Do You Dare?

Hmm... It's strange what people can come up with nowadays. A person came up with 50 things to do during an exam. The list goes:
1. Bring a pillow. Fall asleep (or pretend to) until the last 15 minutes. Wake up, say ``oh geez, better get cracking'' and do some gibberish work.
2. Get a copy of the exam, run out screaming ``Andre, Andre, I've got the secret documents!!''
3. If it is a math/science exam, answer in essay form. If it is long answer/essay form, answer with numbers and symbols. Be creative. Use the surface integral symbol.
4. Make paper airplanes out of the exam. Aim them at the instructor's left nostril.
5. Talk the entire way through the exam. Read questions aloud, debate your answers with yourself out loud. If asked to stop, yell out, ``I'm SOOO sure you can hear me thinking.'' Then start talking about what a jerk the instructor is.
6. Bring cheerleaders.
7. Walk in, get the exam, sit down. About five minutes into it, loudly say to the instructor, ``I don't understand ANY of this. I've been to every lecture all semester long! What's the deal? And who the hell are you? Where's the regular guy?''
8. Bring a Game Boy. Play with the volume at max level.
9. On the answer sheet find a new, interesting way to refuse to answer every question. For example: I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that it conflicts with my religious beliefs. Be creative.
10. Bring pets.
11. Run into the exam room looking about frantically. Breathe a sigh of relief. Go to the instructor, say ``They've found me, I have to leave the country'' and run off.
12. Fifteen minutes into the exam, stand up, rip up all the papers into very small pieces, throw them into the air and yell out ``Merry Christmas.'' If you're really daring, ask for another copy of the exam. Say you lost the first one. Repeat the process every fifteen minutes.
13. Do the exam with crayons, paint, or fluorescent markers.
14. Come into the exam wearing slippers, a bathrobe, a towel on your head, and nothing else.
15. Come down with a BAD case of Turet's Syndrome during the exam. Be as vulgar as possible.
16. Do the entire exam in another language. If you don't know one, make one up. For math/science exams, try using Roman numerals.
17. Bring things to throw at the instructor when he's not looking. Blame it on the person nearest you.
18. As soon as the instructor hands you the exam, eat it.
19. Walk into the exam with an entourage. Claim you are going to be taping your next video during the exam. Try to get the instructor to let them stay, be persuasive. Tell the instructor to expect a percentage of the profits if they are allowed to stay.
20. Every five minutes, stand up, collect all your things, move to another seat, continue with the exam.
21. Turn in the exam approximately 30 minutes into it. As you walk out, start commenting on how easy it was.
22. Do the entire exam as if it was multiple choice and true/false. If it is a multiple choice exam, spell out interesting things (DCCAB, BABE, etc.)
23. Bring a black marker. Return the exam with all questions and answers completely blacked out.
24. Get the exam. Twenty minutes into it, throw your papers down violently, scream out ``**** this!'' and walk out triumphantly.
25. Arrange a protest before the exam starts (e.g. Threaten the instructor that whether or not everyone's done, they are all leaving after one hour to get drunk.)
26. Show up completely drunk. (Completely drunk means that at some point during the exam, you should start crying for mommy.)
27. Every now and then, clap twice rapidly. If the instructor asks why, tell him in a very derogatory tone, ``The light bulb that goes on above my head when I get an idea is hooked up to a clapper. DUH!''
28. Comment on how sexy the instructor is looking that day.
29. Come to the exam wearing a black cloak. After about 30 minutes, put on a white mask and start yelling ``I'm here, the phantom of the opera'' until they drag you away.
30. Go to an exam for a class you have no clue about, where you know the class is very small, and the instructor would recognize you if you belonged. Claim that you have been to every lecture. Fight for you right to take the exam.
31. Bring a water pistol with you. 'Nuff said.
32. Try to get people in the room to do the wave.
33. From the moment the exam begins, hum the theme to Jeopardy. Ignore the instructor's requests for you to stop. When they finally get you to leave one way or another, begin whistling the theme to the Bridge on the River Kwai.
34. Start a brawl in the middle of the exam.
35. If the exam is math/science related, make up the longest proofs you could possibly think of. Get pi and imaginary numbers into most equations. If it is a written exam, relate everything to your own life story.
36. Come in wearing a full knight's outfit, complete with sword and shield.
37. Bring a friend to give you a back massage the entire way through the exam. Insist this person is needed, because you have bad circulation.
38. Bring cheat sheets FOR ANOTHER CLASS (make sure this is obvious. . . like history notes for a calculus exam. . . otherwise your're not just failing, you're getting kicked out too) and staple them to the exam, with the comment ``Please use the attached notes for references as you see fit.''
39. When you walk in, complain about the heat. Strip.
40. After you get the exam, call the instructor over, point to any question, ask for the answer. Try to work it out of him.
41. One word: Wrestlemania.
42. Bring balloons, blow them up, start throwing them around like they do before concerts start.
43. Do the exam on your laptop. Make sure the simulated keyboard noises are on.
44. Play frisbee with a friend on the other side of the room.
45. Bring some large, cumbersome, ugly idol. Put it right next to you. Pray to it often. Consider a small sacrifice.
46. Get deliveries of candy, flowers, balloons, telegrams, etc. sent to you every few minutes throughout the exam.
47. During the exam, take apart everything around you. Start with your calculator, move on to your desk, your chair, anything you can reach.
48. Complete the exam with everything you write being backwards at a 90 degree angle.
49. Bring a musical instrument with you, play various tunes. If you are asked to stop, say ``it helps me think.'' Bring a copy of the Student Handbook with you, challenging the instructor to find the section on musical instruments during finals. Don't forget to use the phrase ``Told you so.''
50. Answer the exam with the ``Top Ten Reasons Why *insert teacher's name* Sucks.''

