...Joan Didion: What is Home? In Joan Didion’s essay “On Going Home” she writes about leading a double life. She feels like one person when she’s with her husband and daughter in Los Angeles, and a completely different person when back “home” surrounded by her childhood family in the Central Valley of California. During this particular trip, she begins to reflect on her life in Los Angeles. Didion contemplates the fact that she often feels uneasy around her husband, just like he feels uneasy being around her family. At a crossroad, she must decide not only who she is, and the life she wants, but also the kind of life she wants for her daughter. Her life in Los Angeles has cleansed her from her youth—one that was dusty and full of useless trinkets. She ponders the time her husband wrote the word “D-U-S-T” on those useless trinkets and she remembers her feelings of sadness and indignation. She says, “We live in dusty houses…filled with mementos quite without value to him” (139-40). The dust-covered trinkets signify what is important to her, or what needs to be addressed in her marriage. Yet, these objects just lay there waiting for someone to see them—for someone to dust them off and care for them—not unlike how Didion wishes her husband would see her and nurture her in their marriage. Didion wonders which of her two homes is normal or if they are both flawed. When she and her husband are with her family, he becomes apprehensive about her behavior, “…because once there I fall...
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...Being a manager is hard. Throughout his book, “Defining Moments”, Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. explains the challenges managers face when making decisions on a daily basis and provides a framework for how to tackle those challenges. Early on, Badaracco explains how decisions between right and right (as opposed to right and wrong) are often the most difficult. Decisions like this can be seen as ‘defining moments’ because, according to Badaracco, they reveal, test, and shape a manager’s personal values as well as those of their organization. They also cause managers to come away with ‘dirty hands’, the unfortunate side effect of choosing one ‘right’ option over the other. It is how Badaracco puts these decisions in perspective that sets this book apart from other ethical decision-making books. ‘Defining Moments’ goes on to introduce a few real world cases that exemplify right versus right dilemmas. These examples demonstrate certain challenges that manager’s face, as well as serve to impress upon the reader the idea that there is almost never a clear-cut solution. The first case is that of Steve Lewis, a black analyst asked to represent his company’s diversity at a special presentation. The issue lies in whether he should sacrifice his personal values to satisfy his company’s request. Lewis’ case reveals how conflicts of personal integrity and moral identity shape one’s ultimate decision. A lot of thought must be given to choices that involve a matter of personal values in terms of...
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...A defining moment in my life, a momentous event in itself, yet small enough to not really matter to the text books of society’s future. Something that had changed my life and my views on morality, and that something was when my father found out that I had been smoking pot recreationally. I will never forget walking into the front door of my two story home at the ripe old age of fifteen. I was already thinking I was in trouble for being home late, If only I had known what awaited me inside that door. I didn’t even make it two steps into the house before I seen my father, Folgers coffee can in hand, “come up stairs” my dad demanded. A little thing about this Folgers coffee can that I would like you to know. It was my secret stash. I had a quarter ounce of Blueberry Kush in it, a pipe, and some rolling papers, all of which in society’s eyes deemed me a drug addict. I followed my dad up the thin stairwell and into his room. “Sit down and let’s have a talk” he said. I sat on my dad’s bed, sinking into it, either because it’s so soft or because of the heavy weight of guilt on my shoulders, at this point it didn’t really matter. “What do you want to talk about?” I tried to maintain my innocence, act like I didn’t know what was in the coffee can. After all you are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. He called my bluff and dumped the contents of the coffee can on his bed, paraphernalia planting itself in my father’s possession. I didn’t know how to react in the sudden...
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...Most Defining Moments in My Life Most people had at least one defining moment in their life, whenever it is getting their first pair of glasses to graduating elementary school or getting their first pet. Those moments are the ones who define us and help to shape our personalities and decisions. We all had pleasant events happen to us at some point in our lives, however we also had unpleasant and regretful events happening to us, whenever it was our fault or not. We all have a moment in your lives that we can surely say it changed our lives. So far, my life have been defined by my decisions and occurrences which helped me shape me into the person I am now. My life has been defined by unpleasant events which happened around my surroundings, the decisions I have made over the course of my life and the effect of others decisions over me....
