Day two of studying is done and we haven't killed each other yet. Of course, there were petty arguments over why John feels the need to destroy all of my paperclips that hold the myriad...no, the mountain, of papers from which I have gleaned all the information needed for studying tonight. I then spout robotically, speaking in a stunted manner as I batter the thoughts, trying to cling to them and I attempt to force these thoughts into my long term memory (one of the topics tonight! How to move information from the sensory level to the short term memory to it's final resting place--the elusive fucking long term memory) at John as he has to prepare his own dinner because damn it...I'm just too damn busy! But he's a saint and says nothing about his two hour commute (longer tonight because of snow) and just put check marks next to all the facts that I've listed and little evil minus symbols next to the information I've neglected to remember...oh how I hate the minuses.

He's a good little helper, I'm a good little studier and oh by the way, I am SO FUCKING OVER THIS TEST and would love to write about something else but I'm afraid to think about anything except educational psychology, Piaget, Vygotsky, Constructivism and all that "good stuff". Of course, yesterday's topics are still ringing in my ears. I will tell you, I was rewarded for all my hardwork by John later in the bedroom and I hope I pissed the neighbors off with our late night antics because I'm spiteful, I'm cranky and I'm nervous...ah, the joys of being a student. Apparently I look pitiful because my mother took me out to dinner to "stop stressing and to just enjoy a good meal" and she gave me forty dollars as we exited the restaurant so that I could "go treat myself to something nice when this test is all over". I love her.

Ok, this jarbled, jumbled, rambling rant is over for the night. And don't worry people...I will be far more exciting once Saturday is over!

After days of outlining and after lost days of studying due to the fact that I had to languish on the couch feverishly, sometimes crying (true story) over the fact that I thought I was hallucinating...I think I'm actually ready to see if I remember the crap I've been outlining. Because of this John's role of nursemaid gets traded in for the role of study buddy.

Many men wouldn't be excited to help their wives or girlfriends study but, once I pass this test I get a sizeable increase in pay (well, next year) and that means that I will panhandle from John less by the month's end! It's a win/win situation for everyone.

Now, here's the rub...John and I are completely different thinkers. John has an analytic mind, I tend to flit from here to there and back in about 10 seconds flat. When he tried to help me in December with my research study, I was resistent because I didn't like his methods and we both threw our hands up. I glared at him until he ran away and painted our bedroom...but later, we learned how to mesh our big brains and he helped me pull a big fat A out of my class--something that I can typically do alone when the classes don't require math, or the need to discuss descriptive statistics in a presentation. I was thankful for his help (particularly because it knocked three essay questions off the test!). So tonight, my study buddy and I will be discussing the fine topics of Jonathon Kozol, Henry Giroux, John Dewey and how they would react to some stupid article. We will also deeply examine cultural literacy, Afrocentricism and multiculturalism and how Diane Ravitch, Molefi Asante and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr feel on the subjects. To top off the evening, we will discuss the question of whether or not schools are used to solve social problems. Feel free to discuss these very burning questions with your loved ones tonight.