Happy New Year

Another year, thank God for his protection and grace and blessings this past year.
Hopefully, i don't get lazy in studying for this exam
Hopefully, i lose my "maryland belly."
Hopefully, i succeed during the app season
By God, i'm going to excel on this exam

I was thinking about buying verbal virtuoso but i read what's his name's email again and he said it teaches you to find the "authors opinion." I think that's what Powerscores reading comprehension bible has taught me, and more. I find that after going through it, when i get a question wrong, it's because i didn't read all the choices or i didn't understand what the question was asking for. This has been very few instances. Also, i totally understand the passages are saying now no matter how complex and convoluted they seem. It's made me an active reader. I find that i barely turn back to reference the passage, i did that once to make certain the lists were consistent with the lists in the choices and i knew exactly where to search. I'm not scared of doing passages anymore.

From this point onwards, it's a matter or practicing daily to eliminate errors and master the strategies i've learned from their book so it becomes second nature.
I know lots of people make laudatory remarks concerning PS LRB but not so much for their RCB. I have looked at their LRB and reading the first chapter made me regret buying the logic book i purchased (which btw, amazon reduced the price for the book aned i haven't had the time to read it plus the library has it). I should've returned that book but i think i'll keep it, for now.

Anyway, if i had to do it over again, i wouldn't buy the Ivyhall books. It's not that they aren't good, they helped me get from a 7 to a 9 with minimal use last year. It's because While it talks about the main point, structure, purpose and what nots, in addition to listing sample question types just as PS does, lacks the practice that PS offers and I like the way PS attacks the stuff better. I'd say I'd have invested the money i paid for the ivy hall RC book in buying PS RCB. Then the money i used to buy their passages book to buy PS passage type training book which i have but i'd have saved money. Then i'd buy access to myreading lab. The rest will be practicing with the cambridge book, EK 101, TPRH verbal passages book and whatever i can find. I don't think EK resembles the real deal as most people say. I felt the passages on my exam where much easier to comprehend even with my poor comprehension skills and the most of the answer choices were obvious.

Anyway, i returned the readers edge. It's a complete waste. I did not improve one bit.

Here's to getting rid of that which isn't helpful and making use of the helpful. May the good God guide me according to His WORD.

amazon

"Please note that the price of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams (Bernie Rhodenbarr Mysteries) has increased from $3.76 to $200.00 since you placed it in your Shopping Cart. Items in your cart will always reflect the most recent price displayed on their product detail pages. "

Amazon always updates me with price changes with items in my cart and among the long list of things i see, i see this. what the ???

BR books arrival.

Came in 12/28. Still don't get why fedex always says i'm not home when i am. The UPS guy left this place after 12:30p and the fedex guy i believe just left a note on my door at 1:00pm and probably went straight to the office. Whatever happened to knocking.

Anyway, the ochem despite it's 2012 copyright looks like the old one i have. Now, i haven't perused the book yet but just skimmed quickly through it. The physics on the other hand has undergone a good deal of a make-over. Complete make-over in terms of formatting and not much of a makeover when in terms of content. it doesn't have the phases like the rest so i'm planning on using the 25 question review as phase one and the 52 question test as phase II. What will i use for phase 3? TPR passages and kaplan.come to think of it, it works out fine.
The gen chem looks pretty much the same and it should be because the copyright is 2010 which is the exact same one i had earlier this year.

Now, i need to finish my prelimary perusal of the material before i dive into these books. Tried to bid on the GS tests tonite and i didn't win. next one is up next week. Hope i win.

BR books

I was expecting Berkeley review to send me an email monday letting me know by books have been shipped. Nada. Last night at work, i decided i'll call them today and ask what's going on considering their check cleared my account first thing last monday which means they got it around wednesday and cashed it thursday or even Wednesday.

Anyway, the email is there. I'll get the item on the 28th. Looks like my initial estimate was right. Oh well, i hope they get here.

Associating phone voices with race

Considering i worked over the phones for 3 years, I think i've every right to comment on this issue. For all the years i worked for West, each time a person tried to guess my race,they'd think caucasian. Few times i've gotten asian (i'll say less than 5% of the time.) On rare occasions i've gotten german, it's the only other one i can think off. Most of the time, people think i'm from north carolina or they'll ask which part of the south are you from.

There's been times i've spoken over the phone with people, arranged to meet up and the first thing they tell me when we meet is "i thought you were white." I remember the first time i was supposed to meet Fred, i remember passing by him several times on Snyder and calling him and telling him what i was wearing and yet he said he couldn't locate me. So i went back to north philly, then he came to pick me up and said, i was expecting a white girl.

I've had people tell me "you don't talk black." Now, for those people, i'd like to ask, how is a black person supposed to speak? I've had few coworkers tell me i'm the whitest black person they've seen.

I usually expect patients to pick up an accent but instead they either think i'm from north carolina or from the midwest (Ohio is the most frequent guess). I'm still not sure where the north carolina vibe comes from.

Nevertheless, I've always felt all these people are colored by the stereotypes in the American society. Well, i guess i'm colored, too.

Today a young man called me and I think i coulda put my hands on a stack of bibles and sworn he was black. Did he sound black? I don't think so but he was overly polite over the phone. He called me ma'am,then miss and i don't know but come to think about it, i shouldn't have assumed that cuz i had a white prisoner for a patient the last time and he talked just like that - yes ma'am, thank you, etc. Anyway, guy shows up and out steps a white dude.

Guessing by the look on his face, he was a little surprised my color too. LOL...I guess we're all susceptible to a little misperception or what i call 'coloring' at one point in time. I didn't post the nitty gritty of the details but the whole thing just cracks me up.

Mdapps

I spent the last 3 or so hours on mdapps looking at applications that i felt would be relevant to me and i have to say i'm going to have to fight an uphill battle. It was a little depressing. Lot's of rejections and not hearing back from schools. Kyrie Eleison

"Pay to Play"

While researching kaplan on mdapps, i came across this profile:

http://mdapplicants.com/profile.php?view=viewprofile.discussion&id=17481

WOW! Real trooper.