Perfectly long weekend...

Last week was not right at all. This week should be much better, though. The silver lining is back in action!

First of all, its going to be a four-day week. I love it. Second, I get my stitches from my surgery out Wednesday, which is more exciting than you can imagine. I've been itching to pull them out myself, but that could create some problems. And the best indication that it is a new week: I scored a 70% on a practice Con Law exam I took this morning. WOOHOO!! That is a huge improvement from the 42% I scored the first time around. Having taken Freedom of Speech, Press & Religion last semester has helped me tremendously with this topic Even if I fared as poorly as I suspect I did on the final exam, at least the most important stuff seems to have stuck with me.

In other news, the condo I fell in love with was not meant to be. I had an appointment with the realtor, who I suspected might be a bit shady. He used his name in first person, as in, "Well, maybe Slim Shady will be your new realtor!" He reminded me of a creepy Danny Divito. Anyhow, I had the appointment scheduled for Friday morning. He didn't show up. Finally, the office manager called me 15 minutes late and advised me that the guy had a heart attack the night before. I expressed my condolences and tried not to sound irritated, but then the office manager told me that there were already two offers in on the condo and it would likely sell that afternoon when he met with the seller. Mr. Shady had failed to mention this little fact when I talked to him the night before. Shady, indeed. There will be other condos, other houses. And actually, I am glad that I didn't end up feeling the pressure to make an offer myself. I am not sure I am quite ready. At least not this week.

The weather has been fantastic this weekend. I spent much of Saturday at a horse show up north with my family. It was great fun - horse people are so funny to watch. They are seriously an anal-retentive bunch, always looking around and whispering about everyone else's horses/tack/trailer/outfit. My sister showed one of my dad's horses and a friend's yearling mare. I thought she did fabulous, but she's extremely competitive and not happy unless she's winning everything. My sister certainly knows more about what she's doing than most other competitors. It's quite impressive to see her in action. Anyhow, it was a good time.

The rest of the weekend has been spent on the books. I feel better having gotten so much done, although I realize that the feeling is not likely to last long! If only all weeks could be four days...

Boxing, briefs and other random stuff...

So my life has been completely overwhelmed this week with work projects and trying to keep up with some insane self-imposed bar review schedule. It's insane, really. And quite frankly, I am so stressed out, I can hardly stand being with myself this week. When I get really stressed, one of two things happens to me: I get hives and/or I vomit. Yesterday I suffered from both, if that tells you anything.

Studying for the bar thus far has been relegated to a lesser priority by a pressing project assigned at work. I don't talk about my job much here, for obvious reasons, but I'll say this - I could use "An Idiot's Guide to Securities Fraud" right now. For the love of God - I DON'T KNOW SHIT ABOUT SECURITIES FRAUD! And this is not exactly a great week for me to learn, but trying to tell a partner that comes out sounding like an excuse as to why I am not SuperClerk (which, of course, I am), so I smile and nod and even say thanks. I also picked up a new case yesterday having to do with a client who contracted histoplasmosis from pigeon poop outside his place of employment. Hooray for torts! That's my kind of case.

If I'm to be completely honest here, I'd have to admit that the securities issue has been more interesting than I thought it would be. Who knew?

Anyhow, enough of that. If I can't stand myself this week, I don't know what makes me think you want to hear me bitch and moan about it, too. I get tired of my own thoughts these days. My stress is no different than anyone else's. Geesh.

A couple of random thoughts for your entertainment:
* A red-headed woman sat in front of me today in bar review class. I don't know her, and I don't like her. She brought a book and crossword puzzles and proceeded to occupy herself with both during the lecture. WTF?! Based on the conversation with her neighbors (yes, of course I eavesdropped), she has a great job lined up with a large firm that surely paid for her bar review. I wondered what they would think if they knew how blatantly she was blowing off this class. Or maybe she isn't concerned about passing the bar. Maybe she's freaky brilliant. I don't know. She just had that very confident (um, holier than thou) air about her, and I didn't care for it. I hope she sits behind me tomorrow.

