Does anyone else feel that my latest posts have been about announcing things to the world? “I’m still alive,” “I can still write in English,” “I am taking a mosaic class,” etc. Now I ask myself, does anyone care about these trivial things except me? Uh, I didn’t think so either. Why people continue to follow this space is therefore all the more amusing.

So, to sum my absence up, all the above italicized announcements still hold true. I am physically and mentally alive, although if you consider my current occupation you could argue otherwise. I am currently studying for the GRE (Graduate Record Examination), and let me tell you, I only feel alive when I stop studying for it. Why anyone would devise an exam that literal and absolutely sneaky is beyond me. Actually, sadism is a very plausible explanation. Preparing for the exam is leaving me in a state of constant psychological agitation: I keep convincing myself that I can do it, that I will not be cowed by it, that I will crack it, that I will not be utterly devastated if I get a bad total, and so on. I have become my own shrink/coach/morale-booster/teacher/everything.

Evidently, I can still write in English. The English in the GRE is a whole different language altogether though. It’s basically all the words you have never seen or used and will never see or use in your normal daily life as an average citizen of the world whose native tongue is not GREish. I am currently resisting the temptation of using a few words that I particularly like, such as peccadillo and lachrymose and pulchritudinous, and it is a difficult task.

I’m never impressed with big exams. Back in my Tawjihi days, I used to stay up all night chatting after I was done studying, which normally took me a maximum of 5 hours per subject. I never locked myself up at home for the sake of an exam and I could never understand why/how other people do it, and by the end of my studying I usually got so fed up with the material that I went to the exam with such an indifferent attitude that allowed me not to panic, contrary to other students’ temperaments at the time.

The other major exam I took during my lifetime was the TOEFL, and I did not prepare for that one at all. Admittedly, it was more challenging than I thought it would be, but it went smoothly all the same. College finals also made a lot of sense to me and I enjoyed them most of the time. I suppose I was born an exam animal. I hope I behave similarly in the GRE and do well in it too.

In other news, my mosaic lion is done:

I think he looks a bit goofy with his boobs and all, but it’s not my fault that the original featured the same organs (I am but an imitator!). I felt so proud when I finished working on him because it took me exactly fourteen days to accomplish this painstaking artistic feat, and it was an experience that not only taught me how to cut stone to place in angles or circles, but also how to be patient and literally look at the big picture. The mosaic itself is not done yet, as I still have to work on the background, but it’s safe to say that the hardest parts are over.

In other other news, I have been reading super extra lately. That and studying have been keeping me away from The Box. I am also taking time off from work currently, so I can dedicate my time to studying and relaxing. I can’t believe it has been almost three years since I took time off from work. That translates to the fact that I have never taken more than a week off from work since I held my first job three years ago. That’s just insane. What’s more surprising is that it took quite a struggle for me to snatch my legal annual vacation from my boss. I’m not even that popular at work!

That is my news, not that you should bother with any of it, and I have just thrown it in cyberspace for all to enjoy. And now it’s time for my siesta.