Next step

As I'm sure a lot of you know, I'm seventeen (ah, alas, she has no experience nor knowledge of the ways and wiles of  life!) and that means a number of things. Firstly, I can drive. Secondly, my next birthday should be a cracking one (LANDMARK BIRTHDAY! WHOOP!). Most importantly, I can do magic outside of school. That's been the best one by far.

Quite honestly the best thing has been doing A-Levels, because the amount of care and attention you get from teachers is amazing. They will mark a hundred of the same essay and still put their all in, and that's something I greatly admire. All my teachers have pushed me so hard this year, and I'm really happy they have. I'm pretty complacent with my learning until someone yells at me to do stuff. They're (metaphorically) yelling every lesson. And I'm learning.

Which is why, dear readers, I have some news which I hope will serve to at least make you happy (if not for the general situation then for me, pretty please?)...

I got a place at my chosen University! A conditional offer! Based on ABB in my A-Levels. I reckon I'll go for the A in Sociology and then the B and B in German and Law. Those are all minimums, obviously. They are the pass mark. But seriously, I sent off my application two months ago! Three, in fact! And I have been obsessively checking my inbox every day, waiting for an email telling me of any change. And now I'm happy. Having not had any previous relatives go to university, I am the first in my family and I'm very proud to be offered a place. Now I have something to work for! The little ideas in my head are all coming together to form this big picture of stuff to do and opportunities.

It also means I now have to absolutely hit those targets, and so I'm apologising in advance for the probable break in blog posts. believe me, I'm trying to keep them to about once a week! But it's difficult! There's a lot to be done, and all of it is essential. I'm not naturally particularly bright. I have to work very hard to maintain my grades, and it makes me proud when I can live up to the task and complete the challenge, and so I must say that from now on I will be throwing myself into my work in order to achieve the best I can. That's all I can do, really.

Happy reading, folks!

How to prepare for exams

Most of us mere mortals out there (fact: there's at least one or two aliens in every school who will do well at almost everything, usually with the exception of sport) have a time where we do badly at exams. Now, there's a time and place for fails. I'll tell you now, the acceptable place to either metaphorically or physically faceplant is NOT at your desk in that quiet hall full of people. It's usually on a Friday night when you're out with mates, getting pissed and doing silly things. On holiday when you go skinny dipping and your clothes get washed away. On the weekend, when you plan to try and get up and end up in bed until gone one pm. NOT as you sit down in the Room of Doom. Don't let your mind go blank. better still, don't let your mind be blank.

I have some tips which should, hopefully, help you study a little more successfully.

Firstly, pick subjects you're interested in if you're going to attempt to do any good amount of work to an acceptable standard. This goes without saying, really.

Secondly, accept that sometimes you'll have to sacrifice time you'd have spent doing other things in order to get work done. You want to play WoW? You want to read some of that HILARIOUS book you got for Christmas? Fine. Just do it AFTER you finish your work. Some level of prioritisation is useful.

Set yourself a goal. "I will do ten essays today" is probably not achieveable. "I will revise one whole topic of (Subject X)" is better. Subject X will be all the more understandable if you don't flood yourself with it.

Past papers. Oh my god. They're beyond useful. They help you with timing, with clarity of work. And they'll teach you, if nothing else, to READ THE QUESTION and proof read your answers. When your hand is spewing out words as fast as your mind tells it to, there are likely to be a few silly mistakes. Go back and check. Clever people don't not make mistakes, but they do correct them before others get the chance to catch them out.

Mark schemes! Don't do a past paper without having the mark scheme to hand to check your answers. That being said, don't read it BEFORE you answer. You won't improve unless you know how to rewrite and evaluate your work.

Extra essays. These are the bane of my life, but boy are they useful. Write an essay, send it in, get a lower grade than you want? Keep a copy and update it. Trust me, three weeks down the line it's much more useful because you've learnt what mistakes you've made. ALWAYS read what you've written.

Stress a little bit. No stress is the same as saying, "don't worry about missing that bit out". Of course you should. Just don't let it get to the point where you feel like you're imploding. When something is set, try (and really TRY) to do it that evening or afternoon. You get it out of the way and it's usually better quality than the piecemeal shite you'd have written much later on (say, the night before the deadline).

