So. The PE. I'm not sure exactly who took who. Let's just say, things ain't
looking good for the home team.
It started off on a bad note when I
checked into the hotel, only to learn that the Future Business Leaders of
America were having some sort of a convention, and the hotel was packed to the
gills with high schoolers. Under minimal adult supervision. You see where this
is going.
(By the way, if those kids actually are representative of our
future business leaders, I weep for our country. They're some real winners,
y'all.)
Until 1 AM or so, the halls were filled with shrieking,
stampeding brats. At one point, they were chasing each other from floor to
floor. At another point, they were repeatedly slamming doors. Some of us called
and complained to the front desk. Others went out in the hall and yelled at
them. At least one guy I talked to tracked down and berated one of the
chaperones. I briefly found myself considering the size of my closet, estimating
just how many bodies would fit inside (the answer is about seven, but only if
that last is stomped flat and folded in half). None of it did any good. And so,
none of us staying at the Sheraton actually slept much that
night.
(Although one woman told me the moment her alarm went off at 5,
she hopped right up, opened her door, and slammed it as hard as possible. Then
she proceeded to crank the TV the entire time she was getting ready to go. And
for good measure she whacked her suitcase into the wall of every room on the way
down.)
The morning session wasn't SO bad. I mean, there was a lot I
didn't know, and at least a few questions I answered correctly, then
second-guessed myself into the wrong answer. And I'd forgotten to bring my
watch, which meant I had no idea how much time had passed or was left, which
made it a little difficult to gauge my progress. But overall, I think I might
have kept my head above water.
The afternoon session was awful. I took
the geotechnical section, and I thought I was reasonably prepared. I'd worked
through two practice exams, and I had gobs of review material from a PE course a
coworker attended. What that got me was about, oh, ten questions. Out of FORTY.
The other thirty or so...well, some I played around with and got an answer kind
of close to one of the multiple choice options. The others, I had literally
nothing to go by, not a single reference in all the books I brought with me. I
didn't have the faintest clue how to even begin. I know they were
probably fairly simple (all the questions are), IF you have the right reference
to show you the correct equations. I didn't have that. And lo, I blew it out my
ass.
I ended up leaving an hour early. I'd gone back over those questions
several times, trying to find something, anything. I sat and flipped through my
references, hoping something would turn up that wasn't listed in the appendices.
When that failed, I just filled in the bubbles, and then I left.
So. The
results should be back in July, at which point I can register for October. For
the moment, it's over and done. Time to move on to other things.
Like
stressing over the May 5th deposition. HahahahaOHNOES.
No comments:
Post a Comment