My husband, Kyle Proebsting, is an actuary. Do you even know what that is? I sure didn't. Have you seen the movie Along Came Polly? Ben Stiller? That's who I married. He plays with numbers and formulas all day, it's really pretty gross. I would tell you more about what it is that he does, but honestly, I don't know. It is beyond anything I can comprehend. But then again, I have trouble with negatives and positives. This is another one of those things, like the chicken strips, that makes me question how we stayed together. The girl that is brought to tears by a division sign married the guy that uses math in it's most difficult form.
He definitely deserves an entire blog post on this one. I am in awe of the fact that he has the stamina to study for these tests, let alone pass them. When did he start studying for this test? In January. What's today? June 17th. It's absolutely disgusting, really. I challenge anyone that thinks they have a harder job. Although, you'd have to fight with him... cause I wouldn't even know how to debate it. I just know that he wins, automatically.
These fun exams that he takes take up most of his free time. He comes home from work (doing this stuff all day), works out, and studies for two hours (at least) every night. He may be in an office normal hours, but his day does not end there. I'd like to complain about it, and about the fact that I don't get to see him when he gets home at night. But that just wouldn't be fair. It's not like he enjoys it, and he does it all for both of us, so that would just be selfish of me. Leah and I find plenty of things to do to occupy our time, don't worry about us. The nesting helps tons. And then we get dinner ready, and usually eat when he gets finished around seven. It's not so bad. And the two of us have it easier than him - so we will just keep our mouths shut if we ever feel neglected! Being an actuary requires some serious commitment, and I quickly learned that marrying one requires almost the same amount. But we're so proud of him - and results like this make it all worth while.
So since he has been studying for this one exam since January, he's a shoe-in to pass, right? Wrong. Here's how it was described to me. Take 2500 students that only get, and have only ever gotten straight A's. (That's Kyle). Put them in a room with a 35 question test. Give them three and a half hours to complete those 35 problems. Now FAIL sixty percent of them. You're not just failing people like me that were good students, but not straight A students. You're failing the kids that don't know what it's like to get a B. And the funny thing about the 35 problems? They only grade 30 of them. Five of them they just throw out. Nice, huh? And how do you take these kids and torture them more? Well, you give them a "pass" or "fail" at the end of the test. When he finishes the final question, he will click the mouse one more time to reveal the results. Brutal. These tests are no joke. And Leah's dad is one of the few forty percent that passed. So naturally, that makes him smarter than sixty percent of the smartest people in the world. I think - see, that might not be true and I don't even realize it. That's what happens when I use numbers and words like "percent." I'm not even qualified enough to write this blog. But I think I'm right. He'll have to tell me when he reads it...
Thankfully, these exams don't go on forever. He will one day get to come home and just sit. And we are all anxiously waiting for that day. Today was a big one though, he passed his fifth and final preliminary exam. And just in time for Leah. He won't have to rush to start studying for the next big test right away, he will get to relax with me and soak up the little one. He talks about Modules, I think they're next. I'm not sure what they are, but I don't think they are the same as these tests. Then there are a couple other steps... then he's finished! (Again, I'm obviously not really sure what exactly it is that he does).
Now before I wrap this up, I snuck into his office and snapped some pictures, so you can have a visual. I knew I wouldn't be able to describe it all:
 |
| This is what he studies from. He doesn't even have a teacher to tell him how to do it. They give him a manual and wish him luck. |
 |
| The thickness. |
 |
| In case you were wondering how to do number 16 or 17. |
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| And his own notes. Gross, gross, gross. |
Are you impressed yet?
Now I will let you in on a little secret. You may be wondering how I took pictures, and wrote this blog so quickly. Well, that's not how it happened. I am actually writing this blog on Sunday, June 5th. You see, I know he's going to pass. He never gives himself any credit, and never relaxes until they're over. But I have all the confidence in the world in him. He has started taking practice exams, and has passed everyone of them. He doesn't even get excited about it. He will not let himself be happy until he takes the real thing and passes it. But I'm happy and excited already. He will pass, and I will be ready to post this blog before he even gets home! And where is Kyle right now? He's watching X-Men First Class. He woke up, studied, went to the movies, and in about 30 minutes he will be home to study some more. I took advantage of my opportunity to sneak some pictures, and write without fear of getting caught.
Congratulations, baby! Thanks for working so hard for us - we're SO proud of you!
Oh, and Leah - times up! Your dad took and passed his test. You have to come out now - we'll be waiting for you!!
No comments:
Post a Comment