Mufti and Movies

This is my third alliterative title in as many days. My name is AB, alliterator of alliterators! Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair (I really couldn't resist. I love that poem. Or, at least, that part of it.). I believe this title is rather straight-forward, so I am not going to bother explaining it. Instead, I'll just skip straight to my day.

Today was a mufti day, ladies and gentlemen, and one that was closer to the school than most. Zoe Diamond is going to Perth to do some big swimming thing (I think it's either a nation or a world thing; either way it's pretty massive.), and we were helping fund her way there, which I think is pretty good. So for the beginning we had Role Call, wherein I played DS, and it was then Assembly, where I continued (OK, I'm a little addicted to that thing. It's fun, though, and that's what matters.). Period 1 was Ag, and the people who were here (which, in our class, numbered not that many), had to clean out the horticulture shed, which basically involved hauling large, heavy sacks from one end of the school down to the other end, to put it in a large garbage bin. We used wheelbarrows, and we got the job done quickly, although Hewie, Alan and I had to clean up a mess we made when a garbage bag split open. Oy vey. Period 2 was Geography, and we watched yet more 'Man vs Wild.' I played my DS. It doesn't really matter (I'm not being a nihilist here, I'm just saying schoolwork is over and done with.). Recess was talking.

Period 3 was Maths, and we were showed something called 'GeoGebra' (as in, geometry and algebra. Nobody said mathematicians were brilliant at creating names. That's not to say the things themselves aren't great, but the names are sometimes hard to come by.). It's a basically free version of 'Geometer's Sketchpad,' and I might get it later. It seems OK. Period 4 was Science, and in this, Robson showed us an experiment we were to do, and which we did (I know that sounds a litte strange. Just, we did an experiment.). What it was was a simple bottle, partially filled with water and attached to a pump. Basically, when you press the pump, you pressurise the bottle, and the air trapped inside. Then, you press a button, and you create a projectile with the bottle, as the water and air is forced out. We were trying it with different volumes of water, and we found something like 300 mL of water was best. It was basically the mass of water versus the velocity it could present. Lunch was the standard.

Period 5 was Commerce, and we went to the library annex to watch a movie on lethal force and the taser. I am personally in favour of it, as I believe it has to be safer than the gun, but I still think more research is needed, just in case (although, being a science nerd, I think more research is always good. So, that's me.). Period 6 was English, and it was our last English period with Hancock, as he has other staffing roles to play, and so Arnault will be taking us for the rest of the term. He's good, I think, but not as good as Hancock. It was also our first real English period without Tiana, who left yesterday, and won't be coming back next year. So, a bit of a nostalgic period, as well as a random one, as we talked about all manner of things (work is overrated.). And when I got home, I blogged a little, and soon we watched a movie, the film version of 'Angels & Demons.' I believe it was good, although it can't really compare with the book. Not many film versions of books really can.

This was my day. I apologise for the lateness; I have recently realised just how far behind I am. So there will indeed be a big rush of posts soon, in an attempt to get back up before the big 300. I, personally, am hoping that I won't need to have an inordinate amount of work, while still getting there. Here's hoping.

I am beginning to really detest the late schedule,
AB

Canberraman

He's a nerd talkin' metal coated Canberraman... OK, I drove to Canberra, and I was just parodying 'Candyman.' By metal coated, I refer to braces, and nerd talkin', well, I tend to use longer words than your average person. Also, have you noticed I explain my titles in almost every post? Would this be because I'm trying to take up space? No. Is this explanation of explanations (and this being an explanation of an explanation of an explanation, ad infinitum) simply to take up space. ...Perhaps.

I got up at around 7:30, and I went to blog. I am trying to catch up, trust me (right now, this means this closing paragraph may be a little strange. Stay posted! No pun intended.). So I blogged a bit, and at about 11 (I know I'm covering a lot in a few lines, but it can all be pretty much condensed to watching TV and going on my laptop. Repetition and uneventfulness are the enemy of interesting posting, as well as longer posting. Brackets partially remedy this. For example: this.). I then went to pack for the trip to Canberra. We were going because Mum and Dad were going to a friend's fortieth birthday party, and it's not exactly like EJ and I could stay home by ourselves (well, I suppose theoretically we could, but it wouldn't be too safe, I'm guessing.). So I packed books and my 'New Scientist' magazine, among other things, into my laptop case (because, of course, I brought my laptop. It would be crazy not to.), and by about 2 or 3, we set off.

I read for about half the trip, maybe a little more. I read mostly from the book Shay lent me, but also from my magazine. For the other part, I essentially did some logic puzzles that I brought, although I got bored of them quickly. I used to love them, but now I'm sorta bored of them, and they're not really that exciting (that feeling isn't that fun. I'm sure most people know what I'm talking about here.). Anyway. When we did eventually get to Canberra, I messed around a little with the phone Dad gave me, which I've started taking a liking to because it can take pictures and video. My other phone can't do that (although it does have some good games on it. This phone doesn't. Ah well. Take some, leave some.). I then went outside and played with EJ a little, and relaxed on the rocking chair, reading. When I get my own place, I will be getting some sort of rocking chair or swing chair or something like that, and read on it frequently. They are really relaxing.

Eventually, Mum and Dad left for the party, and we were left with Uncle Nudge and Darcie (have I honestly not mentioned that yet? Guess not. Well, now you know.). Darcie was soon put to sleep (literally, not the other kind.), and EJ found the Xbox 360, and began to play Monopoly on it (he forgot to take his books and such out of Dad's car before they left. Oy vey.). He seems to enjoy it. Me, I was a bit of a back seat driver on it. Soon, we got dinner, and watched some movies that were on TV. We watched the second half of 'Robots,' (It has Robin Williams in it, which I did not know. However, watching it again, I can hear his voice.) and then 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' came on (damn, that's a long title.). It's a fun movie, so we watched that. Meanwhile, I was trying to post, but then the dongle (the little thing that gives you wireless internet) stopped working after EJ pulled it out, so I got out a notebook and pencil and started blogging the old fashioned way (not that that's really blogging. Anyway.). I ended up getting to bed at around 11.

That was what happened on my day. There is another excuse for not getting up to date on posting, which has become more and more of a problem. It's getting quite annoying, and I want to get up to date by my 300th post, which is in about two weeks. Jees, I better get to work.

