I really want to know if I’ve passed the CIM exam now. I need to know if I will have to take it again in the summer - if I do I want to start revising as soon as possible because I don’t want to have to do it a third time! Oh, I really hope I’ve passed.
DHL delivered my OU course package on Fossils today - two books, a DVD, some booklets and a box containing casts of four fossils. I’m very curious as to what we do with the casts I have to say. Still, all will become apparent in the fullness of time I’m sure. I can’t wait to get started though.
I may have got carried away, but there’s a series of short courses at the OU that I’ve been wanting to do for ages, but couldn’t really while I was committed to the CIM Professional Diploma. A couple of them are related to my new found, possible new hobby of stargazing, so I thought I’d look them up, see how much their price has gone up. It turns out they are running four of the courses I want to do for the final time this year, so I’ve got to get a move on or I’ll miss my chance.
Hence, I’ve signed up to two of them tonight. The first is Introducing Astronomy and the second is Fossils and the History of Life. I’ll do the one on Planets in May and the one on Understanding the Universe later in the year. I start in February and I’ve got five months to complete them. I’m very excited about getting back to learning about stuff just for pleasure and because I’m interested in it, not because work’s got my arm up my back!
I just have to hope now that I have passed the final CIM module or I’m going to be very busy studying three courses! Oh well, I’ve done it before and the reviews say on the one on fossils is really easy. It’ll be fine.
Phew am I glad the MMIP exam is over! I’ve done nothing but study and revise since Saturday. I won’t say I’ve passed because I reckon my chances are 50/50 but I ain’t gonna worry about that for now. All I’m planning now is a long weekend of relaxation and fun - kicking off with watching the new Star Trek movie on DVD and planning my outfit for Lucy’s masquerade ball next weekend. So far I’ve got the wig and the mask. Looking forward to it!
I’ve had a long weekend - how was it? It was glorious!
Saturday I spend chilling out in front of the telly while making a necklace and finishing off modifying the handbag I’ve bought to go with my wedding dress. I’m soo glad Sky 1, 2 and 3 are back on Virgin TV. I’ve really missed Stargate and Bones.
Sunday I confess I chilled out in a big way - I had a long lie in, a luxurious bath and then went and did the weekly shopping - well there had to be some semblance of the normal routine. Then I cooked Mark and I a yummy fillet steak dinner.
Today - well today I had a long list of things to do because I hadn’t done anything the whole weekend. I spent the morning catching up with Mum’s website - that took a good 3 hours. Then I did the ironing (no, honestly). Then I did the washing, well at least most of it. Then I did the washing up.
Then I took all the clothes that were too big for me to the charity shop, but I kept one big pair of trousers and a big top as evidence.
Then I went clothes shopping - I was supposed to go to Asda in search of cheap trousers, but I ended up in M&S in the Trafford Centre instead (for somewhat convoluted reasons) where I got distracted by Per Una and ended up buying a rather expensive but truly gorgeous Christmas skirt and top for going out in. I had to do it - the skirt is a size 14 - a size 14!! And it fits perfectly. The top is a size 16, and is probably a smidge tight but I’ll get away with it. Then, even better, I found a cheap pair of work trousers - also size 14, so I bought them too. Then I remembered that my belt was too big as well so I bought a spangly snakeskin belt from Next. I had real fun shopping for clothes for the first time in years. No longer am I a mishapen freak.
When I got home I made a curry from scratch - making the paste in my spice grinder and everything. Then it was off to Weight Watchers. Now after last week’s failure I’ve been super stringent this week. Basically I’ve done the points plan just eating core foods. I really wanted to loose 3lb because that would get me to my interim goal and exactly the weight I planned to be when I planned to be there. I am delighted because I lost - 3lb!!! Well done to me! Also this evening, they revealed the new plan - Discover - funnily enough it’s basically the points plan where you eat core foods - at least I know it works!!
This week I was supposed to be studing for the CIM exam on Thursday, but given everything that’s going on at work, plus all the pressure I’m piling on myself at home I decided to leave it till the summer. Come May/June I know I will regret it, but work have been very supportive and have let me book two weeks off work to study for the two exams I’ll have to do then. Turns out this was probably a good decision as Mark has got an Ofsted inspection at work this week and is really stressed. It would have been awful if we’d both been really grumpy and time starved this week.
