A place that I have considered, since upon my arrival, my sort of odd sanctuary from the heat and noise of the city- a study center- adorned with nothing except a few excerpts from the Bible and famous qoutes (to entice one's diligence towards one's goals) set in plain white-painted walls, and dimmed lights, while spanning across its width are rows of table enclosures which are everyday occupied by some slouching figure, bent over a manuscript or an ill-treated book, most likely, or have gradually fallen asleep upright. Here I burn my midnight oil, amidst other nameless, caffeine-addicted faces, with their occasional grunts and sniffs, the impatient sighs, the annoying whispers, the sounds of dropped and rolling pens, the creaking of chairs, the crisp turning of pages, the smell of instant coffee, the constant whirring of the airconditioning, the snoring. It is here that I imprison myself, willfully or unwillfully, for a month and a half more, to try and make the best of the time left to relearn what I have learned in college of which I have, in time, once again forgotten.

Alas! In truth, I go through it all with a robot-like enthusiasm, and I can already feel my passion slowly fading before me, despite my attempts to prevent the dreaded 'burn-out'. I am like an unfeeling zombie! Morose and weary, that with each passing day, I am more and more eager to finally part with it and return home to Butuan- to no longer eat my meals alone, to taste my father's excellent Ilocano dishes (instead of the Cebuano recipe which they mistake for food), wrestle with my beloved sister (and annoy her in her peaceful repose), play with my mischievous dogs (oh, how they must have grown now), and possibly spark romance with one of Stone's close friend. My only comfort, my solace, amidst feelings of longing and degrading morale- is that one day I might see the fruits of all these labors and sacrifices, when I will have battled the abbhored winged-demon of an examination, one glorious day, and stand victorious over its slain corpse. This thought gives me enough fervor to return to my reading and my incessant scribbling, which is beginning to wear out my fingers, with renewed vigour.

Oh, but how the days are long!