Seventh Kup: Orange

That's right; I have finally got my orange belt! And yes, my title may seem strange at first, but we martial artists from hapkido call orange belt seventh kup. So I've decided to call any belt promotion that from now on. Anyway. Without further ado, to my day.

Role Call was reading, of course. Period 1 was Maths, in which we did some work from a sheet. You know, the type of work which isn't so hard that you just look at it and go, 'Enough of this!', but isn't so easy that you do it in 5 minutes, then mess around for the rest of the period. No, it was just work. It kept me working, though, and I was able to remember stuff that I'd forgotten. So, congrats maths staff, your plan worked. Period 2 was Drama, where we tried to watch 'Thank God You're Here,' brought in by Alice. However, for some reason it wasn't working because the geographical location was off (is it so hard to make DVDs work anywhere? Or, failing that, make the computer realise it's in Australia and not Western Europe? Or am I missing something?). So we tried my 'Fawlty Towers' disc, which worked even though they were both Australian. Does that make sense? No. Do I care? No, because we got to watch 'The Germans,' one of the funniest, if not the funniest episode of 'Fawlty Towers' ever made. Recess was cards.

Period 3 was Commerce, in which Kearney was away. So we didn't hand our assignments in. Bloody hell, that's annoying. However, considering I didn't stay up late to finish it (as some people did; they were annoyed, to say the least.), it's OK. Just means I'll have to hand it in tomorrow. In the actual period, I pretty much read for the whole lesson. We really didn't do much. Lunch was cards with John, Kevin and Victor, as Ebony was away.

It was then School Sport, which was a very big bludge. We started off playing cards, then changed to flicking rubber bands around (this is still in the Main Quad, because they were playing cricket there). I can now shoot rubber bands with my hands, which is somewhat of a feat (well, not really. Anyway.). We then somehow started throwing sticks up in trees to try to get them caught amongst the branches. I don't exactly know how. Victor, Kevin and John all got one stuck up there on their first try, it took me about 20 goes. Oy. We then went to the music rooms, after Cam had gotten back, and messed around on the keyboards. And when I got home, I did some assignment, and at around 7, we left for hapkido.

OK, the title sorta gave away the drama of this. But I'll persevere just the same as if it didn't. I got to hapkido, and I stretched, as I do. Shirisha was there, so we talked to her, and so on. In the class itself, we did quite a few things, including something that we haven't done for a while: rolling. I wasn't bad, though, but I might need some more practice to catch up. After the class, while we were sitting in our circle, Grandmaster Geoff called my name up, and he gave me my orange belt. Me, I couldn't stop smiling. When all that was done, I got a photo, and then I got home, where I blogged.

Comment replying time, one from Mango:
*Mango: Let's see... 'writing a comment telling you that I...' Que? I've tried reading that several times; please, please make that easier to read. The first sentence takes up half of the comment.

And that was my day. Damn, I'm still trying not to smile about getting my orange belt; it's not working. I mean, that took me almost 6 months to get that belt, I think I have a right to be completely and utterly pleased with myself, don't you think? Anyway. Sorry for the late-ish post; blame the PE assignment. And society.

Orange down; next stop, yellow,
AB

Muck-Up Day '09

Yes, it's that day which Year 12s revel in and all others dread: the muck-up day. Norris wants us to call it a "Fun Day" for no real reason, but I refuse to call it that. So muck-up day it is. Anyway. I will be recounting what the Year 12s did and how I avoided or attempted to avoid them, as well as a lot of other things that happened. It was a really packed day.

Before school, I put my umbrella in my pocket, which at first may seem like a bad idea, but you have to remember that this is Year 12s we're talking about, and they really like water balloons. So I got into the school, and had to pay admission (I had no money, so I did push-ups. Hapkido counts for something, because 10 seemed easy.). Period 1 was Science, in which Robson got us to put our bags inside. Probably for the best. Anyway. What we did was check the effects of acceleration with trolleys and masses and stopwatches; it's sorta hard to really explain it. Fun, though. Period 2 was Computer Maths, where we had goes at making pendulums on Geometer's Sketchpad (now, is that awesome or what!). Once I'd figured out how to do it (it involves the x coordinates of points going around circle and arcs connected to the point and so on. It's a lot easier shown than explained.), I messed around with other points making the pendulum go quicker or swing more. Pretty fun, to a nerd that is. Recess was spent mostly avoiding the water balloon onslaught; and the Year 12s were prepared. They had whistles (to coordinate attacks) and a seemingly endless supply of balloons. It was incredible.

Periods 3 and 4 were double Ag, and the whole class went down to the cow sheds to weigh the cows, or something. It wasn't made entirely clear. Most of the class did essentially nothing, and I was included in that majority. I ended up getting out my iPod and playing Solitaire while listening to Tom Lehrer. Ah, good times. We even finished our prac time early, so I was able to get out my cards and play 13 with Tan and Chris and Alan. Ah, I do love cards in class. Lunch was actually spent relatively free from the onslaught of the Year 12s, as most of them were down playing a rugby game with some of the teachers. Now, me being the AFL fan, I gave it a miss, and spent most of the time talking and playing cards.

Period 5 was English, and when I got to the class (we had changed rooms so we could go on the computers), there was nobody there but the teacher. There was a trickle in, as students gradually found the class, but even so there was only about 10 towards the end. So I spent most of the time looking at some other School Certificate papers such as Maths and Science, and surfing Wikipedia. It's fun doing that. Period 6 was History, in which we found out exactly what happened: the Year 12s had taken the sign off the door saying where the class was going. So simple, yet so diabolical. In the actual class, we just watched a video. However, afterwards, it was time to try to get to the station, which in Muck-Up Day is always difficult. And today's was one of the worst I'd seen. But I did get through, after sprinting past Year 12s, ducking and weaving through the splashes of water balloons, and the dash to the stairs, umbrella up. I think I got a few drops. It was great. And when I got home, it was almost straight to the orthodontist.

We got there at about 3:45, and we were out by around 4:30. In that time, I was able to read, and get a new wire put through the braces on my top teeth. I also got my jaw expanded with the expander, as has to be done from time to time. Although, it was business as usual apart from that. When I did get home, and after spending time getting ready, we had to go basically straight to EJ's school for his play.

OK, this I didn't really see coming, though I probably should have. When we got in there, while Mum and I were waiting, we listened to the songs about sailing and the sea and boats and so on that they played over the speakers (including, on one notable occasion, 'Seven Seas of Rhye' by Queen), as well as Sudoku on Mum's phone. However, it was soon time to see EJ's play, and I will say that while the plot was a bit odd (OK, it was bloody strange), the acting was really good. They also sang one song 4 or 5 times, which mostly consisted of the words 'Seven Seas' repeated over and over. Jees. Anyway. We got home late, and I was able to post. But not this one, as I was late. So here I am.

To comments now, one from one person.
*Mango: Fair enough, but just next time, read up first. Also, warn me when you're doing a comment for posts past, I'm just lucky I caught that one.

And that was my day. Sorry for the really late post, but everything you just read got in the way, as well as hapkido and assignments on Wednesday. It's annoying, sometimes, I know, but after things get done, the schedule will hopefully resume.

I can't wait until our grade's muck-up day,
AB

That's Mondaymatics

Well, I was going to title this 'The Beginning of the End.' But, erm, I've already used that (damn my preemptive title stealing!). So I've decided to make a reference to Tom Lehrer, and his classic song, 'That's Mathematics' (here it is. Soon I hope to sing it.). I also use it to mention how it's Monday. So, yeah. Let's have a look at my day.

Period 1 was Geography, where we changed rooms for some reason or another. We never got told why. What we just did in class was look through topographic maps. And I'm not the biggest fan of topographic maps (seriously, what's the point?). We also looked at longitude and latitude; I still can't tell them apart. I am getting better, but it's a slow thing. Period 2 was Science, in which Robson returned! It's been a while. He started off the lesson by talking about his trip to China, in which it appeared he was pretty lucky. Apparently, he was one of two people out of 30 in his tour group who wasn't awfully sick (as in, in their hotel rooms unable to move or in hospital). What we actually did in class (apart from the 20 minute talk about his trip) was look at Newton's Third Law again, featuring another return of the mutant horse (man, I should really trademark that, last seen almost 3 weeks ago (specifically, September 9). Recess was spent talking to mostly Ian about history (ultra-nerdy, I know. But Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire is a really interesting topic) and John and such about Battlefield Heroes.

Period 3 was Agriculture, where we did another budget for a farm. What it really is an exercise in calculator work, and if you know what you're doing, it's really easy (hell, even if you don't know what you're doing. It's putting numbers in; it ain't exactly rocket surgery. Wait...). So most of the class, me included, finished with about 20 minutes to go. So I read for the rest of the period. Next was PE, in which we wrote a mock letter to somebody of your choosing regarding a teen problem in your area of study for the assignment (road safety. Also, damn that's a confusing sentence.). I wrote about my teenage son (I called him Zac, as homage to my book. Which is actually coming along well.) whose car broke. Lunch was cards, as we risked it with the Year 12s around. Muck-Up Day is tomorrow, and they're getting ready. I actually got hit by a water balloon, but I was extraordinarily lucky, and it bounced off me. I'm just amazed that that can happen.

Period 5 was Maths, in which we did yet another practice test. I guess they're getting us ready for the Yearlies and School Certificate, but they're getting bloody boring. Although, it did have one of the easiest Maths questions I've seen for a Year 10 exam (possibly even any exam). What it was is that we had two triangles that were similar. One had sides of 6, 6 and 9. The other had sides of 6, 6 and __. I swear, they must think we're stupid or something. Period 6 was Drama, in which Kolodziej was here, but we didn't watch 'Fawlty Towers' yet again. Instead, we went up to the library and watched a video on the different types of humour, featuring one of the funniest men ever, Rowan Atkinson (I'm not sure who would be the funniest, but he would be up there. So would John Cleese.). When I got home, I did some work, and around 7, we left for hapkido.

Before class, I congratulated Amadeus on his green belt status (he is younger than most people in the class, me included, and he is a green belt. The guy's a hapkido freak.). I was then doing some stretches before class, when I was called over by the receptionist, whose name I still don't know (I swear, I'll learn it soon). She said to me that the printer was out of ink, and then looked at me. I then put two and two together. Basically, when you get a belt promotion, you get a certificate and the new belt. No ink means no certificate, and therefore... (a witch!). So what I'm guessing is that I should have got it today, but will instead get it on Wednesday. Well, here's hoping. And when I got home, I blogged, but not enough. So here I am.

To comments now, but first a comment I got about Friday's post, which I just got.
*Mango: I already went through this! Also, at the end of this sentence, this reply will be exactly 12 times longer than your actual comment! Jees.
Now, Ebony's for yesterday.
*Ebony: I didn't? Well, they're fixed now. Though, yeah, it wasn't actually that interesting of a day.

