Who's the Selfish One Now?

Let's say I brought a cake home one day and placed it in front of Person A (let's call her 'Belle'), and Person B (I'll name her 'Elle'). To the two of them, I said two words: "eat it," and then left.

Belle and Elle go about doing their own thing and forget about the cake. A couple days later, Belle finds it sitting right where I'd put it down that first day, untouched, uneaten. She takes a piece, and another, and another, until she's eaten almost all the cake. She leaves a tiny piece for Elle.

Elle comes across the piece of cake a couple hours later, and is immediately furious at Belle for having eaten most of it. She calls Belle selfish for having eaten most of the cake and (most importantly) for not thinking of her (Elle) wanting to eat most of the cake too (and thus for not splitting it 50/50).

So who's the selfish one?

Belle who ate most of the cake (except a tiny sliver) and didn't think of Elle's desires?

Or Elle, who expected Belle to act in a certain way to satisfy her (Elle's) own selfish desire to eat most of the cake as well?

My answer? Both. How about yours?

A Word of Advice

Having spent the Summer eating mangoes daily and constantly, there are times when I crave the succulent fruit. (Ah! To have a fresh dussehri or sapeda lakhnavi!) More often than not, I don't have the time to go down to Murray/Curry Hill and buy bottles of Maaza or Fruiti and have to spend my time dreaming of the wonderful juice.

I was in my local market today and happened upon dried mango. I bought them and brought them with me to the library. I just opened the container, had one and must say it's one of the most dreadful fruit products I've ever had. It tastes Nothing like mango.

Please, never buy them. Unless they're guaranteed to taste like the real thing.

Sincerely,

Disappointed Me

Air Guitars Can't Be Smashed (That's A Good Thing)

There is something strangely liberating about dancing when no-one's watching and just because you feel like it. It's also pretty awesome when you can dance like that when there are people watching. I remember the last time I did that. Still brings a grin to my face - one of those little kid grins.

Try it at home peeps. Put on some awesome music and just dance.

Back to my 60s-70s Rock and Air Guitar (I'm afraid I'll break my real one in my josh).

Toodles

N

How to Not Understand People - Part Two

I made a new friend a couple weeks ago. I'm a friendly person and talk to almost anything that moves - including birds and spiders (although, I shouldn't say that because ya'll are going to think I'm crazier than I actually am...). But back to the point. I may not understand people, or like everyone I meet, but I do enjoy meeting people. It amuses me on a certain level. I like seeing what makes people tick and get ticked-off. I like figuring out how they think and why they do what they do. I'm a curious person, if you will.

Anyway. So, this friend and I ended up having a semi-heated conversation about Hindu nationalism, and I ended up adding him on Facebook. We continued our discussions about Indian politics for a couple of messages and then he said, 'let's meet up over coffee to continue the discussion.' Being the friendly person that I am, I said yes.

Fast forward to coffee-day. I got there late and we ordered our drinks and sat down. He got this coffee with whipped cream on it, and I got the usual - black with a touch of milk and sugar. (I judge people by what they order.) We talked about a bunch of things, and then he started saying some weird things - like how his mother has no problem with vegetarians (I'm one) and loves her veggies, even though he's an obsessive meat eater - and stuff. Red flags started waving, but I put them aside. After a while, it started getting awkward, and I decided to finish my coffee as soon as I could. So I did. Looked at my watch and announced that I had to go.

I got up to leave and waited for him to grab his stuff and walked out the door. Stumbling under the weight of his bags, he came outside, stopped, looked at me, grinned in that way and said, "so, when do I get to see you again?"

At which, I groaned. I don't get it. At no point along the entire period from meeting him to drinking coffee with him had I indicated that I was interested. Far from it, in fact.

Dudes reading this:
a) Tell her it's a date!
b) Don't ask her out over Facebook.
c) And don't assume that just because we talk to you, we want to go out with you, or sleep with you or whatever else...

Anyway. Back to the story. I told him I was super busy and I didn't know when would work. Then I turned around and left, feeling sort of sorry for the guy but not much...

Sigh.

If I May...

It's not my place to give advice to people, I have enough issues of my own and am still too young to be doling out advice, but here's one thing that I hope everyone who comes across this blog follows.

If you are fortunate enough to have people in your life who are worth thousands of others, make sure you understand their worth before it's too late. And if you ever come to this realization while you're about to do something of which they don't necessarily approve, stop immediately, and tell them you've stopped - even if it means running back to where they are and fighting with them to listen to you.

