Ink stains and tobacco fumes

ex·haus·tion

Noun:

1. .  A state of extreme physical or mental fatigue. 2.    The action or state of using something up or of being used up completely: "exhaustion of fossil fuel reserves".

What is it about the end of the year that makes the bile in my stomach rise violently, the pressure becoming more intense as the last days drag by like dead animals?

Limping around on swollen feet through a campus full of people shying away from any human contact because, “I need to get my work done!” Red eyes framed in droopy eyelids heavy with the scratchiness of the Library. Ink and tobacco stained fingers cramping as I sit and type the first miserable sentences of my last essay, just one more go at it. My last attempt at achieving some academic goal set out by the conventions of our super efficient society.

Time is money, bra...

We sit, huddled against the wind, sharing limited thoughts through individual lenses of experience. One last drag, the deep breath before the plunge. Smoke forced down and held, gushing out suddenly, hoarse cough and all is well. Almost full cycle, nearly there, the last stretch. The wall has been hit and left behind in a pile of broken bottles, grimy scraps of paper topped by my favourite pair of sneakers.