GMAT: Getting Mad Answering Them

I'm taking a prep course on the GMAT. I shoveled over a significant amount of money to relearn things that I'll never need to know again... again.

The entire idea of the GMAT frustrates me: not only do you have to know the material and concepts being tested, you also have to know how to manipulate the test and scoring to your advantage.

My friend Adrienne is also taking the GMAT soon (although she's not taking the prep course) and she likes this philosophy of manipulation. But that's because she's one sly fox.

Me. I'm not so sly. I'm a big fan of straightforwardness... so if you want to know something about me, or if you want to test me on something, ask me a straightforward question. I'll give you a straightforward answer.

I'm sick of this "take-the-longest-way-possible-to-your-destination" answer.

But the real thorn in my side is my failure to hide the bright orange, 832-page GMAT REVIEW book (the "official" guide, mind you).

I cart it around with me in the hope that one day I will actually open it (outside of class time) and study. I take it to work with me thinking that in my downtown, instead of posting a quick tweet or checking who's doing what on Facebook, I might get it out and go over a few "real" GMAT questions. This has yet to happen.

But sometimes I need to rummage through my purse for a quarter or my chapstick and I consequently have to take the book out of my purse and leave it on my desk. Eight times out of ten I remember to put it back in my purse.

But when I forget - when I fail to shove the bright orange book back into my purse, it is guaranteed that four out of five people walking by my desk will see the book and stop to ask:

"Oh... are you taking the GMAT?"

No. I'm not actually. I just thought I'd so some lite reading.

Then the questions follow: "Where do you want to go to grad school? What do you want to study? When are you taking it? When are you going to grad school?"

And the urge to pick up the nasty orange book and slam it across their face is almost more than I can resist. Okay I'm kidding... I don't feel that strongly about it. But at the same time, I'd rather not divulge my unresolved future to coworkers I barely know.

So usually my answer is, "Yeah I'm studying for it! I don't know where I want to go to school, but the scores are good five years so I figure now is a better time than any."

And most of them, unsatisfied with this answer, close their mouth, press their lips together in a friendly frown, shrug, and walk off. At which point I put the book back in my purse.