Day 308 | Sunday, November 1 | 2009

Sunset on Richland...

Caitlin and I slept in today and it was a nice surprise to wake up at 10:15 and have it be 9:15 (because of daylight savings time). Today has been mostly work / planning for the remaining three weeks. I cannot believe that there are only three more weeks left!

I met with my friend Emily Vargas today to help her prepare for the GRE. She takes it Thursday so I gave her all of the study materials that I had made over the summer. She was a little stressed about taking it in just a couple of days but I think she is going to do fine.

Not much else to say about today except that it's November! Happy birthday Steph (my cousin) although I know you don't read this blog!

Day 227 | Friday, August 14 | 2009

Be Calm...

Well, it has come at last!  In just a few hours, I will take the GRE.  I got up early this morning and went for a walk, listened to a little vocabulary, did a few warm-up exercises, and made sure to eat a healthy breakfast.

The realization that I came to on my walk this morning is just that I have done all that I can.  I have studied so hard for this test and there is nothing more to do except relax and kick butt.  I am excited and pumped for the test.  Here I go!

Later:

I did it!  I am at a loss for words now but here are my scores:

Verbal:   580

Quantitative: 780

Composite: 1360

I am so happy right now.  I cannot believe I scored so high on the Quantitative section.  I almost got a perfect math score (a perfect math score is 800).  This score will definitely help me get a foot in the door (and at least not get immediately rejected) from the programs I want to apply to.  Now, I can think about the application process more.  I have been wanting to look at programs all summer but it just wasn't practical without having taken the GRE.  Some of the programs I have been thinking about applying to include but are not limited to:

University of Texas (in Austin)

University of Virginia

Arizona State University

UCLA

Stanford University

Brown University

Universidad de Sevilla

and many others.

I just don't know exactly where I'll be applying to, but I will know soon.  I am a little hesitant toward such prestigious places like Stanford or Brown but I might have the credentials to get in.  I checked online and my GRE score is higher than the average student's score at every school in the country (including Harvard, Princeton and Yale).  There are just too many uncertainties, though, so I will have to look at all of this more in-depth later.

Day 226 | Thursday, August 13 | 2009

Pup of Fortune...

Here is  a little sheepdog I hung out with at the pet shop before meeting Larry for dinner.  It was 9 weeks old and very cute (and surprisingly calm).  

I am nervous for tomorrow but meeting with Larry made me feel better.  We ate at China Panda and I got this for my fortune cookie "Unexpected gain and honor will be yours."  Sounds good to me!

Day 225 | Wednesday, August 12 | 2009

Franklin Wall..

I am feeling good.  I have been talking with my brother, Gretchen, mom and dad, the Kraus family, and Caitlin and everyone believes in me so much.  I am nervous but I think I'll do well.  It's just a matter of focus and concentration (and not freaking out).  

Today was my last day of studying.  Tomorrow, I will not allow myself to study -- just pure relaxation.  I think I will go see a movie tomorrow and have dinner with Larry. 

I feel like I have been living in a vacuum with all of this studying.  I am, in some ways, a bad friend.  I am sure people will understand.  Once this is over, we'll all have a grand time.

Day 224 | Tuesday, August 11 | 2009

Caitlin...

I got up early (but not too early) to get back to Athens.  Here I am -- just a few days out from the test!  I have worked so hard and today is really going to be the last hard day of studying (tomorrow and Thursday I will rest).

I love this shirt on Caitlin -- it is a shirt from the Columbus Zoo and it has paw prints of lots of animals illustrated all over it.

Day 223 | Monday, August 10 | 2009

Practice...

Took a practice test today using the ETS software (powerprep).  It is the best I have done with a CAT (computerized adaptive test) thus far but I still want to do better on the actual test.  Today, I got

Verbal:  600

Quant:  640

Composite:  1240

Only a couple more days.  Tonight I have my class in Columbus, I will see Caitlin and the Krauses, and then more studying.

Day 222 | Sunday, August 9 | 2009

Gate...

My brain is fried after studying vocabulary for about 10 hours today.   I walked on the bike path in intervals trying to soak in all of the information.

It is getting down to the wire -- the GRE is in a couple of days and I am beginning to be a little nervous.

Day 217 | Tuesday, August 4 | 2009

Black-eyed Susans

Back in Cincinnati and studying.  Little to say about today other than work, work, work...

Aren't these flowers beautiful?  They are nearby my parents' house.

Day 216 | Monday, August 3 | 2009

Fiesta Lanes...

The place where I meet every Monday is actually a gynecology office.  However, there are a few suites that have study groups for the GRE upstairs (the gynecology office is downstairs).  Apparently, the whole place used to be a bowling alley (at least that is what I presume) called "Fiesta Lanes."  I couldn't come up with any other explanation why Fiesta Lanes would be inside a gynecology office.  I mean, I could come up with a lewd interpretation but lets not even go there.

I'm feeling okay about the GRE.  I took a computerized test yesterday and felt lukewarm about it.  I feel there is a big difference between the two formats (computerized vs. paper) and I seem to freeze up on the computerized version (whereas I do fine on the paper test).