And that was my day. Tomorrow's post should be a fairly long one, what with Muck-Up Day and going to the orthodontist and all. Anyway. I look forward to Wednesday, when my orange belt may come to me. I'll love that, if it happens, of course.

Damn, you're fun to quote, Tom Lehrer,
AB

PlayStations and Pouffes

Yeah, it's an alliterative title, although that is one bizarre title. I mean, you read that and you think 'What the hell is a pouffe?' Well, allow me to make things clear, as I do mention what it is later on in the post. Also, I mention when I played the PlayStation. So, yeah. To my Sunday.

I got up at 8:15, and after doing chores and all that, I planned to go on my laptop, at about 10 (I spent a lot of time in front of the TV). However, my brother wanted to play something on the PlayStation 2 (we have a 3, but not that many games for it), so I figured I might as well play too. We decided to play Tekken 5 (as we have that), and we started off with our favourite characters: me with Wang Jinrei, and EJ with Yoshimitsu. I won most of my games, before we decided to experiment with other characters. I found strength in Ganryu and Jack-5, and he with Raven (no, not the Questionable Content character, link to the comic provided. It isn't even the same gender.) and Wang, who we both use to great effect (although I use him better, if I do say so myself). Around 11, though, I'd finished up, and I went on my laptop. So I did a bit of blogging.

However, we had to go pick up some furniture for EJ's and my room (it's like a lounge room, but for us. We call it a "Kid Zone" for no apparent reason. Or rather, Mum and Dad called it that, and so we sorta just picked it up.). By we, I mean Mum and I, so off we went. Now, what it is called is a pouffe (pronounced poof, very pun-friendly), although because it is big and has storage space, it's technically called an ottoman (look, I'm not going to get into the technicalities of it. In Soviet Russia, you inform Wikipedia! ...that's still true though, considering it's publicly edited... oh, whatever. Here's the link.). What it actually is a large, padded footstool. So we picked that up, and when we got home, we had fish and chips for lunch. And for basically the rest of the night, I watched TV and blogged. But not enough for Sunday, so here I am.

And that was my day. Sorry for the late-ish post, blame weekend procrastination, assignments and hapkido on Mondays, in that chronological order. Anyway. After I finish my PE assignment, I will try to get back on schedule, and avoid holiday procrastination (which is just like regular procrastination, but with a better excuse).

Sunday really wasn't as exciting as Saturday,
AB

AFL Grand Final '09

Yes, it's that one day in September once again, the one they all sing about (There are actually many AFL songs, but here's the one I'm talking about.). The last Saturday in September; the whole of the AFL season has been building towards this. It's the big one: St Kilda, winner of 22 out of 24 games in the season, with a total losing margin of 7 (as in, if you add all the losing margins, you get 7), plays Geelong, who have played in two (now three) consecutive Grand Finals, being by far the greatest team of seasons 2007 to 2009 (I was going for them, by the way). Anyway. Let's have a look at my day, and in case you hadn't realised, this is going to be a very footy-centred day.

I got up at about 7:30, and after doing chores and such, I did some of my PE assignment (jees, it never ends, does it?). I trawled internet sites looking for stuff, and I did print out a few things. Although I'll need to do some more stuff before Friday, when it's due. So after I did that, I went to play some Battlefield Heroes before the big game. However, it was mostly messing around on a pre-game, trying to work out some of the finer points of rocket jumping and flying and so on (incidentally, I can now fly much better than I could before, as I can actually get the plane off the ground. However, I'm still working out how to land and shoot, which is sorta the point. I mostly use it to get to places.). At around 2:20, though, I realised what time it was, and I went out to watch the AFL Grand Final of 2009 (warning: these next few paragraphs contain very full-on footy. Don't say I didn't warn you.).

The game started off exactly as you would expect in the best game of the season: full-on and intense, with neither side dominating. However, Geelong ended up getting the first goal two minutes in, and 5 minutes later, they got their second. After that, though, the tide of play quickly turned, with the St Kilda backline repelling almost every Cats advance. They could only manage one more goal for the quarter, while the Saints kept marching in (pun intended. Definitely intended. Quite frankly, I think that's hilarious.) to their forward 50, matching Geelong's 3 goals by the end of the quarter, and two behinds to boot (pun also intended.). The quarter time score read 3.2, 20 to 3.0, 18, St Kilda's way.

The second quarter was a weird one, as it brought back memories of the second quarter of last year's Grand Final (seriously, it was like déjà vu all over again.). The ball continued its way to St Kilda's end, although it had trouble working out where the big sticks were. Repeated shots at goal by the Saints ended in behinds from almost every single one, whereas Geelong kept taking the ball and getting the goals. In fact, in the space of 10 minutes or so, the Cats got two goals and the Saints got four behinds. The best part of the play, though, came in the end, when Geelong got two goals in the space of just over a minute (one, on the video replay, was seen to have hit the post, but they paid it as a goal.). However, the Saints didn't like that. They got the ball and added their two goals in two minutes. But it wasn't over, as Cat Darren Milburn (or so says the AFL website. My memory isn't that good.) started arguing with the goal umpire. He gave away a free kick in the goalsquare in the Grand Final, of all things, which ended in a Saints goal. Half-time saw a score of 7.7, 49 to 7.1, 43, with the Cats down by a goal. In the break, I played some BFH. Well, why not?

The third quarter was a fairly low-scoring affair, with there just being two goals a piece for both sides. There was even a period of over 10 minutes when there was no score at all. Not even a point. St Kilda squandered quite a few opportunities, getting three behinds in two minutes. It was a rather slippery ground, as it had been raining on and off for the whole game, really. The stage was set for the fourth quarter, with the Saints up by seven behinds at 9.11, 65 to 9.4, 58.

The last quarter was a really exciting one, as the last quarter of the last game was played in a remarkable fashion. Hawkins from Geelong got a goal less than two minutes in, leaving the Saints only a point up. However, two points to the Cats and three points to the Saints left the game in suspense, as there was an amazing save near the end by Baker of the Saints. Chapman, though, kicked a goal with less than 10 minutes to go putting the Cats in front, and the back line started to get flooded. St Kilda kicked it to open space in their forward 50, for a point, and the ball was kicked long to the flanks. Out came Harry Taylor of Geelong! He marked the ball amongst the pack of players of both sides, and kicked it down the ground, marked by Max Rooke. The siren went in front of goal, and Geelong supporters everywhere cheered, while Saints everywhere slunk. Rooke kicked the ball through for a meaningless goal after the siren, leaving the score reading 9.14, 68 to 12.8, 80. Geelong had won just one quarter throughout the whole game, but it was enough to give them the game. It was one of the greatest games I'd ever seen.

After the game, and after seeing who got the Norm Smith medal, I had dinner and such, and towards the end of the night, I played some more Battlefield Heroes, winning an epic 50-0 game (that's a perfect game, in case you didn't know) with my gunner and John. I played BFH long into the night, finally going to bed at around 11.

To comments now, 1 from Ebony.
*Ebony: Why saddened? Those were great last minutes! And we were talking about something, I suppose... what was everybody else talking about? And it was both an assessment and an exam; it was an exam meant to assess. Both right, I can title how I want.

And that was my day. Mostly watching the footy, and I felt obliged to give my commentary on the game. If you don't like reading about AFL, then you may have found that a bit boring. I actually quite liked writing that. Anyway. Yeah, it's a late post, but it's a weekend. So, there.

Atta way, Cats, atta way,
AB

Extra Extra! Exam!

You see? The 'Ex's are all there and the front of all the words! Extra as in newspaper... Ah, who am I kidding. It ain't the greatest of titles. Can't really think of anything, I'm afraid. Anyway. Yes, I had an exam today, which was about the thing that stands out of all that I did today. So, yeah. Let's have a look at my day, shall we, because this opening paragraph is getting hard to write.

Period 1 was Science, in which Bruce was back. So what we did was go through the textbook, as I think Robson is back on Monday and we will be going back onto motion. However, what actually happened was that the class studied for the exam that was next period (you know the Geography assignment? There were three parts of it. The first two made up the section of the assignment that I've been complaining about, the third we do in class. And now you know the rest of the story.). So after I'd gone through my work, I just read. I like to read, you know! Period 2 was Geography, in which we got the exam question, and did this exam. It was on, to memory, the advantages and disadvantages of aid and issues on social justice. I got about three and a half pages in 35 minutes. I wrote like crazy, and I think I did pretty well. Though we'll just have to see how I went; markers can be fickle (possibly conclusive example: English staff.). It was then Assembly, and I got a High Distinction for the Chemistry Comp. Norris also talked about Johnny, and he said that he turned himself in after Assembly on Friday (considering how everybody was pointing at him and calling his name, I reckon he would have been caught anyway, probably within a few days). And here's the thing: he got rewarded for it. Seriously, Norris just went on about how Johnny (he didn't mention names, though) set a good example for the school. It seemed like he came out well after locking the gate. Oy vey.

Recess was cards, as well as trying to dodge water balloons that the Year 12s were throwing for no particular reason, at least none that was clear to us. Period 3 was English, in which we went back to the computer rooms and had a more of a go at the mock-up of the School Certificate. However, I was slow and didn't get a computer, so I looked at Hewie's one, and also fleshed out some of the character traits and plot and such of the book I'm writing. It's slowly coming along. Very slowly. Next was Maths, where we had another sub. In that, I flicked through a sheet that we got, mentally answered some questions, then read. Hey, it is almost the end of term, after all. Lunch was the usual 13.

Period 5 was Drama, and I had brought in the DVD of 'Fawlty Towers,' ready to give it to Mr Kolodziej so the class could enjoy a good laugh. Or at least, that was the plan. Murphy's Law (Wikipedia knows, it always knows...) kicked in, and Kolodziej was away. Instead, we had a sub who couldn't open the door. When we did, the DVD player was locked inside a cupboard, and she didn't have the key. So we couldn't watch it. Bloody hell. Instead, I talked to Cam for a while, and later, Ebony joined in our conversation as well. Apparently we were having the most interesting talk in the classroom, and that's saying something. Period 6 was Commerce, in which we went up to the library to do some work on our Commerce assignment. However, considering I'd already done mine, I just mucked around on the computer for a period. It's a good way to end a Friday. And after I got home, I did some chores, and then played Battlefield Heroes for a while, getting my soldier to Level 5. But I didn't get to post, so here I am.

That was Friday, as it is and was. OK, trying to think of different ways to do this closing paragraph. Yeah. Anyway. We must rejoice, for this post is almost on time (comparative to the last many posts). So, rejoice. Tomorrow's post will be more than somewhat footy-centric (it's a word now), as it's the AFL Grand Final: St Kilda vs. Geelong. Personally, I'm going for the Cats.

