Well, I survived exams. Physically at least. I finished Basic Operational Research Techniques (BORTs) on Thursday. I'd avoid putting any money on a distinction (and merit's a longshot, too), but there's hope that I passed. But it may be just a hope. We got tossed out of the Atlas Bar at 11 o'clock tonight, so John (check out his post-exam exploits - May 28) and I had to finish the Indy 500 on the internet. It worked out well. We each kept getting different updates, and it made it quite exciting, since we couldn't actually see it. It looked grim for Dave's driver when he had 25 laps left, and all three Team Green cars were less than 2 seconds behind. But the rains came, and the backup driver won! I wish I could see The Late Show this week. John's crestfallen because he was rooting for the Big Gulp-sponsored car (second place).

My project(s) is looking up. On Monday I only had one option, and it wasn't very inspiring. I got an email today that I now have three firms that want my services (albeit free), and I should get to choose. It's nice to feel wanted. Two are quite good. One is for a charity, one for a government agency, and one for a major wireless phone service. I can choose between the easiest, the most interesting, or the most visibility. I can work at social good, strategic management, or Five Forces. I'm leaning toward the interesting/strategic. After all, I've never found it particularly difficult to stand-out anyplace I've been. Sometimes in a good way.

After the BORTs exam the group went out that night. Well, that was the plan. We actually hit the school pub at 2, left at 5, (took a micro-nap on the bus), got back together around 8 in Carnaby, and closed the place at 1. That'll take care of a day. Two, actually. I pretty much slept through Friday. Whatever brain cells were uninjured by studying for exams were soundly assaulted. Mmmmm, bitters. Mmmmm, Guinness. Mmmmm, Budvar (real Budweiser). Mmmmm, sleep.

I've done little save school since September, so my plan is to maximise my Summer. I'm not going to get all through in September having spent the entire time in a circle from Elephant & Castle to Aldwych to London Bridge. The only things I want to specifically do are go to the inner circle at Stonehenge (oooh, rocks!), and watch them test the Thames River Flood Barrier gates (oooh, water!). I think there's a partial eclipse coming this Summer, so if I can watch some place burn down I'll cover all 4 elements. If I can scrape up the cash I also want to spend a couple days in Ireland. This time I actually want to see the cliffs of Mohr. Oh yeah, Lizzie celebrates her birthday in June (12th?), so I'll probably watch the pageantry of that, too. It's got to beat watching W. drive by in a limo surrounded by 23 black Suburbans.

Oh, and the phone number they gave me "may not" be reachable from the US, so I need to get a new one. I know there must be scores of calls that weren't able to get through, so I'll let you know as soon as I get it. And tomorrow's a "Bank Holiday" (no actual occasion, just a bank holiday), so I get that off too. If I only there was something I was doing this week to have a day off...

I came to London
I got an education
I went to school, too

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My last final is in 2 hours, 8 minutes. It's not going to be pretty.

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Well, I'm still (supposedly) studying for my finals. I'm working on answering 3 of the questions on Wednesday's Problem Structuring Methods, and then I'm going to try to learn an entire year's worth of Basic Operational Research Techniques in 8 days. I was going over some of the BORT the other day with Pranav, and neither of us were able to solve one of the problems from the second week of the course. Not looking so great, right now.

The good news is that we finally have decent weather. It'll be around 20C for the next 4 or so days (that's 68F), and while it's not exactly mostly sunny, I'll settle. It hasn't been above 60 for about two weeks, and it hasn't been above 60 two days in a row since about November. You take what you can get.

And I've had two (count 'em 2!) positive customer service experiences at school in two days! I went to renew a one-day (that's right, 1) book at the library, and I was told it was the "course copy" so it couldn't be renewed. But if I turned it in then, they'd probably put it right on the cart and have it back on the shelf in 10 minutes. But I couldn't just return it and take it out at the same time. I had to wait. I know what you're thinking: I'd have just kept it and paid the one-day overdue fine. That ain't the way it works here. It's a £1 fine ($1.76). For every hour it's late in this joint. Instead, I pointed out that they had another copy listed as available that I could get for 3 whole days, but it had disappeared from the shelf. She explained that it wasn't the course copy, so it was available for longer, and pointed me to a "re-rack" cart and suggested I look there. I found it. So I got that going for me.

