I did not get too much sleep - I was so afraid and in panic and…

• I did not get too much sleep - I was so afraid and in panic and having terrible stress because of the GMAT test at 9am. I woke up at 4.30.
• After having a short walk (and talking to Sirkku over phone, several times (also before 9am)) and having breakfast, I set off for the test place. It turned out to be a terribly ugly industrial building somewhere in the suburbs. And I was having this stress. It was terrible!
• Some notes about the test itself: * There were 14 others taking the test in the same room with me. All were young and Chinese and small. I was the only old, foreign and large.
  • The essay were quite easy, but I could not get really going - the text did not flow easily. I just tried to get rid of the panic, which succeeded quite well. After writing the essays, I was quite cool and full of confidence. The level of concentration was getting higher.
  • The quantitative part was quite hard for me. I had to use my intuition several times - I just did not feel like doing all the calculations. Most questions were quite trivial anyway. I used some 63 minutes out of 75 for the 37 questions.
  • The verbal section was the pure fun - I finished the 41 questions in 53 minutes (out of 75)! Most of them were just trivial, no difficulties whatsoever. So much fun I have not had too often.
  • The total score turned out to be 730, which means that I did better than 97% of the tested. Not so bad and much better than any MBA or other school can reasonably ask for.
• I then did the normal things I like to do in HongKong:
  • I visited the books store in Lock Street. I bought the following:
    1. R Feynman: Six easy pieces
    2. R Feynman: Lectures on gravitation
    3. The illustrated Feynman
    4. I Calvino: The hermit in Paris - autobiographical writings
    5. P Feyerabend: The quest for abundance.
  • All these books are so good. Having a bookstrore like the one in Lock Street is essential for living decently civilized life.
  • I had lunch (mixed pakora, Indian dali and 2 mango lassis) in the Italian Vege Restaurant in Lock Street 9 (Branto!). It is one of the best Indian restaurants I have ever visited. It is really worth a detour (or even leaving home just to get there). I do recommend it to anyone.
  • I visited the DrMartens shop and bought two pair of shoes, since they are the best shoes money can buy.
• At the airport I had a few beers (Monday's drugs: alcohol, cola, chocklate, coffee - all the licit ones you can get in HK).
• Back at home at 11 pm.

Alun perin julkaistu koosteessa "Diaries 2003 Q1".