An end to a tiring week,
AB

Finishing Up

OK, the title isn't great. But this day didn't really have anything special regarding a better title. So this title it is. Anyway. What I actually mean is that I finished two of my assignments, leaving only PE. Oh, and that exam tomorrow on Geo. But I can't really do that at home, so I don't really deem it an assignment. Well, without further ado, let's have a look at my Thursday.

Period 1 was Ag, in which I caught up on work I missed on Monday. You know how I said that I didn't miss anything important (if I didn't, I am now. I may or may not have put it in a previous post. Ah well. You know now.)? Well, what people neglected to say is we got heaps of sheets in Ag. So I spent the period taking notes from Hewie from what he had written down, as well as trying to keep up with today's work. Oy vey. At this point, there are many people to blame: the people I asked about Monday, my brother for giving me the bug, the little bug itself (technical term: pathogen, but this isn't a nerdy type of... OK, maybe it is. But that's biology. I'm a physics and chemistry guy.), or myself for not checking. Say what you want, but we all know that all the blame belongs to one body. I'm not going to say the obvious, but you know what I mean. Period 2 was History, in which we were allowed to go through the Geography textbook for last-minute work on the assignment. However, the textbook isn't too helpful, so I took some precursory notes for myself and read for the period. Recess was 13 with the usual group, as John and Andy had come back. They weren't here because of the dust storm.

Period 3 was Maths, in which we had a substitute teacher that I had never seen before, who hadn't been doing any teaching work around the school (as far as I know of), and didn't tell the class her name. Congratulations, anonymous substitute. She gave us revision work on trigonometry for the period, which Mango and I finished about half of (I read through it, mentally did some questions, actually did some questions, then got bored) before the period sort of became playing tic-tac-toe and real life minesweeper. A1 for you. Period 4 was Science, in which we had Baxter for our class. So, with Baxter filling in for Bruce, and Bruce filling in for Robson, we have a class with a teacher who is substituting for a substitute. I hence call this type of teacher a dub-sub (as in, double substitute). Anyway. What we did for the period was read through a sheet on how our body protects itself against disease. I thought it was pretty interesting, to be honest. Lunch was cards, and for pretty much the entire second half I was waiting in line for Kevin and me to get a sheet for school sport. I remember last year it took maybe 10 minutes. Now it takes an entire half of lunch. Hurlstone continually amazes me.

Period 5 was Commerce, in which we had our second-last lesson on the computer labs. This was a really productive period for me, as I worked my way through two or three questions of my Geography assignment. I also finished my Commerce assignment, which is really good, as it means I'll be able to do only a minor amount of work tomorrow in Commerce in the computer labs. We also voted for prefects for next year, currently in Year 11 (Years 10 to 12 vote for the Year 11s, apparently). I just voted for the people who I'd heard of. Period 6 was English, where we went to the computer labs to look at a mock-up of the English School Certificate. If that's anything to go by, then what they are saying is right: the Yearlies will be harder. When I got home, I did some of my Geography assignment, finally finishing it. Then, after I printed it out, I decided to relax with some Battlefield Heroes. I did two relatively memorable things: I got up to Level 13, and I took out a plane with a tank. I was trying to kill another tank, and some guy flew in front of my attack. That was so epic. However, I only got halfway through posting, so here I am.

And that was my day. Sorry about the slightly late post, although it's much earlier than all the last times. Who knows, I might even get back on schedule! Although that may or may not happen. Eh, we'll see. Anyway.

Thank god those assignments are done,
AB

Another One In the Dust

OK, there was a dust storm in Sydney today; I'll get to that, most likely in the first real paragraph. But, you know, I had a most favourable opportunity to quote Queen (what other songs have 'dust' in them?), and I did. You know how I love Queen, and if you don't, you really should. Anyway. Let's have a look at my day, which was just downright bizarre in some cases.

I woke up at 6, as I do, and I looked out of the window, you know, just glancing. The whole of the outside was a dark orange colour, almost red. It seemed like the windows were tinted; it was freaky. It was as if the house had been teleported to Mars. Wikipedia already has an article on it (I mean, wow, that was quick), but it also has a picture. The outside of my house looked something like this (I didn't take this picture, mind you. But the whole of Sydney looked like this, so, yeah.). It started to clear after a while, after powerful winds swept the dust cloud away, gradually but surely.

When I got to school, most of the dust cloud had gone, but there was still dust on almost everything. Periods 1 and 2 were PE, in which Wilson said that, due to health problems caused by the dust, we couldn't go outside. So what we did for the two periods was go into the dance studio and look for magazine cutouts in Men's Health and those types of magazines for our PE scrapbook (which is due Friday week. Goddamn!). However, as I'm doing road safety, and that was in none of the magazines (I didn't really expect it to be), I just read the mags, read some of the book I brought, and worked out the plot for the book I'm trying to write. I haven't looked at it in a while, and I thought that I might as well get back to it.

Recess was 31, since John and Andy weren't here. Period 3 was Commerce, in which we went to the computer rooms to do some more of our assignment. I really hope I finish soon; what with the Geo assignment and the PE assignment. Oh, I can't wait for the holidays. But, yeah, pretty much the entire period was a bludge. Most computer periods are. Lunch was 13 with me, Kevin and Victor, since Ebony was with her friends.

Next was School Sport, or rather it would be if not for that dust storm this morning. Like in PE, it was still a health hazard (it apparently was to be for the whole day). So what we did was go to one of the Ag rooms and watch 'Groundhog Day.' So what we did was go to one of the Ag rooms and watch 'Groundhog Day.' (OK, that was intentional. If you have watched the movie, you will find that funny. If not, you will most likely be completely confused. Watch it.). While we watched the movie, we also played cards. After Sport (in name only), I got home, and did some assignment. At around 7, we left for hapkido.

Shirisha was there (she wasn't there on Monday, apparently), but Grandmaster Geoff wasn't. I'm not entirely sure why, but I suspect he'll tell us so next Monday, if he's there. Instead, we had this black belt (I'm not sure of his name, but he's there a bit), who worked us quite a bit. After my class off on Monday, I was still working into it. At the end of the class, while waiting around in meditation, I saw the receptionist bring out an orange belt. My heart rose in anticipation; and sank in disappointment, after it transpired that it belonged to somebody else. Soon, soon I will get it. When I got home, I blogged, but not enough. So here I am.

To comments now, one from Mango.
*Mango: Curse you and your radians! I've known about that calculator function for ages, man, and you take it off me. That just ain't fair! Lol.

And that was my day. Sorry for the later post, although it was a much longer one. I do like the long post, though you may have already known that. I just like to write a lot. Anyway. I'll attempt to get back on schedule soon, though we'll just have to see.

Don't I love to quote Queen,
AB

Guess Who's Back

...at school. OK, I'm trying to keep up this good title run. This one may not be as good as the last two, but it's probably better than some of the other ones. Anyway. Let's have a look at what happened on this Tuesday, in which I actually went to school (as evidenced by the title and explanation), and I wasn't even sick once.

Before school, it transpired that Mum had been sick in the night; she'd caught our bug. Though, if it's anything like ours, she'll be better soon. Period 1 was Maths, in which I found out that I missed a period on radians (and after all that time messing around on my calculator using radians... Here's the Wikipedia article for it, just in case.). What we actually did was start a new topic on probabilities, but, of course, nobody was around to get my 'Hitchhiker's Guide' jokes (Infinite Improbability, Heart of Gold; read the books if you have no idea what I'm talking about. They are excellent.). It was a fairly boring period, really. Period 2 was Drama, in which we watched the videos for the ads for all the groups. Kolodziej marked the wrong videos at least three times, by my reckoning; and ours looked pretty good, I think. We had to cut it down, though, by about 30 seconds, which led to it looking a bit rushed, to say the least. Ah well. It still looks pretty good. Recess was cards.

Period 3 was Commerce, in which we went to the computer rooms to do some of the Commerce assignment. The assignment is coming along well, though we'll still need some more time on the computers, of course. After the Geography assignment, of course (thanks for reminding me, me!). In between periods, I stopped by the office just to hand in the note saying why I was away. Period 4 was Science. In that, we had a look at the agar plates. There were mixed successes, with some getting 15 on the good part of the plate, as well as a lot of people who got next to nothing (Ebony actually got more on the sterilised part of the plate than the supposedly bacteria-friendly section. Why is a good question.). We also heard more of the presentations, and got our marks back (I got 4.5 out of 5. As, seemingly, half the class did as well.). Lunch was cards. We also learnt Andy's middle name: 'Phuc.' I don't think it's pronounced like... well, you know, but it's still pretty funny. Like that city in Thailand, Phuket. Anyway.

Period 5 was English, in which we read a short story dealing with the odd one out. This one was about an overweight teenager who is on a camping trip (I think) with friends and she realises that one of her friends is ultra-skinny from bulimia. I mean, skin-painted-on-bones skinny. Yeah. That wasn't actually badly written. Anyway. Period 6 was History, in which we watched a video on Gough Whitlam (did you know his first name is Edward? Neither did I!). Pretty much a bludge really. And so for the rest of the day, I talked on MSN and did some of my Geo assignment. On MSN, I was also told by Leeza that it was confirmed: she was, in fact, coming to Sydney! Ah, good times.

To comments now, 1 from 1 person.
*Mango: Well... yeah. There used to be heaps of people reading (or at least commenting), and now there's not that many. Ah well. That happens.

That was my day. Sorry for the late post, blame society (damn them!). And also this thrown off schedule. Eh, I'll get around to putting posts up on time soon. Until then, late posts will be the norm. I'm sure I've said this before.

I like being free from illness,
AB

Doc Doc, I'm There

OK, that's a play on words for 'Knock knock, who's there.' But, that's sorta obvious (and if it's not, then damn.). And quite frankly, I am enjoying this great titling run. Two days may not seem like a lot, and it really isn't. But two days is a long time in posting (it really is. Well, in my blog anyway.). Now, to my day, before I start ranting too much about late posting (and short posting as well. Although, I do have to rant about something. I mean, what else would I do?).

I woke up at around 6:30, and we all decided that we would stay home for the day. My argument was that if I was sick and I went to school, then I could be in some trouble (sudden urge to vomit + being in class = bad!). So I figured staying home was the best idea. My brother had a different idea which led to the same conclusion (that is, staying home from school), and Mum concurred. So we got ready for the day, and at about 8:30, Mum drove off with Oma for the station, seeing as Dad had left for Canberra for a bit. I waved to them goodbye, and watched them leave. Mum got back soon after, and at around 10:30, we left for the local doctor's.