Hope you are all blessed with wonderful friends and the ability to recognize them. And then tell them.

Yes, I'm an emotional person. It just doesn't come out too often. Call it the Aquarius' "curse," if you will.

N

PS: On another note, byebye whiskey-love and vodka-nasha. It was good being with you, but we're through until the New Year.

A Housewife During Exams...

It's quite amusing actually. My internal housewife leaps out of its shell when I have exams to study for and papers to write - well, it comes out then, and when I have people over. But, back to the topic before I digress even further. My place is usually clean - a bit messy because of the lack of storage space, but clean nonetheless. I don't like living in dirt, so I make sure I clean up after myself. Also, the one time I left food on the counter, I was visited by a not-so-nice 'roach - it probably came up with my laundry, or through the window that I'd left open when I went to bed, or through the newly-created hole in the bathroom wall where my cabinet had previously hung (it fell onto me - not fun). So, after that incident, I've been doubly careful to make sure everything's in its proper place.

Anyway, but it's quite amusing. During the past week, I've cleaned - nay, scrubbed - my bathroom three times, cleaned dishes that didn't need cleaning, semi-organized my closet, and hand-washed a bathroom rug and jeans that leak colour. I've also been cooking regularly.

I never used to make pilaf, for some reason - but I recently discovered the wonders of making this rice dish. It's probably one of the most versatile and easy dishes to cook. Also, it's great if you have no food in the fridge. I'm leaving the city in a couple days, and haven't bothered to go grocery shopping. The other day, I made a kidney beans/lentils/carrots version. Today, it's rice with a bunch of different spices. There's something amazing about slow cooking the food. Heat up some oil, cook your spices (today: cumin, mustard seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, chilli powder, turmeric, salt), add rice, coat rice with oil/spices, add some hot water, garnish (curry leaves, lemon, ghee) and cover. And then slow cook until the water is absorbed and the rice has cooked. The smell that wafts out is truly amazing.

Mmmm. Looking forward to lunch.

Now. Back to Iqbal and studying for this exam. I'll be DONE with my first year of grad school, and my Required course work in 9 hours!

wow...

Things Fall Apart?

Chinua Achebe is wrong. Things don't fall apart. We let them fall apart, through inaction, through waiting on the other party to fix it, through not understanding the issues, through letting our egos get in the way, through not understanding that our lives are ours and that we have the capacity to make it, break it, be it, do it, lose it, gain it, accomplish it, ruin it, love it, hate it, better it, worsen it, understand it, not understand it, pretend to understand it, not pretend to understand it, take the high ground, sit on the low ground, blame others, not blame ourselves, remain silent, be vocal...and everything else that we can do and not do.

I don't get it. I really don't. You can't hide things; you never can. People are always going to see it whether you want them to or not. And even if they're not connected to the people, they're still going to see it. It comes across. In the way you don't talk. In the way you don't act.

People forget that inaction is also action.

Praying, or hoping, that the day doesn't come on which we curse ourselves for our act of inaction. Iqbal was right. We die when we stop acting. And from our deaths arise a myriad of others, who will eventually take our place among the dead.

Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death

More Late Night Philosophizing

This time with BKScope (whose blog has disappeared for some reason...).

B: Nabz what happened to you?

N: I started living alone, and far away, and realized that what I'd been chasing was right in front of me and I'd fled from it, chasing other dreams...And I started reading Iqbal...lol.

N: B, you need to live in NYC for 3 months. You see these people. They don't smile B. It's like they've forgotten how. Their version of happiness - making their money, being 'important'. And then partying. Living in this disgusting city. This sinful city. It tears you apart. And makes you something else: a robot; not yourself. We can't do this to our selves. Our God-given gifts aren't meant to be used for their purposes. I am truly convinced today that I am not meant to follow the path they're following. We need to create our own path. Not follow those that we've seen growing up in the worlds we've grown up in. Our brilliance - intellectual and otherwise - has never come from following the paths of those who have come before us. So why should we spend the rest of our lives doing exactly what we haven't been doing? At UBC, neither of us did what others were doing. And if we did, we did it as BKScope and Nabz. So why change? Why take the path more travelled? Why sit in a skyscraper with thousands of other people? For the money? For the feeling that we have power? For the ability to live in this city? It's all lights. The power goes out and you see what it really is. It's all an illusion, and everyone's trapped.

B: You are right...

