Red

I would ask her to tell her story. I love hearing sucessfull people tell the story of their road to sucess. Their thoughts and all the obstacels they fought through. And who would be more fascinating than Ayn Rand?

I'm far from an expert on relationships but I have always found it better to start from the other side of that coin. Find out what your wants and needs are, and communicate that to the other person. Then you can listen to the other persons wants and needs, and see if you match. Or put in a different way: Don't start by looking at others, start by making yourself visible first. I've found this to be very powerfull in all kinds of relationships. An interesting thing psychologically is that people will also want to reciprocate, because it gives them a chance to be valued. In the same way that you may take great pleasure in helping a friend, because it means you have something valuable to offer.

I'm not sure about the specifics on my colleagues position (I was just trying to challenge her to see how she would respond). Part of the risk the creditor takes that the debtor may never be able to pay back. So the creditor takes a calculated risk, which may or may not have been reckless. When it backfires, should the creditor be able to bind the debtor to the contract for the rest of the debtors life? Analogies can be made to regular contract law where in many legal systems binding someone to a contract for a liftetime is not allowed (in swedish contract law such terms could probably be adjusted for being unreasonable). I must add that so far i'm undecided on the issue. I haven't finished thinking about it yet.

Pay back the debt as quickly as possible while minimizing your losses. If you fail to make the creditors happy they can take legal action where the priorities are made according to law. I'd like to flip the coin a little bit here. A while ago I was discussion my issues with debt sanitation laws (similar to personal bankruptcy law in the US) with a collegue (I work in debt enforcement). I find it unfair that the creditors can lose their right to enforce the debts, However, she made good point that I find difficult to answer. What about the creditors responsibilities? Would it be responsible to borrow money to someone who runs a high risk of defaulting on the loan? By accepting that risk, would it be unfair if the creditor lost the money?

Thank you!

That's a good idea, however there's only been three tests since they introduced the new one. The old ones still offer some practice, but the math was a lot easier. Atleast for grumpy old men like me, who practiced high school math a hundred years ago. The math on the old test was much easier to solve using simple logic. I agree about timed tests. I want to do a thorough job and produce something good if i'm going to put my name on it. Like the last test I did in law. I'd like to burn it and destroy any evidence that it existed, even though I got a high score. I don't take classes to become good at taking tests. I take classes to become good at the subject. Returning tests with simplistic answers is a waste of time, and there's no pride in passing a test when you know the standards are set so low. In this case the math itself is fairly simple, you just need to know it. Then the time factor makes it so that you need to know it with minimum thought involved. Even the time on the verbal test was a challenge, and I dare say i'm very good at that. Anyway, this isn't to say I didn't mess up. I should have done better. The good thing is that it makes me pissed enough to aim for a full score on the whole test next time (there are nine people who have managed that, so it's possible).

There's one book that I know of, and it's underwhelming. The examples are good but there's not much more than that. Running a fever is a risky tactic. You need to develop the kind of fever where you get into this creative state, and then figure out your own mathematical rules. When I did that test they had just changed the math part of it. On previous tests there wasn't much to prepare for. I figured i'd brush up on my math and then i'd be fine, but I got sick. My first look at the test was a "oh bleep!" moment, when I realized I had forgotten all of the math. That's when you need to get creative. I have no idea how I managed to get such a good result (one standard deviation above the mean must be good under those circumstances). I'm even more surprised how I got a worse result after making preparations.

In Sweden we have a type of national test that can be taken as a means to get into college. The test has two parts, one math and one language/reading comprehension. I took the test once last year, and another attempt yesterday. I think I got a full score on the language part, but both times i've struggled with the math. Although math isn't my strongest ability i've never been bad at it before. Last year I got a decent score, and I came unprepared to the test with a high fever. This time I expected it to go a lot better, but I actually managed to get a significantly lower score. Thought it went better when I took the test, but no... I've found two main problems. Number one is that i'm just too slow. Working things through in my own pace meant I ran out of time half way through. On top of that I haven't done this type of math in 14 years. That means some quite signifcant gaps in my knowledge. Unfortunately the disaster on the math part probably puts me just below the minimum score (with 0.5 points!) to get into law school. That's quite annoying. The next test is this fall, and i'm going to get a full score. The math part is fairly simple high school math. There's some geometry, quadtratic equations, equation systems and problem solving. Not really that complex. Anyhow, I have two questions relating to this: Do you know of any good books and resources that can be usefull to learn this? And, do you know anything of a more general nature? I'd like to read up more on math just for the fun of it. Maybe a better understanding of math could be usefull some day, and it's a fun way to exercise the little grey cells.