Wow, it's almost 300 posts...,
AB

Just Take It Off

I am fully aware of the double entendre there. In fact, I took the quote from 'I Gotta Feeling,' and I figured I might as well use it. What do I actually mean? I mean I stayed home, I took the day off (see?). And there you go. So, let's have a look at my day.

I woke up at 6 this morning, and in case you're wondering why I said that (I mean, I only say that when I'm not going to school. I'm assuming, of course, you didn't read the opening paragraph, though, as that would sorta spoil it.), it's because I did not go to school today. I did have a reason though, in that it was a closed weekend and everybody got back from camp last night, so not that many people would be going (it turns out only about 15 Year 10s actually went. So, wow, I guessed that one pretty well.). So I stayed home, where I tried to catch up on blogging (I know.). However, Dad bought a movie over Foxtel, which was something called 'Fired Up.' I hadn't seen it before (I hadn't even really heard that much about it, to be honest), but we watched it, and it was pretty good. Sure, it had a lot of cliche stuff in it, but it actually wasn't too bad. After we'd watched the movie, Dad and I then decided to go to Westfields.

While there, we had lunch (Red Rooster), and then we went out to look at books and games. I was trying to find 'Sims 3,' to see if it was any cheaper outside of 'Toys R Us' (result: it doesn't seem to exist outside of 'Toys R Us.' So, going great here.). I then found a game that I could buy EJ for Christmas, which I did, and will not say it yet as a result of it being a surprise. We then left Westfields, and retired to home, escaping to the air conditioned sanctuary (it was over 40 degrees outside, and it was goddamn hot outside.). Now, when there is a clear sky and it's 40 degrees, you would think it would stay that way for some time. Not so. Clouds began to gather, and it thus began to rain. Within the space of about 2 minutes, there was no rain, then some sprinkling, then it started bucketing down. Absolutely pouring. There were ferns down out the back, and all was drenched. Remember, this came out of a relatively clear sky. And of course, it just so happened that while it was pouring, Dad had to go and get EJ, while I stayed inside. By the time they were back, the rain had cleared up and the sun was out. I don't know what that means (I'm no meteorologist), but it at least means you gotta prepare for everything weather-related. I always bring my umbrella to school.

When EJ got home, he went out to the kitchen; and found what I had got him, as I had forgotten to put it in my room (in other words; crap.). It was 'Medieval II: Total War,' which I figured was something EJ would definitely love (he's gonna pay me back.). Only problem was that it wasn't installing on EJ's computer, and, at the time of posting, still isn't. So, sorta dodged a bullet that it didn't happen on Christmas Day. Anyway. Later, we sat down to watch comedy routines of both Eddie Murphy and Robin Williams. They are both hilarious, and I urge you all to see them (as well as 'Monty Python.' Not that Murphy or Williams are in that, but I just like to put that in there from time to time.).

This was my Friday. I should probably intensely apologise (intensely is not the right word here, but, who cares. Substitute a word of your choice here.) about late posting, but it's been done. Ditto for short posting, and even complaining about not being able to say those things. What has my closing paragraph become?

Self-reference, apparently,
AB

Official Duty

As in, I did Office Duty. OK, this play on words is not all that great. While things did happen in the day, the problem is that they didn't make for the best titles. I hate when that happens. Ah well. So, to my day, where I did more than just Office Duty (if I can make that clear).

When the bell went, I went on the computers, of course, and Kevin and I tried to go straight into Warcraft III. However, someone had to do Office Duty, and as I hadn't done it, I was chosen, along with Jackie. So, with a heavy heart (I mean, we could have played Warcraft III. I like that game, although I suck against the computer.), I got my bag, and made my way to the office, where I promptly read. When I'd finished the book I was reading (and of course, I'd taken my other book, the one I was going to read, out of my bag just this morning), I promptly got bored, and started thinking of things I could do to pass the time. After some pondering, I hit upon an idea: chess! But how to do it, I wondered. What I originally planned was drawing the pieces on a piece of paper, and then rubbing them out and drawing them somewhere else (I would, of course, use pencil.). I told this to Jackie (or rather, I suggested we play chess), who then had a better idea. He then left the office and came back with a chess set and board (presumably from the library), and we began to play. We played throughout Recess, with me winning a game, him winning a game, and me again pulling off a spectacular stalemate (I was almost dead, too. I'm surprised I could force a draw; he had two rooks left.). We also attempted to play checkers, with pawns being the regular pieces and the other pieces being the kings. We had little idea how to play, but we worked around that.

At Lunch, though, I actually met up with Kevin, and found out what he had been doing in the Library while Jackie and I had been running errands (answer: very little. It was apparently very boring.). We then watched the entire Abridged movie on my iPod (yes, the guy abridged the whole movie. It goes for over half an hour. And damn, it's funny.). I was surprised it didn't run out of charge, but there you go. After Lunch, Jackie and I went back, and tried to play some more checkers, but we were interrupted, and we went down to the hall to set up for some assembly thing for parents (I think Year 12s had something to do with it, but I'm not too sure.). I got a Mars Bar for doing it (mmm, chocolate...). Then, when the bell went, I made my way home, where Dad handed me his phone, after he bought an iPhone (he really likes technology. You should see our TV. Any wider and we would need to seriously reconfigure the lounge room. Seriously. Dad has a thing for big TVs.). So I was told to trial his phone for a week, and I was a little reluctant (I'm proud of my almost 6-year-old phone. Just for the fact that it is old.). And then I went to the movies.

I'm sorry, that may have come out of nowhere. But pretty much Shaylee invited me to watch 'New Moon,' and we brought along EJ and Lachlan, who both enjoy it (although, I'm guessing they only like it for the vampires. And the werewolves. I'm not going to explain what 'New Moon' is, because that's pretty sad if you don't know it.). Within an hour in, the phone broke, which was, as you can probably guess, a major detractor in the possibility of me deciding to use the phone (do I have to use long words like that? Well, I only do it to try to express what I'm saying in as little words as possible.). However, Shay got it to work, and we soon watched the movie. The movie itself was good, although it is not fun listening to half of the girls in the audience screaming for Edward, and the other half for Jacob. After the movie, I got dinner, thanks to Jo, and I went to blog.

This was what happened on this particular Thursday. I know this post is incredibly late, but, well, it's a self-perpetuating cycle of late posts, where one leads to another. Don't worry, though, I am working towards getting them back up on time. I am.