* On my way home tonight, I stopped at Walgreen's to pick up a few things. I was (as usual) pondering whether to buy yet another lipgloss, when I noticed a man (tan, 40-ish, clean-cut, average-looking) pass behind me, stop and look back at me, and continue down the aisle. I passed on the lipgloss and headed toward the greeting cards. Next thing I know, there he was. I moved on to the tissues, and here he comes walking up my aisle, this time on his cell phone in what seemed to be a heated business conversation. He stopped not far from me by the toilet paper and proceeded with his very important conversation. I moved on to the diet coke aisle, and passed him again headed in that direction. I couldn't decide if he was following me and trying to impress me with his too-loud-cell phone conversation, or if he just needed the same things I did. Not that I was thinking about the drugstore hook-up. Okay, yeah I was. Anyway, here's the disappointing kicker - he had on dress slacks and tassled loafers with no socks. I had to rule him out immediately and head for the check-out. Damn. Sandals sans socks, okay. Tassled loafers, no way.

* Back to bar review: Yesterday's lecturer kept trying to illustrate how to approach evidence questions as "peeling the onion." I really didn't like the analogy, bless his heart. He's trying to be creative and helpful, unlike today's lecturer. Anyhow, I told Kelly that I had to come up with another analogy, and I threw out pulling away wedges of an orange. Kelly pointed out that it was like apples, or onions, and oranges - it doesn't work because pulling wedges doesn't correlate to peeling layers. So, she suggested "sucking away the layered colors of a jawbreaker." She is brilliant. As she also pointed out, sucking a jawbreaker is better than peeling a stinky onion.

* Last night was The Contender season finale. I realize that I have had absolutely no support here for my love of The Contender other than one anonymous comment, which I did appreciate. But I really loved this show, and last night's final championship match was at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, and it was awesome! I got to see that hottie Alfonso fight again, this time for the bronze match against Jesse Brinkley. Really, if any of the last four contenders had won, I would have been happy for them. It was a tough loss for Peter Manfredo, Jr., who is an amazing fighter, but a great win for Sergio, the Latin Snake. I got the feeling that Peter wanted to win for the title, and Sergio wanted to win for the money. With the different motivations, it was a great fight. The bonus of this season - I learned something about boxing and realized that it actually can be an interesting and complex sport. Again, who knew?

That's all I got.

Movin' Out

Also when I was a kid, my babysitter was a huge Billy Joel fan. She got me hooked. "Glass Houses" was the first album I remember recognizing as a record - I was seven when it was released in 1980 - and I bothered her all the time to play it for me. Anyhow, I'm listening to "The Stranger" right now - my other favorite Billy Joel album. I have yet to accomplish anything meaningful this morning. I did go to Panera Bread for coffee, but I went in my pajamas and flip flops. I came home and sat on the deck, drank the coffee and watched Milo chase some bunnies from the woodpile.

I spent yesterday morning packing up my things here. I'm moving out this week and leaving the pretty gardens and peaceful neighborhood behind. And I'm really fine with it, mostly because I am ready to move on. I can tolerate some temporary unsettledness for now. It's all about delayed gratification, which sometimes can be better than instant gratification. I like both, but my ideal living situation is going to have to take a backseat to other priorities right now, like studying/passing the bar and bulking my bank account back up.

So Milo and I are off to stay with my parents for the next 8 weeks or so, at least until the bar exam is over in July. As I've mentioned before here, I adore my parents. They are fun and generous, and they tolerate my insanity. While I do try to tone down my more difficult attributes when I am a guest in their home, I have my moments. I can be a bit bossy and tense, especially when it comes to my little dog and miscellaneous noise. In my defense here, my parents have a huge German Shepherd named Samson, otherwise known as the Velociraptor for his tendency to open his massive jaws and pretend that he is going to eat Milo, and my dad likes to play his Jesus tunes on Sunday morning at 6am. Both of these things make me a little bitchy, especially when I am stressed out. I stayed with them after I left my ex-husband, which was obviously a stressful time for me. And now I'm going back under another stressful time - studying for the bar. My poor parents.

I've been tossing around the idea of renting vs. owning. I want to buy, but I have considered renting for a year to give me more time to house-hunt (which I really enjoy doing when I'm not under pressure to do so) and settle into having a salary again (meaning being able to save a decent down payment). On the other hand, I hate to throw a year's worth of money into renting when I know I am not going to be leaving Indy in the foreseeable future, and then to have to pack up again in 12 months and move all over again. I've moved a lot over the past few years, and I am more than ready to settle down for awhile. Decisions, decisions...

