Repeat After Me, "I Love Microeconomics"

So it seems that the takehome final isn’t as easy as I thought. I’ve been working on it since Monday and it’s still a work in progress.

Today there was an abbreviated session of microeconomics class since there wasn’t that much material left to cover. The professor had us meet at 10:00 instead of the usual 09:10 and let us out a bit early.

We, as in our study group, decided the day before that we would eat out and then after lunch, discuss the final. We went to Peking Express (note: need to correct the name in previous entries) for lunch, then Espresso Royale Caffe for coffee and to study. The place was quite busy, and there wasn’t a table big enough that was also vacant for us to study at, so in the end, we settled into a tiny table with sofas all around.

We went over the questions, one by one in detail, asking what each other did, what kind of answers were derived and how. It was a really nice experience. This Friday, after the recitation class, we’ll be going it over another time (perhaps the last time). The rules state that we can’t “collude” after Monday, so hopefully we’ll get everything done and that’s that.

After the study session, I went with Ying-ying to the Olin Health Center and inquire some things about insurance, like getting a waive form and stuff. The person there wasn’t really helpful, and I guess, judging from her attitude, was a bit annoyed. Oh well, nobody’s perfect.

In the end, I told Ying-ying that I would look over the other insurance provider and see what the situation is. After I got home, I checked out the website and it seemed to me that PSI didn’t have prescription drug coverage. I’ll have to tell Ying-ying that. I then called Chickering Group, who provides insurance to MSU; the receptionist told us that because of yada yada, like inflation and other costs increases, the premium increased as a result. That didn’t seem right, so I called Human Resources about it. I left voice messages since the two representatives weren’t there, but I got a call back quite promptly. She explained that the increase was because of the length of coverage provided, that being from January to August, where as the lower amount due on the previous tuition bill was from September to December.

That explains it. So now I know. I guess in the end, I'll stick with Chickering.

I also called around for chimney repair estimates. Last time the guy gave me a quote of $225 for tuck-pointing and cleaning; I decided to call around for other comparisons (in terms of estimates) and I got another one. The guys or crew were outside working already, so they came by after my call. They checked things out and asked about the quote, and said they could match it and even go lower to $200. I love free market. I also felt a bit more comfortable with this company, because the estimate sheet was a bit more professional, picturing a diagram of a chimney, denoting the terms and stuff. Hopefully their workmanship also is of that caliber.

I’ll call them to schedule for a repair and cleaning the week after finals, hopefully on the 19th; as for the other company, I called this afternoon to cancel.

As of writing this, I couldn't access the MSU webpage, and so I couldn't link the corresponding sites, I'll try it a bit later.

The site is back, so the links are all updated.