Month: April 2019

I’ve conquered one exam, and with it, bought my April to a close. May being here is the start of a holiday I am both excited and nervous for.

The exam was good, I can’t really complain about it. The thing with Insurance Law is that it’s super principle-oriented and operates on facts really well (to be honest, this is how all Law is, but not taught that way). So studying for it got boring as principles repeated themselves, but writing the paper was fun, because it tested us on a range of principles. Plus, even though the facts lifted from case law we had read, the specificity of the questions meant I didn’t really have to think too much about how best I could fill up pages – they filled themselves for me as time went on. The only thing I had to be strategic about today was when I chose to utilize the washroom, because I ran out of water pretty early on, and felt my bladder filling up, but had I gone immediately, I’d be left with more than half the paper’s duration to survive without using the washroom. So I speed wrote and went slightly later. I timed myself well, I think. I was able to enjoy the rest of the paper without thinking about water at all. This, despite the fact that marine insurance was a subject-matter I was tested on today.

Post-exam, I slept and woke up feeling very confused about what time it was.

And then I took a walk where I discovered that our campus sold Britannia’s Little Hearts, which is a snack that is etched in my childhood memory. My mum used to love these so much, and we used to buy the small packets and share them with each other while we watched some rubbish on the television. That’s honestly my only memory of this snack. I remember it in no other context. The advertisements and packaging just stood out, as did the snacks’ name and sugar content.

Delightful.

So of course I bought two packets and have now devoured both of them. I am a monster.

I have exactly one day before the first exam of this end-semester season. So naturally lots of thoughts are panning through my head. At this point, I’m just looking for excuses not to study, so all of these thoughts are definitely helping.

The first, is attendance. Attendance got declared this afternoon for us, and we’re writing exams tomorrow. I think it’s pretty sad that we had to wait so late to find out whether or not we’d be able to write exams the next day. Additionally, for those provisionally detained, they lost easily an hour or more of studying time having to go and speak to the Examination Department. And these are all issues we can resolve. However, resolving them also means a more transparent system for attendance, and I’m not entirely sure I want that.

I miss classes to complete other work that I’ve prioritized for the day ahead of classes – I’m not going to lie about that. And more often than not I get that done. I took advantage of that this semester more than I ever have before, so I was a little on edge about the attendance list and was very grateful to have made it past.

The second is the TV Show F.R.I.E.N.D.S. As one of the first sitcoms I was exposed to, I remember really enjoying most of the series and falling in love with the characters and the story arc. As I grew up and rewatched clips of the show on YouTube, I realized how well the dynamic between six very talented cast members was portrayed, but I also realized how poor some plot arcs were. And though poor, they inspired an entire generation of sitcoms and memes and tropes – which is not something I think the show gets enough credit for. I was introduced to How I Met Your Mother in Grade 7, when I think it was in its second season – and I followed it along on the television, learning several things about current American pop culture along the way. You can’t deny that there’s clear elements of “Inspiration” from F.R.I.EN.D.S. on the HIMYM set, and the HIMYM plot. You also can’t deny that they were originally meant for two completely distinct set of audiences.

There’s merit to each show that deserves some acclaim. And as I binge-watch F.RI.E.N.D.S. on Netflix, to keep myself away from the doldrums of heat and exams, I realize that a little more.

As time at University has passed I’ve found it a lot easier to assert requests that I make to my parents. This isn’t to say that it wasn’t easy before, or that they aren’t approachable human beings who wouldn’t listen to my requests. It’s just that there was always this question that lingered in the back of my head – asking me “why” I was asking them for something. Like, I always felt, and this is something I think I conjured out of my imagination, that I had to justify every request I made to them.

See, it’s likely that this arose because of how I was brought up. But it’s also something I could have grown out of a lot quicker. I’m glad, however, that I didn’t. Because now when I think about requests I make to people: like asking for help, I think about why I’m asking or reaching out for it. In my head, and I don’t know how to explain it – it makes it easier to reach out to people and ask for things, because I know I’m not asking things without purpose or reason.

And it’s very strange.

But asserting bigger requests with my parents – like purchasing things, has gotten way easier since I’ve come to college. By this I mean that there’s more of a discussion on whether to purchase something, or whether alternatives are available, and such – rather than questioning about why I want something. That’s something I’m appreciative of, today. It’s taught me a fair bit.

Today was an attempt to get myself back on track, so naturally I found myself on YouTube, getting deep into a wormhole I couldn’t pull myself out of. I did do a couple of productive things though. My parents and I spoke for an extended duration and figured out our summer plans in a pretty detailed way. It’s the first time in a while I’m getting two months off, so we wanted to use it as a family the best way we could – by being in each other’s company. Getting that sorted was nice. Booking tickets was even nicer.

I can’t really remember the first time I booked a ticket for myself. I’ve always been tech-savvy, and have loved airlines, but figuring out flights and doing online bookings was always in my parents’ domain. Especially considering they were the ones with the credit card. If I think really hard, maybe one of my Hyderabad trips was when I did ticket bookings and figuring out without their help.

Actually no, even earlier. I was involved in the process beforehand. But got full version control over the desktop around Grade 10. That was when I learnt how CVV/CCV numbers worked – and the hidden danger of allowing someone to look at both the front and the back of your card. Wow.

Another day has gone by.

The amount of studying I’ve done today has been less than expected, but more than anticipated. I think that’s the fairest way of putting it. I’m writing now because I’ve got 3 more days before exams start. So that’s 2 days to get my act together and get my sleeping cycle in order, and 1 day to study for the exam which is on Tuesday specifically.

I’m really grateful to be avoiding two things this exam season: Monday exams, and morning exams. A lack of Monday exams means I won’t have to wear formals to the exam hall this exam season, which means I’m going in with my pyjamas. No morning exams means that I can sleep after finishing portion each night, with the comfort of the morning for revision. Till 1pm. Which means a good 5 hours of revision in the day.

I like that.

Also, two weeks to going home. I’m very excited.

I haven’t slept very well over the last two days, so this morning when I got out of bed I was rather sick. This meant two things: first, I would be missing a meeting I had really looked forward to attending and contributing to. The second was that I would be missing the organizing of, and attending the seniors farewell. I wasn’t up to it at all.

This meant that I spent a day in my room – attempting to study, but spending a lot more time thinking and reflecting on things gone by.

Time is a good thing.