Whoo hoo! I passed my Marketing Planning exam. I’m so pleased because now I only have two more CIM exams to sit (sorry I mean pass) - then it’s all over and I get my life back.
The problem with my studying marketing is while it is all well and good and worthy and even interesting it really gets in the way of my studying those things I’m really curious about, just for hobbies sake.
What I really want to do is a range of the OU’s 10 credit courses - a bit of archaeology, a bit of planetary science and bit of earth science. Instead I’m stuck on a treadmill feeling forced and pressured into learning about marketing.
Then there’s all the other CPD stuff I’m ultimately going to need - managing finance and budgets, managing staff - if I ever make it into management which seems very unlikely at the moment.
One of the other CIM students said something heartening to me today though - he said ‘yeah but just think about the extra salary we’ll get when we’ve finished this diploma and get new jobs on the strength of it!’. He genuinely believed that it was worth it, that it would make a difference to our employability. From experience at my place of work this isn’t true, they encourage you to do the qualification and then ignore any advice you give them based on your new knowledge, so I guess I’d lost sight of the fact that the Professional Diploma in Marketing might be of real value - might actually be worth all the effort. It’s a nice thought that I’m doing it for a reason, and not just because it seemed like a good idea at the time.
I’m feeling good and relieved now. It’s over (till the winter). I took the CIM Marketing Planning exam today.
Over the past couple of months I’ve supposed to have been studying most evenings, but I just haven’t had the willpower or energy. I was signed up for three exams with the intention of choosing my best two to actually sit, but once again time ran away from me and I decided to concentrate on just studying for one.
So last week I frantically studied and desperately tried to remember everything about marketing planning. I was struggling with some of the concepts because the CIM recommended study text is so badly written, so I borrowed some text books from the library and used those. Much better, but it can be hard to know how much detail is enough. Anyway after cramming madly for a week and being an absolute cow to poor Mark who was on half-term break I found myself so worked up I was almost in tears all the time. I didn’t used to be like this - exams never used to stress me out. Then I went into rebellion mode and could barely even look at the books. I was paralysed - I couldn’t study but then I couldn’t do anything else either without feeling extremely guilty. At least I could sleep though.
Anyway, after a couple of days of standing back and hoping that my memory had absorbed enough I forced myself to go to the exam this morning (I was all for chickening out but that’s the coward’s way out). And, actually it wasn’t too bad. I can’t think what all the fuss was about. Ridiculous really, all that stress and for what - it was just an exam.
I messed up really badly on the timing of the questions and overran by half an hour on the first question, still took 45 mins for the second question which left me about 5 mins for the last question (automatically losing myself 25/100 marks) so the chances of me getting 50% overall are fairly remote. The answers I wrote were pretty good but certainly not exceptional. So I expect to be resitting the exam in December but I’m certainly not ashamed or embarrassed - I did my best, and that’s all I can ask of myself. And you never know the examiners might be feeling generous.
I’m just so glad to be free of it for a while. I can watch TV, do the washing up, go shopping, see a movie without feeling guilty. Ah freedom!!! Not being a student is so under-rated.
I’ve passed my latest OU course - SK183. I ‘m a bit disappointed that they don’t give you a grade though - you just get a pass. Then there’s some notes that say how you did in each question - I got three ‘achieveds’ and three ‘well achieveds’ whatever that means. Give me a percentage damn it!
Anyway, I’m not allowed to do any more OU courses until I’ve finished this bloody awful CIM Diploma. So maybe never then. I’ve been really lazy with it again - I’m so stupid. It’s rather faded into the background now I’m on this health kick. I find it difficult to undertake more than two major activities at once (ie working and not eating). But when I get back from holiday I’ll have most of a week to try and catch up some. Time will tell though - I’m sure I’ll find more pressing things to do that will help me avoid studying towards it. It’s amazing how interesting housework becomes when there’s studying to do.
Hurray! I’ve passed the Marketing Communications module!! I got a B grade!! Whoo hoo, I don’t have to resit it and I’ve only got three modules left to pass.
Thank goodness. I really did not want to have to come in to work and tell my boss that I’d failed it. That would have been seriously embarrassing.
Phew.
Now, what am I going to do to treat myself?