We spent a bit of time there, and the essentials of what he said we had is a stomach bug, a virus that should go away within a few days. On his computer, he said gastroenteritis which (according to Wikipedia) sounds bad, but seems to be medical speak for what I just said (the stomach bug, in case you're wondering). He also said that I may get diarrhoea (pretty sure that's how you spell it), which sucks. We got home at about 11, and I did a bit of my assignment. I look forward to a time when there won't be any assignments due for a while (so, holidays). And towards the end of the day, when I didn't have diarrhoea (thank god) and, to boot, I hadn't vomited for a while... I actually didn't go to hapkido. I know, I know, but my health does come first. Should go on Wednesday though, when I will hopefully get my orange belt. Here's hoping. Instead, I played some Battlefield Heroes, trying to get some decent screenshots. I also listened to some of the Brownlow medal count, though not much because of time problems. However, I didn't get to post so much, so here I am.

And that was my day. Sorry it's a rather short post, but when you really didn't do much, then there's only so much you can write (Sunday's was only longer because of the comment and the waking up really early, and even then...). Ah well. This stuff happens. I should be going to school tomorrow, so expect a long-ish post for then. We'll see, at any rate.

My sickness, I hope, is improving,
AB

Fully Sick, Bro

OK, now this is a title I like, and a lot (I mean, jees, that's a good title). What I don't like, however, is what it refers to. I am sick, I think. At least, if you consider vomiting a sign of sickness. That was what I was referring to yesterday with the cliffhanger at the end of yesterday's post. So, without futher ado, to my day.

I woke up at 1:30 (Yes, in the morning. There is a reason, as there really should be if you wake up at 1:30.) to the sight of my brother vomiting (what a great way to start a post). However, I was in that state of being half-asleep, so all I could really do was look. So after the necessary arrangements, I went to go sleep in another bed (as EJ is sleeping on a mattress in my room, because Oma is over); and I promptly vomited. Everywhere. I didn't even see it coming: one moment I was fine, the next I wasn't. So after that was all cleaned up (causing my mother no end of annoyance; understandably), it was about 2:30, and so it ended up with me crashing on a mattress in yet another room (yes, I just wrote a paragraph and it's not even 3 in the morning blog time. This could be a record.).

I woke up again at around 7:30, and I wasn't feeling the best as you could probably guess. I went in to read more of my book, 'The Lost Symbol.' (Will I ever get tired of flaunting this book? When the novelty wears off. When will it wear off? ...Eventually.) However, after I'd read the book a bit, I ended up just collapsing on the lounge. I was still awake, I mean, but I had very little energy, considering I had emptied my stomach, so to speak, a few hours earlier. However, I was able to get up and get breakfast, and the day continued in a very mild manner, with much reading and watching TV on the lounge (rest is good for sickness, and I don't sleep during the day. Not since I was a kid.). Towards the end of the day, though, I managed to get some dinner. And halfway through that, I vomited yet again, though I think it was because I ate it too fast. At the end of the night, I blogged, but not about Sunday, that much. So here I am.

To comments now, 1 from 1 person. Haven't got one in a while, you know (hint hint, reader!).
*Mango: Sounds boring; wasn't. I just couldn't express it as well. ...That's it? Seriously? Ah well. Comment's a comment.

And that was my day. Monday's post will hopefully not be as late as this one; we'll see. Assignments may or may not get in the way. But, if they do, then just blame society. I do. It's fun. Anyway. It was also a short post; that was mainly a weekend thing, as well as a 'I didn't do anything' thing.

Curse my illness!,
AB

A Big Barbecue Bash

Other rejected titles included 'BBBQ' (The extra B is for BYOBB. That's a typo.), and 'AB: A Barbecue' (which sucks, quite frankly). Anyway. Yes, today we had a barbecue, with Shay's family coming over, and, well, let's see how it all pans out when we get there.

I woke up at around 7:30, as I had decided to go watch the cricket game that I would be playing in if I had not given it up for hapkido. We left at around 9, and I brought my magazine and 'The Lost Symbol,' the new Dan Brown book that Oma got me yesterday afternoon (oh yeah). So when I got there, I talked to people, and I eventually found somewhere to sit, where I intermittently read my mag or book, and watched the cricket. However, at about 10-ish, Dad and I left the game (which was still going, by the way) to go see EJ bat. It lasted all of not very long, as we saw 2 overs, after which it was time to swap over. We would have spent more time at the ground waiting than watching him bat. Anyway. When we got back, our team was already kicking ass, and they ended up bowling them all out for 40 or so. That's a win of about 80 runs (in a Twenty20 match, so 120 odd is good), so it was a convincing win. We got home at about 11:30.

When I did get home, I had some lunch, and I promptly went to do a bit of my Geography assignment. Only a bit, though, because we also spent a lot of time rushing around preparing for the barbecue that came as a big surprise to me. Shay got to our place at around 6, I'd say (I know I skipped a bit. It wasn't that exciting, believe me.). So we talked for quite a while, and we (everybody except EJ and Lachlan) regaled everybody with anecdotes from our past. Dad tells the best stories, I think, though I don't want to sell a lot of people short (the tale of the broken whipper-snipper was also told, to much laughter.). Dinner was good, and after that and after cleaning up, we went into the loungeroom to watch the Cats-Magpies game. Oma is a Collingwood supporter, and pretty much everybody else in the room was not. So we watched the whole game, although Shay's family left just before the end, when Geelong were sure to win. And they did, with the final score reading 120-47. I went to bed at around 11, but sadly the night was only just beginning...

Sorry for leaving you at that cliffhanger, but the rest of the action in the night (pun not intended) happened in the early hours of Sunday morning, and this is Saturday's post. So in the next post, all shall be revealed. Also, an explanation for why this post is rather late will be given. And if you don't like it, well, neither do I. Ah well. It was also a fairly short post, mainly because it was a weekend. Sunday's post will probably be even shorter, though it's not a definite thing.

A barbecue amongst friends; summer in Australia has officially begun,
AB

Bright Bludgy Days

I am referring, of course, to a Tom Lehrer song called 'Bright College Days.' Because, you know, I couldn't think of anything else. Anyway. I did have a big bludge today, which is a good way to end a week full of working on assignments like there's no bloody tomorrow. So, to my day, because this post is late as it is.

Period 1 was Geography, in which we watched a video (you reckon that our school would start to get some DVDs soon. I mean, there are some DVDs, but videos far outweigh them.). It was on corruption in Africa, though I forget the actual country. I do know that they spoke both Swahili and English there though, and so after checking the Wikipedia page for Swahili, as well as some other Googling, I'm pretty sure it was Kenya. But don't quote me. Period 2 was Science, in which I did my presentation on juvenile diabetes. I used the chalkboard as well as my sheet, and I think it came off pretty well, though a fair bit of it was impromptu. Next was Assembly, in which we talked about the gate incident (but what would the media call it. They couldn't name it after Watergate, as they love to do: Gategate just sounds retarded.). When they mentioned it, it seemed like everybody turned to look at Johnny, and everybody kept saying 'Johnny! Johnny!' Recess was cards.

Period 3 was Ag, in which we started a new topic: farm business management. It's about as exciting as it sounds. And if you think that that sounds exciting, then there is something definitely wrong with you. Period 4 was PE, in which something strange happened. Before class, Wilson got us to fix up our uniforms (like, the top buttons. Ouch.). And it gradually got bigger and bigger, until we got to the end of the class and Wilson was still lecturing us about uniforms. Bloody hell. We didn't do any work, though. Lunch was the usual.

Period 5 was Maths, in which we did yet more trigonometry. It wasn't incredibly difficult, but it wasn't a walk in the park either. There were some problems that were really fascinating, and that carried on to the next period, Drama. In that, I worked a bit on the maths, but it turned to more matters of drama. We did our Oedipus modernisation, and I played a fortune teller (who rhymed), a police officer and a doctor. My favourite was the doctor. I actually did impromptu for most of my lines, but they worked. I thought they were good. Anyway. After my day at school, I went home, and for the rest of the night I pretty much got on my computer, watched the Saints-Dogs game (the Saints were lucky, I think. I wasn't going for them.), and played some Battlefield Heroes.

And that was my day. Sorry about the late post; blame society and weekend procrastination. Also, expect more late posts, though I could pull ahead and get back on schedule. It may not be likely, but it can happen.

Weekend; yes!,
AB

English Finish

Which rhymes! Sort of. Anyway (ignoring my title please). What I mean is that my English assignment is finished! Hours of work since Saturday have finally culminated in one 8 page booklet. But not before many setbacks and turmoils. All this to be explained in this episode of AB: A Blog (I still haven't got theme music yet).

Before school, while at school, we talked about the English assignment, and Ebony brought up the fact that we had to include the class text in one of the questions. My jaw dropped open. I didn't do it. Luckily, it didn't have to be done straight away. Period 1 was Science, in which it transpired that we didn't have to do our presentations just yet. Oy vey. What we actually did was swipe some bacteria from benches onto agar plates for no apparent reason. We also got, in what was seemingly inevitable, a completely new assignment, due next term. For the love of god... Period 2 was Geography, in which I did both some of the English and the Geography assessments. Ah, it never ends. Recess was cards.

Period 3 was English, in which we discussed the movie that we'd been watching in class, 'Shine.' We all had differing opinions about some of the stuff that happened in it, but I think the majority of the class liked it. I certainly did. We also talked about the techniques that were in the movie, which I guess a lot of people used to do a lot of their assignments on at the last minute. I started mine on Saturday, though. I'm the smart one (S-M-R-T, I mean, S-M-A-R-T). Period 4 was Maths, in which we did some more 3-D trigonometry. Really hard trig. Like, you try to figure it out and your brain starts short circuiting trying to figure it out. That type of thing. Lunch was also cards.

Period 5 was Drama, in which we did more modernisation of 'Oedipus Rex.' But, as Cam was away on some Irish music festival (I think; don't quote me), I ended up going with Allie, Lucy and Alice. Near the end, the class did some of their presentations. The absolute best has Pradeepti, Rutherford and Tansy in it, so they kicked ass. Tansy was Oedipus, who worked for a gangster, Pradeepti. Amy was a prostitute, which is where the whole giving away the son, then later "marrying" him came in. It was hilarious, and they called it none other than 'Underpus.' Classic. Period 6 was Commerce, in which I did some of my Commerce assignment. It's a neverending cycle, hey? After school, we went to the gates to get to the station, as we do: only to find that they were shut. Not just shut, but padlocked. I then put two and two together and worked out that it was Johnny, who had a lock and chain with him at Lunch. We did manage to get through, though.

