I can now say I officially graduated since Nahida got a call from college today saying that I passed. And I'm off to the plantation tomorrow.

To-Do List

My drinking binge wasn't very successful, into the second day I wasn't feeling so well and gave up. All I had was that German beer and Teacher's whiskey. I really wish I had some Smirnoff vodka and some Bacardi but the shops here aren't selling the stuff unless you request them to bring it.

So I spent yesterday, drinking some more and writing up a to-do list. It's looking pretty good so far:

• Tidy up house
• Buy Stationary
• Take 35mm film that's been lying around for years to lab and ask about VHS to DVD conversion for Mos)
• Do lactose intolerance test (got to e-mail them)
• Burn a copy of Resident Evil the Umbrella Chronicles
• Go to Bab AlShargi and buy: energy efficient candle shaped light bulbs, that thing that measures the number of amperes running through a power cable with a digital display, a thing that raises the voltage up to 220 volts, and a voltage stabilizer (if i need it), a new copy of NFS ProStreet with no scratches.
• Look for a new laptop
• A new socket to go into the generator and another to go into the wall
• Tidy up the farm house
• Delete internet accounts and make new Gmail, Yahoo, MSN, and Facebook accounts
• Fix farm electric (use that voltage gadget)
• Do a panorama x-ray for my teeth to see what's up with my wisdom teeth
• Go to B-Town get socks, t-shirts and an exercise ball or see if i can order one
• Buy toner for my laser printer
• Ink for my Canon printer at the farm (need to inspect it first)
• Get Bacardi and Smirnoff
• A cash counter
• Plugs and Fuses
• Get the toilet checked out cause it's constantly leaking through the flush outlet
• Get the big Split air-conditioner in the hall checked out
• Build a swimming pool in Shamiya
• Get a 4x4
• Get an HD video camera
• Get teeth whitening strips
  
• Study physics especially electriciy
• Study Maths will need tutor
• Get the Koran on mp3 to learn Arabic
• Get a copy of the Koran
• Get some new clothes
• Some boxes for putting files in
• Call classmates monthly (a linen suit perhaps)
  
• Buy Zippo fluid
• Read up on agriculture, rice growing and milling on the net

I've got breakdown some of those items and I'm not sure I'm going to do them all, but I'll try.

Mos slept over last night, and this morning, he skipped work and I canceled my trip to Bab AlShargi so that we go to the swimming pool near by his house. It was a rather simple outdoor pool populated with boys, I might have been the oldest person there but I had fun despite feeling very dizzy every time I got out of the water. Goes to show how unhealthy I am. Mos got me to try to learn how to dive into the pool. I nearly got it on my second go, I still need to spring stronger and straighten my legs. I only tried to do it three times in total I think because everytime I did it my head would come out of the water and scream "My Balls! My Balls!".

After spending about an hour at the pool, we left because I was feeling so dizzy and slightly nauseious. But it really was fun going to the pool and whilst driving home the world seemed a prettier place afterwards even though I was a bit worried that the checkpoints might hassle me for wearing swimming shorts. They've never bothered me about it, but I've heard they have done so to others previously. The climate also feels cooler after spending some time at the pool. I've definitely got to make me a pool at the farm if I could.

I'm exhausted and really temtped to go to sleep now. But I might play some Mario Galaxy first. Remy's right to drink a TGV, I should add tequila and gin to my booze to-do list. I'm so happy I'm done with college.

Graduated

Yes, I've done it! Ten years ago, I enrolled into the American University of Beirut, I was sixteen years old. And now I'm... oops hold on, how old am I?... Nahida says twenty-six. Okay, so now I'm now twenty-six and I've finally got my degree in business management from a lousy college in Baghdad. It's been a long road to get to here.

I've started my boozing binge with Oettinger beer (wonder how that's supposed to be pronounced), which is the one beer available here that isn't made in Turkey. Nahida called up Kiki in Malaysia so that he may congratulate me. She was surprised to find that K was also there with him. She spoke to the two of them and then passed them on to me. It was wonderful to hear their voices.

Totally screwed up on my exam today... but less so than most of the others... A pass for me is pretty much guaranteed. I've got some beer to drink...

Hello Bulbul

I'm waiting for Sav to wake up right now. We've got one more final after tomorrow and we really need to start studying in earnest not so much for my sake but for his. We should have started yesterday, but we had to pick up Muni so that he could explain to us some of the material he understood during a private tutoring lesson. But instead of studying last night, we spent the night mucking around.

A few hours ago, Muni packed his stuff up and we drove Muni back home to see his dad go off on a trip. I'm so glad I'm rid of him tonight. We've been on each other's nerves the whole time. The guy's too bleeding energetic and loud for me. If only I had some Ritalin to calm him down. And Nahida doesn't like him much either because she gets the impression the dude's been enjoying the free food and service at my house without making the smallest effort to buy a few snacks or something. All in all the guy's alright though, and Sav really wishes we'd reconcile. But I'd just let things be. Muni might come over tomorrow, but I'm not sure if Sav's willing to go pick him up.

