Nerves of steel, I think not!

So I know I said before that I was less nervous about taking my GMAT now that its actually booked, that feeling lasted about an hour. Once it actually set in that I'm taking the test again all my nerves and doubts came flooding back. What if I don't do that well again? What if I still don't get into Pace? I always associated doing well on the GMAT with getting into Pace but it dawned on me that even if I get a good score, I still might not get in. There's no real guarantee. With all of this swirling around in my head, of course I was putting off doing my next CAT exam. Especially after falling behind a bit in my studying. I was scared that since my last practice test score went down that it would keep going down and that I booked my test prematurely. I put in some good hours studying and mustered up the courage to take the test and i got a 560! *phew* During the test I was so sure it was going to be horrible score because by the time I got to the verbal section I was starting to get sleepy and hungry since I didn't really eat breakfast. But it turns out my verbal wasn't bad and my math keeps improving so it turned out ok.

In other news, I finished reading Allegiant last night. It only took me a week.... 

I honestly didn't want to finish reading it as with all the other books I read when I know its the last one. With this one it was kind of different. I got a strange feeling from the beginning of the book that it wasn't going to be a happy ending for Tris and Tobias and I was right. I only delayed the crying for a week. I kept hoping that in the next chapter there would be some miracle and everything will be ok but no, it didn't happen. (I'm trying my best not to give away too much of the story). Of course once I finished reading it I immediately called Nick for him to sort of mourn the book with me but all he did was laugh at me which always happens when I get all wrapped up in characters from a book. Its also going to be interesting to see if the movies change the ending or what since I'm guessing contracts were signed about the movies before the final book was released so the actors are only now learning about their characters as well.

On a brighter note, I cooked pad thai for my family on Saturday night.

I am so proud of myself for actually doing it finally. I was saying for weeks, probably months, that I was going to cook it but I never actually got off my lazy butt to do it. It all comes in a box kit so all I had to add was the chicken and vegetables. 

This picture is from the last time Nick and I made it so ignore the expiration date on the box

Its really simple and to me its healthy since its rice noodles and not actually pasta. Everyone loved it and I even shared it with my neighbors and they liked it as well. When I was finished cooking it and started to eat it kind of felt weird that Nick wasn't there to eat it with me :( 

Right now I'm looking into booking my flights with my mum which is exciting somehow. I'm looking to leave in about 2 weeks  which would give me a week up there before my test so I definitely need to focus and get the majority of my studying done while I'm still here. I'm really excited to see snow again and to be in the cold but I'm more excited to see Nick of course but I'm still a bit nervous about my test. I even went google maps to look for the test center building to help calm me down.

I did this as well for my test in New York but only cause we had to know which building to look for. Sometimes I think all this does is make me even more nervous. 

Anyways, I obviously have a lot to do so its time I get to it.

Carla :D

On the Path to Canada! :D

I booked my test!! :D Finally things are moving forward with my GMAT stuff. I booked my test so I can finally book my flight to Canada. I'm just about finished my math studying so I'm also happy about that. I've always been stronger in verbal so working on my math was important. Other than that today was like a hurricane down here. The rain woke me up at like 6:30 this morning with the way it was falling. Then as if on cue it poured at 11am and kept raining for half an hour straight. I spent that time on twitter because there was a guy here cleaning our solar panel and I had to tell him where the cheque was for him, so i waited. 

I started reading Allegiant!! 

I'll try not to give anything away but its reminding me a lot of The Hunger Games. I'm kind of starting not to like Tobias anymore but then I still do and then I start not liking Tris. It depends which chapter I'm on at the time. Obviously I can't read it as fast as I would like since I'm studying but I think I prefer to savor it for as long as possible since this is the last book. 

Today we found out that the Rihanna concert that was supposed to be next week is cancelled/postponed until next year. I don't really mind but I just wanted to go since I missed it last year :(. That and I really wanted a reason to dress up and actually leave the house! I feel like I'm back at school but worse. At a school you actually get to see other people your age and leave the house. Studying at home I barely talk to anyone and I only leave the house to pick up Juline from school and take her to lessons. I think this is why I'm so looking forward to Canada even though there is a possibility I may become an icicle.

Now that I've booked my test I'm sort of less nervous in a way. Part of the anxiety was that my dad would say that I wasn't ready and he wasn't going to let me book it so now that its book its all up to me to prove to him that I am ready (this time). I feel a lot more prepared but I also felt prepared the last time so I really have to make sure I put in the hours even coming up to the test. 

