"Whoaaaaa.....We're half way there...Ohhhhhh.....Livin on a prayer...Take my hand and we'll make it I swear...Whoaaaaa...Livin on a prayer."

Nobody could sum it up better than Bon Jovi. This past week was the halfway point in the semester, which means: Mid-Terms. And not just your run of the mill exams where you wake up the morning of the exam still hungover and decide to flip through your notebook 20 minutes before class (hopefully I didn't completely give away my undergrad experience).

With Accounting on Monday and Finance on Tuesday most of us were running on fumes. I would say we were running on Dunkin like much of America, but there isn't a Dunkin Donuts in Madison, which is a whole other story for a different time and place. Finance was particularly difficult. That isn't right, Finance was an absolute whip. No other way around it. It was like two hours of playing paintball. You are going to make it through, but you are going to have a few bruises in key places and there is an above average shot that you ran into a tree or four at some point.

Before: This was how most of us felt Tuesday morning before the evening exam.

Remember that scene in Old School when Vince Vaughn looks up from his exam toward the professor, makes eye contact, gives him the thumbs up, and says, "Good test, this is a good test." Sort of had that feeling. I thought about doing that, but then the thought of Coach K taking my exam and telling me to leave the room overwhelmed me. I kept my head down.

When the exam was done, people literally clapped, gave high fives, I think there was even a chest bump or two. Following the exam, everybody headed to a local watering hole and took their frustration out on a pitcher or two. I have to say that has been one of the highlights of the semester to date. People that I haven't seen outside the walls of Grainger were throwing down drinks, having a good time, acting like undergrads again. Six weeks of studying, interviewing, preparing, all seemed to come to a head Tuesday evening. Needless to say, Wednesday was not the most productive day in the history of the Wisconsin School of Business. I know a couple of wounded warriors that were still feeling the effects on Thursday as well.

After: This was Greg Arseneau and Brian Ward coming out of the Finance Exam.

So far, everything has gone pretty well. We have our first set of midterms behind us and a couple of class projects under our belts so things are looking up. I finally feel like I am hitting my stride and getting into a routine, which typically means something is wrong. We have a little break this week, but have two midterms and a paper due next week so the break doesn't last long.

With more time, comes more posts. Have a great Monday!