Morning Library Rush.

Exam time is very much underway. The academics have gone into hibernation, the girls are having to photo copy their notes numerous times a day and the boys have started a routine trip to the gym. Many people have never ventured into the library for the entire year prior to the exams and yet, during exams they cannot leave the place. I am not completely dissimilar to this but I have, at least, utilised the library throughout the year on occasions.

A queue of people line the ramp that leads into the library at 8 in the morning. I haven't seen this many people on campus at 8 o'clock ever before but come exam time, the population of Stellenbosch students seem to quadruple. It is a mystery to me as to why the students that don't use the library for the whole year and seem to be successful in this approach, all of a sudden feel the need to study in the library during its most busy weeks.   

As the 8 o'clock hour hand strikes, students flood the library, running to their respective favourite cubicles. This, in itself, seems far too bizarre for me but the thing that they do next is the truly puzzling part: They throw files and exam pads towards surrounding cubicles like seasoned frisbee players to save spots for their closest friends that were unable to tear themselves out of bed in time to see the historic moment of the library doors open. This is definitely selfish but it also seems outright counterproductive. Assumedly, one goes to the library to escape the noises and chaos that occurs at their various flats, diggs and residences, so to save the 5 cubicles around them, seems to me to be bringing that same chaos to a different location. Personally, if I wanted to spend time with my 8 closest friends, I wouldn't choose the library to host that event. 

Back to the selfish side of this bizarre morning ritual: You don't see people that are queueing for a restaurant, running in and start throwing every item of clothing that they can spare, onto tables so that the other people in the queue are unable to occupy a table for themselves and you don't see people walk into gym and place their towels and other paraphernalia on every machine or weight that they plan to use that day in order to refrain others using those various machines. People just do not behave like that. But, put them in the queue for the library at 8am every morning and it seems to give them that right to behave in way so contradictory to human norms. A girl that is 5th through the door could find herself working on the floor at the rate that these 'frisbee throwers' manage to occupy desks. 

I'm not saying that people shouldn't get up early to work during exam time or that people shouldn't work in an area that they wouldn't usually in other situations. I'm just saying that if you have the dedication to be at the library in time for the opening of the doors, then you should be rewarded with a seat of your choice provided that doesn't coincide with the desired seat of someone that was ahead of you in the queue. A simple philosophy in my opinion. The idea of someone losing a cubicle to someone who is still in bed and not present at the library is ludicrous and absurd. In my opinion, get there on time, or work somewhere else.

Regards

Student Micky.

Exam Time.

It is a dark and dreary day in my student life for 2012. Today marks the '2 weeks to go' until exams. However, it is not all bad as today I can look back on the year and remember all those great moments that I had when exams were not beckoning. You can only really appreciate the good days when going through the tough ones.

I went for lunch with the misses yesterday to a little place on Dorp Street called the Blue Orange. It is a pleasing restaurant on a good day as one can sit outside in the garden while the sun shines down. All i wanted was a cold beer in my hand but due to the tasks at hand I was unable to full this desire. Instead, I ordered the home made ginger beer, which made me gag with every sip, and a cup of coffee. This is what life as a student is currently reduced to. Beer has been replaced with coffee and red bull. Being drunk is replaced with being wide awake, buzzing with energy and caged in at your work station starring at work that you have ever seen before.

During the last few weeks, I have struggled to get to bed before 2 o clock. This is due to a busy night out schedule with many clubs to visit and lots of people to see. The next morning, I would wake up feeling hungover with a headache and a stench that would chase a skunk out of its hole. Late nights are still the order of the day except they are induced through long hours of studying. Where I would go out and have fun, I now go to the study centre and stare at pages of information in hope that it stays in my head. Where i once woke up feeling terrible, I now wake up feeling good but still lack the desire to get out of bed.

These are all negative things but one positive comes out of it: budgeting. A student budget is tight at the best of times and when you have to pay for drinks three times a week, buy the much needed protein to keep a man in shape and treat the misses on a date, you just are not going to make the end of the month without making the dreaded call home for additional funds. Exam time is only time where I feel I do not squander assets recklessly and spent half my allowance on brandy, coke and box wine.

It is a tough month ahead but once I get through it, there will be many more posts to be posted; many more memories to be captured and much more insight into the entertaining side of the student life. It is now time for business, time to put the head down and stare into pages of writing. Repeating a subject is only bad for one thing: less time to piss around the following year. It is now time to pass everything and finish the year off on a high note.

Regards
Student Micky

The Attack of the Girlfriends.