I did enjoy the movie,
AB

Films and Firing

'Films' should be pretty straight-forward, but what I mean by 'firing' is that I played Battlefield Heroes. As in, firing bullets? Eh, nobody said titling was easy. Occasionally it is, but not often. I was considering titling the post like 'All Hallows'Eve '09,' just to be different (if you don't know what that is, then you do now.). But no, I won't. It doesn't really matter. Anyway. Let's have a look at my day.

I woke up at about 8, and I went out to watch TV. I also had to clean my room, but as that was quick (I keep telling people that it only looks messy. It's organised, it just doesn't look organised. Sort of like strange attractors. ...that could quite possibly be the nerdiest analogy I've ever made and I'm quite proud of it.), I watched TV and went on my computer for a while. And by a while, I mean, well, over 2 hours. I mean continuously, not just for the whole day. It was fun. I did a bit of blogging. Actually, it was mostly blogging, as I'm trying to get back on schedule. Doesn't look like the weekend will be able to do it for me, as I input a redeem code for Battlefield Heroes which increases my XP earned, and it only lasts a few days. So if I don't use it this weekend, that's it. Wasted. Anyway. Eventually, I got lunch, and then continued on my laptop, attempting to blog as much as I could. Of course, there was a lot of procrastination. Well, what do you expect on a weekend?

Soon, at around 1, EJ, Mum and I watched a movie that Dad had seen before, called 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas,' which is about a German boy in World War II who befriends this other boy, who is in a concentration camp. You really have to see it; it's a very confronting film, in Dad's words, who I think has got it spot on. See it. After it, I ended up getting into a political conversation with my Mum, as we have quite different viewpoints. I mean, we're basically on the same side as each other, but it's just some things that we really disagree on. We also spent the day hiding from trick-or-treaters. Halloween really isn't our thing, and according to a poll I saw, 84% of Australians agree with us (Wikipedia seems to feel the same. See?). Anyway. I then went to play some Battlefield Heroes, until Dad and Mum got us to watch another movie. This one was called 'I Hate Valentine's Day.' I watched the first half, but I never really got around to liking it. It was... unimpressive. About halfway through, I really just gave up, and started to play some more Battlefield Heroes. I've finally used the short range MG after the buff, and it is very good. So now I use the short and long range MG. Anyway. When the movie ended, I went into my room, to blog.

And that was my day. It's a short post (well, short-ish), I know, but sometimes you just can't help that. Also it's a late post, but then that's normal. Even though it really shouldn't be. I'm trying to catch up, believe me. It's a bir difficult, though, trying to catch up while not spending your whole day on it.

I'm slowly catching up (very slowly),
AB

Many, Many Movies

Three, to be exact. Also, it's sort of an alliterative title. As well, it's sort of a sucky title. Ah well. These things happen. It was a Friday today, which means only the weekend now separates me from Term 4. Oh, well. It had to come around sometime. It's also my 250th post, which I don't really count as much of a blogging milestone, though it's worth noticing. So, to my day.

I woke up at about 8:45, and for a while I just watched TV and read. I did go on my laptop a bit, but really I didn't do much. At about 11:30, after messing around for a while, I decided to go into the lounge room with Dad and EJ, after Dad watched 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' as well, after we had bought it from Wednesday. He liked it, and after lunch, we all went back into the lounge room to watch a movie that we bought on Foxtel (because why not?). The movie was 'New In Town.' I wouldn't recommend watching it; the word 'formulaic' springs to mind. I don't want to sound like a tired old critic, but I guessed the ending pretty much before the first scene involving the protagonist was over. And I worked out who her love interest would be in his first scene. Quite frankly, don't watch this. At least 'Knowing' was worth watching, at least if not seriously. Sort of a 'so bad it's good' movie. 'New In Town' doesn't even get to that stage. About halfway through the movie, I actually gave up and started playing Battlefield Heroes (I got MG IV, which is 15 kills with a machine gun in one round. It was a very successful round.).

After the movie was finished, we decided to get another movie, which was 'Confessions of a Shopaholic.' Yes, it's a bit of a girly movie, but I still say it was a good movie. I would recommend this movie, even though it's a movie about shopping. I'm quite surprised it got negative reviews (although, the opinions of critics should really be taken with a grain of salt. 'Knowing' got fairly good reviews. Enough said.). By the time it ended (and I wasn't gaming while watching), it was about 4:30. And about one and a half hours later, after Mum had gotten home and we'd packed up, we left for Shay's place.

I hadn't seen Shay in a while, on account of her quitting hapkido and school and that type of thin. So we caught up (she got me to show her some of the new orange belt techniques. It's fun teaching people techniques.) by heading off to the local shops, mainly because Jo wanted lemonade for mixing a drink. We walked and talked, going on about friends at school and a lot of other random stuff. When we got back, we got dinner, and eventually everyone except EJ and Lachlan settled down to watching another movie that was on TV: 'Love Actually.' I've heard of it, but I've never actually watched it before. I would also recommend it, though I'll have to see it again later. I also found out that night that the Gunner guide that I wrote was featured on the front page of Battlefield Heroes! That was good. But, I did not get to post, as I was at Shay's. So here I am.

And that was my day. I'm sort of getting up to schedule, although it might take a bit. I'm sorta hoping I can take a day off just to get back. I would really love to. Also, it's finally a fairly long post, which I like as the last few have been something like 500 words.

Happy 250th post,
AB

That's Write

OK, it's not the greatest title. What I mean is that I wrote quite a lot today. It's all laid down in the first paragraph that isn't this one. I can't really think of a better title; I'm sorry. Anyway. Let's get straight to my day, as I'm having trouble keeping up this paragraph.

I woke up at around 8, and got ready for the day. After stuff had been done, I settled down, and surfed the net for a while. I was on the Battlefield Heroes website, looking up stuff and just basically messing around, when I came across a forum post by one of the moderators (basically just the guys who run the game. They call them moderators or mods for short.) getting Gunners to write guides for the forums. And of course, after I saw that, I decided I might write one. However, I didn't count on how long it would take. 2 hours, 4 pages and about 2500 words later, I had completed my long, tiring guide, covering everything from countering commandos to capturing flags. Here it is, if you want to have a look at it. It took a while, and it's very comprehensive. I hope it gets put on the front page! While I was doing that, EJ bought a movie on Foxtel. It was 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop,' and while it wasn't the greatest movie, I'll admit, it was still quite entertaining.

