oil, economy and politics

oil has been riding up and inching ever so closely to the next drop off, which I might add am expecting pretty soon, concidering the oil levels/prices now these days are worse than the 1981 crisis.

We are also due in for the next major correction +10%>, we just had a 5% but in my mind that was just a preview. Summer slow season is here, the overexagerrated real estate bubble is still continuing, perhaps now is the right time. I am thinking though that mid summer or the fall we will see a decline, just hope its not the bear season, but just a correction.

On the other hand I think the correction will not turn in to a bear because by 2008 election race will be on and everyone and their mother will be trying to fix the economy.
Ilya Ilienko

But then ofcourse Mr. D Cheney will do his best to fix our economy and end the war.

yeah right!

I. Ilienko

reflecting on the GMAT experience...

I started studying in Oct of 2006, 6 months ago, with a first self assessed paper GMAT (untimed) and got a 530......
I thought it'll be easy and I thought I'll do well, but it seems to me that this one is a hard nut to crack.....
many people get the concept after a month or two, i am barely just understanding things now. at first I thought I d be happy with like a ~600 or so, but then the 7++ monkey jumped on my back.

here is my debrief (chronological):

Oct 2006 GMAT paper version 530
Oct MAnhattan GMAT: 560
Nov Manhatta GMAT: 640
Dec Kaplan software: 520
Dec MAnhattan GMAT: 680
Dec Kaplan software: 540
Jan Kaplan software: 540
Jan crackGMAT: 500
Feb 800score software: 620
Feb Kaplan sofware: 550
Feb princeton software: 580

here we go!!!

March:
Kaplan (retake): 560
800 score: 620
800 Score: 680
800 score 670
Princeton software 660
800 score sofware: 660
Princeton software 680:

April:
Gmat prep test #1: 640
Princeton: 680
old 800Score: 640
old 800 Score: 660
Princeton: 700
Gmat prep test #1 retake: 660
notes:
notes:
more notes......

May:
Gmat prep #2: 660
downloaded some JJ's (still don't know what those are, except that they are represenative of real questions on GMAT and are good for studying)

Ladies and gentelmen:
I am not a native speaker , but did graduate a 4 year university in US...
I have a full time job, and I studied on the train to work and during lunch and from work, on the weekends I took full tests and reviewed what I got wrong.
7 months straight.
I searched the net for anything and everything I could find, i looked at everyone's comments and read everyones experiences. I donloaded every piece of software I could find and it all.

I went from 530 to a 680=====
not great maybe in comparison with some, but it was good and I did it by myself, with a full time job and it all cost me 4$ for the train ride to the GMAT and from. VS thousands, some spend on classes (not that I think its not a good idea, I just can't bare spend money on something that I can do myself).

here are my 2 cents:
Kapan software:
waste of time, demoralizing, not represenative and badly worded and put together overall.....would not do it again.

800score: good stuff, especially the newer stuff, good quant.....verbal ok (good practice).

older 800 score: too easy, for someone going for 600+ way too easy, finished some tests with 10-15 minutes to spare.

Manhattan GMAT:
too hard, score is not represenative, quant is devilishly hard.
(i took their tests for free at their center, by signing in with a diffrent name. I would not do it again, had i the opportunity, you get no chance to review the questions you get wrong at the end, then whats the point?)
but i took 3 full tests from them, so my thank you's to them anyway.

Princeton software:
quant is too easy, but verbal is ok, and if you do several of them they can't hurt.....plus I like the software with explanations.

I also downloaded the:
JJ'S (besides good review material)
Barrons book
Princeton book
1000 sentence corrections
OG verbal

Very useful for any GMAT adventurer...
some good links:
800 Score- free full GMAT test
Princeton Review--free full GMAT test
Crack GMAT -- free full GMAT test
4 Tests-- free full GMAT test
Best discussion forum--Test Magic--tips, material, best advice
GMAT--rules, examples, quant and verbal, full explanation of the test