Revision timetables. These make revision manageable instead of daunting. They also mean you can actually go and see your friends and chill when others are stressing. Keep your work under wraps, and you won't miss anything out. Good organisation is tantamount to exam preparation and studying. You need a set time to do things, because that way you can get into the routine of it.

If I've missed anything out or you have anything you'd like to add, comment below.

Happy reading, folks!

The magical adventures of Christmouse

News news news! In what can only be described as a surprisingly satisfying cliche, I received socks for Christmas, again. Don't see it the wrong way, though; I asked for them. My room is pretty cold most of the time (in comparison to the rest of the flat, at least). It's currently 18.2 degrees (Celcius, not Fahrenheit!!) so it's bearable. My feet, of course, aren't cold. Why, you ask? Because, dear reader, I didn't get just any socks for Crimbo. No, I got ski socks. Proper ski socks. From animal. And they're green and black! And they're padded on the front and back! And... Okay, I'm starting to rhyme, which is a sign I should stop.

I've always wondered, when geniuses get bored in exams do they answer in rhyme instead of the normal way just for a change or challenge? Perhaps they answer in iambic pentameter, that'd be awesome.

So I have a bit of an embarrassing tale for you all. If you've ever seen an advert (it was on UK TV for a while) in which  lady drops a mug of tea on her laptop... You can see where this is going. I had a major cock-up incident in which I knocked over a mug of hot ribena. If anybody reading this doesn't know what ribena is, you need to google it, find out if your local shop has some, and then go and get it. But as a matter of opinion the one with no added sugar tastes best (just so you know). So... Yeah. Great taste. Even my laptop liked it.

So, new keyboard, whoop!

Now, you'll be wondering who the heck Christmouse is. Basically, I still have a stocking. My mum (I mean Santa or his elves) fills it with silly little things. This year I got a Newton's Cradle (everybody needs one, let's be honest, they're endlessly entertaining) and a toy mouse that, when you press its belly, belts out a verse of "Let It Snow" in an adorable high tone. I love it. It was duly named Christmouse.

Anyway, I've had this idea that, as I'm going to university in September (subject to grades), I will take Christmouse with me and take photos of him and show my family (and probably you folks, too) what I'm up to and what's going on. I wrote my mum a note explaining that there is likely to be at least one scene in which Christmouse takes over Cathedral City as mayor (Cathedral City is a cheese), but he gets fired because he eats the citizens and buildings. I'm very proud of the silly pun.

So hopefully Christmouse will be going places this year. I hope to find my camera (yes, I've lost it) and start ASAP. Note: Help me find my camera!!

Aside from that, I've got examinations next week and so I doubt very much that there'll be anything particularly interesting out of me for some time ( I mean until they're over). Unless you want to read rants of paranoia about not having done enough revision, that is.

Happy reading, Folks!!

Victoria

HOLIDAY (kind of)

So I'm back again! Back from the abyss that is preparing for holidays, back from the pit that is exhaustion at the end of the school term... And back, most importantly, from Germany.

I appreciate it's been a long, LONG time. But I've had fun! I've been busy. I don't just sit there doing nothing. I do things, see things. We saw Sans Soucci palace (it means without cares- OHNE SORGEN)... And we went to the Jewish Museum in Berlin, which was harrowing, possibly partially due to the fact that as we were translating from German it took longer to read and to find the information (though there are panels in the museum next to the German ones which have the English, I was testing myself). Taking a long time to read these chunks of information means that they really hit a home string. We (there were eight students and two teachers) read about the experiences of Jewish children and families during the Holocaust... I highly recommend going and seeing for yourselves. Unless you were on the trip with me or have already been (though it won't hurt to go again). It's on Lindenstrasse 9-14, 10969 Berlin. The building was designed by Daniel Libeskind, who after having completed the museum was suddenly in demand. His work is revered.