When I got home, I did a lot of my assignment, and around 6:30, Oma arrived at our house after Dad and EJ came by from the station. Usually, I would be talking to her for ages and so on, but English still wasn't finished and it had to get done. So I worked until about 8, when it was finished. Of course, my luck dictates that it can't possibly be that easy (Annoying!), and it took me and my dad an hour to get it working, after the email stuffed up and we had to get the printer working. Oy vey. But by 9 it was printed and done, and I then spent the rest of the night blogging.

And that was my day. Sorry about the late post; it was actually weekend procrastination this time, as well as the assignment. Ah well. Soon I'll get back into the schedule, and then a little stress will be alleviated from my assignment-filled life.

One assignment down, too many to go,
AB

So Much Assignmenting

Yes, I use assignment as a verb. As in, to assignment, meaning to do assignments. Assignmented, assignmenting. Anyway. Enough title explanation. I know the title isn't too good (well, it's bad. No getting around that.), but there was a lot of work. Hell, I've complained about this before; you should know this by now!

I woke up early this morning, and I used the time productively to finish my Science assignment. One down, too many to go. Role Call was us doing a vote for next year's SRC, or rather, voting for a new member for next year's SRC. I'd say who I voted for, but it's a secret ballot. So, yeah. I hope the people I voted for get in, anyway. Period 1 was Ag, in which we went down to the farm to finish off the mulching of our potato beds. By the time we got through doing them, ours was one of the tallest in the class (across the whole grade, even), and definitely the thickest. It looked like a gigantic hay caterpillar monster (if you'll pardon the lack of poetry there). Of course, many Ag prac classes are just excuses to listen to my iPod, which I did. Period 2 was History, in which we did some work on Gough Whitlam. Just some standard stuff, really. Recess was trying to think of names for a new soldier I'm thinking of getting (he's not going to be my main guy, of course. I just want a spare soldier.). Some ideas that were thought up were OMG-SMG, AchillesHeal, RhysPawn (as in, respawn), and my favourite: YellowSubmachine. Yes, they are all plays on words, but I love them all.

Period 3 was Maths, in which we started a new topic, which we found is Extension 1 work for Year 11: 3-D trigonometry. From what I can understand, it's just like regular trigonometry, except it can get a lot harder. Sometimes it's pretty simple, a bit like the trig we're used to, but sometimes it gets a bit complex, to say the least. Lunch was cards, of course, and we got asked to leave the Science block by Crancher (a Maths teacher, mind you) for something that we'd always done and never been told off for. Yeah. Thanks, Crancher. Sport was rugby, and so it was my sacred and sworn duty to try and get out of it as soon as I could. I found a way that often works: find somebody who wants to play who isn't playing, and switch with them. We don't usually switch back. We played cards for a while, and we realised that the 10 of clubs was gone. Nowhere to be seen. Damn. After Sport, I printed out my Science thing in the library (since my printer is being somewhat uncooperative. Read: it doesn't work.), and found the 10 of clubs. It was back where we were playing cards at lunch, of course. I also talked to Ebony for a bit. We talked about whether the plural of Millennium Trains is Millenniums or Millennia (meanwhile, this spellchecker doesn't recognise millennia as a word. What the hell, spellchecker?). We also talked about the new Tangaras, as we were on one. When I got home, I did a lot of my assignment, and around 7, we left for hapkido.

Shirisha went today, but Shaylee didn't. And she won't, because she gave me a call, saying she quit. She apparently couldn't balance everything, what with work and all, and she gave up hapkido as a result. Bugger. Ah well, though. I suppose that happens. The class today was a real workout, as the first 20 minutes or so was spent doing isometric exercises, stretches, push-ups, crunches... You get the picture. One big workout. The rest was good, although I didn't get my orange belt. I guess I'm still waiting for it. Ah, maybe Monday. We'll just have to see.

And that was my day. I should be finished my English assignment by tomorrow afternoon or tomorrow night, depending on how things work out. We'll just have to see. The posting will all relate to what happens then.

I will be so glad when this week is over,
AB

Grins and Gridiron

Yes, it ain't the greatest title. However, this day was not one for a good title, so I had to turn to an online thesaurus (oh, how that thesaurus has saved my ass so many times), and look up comedy, because there was some funny stuff in my day. And grins worked. Yeah. Anyway. To my day, which has a late post, naturally. Blame assignments and society.

Period 1 was English, in which we finished the movie 'Shine' that we'd been watching for the past few periods. We're gonna be talking about it for the next few periods, which I think will be pretty good, surprisingly. Of course, I'd rather be talking about the assignment (it's due on Friday, dammit!), but this is good too, I suppose. Period 2 was Maths, in which we did some of the chapter review. It's fairly simple, and it was just pretty much working. You know, no bludging, no stressful work, just doing work. Recess was cards.

Period 3 was Drama, in which we went to the music rooms (since the Drama room was closed for the HSC music courses; go figure), and went to modernise 'Oedipus Rex.' I was with Cameron, and we twisted it up like crazy. The ancient Greek classic tragedy with King Oedipus in it turned into, after some brainstorming, into a comedy (or at least black humour. It's comedic, anyway.) set in the deep south of America (which is really funny considering what happens in the play) with the owner of a farm, Cletus (Cam's idea. I thought it was too 'Simpsony,' but I got shot down.). Period 4 was Commerce, in which we went to the computer rooms to start (get this) another assignment. I actually should be pretty thankful: all the other classes handed theirs in today, and we have 5 periods of class time to work on it. So I suppose it would save time clashing with all the other assignments (which are Science, English, Geography, Commerce and PE, in order of when they should be handed in). Lunch was the standard, although it did result in a pretty, shall we say, dramatic exit from me as I realised that I did not have my PE stuff with me. I said 'Excuse me' in a calm voice, then shot off like a rocket to the computer labs, with a loud 'Crap!' to sound my exit.

Periods 5 and 6 were double PE, in which we did Gridiron. I learnt from my mistakes of Monday, and decided that stopping people with my hands was perhaps not the best idea. However, I did take up the position of, when defending, stopping people with my shoulders and my body weight; and when attacking, either running around people or barreling straight through them. That was pretty fun, actually, and I don't think I really hurt people that much, which is lucky for me (except Corinne, though, when our arms smashed into each other. Sorry, Corinne!). And when I got home, I did some of my assignment, and attempted to print something. However, it turns out that there was no ink in the printer (and on the week when two assignments are due. Spectacular.), and I had wasted precious time. Oy vey. But I did get some done, though I didn't get to blog. So here I am.

And that was my day. This post was too late, but mainly because of hapkido, assignments, and a backed up post schedule. Everything's just happening at once, I suppose. Ah well. That's the way the world turns, hey?

Assignmenting will soon have to go into overdrive,
AB

A Manic Monday

Allow me to say that that is not such a lame title, I am quoting (probably misquoting) from Futurama, and specifically, Love and Rocket (I'll let Wikipedia explain, if you are one of those poor individuals who hasn't seen Futurama.). Anyway. Now that that's over, I can get to my day, so that this post isn't so delayed. Assignments, remember (although I wish I could forget)?

Mum drove me to school, as we left late and otherwise I probably would have missed my train. However, due to the car travel time, I actually got to school early, so I was able to do a bit of my assignment at school (I sent it to the school's computers just in case). Period 1 was Maths, in which we did some Maths stuff that looks difficult but was actually somewhat easy (did you know that the square root of 8 multiplied by sin 15 equals the square root of 3 minus 1? Neither did I!). One of the boarders (I think her name is Zoe) also came to our class for some reason. No idea why. Period 2 was Drama, in which we went to do some acting out of a scene from 'King Oedipus.' (I keep calling it 'Oedipus Rex,' if only because of the Tom Lehrer song. Listen to it on Youtube.) Remember on Thursday when I was doing that assignment? Turns out we were supposed to be practicing for this very performance. Goddamn! Luckily, Cam and I didn't have to do it today, and the scene we picked out isn't particularly difficult. Recess was talking, and cards.

Period 3 was Commerce, in which we went to a seminar in the library about how we should study Law at the University of Wollongong, much like the Thursday before last when we did the same for Ag. It wasn't a bad presentation, but it got sort of rambling towards the middle, and the person started speaking in a bit of a monotone. Although, based on their presentation, it sounds like a really good Uni. Anyway. Period 4 was Science, in which we went back to the library (I know; again), and did some work on my Science assignment (OK, this is utterly ridiculous.). Corinne, Lana and I also talked about our Ag presentations. Apparently mine was 'epic.' I know it sounds like I'm bragging, but... I am. I'm proud of my Ag presentation, man! Lunch was the usual, although we did talk a lot about movies for some reason. It also led to Shafi asking us if 'The Lion King' was Japanese. Oy vey.

Period 5 was English, in which we watched a lot more of the movie 'Shine.' It's getting really good; I would recommend it. The best thing is that the guy who acts like he's had a mental breakdown, Geoffrey Rush, also plays Barbossa from 'Pirates of the Caribbean.' I swear, you would never realise that they were the same person; they don't look or sound the same. At least to me. Period 6 was History, in which we did some work on Gough Whitlam, and how he was ousted (ousted is a weird word. I mean, look at it. Anyway.) in the constitutional crisis of 1975 (let it not be said that I don't learn anything in class. Although, in all fairness I did know that beforehand). I got home at about 3:30, and after a lot of work on my assignment, it was time for hapkido.

Shaylee had work today, so she didn't go. But Shirisha was there today, although she came just in the nick of time. Beforehand, I handed in my attendance card, signature sheet, and $35 to the front desk, so that I can get my orange belt. It's only a matter of time now! In the class today, we started off doing catches and all that, and we did starjumps for the first time in a while. And in case you're thinking, 'Well, they're only starjumps,' try doing 120. On a hot day. In a long sleeved uniform with long pants on. Hapkido gives you quite a bit of a workout. About halfway through, though I had another panic attack: and I refused to let it show. So I pushed through it, and sure enough, I got it to stop, even in the middle of exercise. These are good signs, people. And when I got home, I blogged, but not enough. Ah well.

Comments now (yes!), 1 from an anonymous person (even though I think it's pretty obvious who it is):
*Anon: I know assignments are more important than computer games, Dad (lol). And I do agree with you about balance. You know what they say about all work and no play. I laughed when I read that 'breaking things' crack (pun intended); that's good.

And that was my day. Sorry about the late post, though I've already explained this and shouldn't have to explain it again. Probably. Anyway. I'll try to get back on schedule, but assignments come first, I'm afraid.

Hooray for comments,
AB

The Neverending Workload

I refer to the book, 'The Neverending Story,' which I have never read (a book I've never read? Dun dun dah!). I wanted to reference that for yesterday's post, but I couldn't really think of anything. But I did think of something today, and this is why the title is what it is. Anyway. Today was much like yesterday, in that there were a lot of assignments and we had to do the lawns. So, let's see my day.

