Passed!

The first and foremost news of today: I passed my actuarial exam, DP-RU!  That's a weight off my shoulders that's been hanging there for 2.5 months, although admittedly Kraków has distracted me from it considerably.

Those of you that know an actuary can skip this paragraph.  For those that may be unfamiliar with our tests, let me try to give some perspective.  Most actuaries were good at school.  Passing tests may seem like no big deal.  However, these tests are different.  The actuarial exams are broad, deep, and require a lot of study and cleverness in the exam room.  Many are given 3-4 times a year, others (like DP-RU) are given only twice a year.  They require a large commitment of time both during and after work hours, and immense focus.  There are 5 mathematics exams, 8 modules (online classes) with two large assessments, 2 law-based exams, 4 additional modules, 2 essay exams, and 2 in-person seminars between start to finish in my track.  As of today, I am one exam, one module, and one seminar away from the finish line.  The race is not over, but today is a good day.

Returning to my day, the first part of my day and work was pretty normal.  However, when I came home, I found that my apartment had locked me out.  They told me that they would be changing the locks, so they asked for a time to come and give me the new key.  I chose 7PM, figuring that would give me enough time to come in, relax, and expect a visitor.  However, I failed to understand the order of things.  I thought they would give me the key, change the lock, and take the old key.  The alternative order of changing the lock, giving me the key, and taking back the old key seemed silly to me; they would wind up locking a paying tenant out.  Apparently, the illogical way was their choice.  So I wound up standing outside my apartment for a half-hour waiting for the guy to show up with my key.  We had differing opinions of how this should work, and I don't think I fully convinced him that my order was correct.  At least let's hope their English improves on the communication emails.  My personal favorite exchange from our conversation went like this:

Him: So, you know, we didn't want to bother you with someone working on your door for 30 minutes while you were at home relaxing.
Me: I understand, but instead I wound up waiting outside my apartment for 30 minutes waiting for you to give me the key.

Also, recall that my apartment landing has timed lights.  Thanks to this experience, I know that they are time for about 110 seconds before they turn off.  OK, enough griping about that.

I also went to the "just meeting" of the language exchange group tonight.  It was fun; they had a birthday, and I had my exam to celebrate, so it was a fun time.  I was also able to exchange my phone number with a few of them, so I may have more social events on my calendar.  Yay!  In a similar vein, I'm meeting the guy I met on the train for lunch tomorrow, so that's also fun.

It's July 13th, and it was rainy and cool for most of the day.  Big shocker: I wore long pants and a jacket to the language exchange group meeting.  Those of you baking in the Indiana heat back home can appreciate that.

No pictures today because of the rain, sorry.