As usual there are movies on my brain. Thor is coming out soon!!

I honestly think casting Chris Hemsworth as Thor was the best decision made in any movie ever! He plays it sooooo well and he's also not hard on the eyes or the ears :) I'm not really particularly that excited about Catching Fire but only because the book was a bit sad and Monckingjay was even worse so I'm not looking forward to crying.

This was one of those stories where I could tell I wasn't really going to like the ending but I still have to read it to see if I could be wrong. Don't get me wrong I absolutely LOVE these books. I just keep imagining myself in the book and if I were Katniss I would curl up in the fetal position and cry sometimes. 

Tv shows wise, I'm becoming more and more disappointed in S.H.I.E.L.D every week. Some of the things are obvious and a bit juvenile but as usual I can't stop watching. I got a 2 week break from Sleepy Hollow so I can decide if I still want to scare myself every week. I just love the characters in this show so much more that S.H.I.E.L.D. so I will probably still be watching in weeks to come. The Originals is getting really good and interesting so that is one that I'm really attached to. Its a bit more adult that TVD and it doesn't have all the love triangles which is a breath of fresh air. There's also been a break from the X Factor but The Voice has taken up that spot a little. I've only really been following Tessanne Chin who is from Jamaica and man can she sing. (I also wanted to see Ed Sheeran mentor with Christina Aguilera) TVD is better than last season now that there is Silas and Stephan lost his memory but I still don't really like Elena with Damon and Elena is also stupid. 

So that has been my week of studying and distractions. Unfortunately no exercising was done this week. It took a lot to get back on the studying train after my mini vacation over the weekend so I promise to start back next week. Hopefully I don't get fat between now and then. *fingers crossed*

Carla :D

Cheers to a Great Weekend!

So over the weekend was my graduation from UWI!! :D In more exciting news.... Nick was here for the weekend!! :D:D:D:D. He came in on Friday afternoon which was right when my mum was leaving for a training course in Belgium so it worked out pretty ok with the pick ups and drop offs. Of course I barely saw home for the rest of the weekend. I spent the rest of Friday at his house and watched Olympus has Fallen. 

Ironically I made my entire family watch White House Down a couple days ago and the movies are SOOOO SIMILAR!! 

In both movies the leak/problem came from within the Secret Service and it was oh soooooo unexpected in both movies. I honestly prefer White House Down simply because it had more humour in it. The fighting scenes in Which House Down also seemed more realistic. One thing Olympus has Fallen had on White House Down is the political backlash of the attack which drew you in a little more and made it more realistic I guess. The acting was also better. Then right after the movie was back to the airport to pick up my dad which made trip number 2 to the airport for me in one day.

Anyways, on Saturday morning was Nick's graduation at 10 (no pictures yet :( so just try to imagine it) and then mine was in the evening so that meant that we each went to 2 graduations. The morning ceremony wasn't bad at all. It was short and sweet and the speeches were sort of interesting. For my graduation, every seat available for the graduates was full. The speeches were boring if not the same from the morning. The only interesting thing was the way the audience reacted to the sight of a very short, tight dress. Naturally I wanted to see what the reaction would be to my dress but I don't remember anything from walking across the platform. 

All in all it was a good day which was made better with dinner at Bubbas for my usual spaghetti and meat sauce but this time there was not milkshake but a fruit punch instead. As usual I didn't finish it but Nick was there to do it :).

On Sunday was a beach day! :) 

Yes Nick's eyes are closed.....

The beach was awesome as usual and there were a bunch of fish swimming around us. After the beach I involuntarily took a nap for a couple hours. And that turned into lets go to dinner at Lemongrass. Of course I couldn't say no to Phad Siew so we went and I fell in love with that dish all over again. 

This is a picture of the first time we got it, the one I got on Sunday was soooo much more food :)

I can't decide if I like Phad Thai or Phad Siew better right now so maayyyybbbbeeeee I have to have it again to make my decision :) Looking back at this picture makes me want to go right back and have some....like now! After dinner I dropped Nick home and went back home. On Monday I wanted nothing more than to sleep in because IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY!! Of course my phone kept buzzing and then my dad and sister came in my room to wake me up but I fell right back to sleep :). I was happy that it was my birthday but then a bit sad cause Nick was going back to Canada so I tried not to think about it. Lucky me got breakfast made for me at Nick's house :)

I got french toast with scrambled eggs and sausages :) and it was delicious. Somehow after a lazy morning we were running a bit late with errands when it came time to go to the airport and the goodbyes were rushed. In a way it worked out ok and I wasn't really able to fully think about him leaving again so it was much better than the first time :(. 