N: We're lucky. We come from supportive families. We can afford - in more ways than one - to follow our hearts. So why not? Neither of us needs to make money to survive...so why not be ourselves and do what we love? What's stopping us apart from societal pressure? It'll be hard. Both of us want to change the world. But we'll do it in our own way. See...I don't want to wake up 20 years down the road, and realize that I've wasted the last 20-odd years in doing what someone else wants me to do, and realize that I haven't been truly happy, that I haven't been able to give myself to my husband or my children or my parents or my friends or family

B: ...and people love to construct dreams for others and many happily oblige.

N: I can't sacrifice the people around me for the illusion that I'm 'helping' people somewhere else.

B: hmmm...

N: And as a Marxist friend of mine says - 'helping people' is such a bourgeois concept.

B: Love the Marxists. My father comes from the same line of thought.

N: Lol. Don't waste yourself.

B: It's scary - to not conform. It's scary. Especially when you're told that it is the only way you'll be successful.

N: Remember. You're too important to sit in a skyscraper.

Noo Yawk

I had my first experience of the New Yorker accent today - and it was semi-embarassing. I felt like such an idiot. Here I am, a languages major and lover of accents, and I can't figure the hell out what this guy is saying! I don't have a garbage for the kitchen - and have been using a plastic bag (tied tightly of course) for the past few days. Thankfully, my only real stinkable food products right now are the ends of the french beans I made two nights ago. Imagine if I ate meat - wow, my room would've stank!

Anyway, so back to this story. Right, garbage can. So I went into this home appliances store close to campus to get this garbage can, didn't have enough cash and so decided to use my debit card. It got declined (because apparently the ATM machine didn't activate it properly), and so the guy tried telling me it got declined. I heard: 'swipe the card again,' 'the card', 'declared', and everything else except 'declined.' Finally, this lady with a non-New Yorker accent had to explain to me that the guy was saying the card had been declined. Felt like an idiot. I can understand the heaviest of Chinese accents (a product of growing up where I grew up), but not New Yorker accents.

And that's a lesson for all you folks. Sometimes the things that should be closest to you are actually the farthest away.

Seriously??

"Dating the Ethnic Man: Strategies for Success – New!
Multicultural relationships are increasingly common despite the challenges involved. If you’re a woman considering a relationship with an ethnic man, this insightful course will enlighten you to the influences that religion, family obligations and peer pressure may have on your partner’s ability to fully commit to you. Through practical advice and case studies, you’ll learn how to address and embrace cultural differences, while enriching your experiences of life and each other. Questions for contemplation and an in-depth compatibility test provide additional insights into the ethnic man’s values, sexual matters and emotional conflicts."

Seriously!!?!?!! And this too at a newly-accredited university (I still call it a college - yes, I'm an education snob) in my home province. Ooh - I want to date a brown guy - let's examine some case studies. Idiots. The only case studies worth examining are your own past relationships. And how do you LEARN to embrace cultural differences? You either do or you don't - simple.

Also - what are an 'ethnic man's values'. All you men of colour, along with those men who don't have colour but are still considered 'ethnic' in North America (shout out to the Mexicans, Brazilians [yes - I know not all of you are 'white' - sorry, for lack of a better term], Russians etc) - stay away from people who take this course. Seriously...If they think you're worth it, they'll ask you the questions, instead of some random 'expert' on 'ethnic men'.

Sheesh

To Be or to BJP...That is the Question

I find the political blowup in India about Sanjay Gandhi's son Varun running for election under the BJP banner quite amusing. For those of you who don't know the history behind the issue, it's somewhat of a soap opera, and quite entertaining.

Essentially, Varun Gandhi belongs to the Nehru/Gandhi (no relation to the Mahatma) family, the first-family of Indian politics who has governed the country (in one way or another) for most of the past 60 years through the Congress Party. Here's where the drama seeps into the story. Indira Gandhi, Nehru's daughter and India's Prime Minister during the 1970s and 1980s (until she was assassinated), had two sons: Sanjay and Rajiv. Sanjay was the eldest, and thus the next-in-line to the Indian throne (Prime Ministership). He was also actively involved in politics - and even led a vasectomy and sterilization campaign during 'The Emergency.' Rajiv got married first though - and brought his Italian wife (Sonia) to the family home. When Sanjay got married, Rajiv and Sonia already had a son - Rahul - and Sonia was already established as The Daughter-in-Law in the Gandhi household. Obviously, Sanjay and Menaka (his wife) were jealous.

The problems started now, including fights between Sonia and Menaka for power in the household. And then one day, Sanjay died in a plane accident, and Rajiv came into the limelight - and became Prime Minister. The younger son, became the Prime Minister and the Menaka and her kid(s) were shunted out of the political light. But not for long.

