The end is nigh

Exams have finally finished (having written my last one on the 28th of November) and now, as I sit here in an empty room, in an empty res, I find myself reflecting back over what a fantastic year this has been :D sure, firsy year was epic in its own way with its thousands of parties and drunken memories. But second year brought so much more.

I found some amazing friends in res, who I became so close to and who I'd never be able to live without. So for the first time, I'd like to mention some by name.
Thank you to Fran for awesome breakfast conversation, triple dates, sitting through boring Golden Key ceremonies together and being nauseatingly cute with her boyfriend.
Thank you to Caroline for plodding through the rain to find medication for me when I'm sick, constantly providing food and conversation in her famous pink room, letting me pull her out of her shell and for always being there to confide in.
Thank you to Ayrelia for drunken nights of running down the street, speaking in British accents, trying to fit both of us in one jacket and pretending to be a lesbian couple to get free shots.
Thank you to Tshidi for always being able to make me smile and for providing endless entertainment on nights out.
Thank you to Lulu for continuing to be the epic person that she is, telling me bluntly when I hook up too often, conversations in the corridor, dress-up parades when deciding what to wear out and giving me free neon pink underwear.
Thank you to Meg for making law lectures that little bit less dull.
And to all the rest of the Jammies girls for making this year so incredible in your own way.

Guy friends also deserve a mention...
Thanks to my favourite creep Mark for putting up with me ranting about boys, for confiding in me about anything and everything, for buying me chocolate when I'm bleak and for late-night, profound conversations at Monument.
Thanks to Trav for insightful - and occasionally fiery - philosophical debates and for keeping me entertained in philosophy class.
Thanks to Kuan for being the awesome older brother I never had, for always making time to see me and for his sage advice on relationships. :P
And of course, thanks to Kyle and Kelvin for sticking around even though I rarely see them anymore :)

As keen as I am to see my family and just relax this vac, I'm also quite sad to be saying goodbye to Rhodes for two months (the worst part being not seeing my boy for one - or possibly two - months :( ). But Christmas shall come and go, New Year shall fly past in a blur and before I know it I'll be rocking O-week 2012 with the epic 2012 Jammies house comm, the new first years, and all you cool people who can make it back in time! So travel safe this vac, make the most of your time at home/on holiday/on the beach and get ready to come back tanned, rested and prepared to party. And spread the word: "SEND YOUR KIDS TO RHODES!" :D

Til next year...

Walk of shame

"The girl was fair who went upstairs with her favourite KOK. She knocked around and came back down, and now she takes the walk. The walk of shame; she's not to blame. Who could resist the KOK? The walk of shame: she found her fame. And now she takes the walk!"

The above quote is taken from the movie "Sorority Boys" (and if you haven't seen it, DO watch it...it's brilliant. Watch the chant at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx6xJkYJKiM&feature=related). The boys in the fraternity line up in the corridors and chant this as girls leave the boys' rooms in the morning. KOK is the name of the fraternity and yes, it's pronounced 'cock'. Giggle and get over it. :P

Now I know I'm going to come across as relatively preach-y here, but I found myself wondering this evening: when did it become OK - or even something to be proud of - to have to perform a walk of shame? Back in my gran's era, it would have been considered incredibly scandalous to be leaving a boy's bedroom in the early hours of the morning. But somehow, women's lib seems to have given us the right to act like complete sluts and proudly proclaim that we're just asserting our womanhood. As one girl puts it, "It's not a walk of shame, it's a stride of pride!"

Those of you who know me will realise that I'm not being self-righteous here (mom, if you're reading this you might want to stop here), because I've also had those early morning walks down the hill (or up the hill, depending on the guy's res). If you're returning from your boyfriend's place, then yes it's a different matter. We're adults now - technically, anyway - and staying over with your significant other is normal. One friend of mine was returning from her boyfriend's res in the morning and had some older women giving her judgemental looks. She claims she was tempted to yell at them, "He's my boyfriend, it's OK!"