So on this trip, there were two teachers (as I said), me (a Year 13), Anya, Huw, Sadie and Tegwen (Year 12s), and Abbie, Rowena and Mel (Year 11s). I felt a bit odd being the oldest non-teacher there. We had a lot of good conversation, a lot of snooker games, and a LOT of food.

We were there for four days. I hate flying. I loved walking back through the front door, though, because my mum cried. Four days, I know. I cried too. A mixture of tiredness and having missed her so badly... It was amazing.

I'm afraid I got up at quarter to five and need to try to fill a full day tomorrow, revising and decking the halls. Probably not with boughs of Holly.

Advent, Advent, ein lichtlein brennt... I can't remember the rest, but it was two or three weeks ago I heard it...

FROHE WEIHNACHTEN!!! Merry Christmas!

Have great holidays/ festivities!

Happy reading, folks!

Essay day

Lots of English schools are closed today because our teachers are off striking in order to somehow raise their own pension packets. Two things: because they're not working, they don't get paid for today (clever...) and they're also not going to change much. Petitions and pressure groups, people! Those are the only things that will work at this point! That or replacing David Cameron (our Prime Minister, and an idiot) with someone who can do the job better.

I'm not looking to start a political debate here, I'm just saying. I'm not saying I'd do a better job, just that he's doing a bad one.

In other news... As we have a day off I've been watching The Godfather (I say been watching because it's almost three hours long so there are breaks every now and then), cooking lunch (took half an hour; SO worth it. I hate fast food. Just because it takes less time does not mean it's good for you. In fact, the rule is kind of an inverted thing. What you really want is either raw food all the time (salads and stuff, but I like meat and fish and hot food in general so that's not really possible) or food that takes long enough to cook that you actually RESPECT it. And take the time to ENJOY it. I get up half an hour earlier than I need to, because I want TIME to enjoy my food and appreciate where it's come from. The fact it's usually coming from the toaster is something to be ignored. I don't like to wolf stuff down. Among other things, it makes me feel sick. It also means I feel hungry more quickly afterwards.

Today has also been an essay day. That means I've done essays all day (probably quite self-explanatory but for those who didn't somehow work it out, there you go). Today is German essay day. I'm doing topics like wine-growing in the region of Rhineland-Pfalz and the commersialisation of Hallowe'en. We have to be pretty specific this year with what we choose to write about. It is difficult but enjoyable.

Right, I'd better finish this next essay ("Watching television on your Laptop saves electricity and money").

Happy reading, folks!

Finally!

Well, three things have finally happened in the last week that I have been waiting for/ waiting to do for AGES.

Timesheets
I finally got my timesheets in, so it looks like I might actually get paid. Which is, clearly and obviously, a good thing. Not because I will die without the money; because I have worked a lot of hours and getting nothing for it would suck now. Anyway! It took me an hour to fill them in, you have to be pretty meticulous and quite neat- no mean feat for me on a Friday.

Holidaa-aa-aay
It is FINALLY half term. I expect to see students and children running amok on the streets, going AWOL (although in this case I suppose they DO have leave)... Generally doing crazy stuff. A2 is difficult! We do, contrary to popular belief, study rather a lot of the time. I'm not complaining about the studying, don't get me wrong. But... You know, six or seven weeks in a row feels like a really long time. Too long, almost. It is fun, it is interesting, indeed.I do enjoy it just a little bit (alright, alright, a lot). But it's tiring, truly tiring. I'm tired a lot of the time. Not exhausted, but tired enough to fall asleep in the middle of a class. Oops. And apologies to my friend Aggie, on whom I fell asleep. Sorry!
I plan to do a lot of work this holiday. Yes. And have a lot of fun too. Now I work at the ice rink I don't have to pay for ice time, so it's much easier to practice without running myself into the ground financially, so to speak. I love this. There's a lot more freedom to spend money on other things, like winter clothes (I don't actually own a scarf, hat or gloves, or any warm shoes) and crazy capitalist things such as STARBUCKS EGGNOG LATTES. 'Tis (almost) the season!

