Exam-arathon

I just took my FE exam (Fundamentals of Engineering). It was 8 freaking hours long! From 8 am to 5 pm, with a lunch break in the middle. For those who don't know it, it's an exam that tests engineers on every single engineering subject they studied in undergrad. It's not mandatory, but if you pass it, it improves your career options as an engineer in many ways.

In preparation for it, I ordered a review handbook 2 weeks ago. It took them 9 freaking days to process the order! They shipped it on Monday and it will arrive next Monday. Duhhh! I called UPS trying to expadite the shipment but no luck. So here I was yesterday trying to figure out a way to study 4.5 years worth of notes in one day. Yea right! I ended up throwing the notes away and going to watch "Hotel Rwanda," which was a pretty good movie if you haven't seen it.

The exam was held in a city 45 minutes away from where I live. So I woke up at 6:30am, got ready and headed out. Went to grab breakfast to energize my brain shwayya, and my restaurant wasn't yet open. Bummer! I was turned off on breakfast, so I hit the road.

It started at 8. The 1st 4 hours, I was tested on all engineering subjects. Math, chemistry, circuits, statics, dynamics, etc. There were 120 questions. I ran out of time at around the 110th question, so I cruised through the rest guessing. Damn those elementary level chemistry and physics questions! They really slowed me down! I was doing fine on math and my major.

Then we had a 45-minute break. I was already exhausted, so I wandered around to get some fresh air. I walked by a mini mart, so I got me a Snicker's bar and cheesy potatoes. I know it wasn't the best to fill up my empty stomach with, but at least my brain needed another chocolate energy boost.

The 2nd 4 hours started. This time I was only tested on my specific major. I thought I'd do better on this one since it's my major. However, half way through it, I was really wasted! My brain started its shutdown process. I started to see a lot of B's on my answer sheet, which meant lots of laziness and guessing. I did what I could do, left 30 minutes early, and hit the road back up. I called our Indian Cuisine on my way back and ordered dinner for "To Go."

Afterall, I think I did well on the 1st one, I don't know how well I did on the 2nd one. I wish they reversed the order. I think I would've done better. I need a 70% to pass it, so for 3 months, till the results come out, I'll be crossing my fingers as I really don't feel like going through another miserable Saturday next October.

What a long day, and a not-so-fun weekend. I sat my butt down for 8 hours working problems in addition to driving that I'm so numb now. I just had my indian dinner and it's about to knock me out. I'm befriending my pillow at the moment as I'm writing.

Time to get some rest.