Incentive

If I can get the highest grade across Canada in this course for first time writers (which highest grade must also be in the top 10 percentile for all writers, including rewrites) and if I can also pass my next two courses (winter and spring terms) with better results than my award competitors, I will receive an Award of Excellence from the national Association. It's a $1,000 cash prize.

Now, that really isn't a tremendous amount of cash when you stop to consider the amount of work and fierce competition involved in obtaining these ridiculously high marks. But we could use it anyway. Really, though, the more important thing to consider is that "Recipient of the Level 2 National Award of Excellence for 2005-06" would be a very nice thing to put on a resume.

If I get 100% on all of my remaining quizzes and the national exam, I will get a grade of 98% overall in my course. I assume some keener elsewhere in Canada will obtain a 99% or 100% at some point during the year (the course is being run three times this year), but it is possible, however unlikely it may be, that mine will be the highest score and I will get this award. Stranger things have happened. After all (I remind myself) I did get the highest grade across Alberta for the course's predecessor. (Of course (I also remind myself) someone in another province scored themselves 5% higher than I. But that is my "negative reminder", and I choose to ignore it whenever possible.)

So I am going to put my best foot forward and try with all my might to get the highest grade across the country in this course. Will it happen? Well, we will have to see. Either it will, or it won't, I suppose. And no harm can be done by trying.

On a more pleasant note, J has napped very well today (though he didn't sleep as well as I would have liked last night), and I am feeling a bit better now. I have gotten some good study time in this morning, and I hope to get more in later this afternoon. Just now, though, I need a break. And I also need some playing-with-baby time today, since I was sorely missing that last night. (I love playing-with-baby time!)

I hope to be able to go out for a walk with J shortly and show him all of the pretty fall colors. And I hope that this nasty virus will soon be behind us and our family will be all healthy in short order.

I am feeling very optimistic and happy today. I hope it continues.