CA + A little sport..

For all the b********g hours I have put in, it still seems that I am a bit afraid of what may come up for the test tomorrow. This is the first time in four years that I believe I have studied so much and put in an effort worthy of notion. The feeling is a bit odd- alright, I confess, it's down right alien to me. I have always been a bit of a cool cat when it comes to actually writing any exam( sorry about the lack of modesty, but it is the truth), and it set me thinking- does the crowd around you influence the way you perceive a given situation? It seems really odd that within the space of a few short months, I can change from a happy go lucky chap to someone who is in severe angst about the next test. I mean the people I had around me during my undergrads couldn't actually care less about anything, let alone exams. For them, a steamy Namitha dance scene in a masala movie, at the local theatre, would make their day. Here, everyone have the "oh-I-am-so-scared-about-the-test-so-I-better-read-for-it" syndrome. Everything revolves around marks. But I reckon I have finished my rant and hoping for the best **fingers crossed and kneeling in front of God, praying**

So, onto other things now- Cricket first- India have Australia on the ropes. It certainly makes for a welcome change; I mean, the Aussies are all so full of themselves, always you know, with their "rough and tough" attitude, that it makes for a good chuckle when they have their "nethers" being twisted in a vice. India's bowlers were wonderful on a pitch that offered little help- though the old ball did reverse a bit, and there was a bit of spin- it wasn't riddled with potholes(which are a stereotypical of subcontinental pitches) or something. Actually Watson and Lee were able to show that the pitch itself held no "demons" and batted resolutely to actually help Australia pass a score of two hundred. Then the Indian openers went about at a merry four plus runs an over to put India in the box seat. I certainly can't see Australia winning this test, but India have a mighty good chance. And a hearty congratulations to Amit Mishra for bowling exceedingly well and bagging five Aussie scalps!

I was really gutted when I couldn't see the Arsenal match yesterday- it is the one thing I miss most after coming to Singapore. The cable connections are so expensive, I can't afford them at all- so this means I have to resort to illegal streams or those online commentaries. Moreover when I do manage to get hold of an Arsenal match, they invariably end up losing it, or salvaging a point from the match. If you want to know how many Arsenal matches I have seen here, just glance at the draws and losses column for the Gunners in the table. But I am rather relieved that they were able to win against Everton, who are also having a rather bad time tbf, 3-1 after going behind. I saw the goals and though they were not classic Arsenal goals, they were, maybe more significant in nature.

Long hours + Is it for real? + moving to Lakseide

Well, the week has passed and with the first of two CA's actually taking place on Monday, I have a fair bit to do. What do I call this week- did it mean anything to me? Did I do anything significant? The answer to both those questions is a big, emphatic "NO"! So what am I actually writing about- I don't have a bloody clue! I have started to read a bit( my lessons have finally caught up with me- or is it the other way around. Make my mind up for me, will u?) and consider the following lines as the ramblings of a sleep deprived fool, with gallons of coffee by his side and with caffeine coursing through his veins.

This is the first time, in Singapore that I have actually picked up a book, sorry I forgot, we have slides here not books; so a correction on that issue- I have read the slides and notes for the first time and tried to make light of it. It is not to say that I have only read for the entire week- I have also watched two matrix movies, one documentary about Genghis Khan on YouTube, downloaded the award winning documentary series, " The Nazis - A warning from history", and have actively followed the "merking" of a chap on the football forum. But since Thursday, I have slept a grand total of four hours actually; and most of my time, since then, has been spent on what I might encounter on the CA, which I will be having on Monday( not to mention there is one more on Wednesday). I am not going to say that I am the only one having troubles with work- loads of people have more trouble than me( a gazillion times more than me), but it is the first time since my twelfth that I have actually cared so much for an internal test. So let me calculate the number of hours I have slept since waking up at seven in the morning on Thursday. Three hours of sleep the next night( Thursday-->Friday) and then half an hour or forty five minutes the next day i.e. last night i.e Friday-->Saturday. That makes a grand total of three hours and forty five minutes- meaning i have been awake for 49 hours your and forty minutes over the past fifty or so odd hours( do the maths yourselves- I am exhausted).All that time hasn't gone to waste- my "airhead" brain has some stuffing in it now, and I feel a lot more confident now about not only facing the CA, but also the exams. So cheers to me, kudos or whatever to me as well.

I decided to do my bit for the medical community by donating my blood- Everything went as it should have( apart from me losing some blood pressure, which was rectified quickly), and I was astonished at what I could take home, for giving a little bit of blood. I took home a stress ball, or a "squeezy" as I prefer to call it, a pen and a set of iron tablets, to replenish your "stocks". In India, you would be sent home with a bag of food and that's about it. No medicine or whatever. Now, what I want to say is that I just thought that once I donate blood, all connection between me and the Red Cross( they are the ones who get the blood) would be severed until the next time I donate blood. But lo and behold, I received a phone call from them two days later, asking me if I was okay and if I feel good. Now that astonished me, really it did; maybe coz it is so unexpected or so- but generally I thought that after I do my donation, I would have no contact with them until I go to them the next time( sorry for the deja vu). So that is a bit weird, them actually calling me. I mean, are these guys for real? Do they really care that much? Hmmmm... :S

I reckon I have done enough ranting and raving- my mind seems a bit more "drunk" than usual- I still have some work left and until then, I can't really relax. This sleepless and a bit more stressful life will probably end by the middle of next week or so- which means I can extend my "number of hours awake" counter by a bit more. I also have a bit of packing to do- I'll be moving tomorrow to Lakeside, and it means that my travelling time and costs will be slashed by almost a half. The rent too is rather low- I mean, S$ 200 is absolutely great, innit?

Speed of light +exams+ I am the fourth, yes!

It seems really weird that everything has been moving at the speed of light- time,classes and the irrepressible Singaporean folk( not to mention their pets as well). There are probably only two classes of beings that seem to have bucked this trend. The first class are aliens who travel through space and time using wormholes to visit each and every corner of the universe at various points in the past or future, probably performing scientific experiments on unwitting americans(who may or may not exist; it depends when the aliens visit 'em, eh?) during their leisure time. The second class may consist entirely of me(if anyone shares my sentiments of being left behind by everyone, please let me know, I'll add another element to this unity set, by which it becomes a countable set). Unlike the aliens, I am not pushing forth the boundaries of time or something like that. The only thing that I would be challenging is for the title of "Best impersonation of a Sponge 2008" and that is not a very good thing.

My exams are beginning soon, so I reckon that I must kick-start the engine, and begin to fill my completely drained brain, drained of information that is and not of anything else, with information provided to me in the form of pdf files on a website. Let me tell you, that learning things from a computer is probably the weirdest thing I have ever done- I mean I am so used to books and paper, and all these "electronicky" thingies seem to be right out of a "Back to the Future" movie. What is more is that my eyes start watering at the screen, once I start scanning the notes- once again not good, even when I use the liquid that is supposed to relax my eyes, or something and use antireflection lenses. So much for a liquid that cost me a hundred rupees and doesn't do its job properly >:( . **Shakes fist at manufacturers and mouths some really foul language, that for my family's sake, I can't write down**

So I reckon, I must lift my backside off the creaky sofa and start trying other novel methods of trying to get information into my head. I used to sleep with my notes under my pillow, in hope that information somehow trickled into my brain, while I was asleep. I reckon now I have to sleep with my laptop under my pillow in order to do well in the exams.. Here's to my new experiment.

And before anyone says anything, I am the fourth Narayan in the family( I exclude my Gramps from this list), and hence the name, moi name, Rex "Narayan the Fourth". All bow down to me!