Try it. See what happens. ;P

Teacher-sitting.

I've gone to a lot of gatherings before, but this one was absurdly unique..

So, our favourite teachers were getting dismissed by the end of the semester. 3 girls thought: hell, if they're going, might as well make it a big thing! A few weeks later, we ended up in a completely booked TGI Friday's. The financial parts of this planning wasn't perfect but it worked.
There was no particular planning for the night; it was more of: go there and plan on the spot. But it turned out to be an eventful evening. I arrived late to the place because of a series of unfortunate adventures which included a taxi and waiting ages for one. The TGI Friday's was located near DCC, opposite the Aviation College. Go there people! It's Fun.
Anyways, by the time I reached there, everyone had arrived: teachers and students alike. I was asked by a couple of friends to give out certificates for the teachers, saying that they had graduated from the school. It was exactly the same as our report cards but instead of subjects, we marked them on attributes e.g. fun, education, strictness. As soon as we had finished handing them out, we all realized we didn't know what to do next! Super luckily, the appetizers arrived! Then there were no longer teachers and students, just friends. We joked, we laughed and we bonded. Weird, maybe, but fun.
After we ate, my friends decided it was time for a dance -.-'. They plugged in an ipod to the store's sound system and started playing songs. We convinced all the teachers to dance and well, let's just say that we were entertained from various forms of dancing: Belly dancing, salsa, and a baby hopping about.
Oh yeah, the TGI Friday's manager went up to us and told us that they would like to put on a show for us! That was completely unexpected and wasn't part of any of our plans but it was perfect: it kept the teachers entertained and they even let some of the students joined in on the dance. Dinner and a show!
It was a gesture from all of us, created by three from our numbers, to show how much they meant to us. After three years with them, we can all honestly say: we'll miss you. Thank you.