But when exactly does it become OK? It seems to have become acceptable to go out, get drunk, hook up with a random guy and wake up topless in his bed the next morning. Surely that's something we should be embarassed about, not proud of? For the record - and to protect my reputation - I want it noted that I have never ever had a one-night stand (i.e. had sex with a random guy). But I know many girls who do, and it worries me that it's become normality. Yes we all know that guys have a reputation for being sex fiends and that for them to have one-night stands is considered in today's society to be OK. "So why shouldn't we have them too?" girls clamour.

Perhaps we're looking at this the wrong way. Why is it then OK for guys to have one-night stands and not girls? Why is it OK for guys to have one-night stands at all? It's a modern society, very few people allow their religions to restrict their sex lives, we're grown-ups now, blah blah blah. These are terrible excuses. The question you should be asking yourself is "Why do I do it?" Because in the end, girls, if you go home with a guy on the night that you met him then he's not going to respect you in the morning. And guys, if you take a drunk girl home on the night you met her then she's not going to have anything good to say about you to her friends. I do understand that there are exceptions to this rule (the Samantha Jones-type girls of the world) and if you're happy with a fast f*ck (excuse the language, but that's what it is) then go for it. But don't feel pressured into going home with a guy because all your friends are doing it/he promises to 'respect you in the morning'/he wants to watch a 'movie' with you. Maybe some guys really do want to watch a movie, but not the ones in my experience. Speaking of experience, if he unexpectedly pounces on you during the movie and tries to get his hand up your shirt, kick him. Hard. It works, trust me.

So now I'd like to issue a challenge to all of my readers and followers. Yes, all 7 of you. :P for one month next year, make it your goal not to have random naps with anyone. It sounds simple, but when the alcohol is flowing and he's a really good kisser, it's hard to say no. Try it. I dare you. Girls, if he likes you then he'll hang around regardless of whether you'll stay over or not (as my current boy did). Guys, she'll love you for it and rumours will go around about what a gentleman you are, resulting in hordes of girls chasing after you. So sidestep the walk of shame/stride of pride for one month. Consider it a dare.

Exam song: Procrastinating

As is tradition, here is my latest exam song for the second semester of 2012. The chorus of this popped into my head while I was studying for Latin in the library last night. It's based on "Unfaithful" by Rhianna. Hope you like it :) If you want, check out my other two earlier songs: "Can you feel the stress tonight?" (which is not particulary good) and "Library Girl" (my personal favourite).

Story of my life
Searching for a first
But it keeps avoiding me
Sorrow in my soul
'Cause it seems that low
Marks are all I'll ever see
It's more than exams
And this is more than tough
The reason that I'm feeling blue
I should be partying
Instead I'm staying in
To study all my notes with you

And I know that I am procrastinating
It kills me inside
To know that I should be working all through the night
I feel like dying

Chorus:
I don't wanna do this anymore
I don't even know the reason why
But every time I walk through that door
I know I die a little more inside
I don't wanna study anymore
I don't wanna waste away my night
I just wanna leave the library

I feel it in the air
As I chew my hair
Knowing I'll be working late
Boys at the next table
Ask if I am able
To help them with their study date
I don't want to help
I say I have to work
A lie I didn't have to tell
Because we all know
I can't help guys that slow
And we know it very well

And I know that I am procrastinating
It kills me inside
To know that I should be working all through the night
I feel like dying

(Chorus)

My work, my marks
I might as well take a gun and put it to my head
Get it over with
I don't wanna do this anymore...

(Chorus)

For the Rhodents' social life never dies!

Is it sad that I'm actually pleased to have finally begun exams? For the past two weeks I've had no lectures, which sounds heavenly until you realise that I've spent that time confined to the library with my nose buried in notes (mostly law). To actually walk into the Great Hall today and WRITE something felt fantastic :D even though I'm pretty sure I got question 4 wrong (if any Phil 2 students can help me out here, it'll be much appreciated!)

