Life's a test Paula

Many people will tell you that life, in general is a test. Its a test of our ability to cope, our reasoning, our ability to get on with others, and a number of other, definitely important factors.That said, I've had a number of tests in the past couple of weeks. Not just regular academic tests, but also tests of communication and clarity.

For instance, I've been trying to begin tutoring an international grad student with their English. One thing I've learned from the experience is that emailing must be done at the first oppurtunity. If it isn't, valuable time is wasted. When time is wasted, projects fall out of schedule, and life careens off it's simple tracks. Wei and I had very flawed communication, and when I eventually found out that we would not be able to work together, it was already crunch time. So, I'm now scrambling to set something else up, sending a bunch of emails, and generally fretting.

Waking up with one's alarm and going to class is another important test. It's a test of caring. "Do I really care enough to go to school and endure this minor boredom for some time so that I can succeed?" It's also a test of ambition and endurance. I failed that test twice this week, sleeping in and missing Syntax. This puts me in a worrying position with the course, and makes me feel lazy and out of it. I was feeling quite ill though.

Also, I've had two real academic tests. One in Historical linguistics, and one in Teaching English as a Second Language. Both of them I prepared for moderately. Both of them I did well on until the essay portion. Essays are normally my best part of any given test, as I have fair talent for putting shit together into something coherent and lovely. That falls apart completely when I have major gaps in my knowledge of the subject matter. I feel that on both essays I showed a bit of understanding, but just not enough.

My understanding of the Germanic Consonant Shift is lacking. I think I'm also a bit mixed up on the various names of theories of language teaching.

Tevs

song of the day: Y-control- The Yeah Yeah Yeahs