Right Before It Begins

Okay, so the exams are less than a day's time away. English IGCSE. Well, the night before the exam, what better way to chill then watch your little brother kick ninja butt on the PS2 right? Oh, and not to mention the awesome meal at Aden Restaurant! If this is what its like to have important exams, then I want an exam every week!
Anyways, I am actually looking forward to this exam; not only does it mean I'm almost there until the graduating finish line but it also means I've been doing quite well these last few years. Even better: my friends are graduating with me!
Of course, some amount of stress has been accumulating over the past few months as the exams seem to loom closer and closer, but now that it's just one day less away, all the stress just seem to be swept away. It's not like I can do anything to prepare now, is there? The only that could go wrong is if I overslept and missed the exams, or that I forget to bring the admission paper with my candidate number on it.
So, best of luck to my friends with their upcoming exams!

Exams: The Beginning

Fuuuh... Exams huh? Not a pretty thing. Specially if it's as important as the IGCSEs... I've done IGCSEs past papers before but never really got full marks. Came close, but not quite there.
People are doing alot of stuff in preparation for the arrival of Exams: they're having tuitions; they're taking in more homework; they're actually paying attention in class and they are stressing over it. Of course, teachers emphasising everyday how close the exams are isn't going to take the stress off but it's helpful if you want a good, high mark in the exam.
Me? Well, I'm still blogging, I'm almost always online, and I still don't know when the exams are- You tell me if I'm stressed. I just simply made a schedule for my brain to keep up with the schoolwork. It's alot better than going with the human paranoia of exams. I still do have to study, yes: there's no one in this world who can get a super great mark in exams if they don't study, but I'm not going to accept tuition offers, I'm not going to stay up all night just to learn about how E-MC(2) is a great finding and I'm definitely not going to pay more attention in class then I already am. I sit in the front row of almost every class! How much more attentive can one get?! Not saying I concentrate in class much though...
Anyways, today I had a 3 hour exam or survey for the PISA thing. It's the survey of how good a country is by measuring and comparing 15 year olds marks in the country. I thought since they said it was going to take 3 hours long, it'd be a good way to skip school lessons but, as usual, I was wrong. It was so, so, so, so, so, so, sooooo boring! Except for one question about spiders being drugged. Hahahahaha! Spiders high on weed...
After the exam part was over, which took 2 hours long, the last hour we spent on doing a questionaire about our life in school. I have never yet responded on a questionaire properly. For example: they asked me at what age I graduated Kindergarden from. I answered: Between 1 and 15.
Moving away from Spiders high on weed and Kindergarden, I think my exams are quite close and there's one of them in particular that is really important to myself: my IGCSE english exam. Out of all the IGCSEs, I place English and Biology as the most important ones. They're important because if some old dude in England thinks that I have very good understanding of the english language and that I have an excellent understanding of the human body, I would be able to become a doctor in a foreign country. I don't know yet if that is certainly my aim as a career but for now, I want the Dr. in front of my name. It makes me sound a bit more... Sophisticated ;p
As my closing paragraph, I'm going to give out a warning: Don't put yourself under too much stress or expect too much, it'll just make things worse if you DO get a low mark. Aim reasonably and try harder than you thought was possible. If you get a high mark and you were expecting something less, wouldn't that make you even happier?