Just two more days and I'll be done with college. It's going to be wonderful, still haven't stocked up on booze though. Lots of people boozing in the street these days by the way. Driving on the Jadriya bridge these past few evenings you can see cars parked on the side with guys boozing up. And while dropping off Muni today, there were a bunch of guys boozing up not too discretely ahead of a checkpoint.

Nahida and Fozzy are in a rush to get me involved in the farm. I think I gave my first executive decision a moment ago regarding a rent payment to my uncle. I said yes give the rent money and leave me alone.

Sav's awake. He never fell asleep really, neither did I when I tried to. But where did he go?

One More To Go

I woke up an hour ago, Mumi and Sav left for college early this morning. Sav's got a final for which he didn't study but instead has relied on good old fashioned bribery. Muni had the fright of his life last week when he wasn't allowed to enter one of his final exams on the premise that his high school diploma was forged and was told he could be sent to jail. He immediately went to the ministry to check.

While he was at the ministry the rest of the class including me were coming out of the exam and wondering why hadn't he taken the exam and where he was. We tried calling him on the phone but his phone was switched off. We then found out about his high school diploma being forged but still didn't know where he had gone and assumed that since he wasn't around to defend himself and his phone was turned off that it was probably true.

By the time we all got home, Muni's phone came back to life and it turned out that he had to turn it off and hand it over when entering the ministry and that the college had screwed up. That they had requested the ministry to confirm his graduation specifying the wrong year. Muni's now at college to make sure that he can do the exam he failed right after our finals and not with the re-test bunch which is in September.

As for me, I'm feeling better these days. I'm sleeping normally again and have only one more final to go this coming Saturday. The most important thing on my mind right now is preparing the booze for a two day boozing session after I finish my exams.

Half Way Through

I've only got three more exams to go. I think I'm getting depressed because I'm having a hard time going to sleep lately. Soon, I'll be starting my new life on the plantation. In many aspects I've convinced myself it's going to be a good experience for me. I'm not sure why I am feeling down right now. Maybe it's the dread of having to deal with the change. Maybe it's the pressure and expectations that are to be set upon me. Or perhaps the feeling that I've missed out on something and that along the way. But thinking ahead, when I do finish my exams I must not forget to start my new life with a positive attitude.

Trouble Sleeping

It's quarter past four in the morning, and I can't get myself back to sleep. I fell asleep at around one in the morning and then the heat woke up about an hour later during which time the neighbourhood generator line had cut-off as scheduled. So i got the house generator running and an hour later or so later the water air-cooler started giving off the smell of electrical burning. Meaning that the the motor inside is fried. Today was really hot, I hope that tomorrow will be better, chances are that it won't be.

Nahida's been scheming. She's planning to send me off on vacation to Egypt with Sav. Sav's playing along with her and is keeping an open mind. As for me, it seems I don't have much of a say. Never mind that my new Iraqi passport is full of detail errors. I forgot to mention previously that it also says that I was born in Baghdad where as in fact I was born in Bath. But that wasn't a mistake on behalf of the passport office.

I really do want a vacation on one hand. Not to sure, if I share the same idea of a fun vacation as Sav and his friends though. And on the other hand, I'm dreading the work ahead of me at the farm, that I want to get something achieved there first. A couple of weeks in Amsterdam sounds a whole lot more like a vacation to me. Trouble is that none of the lads here can travel to Europe, and if they could they'd take the chance to seek asylum. If I do go wind up going to some place like Egypt, I ought to make it a frugal trip and save my money for that Amsterdam trip instead.

Lately, I've been getting a lot of missed calls from strange girls on my phone. I spoke to one of them yesterday for over a half hour. Told me she lived in a screwed up neighbourhood next to mine at first but then before saying bye she said Sadr City. That she's doing nothing with her life right now and that she was in and then quit some kind of Islamic schooling and that she goes out dressed in an abaya (the black cloth thing). She wanted me to transfer her a dollar of phone credit to her because I picked up the line as she was giving me a missed call and I was playing mini-golf on the phone. I told her, I'd send her the credit if she'd tell me what colour panties she was wearing. She declined. It had been days since I last wanked because of Sav and Muni's presence, so I wanked whilst casually talking to her. She must've noticed and asked if I was 'playing worm'. That was the cutest way to put it in Arabic I have ever heard.

On My Way to College

I'm having Sav and Muni stay over at my house for the duration of the finals. Yesterday, I had to tell off Muni for distracting Sav. Right now, we're in a traffic jam and listening to the Iraq-Australia game on the radio. The score is 1-0 to Australia.

I'm hungry.

The pizza crisis is over by the way. Nahida's managed to find some good Mozzarella cheese. And she's not burning the base of the pizzas any more too. The pizzas still needs some work though, something is wrong with the topping to dough ratio.

Still stuck in traffic.

The score's still 1-0. I'm not making much sense out of the football commentator.

Damn! I'm hungry.

I finally got a neighbourhood generator line. It costs over $100 a month for 10 amps, for about 6 hours a day. By alternating between it and my own generator I can keep the water air cooler running all night.

I should perhaps get some beers on the way back home.