"You tested your metal..."

So yesterday I identified images (two long minutes each, on the pre- programmed PowerPoint presentation; can anyone guess which Tom Petty song kept running through my head?) and wrote an essay on how I defined Western Art and why it's a valuable category. Today I wrote about three crucial works of art in the High Renaissance (I picked Brunelleschi's dome, Michelangelo's David, and Leonardo's Mona Lisa. I know they're kind of clicheed selections... but they're famous for a reason). I also wrote a not-very-good essay defining Modernism and Postmodernism. It's hard to write authoritatively-toned essays, without any extra-cerebral source material, for people who have PhDs in the subjects about which you're writing.

These things must be done, however, and many sincere thanks go to those of you who pulled and prayed for me. It's over! (Double bonus points for guessing the accent on that last phrase.)

At 4:30, when the last essay ended, there was a tentative knock on the door--like the kind you get at the doctor's office when you're in the examination room and might be naked. When it opened, Rebecca stuck her head in--and was followed by a beaming Andrew, Allie, and Amalia, all excitedly congratulating us.

They took Lynn and me (and Bryant) to the Marble Slab Creamery to celebrate. I thought it might make more sense to celebrate after getting the results, but Andrew thought we should do it while we were giddy.

And giddy I am! Even six and a half hours after the exams officially ended, I keep repeating, "My tests are over! My tests are over!" Wahoooooo!