Another picture

And last one for some time, I promise. :)

A long way to go

My first attempt on the WACOM tablet. As you can see, I have a long long way to go before I can start creating something worthwhile... the only upside is, it's super fun to keep trying! :)

I passed CFA level 3!

Oh yeah! I passed CFA level 3! I’m so happy and proud! So happy that I passed, so proud that I stuck to my daily study schedule for four months diligently. My parents who are with me to celebrate the moment are overwhelmed with happiness and emotion. 

The results email came yesterday and since I couldn’t muster courage to look it up myself, A did it for me. After about 400-450 hours of studying, I felt confident that my preparation for the exam was the best of all the levels. However, the whole exam experience itself was one of the most stressful things I have ever done. So much so that I had a blinding headache for a couple days after the exam. I wasn’t very happy about my performance in the essay-type questions format. So, the last two months' wait for the result was very painful. I know there’s always another shot but it would have been such a shame to flunk after slogging for months together… and what a joy it is to pass all the levels in the first attempt!

I took the level 2 in 2009 and there was a long gap of 3 years before I took the level 3 this year. My hurting hand, work related troubles and our moves all came in the way. I worried if I would have to start from scratch, what if I no longer had the drive needed for the exam. When I took off from work at the beginning of this year one of my goals was to be done with CFA. Thank God, that’s accomplished.

2 days before the result came out I told my mom that maybe I should think of changing my field of work, maybe I was done with financial advisory/investment industry. Haha, that was before the results! I’m not done, yet! The thought of seeing the letters CFA next to my name once I get back to work is so delightful, so thrilling, so sweet!

Ha! It will take a few days for me to get back to normal. Every now and then, I smile to myself and think in disbelief, wow! Did I just pass level 3? To those who are thinking what’s the big deal, it's just an exam - I'm sorry, but you will not get it. To those, let me just say, why don’t you see for yourself. :p