Monday, January 18, 2010

Multiple Choice

photo source here


Well, darlings, here I am, back from a mind-frazzling weekend of higher learning.

I can now tell you with a reasonable degree of confidence that the leg bones (femur, tibia, fibula) are connected to the foot bones (calcaneous, talus, cuboid, navicular, cuneiforms, metatarsals and phalanges) via the knee bone (patella) and about a gajillion muscles (and yes, gajillion is a technical term - why would you doubt me?)

Before you get too ooh-ey and ahhh-ey, I will disclose that I am NOT doing this from memory; merely writing these directly out of the Big Book of Fitness Training.

And herein lies the gist of my thought process (which, by the way, I am shocked and awed that I can still perform, given that my mind is so full of facts that I keep feeling my ears to see if blood is seeping out...).

I now am at a crossroads.

I can either cram my ass off, and quickly take the multiple choice final to get my certification, or
I can wait and study some more.

I know for a fact that if I cram, I will pass. Not an issue.

But I also know this - I am a world-class memorizer. In fact, that is I how I maintained all of my high marks through school. I would read it over and over and over and over until it was akin to breathing, and then blaeacccchhhhh; I would spew it all back out.

Retention of any material? Slim to none.

But man, oh, man. My marks were awesome.

Now? To borrow a phrase from my favorite quote machine, Tim Gunn - I'm troubled.

There is a new context here. I'm not doing this to please my parents anymore. I'm not doing this to suck up to my teachers, or maintain my standing on the honor roll.

I'm doing this as a building block to learning how to educate people.

People who sincerely want their leg bone to stay connected to their foot bone.

So, do I just get on with it, or do I wait?

One of the things that is sticking in my head is some advice I once got from a CEO of a company that I worked for.

He and I were like chalk and cheese. He was al-ll-ll business (and somewhat soulless, in my view) and I was an awkward combo of instinct, verve and science.

Yet we had some pretty fascinating conversations, and I learned much about him just by the questions he would ask me. Because I think I truly puzzled him. Example:

Baroness: "So, I signed up for Adult Tap Dance lessons yesterday."
He: "Why would you do that?"
B: "Uh - for fun?"
He: "I see...."

(which he didn't, by the way) (But it was one of his favorite conversation closers)

What I learned from him (other than he would never be my partner in the office Christmas party Lindy contest, and that I would never ever invite him to a Mah Jong game) was that if you are ever forced into making a decision, it will ultimately be the wrong one.

Its repercussions may not present themselves right away. But they will, eventually.

So now, rather than just a "do I or don't I" scenario, the implications are rapidly mushrooming.

Into multiple choices.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Having sat for that test a couple times (I let my ACE cert expire once), I think you may want to study and enjoy the journey. You would probably pass it just fine right now, but as you said... more importantly, what did you learn?

All will be well, either way. You are a student of life. In the practice of exercise science and applied kinesiology, you will learn the meaning of what is written in the books.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Perhaps there's a way to capture the best of both worlds? How about memorizing and passing the test now, but forcing yourself to go back and pretend as though you're studying for another test later.

Yes, I know that sounds dumb, but it's all I got.

Shelley said...

Countess Ti: 'Student of life'. I love this! I must say, I've learned more off the page than on. Thanks for this.

Countess CBW: Don't think that I haven't played this one out in my head. But I know that if I go this route, I'll never crack open that guide again.

 
Blog Designed by Rita of CoffeeShop