Is anybody else getting that Christmas feeling yet? Oh man, I've had it for about a week now. I reckon you might see a post soon about my Christmas wish list (I don't actually ask for all the things on it, nor do I have the space for them, it's just my fantasy presents list, within reason). It's gonna be a bit out there. I already have ideas!

Third "awesome sauce" thing that's happening is that I should be able to start my tutoring of younger pupils soon. We conduct Cognitive ability tests in year seven, and this year quite a few of the younger pupils aren't so hot on their reading skills. Evidently this is a problem for them because it means they'll struggle in their work, so I'm going to go and help them. Our first lesson is going to be a little off-topic, but it's all good, it's just an ice breaker.

I'm going to ask the students three questions. The first is,

"A bat and ball cost £1.10. The bat costs £1 more than the ball. How much does the bat cost?"

I hope they'll find it either a really silly question, or a bit difficult. Bearing in mind, this is a little bit to do with reading, and a little bit to do with logical cognitive thinking. I just want to see how they deal with it. There are other questions and activities I want to set them as well, just to find out how they work things through and how they see tasks. It should prove to be quite interesting, I think, as I have to find out how best to help them and to do that I need to know how each student feels about, and approaches, learning.

Right, lesson plans!

P.S. Congratulate me, I just broke my phone. Wonderful.

teeny tiny terrors (should grow the hell up)

So recently I've been going up to main school to talk to some of the teachers there (various endeavours require student-teacher conversations, it's unfortunate). Anyway, I've heard tiny tiny children (the year sevens, they'd be cute if they weren't so vicious and rude) yelling all manner of insults at each other. What is this? Why do young people not know how to argue properly any more? It's truly ridiculous, nobody ever seems to sit down and calmly talk through anything, instead it's all yelling and throwinf various things- insults, punches, chairs, and so on.

This miniscule scrap of a kid the other day yelled the words "Oi, get off me bruv, you gayboy!" I fail to see why being gay is a bad thing, something to be used as an insult, and as for all this "bruv" business, you merely sound like you can't pronounce the word broth properly. Year sevens, in short, are idiots. Anybody who can run into me at top speed (not that fast, they only have short legs, remember) and bounce off my chiseled abs (ha!) without so much as a sorry... Deserves to be shot. In the kneecaps. Hopefully with some sort of gun that sports exploding bullets, or something.

So yes, a note to the year sevens: Go away. You are deceptively small, fast, and apart from being completely cuturally unaware ("What you doing man?! That's so gay! Oi battyboy! Fuck you!"), you are ruining our precious language. You are also required to not get in the goddamn way. I have to say please more than twice and your name goes in the black book, you little bastards. I don't care that your mummy thinks you're special. Learn something. Read a book, "y'all". If you can't read, then it's no problem, not for me anyway, because then you can't read my insults. Har har har. LEARN TO READ. Learn some respect. Then, keep to yourselves. Wow.

happy reading folks!

Jobbing tendencies

I've recently found that, no matter how much you love your job, if it's on a Sunday, it can be hard to get up. How many people want to work on a Sunday? The pope and pretty much all ordained ministers aside, I can't think of many people who jump with joy at the prospect of effectively cutting their weekend short, even if it is for money.

On the subject of jobs, I've been offered another one (I really hope I get it. Though it doesn't pay incredibly well, it will actually save me money, which is excellent). I'm hoping to start turoring at school soon as well. It should be fun; I'm having to do a lot of lesson plans, as I did in the summer holidays in France, so it would be nice to put them to use instead of merely having them sitting around in a drawer.

Secondly! I'm into training season now, which means going to the gym and skating more than ever. I need a new pair of wheel for my rollerblades, as during the summer I used them all the time, and it wears the wheels out. They're not particularly safe anymore. So yes, gym training and no white bread or pasta from now on. Brown pasta and bread has a lot more fibre in it, which is great for your digestive system. The easiest way to put it is "it makes your tummy happy" (I should advertise more).

Thirdly, Christmas is on its way (I know it's about two months away but you can stick it until you've got that festive feeling!), which means I start looking for silly things to wear to entertain my friends. At the moment my favourite candidate for this purpose can be seen here. I think those things are bloody expensive for what they are, though. But fun, oho, so fun. If I were to wear them and stretch I'd not get a cold stomach! Always a good thing.