The only downside of finishing school is good friends often go overseas to either study or live. This is sad as no one likes to lose friends and face the possibility of never seeing them again. This was no different for me as many of my good friends either went overseas to live or to study for a number of years. The positive aspect of this is when they return for holiday, the celebrations are of a top calibre. They often visit for 2 to 4 weeks and that is just enough time to blow the monthly allowance on a long lost friend in various clubs and bars that has been sorely missed by the returnee.

I have one friend, Prawn, who went to the United States of America to further his education in bugger all and play rugby for Arkansas University. As many people know, Arkansas is a dry state which means no or limited alcohol may be consumed as long as you are in the borders of that state. When Prawn decided to go there, most of us were shocked as he was not exactly Muslim when it came to alcohol. Many of the biggest nights have started at his household so to think that he was now limited by being under 21 in the States and by living in a dry area, made me feel like much potential was being lost. However, Prawn was scheduled to be coming home for a month and would be frequenting to Stellenbosch for a few student nights. I was looking forward to his return and participation in evening festivities as he knows how to get a party going and also how to keep a party going.

Another friend, Freddie, grew up in Australia but happened to come to my high school when he was 17. He had gone home to Australia after school to live and further his career on the couch in front of the tv watching live and taped sport. To call him an academic is to call a pig beautiful- it just doesn't feel right and cannot be further from the truth. Freddie was relying on his rugby talent to get him through life which was problematic as with every step he took, at least one knee would give way. Just by chance Freddie was scheduled to return for a holiday at the same time as Prawn. Some would say this was fate and others argue that is was complete coincidence. The only thing that was for certain was this was a lethal combination and promised much in the nights out to follow.

Combined with Fanta, a redheaded specimen and the clown of the group, the scene was set for an entertaining night out in Stellenbosch. This was going to be the biggest and best night that we had all had in years as I hadn't seen these two in a year, Prawn hadn't seen alcohol in 13 months, Freddie hadn't got off the couch since leaving South Africa and hadn't been to a social gathering since his family lunch at Christmas and Fanta would bunji jump without a rope if it meant he could be involved in a party. The scene was set, the characters were present and it was a Wednesday in Stellenbosch which is legendary. What could go wrong?

There was one factor which I had not taken into account: Girlfriends. Prawn was the first to go. He had convinced us to get out of our comfort zones, something that I am not prone to doing, and go to a digs party that we were assured had free alcohol for who ever attended. Again, what could go wrong? As we arrived, Prawn disappeared. We thought we had left behind but a few moments later revealed that his "girlfriend", who had also returned from studies in the US, had captured Prawn and we knew that was him lost for the night. There was no snatching him back from her claws. No matter, there were still 3 of us who were eager to continue with the festivities.

As we got to the bar, we were told that all the drinks had run out. Prawn had not only led us to an empty watering hole but had ditched us at it without any means of return. Freddie was all to keen to leave as soon as possible which came as no surprise due to the lack of liquids available so we managed to bum a lift and head to town. As we neared the queue of Freddie's desired destination, i noticed why Freddie had been so eager to leave the last place: There, in the queue, stood his girlfriend. I knew at that moment that Freddie was lost for the night. This meant that I was left with Fanta who had become the king of deceit and any story that he tried to feed me to believe that he was there to go out with his mates, had long since ceased to have me fooled. The rest of the night was dreary and somewhat sad. I had to cling onto Fanta and his girlfriend for the rest of the night making small talk like: "cool music, hey" while bobbing awkwardly. I had to remain far enough from the couple so to not be accused of trying things with Fanta's girlfriend while staying close enough to them so that I wasn't thought of being a lonely dancer by fellow dance floor occupants.

That is how the most anticipated night of the year, and one of the few times that I would be able to go out with Prawn and Freddie, ended up. I have learnt from this experience and I now refuse to go out anywhere near my friend's girlfriends's potential whereabouts. The other solution is to take my misses out and put those selfish bastards in the position that I was in.          

Regards
Student Micky.

Wine Tasting.

Finally the test is over and I can get back to doing what students do best: Having fun with a drink in hand. Despite a dreary day in the winelands of Stellenbosch, I need to get out and fill my lungs with much needed fresh air. How better to do that than to go wine tasting?

Last time that I went wine tasting there was not so much wine tasting as much as there was wine drinking. The last time I went wine tasting it coincidentally happened to be my first time that I had gone wine tasting. I arrived at a beautiful part of the world to try out their various products that this estate had spent years on perfecting and caring for so that when I threw down the perfect mouthful, I would be sold on the spot and immediately go to the cashier and ask for a case of whatever I had tasted. This trip, however, seemed to be hugely different to what I had imagined. I joined the back of the queue of my friends and followed suit. The order of the day was 3 bottles for R100 which seemed like a fair deal. It was a warm day so needless to say I went for the white option. Half an hour and another R100 later I was on to my 4th bottle with two more waiting in the wings.