I also actually played some Battlefield Heroes, but only a little. After I'd done that, though, I figured that I needed to get some study done. So I went into my room, where it was fairly silent and peaceful, and I looked through my English book, as well as doing some Science stuff and going over Maths. That's not to say I won't cram, of course, but I will certainly do some study. I figure that some study is better than none, so why not do at least some study. After I did some study, I went to watch some TV, and I got ready for hapkido. We left at 6:45, as we had to make up for EJ's cricket training.

When I got there, I was given the new hapkido workbook (it's where we put signatures; I'm not entirely sure of its name), and I spent about 15 minutes beginning to put it all together. However, I did soon go into class and warm up. Shirisha wasn't here today, as were a lot of people. Including the teacher (who wasn't Grandmaster Geoff, but Tina), there were 14 people in class, and I stood in the second row. I learnt a new technique today, which is a fairly complicated one, and one I'll have to practice a lot more to get it right. However, I do know the basics of it, and once she showed me the way to do it, the incomprehensible became... comprehensible. It was a very tiring class, but a good one. I left at about 8:30, but not before having to go back inside to replace a book that I accidentally took that wasn't mine. Oy vey. I then blogged, but not about Wednesday. So here I am.

And that was my day. Sorry about the fairly late post, all to be explained in tomorrow's post. Also, it's a somewhat short post. You can mostly blame me on that one. Society too. Anyway. Only a few days left before term starts: bloody hell.

Learning new hapkido techniques is fun,
AB

O Canberra

I reference the anthem 'O Canada,' which is the national anthem of Canada (there's a shock). I don't exactly know why I referenced it, other than to make (in my mind, at least) a clever title. Anyway. Enough justification; we drove to Canberra; this much is obvious. So, without further ado, to my day.

I woke up at around 7:30, and as we had packed clothes the last night, I wasn't in any particular hurry to get ready. However, predictably, time crept on me, until it was 8:30-ish and I hadn't even packed my laptop (why do I do this?). So I rushed around, putting together my laptop, books I was going to read (I think I brought four. Yes, four.), some of the materials for writing my book, as well as an assortment of other such items, like my iPod, portable radio and DS. When I go somewhere, I am prepared for almost any eventuality. So after Nanny got here (as she and Mum wanted to see this place called Floriade; more on that next post), we set off on the road to Canberra.

The whole trip took 2 and a half hours, and Mum, EJ, Nanny and I all entertained ourselves in our own ways. Mum and Nanny listened to Robbie Williams (of course) and talked; EJ read and played his DS (I think, not entirely sure); and I read Harry Potter 6, and then moved on to 7. That took up pretty much the entire car ride, really. I was going to play DS halfway through, to EJ's persistence, but it ran out of power and died about 3 minutes after I started to play it. Ah well. When we got to my Dad's place, we unpacked, and then we went out to get lunch. Lunch was chips and juice, although it took a few goes to get unexpired juice. We then decided to take a trip to the War Memorial.

We didn't do too much there, as we'd pretty much seen most of it. But we did go to show Nanny our relative (on Dad's side, so not related by blood to Nanny) who had died at Gallipoli: Angus Valentine Cameron, known to the Memorial as Angus Cameron (how do I know this? It was at the last time I was at the War Memorial, April 21. I do so love how I can do that now; my blog is like an extension of my memory.). EJ prompted a classic blonde moment by going 'Here he is!' I replied, 'Those are the "L"s, EJ.' Funny (turns out he was looking for our last name. Still funny, though.). We then went to the shops, and came home, where we stayed. There, my fears were confirmed: there would be no internet for the entire weekend. And that is why the posts are late. So for the rest of the night, I made some stuff on Spore, blogged a bit, and watched the movie that was on TV: 'The Incredibles.' It may be a kids movie, but it's good (Pixar movies are always good. Always. It's difficult saying the best, but 'Wall-E' would definitely be up there.).

And that was the first day in Canberra. Tomorrow's post may be a bit longer, because we went out for longer. Lateness would usually get a mention here, but I think I've covered it. Anyway. Soon I'll get back to schedule; it'll be hard, but I'll try.

The first day of holidays was an eventful one, a good sign, I think,
AB

Shooting, Sport and Superheroes

This is the third time in a week I've used alliteration with 'S' for titles. And I was going so well too. These goddamn titles. Ah well. Shooting refers to Battlefield Heroes (this should be obvious; I used this on Monday), sport refers to AFL (also obvious; I use this all the friggin time) and superheroes refers to the movie our family watched today, Watchmen (not obvious at all). Anyway. To my day.

I woke up at around 7:30, and we left for the footy around 9. I read and talked for a bit, and I then went to boundary umpire EJ's game. I was at the far end, and the wind was blowing in my direction. However, for some reason, the ball almost never went out. So I was stuck jogging backwards and forwards on the boundary, just waiting. In the actual game itself, Southwest, or EJ's team, (first) played Campbelltown (second). They essentially won the game in the first quarter, kicking 4 goals to none. They won by about 30 in the end, but their inaccuracy cost them. Well, maybe it wasn't inaccuracy so much as unluckiness. One score in particular springs to mine, after the ball touched the post while over the line, and was called a point. In brighter news, Mitchell, kicked 2 goals with his non-preferred foot, and Ben (Lachy's cousin) marked a long ball from a kick-out from the goalsquare after a point, and promptly sent the ball straight back where it came, only this time getting a goal. It was pretty spectacular for his age bracket.

After the game, we went home, and I went straight to blogging and doing my assignment. My Ag thing is coming along nicely, and hopefully I'll get it done soon. At around about 4, Dad and I sat down in the lounge-room to watch the Saints-Hawks game, which promised to be a close game, with 7 of the Saints players out. St Kilda, however, won every quarter convincingly, ending up winning by 25 points. I would have preferred to watch the Dogs-Eagles game, with the benefit of hindsight, but ah well. While watching the actual game, I decided to play some Battlefield Heroes, as I, well, wanted to. My laptop. I'm getting better with my gunner, with my average score improving. My kill-death ratio sucks (I'm at about 1:2 for my gunner. And he's the best one.), but still. I play because it's fun. After the game, I went to blog, and after dinner and such, we all had a family movie night (that's what they're called. Not too creative, but who cares. The movie was 'Watchmen,' and I'm not exaggerating by saying it was bloody awesome. I do not recommend it to anybody who has weak stomachs. Or has an objection to sex scenes. It's MA15+. Graphic violence and nudity ensues. Also epic detective who kills everything while his mask changes for some reason and blue, glowing Jesus (there may be some exaggeration here. But not much.). So after the movie, I surfed the net, and looked up the movie.