Fourthly, it's half term soon, and I'm relieved because there's a lot I want to do, like finish painting my room (it's been half purple, half white for a while now, and I'm trying to paint over all the purple and then cover it in a very light blue so it looks a bit better). Hopefully I'll be doing that next weekend. Next week is our last week in school before the week-long holiday. I plan to do a lot of work in that holiday, as I use holidays to revise a lot. I find it easy to memorise books and subject matter if I just sit and read it so holidays are fun (also ice skating and gym time, whoop!)

Hopefully some of you will click this link (below). Go to the site, at the top it says "authors", click on Nathan DeGraaf; the guy's a genius. Cheers!

http://www.pointsincase.com/

Have fun, and happy reading, folks!

High fives and can-can kicks all around!

Not only did I yesterday finish a ridiculous amount of homework (I'm not whining, the teacher actually apologised for it at the beginning of the lesson), but this morning I received note that I've been chosen to represent my schools (I go to two different sixth forms) by the Debating Society. Score one for me! I was tempted to high-five the teacher who told me, but I thought yelling a rather loud "YESSSS!" would suffice.

Apologies, dear readers, for not having informed you of the audition for said society on Monday, but I wasn't completely sure I'd be accepted and therefore thought that to jaunt was to flaunt too early in the game. Had I not gotten the place, I would have had to explain why, etc., etc. hence my silencio on this little matter.

Secondly, I've cut my hair again. I like it better short as it's easier to deal with (not very short, obviously; I don't want an afro!) especially in the winter when a little bit of neck-coverage is important to keep out those nasty chilly breezes.

I'm in love with four-colour pens and big coats at the moment. I don't go well with wool and fluffy bits, though, but I do have a stunning winter coat. For any girls or guys out there who don't have at least one coat that falls almost at the knees, you don't know what you're missing. I love that coat with a passion I didn't know it was possible to have for anything other than hot, considerate guys and chocolate. You can quote me on that.

However, it has been so darn hot in England today, that there's no need for a coat. Or a top. I walked home in a shirt and bra today (and jeans, yes). It's ridiculous; my body is gearing up for the winter and then this happens?! I thought I was going to turn into some sort of melanoma-riddled prune at any moment! What a great travesty English weather is. We complain when it's hot, or when it's cold, and when it's raining, we always talk about it. SHUT UP. It happens all the time (note my terrible hippocrisy laid out bare for you all to see)!

Secondly, revision tip: find your favourite learning method, people! It really helps your memory. Alternatively, improve that noggin of yours by joining lumosity (google it) and having a go on there. If nothing else, it's a fun and possibly pseudo-constructive way to procrastinate.

If you're having trouble with procrastination methods and tricks, go to this website and have fun.

It's elemental, my dear...What, son?

You can all chide me for terrible title, but I think it's funny so tough stuff. There is a point to it, actually. If I'm completely honest, over the years there have been a few people I call my close friends, and they've stayed with me, but quite seriously a lot of the people I know just aren't that interesting. It's not that nothing happens, I'm sure lots of things happen to them that they find interesting; it's just more that the things they find interesting, I find boring. So, perhaps they're more acquaintances than friends.
Anyway, one friend I've kept in contact with is 22 23 8 3 (look at the title and figure it out if you can). We got along for ages and then there was this long break when 22 23 (for short) got into trouble with drugs and alcohol. Anyway, it seems she's out of that phase, which is great because she was such a lovely person before, she just made some daft choices and that led her down a treacherous path. Thank god she fell off it, though. I talked to her today and she sounds better.

Anyway, yesterday I was walking home and I saw 22 23's older brother (the older older one, not the younger older one). He's much more focused on work now as well, and it's nice to see that a year or two makes such a huge impact on somebody's life. Of course it does. Even catatonic people must experience some tiny fragment of change over two years.