It is a strange feeling looking down at the watch, a Rolex rip-off of course, and have to squint with one eye to see that the time is only 12 o clock mid-day. It goes without saying that I enjoyed our version of wine tasting a lot more than the conventional version that I had pictured in my head and by the end of it, driving was not a viable option. Walking was hard enough so to get behind the wheel of car was impossible.

That was the beginning of a bad day in terms of health as after we managed to get back to town after the wine tasting, we all met for dinner as a sort of 2 hour reunion. The 'reunion' was held at a local pub which meant only one thing: More of the same, just with beer instead of wine. There the festivities continued with the same people, the same atmosphere, the same one-eyed glance at the watch to see that it was now 8pm. Sure, 8pm is late for a 12 year old to stay up on a school night and it is late for someone to go out for a casual jog on the mountain path but to be so blind drunk that it feels like you're about to witness the sun come up, 8pm errs slightly on the early side.

Although that day started with a girl vomitting, continued with myself and the misses arguing and ending with me having to travel back to the wine estate the next day to pick up my credit card which I had left behind the bar, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day and a version of wine tasting that perhaps has succeeded the conventional style. I cannot wait to get out into the vineyards of Stellenbosch to relive that experience again, this weekend.

Regards
Student Micky.

Waking up in Time.

Its hard to go the full day on campus without getting a full night's rest but it is equally as hard to get a full night's rest without being interrupted at some stage by the numerous people looking to burst into your room and disturb the most important time of a man's day.

Last night all my friends decided that midnight would be a good time to form a social gathering in my room. It did not strike them at all that this may be the time that I might look to put myself to rest in my single, yet cosy, bed. Patiently I socialised with my intruders until eventually even those generic freaks that require no more than a few minutes to recharge their batteries and get back to neutral decided it was time to call it a night. Unbeknown to them I had specifically planned to go to sleep early and get up early in the hope that my day would be filled with productivity and learning as I only have one more day to learn for an important economics test.

Going to bed is one challenge that faces all men in residence through social obligations. Waking up, on the other hand, is a personal battle that every individual needs to win daily in order to get to a lecture on time, get that needed water after a night out, make it to the toilet in time to be sick (again after a night out), or in this case to get to the library before all cubicles are occupied and before yet another day is lost to socialising.

I have not been able to figure out if the "snooze" button on my alarm is good thing or a bad thing. The pros are that if you cancel your alarm entirely, fall asleep again, then all is lost until 2 hours later and anything that did fall in those two hours are forfeited for ever. The snooze button allows the alarm to sound every 5min so in theory there is no chance of missing whatever you have planned for the morning. But like i said: "In theory."In my opinion the snooze button is the devil. This morning I set my alarm for 7am and had every intention to get up at that time. 14 'snoozes' later and it was 8.10am and I have started the day on a bad note. It is just too easy to click snooze that in your semi-subconcious state the decision making process is almost made for you.

So now I am an hour behind studying for the day and I was not exactly ahead of the game to begin with. Combined with my obligatory blog and I am well behind where I planned to be by 9am the day before my test. My suggestion to this problem would be to go to bed earlier if this was not impossible. If music is not playing next door, the smoke from the fire is choking enough to keep me awake all night. And if, by some miracle, the fire is not going outside my window then there will be one person in residence that feels like a chat with me. I do not want to chat at midnight. Midnight is for sleeping, not chatting. If you want to chat then get me at lunch time as I feel lunch time is a far more appropriate time to have a conversation.

This leaves me with only one remedy to an otherwise bleak situation. This solution combines the need of others to disturb with the desire of you to get up on time. Give one friend (or first year) your room key and allow him to wake you up through a surprise wrestle at a time chosen by you. Theres nothing as effective as a wrestle in getting one out of bed. Its enjoyable, loud and pumps much needed adrenaline through the body that is essential for the task at hand: getting out of bed.

Regards
Student Micky.

Selecting an Outfit.

So today is a new day, as the saying goes, which guarantees only one thing: A new outfit. For many years, the morning attire choice has plagued students and it requires a brave and socially intelligent individual to reach the pavings of campus confident in what is resting on their body.

In the 40's the look on campus was bulky shoes, padded shoulder and tight but long dresses and skirts. The only aspect of this look that I find remotely appealing is the word 'tight'. These days shoulder pads are reserved for the rugby field, bulky shoes have thankfully been lost along with black nail polish and dog collars and long dresses are seldom worn outside of a black tie event. Apart from my last living grandparent, i do not want to see any person that i associate myself with, wearing clothes that resemble the 40's.

