lucky socks!

what a day today was!
i'm sitting at home, on my floor because i've no chairs left, everything is gone. waiting for my celebratory fruschetta pizza to warm in the oven because i have no pots and pans with which to cook. it's kind of sad. but i couldn't be happier.

because i ROCKED the GREs!

it started this morning around 7 when i biked to funkin donuts for my good luck cup of coffee (did i mention i have no coffee maker either) and got a large cup of joe with cream and proceeded to spend the next four hours capriciously alternating between work and last minute cramming. (GRE word, don'tcha know. my mnemonic device? - 'capri's, are they pants or are they shorts? they can't decide') but honestly, i couldn't bring myself to study THAT hard because if i didn't know it yesterday, and i don't know it today, how will i know it in two hours. still, a few last vocab drills and it was time to go.

but when i looked out the window (which clearly i hadn't done all morning) - i realized there was a torrential snowstorm whirling outside my window. i'd given myself plenty of time for the bike ride over, but not enough time for the T if i didn't want to be panicking the whole ride there. plus i was looking forward to working off some nerves and that very large, very caffeinated coffee, with a long ride. so i threw an extra pair of pants in my bag (as it turns out, my new brown cords, which i fancy as rather more academic than my jeans, even if my jeans are 'lucky' brand and were going to be my lucky jeans that matched my lucky underwear and my lucky 'sconnie' sweatshirt). it was a good thing because after pedalling only five minutes from my house, i was soaked, and there was still another 20 minutes to go.

(for the record, lucky underwear = not gray or baggy, i don't really have 'lucky' underwear!)

anyhow, because i'd given myself plenty of time for the bike ride, i arrived a half hour early, in time to pop into walgreens and get myself a pair of lucky socks! (taken from my camera phone).



my feet were soaked and i didn't really want to sit for four hours with cold wet feet. fortunately for my new 100% waterproof jacket (see earlier entry) the upper half of my body was entirely water-free apart from the sweat i'd worked up. (ok, so it wasn't THE most comfortable test taking outfit ever).

so when i got there, i had to put all of my belongings into a locker. i got number 32. my age. which i took as a fortuitous sign of all things good. (lots of symbolism today!) and i had about 5 minutes to wait and sit quietly and just take a deep breath and pray to the GREat god of standardized computer adaptive testing. ('please let me get the first question right, and please let the second be difficult, so i know i got it right, but not so difficult that i can't answer it, and another difficult one next, and so on and so forth')

they took me to my computer station and i took my time reading the instructions (before the clock begins), taking deep breaths and reminding myself that i could, indeed, do this. and then it began.

my first essay question had to argue over the statement something along the lines of 'formal education exists only to encourage the ideas a culture likes and discourage the ones it doesn't like or is fearful of.' (paraphrased, obviously) - it didn't matter which way you chose to argue, you just had to have a sound argument and analysis. i argued against it though. and the second question i had to analyze an argument for spending on computers/technology in a school district based on a few flimsy facts provided.

i FREAKED out for about 30 seconds when i got the first question. one of those freakouts where you forget where you are and what you're supposed to be doing and how to read a sentence. but after i calmed myself down and began jotting down notes, i was fine. i finished both essays with ample time to read and re-read, but i was pretty happy with them both when i hit submit. they get scored on a 1-6 scale. and if i don't get 5s or 6s, i'll be bummed.

the rest of the test flew by. 1 verbal, 2 math sections - one of which won't count because it's just the educational testing service trying out new questions for future exams. (THANKS A LOT) ... but in fact, i'm pretty sure it was the second one that counted because i saw a few new questions on the first. which was much better since i had more time to get my math groove on.

in any case, at the end of the test, the computer asks you whether you want your scores to count or not. i suppose if at that point you feel you've really blown it, you can not have them count and they won't go down on record. (though the fact that you took the test will appear, so isn't that kind of being a ninny about it?) anyway ... it's not like i'm taking THIS test again, so i hit yes please.

and was i surprised!! honestly, i was expecting somewhere between 900-1000 (out of 1600, 800 for each section, excluding essays which get graded separately). all my practice tests had given me a score somewhere in that range. but when i hit 'show me the money'...

wait for it. wait for it.

i scored a 1260!!

i don't like to think of myself as truculent - but i BEAT THAT mo'fo's ass!

(truculent - fierce and cruel, eager to fight)

woo hooo. please don't consider me a braggart. i'm not really competitive about this with anyone except myself. i honestly could care less about this test as long as it gets me into marquette. but i'm pretty darn chuffed with the score. maybe i could even look for some scholarships! woo hoo.

so now it's back to packing up the flat, eating my celebratory pizza for one, and enjoying the last few days here in boston. although i'm leaving tomorrow to spend thanksgiving in CT with my fam. i'm going to be one wild turkey this year.

thanks to all who sent vibes my way - i definitely got them!

and happy thanksgiving to everyone. i'll be giving thanks for all of you!
xoxo