My 2nd Psycho Test, mixed result...

Today I took my 2nd psycho test at the Karawaci Industrial Park. I fared significantly better, although my math still suffers a tad bit. Okay, maybe a lot. But Arithmetic, simple form as it is, is something I haven't touched in 10 years, ever since I got through the last Algebra class in junior college. After that day, I've relied mostly on my cell phones to calculate the shared bills on dim sums to calculators during my university days to finally Excel sheets when I started working. I mean, hey, I lived in the US. It's not a country widely known for its fast-calculating, Abacus-toting people.

So my cognitive Math skills is lackadaisical at best. And it fared poorly when tested against 40 story mode problems (albeit simple) with a time limit of 8 mins. I was only able to finish about half of the problem! Actually, I think it may be less than half. Is this one of those tests designed to NOT be finished and overwhelm its victim to see just how persevering you really are??

I don't know - and I don't care. All I know is that I panicked (8 mins!!) and I made some pretty stupid mistakes like this:
You can buy 3 bananas for the price of Rp. 50. How much bananas can you get with Rp. 500? I wrote on the scrap paper "3 bananas = Rp. 50. Rp. 100? = 6 bananas. Rp. 200? 12 bananas. Rp. 300? 18 bananas. Rp. 400? 18 + 6 = 24. Rp. 500? 24 + 6 = 30. 30 bananas!! It's C!!!"

In retrospect, I could've calculated 500 / 50 x 3 = 30 and easily saved VALUABLE 1 friggin' minute devoted to systematically listing down the price list. Oy vey. It seems like another trip to the bookstore is in order to buy elementary school arithmetic book.

But the highlight of the test is I totally outpaced the time limit on other sections such as verbal (synonyms and antonyms, word grouping), logic, spatial intelligence and memory. Well, I said I outpaced the time limit but getting it all correct is another matter. I learned from my mistake on the previous test, where I ran out of time on every single section. This time, the time limit is even worse, with only 5 mins for 40 problems on each section. But I quickly worked down the list and just chose whatever option when I get stuck as opposed to sitting down and thinking hard, then continued down till I'm finished. Then, with about 1 or 2 mins left on the clock, I went back to the problems and tried to solve it more clearly and logically.

One thing that really bugged the heck out of me during the test was my constant sneezing. I've gotten a case of allergy since late last week, and in an enclosed area with non-circulating air like the room I was in, the allergy really started. I sneezed constantly, my eyes were watery and my nose was stuffy. It was annoying. I felt bad for the other participants as they kept on glancing at me suspiciously. They were probably wondering if I had common flu or swine flu, and I can clearly see that the thought made some participants squirmed uneasily in their seats. Oh well, more pressure to them, better chance for me to score the job. Real world competition variables, guys.