Armageddon

A picture of what happened to Taylor's hopes and dreams

The end has come and passed...I awoke this morning to view the destruction caused by my multiple battles with fate...From the looks of it, I may have come out victorious...maybe.

Here follows the story of 2 Yays and a NOOOOOOOO!!!!

Story One: Yay #1

Managing International Business Organizations Exam

Take that MIBO! Sucka! Strange story actually...I had dedicated two days to studying for this exam, one to read the book and one to read the monstrous stack of articles. Yet, reaching the end of that stack, I found an article that was 68 pages long. This is when I started to cry (not really)...I decided that I had read enough, and not reading this one article wouldn't hurt me too bad...

or would it?

The morning of the exam, at the glorious hour of 7am (midnight your time...hahahahahha...whoa. I was taking an exam at 2 am your time? Golly...) I awoke with a strange feeling (granted, this usually happens but not the same strange feeling). I prepared my cup of beautifully delicious life-saving coffee, and sat down at my computer. I decided, eh, it wouldn't hurt to scan that article that I didn't read...

fast-forward to the exam...

Oh, what is that? Practically half the exam is about that one article? ...great.

but wait? What is this? You scanned exactly the content in the article that the exam asked about?

YUP! Take that coinkidinks!

So, while one multiple choice question made me go "uhm...two of these answers are correct. I swears the author states both...uhm..." which commenced in a ten minute argument in my head, resulting in a really pretty butterfly drawing next to the question...then a drawing of a volcano, and an explosion with a head flying off the page (yeah...went downhill pretty fast...I hope no one notices those drawing when grading the essay-portion...or they will, and give me more points because I'm awesome.)

But, medium story short- I am quite positive I passed this exam...

Story Two: YAY #2

Labor Economics Exam

What's that? You put that exam to shame? What? You took a day and a half to study for the exam and you knew EVERYTHING asked?

I deserve a trophy. This is happening. Craft project!

Sad point: I realized after leaving that I drew a graph about the bargaining power of unions in relation to the employment by firms, when I should have drawn a graph relating to the wage demanded by the unions (which is practically related to the bargaining power, I mean, if your bargaining power is higher, you will demand higher compensation...) to the employment prospects by firms...so...massive point loss there...but I only need a 4.8/10 to pass, and I would have to be pretty darned dumb not to get that many points...I even calculated it after I finished, adding up the points in relation to how I think I did (and then dividing it by two because exam graders are evil and want to make all students everywhere cry tears of blood)...and I still came out pretty good...


Now people...prepare yourself for the sad story of Taylor's Accounting Failure...

Story Three: NOOOOOOOO!!!!

Managerial Accounting and Informational Management

Background information: most exams, or at least all the exams I have had so far and everyone here tends to agree, have a 3 hour time-span. You have 3 hours to complete the exam and usually the proctor gives a 30 minute or hour warning; thus, I tend to take my time and if I get stuck on something I just doodle strange pictures of people's faces/places/exploding objects/gory scenes until I feel like continuing...

Well, this exam was super easy up until when they asked me about operating leverage, which I completely blanked on (and was also probably one of the easiest questions that the professor stuck in just to assist in inflating grades a bit...woopsies!)...this mind-blank resulted in a dorky little picture of an otter (they are soooooooo cute!)...

see?!

About an hour and thirty minutes into the exam, I was bored, and ahead of schedule so I decided to wander to the bathroom and fill up my water bottle (during which time I am going to assume a particular announcement was made...)

I return, laugh a bit at my drawing, and continue on... 2 hours into the exam, and about 70% through the exam itself, the proctor announces that the exam is over.

panic attack.

uhm...did I just pass through some sort of space-time continuum of F'ED-UP EXAM DOOM???!!!!!


That's right...I had to hand in an exam that was 70% complete.

I don't remember how I got home. I don't remember a lot from last night actually, except that I was super upset and angry and that I went to bed early.

Upon waking this morning, I decide to check nestor (the school's site where professors post things for class) and my e-mail...in both places was a warning stating that the time for the exam was only 2 hours. I had had my head shoved in books so much the past days that I never thought to check...who would? I mean, all my exams were 3 hours long...why would this one be any different?

So, now that I see the time announcement staring me in the face, from multiple locations, I am completely and utterly upset. I bet it was even on the exam's front page and I didn't notice (once again, why would you read the exam time on the front page of the exam? You are already there...)

Yet, in my e-mail was also an announcement regarding the exam, and it said that the answers were posted (not the grades, but the answers to the exam)...I checked it and it looks like I got everything correct except for my old foe, operating leverage.

I then checked how the class was graded, and it is 90% the exam, and 10% the excel practicals. I got a 100 on the excel portion, which means that I need a 5 on the exam to pass the class. Okay, so I completed 70% of the exam...and I need a 5, which is half the exam correct, so as long as I get over 70% of the 70% I completed correct...I passed. So let us all hope that when grading, the professor is lenient, and also notices my cute little otter, and then the giant dark words "WHAT?!" on the following incomplete page...

So...that is the story of the two Yays and a NOOOOOOOO!!!!...

We will see how it plays out. Vera (my roommate) made a good point, saying that even if I don't pass, because I am an exchange student, there may be a way to fax the exam to my university and have me re-take it there (at USC) and send it back...

So, worst case scenario...I will pace myself for 2 hours next time, and not draw the adorable winking otter...or pace myself for a 1.83 hour exam and take 10 minutes for something...

Well family, I have packed the clothes I never wear, and every day that passes I have the urge to pack everything up and go sit at the airport for two weeks until my flight...or relax and read for once...YAY LATTER OPTION!

I will now take it easy, stop beating myself up for my mistake, and try to get rid of this monstrous headache (probably resulting from the beatings...)

My apologies for the lack of entertainment in this post. Obviously, I am too upset with myself to write something wonderfully entertaining (what is entertaining about potentially failing?! unless you fail gloriously, nothing).

Here...so we can all end on a semi-happy/laughing/eh? note:

LOVE

13 days until I'm home, 30 until I see you all...