#55 Final Exams and Final Week in Milan
My first final was for my Financial Markets and Institutions class. This has been my easiest class by far, and I walked in to the final with the swagger of an easy A. Students were panicking frantically looking through their notes as I sat confidently waiting for the test to start. Why do people even study the day of the test at all. Odds are you won’t remember any of it and you are doing nothing but add stress. My pre-exam routine is to just kickback, listen to some chill music, and know you will ace the test. I realized I forgot to bring my calculator as the exam began. I actually had a problem on forwards contracts that required one and anxiety brewed. I finished all of the other problems of the test easily and set up the problem for calculation. Then I sat and thought about what I was going to do. I just asked the professor if I could use my iPod for a calculator, and he did not have problem. What a relief.
I then left the classroom knowing I had aced the test. My stomach grumbed and I decided to go pick some calzones. I ordered two freshly cooked calzones and paid for the, by grabbing a handful of change out of my pocket and placed the change on the counter with authority. With my drawer filled with worthless one, two, five, and ten cent coins, I counted up my coins and stuffed the coins into my jacket for the next morning. Some exchange students (along with me) were impressed that I was able to make something out of small pocket change.
After lunch I continued studying for my upcoming more difficult finals. When I did not feel like studying, I read two books that my Uncle Recommended me called Generational Dynamics for Americas Future and GD for Historians. The author explains that a neo-Malthusian population program, along with lost wisdom from previous veterans of war and economic crisis. As a result, one of these “crisis periods” occurs approximately once every eighty years (human lifetime). What spooked me out about these books is that the next crisis war is expected to occur with fifteen to twenty years. Although there are some flaws with his theory, the author makes a compelling and grim point on the predictable causes of historical events. The book also explained how long term trends can help supplement technical analysis for stock market timing.
However, the most intriguing part of the book is my introduction to the concept of singularity. Technological singularity is the idea that since computing power doubles every eighteen months, there will be a point between 2020-2050 where computers will be smarter than humans and produce even smarter machines that they were. The author then explains the science behind it which makes it seem possible, but my philosophical views on the definition of intelligence and consciousness make me skeptical. Singularity began to dominate my imagination and I ended up finding a terrific idea for a science fiction novel. I realized with my ability to write this novel length book in such a short time, I actually have the discipline to write books and will begin my side venture as a novelist when I return to UC Santa Barbara.
As the week went by, it was getting closer to my highly anticipated return to America. I can’t wait, but I still have to focus on my studies. Straight A’s while traveling across Europe and Morocco is a pretty productive semester. I occasionally get distracted by Tiger Woods related humor and reading about geopolitics, but I hit to the grindstone and eventually finish studying. Bocconi sent me a pleasantly surprising e-mail that I get a four hundred euro deposit back from my rent. I retrieved my money from the bank, and try to acquire dollars, but a fifteen cent bid-ask spread was too pricy. I also had my last meals of my favorite Italian dishes. I went out for pizza margherita bufala, gelatos, and fresh pasta. My favorite dish of the weeks a combo of rigatoni Bolognese (tomato meat sauce) and carbonara. I spent an evening walking around downtown for the last time. Milan goes all out with Christmas lights and I saw various light shows and decorations around the duomo and the Galleria Vittoria. My second midterm ended up being easier than expected and I aced that one as well. I get the best feeling in the world when I just feel certain that I did well during a critical situation. This enjoyment comes most often when I just own a test or from intense competition (such as Diplomacy). No emotion in the world feels better than winning, especially winning big. Unlike drugs and alcohol, I can relate to how people enjoy gambling, but I personally like to actually accomplish things through my efforts rather than put my money and life to chance.
Snow covered the city while I walked to my last final exam that Thursday. Only two hours until I’m free to go. I go into the test a little more uneasy. From studying all economic theory from Aristotle to Keynes I knew the gist of the material, but not every detail. When I received the test, I knew how to answer every questions, but for some questions, I did not have the precision in my essays as I would have liked. Depending on how tough the professor grades, I could have gotten either an A or a B. I left the test feeling good about being done, but anxious about ruining my potentially perfect semester.
After the test, I relaxed and watched some movies and said good bye to Chi. I wrote an appendix, but felt to lazy to finish the section. I planned on going out to a nice restaurant I went to the first day I arrived, but when I went to retrieve my cash, the safe locked me out again and I had to sit and wait to get it fixed. It was probably caused by mistyping the code, but I was frustrated about missing my dinner. I ended up picking up another bufala pizza, and then tried to go to sleep for an early morning. During the night before exciting events such as traveling, I always have problems falling asleep. This was no exception as I stayed up long enough to only get a few hours of rest before a long trip home.
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