I got up at around 8, and I got into my assignment as quickly as I could. However, at around 11, maybe 11:30, Mum and Dad unveiled their newest additions to our lawn: a new umbrella/shade (I don't differentiate. That's why I always have my umbrella on me in summer; it gets hot), a new whipper-snipper (because the last one was incredibly damaged. If you missed the last post, I recommend reading it for an explanation and maybe some humour as well), and a new lawnmower, because I think the one that we usually use isn't actually ours. It's borrowed. So we can take it back and get rid of our one, which is also broken, and has been for a while. We were working for maybe 2 or 3 hours, fixing up what was left to be done on the lawns, and setting up for my grandmother's visit (and not Nanny. My Dad's mother, Oma, who is coming down from Toowoomba on Thursday.).

Once we'd finished the lawns, they looked pretty damn good if I do say so myself. Though I might be biased; I did want them over pretty quick. One memorable quote by my Dad about my assignment was uttered at one stage (I can't really put this in anywhere else): 'Stop playing Battleforce Wars!' He meant of course Battlefield Heroes, but he raised a fair point. Not that I'm playing it while I'm trying to get my assignment done; that would be crazy. Only late at night on the weekends when I can't be bothered thinking. Around 3:45, after some time off to do my assignment, Dad started to put some Weed & Feed (I think that's what it's called) on the lawns, and of course our dog, Mario, couldn't be there, as he will eat anything (he has eaten a rock before. He had to get surgery and everything. I might get around to telling that someday.). So EJ and I went to take him for a walk around the park. I got my iPod out, of course, and after EJ went to play on the equipment, I listened to my iPod and walked the dog. We got home at around 4:15. So for the rest of the day, I did more of my assignment (which is getting finished slowly, but surely), and towards the end of the day, I posted. But, due to all the things that have been going on, I did not get to do this post on Sunday. So here I am.

And that was my day. Sorry for the late post, and the short post, expect late posts for quite a while to come. I've got a lot of assignments and they're all calling me. Shorter posts may also become a common occurrence for a while. I'm sorry, I don't like it either, but if that's what has to happen, then that's what will happen, I'm afraid. Ah well.

I wish these assignments would get done quicker,
AB

Working Like Crazy

Let me explain here: I've got an English assignment due on Friday that is a goddamn lot of work, and we had to do the lawns. So you can excuse me if my title isn't very good, my post is late, and/or my post is very short. Because that's why. So, without further ado, to my day.

I got up at about 8:00, and by around 10 I had finished the majority of my chores (up until then, it had been a pretty slow day). So then I ended up getting to my English assignment. After drawing up the table for the second question on Excel, I realised that, 'Holy crap, this could be a really long assignment.' Example: Literary techniques from the first Harry Potter movie that represent the odd one out. How do you do that well? I was a fair bit into the question (although not nearly enough), when it was time for the family to do the lawns, which, as you can imagine, was somewhat annoying, but it had to be done.

Mum and EJ were at cricket, so Dad did the lawnmower and I used the whipper-snipper (I almost wrote whipper-sniper. Lol.). Dad got most of the way through and I got about halfway through when the whipper-snipper began to fail. We got it working a few times, but at one point, it just gave up and died. Nothing I could do could start it again. So I gave it to Dad, who also tried. But it was to no use. Dad, then, got very angry. He hurled the whipper-snipper at the back fence at full strength, which I took as my cue to start backing away, mainly because I was worried about the prospects of danger, to say the least (petrol in whipper-snipper. Petrol is not a very friendly substance. By which I mean of course, boom.). He then started smashing the whipper-snipper against the ground, as if he was trying to beat lumps out of the grass, or trying to chop some wood that was lying there (which seemed like he misunderstood the first rule of fixing things: Make sure it's broken.). I came back hesitantly, and it turns out he was only doing it (at least partially) because he wanted a new one, and he wanted to make sure it was definitely unable to fixed (which I can safely say he achieved). Although he didn't foresee the whole petrol problem. I did the rest of the lawns.

I got back inside at around 2 or 2:30, and I then kept at my assignment. I worked until about 7, when it was time for dinner. I then went to go watch the Crows-Magpies game. Which was a really good game, although it's a pity Collingwood won, by 5 points too. I also played Battlefield Heroes for about an hour, and as my long range machine-gun ran out, I tried the shotgun. Which actually worked pretty well; better than I expected. Though I won't be trading it in for the long range, if only for the fact that I need a long range gun. I went to bed around 11:30, after posting, of course.

And seeing that there are no comments (really not surprising), that was my day. I know it's a really late post; quite frankly, I'm surprised it's not any later. And that I managed to get over 600 words. I mean, my day could be summed up as assignments and doing the lawns, but... anyway. I'll try to get Sunday's post up earlier than this one (relative to when it should be up, I mean. No time travel.), but no promises.

Bloody assignments,
AB

There Will Be Bludge

That, of course, being a reference to the movie, 'There Will Be Blood,' which I have never actually seen, though I am an avid fan of that classic quote by some guy somewhere in the movie: I drink your milkshake! (Allow Youtube to explain. Or at least show you.) Anyway. What I mean is that most of today was a big bludge. So let us adjourn to my day, before this post gets any later.

Period 1 was Science, in which we watched a video on pathogens. Which was extremely old, and very boring. But we didn't do any work, and that's what matters. Period 2 was Computer Maths, which was that most special of Computer Maths lessons: when we are on Geometer's Sketchpad, and we are supposed to muck around on it to prove some point about sine waves. I don't know what it was, or what we were supposed to prove. But it was fun. I also tried to make an ellipse on it, unsuccessfully. Ah well. Then it was Assembly, in which people did some creative arts presentations, for no apparent reason other than they can. Cam played a song, but there were two stand-outs. One guy beatboxed, really well; and another guy did this really complicated version of the robot (the dance). There's really no better way to explain it than: wow.

Recess was 31, since Andy is on an excursion. Periods 3 and 4 were double Ag, in which we went down to the farms to finally plant our potatoes. I spent the majority of the period hoeing the last bits, and carrying hay up and down. I spent quite a while working, and we got most of our work done. I listened to my iPod a fair bit. However, towards the end, it became evident that we were missing two hand trowels. So we stayed behind a whole 10 to 15 minutes; and we didn't even find them. Bloody hell. I then raced back to the classroom, only to find that the door was locked. However, I hit upon an idea, and tried the adjoining room, which was unlocked. I ran through that into the classroom, got my bag, ran back through the other room, and I was free. Lunch was cards.

Period 5 was English, in which we started watching a video (yes, another one). This one is the movie 'Shine,' which seems like a pretty good movie. I went to Wikipedia to check up on a lot of the details later, of course. It was a big bludge, even if we did have to take notes. Period 6 was Geography, in which we went to the computer rooms yet again. The whole Geography assignment is coming together, although it's a lot of work. I will better be able to focus on it as the deadline nears. And it will be coming closer very soon. Oy vey. It's getting annoying. When I got home, I blogged, and I also played Battlefield Heroes with John for a while, while going on Skype. I must have played for hours, improving my kill to death ratio, I'm sure. Around 10, though, I had to go to bed.

And that was my day. Very sorry for the late post and the short post, but I didn't post on Friday, and, well, if you read Saturday's post, then you will understand, for sure. Anyway. Soon I'll get back to schedule.

Thank god for Fridays,
AB

Damn These Assignments

I could come up with a title that is catchy, though it would probably become an exercise in futility as I will most likely end with an alliterative title and call it a day. Or, I could just say that I've had enough of these bloody assignments. 3 periods today were to do with assignments. 3! Anyway. Enough of my ranting and let's see my day, shall we? (Please note: most of that first paragraph was put there because I couldn't think of much. Although, you can't blame me on this one. Blame society!)

Period 1 was Geography was doing the Geo assignment, and it's coming along nicely, if a bit slowly. When some of the other, more urgent projects are completed, I can focus on that. And then I can begin to really focus on the PE project. It's just one of those terms where assignments never seem to cease; there's always another one ready to strike. Period 2 was Science, in which we had Bruce for the first 'official' time, by which I mean Robson left this morning, so Bruce has our class for the next few weeks, so this is his first day actually really teaching. And he started off spectacularly, giving us an assignment due Thursday week. A substitute gave us an assignment. It just doesn't seem to add up. The assignment was that he gives us a disease, and we then make a presentation on it. I did have rickets, but I was able to change it to juvenile diabetes, only really because I can ask Shay all about it. And a good thing too, Wikipedia has maybe two or three times as much on juvenile diabetes than of rickets. Recess was 13, of course.

Period 3 was Ag, in which we went down to the farm to finish up our hoeing. And about time too, although I have enjoyed listening to Tom Lehrer on my iPod. We got into groups, and drew straws to see what row we would fix up. I drew for my group, and got the best row, so for most of the period, we just added a bit of dirt here and there. All of the other groups, though, threw rocks at our row, presumably because we had the best one. Period 4 was PE theory, in which we got into groups, and tried to work out how it would stop us finding out health information, which was a much better period than it sounded. I made many a joke, such as what a doctor would tell you if they didn't speak very good English ('Go find better doctor!'), and a major problem with parents who didn't speak English. In parent/teacher interviews, Wilson gets the kids to translate. Do you see the problem with this? What happens if Wilson tells the kid to tell the parent that they are doing bad at school. Aha!

Lunch was cards, and in which yet another funny thing happened. Andy said 'Get a life!' for some reason. One kid, who was passing by (perfectly ordinary; he was just some kid who happened to be walking near us at the time), just said, out of the blue, 'You get a life, Andy!' And just kept walking. Like nobody had said anything. He hadn't even stopped to say it. He was just walking. It was hilarious; Kevin and I just cracked up. Period 5 was the Year Assembly, in which the school song was slow and the national anthem was fast, and in which Norris talked on and on in a monotone for about half an hour. Period 6 was Drama, and our group was celebrating the finish of our assignment. While going through all of the parts, Shane then asked, 'Who did the justification?' We all looked at each other. Somebody (I think it was Cam) asked 'What justification...' I then asked Shane if he had the notification, and he got it out. There it was: 400-500 words. We all scrambled, and it was up to me to do it, as I wrote the quickest. I wrote and wrote, pretty much continuously, for 45 minutes. I got one and a half pages done, trying to remember the ad, then making up elements such as music and fitting it to the ad. It was tough work. When I got home, I blogged a bit, and I was also able to play Battlefield Heroes for a bit. But I didn't really get to post, so here I am.

And that was my day. Sorry for my late post, with assignments and all that, I wasn't really able to post. And if you don't like it, then I simply say it's my blog. So, yeah. I can't think of any ideas for the closing paragraph (yeah, I know), so I'll just finish up here.

