It's never too late to become what you could have been"

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November 19, 2006
Sunday

8:30 p.m., I just awoke from a few hours' nap, but still I'm feeling tired. I played some New Wave, and this is enough to perk me up.

Rupert Everett - "Generation of Loneliness"
Billy Bragg - "Greetings to the New Brunette"
New Model Army - "White Coats"
Flesh for Lulu - "Time and Space"
Flaming Mussolinis - "My Cleopatra"
A House - "Always Be Grateful"
The Jesus and Mary Chain - "April Skies"
Jimmy Jimmy - "I Met Her in Paris"
The Killers - "Mr. Brightside"
Kaiser Chiefs - "Modern Way"
Kitchens of Distinction - "Smiling"
Koo De Tah - " Too Young for Promises"
Kon Kan - "I Beg Your Pardon"
The Lilac Time - "And the Ship Sails On"
Lloyd Cole & the Commotions - "Brand New Friend"
The Cure - "How Beautiful You Are"
The Cult Heroes - "I'm a Cult Hero"
Hot Hot Heat - "Middle of Nowhere"
Silos - "Things Within"
Dean's December - "It Doesn't Snow in Manila"

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Today, Sunday, I worked only the morning shift, 7:30 to 3:45 p.m., at Riverview Health Centre. Around 11:00 a.m. the agency called, asking if I could do a double shift; meaning, work straight up till 11:45 p.m., which I usually do. I said no, I needed a Sunday rest. As soon as I got home, around 5, I hugged the pillows.

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Last Wednesday, November 20, I took the English Benchmarking Test at the Immigration's Adult Language Centre. It was a three-hour session which I was able to finish in about an hour. The test consisted of a written, reading comprehension, listening, and interview portion. In the essay writing, I committed two grammatical blunders, whereas in the rest I got perfect scores!

My mistakes:
"In the countryside, there are not much pollution and buzz...."
According to the examiner, I should have used is. I no longer rebutted her. I used are because I treated "pollution" and "buzz" as two separate subjects.

"Some people prefer living in the city, where there are much activities...."
I missed this! Yeah, it should have been many, because "activities" is a countable noun. Much is used for uncountable nouns.

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According to the examiner, I could have gotten a benchmark of 11 (highest is 12), but that they couldn't give me that mark because the highest score they could award an immigrant like me is only 8. In short, I got the highest allowable score of 8. I need this benchmark when I enroll for a refresher course or study again at a university, which I intend to do in the near future. Aside from pursuing my nursing career, I plan to take a certificate course at University of Winnipeg, any writing-related course.

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