Anyways, its a new day and I need to get back to my studying. I'm contemplating leaving out a couple tv shows and stockpiling them to watch on Sunday nights but then I think that takes away from my reading time so I have some things to sort out. I can't decide which book series to start next! I have 3 of them, Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, Elemental by Brigid Kemmerer, and Significance by Shelly Crane. I'm leaning towards Hush Hush since I got it first so maybe I'll go with that. I got Allegiant today so I also have that to read! I'm really excited to get started on that one. 

Time to get started on my day!

Carla :)

Running out of Time

Another test, another score. Today I took another CAT exam but I got a lazy with my studying since my last test. In hopes of expediting my studying, I think I took it prematurely for scheduling purposes as well. During the test I could tell it wasn't a good one (but I think that every time I take one) so I wasn't really surprised I got a 540. The aim was to build on the 560 and move into the 600's so now I have to put more hours into my studying and more than they suggest. The surprising thing about this test was my Integrated Reasoning section. There are 12 questions and usually I only get to question 6, maybe 8 if I'm lucky. Today I saw ALL the questions!! Of course time ran out on the last question but the point is that I actually saw all of them. The even more surprising thing was that out of the 11 questions I answered, I got 10 of them RIGHT!! I could not believe it. Usually I get like 2 or 3 right but this time was different. In this test my math sort of went back to what it was in the beginning so I need to review my stuff. My verbal was great once again so in some ways the test wasn't completely horrible. 

Other than my test, I finished yet another book series, The Archers of Avalon. 

I was a little hesitant to finish it because I honestly believed everyone I liked was going to die but in the end only one person died so I was ok with that. The series on a whole seemed like one long book that the publishers split up into 3 books. There was literally no time passing between the books which is usually a good thing like in the Hunger Games, but in this one it just seemed weird. Yesterday I got my eyebrows done for the first time. Speaking of The Hunger Games, the new trailer for Catching Fire is so exciting. 

Today I started the process of getting all my documents for Pace University so I have some things to take care of tomorrow. As I follow/stalk Pace on every platform possible, I already feel like I go to school there which is really exciting. 

I really don't know what it is about Pace that I really love or if its just the fact that its in NY :) It's really starting to dawn on me that if things go as scheduled, I'll be heading of to Canada in a couple weeks. I've thought of this in the way that I have to really do a lot of work but not in the way that I need to find clothes to wear!

After buying so many clothes for Barbados weather, I barely have anything for Canada weather. I have no idea what kind of coat I'm supposed to have so I'll practically be going in blind and feeling it out day by day. I found this coat on Macy's website that I think will work.

I already have Claire's (sister) snow jacket and boots so I just wanted something lighter for the days when its not so cold. I have a bunch of sweaters and my new pair of boots. I actually saw another pair that I want which will complete my shopping (hopefully).

With that note its about time I get to sleep. I exercised this evening which has left me sore and tired, feeling I haven't felt since my last dance class :(. Its time to sleep and rest and all that jazz and start fresh tomorrow. 

Carla :)

The Payoff

So yesterday I took my first CAT exam since my diagnostic test on Kaplan. I was incredibly nervous about it since my dad is a bit reluctant to book my flight and stuff for Canada until I get scores close to what I want consistently. So of course there's that added pressure to do well. There was already the pressure to do well so that I can get into Pace for the Spring. I already missed the early deadline date for international students so I really need to make it all worth it. During the test everything was fine until the verbal section since all I've been doing for the past month was math so I wasn't too optimistic about what my score was going to be. My worst fear was that it was going to be lower than the diagnostic 480. I got a 560!! :D. I was (am) sooooo happy and encouraged to keep working hard. This was exactly what i needed! It's not the score I want yet but in a couple weeks it could be. This improvement is solely based on just working on my math. 

In other news...... I picked up my graduation gown this week and finally got to catch up with some people at UWI. 

It's kind of ironic now that I have my gown and my dress is at the dry cleaners so I can't even try them on together. It's now a week until Nick comes home and I am completely excited. Trying to calm myself down with studying doesn't really help and neither does reading, so I've been watching tv shows. 

Season 2 of Arrow looks really promising. 