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to check out some options. Luckily, I know where I want to live, so I drove around looking at several condo communities within my designated area. I also visited 2 apartment complexes and an apartment home complex. I ruled those out rather quickly. First of all, renting at one of these places would run me more than a mortgage once you add in the fee for pets, the carport fee, etc. Ridiculous. And second, I don't need Melrose Place outside my front door. I don't need to pay fees for monthly cheese and wine parties or barbecues by the pool or yoga classes.

I ruled out a couple of condo communities, and ruled in one that I hadn't yet considered. But toward the end of the afternoon, I decided to check the one community at the top of my list. This place is not far from where I am right now. The condos are well-maintained, great landscaping, great location. I have been looking there for a couple of months, but nothing has been up for sale. Until yesterday - a perfect place, right on the pond with a deck and backyard, adorable front yard and entrance, two bedrooms, two full baths, cathedral ceilings, fireplace and attached garage. And it is well within my price range. It is an awesome place.

Tomorrow I am going to contact the listed realtor and see if I can get this ball rolling in the right direction. Knowing exactly what you want is half the battle.

County fair memories...

When I was a kid, we used to go to the county fair every summer. Besides walking around with your friends, looking very cool, and occassionally riding the Himalaya (which totally ROCKED), it was the hot thing to throw darts at the balloons and win those cheesy mirrors with the heavy metal bands on them and the cardboard frames, especially for the teenage boys. You know, the ones with Ozzy and Alice Cooper and Whitesnake. You could also win those little alligator clips with multi-colored feathers on them.

I always thought those clips with the feathers were for your hair, and growing up I had several of them clipped to the curtains in my bedroom. They were pretty, and I loved them.

When I went off to college, I found out that the feather clips were commonly used as paraphernalia. More specifically, as roach clips for smoking dope.

I found one of those old feather clips not too long ago in a box of junk that I'd apparently been keeping since the 70s or eary 80s. So what I want to know now is this: Were those clips really meant for your hair? Or something else? Did all the older kids know that stoners were using them to smoke dope? Do they still have those things as prizes?

I haven't been to the county fair in years, and I mean like fifteen years. I think I'll make a point to check it out this summer.

What I know but am annoyed with ~

* My brain is tired. Day two and my brain is already overwhelmed and tired.

* I forgot to fill my ice trays. All of them. I currently have only two cubes floating in my diet Sprite.

* I'd like to make my diet Sprite a red wine spritzer but can't because I'd likely drink the whole bottle and feel like crap tomorrow.

* Why don't I have an ice maker? Or cable TV, for that matter. Oh, that's right - I don't own this house and am currently too broke to buy one of my own.

* I am uncomfortably lost when it comes to some matters of general importance, i.e. buying a house or figuring out why my pop-up blocker has stopped working.

* There's a blog I read only because the author is a complete trainwreck and I like to tune in on a daily basis to check out the newest chaos. It's like reality TV with more sex and dysfunction. Seriously. It annoys me that I find it so fascinating.

* Apparently walking my dog every hour is not an acceptable study schedule according to Perky Patty at PMBR, who surpassed my tolerant optimism today.

I'm grumpy tonight.

What the hell is larceny again?

Damn. Alfonso lost his fight last night and got eliminated from The Contender. I was disappointed - I had gotten my hopes up that he would win it all and have the fairytale ending for his family, who seem so wonderfully genuine and hard-working. Besides, his accent was hot. So now I'm pulling for Sergio, the Italian Snake. Not as charming as Alfonso, but it would be great to see him win the money for his family, too.

Tom won Survivor and Katie got her ass handed to her at the last tribal council. It was brutal.

JC pointed out this morning that the law school bloggers have been in a bit of a lull since graduation last week. He's right - lack of material, lack of inspiration. I think everyone has taken a deserved mental break. The mental break ended today - the first of the bar reviews began this morning in the form of the six-day PMBR review for the multi-state portion of the wretched exam. And speaking of getting your ass handed to you, I surely did today. Today's topic - one of my very favorites and one I thought I had a basic grasp of: criminal law. Let me just be honest here and say that I scored a 40% on the practice test this morning. A FREAKIN' FORTY PERCENT! I might as well have been taking a calculus exam.

