What a day, what a week... Finally the exams are done and I can breathe huge sigh of relief. I am now at the other end of that tunnel and can take a well deserved week break back home. I was in severe danger of running out of steam in the end, but I made it! In the words of the Japanese... YATA!

On Tuesday at Hillsborough, Lexicology was a bit easier than I expected. He even rehashed two of last year's questions. I only think i potentially messed up one and had a good hour and a 15 minutes to write my essay which included the now semi-legendary word "shitbags" - wonderful stuff (it was on taboo English before you question my academic integrity.) To top off how slightly silly the exam was, I noticed a mistake - the final section (section B) was supposed to have 7 questions but only had 6. I feel sorry for some people who maybe worked hard preparing for the eventuality of that mysterious question 5. I wonder in all honesty what magic words it contained and what it might tell us about our future, our destiny, our civilisation as it stands today. With any luck, we might be graded up because of that - even though it didn't throw me one bit and I only noticed the cock-up 30 minutes before the end of the exam.

Still it was nice going to Hillsborough. I love doing my exams there, because the only Chinese and non-white people you see are those taking exams there! Its basically a highly residential area and reflects more of the cities makeup as a town oop norf, well more so than living in the secluded international makeup of the city centre. I can't stress enough how many Chinese people I see everyday here. I'm sure this place should be called mini-Beijing.

Where was I? Oh yes exams. I did the final one today - Japan's Minorities - in the University Food Court and ended up questioning my sanity at times. The entire experience was like having sex for three hours with a girl you don't fancy. You have to do it, because quite frankly you should do it, but the experience itself is quite unsightly and unpleasant due to what is laid up in front of you. The problem was maybe that the answers were quite focused rather than generalised so I might lose points for waffling and maybe not answering clearly enough. Only the second one I did about the state facing problems with regards to continued migration was the one I felt most confident on. The saving grace was that the conclusions had that edgy punch that final coup-de-grace to make sure that even if 90% of what I wrote was utter bullshit, I can at least get across this point and make it seem like I know my stuff (which I genuinely do.)

Looking back over the exam period, I feel slightly annoyed by two things now.

Firstly, revising for stuff that didn't come up at all. I could have got by, simply by having a general knowledge of the subject. And secondly, I still feel my work is off a poor standard, I still feel like a 2.2 student. I don't feel strong enough in myself and in my work to think I am at the capacity whereby my work is good enough to get me those desired grades. Ultimately, although I know I have passed in some capacity, I know the standards will be nowhere near what I expect. But I can't cheat that, I can't cheat at the cards God gives me. I'm not bigger than that, nor do I possess such an overbearing ego.

Oh and two major things have happened today. One, I was woken up at 9am with the fire alarms sounding. Thought, nah fuck it, just lie in bed - its no big deal. Until I realised that it kept going and going and that perhaps it wasn't a test. Hmmm, I ended up going outside and down the stairs in a pillar of smoke. But luckily after the fire brigade came and checked for any sources of the fire, they let us back in after 10 minutes. I can only assume it was a minor electrical fire as a result of the workmen doing stuff next door. Well anyways, we survived the horror of the Rockingham House Towering Inferno and we now have this on our door to remind us of the dangers.


Check out them exclamation points to really ram home how serious this thing is. LiKe OmFG, don't stY in iTS fIRE!!!1111 lolz...

Secondly, girlwhohappenstobemyfriend hasn't texted me back after I invited her out. I'm giving up hope. I just can't be arsed chasing that up. I'm fairly sure she likes me as a friend rather than anything else and I'll leave the incessant chasing of Japanese girls to some of the rancid amoeba blobs on our course. How the hell they will manage in Japan, when there are fucking tons of beautiful women there I'll never know. *sigh*

Shame I have two beautiful women in Kansai to visit (well three actually, but she is spoken for.)

*shrug

Well hopefully if I pass, I can continue putting myself through this hell for another 6 months at least.

Jaa ne.