"I can't wait for the weekend to begin..."

Pretty catchy song... but the girls stripping I could do without...

Summery days

Sitting at home, the sun is shining brightly outside, like a beautiful day in summer.
Just wondering what to do...

The past month or so has been probably the busiest I can remember. First were assignments I needed to finish, then came the big moot competition, which kept me basically occupied for a good week or so. And immediately after the competition, I had my own moot court to prepare for, which meant another week or so of working almost non-stop to rush to finish a 15000 word memorial together with two other girls from my class. Endless, it seemed. Dead tired, it really was. And to add to that, I managed to kill an innocent snail the other day, while being in a state of complete and utter exhaustion...

But suddenly, it all finished. Leaving me a little empty inside, and wonder what to do. I know I should probably start thinking about the exam in a month's time, or even start working on the thesis due by the end of Summer... but I think I deserve a little break.

Even though it was busy, it was definitely worth every moment of it. The moot court competition took place successfully, and perhaps because I was so good, my boss offered me a position to work on through the summer! Just as I was thinking and worrying about what I'd do, and where I could find a job, it came all so unexpextedly. It's just two days a week, but it's paid, and involves basic management of the office I've been working for in the past few months since September. It's perfect, since it'll give me the flexibility to combine with my thesis writing... and also will be a financial boost to my plans to take a Euro-rail trip with some friends : )

As for the project I was working on with two girls, it went extremely well, especially given the short time we had to complete it in. We were given a fictional case about the fumigation of coca crops to argue, which involved Ecuador taking a case against Colombia before the ICJ for breaches of international law. We were the applicants (suing!) and our claim is that Colombia's plans to eradicate coca crops does damage to human life and the environment, and also harms our State.

For one whole week, we worked on it constantly, to the extend that we started to dream about the case itself in the few hours of luxury we had to sleep. It was probably the best team work I've ever had, as we were all so dedicated and willing to work together and to make sure that the final product is clear and coherent. Of course, cups after cups of tea, cartons and cartons of cigarettes (but not for me!!!), and bags and bags of chips and chocolates and biscuits helped to prolong our ability to go on until the early hours of the morning day after day... And because my defences were down, I caught a nasty cough and felt somewhat miserable throughout the week.

On Tuesday past, we submitted the memorial, and dressed up to plead in 'court'. I wanted a little group hug before we all went on stage, but it was a little embarrasing so we ended up shaking hands. And we awed the audience and the judges with our pleadings. We answered the questions that were bombarded at us with respect and which even made our judges impressed. As I stood there, before this mock court and before the watching eyes of my class, I felt so unbelievably confident. Whatever questions that were thrown at me, whatever objections were fired against my arguments, I (and the others of course) deflected them in grace and style. All the while, I kept that smile on my face, which someone had remarked charmed the audience.

Afterwards, we toasted and drank to our success. Even though our eyes were red from lack of sleep (and my throat still aching, while my conscience was still fragile from having killed another living being...) we celebrated at night away, sitting in the garden, watching a DVD, munching on more junk food and chocolates and pizza, filling ourselves with white wine...

We went our separate ways, again at 3am, but realising we were so much closer together.

"Oh, my god... I killed something"

Stepping into the frigid night air at 3am, I heard a crunching sound. I was dizzy, delerious, and exhausted like I never felt before from the constant writing, meetings and researching over the last seven days or so, but the sound coming from under my shoe shook me awake.

I knew it wasn't good, and suspected what I had just done. I looked down, and confirmed that I had just crushed a snail to bits, and saw the slimy liquid reflect in the dim street light. "Oh my god... I killed something!"

I kept on apologising to the snail, even though it probably was no longer conscious.... or worse, already dead. More than 12 hours of working on a big project due tomorrow with my classmates did not make me feel less guilty about what I did. Which is strange, since a moment before I was so tired I couldn;t think of anything else but bed...

I really need to get some sleep before the big presentation tomorrow... but I'll be thinking of the snail I just killed, and hope it will now and forever rest in piece(s).