I've been wondering for a while whether I want children (totally unrelated subject to the above), and what kind of lifestyle I want to lead. What do I want to do? Will I get married? Will I have children? What will I be doing in ten years' time? Will I be happy? I think that's my main worry. It's not what I'll have, it's whether I'll appreciate it. I see so many people here in England who spend their time complaining... Of course, sometimes bad things happen and you can feel a little down, but most of the time I think it's much better to see the good side. Walk away from depression. It doesn't have legs, it'll take a very long time for it to catch up with you if you're content.

I'm still reading this cracking book (The Vampire Lestat) by Anne Rice. I've also fallen even more in love with a band I'm interested in. If you don't already know them, I highly suggest you youtube Rizzle Kicks. Sylvester and Rizzle are amazing (not their real names, I'm sure you've guessed). They mix rapping, remixes, instrumentals of well-known tracks, and singing. They are ACE.

Not particularly good if you want to concentrate on homework though. I have a classical music playlist for that.

Questions welcome on any aspect of this post or any other post, as always. I doubt I mentioned it before, but I like questions.

Happy reading, folks!

P.S. I'm trying to work out what my worst habit is. I'll report back when I find it.

Recklessness and stupidity

I've realised a lot of things about myself in the last week or so. Firstly, I really need to start going to the gym again, because I've developed a liking for burgers. I refuse not to eat the things I like, so to make up for it, I make sure I'm doing enough exercise. I'm no slob.

Secondly, I just can't talk to guys. This will bug me for a long time now. The thing is, once they know you like them, it's alright, because you're not a total idiot all the time (well you are but they at least know why). I'm not doing well so far.

Thirdly, if I don't do homework, no matter what I'm doing I do get a bit bored eventually. Which kind of sucks. Today I had the fucked up experience priviledge of having to restart a piece of homework after an hour's work, because I hadn't read the question properly. Sometimes I hate myself enough to restrict chocolate. Turns out, the essay wasn't on criminal liability, it was... Well, the title is "The term recklessness plays a vital role in determining criminal liability, yet its meaning appears uncertain. Critically analyse the meaning of the term recklessness in criminal law".

That is painful.

Fourthly, school takes it outta me. I'm dying. I'm so tired every weekday evening, sometimes I go to bed at nine. I find myself looking at the clock at seven thirty and thinking, "Would it be socially acceptable to say goodnight now?" Of course it wouldn't. I refuse to go to bed that early unless I'm ill. Unfortunately (or not, depending on how you look at it), I am almost never ill. I wish I were ill a little more often; it's so peaceful in my room during the day. There is, however, one major problem with sleeping when it's light outside. I can't. I like my room to be as close to pitch black as is possible before I sleep. I unplug everything except my alarm clock, and I plan to unplug that too once my bodyclock wakes me up at seven every morning. I'm looking forward to not relying on technical what-nots to wrench me from sugarplum dreams; I want to be capable of doing that myself.

I've been wanting a bit of change for a while now; I think I'll cut my hair soon. I know it's getting towards winter, but trust me, with this amount of head fluff, hats are difficult to find. Ones that fit comfortably, at least. Currently it's shoulder length. Dark, dark red. With a blonde streak (I was testing the dye for a friend. It blonded my hair more in ten minutes than it did hers in an hour and a half). I got completely rid of my old computer. SWEET! So much more room on my desk for porn mags homework and school books.

I'm going to go to bed, you know. Sorry for the boring post. To make up for it, watch this. It's hilarious :D

Happy reading, folks!

P.S. I'm loving this cross-through thing, useful. I could have a lot of fun with it... And I probably will.

Aaaaaand BACK to the future!

So basically before the holidays we were doing a lot of stuff at school to prepare us for university, for having to apply to university, for alternative options, etc. etc. (i.e. THA FYOOOTYAHHHH) and we had to fill in UCAS forms online, including where we wanted to apply and for what course (and so on and so forth). I did mine pretty early, got most of it done by July 25th (except the personal statement bit and some other stuff) and then I got the WHOOP WHOOP ONCE IN A LIFETIME invite to go to UCL (in Laaandaaan!) for a couple days, for Law, my favouritest subject in the whole wide world aside from ice skating (okay so favourite academic subject). So, I'm going there tomorrow. It's to prepare for the Law course at uni and the LNAT I'm also going to take to get into a couple of the unis who want it. Not all do. It is the National Aptitude Test for Law; obviously I'm hoping to pass with flying colours.

