Part 7

So now I have to get a summer job between first and second year.  There was a Toronto day camp doing a job search at the university.  Myself and a friend applied.  They had two types of positions - counsellor or maintenance.  Much to the shock of the interviewers, we applied to be maintenance men.  We realized it pays better; we don't have to deal with the campers; and there were some serious intervals during the day when we could just veg.  We were the most educated maintenance men they ever hired and we did it for two years.

At the same time, I was now travelling to Hamilton on a regular basis and sleeping on my girlfriends couch.  We were now, what was called "exclusive".  I travelled with her family to Montreal for a wedding and we spent almost every weekend together.   When we were not together, we actually wrote letters, and when we could afford it we called each other long distance.  That was the end of the 60's and beginning of the 70's.  Something that no other generation will ever experience.

During my first and second year, I volunteered in the psych department for psych experiments.  One involved being an air traffic controller and being hooked up to a machine which registered tension.  I think I broke the record on how many planes could crash within 60 minutes.   My second project involved tension control -  which proved to be very useful during my studies and thereafter -- considering that (while not being diagnosed) it was evident that I had HDADD  -- being translated to attention deficient disorder, disagreement, disruptive, disputive, disagreeable,and all other dises - but when paying attention it is in High Definition.

Second year was pretty non-eventful other than increasing my knowledge of having to get much better grades and being a better poker player.

At the second year, I had a wonderful experience when Judy's father sat me down and asked me what my intentions were with respect to his daughter  -  there was no shotgun, but I was surprised by the conversation.  I just kept nodding my head.

The most important adventure between second and third year involved my taking what was referred to as the "Evelyn Wood Speed Reading" course.  There were about 25 people starting the course, but diminishing over the 8 week course.  We were told that most people read at 150 words a minute because they verbalize and can't speak faster than 150 words a minute (I recall that JFK was alleged to be able to speak 300 words a minute).   

Once we were taught to get past 150 words a minute - the next hurdle was about 350 wpm an then 700 wpm and then 1500 wpm and then whatever.  By the time we were at 1500 wpm there were only 3 of us left  -- myself, another student and a university science professor.    We were finally tested at over 3000 wpm.

I used the skill --  which is really "effective reading" and not speed reading.  You will have to do your own investigation about the process since I could write a book on the subject - as there have been -- including Effective Reading by Adler (I think published in the 1920's).

Anyway, I had done well in all my subjects earning 4 A's and 2 A pluses.  In one course, I had received a 70 out of 75 and had one examination.  It involved two texts that I had not read.  I decided to test the effective reading skill by sitting outside the Tait Mackenzie gym an hour before the exam and begin reading the texts.  I ended up with an A plus in the course.

Going back a few months, I had to write the LSAT.  I decided to take it in October of 1970 in case I had to write it again and to avoid the paranoia of all of the individuals taking the test in the spring.  At that time it was an 8 hour exam  - before and after lunch.  To prepare, I went to a party the night before.  There was no preparatory course that now exists.  By the time lunch was over we had lost about a third of the individuals taking the test.  

I had applied to law schools, waited for the results, did ok and then waited for acceptance or rejections letters.

Late in April, Judy and I drove to Princess Point in Hamilton.  While enjoying the moonlight, I took out a small box and gave it to Judy.  She told me later, that she thought it held a condom.