I studied hard, used multiple resources, and honestly… I still thought the exam was tough. A lot of the questions were tricky and very different from simple memorization.
Test center: Oakland
Happy to answer any questions about:
study resources
vocabulary/concepts
exam difficulty
prep strategy
what surprised me on test day
Ask away!
Hi all, I saw some posts where people got refunded from Amex for items that couldn't be returned, especially for items which are marked no returns by the business.
How does this work? I assumed it's for items for which return window has ended.
Hello, I have my RE test in the coming week in Oakland, CA. What has your experience been of the test center? Specifically,
Does the test center provide a scratch paper or dry-erase board to solve some questions, on request?
Can I carry my water bottle with me?
Is there a locker where I can keep my belongings, is the locker big enough to fit a laptop?
I know -
The test center is cold
Keep minimal stuff and possibly remove all jewelry or accessories at home.
Carry license and printed copy of the test confirmation
Anything else I need to know?
I know that by the end of this some of you will call this being entitled and materialistic but its okay, I still want to say it out loud. Need to vent and also seeking advice.
My wedding duration (a year) felt like the worst time of my life, i get anxiety attack thinking of it sometimes, I cant even rewatch my wedding videos. Me and my husband had panic attacks, he tried to harm himself, lost job interviews, i lost opportunities just so that his parents feel comfortable. However, along the lines he completely disregarded my wants, needs, and expectations. I feel my husband did take a stand for me (barely) but not until I fought with him to say something or do something. I feel like they emotional blackmail and manipulate him so he cant tell the bullshit apart.
I have been the person friends and family look upto for style and as a trend-setter. My mother in law wants to wear everything I own, wants to wear the same outfits as me and tries to find out what I'm doing or wearing so she can do it better than me. She has some extra obsession with clothes.
She pretends she has no interest for jewelry which she does and basically bought the similar piece of jewelry for herself to wear on the same event as me (looks exactly same, but costs less). She didnt have a single gram of gold saved up for our wedding to give me which was bizarre to me because in indian households, we prepare for marriage much more in advance. (I dont even have a kid and have already bought so much for my future children) She Didnt purchase raw gold when i told them to (I trade in gold) and they ended up spending more money for less items. ultimately my loss.
She refused to give me jewelry saying what will you do with it? and "In our family, such heavy gifting of jewelry doesnt happen" and my husband who didnt know anything believed her. (They probably havent seen big weddings) On my roka, I got an overpriced but absolute shitty, small piece of jewelry based on the above reasoning.
Now i see my cousin and his future wife's roka, she was showered with jewelry and so much love which I havent received in 4 years of knowing this woman. I feel that I was wronged not because of jewelry but because that jewelry is a medium of showing appreciation, love and inclusion.
This BOTHERS ME A LOT. what will people say behind my back, all relatives will compare, everyone will think i made a mistake because all of this is somewhat out in my close family and it drives me nuts. I cant stop thinking about the humiliation after my cousin's roka. She previously gave me one small pendant saying its new but it was as old as the dawn of time and it was USED for my birthday and karwachauth. until i called it out and explained to my husband that what bullshit is this, she thought she got away with it by keeping the money for her travel and clothes. FYI - she expects me and my family to invite her to big parties, treat her like VIP, give her expensive and designer stuff but when it comes to giving back, she says "she doesnt have money" or "i am sick, lets not talk about" or "next time we will fix it"
Laslt, I live in USA and she visited every year. During the wedding period she also visited us saying that "let me go to them and get all the wedding stuff sorted out". She came here, slept all day, while I cooked and cleaned, complained that I dont sit with her (i didnt because i genuinely didnt have time for her BS as i was interviewing), got drunk every day (she's an alcoholic), and in the end complained that we wasted her precious time by asking her to make the wedding guestlist which would help us estimate costs. She wore my clothes and purses without permission and sneaked out in Vegas to go party and get free drinks alone. Similar things happened for her wedding clothes, similar things happened for my cousin's roka. Now, she wants to visit us again for two-three weeks - she know my husband and I are going through interviews again and its very stressful. She keeps complaining it to my mom "that the kids have said no, but I miss them so much, I wish they could come", I feel like they are tactics.
All of this makes me just want to quit sometimes because its disrupting me and my peace. I feel like I made a mistake and my life is ruined. I feel alone in this battle. My mother warned me about this family and i knew it too but i chose love over this, "i'll handle it" but I can't. And now i feel, there's no respect, love, or money which to me are actually equally important - for life and for marriage.
How do you think I should deal with this? Do you think I should let her visit for two weeks for my greated good? How bad do you think this is?
PS - My father in law is a tad bit better but still quite shit. Doesnt respect women and definitely cant stand strong independent women who can make their own decisions.
Hi all, I need to vent and seek advice.
I am F (30) and I just got married last year. I was friends with my husband for 2 years, dated for 3 years and then got married.
I knew his mom is weird. She visited him when we were dating and gets drunk every night. She would pick on something my husband said (then boyfriend) and then start crying and acting mad so he would sit with her and make her feel important.
I am Indian and in our culture the bride is celebrated like anything. (parents sponsored wedding) I wasn't celebrated by her. She kept on trying to compete with me (clothes, jewelry, looks) so she could look better. She gave me old, used jewelry to which I revolted and every time anything was for me she would push me to buy something cheap but herself wanted designer stuff. (I could go on and on here)
She lies. Tries to divide and conquer. Plays mind games.
I have been calling this out to my husband that all of this is wrong but I feel like shit especially about jewelry. It's not that I don't have, it's that it's our culture. They washed away their hands and got away with giving much less than they should have. They have made me husband feel this way that whatever they did is more than enough because in their family it's not done 'THIS WAY'.
I am in therapy and I do talk about this a lot. But I feel like I wasn't celebrated AT ALL. my husband doesn't really take a stand for me, he does but not the way I want him to. No conviction. He gets guilt trapped and manipulated.
I don't feel good vibes around them. Every time she calls me it is for an agenda - trying to pull information out of us.
Am I being too materialistic?
Frankly this is not the whole picture. Way too many things happened.
However, this year I told my husband not to call her to our place because 1) he's interviewing and 2) I have some work but she is coming on a school trip with students to US. Now, the emotional manipulation has started by her - I am very stressed, I am missing you guys, you come here. I personally feel that these are tactics so we end up feeling bad and saying you come here.
However, I don't want her in my house. She uses my stuff without asking, she wears my new clothes and posts all over the family groups and Instagram. I feel bad because my husband is an only son and he is trying to keep his mom happy but I am the one suffering.
I see my cousins wife and how she is showered with love, gifts, and warmth. I feel sick to my stomach. I find myself thinking about this all day everyday. Every time I talk to my husband, I sense a face of 'Not again' Neither did I get like Rich family nor a loving family.
What should I do? Am I wrong for being materialistic?
It's been 5 months since my wedding and I am still obsessed over my outfits and looks.
Hi all, I have been studying from different sources like PrepAgent, Just call Maggie, Dee Kumar and Colibri. I am very confused about when I hear know your vocabulary. I know a lot of concepts and definitions from the material I reviewed however I need help to identify a good vocabulary bank. Every material I am reviewing has a different vocabulary bank. Any thoughts? FYI - I have vocabulary from Monica, if anyone knows is that 400 words vocabulary sufficient?