Exams and such

Today was, in spite of all my worrying, a good day. I had my “Portrait” exam this morning, and it went quite well, especially considering I had spent most of the afternoon before fretting about my friend Jeannette (who is 89 and amazing) who broke her leg that morning and was in surgery. It was keeping me from studying, so I went ahead and got Sam to go to the comic book store with me to buy the next book in Strangers in Paradise to take my mind off the whole thing. I was able to study after I heard from Mom that the surgery went well, and went to bed at two.

At six, I got up again, knowing full well that I wouldn’t really be awake until six thirty (I wasn’t), to do more studying. I left Dunster at eight thirty for the exam which was at nine fifteen. Being late to an exam even by just a minute can throw your whole game—you’ve got to go down to the exam proctor, sign in, get the booklets, find a seat, and so on, and meanwhile everyone around you is scribbling like mad as if to say, “We have five minutes more than you, and that will make the difference on the curve between an A and a B for you! Ha!” Needless to say, I’ve only been late once—you never want to do it again. The exam was much better than the midterm had been. This time I actually knew the readings and could reference them, and there was only one slide that I didn’t know out of about twenty. I even was able to throw in a few extra artists for a flourish (”Diane Arbus! Ha!”).

After the exam, I returned to Dunster. I had been having an email conversation with my friend Phil who lives in New York and who graduated from Dunster last year, and who’s been encouraging me all year to come visit. So, today, I thought to myself, “Well, why not?” and suggested I come down this weekend. Turns out, Phil’s having his birthday party this weekend and is delighted for me to come. All the more incentive to study harder so I have more time to pack.

In the afternoon I went to Harkness Commons at the law school for a study session for Turkish. It was just Dominic, Brian, and me, but it was fun, and useful. We were going over a practice exam, and one of the questions was “Bugün sınav bitince ne yapacaksın?” (What are you doing today after the exam?) My answer was, “New York’a geleceğim” (I’m going to New York). “Really?” Brian said, “I’m going to New York this weekend, too.” So now, not only am I going to New York, but I may not have to take the bus!

I’m looking forward to the weekend.