JOY : DESPAIR

a) happiness : bliss

b) idealism : cynicism

c) failure : trial

d) love : friendship

Answer: B (Joy and despair are antonyms. Idealism and cynicism are also antonyms.

(Note: Format taken from analogy sections in aptitude examinations.)

My brain hurts. Seriously. I feel a pounding up there that's worse than a hangover. At least in the case of hangover, one can say he/she had fun drinking the night before. With taking a test, it's all loss and no gain. From joy to despair. From idealism to cynicism. All in the span of one Sunday morning. Boo!

To say that I am not expecting to get into the U.P. College of Law is an understatement. That test of theirs drove me nuts! Well, I probably deserve it because I was not prepared. See, I have been busy with thesis writing the whole week so I only got to "review" yesterday. Now I know that studying the day before just using sample tests is not the best way to go. Tsk... tsk... I will really study for the Ateneo Law test. I can't afford to botch that one!

Some notes:

* Well actually, I found the English stuff like vocabulary, analogy, logical reasoning, and identifying errors relatively easy. (If only they weren't too long!) Thank goodness for the numerous writing classes I took as well as all those articles I edited for publications. Unfortunately though, those were the only items in the test I found easy.

* It was the Math that did me in. I HATE MATH! I HATE MATH! I HATE MATH! I know that there's a need for some Math in law school for corporate lawyer stuff like torts, contracts, etcetera. But why can we not just do away with it? (Note: Rhetorical question. Pure whining.) When the proctor announced that the time is up, I was only halfway through the 40 damned math problems. I just wrote 2 (the multiple choice system was 1-4 instead of a-d) for all that I wasn't able to answer. I figured it was better to try than have no answer. Argh! So pathetic!

* Essay. Um, the question was really predictable, semi-no brainer (Note: I won't reveal any questions included in the LAE 'coz U.P. might come after me. Disclaimer: These are just MY impressions and judgments.) But I felt constrained by the time and the space. I had so much to say and I spent more time than necessary cooking up a "whoah!" introduction and designing my piece's structure. I'm afraid it might have come off as half-baked because I wasn't able to finish.

Waaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's a thousand and a hundred bucks down the drain. Not to mention time, effort, and dreams.