I took the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) this morning. I don’t think it’s a test designed for middle-aged, moderately traumatized women living in 1000 sq. ft. with three demanding men. But life waits for no woman. I did okay—good on verbal, mediocre on math, and, hopeful to have wowed ’em on the analytic writing test. Thus, it’s been quiet here in my little corner of the b’sphere while I’ve been studying, except for those disappearing posts, which are not gone, just gone private. (Regular readers must be accustomed to this annoying habit of mine by now!)

If there’s a post you’d like to read again, email me at christineascheller@gmail.com and I’ll give you a password. I’ve been sending my resume´out beyond a certain subculture and thought it wise to return my personal life to where it belongs—in private. I’ve read predictions in Wired magazine and elsewhere that I’m not alone in this impulse. Culturally, we’re apparently trending away from our penchant for living out loud on the internet. Nonetheless …

I liked studying for the GRE. I love both words and the elegance of math. Studying was like attending a party for my brain. The Kaplan study guide suggests this attitude alone may have helped me do well.

Simplifying equations reminds me of editing the dross from a written work or organizing the clutter in my kitchen cabinets. I enjoyed reviewing long-forgotten formulas and dismantling analogies, not to mention analyzing data and showing off, to myself alone, my ability to pick up on subtlety and nuance. Whether any of this work will help me get into grad school is anyone’s guess. Should the right job come along, I may abandon the plan altogether, but (for any potential employers/admissions officers reading here) I’m sure I could handle both if multiple ventures were to coalesce coincide.

It would have been nice if life had stopped while I was having this party for my brain, but it didn’t. Not even close!

On Monday I attended the latest lecture put on by UCI’s Psychiatry and Spirituality Forum: “Principles of a Contemplative Science of the Mind.” I was pleasantly surprised that it included a lengthy historical discussion of the themes I reported on from the annual meeting of AAR. I’ll post a report tomorrow. Fascinating topic. Insightful lecture. Good questions from the audience.

I have two other lunch lectures on my schedule this week and will report on them as well. One is called “Corporations and the Management of Conflict” and the other is about the role of religion in public discourse. Both are at UC Irvine.

I was hoping to attend the opening of “The African American Avant Gardes” at the Getty Center tonight, but I’m pooped, as is my husband after teaching his introductory class on the book of James last night at church.

Like all good parties, even a brain party ends with a let-down. Still, I’m glad to have attended.