To comments now, because I actually have them. This is cause for celebration, people: My first comment in something like a week.
*Karen: I entirely agree; my periodic table shirt is to be loved. I have no idea how people couldn't like it. It's brilliant! Also, yes, Kolodziej was being an ass and a half. He just went haywire. It was strange. He doesn't often explode put of nowhere. Usually you see it coming.

And that was my day. Sorry about the late post extraordinaire, many things happened, such as the movie, and well, you'll see next post. Thank you, Karen, for the comment, thank you parents for the movie rental, and so long, and thanks for all the fish.

I hate posts when they get this late,
AB

These Annoying Assignments

And how! Yes, today I started my English speech on 'Animal Farm,' although I did watch movies and the footy in-between. But, yeah. I started the speech. I got something like 2 minutes into the speech, which is pretty good for a 4 to 5 minute speech. I also fleshed out the main ideas for the speech. Well, let's see my day, shall we? (Yes, it's an incredibly late post, I know. Nature conspired against me.)

I woke up around 8, as usual, and Dad, EJ and I all went to Westfields to get breakfast, for no reason apart from that we could. We first dropped by JB Hi-Fi to get seasons 3 and 4 of 'Seinfeld' (which I plan to watch at my grandparents' place tomorrow), and then we went to get some pancakes from McDonalds. However, they ran out (seriously, how can McDonalds run out of pancakes at 9:30 in the morning?), so we went and got some bacon burgers from Oporto. And as they screwed up our order, we got complementary chocolate mousse. So a pretty good day out at the shops. We got home around 10:15, and we promptly went out to put the washing. While out there, Nanny and Poppa stopped by, and Nanny helped us out.

Around 12, I started to work on my English speech after blogging about Thursday, as I figured I needed to get to work on it. About an hour later, however, Dad pulled me out to watch a movie he had bought on Foxtel, 'Seven Pounds' (which you may remember from this post). While I was watching the movie, I scanned my computer, and synced my iPod, after getting a song from Cam. It was pretty good, although it takes a while before you work out who is doing what and why. In the end, though, it makes sense and everything fits together. I'd recommend it. I got back to my laptop around 4, and then went to finish off the part of my speech I was doing. I've got a good thing going, so I'll do some more later.

After dinner, I went to watch the Blues-Magpies game. I had tipped Carlton to win by 2, because I was optimistic about their chances. But I don't think anyone expected the actual result. Carlton ended up losing by 54 points, with the final score being 40-94. Carlton's in-depth result: 4 goals and 16 behinds. Fevola only got 1 goal. By the fourth quarter, we were just going through the motions. I ended up playing some Battlefield Heroes by the end of it. I went to bed around 10.

To comments now, 1 from 1 person.
*Anon: It's official; I give up. Every line is coded differently, I got maybe 25% decoded, and if it's polyalphabetic like I suspect, there's no way I can get it. Monoalphabetic seems impossible. You win. Give us a few hints though, maybe I can decoded it if I can understand how it's encoded (Vigenere Square? Caesar Shift?).

And that was my Friday. Sorry about the incredibly late post, everything just seemed to team up to stop me posting. (society is to blame, of course). But, not me, I will post regardless. Expect a longer post about Saturday: I actually did stuff.

This English speech is harder than I thought,
AB

Sports and Shopping

And I bet we can all guess exactly what sport I'm talking about (AFL. I'm talking about AFL.). Shopping was at Macarthur Square. OK, the title sucks, I know. You could blame me. Or, you could blame society. Personally, I prefer the latter.

I got up at about 7:30 (Shock! Horror! Something different!), and after we'd done everything to get ready, we all went out to Macarthur Square. It's a sort of tradition in our family that if you get a good report, we get a prize. And we were going to Borders to pick something out. After something like 2 hours in the store, trawling around for fairly priced Physics books, I picked out two books within the price range set: 'King Dork' by Frank Portman (which nobody has heard of and everybody should have) and 'Alyzon Whitestarr' by Isobelle Carmody (which looks pretty good, even if it doesn't have its own Wikipedia page). After we'd had a look in the shop and we'd bought the books we all wanted, we went shopping for some essentials, and to that end we split up. EJ went with Dad to go look at technology, and I went with Mum. Mainly because I know I could sit outside wherever she wanted to go and watch Yugioh Abridged on my iPod. Which I did, to great effect.

When we got home, we got some stuff together (aka, my laptop) to go to Shay's place to watch the Carlton-Sydney game. My Dad, being a bit of a smartass (it must be genetic) decided that we would go decked in as much Carlton gear as possible, to display our pro-Blues attitudes to Shay's family. So we pulled together as much uniforms as possible, as well as flags and hats and such. We got there around 1:30, and around 2, the game started. I spent the time in their loungeroom, watching the game and surfing Questionable Content. At this point, I could go through all about the game. But allow me just to condense it into a few sentences, that should hopefully convey the sense of the game. At quarter time, we were up by 3. At half time, we were down by 9. At three quarter time we were up by 9. By the end, we had won by 61 points. In short, we kicked ass in the last, say, 1.5 quarters. Here's a full summary of the game, if you want to have a look at it. We don't have the best run home, but if we do through all of the games what we did in the last quarter, we'll make the finals for the first time since 2001. Here's hoping. After the game, we got home, and we watched 'Eragon,' which EJ had bought at the shops. All in all, it was OK. If you don't compare it to the books, it's slightly confusing. If you do compare it to the books, you get really disappointed. I would say it's more inspired by the books than based upon. I went to bed around 11, after blogging.

To comments, now, 1 from The Anonymous Aeroplane (they need an acronym. Because they're awesome. Would you like to be Amp? Taa? Tap? Your choice here, Anonymous Aeroplane.).
*Anon: Yes, it's just you and me, as Ebony and Victor have gone on yet another utterly pointless strike. Thanks for the philosophy comment, although it doesn't compare to John's. That whole third paragraph was very confusing. Though I will agree with you: you sure are a lot of things.

