Mike is a NINJA CPA Blogger.

After taking AUD two Fridays ago (which included a mishap with not clicking “Take a Break” on the screen between testlets), I moved on to a quick less-than-two-week review for BEC on Halloween.

The feeling is foreign to me. Where I’ve been engulfed in AUD theories and thought processes for the past 6 weeks, I’m now delving back into an odd mix of theory, structure and calculations again.

The most frustrating part is that it almost seems as though BEC requires more memorization than comprehensive understanding as it is a piecemeal grouping of whatever material was not covered by the other three.

Unfortunately I don’t have a photographic memory, and osmosis didn’t work too well in college. No matter. I can, I will, I must.

More curve balls … just as I am starting to get the identity theft thing settled, my dad suddenly needs to go under the knife and the kids have been making the 5am study habits impossible with countless wake ups throughout the night for the past two weeks. At least I’ll always have my NINJA Audio for the car. No matter. I can, I will, I must.

My mind is constantly being pulled in 37 directions. Still getting acclimated to my position at work, Grad school midterm the same week of BEC, three kids and a pregnant wife, my old man having surgery, really needing to get back into the gym…the list goes on. This is the time where my willingness to focus is really being tested.

These last hours are crucial toward what happens on exam day. No matter. I can, I will, I must.

I look forward to the day that I find out I’m done. The day where the atlas stone is removed from my shoulders and I can move on to the next thing. The day where I can spend more time with my kids and not feel guilty about it.

6 months or 6 years, I WILL get my NINJA CPA shirt and wear it proudly after exam completion. To the gym. To the grocery store. To my kids’ little league and soccer games. Wherever.