I think my new favourite character after Diggle is Felicity :). She's sort of awkward but funny and I love her outfits. If I could dress like her for like a week that would be awesome. I'm really interested in who this new vigilante is so that should be exciting. I'm in the middle of watching The Tomorrow People which looked so good in the previews. Coincidentally it stars Stephen Amell's cousin Robbie Amell. 

Right now all that has my attention is Robbie's mole under his lip. Every time he talks I think he's going to hit it off or bite it so it's a bit distracting. The acting isn't its best but it's only the pilot. I always find that the acting between the pilot and the second episode is extremely different so I'm hoping for an improvement next week. 

I also started to watch the spinoff to The Vampire Diaries (TVD), The Originals. 

I think this is a lot more interesting and mature than TVD so I'm a little more inclined to watch it than TVD. I actually didn't miss watching it last night when I was watching the X Factor. I still don't like the format of the X Factor but it seemed to have turned out great for Simon and the groups. I am in LOVE with Restless Road. Their voices just make me melt and I am sooo excited to hear what else they do.

It's been a full week and everything is starting to pay off and fall into place :). Time to go put in some work for some more payoff next week :)

Carla :D

Good start to the week :)

It's a new week and I feel totally energized and ready to get all my work done. :) I've adjusted my study plan slightly to accommodate the timeline I'm on to do my GMAT exam in about 6 weeks so I'm going to be doing two topics from the Kaplan in one week. This way I can do my revision for the topics I'm comfortable with and then practice the ones I'm not so ok with. So far I'm right on track to finish week three on Wednesday and then start week 4 on Wednesday. So things are looking up once I stay focused :D

Over the weekend I FINALLY went out and did something fun. I went to watch NIFCA (National Independence Festival of Creative Arts) semi-finals on Sunday to support my (former) class. 

This year Louise entered 4 dances compared to 2 last year so I was really sad I wasn't up there dancing with them. The performances on a whole were really good. One guy Rafael Hinds played the drums and the keyboard and his performances were soooo entertaining. It was like having a window into 4 friends having a jam session. It was impossible to watch him play without having a smile on your face. Of course the highlights of the night were watching the 4 dances Louise Woodvine Dance Academy entered :). 

I found this picture on the Nation Newspaper website which is of the dance "Unleashed". The audience really seemed to like this dance a lot so I'm excited to see how far it will get in the competition.I really miss dancing with them and just dancing on a whole but right now my focus is New York and studying.

A couple people have been asking me what made me start a blog and why now. I've wanted to start a blog for a while simply because I love reading them but I never thought I had anything interesting to write about. I have always kept a journal so I liked documenting everything that happened but I don't really think anyone who doesn't know me would find it interesting. After I didn't get into Pace University for the fall I went Google looking for advice on what to do. What happens after your plans don't work. Surprisingly I didn't find much. There were plenty explaining how you could be feeling but nothing about what to do to reapply and work on yourself so that you won't get denied again. Obviously there are others out there who didn't get into the school of their choice but none of them shared their story so I decided that I would. It's not glamorous or a success story. I have no idea how all of this is going to turn out but I'm hopeful and I'm working hard for the result that I want.

Anyways, next weekend is my graduation from UWI (University of the West Indies) and I'm really excited. Mainly because Nick is coming home in 10 days but who's counting. My dress is pretty and I managed to get a hair appointment so that I don't have to wash it myself in the madness of the day. I'm going to Nick's graduation in the morning, then to my hair appointment and then to my graduation in the evening. A day full of graduations. All that would be missing is my mum :(. She'll be at a training course in Belgium which is really exciting but sad at the same time. 

Time to get back to studying (and reading Avow, which is a good book so far but the series is a bit drawn out into 3 books).

Carla :)

One Down, Two To Go

So it seems like saying you're in a rut actually gets you out of it. I finally found new books to read, which I think may be the cause of my rut. After I finish a great series like Vampire Academy or like Lux, I always seem to feel down because I then have to let go of the characters I became so close with. So now everything is back to the way it should be (I wouldn't say normal because nothing is the same long enough for it to be called normal). 

Studying is going well, I'm scheduled to take a CAT exam next week which should be a great tell to see if I'm improving and at what pace I'm improving. As usual I'm nervous to take these practice exams because I dread the result if its not what I hope for. To avoid that I'm doing everything I can to prepare adequately for it (I now have about 2 days if I do it on Monday). So my fingers are crossed that everything goes well :) 

As I said before, I found a new book series. I couldn't bring myself to finish the Wings series because a "blossom" was growing out of her back since she was a Farie...... It was just a bit to out there for me and the protagonist was only 15 which is not something I relate to anymore. My new book series The Archers of Avalon, is something I can somewhat relate to so its a much better read.

