HOCUS POCUS

Jet lag (aka "jetlag" or "jet-lag"), is a physiological condition which is a consequence of alterations to the circadian rhythm. Characteristic symptoms of jet lag include: Dehydration and loss of appetite, Headaches and/or sinus irritation, Fatigue, Disorientation and/or grogginess, Nausea and/or upset stomach, Insomnia and/or highly irregular sleep patterns, Irritability, Irrationality. (wikipedia) 

Last two weeks, in the midst of exam preparation, my circadian rhythm has changed. I studied all night long and slept all day long but unfortunately, all my paper in the morning shift. I tried to sleep early last night, but I couldn’t. I went to bed at 3 am, but I thought I started to sleep at 4 am or more. Then, I woke up at 7.30 am and prepared to go to school early to warm up my brain. I drunk two cup of indocafe coffee ice, hoped its bitterness can wake my eyes and my brain up. It worked for my eyes but I was not sure for my brain.

I went to school at 8.15 am; exam would be started at 9.30 am. I had fried rice for breakfast, but I couldn’t finish it (it rarely happen that I wasted my food :p). I started to review the module and tried to get as much as I can, but my brain just could not work at maximum rate, but it was ok, not too bad. I thought the caffeine started to increase my adrenaline, mostly in my heart because it beat faster.

And the exam was started. "Exam is a dialogue between you and the question maker, then you and yourself" (dragonsakura dorama quote)… And here was the dialogue between me and my self… 

Q1.a, theoretical question.. I was not sure, skip it… 1b.. Ok, 1c assembly language programming… ok, but had to recheck latter… 2a… 2b… 2c…  hardware part… it’s ok… but damn… careless… had to repeated some point… damn… my time wasted…

Almost one hour and 15 minutes passed… started to do the 3rd question… 80286 protected mode… a, b,c… had done lots of this type of problem before… it’s fine… hmm… must got full mark… but… damn again… silly mistakes.. Data segment is 10, no 11…. But thanks God, did not have to repeat entire solution… hmmm… 45 minutes left…

Last question… 4a… hardware interrupt… ha??? What??? Hardware interrupts?? Damn… I was not studying this topic at all??? OMG… it just like a thunder in the midday ( dangdut song mode :p). This type of question never came out in the pass exam… 12 marks… what?? 12!!!! Damn…. relax… just skip it first… 4b… 80386 descriptor… studied before… but i could not remember… my brain just hang… ok… I tried my best then… not perfect, but that’s all that I could remember… 4c now… 80286 virtual memory… OMG… I had not studied it also… (But now I realize that I had studied it… my brain hangs at the moment)… OMG… 25 point lost…

15 minutes left… ow, I had not done 1a… hmmm…. try to memorize… not really sure… but just answer, hopefully could gain some mark… 4a… whatever, just write, copy down the question, 1 mark is better than nothing… 4b… 4c… Invigilator: "Please Stop Writing….."…. OMG… had not rechecked programming part… no time… hopefully I was not doing some mistakes there…. and my answer book is collected by the invigilator… end of dialogue….

The moral of the story : make exam preparation according to your actual time of exam, otherwise, you will experience the exam jetlag… and never speculate… try to study everything in your note, since you never know what will be tested, of course if you have enough time to study it all… hahahahaha…

Anyway, my first paper has passed. I definitely won’t get an A, and even hard to get B since 70% is the maximum mark that I can earn in this rate, and maybe less if I do some careless mistakes. However, Alhamdulillah that it has already passed. 1 down 5 to go… next pit stop : AC Circuit and Machine…. keep wish me luck…