Dream or Nightmare?

I'm here in Makati - in the heart of the country's business field. And I don't know whether I am living my biggest dream or my worst nightmare.

I am here now. So I better start living my life. Doesn't matter if it's my dream or nightmare. I better wake up.

Cat Talk

I'm an animal lover but I had no particular interest in cats, probably because my mother couldn't tolerate their presence in our house. The last pet cat we had was Minggay who died some ten years ago.

Then they came into my life - the cat family who claimed my room in Davao like it was their kingdom. And I allowed them.

The Mother Cat - black, thin and ugly. I have no right to judge her or anyone. But when I could turn away from the reality of her physical looks, I couldn't turn away from her bad attitude. How dare she treat me as if I were an intruder when she was the one who violated my privacy. She howled at me a lot - at all hours of the day, didn't understand that I needed time to rest or study.

The Father Cat - I concluded that he's the Father Cat because one of the kittens has his color, the other one has the mother's. He doesn't officially reside in our dormitory. He probably has another family somewhere else. At first, it seemed that the Mother Cat was mad at the Father Cat. She wouldn't allow him to go near her and their two kittens. The Father Cat spent many nights outside the room before the Mother Cat finally talked to him. After that, they started going out again, leaving the kittens behind. While the Mother Cat is ugly, the Father Cat is handsome. Makes me wonder....

Fred, Kitten No. 1 - I named him (assuming he's a boy) after the boy in the next window, a fellow reviewee (now a CPA) who hails from Zamboanga. Fred is the more active kitten - the first one to walk and talk. And because he's sweet, I favored him more.

Dana, Kitten No. 2 - I named her (assuming she's a girl) after a friend of my friend who I probably can claim a friend who spent a few nights in the next room. She keeps to herself and wouldn't come near me. Not even for a courtesy call to the legal lessee of the room.

The Suitors - How dare that Mother Cat entertain suitors when she already has a husband. These two suitors regularly visit the Mother Cat. But the Father Cat is better-looking and seem to have a stronger and deeper personality.

I left all of them last Monday. I miss them, even if there were times in the past when I wanted to get rid of them. And now that I have left my room, they too have left it. The new occupants wouldn't have them.

Now, the kittens will experience the harsh reality of our landlady's ill temper and low tolerance on their kind. Soon they will suffer the hot baths (lapwa) that their elders suffered and still suffer. Now, I wouldn't be there to protect them. I feel sad for them. I hope that they leave that place and find a better one for themselves. I pray that they find someone who will treat them like royalties the way that I did. #

Exam Leaks and Notes

Getting out of the examination room, the first question you'd ask and would be asked of you is: How was it, nahirapan ka?

I could not give a definite answer to that. It wasn't hard. It wasn't easy. In the middle. But easier than harder. Does that make sense?

Examinees have given different answers. But majority of the retakers said that this May's examination was easier than last October's. Then thanks that I took it this May.

The dates we've been waiting for passed as if they were just normal days. I took the exam as if it was just a series of long quizzes.

They said that you would know if you'll pass. I don't think so. Many examinees had stronger faith than I had. Many claimed the CPA title long before the results came. Yet not all of them had been successful. The truth is, you wouldn't know until the moment you finally see your name in the list of successful examinees posted in the Internet.

My personal assessment of the subjects:

Theory of Accounts - 80 items. Back to basics. Accounts. Journal entries. My advice, don't spend so much time on this subject. There are subjects which are more worthy of the time.
Business Law - 35 items. Basic concepts. Some of the answers: Agency by necessity, Partnership by will, Real estate mortgage. No Latin answers.
Taxation - 35 items. I spent so much time on this subject. I read four books of three different authors. For just 35 items!!! So how was I expected to remember them all - the dates, the rates, formula, the endless lists. So there. Study hard for this. And even if you do, it's no assurance.
Management Services - 70 items. No matter how easy this subject is supposed to be, it will always be difficult for me. But they said it was easy. Yeah, the pre-boards were more difficult. I guess it was easy.
Auditing Theory - 100 items. It wasn't hard. But I couldn't say that I liked it. It was so different from the ones we were familiar with. Most of which, you couldn't get from the pre-boards or review materials. Again, go back to basics, the very foundation.
Auditing Problems - 40 items. Many cases required the basics - current assets, liabilities, stockholders' equity. Basics.
Practical Accounting 1 - 50 items. They weren't from Valix. Fellow examinees said that many questions came from Ocampo's Auditing Problems. Very long problems and most of the data is irrelevant. So read the question first to know what small thing is asked. I did not have an easy time. But I enjoyed it.
Practical Accounting 2 - 50 items. The subject most people take for granted. The subject I took for granted. If ever I failed and was conditioned, I know it will be because of P2.

But then, we don't really know if it will be the same for the next exams. The Board of Accountancy (BOA) will not give the same questions because some of those who will take the October exam have taken the May exam.

And the greater threat is that the review directors of the popular review centers got hold of the test papers. Valix of CPAR and Ocampo of PRTC talked very proudly about the answers after the examinations. How, when and whether it's legal is a big question. Maybe they sat with BOA to deliberate. Maybe. I hope that's the reason. #

First Post

I just became a CPA.

Weeks ago, I thought that the first thing I would do after knowing the results was to write about it. But it took me three days to do this. The feelings have subsided. Right now, I'm not feeling much.

It's like I have to learn to write again. It's been a long time of an all-accounting life but the irony is, I feel as though I haven't had enough of Accounting. Seems like I want more of it.

I threw my Accounting materials and notes yesterday. Mixed emotions. I thought I'd be relieved that I wouldn't have to read them again -ever. But I felt sad. It was like parting with very dear friends. The funny thing is, it was only yesterday that I realized how dear they are to me.

No matter how much I wanted to hold on to them, I let them go. They have no place in my life anymore. No use reading them again. I have already taken the board exam. And passed it. How can I be sad?!#