Spring break begins

Yesterday was the end of the International Trauma Life Support module, in which a month's worth of study and lab practice culminated in a 118-question written exam and a trauma "Megacode." We now enter spring break, after which we return for a month of internal medicine lectures. When we get back, we head to the lab for Advanced Cardiac Life Support and then start practicing for our exit megacodes. The end is in sight, which is both exciting and a little scary.

I'm leaving tomorrow to spend spring break with Ellen in New Hampshire. We leased an apartment in which to live once we're married; I'm looking forward to seeing it in person. And of course my excitement about seeing Ellen should go without saying (but I'll say it anyway!). Ellen has work and classes to occupy her during the day, so I'm hoping to have ample time to visit with some old friends as well.

April Fool's Day isn't until tomorrow, but the community college spring break begins today, so I had to get in my practical joking early. Last week in the English tutoring lab, we had a long discussion about the proper way to cite a title using APA format if the title itself ended with a punctuation mark like a question mark or exclamation point. The APA style book does not address that situation, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.

In the tradition of K. Jason Sitewell , I fabricated the following email and handed it to the director of the lab, telling her that I had emailed the APA and this was their reply:

"Hello,

Thank you for your recent inquiry. Indeed, several others have pointed out this ambiguity in the APA guidelines. In the situation you mentioned, the two punctuation marks cancel each other out. It is proper to omit both the punctuation mark in the title and the period following the title.

Regards,
Irma Kidder"

She bit. Fifteen minutes later she came into the lab with the MLA style book to compare the APA's "answer" to other takes on the subject. I played it straight, and she soon left to forward the email to the psychology professor whose assignment had prompted the question in the first place. At this point I revealed the jest, eliciting a shriek of delight.