Menaka joined the BJP - the Congress' arch-enemy - and contested parliamentary seats in the same region as Rajiv. Rajiv was eventually assassinated, and like the dutiful daughter-in-law that she is, Sonia took up the political mantle and became the leader of the Congress Party. Today's Indian government, although presided over by Manmohan Singh, is still run with her 'best wishes.' Sonia's children, Rahul and Priyanka, have also made forays into the political sphere - and with the Indian elections in sight (polling starts in less than a month), all eyes are on the Gandhi kids.

Here's where more trouble starts. Varun Gandhi (Sanjay and Menaka's son) has refused to run for the Congress (not sure if he was ever asked to - I doubt it though) and is instead running for the BJP (the Congress' enemy, like I said). There is a massive uproar in India about a son from the Gandhi/Nehru household joining the ranks of the Hindu Nationalist (and possibly pseudo-fascist) BJP [keep in mind that the BJP is an offshoot of the RSS, an organization that was banned by Nehru for its complicity in Mahatma Gandhi's assassination].

To be completely honest, I think the uproar is unfair. Yes, the BJP can be a fear-mongering party at times, but it is largely restrained by its desire to win a sizeable number of parliamentary seats. Obviously, like any other political party in the world, it cannot run on a platform that would alienate a large number of people. If Varun Gandhi truly believes in the BJP's policies, then why not let him run for the party? Stop the smear campaign against him - just because he was born into the Gandhi family, doesn't mean he has to do everything that Aunty/Chachi Sonia tells him to do.

India prides itself on being the world's largest democracy - it's time it lived up to that title.

(apologies for the long post and if it doesn't make sense...)

Why I Feel Sorry for Stephen Harper

I find Canadian politics problematic - especially now with the impending election. We Canadians pride ourselves in our objectivity, our inherent nice-ness, and our ability to have a political system devoid of the glamour of the American one. And yet at the same time, this particular election has been plagued with the very things that we despise - especially vilification.

Stephen Harper, the leader of the Conservative Party, has been demonized throughout this entire campaign. Why? For being cold, unemotional, and Canada's own George W (courtesy of Layton and his leftist-NDP). Now, I find this troubling for many reasons. Firstly, because the Canadian election seems to have become a quasi-popularity contest. Since Stephen Harper isn't the warmest of guys on the political scene (I beg to differ - he seems much nicer than the 'over-cooked lettuce-esque' Stephane Dion and the 'extremely bitter karela' Jack Layton), he doesn't have the capability to be Prime Minister. As well, because he's just a bit more rightist than the Liberal Party, and believes in a foreign policy that requires military action on Canada's part (finally!), he's our own George W.

Come on Canada. This is unfair. To completely demonize a leader for these reasons is irrational and idiotic.

Another reason why I feel sorry for him - the economy. Now, let's get this straight - I'm a rightist when it comes to the economy, and even though the world economy is facing hardship, I still think that the only way to achieve economic growth is through the market and its forces. Now, I agree with Keynes that some regulation is needed and that dangers exist when regulation is completely cut back (like we saw in the US of A), but I don't believe that the only way out of our current 'troubles' (and we know that Canada's economic woes are nowhere near those of other countries') is to increase government spending and regulation.

Stephen Harper has been lambasted for not announcing a major change in his economic policies, following the American meltdown. Now, he's an economist and a free-market-ist (don't you love making up words?), and believes in much of what I believe in. And he also thinks that changing platforms in the middle of the election, just for the sake of appearing to be doing something, is wrong (a person with a brain -thank-you!). But, the Conservative Party has been dropping steadily in the polls because of this. And the opposition has been constantly harping (lol) on him for not changing his platform. I wonder what they would have done if he had done so earlier. Perhaps blamed him for changing policies? Oh, and in an interview on CBC, Harper said that now was a good time to buy stock market shares (because they're obviously down) - he's been laughed at for that as well. But anyone who knows anything about the stock market knows the following: 'buy low and sell high'.

At the end of the day - I think it comes down to this - a relatively uneducated Canadian populace - one that doesn't follow politics in the nation regularly, and only does so during elections. And further, one that is easily swayed by such banter. Perhaps, I don't feel sorry for Mr. Harper - he has his principles and from the way I see things, it seems as if he follows them. Who do I feel sorry for? Canadians in general. Wake-up people....

ps - I don't belong to any political party. I'm one of those voters who looks at the state of Canadian affairs and votes for the political party that a) best suits my views (either the Liberals or the Conservatives usually) and b) I feel will best lead my country domestically and internationally.

