said beast. In audits you can be doing different things from one day to the next and do not get the satisfying 'pass or fail' all-or-nothing drama of exams, and seldom the same sense of urgency.

The next six papers are 2.5 hour written affairs and legitimately difficult and I want to perform unambigiously brilliantly in them, and I believe I have every chance of doing so. I am sufficiently bright, enjoy studying and still have a chip on my shoulder about being lazy at school and university giving me a petty desire to 'prove myself'. Furthermore, I think I more than anyone else in my intake is willing to make myself a hermit for six weeks. Better yet, I shall have the opportunity to do this twice, once for the June papers and once for the September papers!