My only consolation was that most of my friends who were willing to share their scores were in the same range. Susan pointed out that if we already knew the material, the outrageous fees for the course couldn't be justified. Excellent point. Also, I did no review last night because I wanted to test exactly where I am with the material going in cold. Well, that and I preferred vegging in front of the TV enjoying the last of my painkillers to busting out the PMBR books. At any rate, I felt much better after the afternoon lecture on criminal law and procedure. There sure are a bazillion nuances in those pesky multiple choice questions. Our lecturer keeps my attention and seems to know what she's talking about. She's perky enough to get on my nerves, but I kind of appreciate her optimism.

Bar review is officially ON.

Beaches v. Boxing

The Survivor season finale is currently on. So is The Contender. I am damn glad I don't have to study or work tonight so I can flip between channels. My favorite boxer, Alfonso, is going to kick some ass in the re-match, and Tom just won immunity again. WOOHOO! It's a stress-free Sunday night.

The surgery went really well, and I'm hoping it was a success. We won't know for sure until the stitches come out in a couple of weeks. This surgery was by far the easiest one I've had, so thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Court TV was interesting, as usual. An amusement park manager in Tennessee is on trial, charged with second degree murder for the death of a lady who fell 60 feet to her death from a ride at the park managed by this guy. The prosecution alleges that the manager rigged the safety features on the ride in order to bypass a mandatory check of the safety bar to keep the ride running more frequently. I can not fathom that the state thinks they can prove the "knowingly" requirment of second degree murder. Reckless homicide, maybe. Criminal recklessness, maybe. But murder?

Tribal council and a boxing match call right now. More later.

Secret, secret. I got a secret...

I know it is Tuesday already, but don't forget to check out PostSecret this week for new postcards from Sunday!

I missed you. Did you miss me? Check yes or no.

Well, first things first: We survived final exams, just like we knew we would. I have to say, though, that last week was one of the most difficult of my academic career. I studied hours upon hours, but I struggled to concentrate and retain the information I needed to know for those last three exams. To make matters worse, my last final on Friday was one from a class I loved and a prof I adored, and I didn't have the safety net of an open-book exam. Although the exam was fair and offered plenty of opportunity to shine, I left feeling ill-impressed with my mediocre answers, disappointed that I hadn't been able to muster up more impressive policy, and hoping I wasn't the only graduating student in the same boat. The last essay even involved a fictional city named "Miloville," which I attributed to all the voodoo dancing I did, and I still struggled to develop my argument beyond the basics. Even more disappointing, I didn't find an opportunity to present the scenario of the Supremes in the basement, watching porn and trying to define the prurient interest.

But alas, final exams were over and my whirlwind weekend began. Friday night, AJ and I went to a mother/daughter banquet with my mom at her church, which was lovely. My mom, of course, wins the best mom award hands down. After the banquet, we went out to the local bar (yeah, the same one with crappy wine glasses) for a benefit concert for a server that was severely injured in a car accident a couple of weeks ago. An friend and former colleague of mine was playing bass for the 50s-60s band, and it was great seeing him and catching up. Saturday my family had a cookout at my grandparents, and I was once again reminded how blessed I am to have such an awesome family who has supported me and loved me, not only through law school, but my whole life. We laughed so hard my cheeks hurt the next day.

And then Sunday was graduation, which was AWESOME! It was much more fun than I expected, actually! For once, I was glad to be at the end of the alphabet because I absolutely enjoyed watching all of my classmates cross the stage to family cheers before me. I am so proud of all of my friends, each of whom has overcome their own trials and tribulations during school. And Deb gave an amazing, heart-felt speech that brought everyone to tears. The best part for me was seeing my family and friends so excited and proud of me. At that moment, it really did feel like an accomplishment more than it had before. My favorite aunt and uncle came from St. Louis, and my cousin drove all night from William & Mary in Virginia after his last final exam to be there. My girlfriends from home - the ones who loved me and understood all the busy chaos of law school - came and cheered me on. And a few people came from work, which meant so much to me. It was a great day, and one that I will always cherish.

Yesterday, I went back to work. Although I worked on projects from home during finals, I had taken a couple of weeks off from the office. I wanted to take a couple of days off after graduation, especially when I woke up feeling completely emotionally and physically drained yesterday morning. However, I am going to be out of working commission over the next few days, and I needed to show my face around the firm and tie up some loose ends. It actually was good being back in the swing of things yesterday and today - much more preferable to the studying. I am finally starting to feel connected to the firm and the people there, and I missed it a bit while I was away. I really like the work that I do there, and I'm looking forward to getting back on a consistent schedule.

