Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Sigh


Sunday, November 25, 2012

An Apology from a (terribly) Lazy Blogger

 I know. I know.

It's been nearly nine months since my last post.
And then I wonder why I don't have enough readers.

I wish I could get away by saying that I've been incredibly busy, but I know bloggers like Nida who, despite their taxing schedules, never forsake their blogs.

I should really try and follow their examples.

I suppose I ought to shed some light on what I've been up to the past few months so I'll give you a brief summary of that below:

After giving my SATs, I had my MOCKs in March followed by my final CIE A Level examinations. Thereafter began a summer 'vacation' that promised to test the limits of my endurance by showering me with a multitude of university entrance exams. Since I took both Math and Biology in A Levels, I applied to both Engineering and Medical universities.

I will not bore you with the drab details of it but I assure you that the months of July, August and September were probably the most emotionally grueling days of my life. It felt as if my entire future hung in a delicate balance. It made me wonder at times why I was getting so worked up over university admissions although there are much higher things in life to strive for. But all I did was keep my head down and doggedly push on ahead.

This ordeal finally ended on the 23rd September when the most dreaded of entry tests-the MCAT- was held. Alhamdulillah, it went a lot better than I expected (considering that I had to rote learn books of a completely different board in two months)

Tomorrow, the merit lists are finally going to be uploaded and we'll find out which medical college we made it into. I hope everything goes well, In sha Allah.

I'll keep you updated!

Hnia



Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Those Trusty Bookmarks...

Peace and Salutations,

These days I'm reading Ship Breaker.


One of it's pages is being chewed upon by this strange creature.
  

This adorable page corner bookmark is the creative product of the blog 
I Could Make That. I found it using Stumble Upon a few months back and decided 
to finally try it out last night.

The last book I finished


This one was supposed to be for my brother but he took a fancy to other monster one I made.  So I kept it for myself.


Here's some pictures of two of my older bookmarks.


  I used one of the postcards my father brought for me from Uzbekistan.
And personalised it a bit.


It reads:

Willows whiten, aspens quiver
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Through the wave that runs forever
(from The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson) 

Does the road wind uphill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
(from Uphill by Christina Georgina Rossetti)

I love to feel the ocean blowing in my face.
Wave as the old boats depart.
(from Midday by Yusuf Islam) 

I do not want people to be very agreeable as it
saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal.
- Jane Austen 

Release the hanging emblem 
Across the evening sky 
Bathed in the seaward dance
Of your graven romance.
(Necromancer Romance by Ayra Luccan)

Dear distant kingdoms, foreign winds and water,
hopes and dreams and innocent sunshine,

Yet could my heart be passed back to me by my passing from your courtyard,
still it would not want an exile's camp.

Yours truly.

But avoid the city after dark -Midday by Yusuf Islam 





Oh, I kept the first for another day.
Yet knowing how way leads on to way.
I doubted if I should ever come back.
-The Road Not Take, Robert Frost
 
The future is uncertain, like a feather in the wind
-Mine

The majesty of nature imposes silence over all
-to complement its stillness
-Mine

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, 
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,
Robert Frost
  
Hnia 
 




Saturday, January 28, 2012

Supremely Annoying Tests

© The College Board
Yes, you've guessed it! The dreaded 3 letter word: SAT!
Or SAT Subject Tests in Physics and Chemistry, in my case. Today was 28th of January, the last Saturday of the first month of the year 2012. And a testing date for SAT.

It was my first experience with this test. There aren't any test centres where I live so I had to wake up 4:45 in the morning so my father could drive me to a nearby city where my test centre was. We reached there at around 7:00 am. Then followed almost three painfully boring hours where we basically sat in the waiting area and waited (no, seriously?), got ourselves checked in and then waited some more in the examination room. At around 10:00, after entering our personal details on an immensely completed answer sheet which involved filling in a series of obnoxious circles with our pencils (No.2!!), we began our tests. I chose to do Physics first even though it's the tougher of the two subjects. I was a bit disorientated at the start but soon, everything sort of fell into rhythm and I found that I could ignore the extremely uncomfortable table and the depressing yellow lights overhead. After a 5 minute break, I began Chemistry which went quite well, Alhamdulillah. By 12:15, I was finished and gratefully exited the room, with the burden of SATs finally lifted off my shoulders.

The scores will be sent by the 16th of February. I hope, InshAllah, they turn out to be good!
That's enough from my end for now. I feel sleep creeping up on me...

 
Hnia


Thursday, January 5, 2012

Back after a long break


Peace and salutations!
It's been quite a while, has it not? I wish I were more persistent in updating my blog. But alas, my laziness knows no ends.
Anyway, on a much more brighter note, my blogging friend, Nida started an online novella called Honour and Honesty and I was pleasantly surprised to find my name in the Acknowledgements page. Follow the link and immerse yourself in this extremely promising story! 
I just finished off with my mid terms a week ago and now I have my SATs at the end of January. Things look rather bleak ahead, with exams and university registrations piling on top of each but I'm praying that all goes smoothly, InshAllah.
Also, I completed a book by Diana Wynne Jones (who happens to be one of my favourite writers!) today. It's called The Magicians of Caprona and it was absolutely wonderful! It had quite a colourful cast of characters and some very funny scenes too. It's part of her Chrestomanci series and a lovely addition to it, I must say. 
Got to go now, Wish me luck!
Hnia