I am a plonker

I am reviewing my Finance Class Test because I'm meeting with my lecturer tomorrow to discuss it. Nothing sinister here. I passed. But I passed with a note that says, "This is a pass, Mindy, but I think we should talk." While it would be nice to think that he is seeking me out for my wit, charm and insight into the fascinating world of finance, it is actually because he is a nice man who is concerned that I got lucky on this test and is fearing a full-fledged hysterical fit during the final exam.

A well-meaning preemptive strike, if you will.

I have a lot of respect for this lecturer so I don't want to show up at his office clueless, to let him tell me how I should have done things differently without me even trying to figure it out myself. Therefore I am going through the items missed line by line to research my errors...I have two textbooks by my side and the idea is to open them and look up the topics I screwed up so that I can rework the problem and then verify it tomorrow.

So what does this have to do with me being a plonker, you ask?

So far, I haven't had to open a book to fix my error. I just had to read the question properly.

I can plead all sorts of crazy. It was 9 AM, and you know I'm no good in the AM. It had been a long week of classes and pressures, so I was drained and overtired. I hadn't had enough Omega3 smartacids to keep my brain firing on all cylinders. And I was an English/Art History major that traded on waffling, and have made a name for myself in my career through blagging, waffling, and charming my way into the good graces of suppliers and customers. I am known for a sense of humor, a creative/wacky streak, intuitition and good people skills. Finances, well let's just say I'm not that hot. How could you expect me to do well on this exam????

Actually, it all boils down to the fact that I am imprecise and I rush. If I'd read the question properly, if I'd taken time to outline the facts fully before working through my answer, if I'd just taken my time to think through the solution, I would have easily scored another 10% on this test.

In fact, there is only one question I don't understand yet, and that one won't be fixed by reading the textbook because I fundamentally don't understand why a customer paying late affects your interest payment. Ever the good sport, I'm going to spend some time with the accounting book to figure it out now. But DAGNABBIT! I should have done better on this dang test. GRRRRRRRR.

I can't believe how stupid I am sometimes.

Comments

Anonymous said…
But, you still learned something and retained it, that is what counts in the long run.
8:29 pm
Dale said…
Plonker. I don't mean that. I meant to say: Stupid.
9:38 pm
Dale said…
You do know I can barely spell finance let alone figure anything out that relates to it right?
9:38 pm
Ruth999 said…
"I fundamentally don't understand why a customer paying late affects your interest payment."

If the customer owes you money, that's the same as Your money sitting in Their bank account. So, they are the ones earning interest on it. Once they pay, you will be earning the interest. (Or, more likely, it will be reducing your overdraft so you will be paying less interest.)

If they pay late, they have your money for longer, and so you pay more interest cos your bank balance is lower than it would othewise have been.
11:18 am
Melinda June said…
Thanks for the encouragement.

See, Ruth, if only I could apply common sense when I take exams! I seem to get sidetracked with "terms".
5:56 pm
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