The aftermath of the entrance exam.

So, the Polytechnic (oh, I'm sorry, the "university of applied sciences") entrance exam was today. Before getting to the actual matter I just *have* to state that the building is ten times more beautiful than the university. What is a modern, white-and-glass building compared to an old-fashioned stone school with real old-fashioned wooden doors to classrooms and colourful hallways?

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The exam itself was allright. I went there half an hour early (good that I had Frida Kahlo's biography with me), like many others. The exam began with the feared test measuring our capabilities to the field we are applying to. The first parts consisted of fill-in-the-blanks questionnaires. The language part had a test in which we were expected to circle the one word that wasn’t part of the group, and complete sentences in short stories. Then we read an article about the physiology and sociology of laughter and crying, and summarise the article with criticism. In between (to test how well we acquired new information and were able to remember it) we made different maths tests, in both numeral and literal exercises.

The second part was made out of different kind of personality tests. It had one test twice with different time limits; the idea was to fill in these squares, each of which bearing a line or a dot etc. that we were supposed to complete with a picture. I've actually done that one before, and I rest my case: the interpretation of the picture tells more of the psychologist than it tells about me. An example; I drew a sword. Now, does it mean that I'm suicidal since it is a weapon, or does it mean the exact opposite since a sword, at least according to Freud and Jung, is such an obviously phallic object? The same goes to the Rorschach inkblot test we did (can't quite yet tick that off my "things to do before I die" list, I have to wait until July when I can call the psychologist for a detailed analysis). If you’re interested in seeing the inks yourself, see this web site http://ar.geocities.com/rorschach_inkblots/. It’s in Spanish but it has the pictures in colours. You know, as I was looking at them on that site, I noticed how they seemed all different seen close than from afar; they were reflected on a screen from a computer, resulting in the pictures losing their hues. Therefore only the outlines were the basis of my interpretations of them; some had the lamps in front of them so they couldn’t even see them in full. Anyway, the last thing we had to do in the written exam was to draw a mind map of our current self and life at the present time, as well as of our future. That really brought back memories of primary school: we were actually given colouring pens to encourage our creativity when making the map.

The rest of the day we had discussions, two group discussions and one, individual talk with a psychologist who, expectedly enough, asked why I had applied there and what qualities in my opinion would make me a good nurse etc. It was very much like a job interview, really. I was actually expecting something completely different: during the group discussions it turned out that during some interviews the psychologist had acted… in a weird way, like conducting the interview from under the desk. Intriguing.

"Whatever happened to playing a hunch, Scully? The element of surprise, random acts of unpredictability? If we fail to anticipate the unforeseen or expect the unexpected in a universe of infinite possibilities, we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be programmed, categorized or easily referenced." (Mulder in "The X-Files: Fight the Future".)

Now we can only wait and see if yours truly will be a nurse. I’ll post the results when I get them, by the 20th of July. Hell, maybe I’ll share the Rorschach analysis, too, provided that they don’t declare me a sociopath or otherwise disturbed.

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The Meme of the Day:
Since I’m anxious of getting labelled as having some kind of a personality disorder (which, considering the current situation, wouldn’t be that unlikley), I want to prepare for the blow by taking this scientifically astute and infallible quiz at http://www.4degreez.com/misc/personality_disorder_test.mv. That’s the quiz’s opinion of me below.

Avoidant: Very High *)
Antisocial: High
Histrionic [ed. note: = attention-seeking]: High
Narcissistic: High
Obsessive-Compulsive: High
Dependent: Moderate
Paranoid: Moderate
Schizoid [ed. note: = loner]: Moderate
Schizotypal [ed. note: = mild schizophrenia]: Moderate
Borderline: Low

*) "Avoidant personality disorder is characterized by extreme social anxiety. People with this disorder often feel inadequate, avoid social situations, and seek out jobs with little contact with others. Avoidants are fearful of being rejected and worry about embarrassing themselves in front of others. They exaggerate the potential difficulties of new situations to rationalize avoiding them. Often, they will create fantasy worlds to substitute for the real one. Unlike schizoid personality disorder, avoidants yearn for social relations yet feel they are unable to obtain them. They are frequently depressed and have low self-confidence."

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The picture below is the first card of the Rorschach test. Let me know what you see in it, I'm interested.