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...Life Defining Moments My friend & I were in the car, on our way to Glorietta 4 to catch movie with the rest of the group. She then asked me if some life-defining moments ever occurred. I wasn’t sure what she was talking about & I didn’t have a quick answer for that. I remember her telling me that one of her life defining moments was looking at a framed picture by her bedside, a picture of her and her gorgeous boyfriend, her arms around his neck, in a candid pose. Or something like that. I remember laughing, sine I could have thought of that too. She then explained that a life-defining moment was something you’d like to happen in the future no matter how far-off or crazy it might be. It was like a goal of some sort, but it’s just something conjured up to tickle the imagination. We didn’t dwell on that for long, for the conversation reverted to Harry Potter’s new adventures and the movie that were about to watch that afternoon. I totally forgot it, until a kabarkada now based in Seattle shared her own life-defining moment through e-groups, after that friend of mine (whom I watched the movie with) shared a brand-new one. They were all seeing themselves as successful IT Professionals in power suits rushing from their pad to their office in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. They were either carrying Loius Vitton bags or their slim Compaq notebooks, while talking with a client on their top-of-the-line mobile phones and the, most expensive Armani shades protecting their...
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...SOLDIER Ninety six. The wall read. The amount of days I had spent staring at myself in the mirror, wondering who I really was after my life had been torn apart ruthlessly straight down the middle. Beginning from the time my eyes had fluttered open, I knew I was no longer the same person I had been before the accident. Even with amnesia, I was still able to sense the changes I had gone through. Whether it had been through my actions and thoughts or through the warmth and longing in the eyes of my brother when he talked about who I once used to be. The memory flashed in the back of my head like it had just happened yesterday. I remember the moment I had woken up in the hospital with doctors and nurses rejoicing my awakening. I was asleep for...
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...at why he would call me of all people. This is only the fifth time he has ever called me and each time was for some form of labor. "Well, you see, I have a new person coming to live in the house." He confirmed my suspicions. I was probably going to be the one to show them around. When I let what he said sink in I started getting butterflies in my belly. A new singer, writer, or musician?! I'm curious as to how their voice will sound, what they will look like, if they write, or what they will play! I can't wait to find out who it will be. "That's amazing, Sir, but why are you telling me this?" Even so this was a bit unusual. There are well over a hundred people, I'm sure he'd rather have do this job. "We're kind of short on rooms at the moment so would you be willing to room with him or her?" He inquired and I felt my pulse quicken. He doesn't even feel the need to tell me the gender?! S-Share? A room with someone I've just met... It couldn't be all that bad. Though I should be careful as to hide my "collection" and did he just say that he doesn't know the gender of my roommate? "Sure! I'd love to. There's no harm in meeting someone new!" I replied in my most cheerful of voices just to annoy him. He groaned over the phone. I snickered in my head. "Okay... Then come to the foyer to meet them." He grumbled at me and hung up. I laughed and decided to wash my face and hands before heading upstairs. I was a mess from laying in the dirt. I hurried upstairs after cleaning my appearance...
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...Martha Stewart; the home-maker that all of America watched create fabulous recipes; may not be all we crack her up to be. Some of the ingredients that make up her life may shock you; reporters and journalists alike have spoke out against her. Even her own daughter has some things to say about her childhood. Martha Stewart has been shunned for many things, including the ImClone Stock scandal, her love life, and her family life. The ImClone stock scandal is probably one of the most defining moments in Martha’s career. Martha had 4,000 shares of ImClone and sold them based on inside information. Her broker, Bacanovic told her that Waskal, another stockholder, had sold all four million of his stock. He knew that stock was going down and that they...