And that was my Saturday. It's sorta funny how my brother doesn't play AFL, but we still do a lot of footy-related stuff. This is our family for you. We're very sport-centric here.

Finally, a day where we actually did something,
AB

The Return of Philosophical Ramblings

OK. So here's how it'll go. I'll go through all about my day, and then I will go on my philosophical rant. Which, due to unforeseen circumstances, may be incredibly, incredibly late. That happens. We all have to pitch in and blame society together, folks.

I woke up around 8 (of course; this is how all of my posts start now. I should seriously stop.), and I then, after everything was done, I decided to play a bit of Battlefield Heroes. I started at 10, and played continuously until 12. I didn't level up, but I did do a lot of sniping from the shipwreck in Buccaneer Bay, the cliff and church in Victory Village and the lighthouse in Seaside Skirmish. Especially the lighthouse: good for setting troop traps and going sniping. And if they shoot you off, you can hide under a few trees and snipe the sniper. But, I digress. After 12, I went to blog a bit, as well as go on this new webcomic I found called Questionable Content. Here's the link to the first comic. The art (and the storyline) gets way better as it goes on. I then went on my laptop and blogged a bit until 2.

Around 2, Dad got home, and then we went to watch a movie Dad bought on Foxtel. It was pretty good, in my opinion. After that, I did some more blogging and webcomic-surfing. After dinner, I went to go watch the Bombers-Dogs game. The Dogs ended up pulling ahead in the last half, thank god. Otherwise, Carlton's chances could be very slim. As it is, we're already playing Geelong and Adelaide at AAMI. After the game, and for the rest of the night, I just talked to Ebony on MSN. I went to bed around 11.

It's time now, to go on an adventure into my own mind. I started thinking about this while looking at taps in the bathroom (bear with me here). I was absent-mindedly wondering how the turning the knobs makes the water go out. And then I thought: how does that work? How does the water get there? I ended up going into this whole tangent about how complicated the water system. And what else? The internet, for instance. You could be reading this in, say, London. You might be out in the middle of the street, reading something written halfway around the world by a laptop, in another laptop, with no apparent way that this could happen. There's no cords. There are electromagnetic waves flying through the air, that your laptop decodes. Then there are mobile phones and gaming systems and TVs...

What I'm leading up to is this: if you think all about the stuff, you end up realising how complicated everything is. How would you make a TV? How does a mobile phone work? How does water get from hundred of kilometres away to your bathroom sink. You might understand how a bit here and there works, or how the basic principle works. But how does it really, at the core of it all, work? Physics can answer a lot of the questions. But that just relegates the question to how does the atom function? How does it all fit together? How do things, in effect, work?

I do have a point here. My point is, we take all of these things for granted to some extent. If it's not watching TV, it's typing on a laptop. If it's not that, it's talking over the phone. If it's not that, it's simply the fact of being. When you get down to it, we might superficially understand how things work. We know that pressing the key 't' makes the letter 't' appear on the screen. If I press 'Publish Post' right now, I know it will send this post to my blog for everyone to see. That's simple. But how it really does this is very complicated, and I'm guessing that not many people fully understand it, if anyone. If the world were to work from the knowledge of one person, society would collapse. We need other people. Everybody wants to know more. That's the heart of science. I started this without knowing how it would end. But it's not really the end I was concerned about. Just the journey was good enough.

OK, I've just done a lot of writing and thinking there. It's time for comment replies; 3 from 2 or 3 people. I'm really confused.
*Ebony: Another strike? Jees, play another tune, why don't you? Seriously here: I have no idea what your strikes are really about.
*Victor: Sure. Go for it. I don't quite understand why, but why not.
*Anon: Finally, someone who gets the whole pointlessness of it. Also, someone who is a chair. Apparently.

And that was my Friday. Sorry for the really late post, and the long 'drawn-outedness' of the post. But I felt like doing some thinking, and that's what my blog is here for. For me to vent and think and go on. But, right now, I've got to go to bed. Bye, everybody!

I haven't philosophised in a long time,
AB

Work and Westfields

That being, I did work (specifically, the Ag assignment), and I went shopping. Hey, nobody said my titles had to be good. I really can't think of anything. Ah well. That happens.

I got up around 8, and about 45 minutes later, Mum, EJ and I all went to Westfields. Mum and EJ both wanted to see Ice Age 3, and I went along. We got into the movies around 9:30, and left around 2 hours later. The movie itself was pretty good, despite what a lot of people might think. As I've said before, accepting movies as they are and not what they could be is the key to liking a lot of movies that might otherwise be very bad (I still didn't like that 'Knowing' film. I accepted it for what it was and what it was was total crap.). I would recommend it if you can, like me, still enjoy kid's movies and not overanalyse things, as well as you liked the last Ice Age movies (although this one was more comedic than sentimental. Quite frankly, I didn't care.). If you didn't like the other movies, though, then you probably wouldn't like it. I did, at any rate.

After the movie, we went book-shopping, and I found this book called 'The Mind of God' by Paul Davies for $10. It looks like physics crossed with philosophy, and I picked it up straight away, as you'd probably expect. Judging by what I've read so far, it's pretty good, although some of the concepts are going way over my head (The universe has no specific beginning, but it doesn't stretch all the way back in time. Huh?) When I got home, I blogged, and did some work on my Ag assignment. When that was all done, I spent most of the rest of the day playing BFH.

It's Response Replying Time (I felt like something different)! 2 commenters, 2 comments.
*Ebony: Sure. You hold me to that. See if that works! Ciao indeed.
*Anon: Also, sure. Why not.

And that was my Tuesday. This post procrastination is becoming less annoying, probably for the reason that I'm used to it, and that I know I can stop it when I want (I actually can; the procrastination no longer goes until the following night). So, yeah. That was my day.

This second-last line is becoming a lot harder to write,
AB

No Relaxing Today

No, I did not really relax at all today. That being said, I didn't do much work either. Basically I was mostly out doing stuff. Or inside, trying to blog as much as possible. A good day, don't get me wrong, but I'd prefer to have a day of not doing much. Ah well. Maybe for the holidays. And I do apologise for the late post, as explained in previous posts, things just seemed to happen.

