PENIS

That's right, Post Exam-Nuisance Isolation Syndrome. That's what I have got right now, because as of 11:06 am today, I was done my exams/midterms and well on my way to lots of gaming to make up for lost time. Let's recap on this week's mothers of tests, shall we?

• Chemistry 3U7 (Zupo):
• This one was written in an obscure science department classroom (as opposed to the cafe). I finished the exam awhile before the end of the allotted time, and spent 10 minutes checking over my papers. The photo-ionization question threw me at first, but I described the process without actually naming it directly (I was mostly guessing in the dark here) when I went back to it at the end. Other than that, I had no real problems with this one. Straightforward, like Shivon agreed to, after the exam was over.
• Physics 3U1 (Malik):
• This exam was all the way out in Mississauga, and it took a total of 1 hour of travel (30 min there and another 30 min back). I went in a bit tired from the chemistry exam and had awhile to relax and play Fire Emblem on my GBA (yeah, I'm a geek, so be it). I was confident that nothing would really phase me on this one as physics seems to be mostly just math. Plus, I was allowed a formula sheet so it was expected to be mostly plug-and-play action (that's right! I said it!). To be honest, this exam gave me enough trouble for me to take a note of. I came upon a few words that were not in my scientific vocabulary (i.e. rarefaction) and so some questions (i.e. the one about rarefactions) I completely didn't get. That's what I get for not knowing about the chapter we never did. Virtual school, it's over between us. You duped me into picking you with your fresh ideas and whatnots, but in the end you turned out to be a clumsy, annoying, hassle of a way to learn. We're through, you and I. I don't even know you anymore, you've changed so much. Or maybe it was me that changed. Either way, you suck. And not the good suck either.
• Math (Functions and Relations + Algebra Geometry) 3U7 (Yeganegi):
• It's good to note that when I was returning my textbook for this course 15 min before the start of the exam, I spoke briefly with my now-former math teacher for the past 3 years. I've already been over this (and probably won't go too much into detail again, lest you think I've got a weird crush on my teacher or something): she's said that she won't be teaching grade 12 math/the rest of grade 11 math. I thought it was worth a question anyway so I asked her whether she was really not teaching grade 12 math, and she replied, "Bye Carl. I'll see you around." That weirded me out because it just seemed so strange the way it sounded in my head. Either way, she asked whether I was going to kill this exam and I said, "I'd like to hope so..." and with that, I headed to the cafe and played some more Fire Emblem before joining my IB crew (yes, we have a "crew") at the doors. The actual exam was quite straightforward and I only had problems with one question involving arithmetic series. And this was a serious problem: I forgot the formula. After 5 min of struggling to remember, I figured it'd be better to keep my momentum going and just move on to finish the rest of the exam. After doing so, I checked all my other work before I attempted this question again. Luckily, I had a small fortune of time to burn so I spent another 20 min (right up to the end of the 1.5 hours) working furiously to remember/create the working formula. I ended up getting it, realizing it was wrong, correcting it, realizing that was wrong too, and then finally getting the right formula + answer. I felt pretty good after persisting and actually succeeding--I wonder why I don't do that more often. All in all an interesting exam.
• Biology 3U7 (Thorne):
• My bio teacher is wacky. She's very... I can't place it. She's got the energy of a ditz, but the self-control of a master-water bender... Anyway, I was in all honesty unprepared for this exam. I really should have spent my time yesterday studying instead of playing God of War (from 11:30 am to 5 or 6 pm, and then more after dinner too)... Well, I got what I deserved as this exam was by far the hardest of my four. I had real trouble on the blank filling and diagram labeling sections. I also had a hard time with naming certain processes and their triggers/etc. The only part I'm pretty sure I got decently on was the multiple choice section, and that's a shame. As for the rest of the exam, it's up for grabs. This is what I get with a mix of the exam being written by the other biology teacher (Zupo, my chemistry teacher) and me not studying the right things. It's not true that I didn't study. I just didn't study the diagrams (which made up a large part of the exam) very much/at all... While walking to the bus stop, my friend agreed with me that it was hard. She had studied about as much as I did, only she wasn't gaming, but had spent most of yesterday sleeping because of a headache. That's the same thing as gaming all day, really.

So what have I learned over the past few days? Well, studying helps. So does worrying. Of course, you've got to have the two in mediated amounts. Just check out my exam hives here (which prove my stress):

1. Chemistry/Physics Hives I
2. Chemistry/Physics Hives II
3. Math Hives I
4. Math Hives II

Gross, no? I had been half worried and half uncaring about "those lumpy itchy things" all over my skin for a few months until it really flared up at retreat. That was pretty gross. So gross, in fact, that Andy was scared when he saw the patch on my neck. Pretty disgusting... but so cool! It's like a Mystery Men power... I asked my doctor about it and it's apparently due to stress, lack of sleep, romantic affiliations/complications, or any (un)healthy mix of the above. Either way, my exams are over and... so why does my leg still itch?!

I've been totally demolishing God of War for the past two days (I'm not done the game but I can't wait to get my hands on the second one!) and I must admit, it's one of the best games of its genre (action/ adventure/ puzzle solving) I've played to date (which is not too many). It plays so smoothly, is challenging yet just easy enough to really get into it for hours on end. The controls are responsive and the way Kratos flings those Blades of Chaos around, you'd think they were part of him (which they actually kinda are... if you get into the story). Very good stuff. The graphics are amazing and the CGs are awe-inspiring. Time to kill some more mythical Greek baddies (more on Kratos and his adventures later).