Welcome! This blog is Retired. However, you may still enjoy some of the finer pages of vintage online ramblings out there! Inspired by the certainty of my headaches, "The Headache Diaries" may include my headache log, people, places, and things that I don't like, as well as people, places, and things that I do like. Blog officially retired 02.14.2021
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My first day free from test stuff! Yeah! I feel like it's 2008!
Anyway, now that I have some free time, I am going to do all the stuff I have been putting off: painting the house, fixing the roof, cleaning my desk (ha ha), preparing for med or b school (hopefully both!), etc. Today I think I will go shopping. I probably won't buy much, or anything, but it will be nice to do something other than exponents, correcting sentences, and explaining why the CEO of Super Corp. doesn't make very good arguments.
Speaking of arguments, I have saved almost all of my GMAT essays. I am going to put them in a word file and post them under my "Things to download" link on the sidebar. There are a few that I wasn't able to post on my blog, so you should be able to read them there. I will do that later though!
You know what else? I was supposed to get money back from Sallie Mae, and I never got it! WTF. I have to call them. I want my damn money!!
IEE!! My test is in less than two hours!! I am nervous and excited at the same time! I really hope I get 550+. That would be awesome. I will post my unofficial scores when I'm back!!
Wow! If I don't get a 550 tomorrow, I will be shocked. Anyway, I finished all the problems in the new GMAT Prep software and score the same as in the old Prep software.
So because I have been so consistent in scoring, here is my new list of the five schools you get to send your scores to for free: ASU-Evening (#1 choice for both directions), ASU-Online, Rutgers Part-Time, UA, Quinnipiac-Online. I would send it to ASU-Traditional, but with 550-ish scores, I don't think I'd get in. If they solicit me, maybe.
Well, that's it! This time tomorrow, I will be entrance test free for life!!!! HURRAAHHH!!!
Tomorrow I take my GMAT! Yeah! I am SOOOOO glad this grad school test taking nonsense will be over soon! I can't wait! I have been getting at least 550 on all of the tests except the Princeton ones, so I think I will get at least 550.
Of course, I haven't gotten my money back from GEBE> Now they are trying to blame me. What assholes. Now I KNOW this is a scam. GEBE and the bank are in cahoots. GEBE requests a transfer from Windward with incorrect numbers, Windward puts in the transfer with the incorrect numbers, and they get their money back eventually. If someone complains, GEBE requests another transfer with the correct numbers, but Windward doesn't do the transfer. Very simple. And there ain't shit I can do about it. Well, we'll see. Did I mention how much I hate St. Maarten? Yes? Well, I guess I will let you know again.
Well, I didn't do as bad as I thought I would on the difficult questions! I got more than half right, which should get me past 550. That is really all I am looking for. Of all the quant questions, I got a 73%. Is that good? I don't know. I hope it gets me closer to 600 though. If I can break 600, I am set in both directions: med school and no med school. However, I'm not banking on a super score, just a good enough one.
The interesting thing I noticed was that I must do the questions as fast as I can. If I get the answer on my own, I have to mark it and move on. If I don't get it, I give it one more try, then guess. That is how I did all of the questions. On the difficult section, I missed the last two questions. I did fall asleep a bit during the quiz though. I have to stop doing that!!! I also spent about four minutes on a single question and I had to force myself to move on! I think they do this on purpose. They know a lot of people taking this test like to finish math problems so they add in some weird problems that will make you want to finish. Well, I have more practice problems to do, then some tests left. I have been saving real GMAT test #2. I will take that on Sunday or Monday. I also have other practice tests, but I am not sure if I will do all of them. I will probably take the Kaplan one online and a Barron's one. Not sure about the Princeton ones. We'll see. I don't want to burn myself out right before the test!
Anyway, I becoming more and more excited to take the test! I know that when I see a decent score, I will be done! I am so glad the GMAT gives you a preliminary score, not like the stupid MCAT where you have to wait a month to see what you got. This way, if I do bad, I can reschedule appropriately and not dwell on it forever. I think the MCAT makers like to torture people. They can easily give you a preliminary score, but would rather you burn for a month.
Alright, enough of this! It's time for quant... oh wait I have to water the plants first...