I have had enough of late posts,
AB

Orange Belt Awaits

By that, of course, I mean that I got my last signature in hapkido. Which in turn means that I'm almost at orange belt. There's still some formalities to go through, but it's a near-certainty now. I'll go through all of that when I get to it. But, yeah, that was the biggest thing that happened today, although I will get to the rest; right now.

Period 1 was Science, in which we talked about Newton's Third Law, which was rather interesting and ended with a mutant horse being drawn on the board which originally levitated and talked telepathically (I know that that probably makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. What I mean is that Robson drew a horse on the board which had no mouth and whose legs didn't touch the ground at first. It made a lot more sense if you were there.). We learnt about many technicalities of the Third Law (well not technicalities, as they're aren't really trivial. But rather, it's more complicated than it seems, and we learnt how that happens.). We also said goodbye to Robson, who was going away for 2 weeks. We are thus getting Bruce as a sub; brilliant (warning: sarcasm). Period 2 was Geography, in which we went to the computer rooms to do some more of the assignment. I also spent about 15 minutes messing around on Excel trying to fix some stuff before I realised what I was trying to do wouldn't work; and even if it did, it wouldn't work in the assignment. Goddamn!

Recess was 13. Period 3 was English, in which we did yet more work for Squizzy Taylor, only this time it was quote mining. In other words, find lines in the book that, for example, say he's a gangster even though it's already made clear that he is a gangster even without a quote that says 'I, Squizzy Taylor, am a gangster.' I managed to find an indirect one, but it wasn't easy. But, enough of my ranting. I also had a look at my English assignment, which is due on Friday week. I started on that, which looks complex, but looking at it, it's actually fairly easy. Not incredibly easy, but still. Easier than it seems. Lunch was also 13, and in which Cam told me to do the script for the Drama assessment. Due tomorrow of course; it just never ends, does it?

It was then Sport, which was rugby yet again. And, unfortunately, the system of playing was made so that it was pretty much compulsory to play. There were 3 teams, and they switched around continuously. Or rather, that was what they said the system was. How it actually turned out was different: our team, whose players included John and Kevin, stayed on the field for the majority of the day. And when I pointed out that I did not really know the rules of rugby, I was told that maybe if I ask other people, they'll tell me. Not the teachers, they don't have nearly enough time (well, one teacher didn't know the rules either. So that's useful.). So, for the pretty much the whole game, I hung back and watched people run. I think I got the ball once, and I passed it away as soon as I could. Towards the end, though, our team did finally leave the game, and so we just played 31 for the rest of the day. And after school, I talked with Ebony, and we had a heated argument about AFL versus NRL. I insist that good old AFL is better and that NRL makes no sense; she says the reverse. Hmm. When I got home, I blogged a bit, and did the Drama script, which was only about a minute or so, so not too hard. Around 7, we left for hapkido.

Shay had work, as it seems she now has every Wednesday, but Shirisha was there, which is twice in a week. I don't think that's happened before, but I could be very wrong. The class was going well, and then it was time for my back roll signature. I was slightly confident, but not very. I went for it, and in the end, Grandmaster Geoff said: 'Go as fast as you can.' So I did, and I then promptly got my back roll signature. I did a silent expression of relief and joy (I can't explain it well, but I mouthed the word 'Yes!' while forming my right hand into a fist and brought my arm down, like I was pulling something down slowly. Hard to put it any way else.). I had gotten my very last white belt signature, thus leaving very little in my way to orange belt. The sad thing is that I didn't have to do a roll on my wrong side; the very reason I was putting it off. Oy vey. So what I now have to do now to get my orange is to submit my sheet with all my signatures and the my card with the dates of doing hapkido on it, along with $35 (I assume to buy a new belt), and wait. When I got in the car, I told Mum, 'I have bad news,' while turning away so she couldn't see me smiling. When she asked why, I replied: 'You're gonna have to pay $35...' And then she got it. I called Dad, and when I got home, I posted. But not enough.

And that was my day. Sorry about the later post, but hapkido was in the way, and there was still a post to do. Not a good combination. Ah well. Soon I will get back. Soon. No promises when.

Soon I will be past my orange belt; Hooray!,
AB

Quests and Comedy

By which I mean there was a Talent Quest, and a lot of funny things happened. Well, some funny things happened. OK, my title is slightly faulty. Anyway. Let's get to my day, although I do want to point out that I now have over 150,000 words. I mean, I got it a few days back, and I only just really noticed, and put it in my post. So, yeah. Hooray for 150,000 words!

Period 1 was Ag, in which we did some work on the potato moth. It wasn't too hard; I'd done most of the sheet in the last Ag lesson in which we had theory (which was quite a while ago), so all I really did was copy some stuff from the board and finished my book, 'The Three Musketeers.' I ordered it in March, bought it in April, then left it on my shelf for a few months (I love how I can just check my blog for that, which I obviously did). And I now regret it, for it is a good book. It's not as good as 'The Count of Monte Cristo,' but it is still very good. Period 2 was Geography, in which we went down to the computer rooms to do our assignment. It just never ends. Although something really funny did happen: Tan was being sent out of the room for something (it was never really made clear and Johnson didn't say why), and after he went out, Johnson just sighed and said 'Epic fail.' It was just funny because Johnson seems like the exact wrong person who would ever say 'Epic fail.' It was completely unexpected and out of place and therefore hilarious. She also quizzed Hewie about why his assignment wasn't handed in, and he replied, 'I'm with AB.' Johnson scratched her head and said, 'What's an AB?' (if you're confused, and you really, really shouldn't be, look at the top of this page.) Oy vey. Recess was 13, as usual.

Period 3, which was supposed to be Maths, was instead going down to the hall to see the Talent Quest for Year 10. I had been tossing up doing it, but under consideration I realised that my talents would not be suited to the Talent Quest. I can memorise songs, but I can't sing; and I can recite the Periodic Table, but whether it would be a good idea for the Quest would be another story. There were many performances, with the three that stand out in my mind being Pradeepti singing 'That's What You Do When You Love Someone' (I don't actually know the song, but that's how the chorus went), Cameron singing 'Mary Ellen Carter' (Pretty sure that's it), and Project Wonderful (I think; it was a dance group) dancing to something. I reckon first would be a toss-up between those guys. Period 4 was Science, in which we had Bruce instead of Robson. Yeah. We mainly did questions, but another funny thing happened. Somebody saw a spider on the roof (it wasn't small-fry either, maybe 3 or 4 cm in diameter) of the science block, and Andrew flinched about a metre back. Then Tan, being a smartass, flicked it off the roof in Andrew's general direction. He absolutely bolted, all the way from the science room to past the donut. The poor spider got trampled by somebody else in the process. Lunch was 13, of course, with a few games of 13, and Speed between me and John.

Period 5 was Commerce, in which we talked about trade unions, what professions are in which unions, and the history of trade unions. Which was actually more exciting than it sounds, which, I suppose, would be impossible otherwise. Kearney was also talking about Year Assembly, and how they needed somebody to do something for it. So I said, not really loudly, that I would recite the Periodic Table. However, he heard me, so I may end up doing that. So I'll have to keep an eye out for that. Period 6 was English, which was talking about how yet another character in the book is an Odd One Out. Oy vey, just let it rest already. Although, the character we were discussing was a gangster (and I'm talking about organised crime here), so it was fairly easy. Tan also said something epic (yet another comedy instance): We were talking about domestic violence for some reason (a case of going off on a tangent), and Hancock said something about fists being the main weapon used. Tan, who misheard, looked up and simply said 'Fish?!' After which the whole class cracked up, of course. I mean, it was just hilarious (although fish have appeared in other accidental humour as well. Proof.). When I got home, I blogged a fair bit, trying to catch up. And I did, finishing Monday's post and getting halfway through Tuesday's. But halfway isn't all the way, so this is why the post is late.

And that was my day. Sorry for the lateness and everything, but things just seemed to keep getting in the way. I will attempt to get back on schedule and... you know what, I'm getting tired of talking about my schedule. When I start posting right, then you'll know. Until then, just bear with me.

I have also attempted to stop talking about how good titles are,
AB

Curse My Luck

And it's not only because it was a Monday, or a late post; I'm used to them. No; it was because throughout my day, I had very bad luck. Except for one occasion, so it wasn't all bad. But mostly, yeah, I had bad luck. Anyway, to my day, where you can see the full extent of the unlucky things that plagued my day. Also, I should probably stop exaggerating. Ah well (Side note: I did have overdramaticising, which I think works better for what I'm trying to say, but has the downside of being, when Googled, pretty much only found on Urban Dictionary. What the hell, internet?).

Period 1 was English, in which we went through the book, like on Friday, to look for more examples of how the protagonist was an Odd One Out. I already pointed out the things wrong with that on Friday, so I won't continue, though I would like to point out something funny that happened. Jordan came in late, and his reason was, and I'm writing verbatim here: "chillen in the hood." No, seriously. What apparently happened is that someone else wrote it for him. It was still funny, any way you look at it. Period 2 was Maths, in which Mango and I played many games when we got bored, such as Tic Tac Toe (both of us forcing a draw every time), 3D Tic Tac Toe (on a 2D sheet of paper, no less), and most memorably, Minesweeper, which was played on a 5 by 5 board, and in which Mango tried to do the numbers first (it would have been easier to do mines first, but then, hindsight is 20-20). We then gave it to Justin to figure out, who got it after a while of thinking.

Recess was 13, although I also went to see Mr Pitt, as I was supposed to do on Friday (warning: nerdy science things abound). He started by pulling out two cylinders, both the same size, which was roughly the same size as my thumb, and both shiny. Indeed, looking at them, they were identical in all respects except one was a whitish colour and the other was a darker colour, both metallic. I first picked up the lighter one, which was very light (pun not intended; the former 'light' I mean as colour, the latter I mean as weight). As in, extremely light. Looks metallic, was about as light as foam. The second I went to pick up, the darker one, was almost absurdly heavy. As in, you wouldn't think it could possibly be that heavy, but it was. He revealed that the light one was magnesium, which has a density of about 1.7 g/cm³, and the heavy one was tungsten, density of around 19 g/cm³ (science is amazing). Apparently Robson had told him I had read 'Uncle Tungsten,' (Wikipedia article), and Pitt thus showed me the metals. He also showed me aluminium, which was slightly heavier than the magnesium, and niobium, which it seems not many people have even heard of, much less seen or held.

Period 3 was Drama (yes, I just took a paragraph to explain Recess), in which we made Greek masks, or, rather, masks reminiscent of the classic Greek mask, considering we were making them with cardboard, scissors, lead pencils and crayons gotten from the Art rooms. I did, like a lot of people, blind Oedipus, which I think was creative, although as art it's not too good. Well, as a great man (Douglas Adams, specifically) once said, "I think the idea of art kills creativity." Period 4 was Commerce, in which we went to the computer labs to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper complaining about youth unemployment. Except that we weren't supposed to research, just use what we knew. Which, as we haven't even covered youth unemployment yet, is little. Lunch was 13.

