Two Down

Two down, two to go. As of noon today, I am finished with two of my classes. I had a two hour Math final at 8:00 and a two hour German final at 10:30, and both, in their simplest forms, could be described as grueling. This has been a very stressful last several days. Yesterday, my German partner Hannah and I were scheduled to do our oral interview with our teacher. We had worked on our script for many hours (at least three)--just to get it written. Then we had to memorize it so that we could bluff our way through the conversation. It's a lot harder than it sounds. Especially if you have a memory deficiency like I do. Anyway, after much practice and nail-biting, it finally came together for us. After Hannah made it through it the first time without too many hours, she danced a little jig--"I got it, I got it, I got it!" she chanted. We did well--even though we both blanked out at the same time. We recovered and then finished the thing up.

I went directly from the German interview to the Library to study for my Math and my German finals. I spent a good two hours on my German, but when I switched to Math, I found I didn't have the heart to continue it. So I decided that I would head for home, leaving Sharon there to study on her own. I fully intended to continue my studying when I got home, and I took the necessary steps to prepare for just such an endeavor. I took my shower, got my blanket and my books, and curled up in my chair to have a good study session. There is so much to cover in Math. Anyway, I remember feeling a little sleepy and stretching out..just a little. The next thing I remember, I woke up at 11:00 to someone laughing. I was not very "with it," however, and this was giving Sharon reason for much mirth. I had fallen asleep with my books sprawled all around me; my lamp was still on. I couldn't make any sense out of anything and for sure couldn't figure out what Sharon was doing standing there laughing at me. I just remember blinking... and blinking... Well, there was no help for it. I had to go to bed without finishing my Math studying.

I woke up this morning at 5:30. I got ready and headed off for school. I sat in the parking lot for almost an hour trying to finish studying for this Math exam. But the more I got into studying it, the more I began to panic. There is SO much to remember. I was in our classroom by 7:30, and I had to ask Crystal for some formulas that I had left in my book at home. The panic really began to mount... so much so that when Ms. P announced at 7:45 that we could begin early, and, in fact, if we weren't going to begin early, we should leave the room... I actually got up and walked out. I came back and started the test about 7:55. I finished the test at 10:05. Two hours and ten minutes, that test took me. And that was without being able to go back and check anything.

One of my Math classmates works at Wal-Mart, so when I picked up some supplies for the office this afternoon, I stopped by to see her. She said she knows she did terribly on that exam. In fact, she thinks she'll be lucky if she manages to get a 40 out of it. [That's 40 out of 155.] Ouch! And she's too embarrassed to go by Ms. P's office to even see how she did. She's afraid Ms. P will box her ears or something. I don't think it's that bad, but she declares it is. William said there were some he didn't even attempt--he ran out of time.

Oh well. The German final--although tedious--went a little better. I managed to finish that one in the allotted time...

Oh, but I'm glad to be finished with Algebra! But the worst is yet to come. My two exams on Thursday have so much writing to it. The one I will have to write five essays for, and the other (art), I will also have a writing component...a response to some slides, I think. I decided that I will go to work an hour early tomorrow (since I don't have to go to school), and start preparing. I know better than to think I can get anything done on it tonight... all I can do is yawn!