I am pretty excited that I am going to be done with all of my entrance exams in one week. No more after this! Well, unless I totally screw up the GMAT, but I'd have to get a pretty low score. I am also excited that I can finally move on with my life.
Despite my mishap at AUC, I am still on track for my goals. If this new school works out, I wouldn't have missed a beat. Just a lot of money ha ha! Anyway, I try not to think about that too much, since I STILL haven't gotten back my GEBE refund! I also didn't get my anatomy book back. If these two things don't work out, that's another $300 I'm out. Live and learn. Or is it live and keep getting burned?
In better news, my cat is doing much better. She didn't kill anyone at her last vet visit and all of her tests were normal. I still have to watch her for a week, but she has been getting back to her old routines. That makes me feel better. She has been eating, drinking and playing just like she used to.
So today is going to be another fun-filled day of Quant review. I did well on the medium difficulty questions yesterday. I finished all of the problems with time to spare. I only didn't know two questions, the rest of the ones I got wrong because of a mechanical error. I was trying to move as fast as I could, so I guess I messed up some numbers. Today I am going to finish off the medium to difficult questions and see how that goes. So far, I got 97% of the easy questions and 87% of the medium questions. What that translates into, I have no idea, but I am definitely doing better. Oh and I also know that I need A LOT of coffee to power through these sessions. I will make some strong coffee on test day.
I am excited that my testing schedule is going to be over soon. I am so anxious to fix the garden and paint the house and do some other projects that I have been putting off. When this test is over, I should celebrate!
Hopefully, this happy spirit will get me through today's quant practice!
Ha! I almost wrote "MCAT" in the title! Ohhh no, I am so done with that test!
So I decided that I am not going to bother with the Princeton review tests. The three brands that are close together are GMAT official prep, Kaplan, and Barron's. I will only use the Princeton Review to practice pacing if I have the time. Since I only have a week left, I am going to finish my OG Quant book, and then do some more practice tests. I did one section of the quant book yesterday and I seem to get almost all of the easy questions right, and I didn't go over the two minute timer. Well, I'm going to see how many medium questions I get right today. I'm going to go over my notes first though. I will see if that helps.
I tried the new GMAT practice test questions and I seem to do pretty good on the medium difficulty integrated reasoning questions. I didn't get to the hard questions, but I am thinking if I don't do as well as I need to, I might try my hand at the new test. Hopefully, I won't have to, but I need to make alternative plans in case this next school doesn't look good.
I am pretty excited that I am going to visit Trinity next month. I am seriously hoping that this school fits me better. I guess I will see. They offered me an interview, so I opted to do it on the St. Vincent campus. I hope it works out for this school. But I guess my back-up plan isn't too bad either.
Well this weekend sucked! First, my bird, who was 14 years old, died. He had liver problems and he was starting to go downhill fast. Well, I went out to buy charcoal for his cremation and when I came back, I was fixing the plants in one of my rooms. I had a lily whose flowers had dried, so I took off those petals and was trimming a hibiscus. I put the lily petals in the trash and put them up high hoping my cat wouldn't get to it in the one minute I'd need to put the plants back into the room. Well, one minute is too long because she pulled the petals out of the trash and was pawing and mouthing the petals and the pollen. I remember reading lilies are bad for cats (even though they are edible for humans) so I went online just to make sure. I did this because my cat ate poinsettias once, and I got all scared, looked it up and found that they aren't that bad. So this time, I figured it would be like poinsettia. Nope.
LILIES ARE SO DEADLY TO CATS THEY ARE AS DEADLY AS ANTIFREEZE
That's right. Every website I read said the same things: DEADLY, TOXIC, POISON, and worst of all, FATAL. 100% FATAL. I ran out to get some charcoal and ipecac to make her throw up. Well, they don't sell ipecac anywhere! Okay, so I gave her loads of grass (which usually makes her vomit) and nothing. So TJ gave her a bunch of catnip and food (which also has a vomit history) and nothing. So I read some tips online about salt in the throat. Nothing. Then I read about peroxide. Nothing except growling. So now, we are getting close to the two hour mark and no throwing up so I give her charcoal and call the vet. I took her in and had to keep her there for 48 hours. She got forced diuresis and was observed. Cost me a pretty penny too. She just came home last night and I have to take her in today for another kidney test. I also have to monitor her for a week.
