WARNING: RANT BELOW

So Saturday I had to take my certification test, the Praxis II. For the past 2 months, I've been studying furiously in order to freshen up on my Literature, Grammar, etc. I had even created this nice little flashcard book with literature words and their definitions, Literary Periods, Authors and their famous works, and any thing else that I thought might be tested via the practice book. I had memorized the literary periods and the major authors who wrote and what they wrote; literary and grammatical terms; and had even read the major summaries of works which I was unfamiliar with or had not read. I had taken 2 practices tests, one which was a former test that ETS had retired, and on both of the tests, I scored in the top 89th percentile, meaning that I easily passed the Virginia standards. Although I don't think I was overly confident, I did feel well prepared and wasn't very worried or stressed over the test. Maybe I should have been.

The test was insane. There were ZERO questions on any literature earlier than like the 17th c. There weren't any questions even on SHAKESPEARE!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Most of the questions were about authors and works of which I have never even heard of. Keep in mind, this test is supposed to determine if you are qualified to teach English Literature at the secondary level. There were very few questions about any of the terms that I had studied, which were recommended by the study guide book. In the other 2 tests I had taken, I was able to finish both in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. This test took me 1 hour 50 minutes. I was so frustrated by the time I left...GRRR....Although I won't know my score until the middle of April, but it isn't looking good. I guess I'll just have to wait and see and take it again.

Just some ramblings...

Hello faithful readers. Today is the next to last day of my spring break and I wish I was here...

Instead I am here...

Actually, it isn't as bad as the picture above. In fact, this is the warmest day we've had in months, literally. However there is still snow on the ground and I just want to get away. I hate being away from all my friends and family. Although there is a lot of stuff to do here, I have nobody to do it with. I like being by myself, but some activities, such as playing tennis, require a partner. Jacob doesn't like doing anything and most of the friends who are here have their own families and responsibilities and it is just hard to get together. These are the times that I miss college. I miss having Laura, Courtney, Ashely, and Amanda so close and being able to hang out pretty much anytime. Now they all live 12 hours away and I get to see them maybe once or twice a year. I guess that just part of growing up.

In other news, Saturday I take my certification test in English Literature. I've taken a couple of practice tests and have done ok, but it has made me realize how many great books are out there that I haven't read yet. I've been reading the summaries of some of the most commonly tested books, and have renewed my interested in literature. Too bad I've got textbooks to read. Maybe one day I'll have a chance to read for fun again.

Finally, this last weekend Jacob and I watched the Bourne series. I owned the first two (Bourne Identity & Bourne Supremacy) and then we just rented the third one. I have to say, it was a good series. It makes me think about how different my life would have been if I had chosen to go into the FBI. I wonder if that is how it really works (and I know, he worked for the CIA not FBI, but still), I mean do spies really have all those different identities; and does our government really have all these secret missions and ways of knowing what is going on all over the world and with individual people? It is kinda scary to think about. We no longer really live in a free country. We are slowly (or maybe not so slowly) moving toward minority rule. And to be honest, if a small group of people wanted to take over the United States, we probably couldn't stop them. Its sad and scary all at the same time.

Well tune in later for more ramblings and an update on how my cert. test goes on Saturday! And if anyone has some extra cash laying around and would like to come for a visit, I'd love to have ya!

Are they out there???

Ok. I have been working on my final project in my gifted education class for like 3 days straight now and I need a break so since I haven't blogged all week, I thought I would provide you with a somewhat comical story about myself and my vivid imagination.

As many of you know, I am fascinated by conspiracy theories, unsolved historical mysteries, treasure hunts, and things which we just cannot explain. One such area is that of UFO's and aliens. Don't get me wrong, I don't live in a fantasy land and believe everything I hear/see on television, but I just enjoy contemplating the things which we cannot know for sure. I think it has something to do with my very active imagination. Anyway, there is a new show on the history channel called UFO Hunters. Essentially, this group of guys investigates sightings of UFO's and try to use scientific evidence to prove or disprove the existence of UFO's. I thoroughly enjoy the show and I make Jacob watch it with me even though he thinks I'm crazy. Not just because I watch the show but because of what happened a couple of months ago when I was coming back to Chicago from Virginia. It was late, and I was in the middle of a corn field in Indiana on Interstate 65 coming north. I was just driving along, listening to the radio when I noticed something above my car. It was this oval-shaped white light and as I looked up at it, it took off ahead of me extremely fast. Then is slowed down and I caught up to it, and it was once again over my car. In order to see it I had to kinda lean up and turn my heck in order to see out the top of my windshield. It once again sped off and it was at this point that my mind started racing and pictures of UFO's and thoughts of alien abductions over took my thoughts. All I could think was I need to get my cell phone to take a picture. Frantically, I was trying to locate my cell but it was dark in the car and I was trying to drive at the same time. The mysterious light continued the same pattern of speeding up and slowing down for another minute or so. I eventually gave up on trying to find the cell phone and just focused my attention on what I had convinced myself was an alien spacecraft. As I continued trucking up 65 however, something on the right side of the road caught my eye. It was a beam of light coming through the trees. Slowly my mind began putting the pieces together and a few seconds later I realized the the alien spacecraft was really just a circling spotlight. I had to laugh at myself, and I sure you are too. But seriously, what the heck is a circling spotlight doing in the middle of a cornfield??????

Well it's back to my project, more to come later!