Memories

Just a few moments ago, my brothers, my mum and myself were looking through old pictures of us in Dubai, and there was this feeling of strange memories coming back. For one thing: Muhaimin was SUPER thin! I just can't believe how much he changed. Plus, his large ears dissapeared, somehow or rather. I'm sure my mom missed them.
Then I saw Saif and myself and WOW! There was this picture from 2002... just shocking how much we grew up. 7 years ago; a very long time! I was SHORT! I was just about Saif's shoulders in height back then but just like Muhaimin, I had skinny arms with no meat or muscles.
I couldn't help but smile as pictures of my past friends came up: school friends and not school friends. A few pictures brought back so much memories that I have a headache right now. One of the pictures is the one with Ali and Najwa's family and Jalil's family when we went to the MBC stationplace. Najwa, Ali, you remember that? Stupid question, of course, you do! It was a major event: we went to a TV STATION and got a tour AND a souvenier t-shirt! Remember Muhaimin's tooth? *wink*
Right next to that picture was a picture of me dressing into the F1 costume! Man, that brought back soo many memories... That was, I think, my last time riding a Go-Kart. And it was also the time when my Kart blew up on my 3rd round! hahahaha! Then, Najwa crashed into the wall right infront of me! She said she was trying to see who's Kart blew up. A reminder to all: Keep your eyes on the road!
Flicking through the album, I saw pictures of us when we were even younger! It was the 2nd year here;2001. Saif was being the Imam for Ala', Nasa and myself. It was horrible how young we looked! There was that overall resemblance-I wa still dorky; Saif still with that hair; Ala' still a bit rounder than the rest of us; Nasa with his long arms and legs- but we all grew up into something much different from what we were then.
There was alot of family pictures as well. Most of my family also did change in appearance; Ayahcik looking like a teenager, Danial looking like Ishraf, Wajdi looking chubby and round, and loads more! I was just laughing at the pictures and felt weird at looking at my family in the past.
The point is, taking pictures is a great thing. Even pictures that seemed useless at that point of time. Heck, I saw a picture of Muhaimin on the pot! So, don't be shy of the camera as they keep your memories alive for a very, very long time.

The Calm After The Storm

That was just plain old FREAKY! There was absolutely NO warning! Sure there were rain clouds, but I just figured it'd be like always and the rain clouds would clear themselves out. Big mistake!
Never, ever underestimate the weather in UAE! For the past month or so, there was all sun and heat and clearly no rain. Yesterday night, however, rained so hard that my house actually got flooded! Some parts also had HAIL! That is awesome Rare. There was obviously ligtning and thunder, and I heard SOME people were scared of it;P
Ok, how I knew my room got flooded.
I was actually watching T.V. when d rain started. First it was just a few pellet-like drops, then it came down harder and with more reinforcements! Before you know it, the T.V. is on maximum volume and I could still hear NO sound! It was SuperRain! Coming down on Earth with all its might! Flash! Lightning! BANG! Thunder!
So, I decided to make sure the window in my room was closed. I was intent on making sure it was closed so when I heard the water crashing down louder than it should, I thought the window was open. I rushed into the room, saw my window was closed and was completely dumbfounded when I finally noticed that my roof was leaking!
One event led to another and soon enough, there was no T.V., no internet, and Abah, Muhaimin, Saif and I were sitting down in a circle, playin Scrabble. At least some good came out of the storm.
Forecasts: storm will happen in the next 5 days. Basically, we're going to have to endure storms until Sunday! Insha'Allah nothing too bad will happen.
I'm going to try to update as soon as I can on the storm.

Aqad Nikah

My first ever experience of a Muslim style Wedding! First impression: Awesome! Of course that migh just be the fact that I hung out wit my greatest friends...It felt right! This was where I completely fit in.
Anyways, Aqad Nikah is translated from arabic to english to mean Marriage Contract or Bonding Agreement. And it's the vocal agreement of the bride's dad and the groom on the marriage that basically takes place. And this wedding took place at one of my best friend's house. The reason wh is still a mystery to him.
First, we wait for the Qadi(Judge) to come and pray Maghrib with us. Then, he gives a ceramah(speech) of the wedding and Islam. Then he asks the groom something like: Do you agree with all the terms and responsibility of this marriage? He has to reply: I (name) agree with all the terms and responsibility of this marriage. And of course since there is no paperwork, the Qadi and the audience becomes witnesses of the event.
Afterwards:FOOD! There was like awesome loads of food including CHICKEN and rice and CHICKEN and oh yeah cake obviously. Ayam masak merah...sedap!
After we were bored and full, we(me and my friends) decided to play some basketball, and just in case anyone's wondering; we are all horrendously terribly at it excluding the house owner. But of course my team never lost once! *grin*
We spent most of the night playing basketball, but once we started getting hurt and tired, we went inside, and inside is where I met two more friends, one of them a friend I missed a lot. The rest of the night was spent laughing and joking around, just like the good ol' days. *grin*
P.S. I'm bald now!