I was so scared and was crying because I had no freakin' idea about the lilies being so poisonous. I had brought in cut lilies from my garden and left them in a vase for days on end in a place she can get to. I had this same lily she was pawing at out on the counter for days. She could have easily ate it then, and died three days later and I wouldn't have known what happened. TJ was annoyed that there are no poison stickers on plants sold to take home with pets that are as deadly as this one. I think he has a point. I wish there was a warning on the lilies if they are to be sold for personal use. I'm not saying all plants that are toxic, but at least the extremely deadly ones like lilies.
But she is looking good now, and she seems annoyed at me. I don't think she is going to like going back to the vet today! Oh well. I just want her better!
And of course, I now have to look up each and every plant that I bring home from now on.
It's been ten days and no refund from GEBE. Actually, it's Windward bank. I called all the banks involved and no transfer was even sent. Nice. Did I mention how much I dislike ST. Maarten? Yes, I probably have done that already.
AAAARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! This Caribbean nightmare doesn't end!!!!!!
Okay I am not sure if this is on purpose or what. I have been getting at least 550s on the real GMAT prep tests, and at least 550s on Kaplan GMAT test preps. So today I take a crack at Princeton's prep tests and well, I can't even tell you the score!
I seriously hope that the real GMAT prep tests are telling me the right thing. If not, I am totally screwed.
At least I have been getting really good at the essays. But I knew that wasn't going to be a problem. Here is one from OG:
The following appeared in an Avia Airlines departmental memorandum:
"On average, 9 out of every 1000 passengers who traveled on Avai Airlines last year filed a complaint about our baggage-handling procedures. This means that although some 1 percent of our passengers were unhappy with those procedures, the overwhelming majority were quite satisfied with them; thus it would appear that a review of the procedures is not important to our goal of maintaining or increasing the number of Avia's passengers."
According to Avia Airlines, only 9 out of 1000 passengers filed a complaint about their baggage-handling procedures. Avia Airlines then concludes that because only about one percent of its customers are unhappy, Avia Airlines has no reason to review and change policies regarding baggage-handling. This conclusion is not sound for a few reasons.
The first reason Avia Airlines should not conclude that its policies are good enough is that they are only looking at reported complaints. Perhaps if they conducted a survey of more passengers and what the passengers felt about Avia's baggage handling procedures, Avia would have more than one percent of dissatisfied customers.
The second reason this conclusion is not sound is because Avia is basing how they run and review policy in a reactionary manner instead of a proactive manner. Reported complaints are most likely from customers that have either totally damaged or lost bags. Who knows how many bags are damaged by Avia on a regular basis. The customer may not report it, but they may tell their friends and family, and that may cause a drop in Avia's customer base. Since Avia stated that one of their goals is to maintain their customer base, baggage handling should be a top priority.
The third reason is that since Avia will only change policy only after more customers are dissatisfied, they will not reach their goal of increasing thier customer base. Concluding that policy doesn't have to change until some number of customers are dissatisfied will result in the same number of mishandled bags, but with fewer customers. This will cause a change in policy, but only after AVia's customer base has diminished. How will they get their customers back? Avia will either have to spend a lot of money on advertsing their new improved baggage handling or offer lower fares. Both of these costly fixes could be avoided if Avia took the time to review their baggage procedures before it was too late.
Although it is a good idea for Avia Airlines to review thier complaints and try to figure out how satisfied their customers are, it is not a good idea to make conclusions based on a few statistics. If Avia Airlines wished to keep and increase their customer base, they will have to conduct widespread surveys to see how many customers are dissatisfied with their baggage handling. Avia will also have to implement policies in a proactive manner, before any dissatisfied customers tell their friends and family how bad Avia'a baggage handling really is.
Another average score! I can't take it anymore! I officially hate the GMAT!
All I can say is that I seriously hope I fall in love with Trinity, do well, get the MD, and only have to do online MBA in health management. If not, I have to hope ASU takes me into supply chain management!!!!! I am more than sure I will not be getting into any full time MBA program. UGH!! Crackers!!!