There is, however, a catch. Well, kind of two. A) I have to get up early tomorrow morning - so I should really reeeeally be asleep right now... five fifteen, baby. Ooh yeah. I like the smell of a painful awakening in the morning... ugh. B) it's the weekend before we go back to school- I usually spend this weekend chilling out, instead of spending lots of money to go to Laandaan (woo!) and stay in a swanky hotel with my muzzer, as she insisted upon accompanying me. C) (added erkness) I have to wear a skirt. Now, while I like my legs all that much (okay not THAT much), it's gonna be bloody freezing and I doubt there will be large quantities of cream of chicken soup to ease the pain. Mllluurrgrhhh...

So yeah. Five fifteen. It's quarter past midnight now... so I have five hours. Wh-- Oh, sod it. Goodnight folks, and happy reading!

In Preparation

...In preparation for Year 13, I'm beginning to do some work. For instance, I went to the dental hospital again today, and got my wire changed. I wanted a shiny new one for school, you know, to be presentable (okay in truth I just needed it changed but this makes it sound like I was more willing). Anyway, the appointment was at 10:20. I got up at 10:12. You should have seen me run! I impressed myself, to be quite frank.
I have been preparing in the form of beginning to write my personal statement. I'm doing well, but I'll probably never post it for you all to have a look at... That seems very out of order and kind of an infringement of privacy (as if Facebook and this blog don't already shine light on the most private facets of the diamond that is my life). Anywho, it takes a while to write. I have time set aside.
While we were in France I completed some lesson plans, which I hope to put into use when the new school term starts. I'm optimistic about the outcome of this new opportunity; it gives me something useful to do when I would otherwise be possibly wasting my time, and it helps others, so that's a go-go all round. I'm happy.
Back to the ground, this orthodontic treatment... I know it'll be worth it in the end, but for now it just really hurts all the time. I don't like to take painkillers, it's not a major pain, but it is annoying FO SHO.

Therefore, distracting myself with Youtube (whoop! Luka Salic! Whose Line Is It Anyway! Various other videos!) and books ("Sports Nutrition", "Sports Science", "The Working Body", etc. ) so I'm not bored, as such. But still, the holidays... after a while you're just looking for something to fill your time. I've reached that stage - where I'm somewhat looking forward to the new term, just for something in terms of constructive activity...

Also, all-liquid diet because my teeth hurt. Soup ahoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNvmxBNqGTc&feature=related

Cheers, m'dears!

LEARN

I've had an idea which I hope will really take off come September and the new year.

I've always had quite good grammar and spelling-literacy and numeracy in general, to be totally immodest... But I know that for many children this is not the case. While they are somewhat tested and truly helped regarding basic issues at primary school, once pupils are in year seven and above they may sometimes receive little or no help in these areas, and when they do receive help it can be a bit fleeting-for the following reason.

Teachers often don't have the time to help with these skills. I've always felt that teachers have it hard- we dislike them generally (even the nerds do at points) because they set us homework and they often set us to work with (often) a focus on their subject and the homework associated. Some students/pupils don't think about is the effort that teachers put into helping them succeed. Teachers mark everybody's work-you only do your own. They have twenty times as much work to do as you. During school holidays, they're planning lessons and trying to catch up. As a result, they can't always help us. The problem is that sometimes between a teacher and a pupil there isn't the most friendly relationship.

So, my idea is called "LEARN". I figure there are lots of pupils who want help but don't want to ask for it. Teachers can be very condescending, leading to a lack of enthusiasm in the pupil to learn and to go to lessons. In my time in secondary school I've seen huge amounts of truancy and many people with attitudes that are (at best) less than productive.

So, I'm not a teacher. I'm a pupil. And I want to help the others, for free, in order to help them with their GCSEs. If children are willing to learn but haven't been able to, for whatever reason, reach their full learning potential. I'm not an authority. I'm not above them. I'm just in possession of more knowledge and willing to share it for free to anybody who wants it.