It is hard to find fault in the clothes that the 50's students wore as everyone prided themselves in being smartly dressed. Girls in high heels and boys in smart jackets dominated the scene at university. Now, although a man wearing a suit on campus might be frowned upon, it is be no means tacky to look smart. I challenge any man to attend lectures in a suit. I personally love looking smart but do not posses the required 'swagg' to pull it off on campus. There was something special about students looking smart; a certain irony that hung over the lecture halls and local pubs. Despite my desire to bring a smart look to campus, I will keep my tux on its hanger until a dance or black tie function.

The next era needs no introduction or explanation. Where irony clouded the 50's, the cloud that hung over the lecture halls in the 60's was not abstract in nature and had an earthly aroma. This cloud was responsible for many of the students developing bright red eyes which may have been the inspiration for the colourful clothing that the 60's students wore. Although tie-dies have been thrown out of most sane people's wardrobes, shorter dresses still hold precedence on campus. Girls that can flaunt: do; and guys that can sneak a look without being caught by their partner or by the prey, do so as well. It is, therefore, the 60's that we have to thank for the short summer dresses that are still on display during the summer months.

The 70's followed on from the 60's and there is not much new to report apart from bellbottoms. I think all students are in agreement that the shape of a bell should stay the shape of a bell and should see no light of day in the fashion world on campus. However, there is one individual that walks past me occasionally in the library and that has an unfortunately shaped head. It resembles an upside down bell which nobody envies or seems to find attractive so lets keep the bell look an unfortunate one and leave it in the 70's.

Apart from leg warmers in the 80's and designer jeans in the 90's, those twenty years produced little that now contributes to my daily outfit selection process unlike the view from my window which holds authority in any decision. I have two methods of gauging the weather. The first is the casual 'roll over' in bed and force the blinds open to reveal how much light is being produced by the sun and how much of that light is able to pass through the cloud cover. That initial weather report decides my footwear for me. A day that produces sufficient light will bring my slops out the cupboard and a day will little light or even rain will require closed shoes. It is then on to the internet to assess a real weather report. It is simple, a cold day requires warm clothes and a warm day brings about shorts and a t-shirt but a cold day with the sun out throws the proverbial duck amongst the pigeons. My solution is to wear jeans or chinos with slops. This sacrifices your feet to the cold but the rest of your body is spared and kept warm and if theres one part of my body that i do not proudly flaunt, it is my feet and i therefore sacrifice my feet without any sense of remorse.

My fashion tips are therefore as follows: Leave the past in the past and accept that bellbottoms, long dresses and shoulder pads do not make for a good look any more. Sure, many student parties are themed and fancy dress may be the order of the day. In this case, I give my blessings for people to dress up in full force but that is fancy dress. On campus you should dress according to what people are wearing in 2012 and if you are desperate to bring the past fashions back, make sure you rock your fancy dress outfit at that party and people may catch on. If they do not catch on...well it may be time to let your obsession with the past go.  

Regards
Student Micky. 

Introduction to Blogging.

It is hard to introduce something that one has little idea about what is to come and what is to follow. One would not introduce themselves to a girl in a manner that suggests a specific potential future: "Hi, I'm Micky, I am your future husband, nice to meet you." That is how I feel about this blog. I cannot predict what is to follow as I cannot predict what will occur in my life as a student. That is, perhaps, the entire beauty of being a student and student life; that the future cannot be foreseen as we duck and dive in and out of lectures which in itself is an unpredictable aspect of university.

This morning, for example, I walked into a lecture only to find out that I was in the right venue and present at the correct time, had it been the previous week. I am not one to constantly check my emails or glance at my online course folder, but this morning was one of those mornings that punished me for my lack of digital awareness. My class times had been changed and so I headed to the library to pass time. I then headed to my next lecture with the confidence that this lecture will take place. I was correct but my lecturer had changed. In shock, I asked where this new unknown lady had come from. My fellow law student looked at me with a confused look on his face. The same confused look that is on a students face after standing in a que at the bar for an hour and getting to the front only to be told by the barman that the special is off. These two separate stories have made me realise that the 8 to 5 run during the day is not the most straight foreword few hours known to students.  

So that's my first contribution to this blog. my it set the tone for whats to come which, as was discussed above, won't follow a standard pattern as us students cannot expect whats to come but take each day as it comes and appreciate every moment despite the chaos that goes on around us.

Regards
Student Micky.