Then today I went to IT services to see if I could get my network cable terminated (the little tab that holds the cable in the jack broke off). I eneded up going to three different places, and they offered me a new wire. But mine is 5 metres, so I've been able to use the computer anywhere in the room (though I haven't tried the shower), and standard is 2 metres. So I asked if they could just put a new coupler on the end, or loan me the tool to do it (I've said orange&white orange, green&white blue, bue&white green, brown&white brown to myself so often it's like knowing my own phone number - oh, that's the order you connect the wires to the connector). The guy reaches into his box of cables (Flashbacks! I'm having Flaskbacks!) and roots around and asks,"5 metres? Is 10 okay?" I'm sorry? Uh, I mean sure! Now I might be able to use the computer all the way into the kitchen! This wire is worth about £20 on the open market.

So, now I've gotten good service from two of the best (worst?) things there are to gripe about at school. Where's the fun in that? This stinks.

I still haven't heard anything final on the summer project, but I hope to soon. And since the "employment seminars" here are almost exclusively about getting entry level jobs, one of my professors, who is a rare combination of practical experience and academe - he used to run OR for British Air - is going to sit down and discuss how to create a good cover letter and CV, as well as look for opportunites that want my Management and OR credentials. One more thing I can't complain about. It just keeps getting worse.

But don't fret, there's always that ridiculous exam system I get to experience the next weeks. Gotta make sure I've got multiple pens (no pencils - even on the maths), can't bring anything other than a calculator, only "still" drinks (Okay, I'm bringing a six-pack of Red Bull. Paper! I need more paper! Can't a guy get more then 11 booklets in this place?!), and a copy of your exam schedule to show you actually belong there. Like I'm going to go to exams I don't have to take? Oh, I'm just here for the practice. That "Micro-Economic History of Consumerism and The State Economy in Post-Soviet Russia" looks good. I'll have one of those, please. But it's the strip search that's really got me on edge.

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Turned in my paper for Advanced Frameworks for Policy Analysis this afternoon. I'm a (relatively) free man. I have the two finals and I'm hoping to hear about a final project as soon as this week. The Instructor is sending my CV to a Strategic Health Alliance North of London. They're considering picking somebody up to do a justification for opening a new medical school in their SHA - that's sort of like a local government for the National Health Service. So I could start the ball rolling on hundreds of millions of pounds of tax money over the next 10 or 20 years. Little old me. Silly Brits.

I'm planning to going to hit the gym tomorrow. I still only weigh 100Kg, but my old physical therapist, Hannah, wanted me to start exercising my neck and shoulders regularly. My new physical threapist, Hannah, spent about 10 minutes talking to me, asked what exercises Hannah had me doing, and then said, OK, you're done. So I'm supposed to start on an exercise program and she doesn't even want to see me once to make sure I'm doing it right? We really liked Hannah. We don't like Hannah.

Another month, another banner.

I'm going to go nuke some veggie lasagna, and probably crash early. Maybe I'll take a nice steambath too. I may not have any hot water pressure, but I can crank that shower up on just hot, cover the vent with a towel, and sit on the, uh, conveniently provided (and multi purpose) seat, pull out a crossword, and take a nice shvitz. But maybe I should do that before I eat. Or I can take the lasagna in with me and steam it 'til it's hot.

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I'm down to my last paper, due on Tuesday, and then it's on to studying for two finals. One is essays and the other is all maths. Oh, joy. The essays are the nineteenth and the latter on the twenty seventh. And maybe I'll know my summer project by then.

I've turned in 7 papers and did one group presentation since last Friday. The presentation went pretty well. I introduced our group as having "more than 3 decades of professional and business experience." It took Dr. Lane about a tenth of a second to comment, "Most of that being you, I'm assuming." I admitted I was hoping to slide that one by. But he was amused.

When they started asking specific questions about our recommendations, it became enlightening and entertaining. They asked one of the team members if our solution meant that current workers would need to do more. That person spent a couple of minutes trying to explain what it meant and what would happen and... trying to do anything to keep from having to say it would. I finally just inserted myself and said, "Yes." I don't know if they looked happier, but they did look satisfied.

I "clariified" one more answer, to show we knew what we were doing, and then let them have fun with the young 'uns. I know that's patronising, but I was sure they could see I knew what I was doing, the rest of the team had never had any real experience like this, so it wasn't going to help anyone if I kept answering the questions. They liked our basic plan - and from talking to a few other groups it appears to be unique. So I'm pretty satisfied with how it came out. Especially since the group started out less than promising.

Well, I've gotta go write my Analytic Frameworks For Policy Analysis paper (the excitement is palpable). Tonight's subject: "How NASA Sacrificed Power (And Safety) For Survival." Please stay in your seats until the paper comes to a complete finish.

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