Period 5 was PE, in which the majority of my bad luck came in. We were playing Gridiron, and Chris threw a ball back to the pack, which I was in. They said 'Heads!' I didn't hear them or see the ball. You can sorta guess what happened. Bam! Right on the right side of my head. My whole ear went numb and I was very disoriented. Sadly, that was just the start of the mishaps. I tried to stop people going for the quarterback, so I held out my arms. But I kept coathangering
people. So I thought, 'I've had enough of this.' So I got into a horse-riding stance from hapkido, thus lowering my arms and centre of gravity and braced for the charge. This was one of the worst things I could have done. I dropped my arms about 10 cm. Girls were charging at me. What's about 10 centimetres below a girl's neck? Yes, those. Sophie charged right at my hand. It was an awful faux pas. Sophie looked at me, while my brain tried to decipher what just happened. Finally it clicked, my jaw dropped open, and I started apologising as much as I could. After that, I just stood to the side. Period 6 was a History exam, like those pre-tests we had been doing over the past few days. I finished with about 15 minutes to go (I get through those types of things pretty quickly), so I just doodled on the back of the sheet for a while.

When the bell went, we got home, and around 6:45, we left for hapkido. Shay was there, as was Shirisha, and she had gotten her uniform. Overall, it was a pretty good lesson, bar one thing. I tried to get my signature, my last signature: my back roll. Grandmaster Geoff's exact words? 'Within spitting distance.' If I had just extended my back leg slightly more, I would have gotten it. Almost. I almost had it. That's my luck. So come Wednesday, I will be going for it again, and I'll try to make a conscious effort to do that roll right. Orange belt is within sight, my friends; and I think I'm ready. When I got home, I blogged about Sunday, and I tried to start Monday's post, but I obviously did not get to do it. So here I am.

That was my Monday; full of mishaps. Sorry for the late post; I think I'm almost back on track and ready. I severely hope so, anyway. I'll see how it goes. Also, that title isn't so good. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe. Titles are notoriously fickle.

This is what Mondays do to people,
AB

Father's Day '09

I know that my last '... '09' was a bit of a last-ditch effort for a title. But this title, this title works, as it succinctly says what my day was about. Or, whatever. Anyway. Yes, it is a late post, reading this post and yesterday's post should explain it all. And if you still don't like it, then, well, it's my blog, and I decide when I post. So, there. Well, let's quit the ranting and get to my day, shall we?

I got up at 7:45, when we gave our Father's Day presents. EJ had had a stall at his school, as primary schools do, but I had really no opportunity to get anything at all. So I offered to pay for one of my Mum and Dad's frequent trips to Gloria Jean's. Not too good, but on such short notice, it's the best I could do. Around 9, we left for Nanny and Poppa's, or my Mum's dad (we couldn't exactly go to my Dad's dad: he lives in Toowoomba). When we got there, we saw what Poppa was working on, with him being a bit of an amateur carpenter. I only say amateur because that's not his job, though: he's actually really good. He's professional, if not a professional, if that makes sense. EJ and I then ended up playing magnetic darts, which was his gift to my Dad. We played first to 1000 points (and with the highest points you could possibly get being 100, and neither of us being possibly that good, that took a long while). I won, but it was close. I then went to read my book, and at around 12, we got lunch.

For lunch, I had my standard: as much potato salad as I could get my hands on (mmm, potato salad...). However, my Uncle Jason had cooked chicken kebabs, and I am a big sucker for kebabs. I think I ended up with 5, which is a lot, to say the least. After dinner, we all talked about cricket and footy and what-not, and Poppa then ended up taking out these old photos. And you could really tell they were old; they had negatives (it's like the actual picture, but inverted). He also had these semi-transparent projector slides (with Kodak on them, of course), which, when held up to the light, you could see right through as if they were an actual photo, albeit small, and the quality was really good (as in, if they were taken today. Probably because they were small, but still.). He also got out some really old photos, such as a picture of my Mum at maybe 4, at a guess, and my grandfather's first car and girlfriend. Yeah. I then went to read more of my book. We left at about 1:30, to go to Shay's, to watch the footy.

We all stuck around for a bit, and then Mum went off to our house while EJ went to play with Lachlan on the Wii and trampoline and so on, and Dad and I stayed in the lounge room to watch the Magpies-Saints game. We stayed for the entire game, although Jo and Shay had to go out to do some stuff. That did give me an opportunity, however, to go on Shay's laptop, so I could at least start Saturday's post (which is the first time I could go on a computer of any sort during the day. Hence why the posts are late, and I'm rushing to do this one.). We got home at about 4, after St Kilda won convincingly by 28 points. And for the rest of the night, I tried to blog as much as I could. I did get Saturday's post done, and I started Sunday's post; when my computer crashed. Of bloody course. So here I am, blogging.

And that was how my weekend went. I hope that now you understand why my schedule was thrown out more than it already was, and why now I am struggling to catch up. And with hapkido on Monday, well, I'm sure you can get what I'm trying to say here. Not my fault. Well, not really. Anyway.

I swear I'll try to get back on track soon,
AB

The Big Finals

OK, I know the title isn't snappy or anything. I don't really care. The finals I refer to are, of course, AFL, but specifically, the ones that affect my teams (or rather, the teams I barrack for): EJ's footy team (I do go for them, after all), who played their Grand Final, and the Carlton-Brisbane game. For the sake of some drama, I'll withhold who won which games until I get around to it.

I got up at around 6:15; I'm not sure exactly when I woke up, although I do know I was laying bed for a while, trying to get back to sleep. It didn't exactly work. Dad left before us, and we left at about 8:15. I brought many things, for what I thought would be a long day out at the ground. Specifically, I brought: my iPod, my portable radio, my deck of cards, and 2 books. We got there at about 9:30, give or take, and there was already a game happening: Emu Plains, in Brisbane guernseys, and Rooty Hill, in Port Adelaide guernseys. I decided to go for Rooty Hill, pretty much just because their name was hilarious. Their name was 'Rooty Hill Power,' which just adds to the humour. At 10, when everybody was here, the fateful game started: The Southwest Tigers against the Campbelltown/Wollondilly Swans (the same team they played against 2 weeks ago).

The game started off ominously, at least from our point of view, with the Swans getting a goal in the first 10 or so seconds. However, luckily, the Tigers rose to the challenge pretty quickly, getting their first goal about a minute afterwards. The game was shaping up to be a good one. However, the backlines tightened up, and there was only one more goal kicked for the quarter. One of the Tiger kids, Ben, was also seemingly knocked unconscious near the end of the quarter while trying to stop a Swans goal from the middle of a pack. He came off the ground, of course. The quarter ended at 2.1, 13 to 1.3, 9, with the Tigers in the lead. The second quarter was a big one for EJ's team, with EJ himself getting a goal in this quarter. There were numerous shots at goal for Southwest, but due to defensive pressure by Campbelltown/Wollondilly and some accuracy mishaps (read: they kept missing), they didn't get as much as they probably should have. However, the Tigers did hold the Swans scoreless in this quarter, with the half time score reading 4.5, 29 to 1.3, 9.

Quarter 3 saw a lockdown by the Swans, in an attempt to stop the Tigers scoring and running away with the game. And it worked too, with our team only getting one behind for the whole quarter. although due to Southwest's centre work, the Swans couldn't capitalise. However, they did get one goal for the quarter, which resulted in a massive uproar by the other team's parents. The quarter ended with Southwest being twice the score of the Swans, at 4.6, 30 to 2.3, 15. The last quarter of the last match was then to be played, with only 3 goals in it and the game could have been won by either team. However, the Tigers went in there and played the most important quarter of the season in style, although the accuracy left something to be desired. Billy started to really run, and the whole team fire up. The Swans kicked 7 points for the quarter, but the Tigers kicked over double that, with their highest scoring quarter for the game. The final score read 6.11, 47 to 3.4, 22. The Tigers had won, won the first premiership for the entire club since god knows when. After the game, while they were lining up to get their medals, and I decided to be a smartass, so I just said: 'Coulda done better.' (I wasn't being serious, of course). After talking to people, and after the kids finished their celebrations, we went home.

We got home at around 2, and after I'd gotten lunch and what-not, I went into my room, so that I could blog about Friday. When that was completed, at around 4:30 (I procrastinate a lot, remember), I figured that I needed a break, so I got on Battlefield Heroes. However, I also wanted to see what was going on with the Cats-Dogs game, and I didn't want to leave my room. But then, inspiration struck: my portable radio (I would use my actual radio, but it only picks up FM signals). So I went out to Battlefield Heroes, while listening to the score. The Cats won, and I didn't do so bad myself. Then, at around 6:30, we all went out to Club Italia for premiership celebrations.

When we got there, there weren't many people there, and luckily I had brought my deck of cards. So I played a few hands of blackjack with EJ, and then I decided I'd show him what 31 was. So we played that a bit, and later when we went in to the special occasion room, he offered a game of President & Asshole. I refused, and offered to play 13 instead, which is similar to President & Asshole, but better (proof). Cleveland and Michael from Friday were there, and Cleveland said that he knew how to play. So we started to play that. A few rounds in, I realised that the Carlton-Brisbane game had started, so I took out my portable radio and listened to that. Later, after endless pestering by EJ, and also Cleveland to a degree, Michael started to play, after picking up the majority of rules of the game watching us. Later, after dinner, while the game was playing over the radio, EJ's coach, Alan, came over to listen, and also ended up playing, with the help of Cleveland. And started kicking ass. In the end, though, the game started to break down, and we all went to do our different things. I mostly listened to the game. Carlton were up by 30 points 2 minutes into the last quarter, and it seemed that we were bound to win. But the Lions roared back (pun intended), and kicked 6 goals, and shutting the Blues down. We lost by 7 points, and when the siren sounded, I collapsed back. Black and Bradshaw, after both being ruled out on Friday arvo and being last-minute inclusions for Brisbane, were their two best players, with Black being big in the centre, and Bradshaw kicking five goals. Goddamn. That's awful. Next year, though, we'll be big. So for the rest of the night, I read and listened to Tom Lehrer on my iPod. We got home around 11:30. So obviously I didn't get to post.

To comments, just the 1, but the first for what seems like a long time:
*Mango: Oy vey. I can't be stuffed figuring it out, you gave this to me in Maths. I'm sure it's simple, but I really, really don't care.

And that was my day. Sorry about the late post, but now that you've read this post, and when you read the next post, you'll understand. I'll try to get my schedule back on track as soon as I possibly can; believe me, I'm working on it. But I'm not promising anything.

Great work, EJ's team; There's always next year, Carlton,
AB