I woke up around 8:30, and woke up a bit. I only barely did some stuff before we left for Westfields an hour later. We all went to see 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.' Before the movie, however, my brother and I played a Level 20 battle. I won, but he accidentally turned it off before it got a chance to record. Ah well. Anyway. To the movie. I won't give the whole plot away, of course, but I will give my opinion on it. Critics all seem to hate it for some reason. I actually really liked it. It was enjoyable, it had action, and it was funny. Then again, I enjoy a lot of movies that critics seem to hate. There's only a few movies that I thought were genuinely bad, most notably 'Knowing.' But I'm way off topic here. The point is, in my opinion, it was a good movie. And I would say that people should see it.

After the movie, EJ went to Toys R Us to get a Secret Key onto his Platinum game, thus allowing him to get the alternate forms of Rotom (to anyone who doesn't understand Pokemon, I apologise. But this is my blog, and I do understand it.). When we got home, I watched my brother play computer, and then around 4 (in the intervening time, I ate lunch, and watched more of my brother's computer), I went to blog. However, I was on and off MSN for a while, so it only got done slowly. Around 6, we had dinner (mmm, Mexican food...), and watched the Blues-Dockers game. I only saw the last half, so suffice to say that the Blues won in a convincing last quarter. They sucked in the first quarter, but at least we came back. That seems to be Carlton's specialty, coming back. It doesn't always work, but that happens. Then after the game, I blogged about Saturday. But I didn't get Sunday done. Damn my thrown-off schedule.

To comments! These are retro, referring to Friday's post. I missed the comment replies by about 15 minutes. So I'm doing them now.
*Ebony: Believe me, Uyen was not doing much. I actually did well (surprisingly), so don't blame me. Usually Fridays are awesome, it was just that Friday.
*Ebony: If that aeroplane wasn't you... Now I'm confused. Who else would be an aeroplane?

And that was my Sunday. Again, sorry for the late post, I'm catching up slowly. Monday was an eventful day, so expect a long post. It was originally a bad day that got a lot better. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I thought it was a good movie,
AB

Movies, Meetings and Football

Today, we watched a movie at home, as well as going to football, and later a football meeting, although not in that order. And in between all that, I didn't get to post, thus ruining my blogging schedule (bloody meeting). And I only just completed it. Goddamn society.

We got to the ground around 8:00 (yes, I know, I'm skipping a bit. You're not missing much.), and I played my brother's DS for a while. Not because mine was out of charge, because I wanted something from his game. And I was prepared to wait some time before I go, t it. When I did, I quickly got bored, and I then went down to play some footy with the kids (it's actually a pretty even skill level; I'm not that great.). We played Piggy in the Middle for a while, and I got in once. I ended up getting someone else in by running and smothering the ball, which is pretty good considering my running speed. And the thing is, they were all better than me. But that's fine, I don't play it except for fun. I then played DS until it was time for my brother's game.

As usual, I will give a bit of an overview about my brother's game. I think they won the first quarter, but only just. When it came to the second quarter, I got the ball as the boundary umpire for the first and I think only time of the day. I stuffed up. Badly. It took me 5 goes, and even then I got help from the fifth umpire. The reason, or so I think, is that I threw it slightly higher than usual, and the wind kept blowing it too far from the contest. So, yeah. The third quarter they kicked ass, as well as the last one. In the last quarter, Ben (Lachlan's friend/cousin) was called arguably the worst insult, and punched in the back of the head by someone from the opposition. Too bad he picked the wrong person to mess with. This part I saw. Ben let fly with an almighty punch, and damn near knocked the guy out. Both kids came off the field, Ben in trouble (though I don't think he should be in that much trouble, it was, arguably, justified) and the opposition player holding his head and crying. Ben got a week's suspension, but I'm not sure what the other guy got. Probably 3 weeks suspension and a medical condition. I do know he got reported though, which is what should be done. After the game, I went home, and pretty quickly we had to go to a footy meeting. I still haven't even started to blog yet.

The meeting, and dinner, went for something like 4.5 bloody hours. I am really not going to get into the meeting, as it was as boring as it'd get, although one of the guys did spill beer on his laptop. After the meeting, I played DS with my brother in a Level 60 down non-legendary battle, and won. Sweet. After the meeting, we all watched a movie, which was Transformers, as we're watching the sequel tomorrow. I forgot some of the movie (though not most of it). Any other day I would be fine with watching, but with not blogging, it was a bit annoying. After the movie, I blogged for about 10 minutes, and then it was to bed.

And with no comments, I'll finish up. That was my Saturday. I apologise for yet another schedule-breaker; everything keeps happening. And it's bloody annoying. Soon it will be holidays. Thank god.

Why is the blogging always late?,
AB

Bludging But Working

That may be a bit of a paradox, and you'd be right. I'm out of titles. But what I mean is that I did a lot of bludging today, but it seems like I did a lot of work. Also, I apologise for the late post; things just seemed to keep getting in the way. Details may or may not be a bit lacking. I blame society.

Period 1 was Science, which was doing some actual work on waves. As in, work that actually involves thinking and isn't just rote calculator stuff or basic reading. Back to the daily grind. Period 2 was Geography. That was starting a new topic, as well as getting prepared for a quiz. It's apparently on where countries are in South-East Asia (doable), their capitals (very hard) and where Australia is on a world map (This is Kindergarten work). It was a bit of a weird two periods. Then it was Assembly. That was torture, as Mr Norris invited someone nobody knew for reasons nobody understood (including, I suspect, him). It was, presumably, supposed to be all about the selling of the school farm. The speech (if you can call it that) drifted in and out of lucidity, and it was told by the real life version of Grandpa from The Simpsons. He just went on and on about things in his day, and focused specifically on small, unnecessary details (example: 'It was grey. No, it was brown.'). Assembly, I think, went over time.

Recess was the usual. Period 3 was English, in which one of the Year 10 classes was split up because their teacher wasn't there. And they didn't have a sub. So we got about 6 people, including Shafi, who sat next to me. The period itself was just talking about 'Animal Farm.' Something about most books: read them, don't read into them. George Orwell's books are an exception. Unfortunately, the English staff find the wrong sort of books to get (i.e. bad ones). Anyway. Period 4 was Maths, which was doing a work on logarithms. Well, we were supposed to be doing textbook work, but it's never that simple in A1, where Year 11 work isn't a novelty, it's mandatory (not really, but I wouldn't be surprised).