I should just keep working.

Day 215 | Sunday, August 2 | 2009

Peripatetic Summer...

Back to Athens for today and then Columbus tomorrow for my usual Monday class.  

I have realized that I have been slacking off again on this blog.  My plan now is to just keep updating a couple a lines of day in my journal and then just transfer them and the pictures to my actual blog once the GRE is over.  It is crunch time now (less than 2 weeks!) and I need to focus all of my energy on getting ready.

Day 214 | Saturday, August 1 | 2009

Family...

Today Susan, Mark, and Robin came to visit to pick Caitlin up to go down to Aunt Patty and Uncle Jim's in Kentucky and also they came to celebrate Robin's 17th birthday (August 4th).  It was really good to see them and spend the time.

After they left, I took another practice test and this time it was my best:

Quantitative:   750

Verbal:   600

Composite: 1350

This was a paper test practice test and I find that I do much better on the paper tests than the actual computerized tests (the format I will have to take on August 14).  I hope I can somehow replicate this performance for the actual test.

Day 213 | Friday, July 31 | 2009

Last Day of July...

I woke at 4:30 this morning to go out for a walk and listen to vocabulary.  I have a system worked out that I have recorded about 1,000 vocabulary words and catalogued them on my iPod.  That way, I can study while I go out on a walk.  I simply put on my headphones and listen to the various lists I have created.  It's that easy!  It's really enjoyable actually and I am beginning to wonder why I have never done this before.  I think I would like to expand my vocabulary even after the GRE stuff is over and I could also incorporate this method into learning vocabulary and grammatical structures en Español.

This is the walking/running path near my parents house and it was the perfect place to see the sun eclipse the morning as I was out walking.  Even though there are the pangs of getting out of bed early in the morning, the sunrise is sweet and worth the pain -- there is a certain warmness that wells inside from these early morning moments that I cannot describe well enough here an now.

Day 212 | Thursday, July 30 | 2009

Another late night...

9 hours of work.

Things have become like clockwork now.  I am actually growing quite fond of it.  I feel efficient, focused, albeit tired.  I am hoping this will all pay off (and not completely backfire on me).

Day 210 | Tuesday, July 28 | 2009

Nearby Farm...

There is not too much to say about today other than I got up really early to get to Cincinnati to study.  I studied about 12 hours today.  My biggest area that I need to improve upon is Reading Comprehension and Sentence Completion.  Other than that, things are smooth sailing.

It's hard for me not to think about what this all means.  I would rather just look at Spanish programs all day and figure out what school might be the best fit for me but it would be foolish to do so being that I haven't even taken the GRE test yet.  I suppose I will just have to wait.

Day 209 | Monday, July 27 | 2009

Dominoes...

Another mad day getting ready for the GRE.  Went to class tonight in Columbus and then back to the wonderful Kraus Haus for some tea, dominoes and sleep.

I think Robin beat me and Caitlin pretty handily this time.  

Day 208 | Sunday, July 26 | 2009

Straw Bales...

Another busy day of studying.  Tomorrow I have my class in Columbus.  I am feeling better about everything but I am still concerned about me being too anxious about it all.  After everything, it is just a test and I shouldn't take things too seriously.  It is important that I just relax, breathe, and simply do the best I can.

Here's a photo of a farm that is near the sub-division in which my parents live.  I wish I would have planned this photo out better.  The sky, in reality, was a mesmerizing blue -- one of those majestic blues that only happen on a clear summer sunset.  Because I was shooting into the sun, the sky came out as white and the capture was lost.  Still, though, the field was (is) beautiful and I am surprised at how lovely this area can be (when one is not around all of the exurban sprawl.)

Day 204 | Wednesday, July 22 | 2009

Watching TV...

My mom and my dad watching The Golden Girls.  It's been another long day.  I did some more book work and I took another practice test in the book.  I scored pretty well and I am getting excited in the possible fact that I am improving.

Not much else to say.  I have been studying for about 8 hours each day and I need to get back to it.

Day 203 | Tuesday, July 21 | 2009

Union Township Public Library...

Things are starting to turn around.  This might be the moment.  I am feeling a little better about the prospects of this test.  I am flying through the material but making a couple errors still.  I just need to get back to fundamentals and smooth things out from there.

Back in West Chester.  Driving around, it is uneasy to see how much of this place has changed.  In no way am I saying that I miss living here, but it is hard to see some things go.  McGinnis Park, the place that my soccer teams had games and the place of many memories has totally disappeared.  Now, shopping strips and a hospital stand where the park used to be.

Day 202 | Monday, July 20 | 2009

At Work...

Pictured is Caitlin making door-tags for her future residents this year.  Today has been another long day of studying.  Better get back to it.

Not a very enticing entry.

Day 198 | Thursday, July 16 | 2009

Fountain...

What else to say about today except the fact that I studied all day?   Not much.  I was at the library finishing some book work I had to do.

I saw Brian and that reminded me that I need to keep practicing my Spanish.  Professor Porter lent me several books that I have been skimming this summer.

Tomorrow I go to Columbus for more class and to see Caitlin and her family.

I am slowly but steadily working on this test.