The Cover Picture of "The Al-Hamlet Summit"...a cross-cultural tale of "many Arab concerns that affect peoples from the Arabian Gulf to the Atlantic and beyond�" 

Like burnt out ends of smokey days...

So it seems like that is what my vacation is. Perhaps I've been working to keep my mind off things. Perhaps, I am working to pursue something. Perhaps, it is a combination of both.
I say to myself, it must have been the CAP issue. Results were released next week...and I honestly say I didn't do very well. Yes, I did improve from last sem, my CAP went up. But not significant enough. At least...it has REALLY gotten me worried. Worried about getting into Honours class. Getting my USP certification. Getting ahead in life.
Really? I need "Honours"...to get ahead in 'life'? Apparently so. Just look at the Civil Service's starting salaries for Honours grads, and compare them to Pass degree holders. If I return to the SAF with a Pass degree, think what's going to happen. (Yes, for all those friends of mine who think I'm getting it 'easy'...think again. I've got my own bunch of stuff to worry about. Taxes, family issues, studies being satisfactory enough to keep my scholarship...the list rolls on).
Have been considering a major switch. From English Lit to Sociology. One of the key factors influencing my considerations for this switch would be the Anthro module which I did this sem...really enjoyed it. Dr Steph is a brilliant lecturer who was always all smiles, and had ways of making the class connect and engage even in the most dreary of times and moods. Will be trying out the Soci exposure mod this coming sem, as well as another Soci culture mod. The rest of the mods I'll take will be USP mods. No, will not be touching Lit...simply because, sometimes passion gets in the way of pragmatism. Passion VS Pragmatism...a key theme addressed in Modern Literature. Something which has finally creeped up on me after all these years. No more have I stood outside the glass case in the museum, poking and pressing my nose up against the display which read "Modern Literature". It seems all the mist I breathed onto the glass has obscured my vision from seeing that the specimen on display, is actually alive...and creeping and sneaking up on us. haha...really got a scare there. Most awful too...having to deal with this issue in such a fashion. Fancy changing major, simply because my grades aren't 'there'. My old 'me' would be SO displeased. Then again, my old 'me' is gone.
Ah yes, also caught "The Al-Hamlet Summit" these past two days. The director should really love me...coming to see his performance twice and all. I really found it intriguing, the way that Hamlet was treated as a political text to critique the current crisis that is plaguing the Arab world. This plague I speak of is apparently the interference which the Middle East has from the powerful Western countries, especially a certain country which pushes its "Washington whores and CIA opium" onto its lands. Throughout the play, we see the strife Hamlet has with his family members, friends (Laertes and Ophellia), his Mother (Gertrude) and his Uncle, Claudius (who usurps the throne from Hamlet's father).
Though the Ghost of his murdered father never appears literally (as it does in the authentic Shakespearean play), it manifests itself hauntingly in the form of firstly, the propaganda leaflets which flutter from the sky to the sounds of bombs exploding - informing the inhabitants of the country that their new leader had gotten his position by injecting "sodium nitrate into the ear of his beloved brother". Serving as a way to stir passion within Hamlet's loins, the similar effect of the Ghost's 'harbinger of death and revenge' purpose is achieved. Secondly, I particularly enjoyed the way his madness was portrayed in the form of him riding a dummy horse - which he aptly calls the "Horse of War". This "horse of war" is often referred to as having been killed by his uncle...an obvious inplication that Hamlet knows of Claudius' foul deed upon his father...
I could go on about the play and its good points...but its awfully late. And my Jap Film and Anime report is not done. Neither is my study for the exam (which is next Friday!).
Ah well. When I am less bothered by these things...I will continue where I left off...*tut tut*