Why I Feel Sorry for George W. Bush

Don't get me wrong - please.
I don't like the guy, nor his policies, but I do feel sorry for him - on a humane level.
Now many will argue he doesn't deserve to be treated on a humane level, but I think everyone can be, regardless of their views or deeds.

The poor guy - he's hated by millions, if not billions of people world wide. Even after he leaves the Presidency, he'll be hated. And he'll go down in history as someone who made extremely bad decisions, and be hated by generations to come.

Imagine the feeling - not being able to go anywhere without people jeering at and insulting you. And not only him - his kids, his entire family - and everyone in his family still to come. Imagine the stress that comes with that, the enormous weight of it all, and the feeling that there's nothing you can do to change that.

spices and thumbs

in response to unwinding's comment on the last post...





so i was having eggs this morning - sunnyside up



and i dont know how many other people eat their eggs in this way..but i like those chili pepper flakes on mine - an uncle of mine (well he's actually a friend of my dad's...but I still call him uncle)...anyways, so this uncle of mine once had his macho ya gombe with chili flakes, and i thought it was weird

so one day, being the chili lover that i am, i decided to try it - and it was really good!

back to the topic at hand though

so i was having my eggs and decided i wanted chilies. now - if you remember, i'd cut my thumb kinda badly - and idiot me had taken off the bandaid because it was getting annoying.

and i picked up the chili flakes with my thumb and index finger....and...ouch..yes....

_______________________
November 28th


i have a tendency to do idiotic things with chilies. I hadnt eaten all day, so when i got home, i decided that i wanted to get a sandwich from Subway - i wasn't in the mood to eat home-food. so i went and got my usual veggie sandwich. and obviously i made the guy put both types of chilies in it.

and then - i came home, washed the bus-grime off my hands, and started to happily eat my sandwich and i gave some to my sister as well. she didnt want the chilies in her's so i took them out for her.

and then - having realized that my contacts needed to be thrown out, and having already washed my hands before eating, i decided to take out my contacts without washing my hands.

jalapenos in your eyes is definitely not fun....

You'd Think They'd Have Brains

So this South Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not supporting the Taliban's decision to take them into captivity and kill two of them, but comon, have some sense.

When you've just removed an orthodox Muslim group from power, when you're fighting against an Islamist group that wants to destroy the USA because it disagrees with its values, when you know that these same Islamists see the entire issue as a conflict between Islam and Christianity...

YOU DON'T SEND CHRISTIAN WORKERS INTO THE COUNTRY - which is just what these South Koreans are. Fine, be Christian but don't go as a Christian organization - of course the Taliban is going to kidnap/kill you.

Idiots

Sir Salman...

So, having been inspired by Sir Salman Rushdie's quote on Selfistan to start this particular blog, I feel it is necessary to comment on his recent knighthood. Rushdie, as many of you hopefully know, is an author of Indian origin. Born in Bombay, he did his initial schooling in the city of dreams and then went to the UK - Cambridge if I am not mistaken - for his post-grad degree(s).

His family background, as his name suggests, is Muslim; but Rushdie left the ummah at a young age. Why? I don't know; perhaps he found it too restricting. Anyway, in 1988 he wrote The Satanic Verses - a book that touched on the issue of verses delivered to the Prophet Mohammed by Satan, which were then apparently rescinded once Mohammed realized their true nature. On February 14th of that year, he received a fatwa - essentially a death sentence - from Ayatollah Khomeini for being a traitor to Islam and for questioning Mohammed and the religion. For the next few years, he went into hiding; one of his publishers was killed; stores that sold his books were firebombed.

Anyway, so his recent knighthood has rekindled hatred for the author in the Islamic world. Now, as you may have guessed, I'm a huge fan of Sir Salman's and have always hoped that he would receive the Nobel Prize for Literature someday. I have also always maintained that he is a much better writer than VS Naipaul, who received the Nobel a few years ago. But at the same time, I think that knighting Rushdie at this point in time was an incorrect move. The Middle East is already feeling as if the West wants to destroy its culture and religion, and this notion is somewhat reinforced by knighting one who has lambasted Islam, at times, and is not in favour with those in the Muslim world.

