I take full responsibility for everything that has happened today (except not getting paid, that's not my fault)
This post is very long, don't read it if you don't want to know about my day in great detail. It'll waste your time.

Yes well. I woke up at 7:00 (actually I woke up at 3:30, 4:30, 6:35 and then 7:00) from the strangest dreams (some of which I'll share but not in this post). I got up after falling asleep again about 6 times at 7:17 and had a shower listening to Train. I had a quiet time, looked in the fridge but found no milk. Mum suggested I buy some but seeing as it was 8:10 I thought there wasn't enough time. Rob and I were planning to go and drop off all the video gear from weddings and Impact at 8:30. I suggested we go a bit earlier and go to Maccas. I checked my bank account and I didn't have any money (I'm meant to get paid on the first, at least that's what I thought) but Rob said he'd pay.

We packed the car and left and found no petrol in the car, Rob said he'd pay. I had a Sausage and Egg McMuffin, two hash browns, and a large coke (I meant to ask for an orange juice but when I thought juice, Coke came out). I wanted to get hotcakes too but Robert aptly pointed out that they are difficult to eat in the car, especially while driving.

I was conscious that I had and exam today. I wanted to get this all done quickly so I could get home and get an hour's worth of study in or something, every little bit counts.

We arrived in St Leonards, at Panavison in good time to drop off the tripods. Rob went in and I hung out in the car park wearing my sunglasses, drinking my Coke and wondering how cool I looked (not very) and how much sleep I'd had over the past 76 hours (around 16 hours). Rob came back and we headed off to Artarmon to drop off the mixer and cable at Digihire. We arrived in Punch St (right near Ryan's old work) and I remembered that I'd left the cable at home. The 66-metre BNC cable that was due back at Digihire at 10:30am was still sitting in my room. I think I may have said "Bugger". Rob laughed. As did I, I think. I decided that I'd better drop off the mixer then go home and get the cable then come back. It was at that point that I saw the only hour of study for Old Testament 2 that I was going to get at home go out the window. I dropped the mixer off then we turned around and headed home.

I had to drop Rob at Fusion but I forgot because I was too busy thinking about my boss from the cinema and his girlfriend. I dropped him in the bus zone near the pool.

I went home told Mum my news about having to go back to Artarmon. She didn't find it very funny. She'd been most unimpressed with me all morning due to my lack of study and my inability to plan ahead and say "No". I got the cable, hopped back in the car drove to Chris' house and dropped off his mixer. He was wearing his Coffee Club clothes.

From there I drove back to Artarmon and back to Digihire. I gave them their cable at around 10:54am. I needed to be back in Hornsby in time to go home then catch the train at 11:43. I turned around an drove home. I drove over the "whoopsie" in Lindfield a second time at around 77km/h. It was fun but not as fun as the first time.

I got home at 11:28. I checked my bank balance and I still hadn't been paid, I had to grab money of the board from Mum and Dad to get myself to college. I started packing my back, and deciding what mini-disks to take when I looked at the time: 11:33 I had to go. It takes 10 minutes to walk quickly to the station. I shoved all my mini-disks and my bag and walked swiftly out of my room carrying every thing I could possibly need to study Old Testament and Church history as I traveled. I arrived at the station at 11:44. A guy who looked stoned was standing at the ticket machine asked me if I had $2, I said "No sorry" then felt bad as I bought my ticket with a fifty dollar note. I got a $2 coin in my change so I went back and found him and gave it too him. He said I was "a champ". I went through the ticket barriers, then headed for my platform. I noticed the stone looking guy coming through the barriers too. I hoped he didn't catch my train. Actually I didn't mind if he did. I hoped he didn't sit with me. I hoped God wasn't setting up and evangelism opportunity for me to seize so I could save this guy from the pits of Hell. I didn't have time for salvation, I had to study.

