Exams...

Yes indeed, exams. On the one hand they signal the end of an amazingly busy semester, and on the other hand the stand for two weeks of incredibly hard, un-comfortable, boring work, or so I thought.

Don't misunderstand me, I haven't been slacking this exam time, I've just discovered that it isn't necessary to slave away in a stale, dull (and, in fact, incredibly distracting) environment like a universtiy library: there are more comfortable, more productive places to work, and they probably won't require you to leave your own property! "What the heck?" you exclaim, "everybody knows you can't study in your bedroom, there are way too many distractions!" Let me explain.

I went to the library last tuesday to kick off my studying effort \ with a good solid day's work, but the noise created by countless people getting up and walking around, talking to their friends instead of studying, was really annoying, not to mention the brilliant view of the Auckland Harbour illuminated by full sun-light! So on wednesday I decided to study at home, since the library was utterly useless. After wasting an hour or so trying to study in my room I decided to try something different: I went outside and joined my flatmate on the roof of the house. You wouldn't think this would be a great place to study, but it really was, I found myself doing more work than they day before, and I was getting a tan.

"How could this be?!" you cry as the world you know crashes down around your ankles. I think it was because of two reasons:

1. Few people to distract me: It was just Tyler and I up on the roof, no silly first-year girls who think studying means talking to her friends, just the odd car shooting down our road only to find that it is a dead end, and the odd mother with a pram going for a walk.
2. No whistful staring at the sunny paradise outside: I WAS OUTSIDE. That's right, I didn't need to sit there wishing I could enjoy the sun, because I already was enjoying the sun.

If you want to study on your roof, here are a few pointers:

1. If the roof is tiled, be very careful not to break any.
2. Make sure there is a safe (or not entirely perilous) way to get onto your roof.
3. Try to walk along the parts where you know there are beams underneath.
4. If you are going to be up there between 11am and 3pm, don't forget to SLIP-SLOP-SLAP.
5. Take blankets or towels to make a path for yourself because the roof gets HOT during the day.
6. Take something padded to sit on (corrugated iron is not incredibly comfortable on its own).
7. Take lots of water with you.

So far my exams have been pretty easy, and I think the rest will be as well. Anyhow, I best get back to the roof!