Alone in a Room

Tomorrow morning I will walk across campus to the PhD Studies office to pick up a specially prepared envelope.  About three minutes later, I ‘ll be sitting in a designated carrel in the library with my computer and wristwatch.  Five hours and 54 minutes later I will walk back across the courtyard to make a deposit at the aforementioned office.  That’s it.  Why all this fuss?  Why all these long days?  Why skip soccer games and teaching opportunities?  Why cogitate on enigmas through the “watches of the night”?

I’ve love to feel like so much of this was unnecessary after I get through.  I’m guessing that instead I’m going to feel like a whipped puppy who also should have skipped meals and writing blog posts.

Here’s my anticipated schedule (9-3 each day):

Mon., Feb 21: Pentateuch

Wed., Feb 23: Joshua to Song of Songs

Fri., Feb 25: Prophets

Mon., Feb 28: Gospels and Acts

Thurs., Mar 3: Romans to Revelation

Mon., Mar 7: Hermeneutics and Backgrounds

Apart from the obvious canonical order, I’ve also chosen to take the tests in this sequence because I believe this generally reflects a progression from lesser to greater ignorance in my knowledge.  I’m not trying to put off the pain, but I think that I ‘ll be better prepared for the later ones after I know the style and approach of the exams.  I also have a little more time in between exams after the first week.

If you missed the post where I described the exam content in a little more detail, see here.