Season Finale

Oxford chose to congratulate my victory over prelims with a rainy day.

I'm done with prelims and officially done with my first year of uni! I ended up finishing the last two-and-a-half-hour exam an entire hour early and walked out of the room alone, but that's all I really needed. I didn't really FEEL any different as I walked out (apart from somewhat gleeful that it wasn't that long), but I'm sure the joy of summer will kick in as soon as I touch down in SFO.

It's the end of the year, and so I thought I'd be retrospective on this blog post.

This year, I completed five preliminary examinations here at Oxford and handed in my work for six or seven practicals, whatever it was. I've watched almost five entire seasons of Good Mythical Morning. I've made many new friends and tried my best to keep in contact with old ones. I've been to Pret a Manger and Itsu oh-so-many times (about half of the people behind the counter at Pret actually know my name from my card, as I learned this morning). I've learned (and then promptly forgotten) probably around a hundred different pieces of music. I've done four rounds of stand-up comedy. I've gone to the gym probably around sixty times, and run for probably around an entire day. I've probably played about three days in total of video games, and I've probably spoken entirely in Spanish for around the same amount of time. I now consider myself fluent in Spanish, and I planned and taught a class. I ran a fundraiser, competed in dancesport, failed miserably at water polo, and became and unbecame the worst boyfriend ever. I drank five different types of alcoholic beverages, hated them all, and realized that it's because I hate the taste of alcohol. I learned to juggle. I got a college family. I learned that bacon is delicious. I lost a dear friend.

Here's my year in photos:

If there's one thing I would've done differently, it's my attitude toward the homeless. I never felt comfortable giving out money, but I also wasn't sure about giving out food or talking to them (I never knew what to say), so I tended to just avert my gaze and pretend I didn't see them. It never sit right with me, though, and after talking to a friend of mine today, I've thought about some ways I'll change my attitude and approach in the future.

I also didn't spend enough time with God. Looking back, I should've spent less time worrying about exams and playing video games and more time praying; rather than listening to Rhett and Link, I could have been listening to a sermon. This summer, I'm going to work to grow closer to God, which I'm afraid to say I honestly haven't done that much of this year, although I have had my faith tested a lot by the attitudes of the people around me. It's made me realize how untested my faith was before, and I've grown stronger in my faith as a result, so that's something.

By the end of the day, the rain had ended :)

Really quick, here's a shoutout to "the most perfect girl in the world, absolutely lovely and brilliant and everything!" Her name is Charlotte, and she requested a "really complementary shoutout." All year, she's lived in the room across the street from my room.

I'll be posting in this blog next October, whereupon I will once again Cross the Pond (and Live)! In the meantime, I've got a whole lot of swimming, catching up with friends, singing, reading, gaming, drinking Jamba Juice, praying, and enjoying the heck out of summer! I've also got a job as a consultant for a company called Cloudian, Inc, so I'll be doing that as well :D

Sincerely, and finally,

   John Khouri; Polo Wearer But Not Player, Sunglasses Pirate, Croquet Hooligan, Fwerryxior Fixer-Upper, Former Chocoholic, the Monopoly Man, "the Guns" Gourmet, Once and Always a King of Narnia, Official Birdwatcher of Oxford (...I guess I never did explain later...), Robber Resembler, Green Jogger, Expectant Lunch-Eater, Former Rhink Addict (since now I'm pretty much caught up), Sleepyhead, Returning Student, Maze-Making Mastermind, Doodler Dude, "the Stuffed" Endeavourer, Lord of Out-of-Time, the Comedian that Oxford Deserves (but NOT the one it needs), Unlicensed Tank Driver (again, SHH!!!), Sick-as-a-Dog (if the dog were wearing rockstar shades) Panini Snob, Newly-Rehatted Mathematican and Computer Scientist, Quite-a-Guy "the Wolverine" Zombie Apocalypse Survivor, Courteous Court Courier, Antarctican-Canadian, Confused American, Amateur Oxford Secret-Passageway Spelunker, Manly Master Chef, First Tenor, Master of the Yoshi, That Guy Who Vomits All Over People, Faux Welshman, Unchained Non-Alcoholic and Occasional Self-Appointed Designated Driver, Raconteur, Pineapple Juice Drinker, and, of course, an Oxford Man

P.S. You get 25 JP for each title you remember :)