I was born here in the West and I am also of Muslim heritage - although I do not consider myself Muslim in the true sense. I feel a connection with both sides and I am afraid that Samuel P. Huntington's theory of a Clash of Civilizations is going to occur. Obviously, like countless others, I will be caught in the middle. It seems to me that the West - in particular the USA and the UK - will stop at nothing and will continue to clash head-on with the Islamic world until one side wins and the other loses. I went to a graduation ceremony the other day, and a prominent right-wing journalist delivered the keynote address. In it, he stated that his parents' generation had fought fascism. His generation had fought communism, and it was up to us to fight fear and Islamism.

I agree, to an extent. It is up to my generation to fight fear - not just the fear that Islamists supposedly instil in us - but the fear that the West instils in the Middle East. The fear that is heightened every time the USA supports Israel and invades another Middle Eastern country; the fear that is heightened every time the USA threatens to bomb an Islamic country into the Stone Age; the fear that is heightened every time CNN deals with Islamism.

They - the Middle East's radicals - are not the only ones who have the ability to make others afraid. We - the Western nations - perhaps have a greater ability to do so. We have the economic and political means to do so. Sir Salman's knighthood, is just one of those.


That's it for now...ciao, adios, au revoir..and remember...to be born again first you must die...

~me

A Pet Peeve and Other Things

I'm on drugs. Seriously. I just had all of my wisdom teeth removed, and so, have been eating lots of codeine and penicillin. Fun? Well, not really. The codeine doesn't really help to assuage the pain and all it does is make me drowsy about an hour after I take it. And the penicillin is just to help fight against potential infection. So...all four sides of my mouth hurt...not fun...and it's worse cuz I have a 15 page paper I need to write by Monday.

But that's not the reason for this post. Actually, I'm gonna tell yall bout a pet peeve of mine.

People not saying goodbye.

I hate it, when you're on MSN, and have been talking to someone for at least 15 minutes and the conversation hits a lull and then the person decides to sign off but doesn't say goodbye. Like WTF! seriously, it's bad manners people! Even if you don't believe in saying goodbye, just say see you soon or talk to you later or take care or au revoir. I just don't get some people. Ok fine, if the conversation isn't going well fine sign off...but at least have the manners to say bye. ARGH. And it's even worse when people do it when you're talking on the phone or something. Seriously. Rude..very rude...

I'm pissed off.

So...remember...if you're ever talking to me...say bye or see you soon or some other version of the same idea...or be prepared to face my wrath.

That's it for now...ciao, adios, au revoir...and remember...to be born again, first you must die

~me

To Those Writing Exams...a gift

yes...it's that time of year again, the time that every test-hating student dreads - exam time (dumdumdummmm). I hate tests, therefore, I hate exams...but...i've finally (i think and i hope), after 11 years of writing exams (they made me start writing them in grade 4..can u believe it grade 4!!!) figured out 'THE WAY' to study for them...

WARNING: follow these guidelines at your own risk. I am famous for (or I consider myself famous for) procrastinating about not procrastinating - have fun getting your heads around that one...procrastinating about not procrastinating..(it's similar to my 'distracted from distraction by distraction' theory...)

1. DO NOT study in your room
2. if you have to study in your room. DO NOT study on your bed - you will probably...well no, you WILL fall asleep sooner or later
3. keep the room you are studying in as cold as possible - this way you will want to get your work over as fast as possible and will write faster to keep yourself warm
4. turn-off the wireless switch on your laptop (haha..i tend to not follow this one much, as you can tell...but I've done it when I've had papers due in 2 hours...it really works! especially if you're a FB or MSN addict..)
5. DO NOT sit on the floor...this makes for sore behinds and after a while (ie a couple of days of studying) studying while sitting down is virtually impossible
6. find a chair that isn't too comfy (ie...don't study on the leather couch)
7. if you're the type of person that needs to eat something all the time while you're studying, drink instead of eating....
8. drink tea or coffee...tea's better for you...
9. if you study better at night, sleep the ENTIRE day and stay up the entire night
10. if you study better during the day, sleep the ENTIRE night and stay up all day
11. if you have other people living in your house with you, scream at them until they get the point and stay away
12. turn-off your phone or put it on silent (no vibrate either) mode
13. DO NOT munch on candy that your grandma gave you 2 years ago...you'll get a stomach ache and then won't be able to study

The most important thing to remember though...

make sure you know when your exam is...otherwise, my friend, you are totally screwed

Back to studying...

That's it for now...ciao, adios, au revoir...and remember...to be born again, first you must die (DO NOT apply this to exams..otherwise, you might think that you need to fail your exams to succeed in life. if you're in uni...not good. Some people say that no-one will look at your marks in the future. Believe me you, they will!)

~me

(btw...this post is for all those people who like procrastinating during exams...my gift to you...)