But consistency will have to wait a bit longer. I'm having another surgery tomorrow. For those out of the loop, go here and here to get the scoop on why and how I have ended up with multiple crappy surgeries this year. I had hoped that the last one on Valentine's Day would be the last surgery, but my doc is certain that one more will get even better results than the last one. And I like my perfectionist doc so much that I am willing to let him practice his trade on my face one more time. At least this one isn't for any more bone issues - my upper jaw seems to have finally stabilized. This one is more cosmetic than anything, although still a necessary step in the process. Anyhow, I am dreading it and not looking forward to the painful (and ugly) recovery, but I am looking forward to ice cream, vicodin, reading the new "O", and two whole days of Court TV. I can only hope that Court TV is covering something other than that Michael Jackson freakshow.

I'll keep y'all posted. Maybe I'll even figure out how to post before/after pics with my kickass new digital camera, compliments of the Ps. On second thought, maybe I'll skip the monster pics and just post pics of Milo. Wish me luck!

Good things

* I had dreams about Brandenburg and O'Brien last night. I get it.

* My sweet friend J brought me surprise McDonald's breakfast this morning at 7:30 because he assumed I had been up since 4am studying and had only consumed a pot of coffee. He was right.

* I have new pencils. New pencils are always good luck.

* Neil Diamond sang "Sweet Caroline" live on The Today Show while I was in the shower, and I had my TV on loud enough to sing along at the top of my lungs.

* Jon Stewart was on The Bob and Tom Show on my way down to the school. He is brilliant.

* I found a parking space with little effort.

* I can pass this exam. Really. I can.

Yo quiero a bailar en Mexico [I want to dance in Mexico]

The hours are ticking and I am stressed, so I just did a little solo samba to Jimmy B's "Desperation Samba" loud enough to disturb the neighbors.

At this point, a little voodoo and hopeful wishing might help me get through the next 30 hours. And a little dancing never hurts, either. This song has nothing to do with luck or stress or finishing law school, but the horns kick ass.

Desperation Samba (Halloween in Tijuana)

Halloween in Tijuana
Full moon in my eyes
I wonder how in the hell I got here
Without a disguise

Should I take this last step
Or turn myself around
Or follow my intuition into that border town

Yo quiero a bailar en Mexico [I want to dance in Mexico]
We do the desperation samba con nos amigos [...with our friends]
Yo quiero a bailar en Mexico
We do the desperation samba con nos amigos

Pretty girls they beckon
From their rooms above
Skeletons are dancing
In the name of love

Don't know where I'm goin'
I don't like where I've been
There may be no exit
But hell I'm going in

Yo quiero a bailar en Mexico
We do the desperation samba con nos amigos
Yo quiero a bailar en Mexico
We do the desperation samba con nos amigos

I hear the people singing
That same old haunting tune
I drink because I know it's me against the moon

Yo quiero a bailar en Mexico
We do the desperation samba con nos amigos
Yo quiero a bailar en Mexico
We do the desperation samba con nos amigos --

-- Jimmy Buffett, Last Mango in Paris

Little Garcias and a new word for freaky

I've been working steady since my last post four hours ago, and I have made substantial progress. Luckily, there have been no distractions other than the nearby elementary school's "walk-a-thon" that brought about 20 classes of kids walking through the neighborhood at different times carrying banners that said "Mrs. Smith's 3rd grade class raised $52.00 for our Walk-a-Thon" or whatever their cause was. All the kids were wearing little tie-dyed shirts I assume they made in art class. They looked like a bunch of tiny rowdy Deadheads.

And yeah, it was adorable the first 5 classes that walked by. After that, I had to shut the front door and re-focus.

Anyhow, my new favorite word/concept of the day is prurient. One of the legal guidelines to regulating obscenity is whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest.

In other words, if Average Joe thinks its dirty and filthy and kinky as hell and the work lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value, the court will likely call it obscene. Prurient interest. Great word, great concept. I'll be sure to whip that one out in a brief or court one of these days.