In other news, I haven't got the GEBE refund yet. I will tell them if I don't! I seriously hope they like my annoying emails! I also haven't gotten my Netter's book back yet. I really hope that shows up. I will sell it again! HA!
Now I nothing else to say. I am annoyed. As usual when it pertains to school stuff.
Could it be true? After three plus months of phone calls and emails, will I finally be getting my GEBE refund? Today I tried to call Windward Bank myself, and the number they post on their website doesn't work! I thought for sure this whole outfit was a scam and I will never see that money again. Well, later today I got an email from GEBE that said they DID get the money back from the bank and are in the process of making a new wire transfer. HOORAY! Well, let's not get too excited over nothing. I will believe it when I see it! I am counting the days.
In other news, my book has been confirmed lost. That Netter's book is cursed! I got a letter from the Mail Recovery Center in North Carolina saying that they found the wrapper, but if I want to find the book, I have to fill out a form and send it to the Dead Parcel Branch in Atlanta. Well, after speaking to the consumer affairs woman, she said it can take a month to get my book if they find it. Oh boy! I can't wait to get that stupid book back!
In some good/exciting news, I FINALLY booked my flights to St. Vincent! So I am excited to see the school and see what it is all about. I hope it turns out well. I will definitely post pictures!
Well, even though today was a wash for GMAT studies, I am happy that the main stressors have been resolved, or at least are now moving in the right direction. I am really glad to hear about my GEBE deposit! I think I will jump for joy when I finally get that deposit back. Tomorrow, I know I will be able to study in peace and I should be ready to start studying harder for the GMAT.
And it has nothing to do with the GMAT! In fact I have been figuring out how to get to Trinity for hours. I am very close to booking everything thankfully. It seems that it will cost me about $1290 for air and hotel. That doesn't include food! Yikes! I can see why the school will reimburse you. I told TJ that maybe we should take it easy this year on our vacation and try not to spend as much since I am spending a lot. Then you have to factor in supplies I will need to buy for school and deposits if I wind up going there. Plus another airfare. Which will cost more than what I am paying! About $200 more.
Of course I am also contemplating not visiting and just going there. Which is a terrible idea, I know. Sometimes when I look at the cost of things I go berserk! Anyway, going there sight unseen is not an option. So the next idea is when to start. At first I was gung-ho about starting in August. After looking at prices and how much money I will be spending (again), I am giving that a second thought. I was thinking about working a little to save some money but then I think, why? How much could I possibly make in a few months that would override the supposed savings of starting later? The only real savings come if I start in May. The other good thing about May is the extra tiny class. Is that a good thing? I don't know. It's not like the September class is super huge either. It's a lot to think about!
And of course this is cutting into my GMAT studies! I haven't studied well for a couple of days because all I can think about is "to book, or not to book?" At least I narrowed it down to three possibilities. I will wait for TJ to help me make the final decision. Of course, he always works late when I need his help, ha ha! Such is life.
So I think I am going to take a break. Maybe trim the flowers. I have been at this computer for hours! I did eat so at least that. I hope that I can make a good decision soon.
I can't wait to be free from this med-school purgatory! Now that I have one school left (not holding my breath), I can finally start to really focus on the next steps. What those are, I am not too sure.
It is May now and I guess that means I can start my DO applications. The problem is that I don't really want to. I am not sure if it would be worth it. I am not sure if I'd even have a chance since I went to Caribbean school. Something is telling me that I would be wasting my time. I kinda want to apply to the DO in Texas, but that is about it. The problem with Texas is that they take so few out of state students (unlike the stupid school in my state), that it makes it seem like a waste of money as well. I will see though. I am not rip roaring at this application like I was with the AMCAS.
Hmm. There is much to think about. I guess once I visit that school in St. Vincent, I will really know. I might just forget this whole med school thing and just do the MBA only. We'll see. I say that a lot don't I?
Well, back to the GMAT stuff. I have to finish the Official Guide diagnostic test. TJ came home before I could finish it. Then I will make my flash cards. Hopefully that will help. I will have to go over those formulas everyday until the test. Maybe throw in an example on it. I have these giant flashcards that Lou gave to me when she came to visit me on St. Maarten. I guess I can use those.
