those halcyon days at university were way behind me now , but how i wished i had enjoyed them much more than i did as i picked up my first brick , squeezed it down , scrapped the muck off , picked up another , squeezed it down , scrapped the ... trudging to the site on another bleak morning , i stumbled upon the memory of doing my philosophy exam in spanish , remembering how i got out of the way of something greater than my ego .