Well, I went to consult with another professor today about getting a job with an Islamic organization (the professor had advocated getting a "non-Arab" perspective, as she put it) -- he was very supportive of it and said that as long as I was transparent, they should be perfectly fine with it -- might even welcome it if they were a group like MPAC who wouldn't mind having someone who had worked with them in the government. I told him that that was better; that was what I wanted to hear. He also said that anyway, going in with a name like mine would automatically make me suspect to anyone who was going to suspect me anyway, so I couldn't do much more damage than my name would already be doing to me.

I got my midterm back today from one of my classes; I came out of the midterm feeling like I didn't do so hot, but about as well as I expected, considering I didn't go to any study group and I did the wrong readings 2 separate weeks (we only have one class a week, so that was not the best thing...) I felt like I had written nearly the exact same thing for not only the take-home essay but both of the in-class essays as well. Some of the IDs I flat-out guessed on, and just kept my answers vague enough so that they wouldn't be marked WRONG, even if points were taken off for not mentioning some pertinent fact. Anyway, I talked to other people after the exam and they all felt the same way about it. So that relieved me a little, even though I still felt I probably got...oh, maybe a B+ if I was lucky.

So we're sitting in class today and the professor announces that we can pick them up after class, and commented that most people did alright but there were some who didn't do so hot, and anyone with a C+ or below could rewrite to get their grade raised to a B- tops. He then said that 2 people got A+s and we could look at anonymous copies of theirs that would be on file in the department. Then me and everyone else at my end of the table muttered comments about these people who studied too hard and ruined the curve for the rest of us. Anyway, after class I went to see Erin, who was working in CMCU, to pick up my test and paper. I opened it up and....ummmm...what's that strange letter I see? An A+?? What?! I am completely unsure of how that happened. Erin laughed at me because she had to spend half an hour making copies of my exam. I am soooo confused here right now. But, I guess I'll take it. Huh. So I guess I know my strategy for the next half of the semester: read whatever book I pick up, even if it's the completely wrong one, write the take-home at the last second about things you don't know about, keeping it deliberately vague, and don't study for the test. Soooooooooooooooooo confused. But like I said, I'll take it.

I have to go look for stipended internships for the next 5 minutes and then go to Arabic class. Pauly, if you DO hear about anything in Minneapolis then let me know, ok?