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...content and the hum of the threshing machine sounding from the farm. "What did I come in here for? What did I want to find?" My hands were empty. "Perhaps its upstairs then?" The apples were in the loft. And so down again, the garden still as ever, only the book had slipped into the grass. But they had found it in the drawing room. Not that one could ever see them. The windowpanes reflected apples, reflected roses; all the leaves were green in the glass. If they moved in the drawing room, the apple only turned its yellow side. Yet, the moment after, if the door was opened, spread about the floor, hung upon the walls, pendant from the ceiling--what? My hands were empty. The shadow of a thrush crossed the carpet; from the deepest wells of silence the wood pigeon drew its bubble of sound. "Safe, safe, safe" the pulse of the house beat softly. "The treasure buried; the room . . ." the pulse stopped short. Oh, was that the buried treasure? A moment later the light had faded. Out in the garden then? But the trees spun darkness for a wandering beam of sun. So fine, so rare, coolly sunk beneath the...
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...guilty, yet helpless man. Doesn’t this sound familiar? Don’t our lives seem, sometimes, the result of a game of dice being played by someone/something bigger than ourselves, even bigger than life itself? Just the fact that we are who we are is nothing but a result of chance. This statement, beyond its recklessness appearance, has an explanation consisting of three moments of existences that are determined by the roulette. The first one goes back to before we’re born. Have you ever thought of how many billions of chances were there when your parents’ genetic material mixed to create you? I, for instance, could’ve been blond, tall and smart. Or short and dumb. Or anything. But, somehow, I turned out to be me, out of what appear to be infinite chances of who I could’ve been. And this process follows no logic or intervention from our part: is the work of randomness. The second moment, chronologically, involves our environment. Where we’re born, who our parents are, and the rest of conditions that welcome us to this world are the sort of aspects I include in this side of this pyramidal die. The third and final moment is composed of the things that are choices in our lives. This is also a consequence of luck because the construction of ourselves is the outcome of the decisions we make, which have a luck component. That...
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...CAPM essay In the second scenario BBBY would use its $400 million in excess cash and borrow the remaining funds until Question 2 a) We will need to calculate the debt-to GDP ratio for each year separately in order to compute the total accumulation. The following equations and variables are used in question a) ∆b=g-t+r-y* b g-t=2 i=3 π=1 r=i-π=3-1=2 y=1 b=0,9 (=90%) Year 1 ∆b=2+2-1* 0,9=2,9 byear 1=90+2,9=92,9 Year 2 ∆b=2+2-1* 0,929=2,929 byear 2=92,9+2,929=95,829 Year 3 ∆b=2+2-1* 0,95829=2,95829 byear 3=95,829+2,95829=98,78729 Year 4 ∆b=2+2-1* 0,9878729=2,9878729 byear 4=98,78729+2,9878729=101,7751629 Year 5 ∆b=2+2-1* 1,017751629=3,017751629 byear 5=101,7751629+3,017751629=104,792914529 Therefore, after 5 years the debt-to-GDP ratio will be equal to 104,8 % (rounded to one decimal) b) The debt is not sustainable. The criteria to test whether debt is sustainable is as follows: ∆b=g-t+r-y* b=0 Plotting in the known variables results in the following: ∆b=2+2-1* b=2+b= 0 Solving for b gives the following: b= -2 Therefore, the initial debt should be -200% (so surplus) in order to maintain a sustainable debt. c) If the nominal interest rate rises to 10%, it would imply that the real interest rate is as follows: r=i-π=10-π Therefore, we know that: ∆b=g-t+r-y* b=2+10-π-1*0,9=2+9-π*0,9 The criteria to maintain a sustainable debt is as follows: ∆b=0 This implies that ∆b= 2+9-π*0,9=0 Solving for inflation results in the...
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...Tutorial 6 Questions Question One What is a probability and how can we relate it to share returns? Question Two Define the terms expected value and standard deviation. In providing your answer, show how these terms relate to share prices. Question Three What do we mean when we say an investor is risk averse? Question Four You are given the following information about the possible returns from an investment: |Return (%) |Probability | |12% |0.15 | |10% |0.65 | |5% |0.20 | Given this information, calculate: 1. The expected return on the investment; 2. The variance of the return on the investment; 3. The standard deviation of the return on the investment; and, 4. The probability that the return on the investment is equal to or less than 8%. Question Five You are a market analyst and have identified 4 different market conditions together with the probability that these market conditions will occur. The information contained in the table below relates to the return on 3 shares under each market condition: |Market Condition |Probability...
