Over a month between updates? Man, I suck.
Update: I survived my exam, and passed Module 2. Took a night in Whistler with Tim and the girls and started work on the Monday immediately following the exam. I enjoyed the work I did, but wondered why on earth I was called in early. The client I was booked on, I spent a day working on, then went begging to other associates and managers for stuff to do. I did some actual auditing, including vouching invoices, which was not fun, but was at least a "real" auditing procedure - I wasn't just reading about it anymore, I was doing it, which was cool. Also did assorted bits of corporate tax, and drafted a few letters.
Then this past Monday I started my training. (The work I did up to this point, they'd say, "Do this," and I'd say, "Okay, how?") Training is in Vacouver, a nasty commute from where I live - I added nearly an hour each way to my day. Kids up at 6, which means I'm up at 5:30. Ugh. I am not a morning person. (This comes as no surprise to most who know me.) Training is sometimes fun and interesting, other times dreadfully boring. The other associates are a bright, friendly group, though most of them are about 13 or 14 years younger than I. It's tough for them to relate to my life so far, and I'm trying to remember back to what it was like to be fresh out of school, but my life has taken such a different path from most of theirs. Even back then I really wasn't in the same place they are now.
Training in Vancouver continues for another week, then we have a week in Whistler - some more training, plus some fun activities, and a simulated audit, so if we screw up on our first try it's not on a real client. Then three more days in Vancouver with industry training - an introduction to the different industry groups within the firm. Then finally back to my little satellite office and my shorter commute.
Work, family and school is tough. I knew it would be hard, but I didn't really know what kind of hard. Tim's been great, picking up kids and driving them to ballet and gymnastics. He's even cooking suppers while I'm commuting to and from Vancouver. And we have some great friends who are taking the girls in at 7 am and seeing them to school while this goes on.
Knitting? Only on the Skytrain these days, but the girls' socks are coming along nicely.
Updates will continue sporadically. Check in from time to time to see how I survive the new routines.