Exam Week: A few thoughts on attempting to cry into bowlfuls of cereal, coloured ink and a squeezy-stress-cow

I am SO glad last week is over. I worked like a machine (or as my friend Tom put it 'You worked like an asian Jackson' -beautiful) and now feel utterly deflated - I want to spend the next week eating proper meals, sleeping proper sleep and watching Gilmore Girls on repeat. Despite the obvious stress, there were a few glorious moments throughout my exam/essay deadline period and I would like to share a few RIGHT now.

1) On Wednesday afternoon I had already completed one essay and one exam. The night before I had gotten so hungry that I rebelled against my own immune system and devoured the little box of musli given to us in Fresher's week, that I, due to my freaky gluten-wheat-intolerant intestines, had stuffed at the back of my drawer and ALMOST forgotten about. So I'm walking back from the library, trying to find the momentum to walk up the hill back to Manor and make myself some lunch. Whilst in the library I had just read my Dad's blog on Mum's progress so I was feeling pretty low and missing home. I had gotten to that point in exam week when Kendrick girls just need to cry A LOT. You know, that massive bout of heaving sobs that lasts about 3 minutes and makes everything so much better. So to sum up, I was in need of cereal and a good crying sesh. I went to Waitrose and bought a box of gluten-free cornflakes with a bottle of milk then trudged up the five flights of stairs to room 5.5 where I sat on the floor and waited...and waited...and waited. It was soon clear that no tears were coming my way, so I ate some cereal, read some letters (one from my Aunt who had definitely had to much Sherry - this made me laugh A LOT!) and then doodled flowers all over my hands with coloured pens to try and cheer myself up. At the time I was still feeling pretty miserable, but with hindsight I can't help laughing at the pathetic little person sitting cross-legged on her itchy carpet squeezing her face together like a raisin trying to make herself cry. What a freak!

2) It's Thursday night and I'm on the home-straight. One more essay, then FREEDOM. Clearly, I'm going to be the only person hitting the books in Manor Hall that night; you know you're hard-core when the Chinese, the medics and the lawyers have left the room. Anyway, I'm sitting there struggling to come up with a coherent plan, desperately trying to avoid Facebook and staring longingly at the door where I can see a group of people dressed up like Harry Potter on their way to the 'Wizard Lounge' refresh event. About 2 hours into my work, Dobby appears by my side to show me his impressive papiermache ears, half an hour later my rather tipsy floor mates burst through the door to shower me with red, lipstick kisses and hysterical hycuppy giggles and an hour after that I begin to lose the will to live. I take a little jog round the library in my slippers to the sound of Dean Martin crooning from my Mac and then proceed to take stupid pictures on photo booth of me as a faceless druid, a jedi, a ninja and a duck. Throughout it all my trusty squeezy-stress-cow remains loyal and squeezy. When the stupid foxes began their flirtatious squealing in the garden, when I suddenly lost sight of my argument in paragraph 4, when my mind began to wonder, when I ran out of tea...squeezy-cow was there, patiently permitting me to squeeze his guts out - I owe him so much.



2 comments :

  1. You are the awesomest freak. I love the little cow, and the duck and the JEDI!!!

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