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february means failure Syntax. I am beginning to think that everything comes down to syntax or poorly worded questions on the exam that has been kicking me in the head for most of the month. Otherwise I have no idea what I am doing wrong. Here is an example of the way the exam presents a question using a different subject matter than the actual exam material: In the history of the United States, there was an event known as the Civil War. Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee were states that withdrew from the Union. Now which of these states has the longest border with another Confederate state? Hunh? What does the question have to do with the two factual statements that preceded it? What I am saying is that I know all of the Confederate states and the dates of major battles and then the exam asks me to say what kind of offense should have been used in such and such a battle. I can understand the need to go beyond simply memorizing the material, but there has to be a limit somewhere in applying this knowledge. Then there is the matter of rephrasing an answer three different ways to confuse me. Grrr. Somehow my exam score today was exactly the same as the score that I got the very first time that I took the exam. That was not something that I wanted to see. I had taken a break from the material just so that it would seem fresh to me not completely foreign again. Another thing that bothers me is that I can't see a pattern to their questions. It always seems to elude me. To put it another way, this being a computer based test the questions are randomly chosen and I can't seem to win by focusing on just one area. In fact in the one category where I got a hundred percent right was completely absent the next time that I took the exam. As to whether or not the questions the next time were keyed to my weak areas I can't say. I should also mention that I do much better when I take an online version which is meant to simulate the real exam. Somehow I don't think that they follow the same format in their questions. Now if this were a class, then I would have the option of taking the same course with another instructor. Unfortunately that is not the case here. I have to take this exam from this company and abide by their odd standards. Maybe there is something wrong with me. Maybe I don't want to pass the exam. Maybe I don't want to be in this field anymore. Maybe I use the word maybe too much too get my point across when I am telling a story. I don't know. Oh, did I mention that every time that I take the exam it costs me money. The comedy in my life never seems to stop. ... I had taken the exam an hour or so before I had to go to my literature class. The drive to the other side of town was as close to Mad Max as I ever want to get. If someone was wearing a hat and behind the wheel of a car, then that was a sure sign that I had to pass them. The road was mine and anyone else on it had to give way. ... In class, I relayed my story to Jennifer and she laughed. She also thought that I should wait awhile before I decide to take it again. Yes, the way that I told the story was meant to be funny, but at the same time I don't want to laugh anymore. I just want to pass the exam and move forward with my career. ... Jennifer had convinced the instructor to show the South Park version of Great Expectations and that was fine with me. What I found even more amusing was the comment that Miss Zealot made when there was a commercial for the movie "Dude, Where's My Car." Miss Z: I saw that movie. Me: I'm sorry. muffled laughter from the rest of the class Miss Z: But that same thing happened to me once so I just had to see the movie. Okay, I'll confess that back in college some of my roommates would ask me the next day where they parked the car after bar time, but that didn't make me want to see the movie. Does this mean that my delicate Miss Z. has a drinking problem. I still haven't quite figured her out yet. She seems to waver between flighty and analytical, an odd combination at best. ... Maybe I need a Magwitch in my life. A Joe Gargery perhaps. I've met a few women who thought that they were Estella, but I knew differently. ... In happier news, a new scientific report says that there may have been life on Mars at one time. Maybe they should send Tim Robbins and Gary Sinise to investigate. ... Oh, there was one other shining moment in what for me was a long and taxing day. After class I went to pick up some other course material for the class and there was a classmate of mine there doing the same thing. We smiled at each other and she told the clerk that I was there for the same item that she had just bought. It was a simple gesture, but I still apreciated it. This same person had been in my group when I made the comments about India a few weeks ago. I haven't spoken to her since and I have to wonder what her opinion of me might be. It must be slightly positive since she did what she did. I don't know. There are so many times when I truly have no idea how people perceive me.
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