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...Formulas to Know for the Exam Although we do not suggest you memorize a lot of information to prepare for the exam, the following formulas are some of the items you do need to memorize, as well as understand. There will not be a lot of questions requiring you to use these formulas, but it will be helpful to be able to apply these at a moment’s notice. If you are not comfortable with math, you should be happy to hear that you can know none of these formulas and still pass the exam! The most important formulas are those relating to earned value, as earned value is a key component of monitoring and controlling. Formulas to Know for the Exam Title PMP® Exam Prep Chapter Reference Formula Present Value (PV) PV = FV (1 + r)n Integration Management Expected Activity Duration (Triangular Distribution)* P+M+O 3 Time Management Expected Activity Duration (Beta Distribution)* P + 4M + O 6 Time Management P−O 6 Time Management Beta EAD +/− SD Time Management LS − ES, or LF − EF Time Management Cost Variance (CV) EV − AC Cost Management Schedule Variance (SV) EV − PV Cost Management Cost Performance Index (CPI), or Cumulative CPI (CPIC) EV EVC or AC ACC Cost Management Schedule Performance Index (SPI) EV PV Cost Management Estimate at Completion (EAC) AC + Bottom-up ETC Cost Management Estimate at Completion (EAC) BAC CPIC Cost Management Estimate at Completion...
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...Week 1 homework chapter 1 1. we have: Cf= 55000, cv= 8, p= 21; v= 10 000 a. Total cost TC = cf + v*cv TC= 55000+ 10000*8 TC= $135000 Total revenue TR= v*p TR= 10000*21 TR=$ 21000 Profit Profit= TR-TC Profit= TR-TC P= 21000-135000 P= $ -114 000 b.Break even volume, V= cf/ (p- cv) V= 55000/ (21- 8) V= 4230.77 recap tires, 2. monthly break even volume V= cf/ (p- cv) We have Cf= 30000, cv= 0.16, p= 0.40 V= 30000/ (0.4- 0.16) V= 125000 units 3. If the new price is p= 0.60, Then the break even volume will decrease. We don’t need to sell as much units as before to break even. Proof: V= 30000/ (0.6- 0.16) V= 68181.81 units 4. If we increase advertising, that means CF increases, then the Break even volume will increase, because the cost of the production increased. Proof; V= 30000+ 14000/ (0.6- 0.16) V= 100000 units 5.we have Cf= 5600, cv= 0.35, p= ?; v= 2000 (note: Cf= 2500+3100; Cf= $5600) a.What price should be charged to break even? Break even means Profit = 0, then TR=TC Meaning V*P= cf+ V*cv, then P= (cf+ V*cv)/ V P= (5600+ 2000*0.35)/ 2000 P= $3.15 b. If during the season, there are less guest than expected, to break even, she needs to increase the prices. 6. we have Cf= 360000, cv= 12000, p= 17000; a. determine V , V= cf/ (p-...
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...I sat in a passenger seat of an old rental van with five of my closest friends, who just happen to be my band mates, staring off into the distance watching the lights fly by the window one by one. The view of the surrounding landscape turned suddenly into a completely unfamiliar area as if teleported to a new world. The unknown street names and buildings took over the area around us. Everything hit me all at once so unexpectedly, like the sound of a first lighting strike in the beginning of a storm. At that moment, nothing else mattered. This is finally happening. Andrew asked, “Do you think we will find a place to sleep every night?” Andrew was always the worried one of the bunch, but he played bass on stage he moved around like a madman. “3 weeks are a long time so probably not,” my vocalist Brandon chuckled out, “but I mean a majority of even the popular bands that go on a tour can not find a place to sleep every night so we can always just crash out in a Wal-Mart parking lot.” From my viewpoint, I could see my band member’s faces in the reflection of the rear view mirror as they all spoke about what they wanted to do at the upcoming shows; their eyes getting bigger than the cities we headed to in excitement. I still just sat there; having this profound realization in my mind while a smile slowly sprouted across my face. Over the course of 4 years, I spent more time alone in my room, sitting in an old desk chair wrapped up in duct tape to keep it from falling apart...
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