He didn't come to my platform so I sat on the platform and read up on Hosea, Amos and Josiah. My train came and I continued to study (which I decided as I walk to college today wasn't "cramming" but a "concerntrated study program") between nodding off every few sentences. As I passed through Artarmon I thought "This is the third time I've been here today, and it's only just past twelve"

At Town Hall I had two minutes till the train I was planning to catch all morning. That was a nice surprise. I bought myself a can of Coke I was in such good spirits (I probably would have bought a can of Coke if I missed to train too, to console myself or something). On the train I continued to read up on the Servant Songs of Isaiah and I realised how little I know about this subject. I didn't fall asleep all the way to Loftus though.

At Loftus only 3 people got off the train. None of them college people. I decided not to listen to my mini-disk but to take the opportunity to use the walk to college to plead to God for grace in these exams.

I arrived at college to applause and another love letter in my pigeon hole. I prepared myself for "Tom Time" when I told everyone how little study I had done, what stupid morning I had had and about all the wonderful things I have been doing that have been stopping me from studying. I wandered into to lounge room where everyone was studying hard. I didn't think it was worth me studying too. I felt I was doomed anyway. I noticed a few of the people studying Church History. I thought that was a little strange, they must be very confident with their Old Testament. Then I noticed that every desk seemed to have a Church History text book on it. It slowly dawned on me that perhaps these people weren't so confident after all. I asked Angus and Rachelle what exam we had today. "Church History". Bugger and buggery bugger. Then I laughed. I'd done all my study for completely the wrong subject. Not that it was much study, but when you compare 2 hours to nothing 2 hours in incomparably greater. I went and sat down on the couch and felt like a down right dill. I messaged Rob and Helen, the two people I've complained most too about my exams. Robert called me a "bloody idiot" and Helen sounded quite concerned. I didn't reply to Robert. And after the exam (which is when I got Helen's message) I tried to make her understand that it was really quite funny.

The exam began. I read the questions and realised that I had no idea what most of the questions were on about. "To what extent was there a 'struggle for liberation' in ONE of the following in the period of 1550 to 1689? England; Scotland; the Continent; the American colonies." There was a struggle for liberation? No-one told me that. "Account for the main changes in Evangelicalism in the first or second half of the 20th century" Billy Graham? Peter Jensen? I don't know.

In the end I wrote about the Anabaptists, the Age of Reason, missionaries in the European colonies and Vatican II. The first two I had written essays on, the third one I had no idea but I figured it was the easiest to crap on about and the last one we watched a bit of Brides of Christ last week in class when the nuns talked about Vatican II and I was paying attention to that. I didn't really think that basing a whole essay on an ABC mini-series staring that early 90s bombshell, Kym Wilson, was a particularly good idea, but it was the best I could do.

It was in that essay that I decided to answer the challenge one of the HSC students at church. I told her to put the words "trapezium", "mandarin" and "existentialism" in her English essay, so she told me I had to write "Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless" in mine. I figured that wouldn't be too hard in an Old Testament exam. Ha!

So I thought of the old nuns in that Australian convent where our Kym when to school as they watched in horror as "St Basil" was taken of the roof of the church as a result of Vatican II and I wrote:

"Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless" may have been the feeling of many of the conservatives of the faith as they watched centuries of tradition disappear in a bid to make the church more modern.

I don't think it'll win me any marks but it won't loose me any either.

I was particularly pleased with my concluding sentence:

In short the impact of Vatican II was both positive and far reaching, bringing Roman Catholicism firmly into the 20th Century.

I'm not sure if that's true. I'm not quite sure what Vatican II was. But it's always good to state your opinion in church history and if that means I get marks then I'll have an opinion on anything, even Vatican II.

After the exam I went home. I bought myself some butter chicken from the Sutherland Indian Man and a movie magazine to read on the train home (now that I don't have to study for Church History). The butter chicken wasn't bad, but I'm still burping it. The magazine was boring and full of fluff. Pretending to know all about movies but really just wanting to tell me who was sleeping with who or nothing at all.

I came home listening to "Third Day" and I'm thinking that perhaps God did give me grace in the exam. Now I don't have to study for Church History, praise the Lord, and now I have more time to study for Old Testament with 2 hours already up my sleeve, praise the Lord!

So that's my stupid day. I have enjoyed it very much. I have no hard feelings. I'm not angry. Except perhaps at the people who made that stupid magazine.