barron's thinks it's funny.

i'm probably going to end up taking the gre before i leave for my mish, since there's a thousand million days i can take it between now and then. that's the beauty of computer-based tests. i've started memorizing/becoming familiar with vocabulary words since the list barron's has provided contains 3,500 words. if you take out the words i know comfortably well, i estimate that brings it down to 3,350. you see why i need to start now if i want to take this sucker in july or august (maybe september). i'll probably start the math review stuff later this month or in june and then the regular english and reading comprehension review sections after that. the writing section is intimidating, but i think i'll do fine on that with some practice. basically, i need to brush up on everything, and i've got lots of time to do it.

(ps, i'm more than likely picking up family adaption and resiliency via independent study. why not, right?)

i've been doing fine with getting familiar with words so far. seeing familiar prefixes and suffixes and roots helps tremendously. however, i think the provided example sentences are what really seal the deal for me.

ahem. *note: these are actual sentences from the 18th edition of barron's gre prep book.

1. mary liked john until she learned he was also dating susan; then she called him an abomnimable young man, with abominable taste in women.
2. darth vader seized the evil emperor and hurled him into the abyss.
3. although i acknowledge that the beatles' tunes sound pretty dated nowadays, i still prefer them to the gangsta rap songs my brothers play.
4. when asked for the name of the digestive tract, sherlock holmes replied, "alimentary, my dear watson."
5. "love them and leave them" was the motto of the amorous don juan.
6. bond had ample opportunity to escape. why, then, did he let us capture him?
7. mr. spock's features, though angular, were curiously attractive, in a vulcan way.

numbers 3 and 7 are tied for my favorite.