Examination survival kit

Exams are round the corner. Round the 10-day corner to be exact. In preparation for the battle ahead, I got assistance from the following:



Let's go through their duties one by one:


1. Coffee
Easily the most important in the group. Coffee keeps you awake and it tastes damn good. Have a few variety available so you don’t get bored. Supposed to give you stomach upsets but I have developed an immunity for it since I drink at least 1 cup a day. Bad? Yeah. But this is war! More about coffee here.

2. Essence of chicken
Same as 1. but the healthier version. Taste horrible though. I would advise immersing the whole bottle in hot water prior to ingestion. Anything to stay awake.

3. Orange peel
This is to counteract the effects from 1., namely the feeling of gas in the stomach. Farting helps as well, but not very advisable in case fart becomes poop ah.

4. Instant food
Instant anything is good. Just add water with one hand, and with the other hand you can continue to read your notes. Featured here are my trusted instant noodles and instant mashed potatoes. Steer clear of spicy flavors. Diarrhea and exams don’t match.

5. Clock
Running out of time so naturally will need this device to keep track. Remember the batteries too. Also an alarm for those exams at ungodly hours.

6. Mobile
It’s backup for 5. and very important when you are lost in school or forgot your examination venues. Handy for asking those crucial questions you just cannot remember.

7. To do list
Helps you organize post-exams activities. Builds anticipation for that final day. Somehow, when that day finally comes, you don’t feel like doing anything on the list other than burning your notes.

8. Photo album
This serves to remind you of happier times (unless your album is full of unhappy pictures or photos of yourself. In the latter case, it’s just plain sad because now your pimple-ridden face doesn’t resemble those photoshopped images at all). Can daydream a bit but remember to use 5. and/or 6. to keep track of the time.

9. New shoes
Personal quirk. New shoes makes me happy. During my self-assigned breaks (which are many and near between), I’ll wear my new babies and prance around the room. Sure, the neighbors may wonder at the “click-clicks” in the middle of the night, but who cares!

10. Tissue
Useful for the running tap of a nose you always seem to get during this period (as if life isn’t hard enough).

11. Eyebrow tweezers and compact mirror
Yet another idiosyncrasy of mine. I think eyebrow tweezing is therapeutic and the release of endorphins after the initial pain can be very soothing and calming. Problem is, I have to stock up on eyebrow pencils as well. Go figure.

12. Pen refills
The boring parts. Always run out of ink from the long long essay I have to write. Remember to stash some 2B pencils if you are from the science/biz fac, since they have more MCQs.

13. Highlighters
A friend once commented that my notes are very rainbow-liked. Well, since young, I like to make up stories about the symbolism of colors and numbers. For example, blue = bad because it’s usually used for guys. And pink = good from its association with girls. The green is neutral (nature and neutral. geddit???) So, I have multiple colored highlighters to help me organize points in readings. Many people I know don’t even need to highlight anything. Power.

14. Notes and books
Finally, notes and books. Enough said.

This is a personal manual for examinations. Stock up now before you run out of time!