It is extremely similar to The Vampire Diaries but I still like it. It had a whole different concept which is cool. At points I don't find it as descriptive as other books I've read because sometimes when I try to picture the characters, there seems to be parts missing. 

Today I made my first purchase toward going up to Canada next month (its already October!! Can you believe it??). I got a pair of boots :)

They are super comfortable and they fit really well which is rare for me since I wear a size 10 shoe. With the coming of October I'm even more nervous and excited about going. I'm nervous because I'll be taking my GMAT exam but then I'm excited because this could be my ticket to New York. It's the last and only thing keeping me from going to Pace in the Spring so I really want to do well. I'm also excited because I get to see Nick :D. So yea, there's a lot riding on my studying.

Anyways, it is pouring with rain right now and I've resolved to studying tonight. I'll most likely end up reading my book later but I want to get in at least an hour of work before I give in to the snuggle weather. With the coming of October, one month is already compete of my three months. September went extremely fast but here's to hoping October slows down a little. 

(nervous) Carla :)

Blehh - Where Did the Motivation Go??

So here I am once again with a late night post. It's been an interesting couple of days, more reading, tv shows, and workouts. Sometimes all of this is reassuring that I'm being productive but now I'm starting to feel like I'm in a rut. And with this rut came with a vacuum taking all of my new found motivation. 

Over the weekend I couldn't help myself, I found a new book series to read. The first one in this series is free on Amazon. It's called UnEnchanted: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale. 

I haven't read any of the other books yet but the story sounds promising. It's not as mature and riveting as the Lux series but it's enough to hold me over until October 22nd when Allegiant is released. I've been told that her other books are also good but I'm not sure if I want to read them yet.

In a way I don't want to read it because then it would all be over and I would have to say goodbye to another set of characters that I am in love with but I really want to know what happens. I always wish that books or tv shows I watch end how I hope they would so that when it's time to say goodbye to the characters I'm not left imagining what happens after. Whenever I feel like that I always think there should be another book to finish it off right. Today I started another book called Wings.

Now this book is on the lower age limit of books that I prefer to read. It's not directed to my age group and I find myself becoming easily distracted while reading it but I really want to give it a chance. In the mean time I'll be searching for a new book to read.

Anyways, I'm starting to think Sleepy Hollow isn't the show for me. It's becoming really scary and I'm beginning to understand why it shows at 9 and not 8. I'm actually surprised I'm not having nightmares from watching it. 

(Just so you understand what I'm dealing with)

But alas, it is too late for me as I'm already attached to the characters and I can't let it go. 

I finally figured out why I'm not as excited as I should be about Agents of Shield, its missing a WOW factor. It's a good show but its nothing new. Its funny but its not burst out laughing funny. Its just a bit average which is hard for me to say because I'm a HUGE Marvel fan and I like almost anything they do simply because its Marvel. 

X Factor is also disappointing me this week as they changed up the whole bootcamp thing by REMOVING IT COMPLETELY!! I liked when they took their time to go through the good ones from the bad which makes me think they left out a lot of really good singers like the woman who sang on the subway and put through people who just had a good audition like Santa. Like really?? How modern and current can he be??

I guess when I put all of that together I sort of understand why I'm in the mood I'm in. Tomorrow is a new day which will be different and better :) Because of this mood, studying today didn't exactly go as planned. It started off great but then everything started to distract me and I got sleepy. Then the mood carried on through my workout which was also cut short because I just couldn't focus and my mind kept going blank. Along with frustrating its just weird. Hopefully a nice long sleep with take care of that and the studying will continue tomorrow. 

Oh how could I forget, the series finale for Dance Academy was on Monday (Sunday in Australia). This is a perfect example of a tv show that only left me with more questions. I am completely attached to these characters and I felt so underwhelmed when it finished. All I wanted was to see what happened next and to know if Kat made it into the company after her 3rd year. 

This is definitely a show will always have me wanting to know what happened next. The ending was nothing at all like I expected. Who would have thought Tara had to have surgery and she would be calm about it? She's never so calm about things. In all I felt like the whole season was rushed because there were so few episodes, 13 compared to the usual 26. 

Anyways, somewhere out there is a book waiting for me to find it and read it :)