Way back in the ol' college days I took a humanities class with my sister Ashley. I like the humanities, and Ash and I would laugh and talk the entire time. So it was a good class.
One fond memory I have of this class is studying for tests Jen-style, which means cramming for 2 hours trying to memorize and correctly identify a million paintings, music pieces, literature, and their creators. I wasn't particularly fond of studying but we used to laugh at how the info was going to trickle out of our brains and we'd say stupid stuff on the test like, "The Red Studio, written by the poet Chopin in the year 1465." (<-- all of that is terribly wrong, in case you didn't know)
Well, when trying to memorize the title of a particular painting, Rape of the Sabine Women by Jacques-Louis David, I had to come up with on-the-spot word associations, mnemonic devices, if you will, so i could easily retrieve the title come test time. Mnemonic devices work quite well and I used them throughout my college life. I once used them on a test I had completely forgotten about and only realized after i looked at the syllabus 10 minute prior to class. It was a matching test and I missed 2 out of 25 i think? High five. I had to come up with the most ridiculous word associations (think Michael Scott on The Deposition episode when, for Jan's defense, he's trying to remember "Pattern of disrespect and inappropriate behaviors."
"Pattern. Patt-ern. My friend Pat.. took a turn. Disre. My friend Disre got new spects. My friend Inappro drives a Prius with his BEhind neighbor." )
Aaaanyway, so we take the test in class, all is well, until Ash and I are exiting the classroom after we'd finished and handed our tests to our teacher.
I stopped dead in my tracks. "ASH!" i threw my arm out and stopped her. "I think I put 'Rape of the BOVINE women!'"
"Bovine??"
"It's how I remembered 'Sabine'!! Aaaaak! She's going to think I'm an IDIOT."
And, sure enough, weeks later we got our tests back and my teacher mocked me by writing, "cows??" But guess what, I have never forgotten it since then so who's laughing now?? Joke's on you, humanities teacher! Joke's on YOU.
4 comments:
This is one of my most favorite Jen moments. Bovine... I still laugh about it to this day ... and sometimes catch myself smiling stupidly to myself as I reminisce. Good times, Humanities 202, good times.
I love it.
I actually heard a rumor that Johnny Lingo was friends with the Sabine women, and let them all know that they were 8 cow women. So bovine women seems like a good title to me!
Do you know 7 Brides for 7 Brothers? The Sabine Women always make me think of that musical.
Yeah, stupid teacher making you learn stuff. In your face!
Post a Comment