Exam Survival Kit

Music

1. Narrow Stairs, Death Cab For Cutie
2. Good Evening New York City, Paul McCartney
3. 桑田さんのお仕事 07/08 ～魅惑のAVマリアージュ～ The Works Of Mr. K. Kuwata 07/08, 桑田佳祐 Keisuke Kuwata
4. The Velvet Underground And Nico, The Velvet Underground and Nico
5. All The Plans, Starsailor

Most of the time, music just keeps me awake so I don’t fall asleep halfway through my revision, but let me just say that I know the songs of 2 and 3 so well that it is often tempting to sing along.

Games

Well, I have to entertain myself every now and then. I was in the process of completing a Mass Effect 2 game, but I think I’ll suspend that. I started a new Metal Gear Solid 4 game yesterday under the influence of my friend who just got a PS3. (Congrats!)

I just have to play. Even for an hour a day or so. I would feel very unbalanced if I didn’t, and that definitely isn’t what I want going into the exams.

Idle Thinking

Any moment I can spare on “hobbies” is spent on thinking about how to implement my forthcoming book club experiment. I’m supposed to get that running in the holidays, and if it succeeds, that will bode well for the prospects of an actual book club in the future. Here’s hoping.

Rewards

To have something to look forward to after my exams, I’m going to buy a few books at the end of this. I might buy a couple of other things too. Call it retail therapy.

Specific to books, however, I’ve been going through my list, adding and subtracting, trying to work out a nice list to go all guns a-blazing on by the time I’m done with these pesky exams.

Miscellany

I’ve been trying to sleep earlier because it’s an early paper tomorrow and I need to get used to sleeping early. I hope it works. Most of my papers are in the afternoon, so it probably won’t be too bad, but let’s just hope tomorrow works out fine.

d

Tuesday Photo: pluto’s tongue

You Scary

Exams! Starts on Thursday! The most frightening part of it all will actually happen around the turn of the weekend. I’ve got a paper each on Monday and Tuesday, and Tuesday just happens to be the scariest of the lot. Things should settle down somewhat after that, but until then, these days will probably prove to be a bit of a challenge.

Stay calm. I know what I’m doing. Listen to me. Trust me.

I wonder what music I’ll be listening to during this time. Death Cab For Cutie is likely. I’ve been listening to Narrow Stairs. That is to say, I started listening to it yesterday. It might make good exam time music, but I definitely need more than that, so I’m kind of still looking.

I’ve officially suspended reading and writing. It’s difficult because you start to itch, in a way. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to open up the document to get cracking. Rules are rules, though, and even if they’re meant to be broken, it is rather self-defeating to go about breaking my own.

I hope revision works.

d

Saturday Photo: donald duck

Last Day of Sem 6

What a semester.

Today’s the last day. I have a test today.

Exams start next week. That startled me briefly when I realised that I have a paper on Thursday. I thought that it was illegal to have exams during reading week, but it’s not the first time I’ve thought wrong.

I have The Shining on video. I better get to watching it.

I’m suspending my writing officially soon. Maybe I did that a week ago or something, but I forgot, so I better do it again. I’ve written bits and pieces since.

The ideas are slowly filling up, so it’s fair to assume that we should be all right by the time the exams are over.

Will I be posting during the examination period? I imagine so, but in what manner and at what capacity I’m not entirely sure yet. We’ll improvise, I think.

Making new friends is always a nice thing.

Well, maybe not always, but most of the time.

The lift-building at my block continues.

Is it just me or are the StarHub ads for the new channel organisation scheme really badly designed and poorly written?

Finally:

I especially like the guy at about 0:36. My friend says that it’s like doing the 5BX. I guess I understand its purpose now. We can never over-prepare for killer giant piranhas.

d

Thursday Photo: another day in paradise

Love Songs

Nothing quite like a good love song, and my recent playlist has basically been dominated by love songs.

1. “Friends To Go,” Paul McCartney
2. “I Want You,” Bob Dylan
3. “The Bakery,” Arctic Monkeys
4. “Something’s Gotta’ Give,” Robin McKelle
5. “Anyway,” Paul McCartney
6. “Summersong,” The Decemberists
7. “It’s Too Late,” Derek & The Dominos
8. “I Need You,” The Beatles
9. “Just Like A Woman,” Bob Dylan
10. “Bold As Love,” Jimi Hendrix
11. “限りなき永遠(とわ)の愛,” サザンオールスターズ
12. “Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea,” George Harrison
13. “No Face, No Name, No Number,” Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton [live]
14. “Something,” The Beatles
15. “True Love Waits,” Radiohead

Here are fourteen fragments that you can try to match to their original songs. The Japanese song of course is excluded because that would be too easy.

1. My girl, linen and curls, lips parting like a flag all unfurled
2. With her fog, her amphetamine, and her pearls
3. But when you come knocking at my door, fate seems to give my heart a twist
4. I’ll try hard, ignoring those lips I adore, but how long can anyone try?
5. Don’t want to leave her now, you know I believe and how
6. In haunted attics… On lollipops and crisps
7. You don’t realise how much I need you
8. I’ve been sliding down a slippy slope; I’ve been climbing up a slowly burning rope
9. But it’s not that way, I wasn’t born to lose you
10. And so I search within his lonely place, knowing I won’t find her
11. In my soul is constant yearning, always singing, singing this song
12. It’s a woman that cries, so I guess I’ve got to hide my eyes
13. Keep me from giving my life to a rainbow like you
14. Love, we’re in stalemate

Enjoy!

d

Tuesday Photo: figments

Dental Appointment

I went to the dentist yesterday. I don’t like going to the dentist.

Routine check-up; nothing to worry about.

It wasn’t always like this, so I always try to think of why I don’t like going to the dentist now. What’s changed? in other words. It’s fairly baffling. I can’t really pinpoint a particular time or event that’s resulted in my current dislike for the dentist. In fact, I think I was always kind of the sort who would think, Oh, it’s just the dentist, don’t be silly, all you dentist-fearing folk.

I’ve never had as traumatic a time as some people have had at the dentist’s; no wisdom teeth to pluck out, no root canal business, et cetera. I’ve never screamed at the dentist’s, cried at the dentist’s, or used any violence on any of the staff. Is it the sounds? Well, yes, kind of, but I didn’t always have a problem with that. The tools? Maybe, but again, I’ve never held much of a grudge against them; the ones that I always couldn’t stand were those used for ears, because I had an infection when I was very young and it hurt like crazy, and the doctors all just seemed intend on maximising the pain with their various devices. So no, I don’t find the dentist’s tools particularly invasive or frightening.

Maybe it has to do with the fluoride gel that he puts. I can’t stand it because it makes me a little sick. It has mostly to do with the fact that it tastes a little like bad apple juice, and you can’t rinse for half an hour. Just induces you to throw up a bit.

Or maybe I’ve grown to find the tools all a bit insidious in their own way.

There is also the lamp, though. The big giant lamp with a circular black plastic in the middle. It’s a giant eye. It’s looking straight down at you and just refuses to give an expression. That could be it.

Or the television. The dentist always has the television on, and given the time that I pay my visit and the channel that he always chooses, it’s always cartoons. He doesn’t ever watch it, so I’ve always wondered why he has it on, and why it has to be cartoons. So imagine that, someone peering into your mouth, using all manner electrical devices on your teeth, and expecting you to watch cartoons from the corner of your eye. That has to be frightening at some Doctor Who level.

I’m more inclined to believe that it’s a combination of all of those things.

Though that’s not to say that I’ve anything against dentist. Especially not mine.

Keep up the good work, dear sir.

Sincerely, my teeth.

d

Saturday Photo: gradients