Slacker

I have two exams left - Alternative Dispute Resolution tomorrow night and Freedom of Speech, Press and Religion on Friday afternoon. At this point, my motivation to study is incredibly low, but that Freedome of SPR final is likely to be difficult AND it is closed-book. Usually I study well at home with few distractions, and the morning started out well with making notecards for case holdings between 6am and 8am. But since about 8:30, I have managed to find anything and everything to do but sit here and learn this material, including cleaning rooms that are already clean, folding a pile of laundry that really doesn't have to be folded, taking Milo for two walks, talking on the phone, doing research on a project for work, going to tan and pick up dry cleaning, getting ice cream at the Marble Slab Creamery, and watching the Showcase Showdown on The Price is Right.

The worst part about it: I feel guilty, but not guilty enough to get off my ass and go to the library where productivity would be forced upon me.

Discarded Desires

Thanks to Kevin (who is studying, really) for absolutely making my day with this romance novel/porn flick tribute to my crush on the garbage man. This is pure creative brilliance!

I LOVE THE 80's!!

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is one of my all-time favorite bands. So are Duran Duran and Dire Straits. Their music never gets old.

"If You Leave" by OMD still reminds me of the first boy that kissed me at my locker in junior high. It reminds me of every man that has ever left me. The entire "Pretty in Pink" soundtrack rocks.

My mom was more excited about the debut of MTV than I was. And she loved Madonna but didn't want me to dress like her. I wanted very much to be her.

Cyndi Lauper's "She Bop" was on one of the first cassette tapes I owned. I thought the song was about dancing.

"Take On Me" by A-Ha was quintessential 80's.

My girlfriends and I used to dance to Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" around the pool in the summer.

I absolutely love Prince. A lot. "Purple Rain" ranks in my top five albums of all time. So does Tom Petty's "Full Moon Fever." Love love love the Prince.

Hair bands kicked ass. Bon Jovi and Poison were my absolute favorites. I saw Jon Bon Jovi in concert with my best friend, and we cried like he was Elvis or something.

80's music rocked.

You scored 75% correct!

You are an 80s expert You never confuse New Order with the Pet Shop Boys You know which classical musician Falco rocked When it comes to 80s music, you Just Can't Get Enough!

How Much Do You Know About 80s Music?

Coincidence?

I thought (fantasized) about the garbage man no less than 10 times during my Sexual Harassment Law final exam. Do you think I can assume that having my mind in the gutter may have actually helped on this one?

I have a crush on my garbage man.

I just went out to get my mail, and as I was walking down the driveway, the garbage collectors came rolling up to my house.

One of the collectors jumped off the truck, and I stopped dead in my tracks. Oh. My. God. This guy was absolutely smokin' hot. He was young with a deep tan and muscular arms extending from a red t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. When he smiled and waved at me, he had dimples. I stood there, briefly stunned, said hello, and then proceeded to get my mail.

I stood on my front porch and lustfully watched him get the neighbors' trash, too. I think I really need to get a life. Or a date. Or a cabana boy.

I'm a little teapot...

I got to the school this morning at 7:30am. I am one of those people that uses the computer lab to take my exams. It eliminates the unnecessary stress of worrying about my laptop crashing or messing around with the appropriate secure software. Anyhow, when I have a 9:00am exam, I always get there early before the computer lab opens so I can claim the same computer I have taken nearly all of my exams on, and today was no exception. I am a bit on the obsessive side about where I sit - not just in the lab, but in classrooms, restaurants, meetings, etc. - and I am extremely particular about making sure I am exactly where I am supposed to be when I'm supposed to be there.

So I get my spot, get out my tabbed book, my tabbed outline, my tabbed notes, pen, highlighter, legal pad, disk, tea. I get it all set up, and begin my final review. And then it hits me.

Holy shit, I think this exam is at 1:00pm, not 9:00am. DAMNIT! DAMNIT!!

I hit up the lab techie for the exam master list, and sure enough, Sexual Harassment is scheduled for this afternoon. I had written it in my planner correctly, had signed up for the afternoon exam in the computer lab, and had double-checked the alternate exam date online a couple of days ago. But I just had it stuck in my head all day yesterday and this morning that the exam was at 9:00am.

In my defense, today is the alternate exam date, and I'm using that as my excuse for being a dumbass. Also, I am tired. And tired of studying. And running low on gunner motivation.

You'd think I would have gone straight to the library and taken advantage of my extra 4 hours of studying, but I ran a couple of errands instead and now I'm back at home for awhile. I was ready to take that exam at 9:00am, and I'll be just as ready at 1:00pm.