That's a good idea. Talking to the professors. I wish I could manage three hours of sleep a night, but i'd completely lose my marbles. I'm looking at how to manage law school and a full time job, not wanting to compromise any of them. The biggest problem is the lectures and seminars where you have to attend. The school board tells me you can't skip that, but the professors may be easier to negotiate with. Speaking of wich, perhaps I can offer a little advice or reassurance to Olivier. If you can manage the practical details like attending enough classes, then it's a matter of "just do it". Being two places at once is impossible, but making time to study is not. I've been studying and working full time, with lots of overtime, for the last 6 months. Because I don't have to attend any classes it's actually quite easy. Of course there has been a few all nighters and times where i've had to lug books around everywhere I go, so I have enough time to read, but most of the time it's not a problem at all. The most important thing is being able to manage your time. For example when you work during the day and study on weekends and evenings, that's easy. It's a lot harder if you need to attend two classes at once. Find a way around that problem, if you can, and go for it!

Wow! That's impressive! How did you manage all those things at once? Have you found a cure for sleep?

Thank you! This is so exciting - I can't wait to start!

I had an interview a couple of weeks ago. Thought it went well. Then I got a call today.... NAILED IT! Got the job!

Thanks again! I sent the application on wednesday, following the suggested format. I think it turned out really well. I had lots of things I could have written, but this focused only on the essentials: Showing them that I understand what the job is about and what they want, that I have the skills/ability they value (without going into any details) and that I really want it. Simple, brief and focused, and enough to get their interest. I like that. My boss also adviced against trying to tell them just how good I am. Told me they're going to give him a call anyway, so he'll take care of that. Plus it adds more credibility coming from him. Having good credibility is very important here. Every decision must be right and mistakes can really make the stuff hit the fan. Selling myself too hard could be taken as over-confidence or lack of judgement. I figured those things will show through anyway when I get to talk to them. I designed the CV the same way. Just one page, two collumns, and a clean layout. Wrote a short "profile", only mentioned relevant work experience, education and skills that apply for the job. For the references though, I did put my bosses there. The reason was just simple convenience. I know they're going to call them, so now they don't have to search through the very annyoing company phone book. Yesterday I had a brief chat with one of the team managers, and a longer conversation with the section manager(the process basically works so that the team managers decide on who they want, and then suggests those to the section manager). The team manager already knows me a little bit and seemed very positive. Then I spent about 45 minutes getting to know the section manager. It went really well. Very easy to talk to and seemed like on of those guys who's really competent and loves his job. I think my chances are looking good and I have high hopes.

I should have it in writing next week. I like the thought of money in the bank... better start collecting more written references. I've seen claims from experts that you should avoid putting more than three references in you resume. Is that true? My references so far are: Four of my bosses, that i've worked directly with. Two of them current and the other two used to be team managers for the same position. The three ladies mentioned above. One of our lawyers. She works as a legal back up for us, among other things. Since we work at different offices our communication has mostly been phone and email, but we've met and worked together on a few occasions(and talked each others ears off ) My college teacher whom i've asked vouch for my performance on her course. Since this position requires one year of training, with some college courses, I think it's good to have someone vouch for that ability. I could put more names on the list, but they don't know me that well.

Hehe, and I here I wanted to make the exact opposite impression - that I do want to stay and not just pass through. I understand though that I need to stay focused on the present. And while having future ambitions within the same organization, the hiring managers interest is to have me on that position. I've just learned how very important that is to them as well. They're trying to solve their recruiting problems by focusing on people who really want that job(and not just something nice to put in their resume). By the way, today I had such a great confidence boost that I just have to tell you about it. A few weeks ago we had a couple of days education, because we're taking over - or helping with - some new tasks. This is part of the work i'll be doing when I get that new position. The tutors were three charming ladies, showing us the ropes and making sure there are no legal issues. I might add that their position carries a lot of authority. Anyhow, I ran into them in the cafeteria today. They'd just come for a quick visit, immediately recognized me and we started chatting. Apparently i've made a very good impression. They offered to give a letter of recommendation and told me I could put their names as references in my application. Oh, and they also suggested I should move to another city so I could work at their office. I had no idea I made such an impression on them. From what I recall I was just there being me; listening, asking questions and engaging them in interesting conversations when we had breaks. Talk about a positive surprise! I'm thrilled to get such endorsement.