Tomorrow I will be taking the exam which will allow me to move on to the next level of Turkish classes. If one excludes that farcical charade at the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the last exam I took was almost precisely nine years ago. But I'm not worried. This is an easy test and I've always been rather good at taking these things (far better at tests than at real life, as it happens). But, I keep reminding myself, the objective is not so much to pass the test as to learn Turkish.

Complicating matters somewhat is the fact that at 2 AM Turkish time the puck drops on Game 4 of the Ottawa Senators' Stanley Cup playoff conference quarter-final series. So it's not much of a decision, is it? Naturally, I will stay up until 5 AM listening to the game, snatch a couple hours of sleep, then go to the exam. But, just to let you all know I've matured since college, I shall refrain from going out tonight. Or, if I do, I shall limit myself to a few beers. Maximum.