What do you think? I hope to start the first LEARN group in September. I'll be focusing on speaking, writing, reading- spelling, grammar, and diction.

Happy reading, folks! Comment with your suggestions if you like.

Right, I thought this was the best way.

This is the homework I got this week, I've done it according to subject.

Art-Collect Sex Pistols and London artwork images.

BTEC-None

Child Development- 1) First Visit- background info. Compare the child to some form of the text milestones or another child.
2) Work out a task title.
3) I can't be bothered to write it all down here but the outline is, there's a hell of a lot written in the back of your planner and you have until February do this task. Aim high. Don't suck.

English-Summaries of: Act one::scene one
Act one::scene two
Act one::scene three

Plus a diagram of Macbeth's qualities with interrelate with who he is and his personality.

German- 1) Learn the past participle spellings for a test [DONE]
2) Write a paragraph stating your opinion on "Urlaub am Strand" (a holiday on the beach) and then on "Urlaub auf dem Land" (a holiday in the countryside).

HEX- relearn the punctuation. []SELF SET[]

Maths- 1) pg 318 (Ex. 30.1) questions up to fifteen.
2) pg 324 Q 1-8 -- Review Ex.

Science- 1) finish off the questions on page 41 :) compounds are colourless
2) pg 3-5 in workbook
3) up to pg 7 workbook
4) workbook all up to alkali metals part (18-22)

And that's all for this week plus Maths and English coursework. Does your school insist on this much crap to do at home? I'm a nerd and all but this is just TOO MUCH!!

ELLLOOOOO!

Wow, in a much better mood now I've done some homework, I'll admit that... Today, oh today, what a shit day it was but still, it could have been a lot worse, I supposes. :) Feel like saying hi to Joe, Peter, Pickle, Dim, (get well soon Latvian) and also DAVID because we just made up the awesomest name for him.

Woo maths coursework, so challenging it's almost fun but not quite, but nonetheless I look forward to tomorrow when I'll have to work late late into the night on it :D because I has done like NOTHING and it's due in on Friday!! SCORE, failed the timing on that piece miserably.

English coursework; erk, the new teacher is more well informed than I thought he would be and HE KNOWS. Obviously I'm not as organised as DGB thinks I am (don't go near him, he's a scary mothertrucker) and I'm gonna get BEATEN by the English dept. for this. Badly.

MANNNNNNN ther's a lot of Child Dev to get done in the next five months... Sucks but it's gonna be fun so :P hopefully I won't tire too easily of all this stuff in all these subjects. I'm having fun being under a little extra prtessure.

Ohh, had the first german lesson of the year today. Year has begun in nerdy fashion, with me translating most of what the teacher says to the class. James Bailey laughed at me. He has very straight teeth. So do Tilly and Shana. Lucky sods. Not that mine are all over the place exactly, it's just that I've gotta wait another like year until I can get braces because my flippin jaw has to stop growing and changing. suckkssssssss.

Having fun? Favourite subjects? What's the worst lesson you've ever had? Get me on facebook, Victoria Howells, the one with the yellow picture *thumbs up to nerds*

For Connel's happiness- "Big up the invisibles!!"

My mixed up life is fun fun fun

wellity well! I has homwork, damn science, damn double science, I love the lessons but I hate having to do stuff at home most of the time because it sucks. Although I did really enjoy teaching myself C4, as I said in my first ever post, on Friday. I only had three lessons today, all of my year eleven did, because there was a double then BREAK, then a double thn LUNCH then a single.

It was okay, I guess, I did some good stuff in art, and Sciences were good, but Child Development, I finished in like five minutes so I sat there and mucked around and ate a blue Space Baton for the majority of the lesson.

Started talking to an old friend of mine on a whim yesterday, and she's really changed. Like, really really. It's kinda weird. But really good, because I've tried with other old friends and it hasn't worked, and this time it really has. Which is GOOOOOOD.

OMG the new site is shit but funny....www.everythingaboutvicky.weebly.com- the FAQ page is okay but it could ALL be so much better