It's always interesting to see that, unlike most places, the social life of the Rhodents doesn't die during exams. Instead it simply shifts from Friars to the library; from Rat to the Jac Labs. It sounds ridiculous, but the library and the Kaif have become the social hub of Rhodes in the past two weeks. I see a familiar face almost every time I step through that awesome revolving door (nerdy quote for the day: "Whoever said anything was possible never tried to slam a revolving door") and Kaif breaks lead to conversations with people I haven't seen in ages (Hi Kelvin!). I even find myself making new friends; I had a brief discussion with a girl when I asked her to watch my bag while I went to the bathroom, and some random guy came up and asked me for help when he saw that I was reading Philosophy notes. Groups of smokers form on the steps outside the library, chattering and comparing notes while non-smokers chill at the Kaif tables with a cup of coffee or a Fizz pop. And of course there's always the entertainment that arises when a gust of wind sends someone's notes scattered across the Kaif quad.

Speaking of the Kaif, allow me to deviate slightly from my topic to comment on how weird their menu is. Hot chips...awesome. Hot chips with cheese...unusual, but cool. Hot chips with cheese and polony...wtf? Who puts polony in chips? And how? Do they cut it into tiny squares and scatter it in the bag? Or do you just get a couple of slices along with your order? I swear I'm going to order it one day out of sheer curiosity.

^ that's the Kaif. (I'm putting more photos in to make the blog prettier :P ) The slightly ridiculous-looking randoms are in the middle of a flash mob.

The Kaif is actually quite a danger zone during exams. As one friend so eloquently put it: "You'll be studying in the library and decide to take a 10 minute break at the Kaif. Three hours and R50 later, you're STILL there." I've had first-hand experience of this: half hour breaks become one-and-a-half hour breaks, one Coke becomes one Coke and a donut and and and...in the end, the Kaif doesn't make you relax. It makes you broke. And fat. And feel guilty for not studying. But you know what? I'd rather spend all morning and all my money at the Kaif than spend another ten seconds studying the property rights of African customary law. And I'd be pretty bleak if it suddenly shut down. I mean, where could I legitimately procrastinate?

PS: shout out to all the poor law students. Regardless of what year you're in, law exams SUCK.

Toastiness :)

I woke up this morning in my boyfriend's bed with the wind howling outside and a light drizzle soaking the world. Homer, I know exactly how you feel :P if I had my way, I'd still be there now. Damn exams...damn studying...
On that note, I'm writing my first exam - Philosophy - this afternoon. Wish me luck! Expect a post about exam stress sometime in the near future :P

Size is just a number

I apologise, but I feel like a rant tonight so allow me to deviate briefly from my usual Rhodent posts...after all, blogs are all about personal opinion. :P

I've recently been reading a number of pro-ana blogs (if you don't know what pro-ana is...well, you have internet. Google it) and it's provided some surprising insight for me. No, I'm definitely not anorexic - those of you who know me will know this for certain ;) and I do realise that anorexia is a mental disease. But it set me thinking about the media in general and how the 'skinny' image is permanently being shoved down our throats. It's easy to say "Be happy with who you are!" but God knows I feel inadequate 90% of the time because of these images. Why? Because that girl with her hip bones sticking out and her skeletal legs will never be me.

I know this sounds like a personal pity party, but bear with me for a moment. I've come to accept that being skinny is not natural for me. OK maybe if I starved myself for a few months then my hip bones would stick out, but I would still look odd because my bone structure means that I have naturally wide hips and would not get much narrower than I am now. And no matter what I do, I just don't lose weight. But today's revelation came when I was reading a blog and found that this supposedly 'anorexic' girl was delighted that her weight had reached 127lb. She's 5"4. I'm 5"2 and my weight is exactly the same, meaning I'm only slightly heavier (taking height into account) than a girl who classes herself as anorexic. Wtf??

So in the end, I've realised that, hell, I don't actually want to be skinny. Sure I wouldn't mind having the body of a swimsuit model, but they're not skinny - they're toned and curved in the right places. I have wide hips and a narrow waist; I can feel the muscles in my stomach hardening from doing situps and I can clearly see defined muscles in my calves when I wear heels. I can run my skinny friends into the ground when we go jogging and beat them when we play squash. So yes, I may have a big butt and small shoulders, I may not be tall or blonde or have a perfect, model-worthy face...but I'm healthy and I'm fit and I can outrun most of my friends with little or no effort. In the end, that's what matters to me. And for any guy who doesn't like it, there are bound to be ten who do. So there. :P