And proud.

Today, at work, I walked in on the finance team singing along to Celine Dion’s ‘Because You Loved Me’ playing on the radio. The finance team is comprised of three middle aged men.

How was your day?  Generally good? At home relishing in the company of your loved ones right about now? Good for you!

Let me describe my day.

6 am: First alarm.

‘What the heck is that sound? What is it - 2 am or something? What kinda crazy PSYCHO makes this much noise in the middle of the night??!’ Realisation. Snooze.

6.10 am: Second alarm.

Snooze.

6.20 am: Third ala - snooze.

6.30 am: Snooze.

7. 10 am: Sudden shock wake up realising I slept too long. That extra 5 minutes turned into 40. Late.

8.00 am: Early morning meeting with manager. Hopes that the day would be relatively relaxing quickly dashed with the new knowledge of the amount of work that needs to be completed by tomorrow morning at the LATEST. OR ELSE. Smile and nod.

9.00 am: Laptop upgrade. Loss of access to computer and ability to do any chargeable work whatsoever. 

9.30 am: Contact client advising that I will be there at around 10.30.

10.30 am: New laptop fails to transfer old files from old laptop. Fix expected to take 1 hour. Email client advising of slight delay.

12.20 pm: Technical difficulty resolved. 

12.21 - 12.22 pm: Lunch.

1 pm: Arrive at client site. Nervous and stressed at the amount of work that needs to be completed in the next 4 hours. Really need a good couple of hours with the financial controller to get through most of my questions.

1.05 pm: Walk towards financial controller’s office. Financial controller is halfway out the door and must leave right away as grandmother has been admitted to hospital.

1 - 5pm: Utter panic and confusion trying to understand the work I need to do and understand the client’s ‘revenue and receivables’ business process. What the heck is a ‘purchase requisition form’. Fingernails that were long this morning are no more. A raft of questions to ask the manager. Email manager. Auto-response advising manager is in training all day with no access to emails or phone. One awkward trip to client kitchen to make a coffee. Kitchen is full of people and all I need is a teaspoon to stir my drink.  Several trips back and forth with laptop in arm checking to see if financial controller is back. He’s not. No idea what the heck I’m doing or why I’m doing what I’m doing or how I’m gonna meet the deadline.

5 - 6pm: Proverbial hour of overtime because, hey, who leaves work at 5 anymore!

6pm: Drive home. Justin Bieber blastin’ on the radio.

6.30 - 7pm: Cook and eat dinner.

7 - 8pm: Blog about day.

8pm - 11pm: Work to make up for lost time this morning. There’s no way I can meet the deadline.

I love my job.

Today was Saturday. 

I haven’t had a Saturday in a while. Up until today I have been spending every waking minute either working or studying or thinking about how I should be working or studying and then getting flustered and panicky and therefore doing nothing productive in any sense of the word.

You see, I am an accountant. Yesterday, I sat a six hour exam to become a chartered accountant. 

Rewind to seven months ago and I would have just started the first of a series of six gruelling workshops for this qualification - the culmination of all the blood, sweat and tears I shed in these workshops being the said exam.

I feel like people might think I’ve been over dramatic about this whole saga, but really, it’s been a tough seven months. Workshops involved working in teams (which I don’t do well), giving business presentations (which I don’t do well), writing (which I don’t do well) reports under extreme time pressure and actively participating in group discussions (which I don’t do well). 

I don’t want to bore you with any more detail but in summary - I need to have passed that exam. Dear God I hope I passed.

Results come out on the 30th November. I won’t make it to work as I am sick that day. I also fly out to Singapore that day.

Pretty much, if I don’t pass, I have to quit life as an accountant. Reason being that everyone at the accounting firm I work at will know me as ‘the girl that failed’ and not book me on any important jobs. Also because I will take it as a sign from the universe that accounting isn’t for me. 

I’ll keep you posted.