Lunch was supposed to be doing a bit of work on our Drama assessment, but with Rutherford not here, it sort of just degenerated. I got out of it by pointing behind Ebony, shouting 'Wow, a yard sale!' and running. Hooray for escaping to 13! Period 5 was Drama, which was watching performances. Best one: Tansy's, which used a Blackadder quote, and Bella (should-be Cameron)'s character, who was this brilliant Italian godfather type thing. With the others, though, I felt slightly better about our performance, as nobody forgets their lines (or, at the very least, I don't. When my part consists of pointing a 'gun' at Rutherford and demanding money, shooting Ebony, and running out of one scene screaming, it's very hard to screw up.). Period 6 was Commerce, which was Charades. Obviously, Kearney had time, and a lesson, to kill. I got a chocolate out of the deal (Mmm, chocolate...).

When the bell went, I got home, and did some work. I didn't get to post, though, because our family all watched a movie called 'The Usual Suspects' (Wikipedia link and spoilers contained within). I think the movie was brilliant, and I recommend everybody watch it. There are only a few movies I would recommend everybody watch at least once, and 'The Usual Suspects' is now one of those. Watch it. But I didn't get to post. I will explain why this post is so incredibly late next post.

To comments now, 2 from Ebony. As usual.
*Ebony: June 18 is my unlucky date. And boo for English suckiness (not suckage. Suckiness.). Boo!
*Ebony: I'm lame? I'm lame!? I'm not lame! I'm VERY lame!

Well, that was my day. Expect a few late posts in the next few days; lots to do. I might post at the regular time, but we'll have to see.

I apologise for the really, REALLY, late post,
AB

A Nice Relaxing SDD

SDDs are really good, because you get days off school. That's a simple one. I also started that sentence, thought of a clever ending, looked up to the TV, and then promptly forgot it. Anyway. Fill in a humorous saying there. Moving on. And I know it's technically a late post, but I refuse to make a label denoting that fact, for the reason that weekends are made for post procrastination.

I woke up to the sound of the Kyle and Jackie O Show starting, meaning it was 6 in the morning. At this point I went, 'ohhh...' and tried to get back to sleep. Around 7, I said to myself, 'I'm never getting back to sleep, and I got up. I watched TV for a bit, and after Mum and EJ left for school and work, Dad and I went to Wattle Grove Shops to get breakfast. When we got home, after a long and time-consuming time with me trying to eat a cheese and bacon roll, Dad and I watched 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' over Foxtel. That is a good movie, I liked it. The only problem was that it reminded me too much of 'Forrest Gump.' Don't get me wrong, I loved 'Forrest Gump,' but when a movie is too reminiscent of another movie, you get a bit apprehensive (I apologise for the long words, that was the only way I could convey what I meant. And even then, it wasn't too clear).

Around 12:30, when the movie ended, I had some lunch, then got to work finishing off Thursday's blog post. I then started work on my assignment, and specifically, on transcribing a scene from the original Macbeth into a school cricket team. My favorite character: Mark Booth, who is a transformed Macbeth. Ben is Banquo, Rhys is Ross, Andy is Angus (though I might not change the name), and the 3 Witches are 3 Year 12 girls (I couldn't resist. No offence, but it just turned out that way. They're bimbos, so they talk, like, like this. But I'm giving away my project). When EJ got home, I played some DS, and went on my laptop. Then, until 11 (no, really), I just played DS, read on my laptop, read some of my magazine, and watched TV. I also cooked dinner, which I don't enjoy, and also seems to be becoming a common occurrence.

Now, I feel like a list. How about... things I do probably do too much of but that I don't care about:
*Questionable grammar: See the above sentence. I'm having trouble understanding it, and I wrote it. I don't do it in exams, but I do do it in blogs and conversation.
*Long words: I don't do it intentionally, just because they are the best words to use. Sometimes I will mean to use brobdingnagian verbiage so as to confound those who are ignorant of its meaning (long words to confuse people who don't know what I'm saying).
*Talk incessantly: Sometimes I can go on and on without actually saying anything, or alternatively, saying too much. I need to stop. I won't.
*Zone out: Especially if I'm looking at somebody or something. People think I'm weird... er.

Now to comments, quickly, before commenter 3 breaks something:
*Shafi: By 'Jaws' and 'Traintracks,' I meant for nicknames about my braces.
*Shafi: Don't ask me; ask them. I could say the same about you.
*Anonymous: It's all to do the weekends, Anonymous Commenter, the weekends! I blame society!

Now to finish, or Commenter 3 will hunt me down. Saturday's post will also be late. Not for any particular reason, except that it's a long weekend. Sorry, C3!

I'm enjoying the long weekend,
AB

An Almost Relaxing Saturday

It would have been completely relaxing, except for that voice in my head going 'When the hell are you going to get to your assignment? You have 3 pages due on Friday, get to it already. Do it now!' I'll do some of it on Sunday afternoon, after we get back from my grandparents' place for Mother's Day. But, to my Saturday.

I woke up some time, and I don't know what time it was because I just stayed in bed. When I finally got up, it was almost 8 (I would have sworn it was something to 9), and until we had to go to EJ's game, all I basically did was watch TV. We left around 10-ish, with me bringing, as usual, my iPod and book supplies (I didn't get any done). At the footy, I did the scoreboard, as usual. EJ's team ended up winning, by about 50 or so points. (I know. I didn't do much exciting today.) When we got home around 1, I finally went on my laptop, and commented, MSN'd (I need a better word than that.), and surfed the net. After trying to do some work (and it was hard to get into, considering time was limited), we all left for the movies around 5:30.

We went past Red Rooster, and grabbed dinner, then rushed to Westfields, to try to get to the 6:15 screening. We went to see 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine,' which my Mum really wanted to see (because of Hugh Jackman. Oy.) and EJ really wanted to see (because it was Wolverine, and he likes action movies.). Don't get me wrong, I wanted to see it as well, but in a less obsessive way (I haven't really wanted to see a movie since... well, 'Angels and Demons' soon, but before that, probably 'Wall-E.' I loved that movie.). I won't spoil the movie, but I will tell you what I thought of it. And I think that was a good movie. It wasn't the best, but it was still pretty good. I recommend everybody see it. After we watched it, we went straight home, and I went to post, and watch some of the Blues-Dockers game. Carlton lost by 7 points. Goddamn.

Comments: 4, up from the one I got on Thursday's post.
*Corinne: Yes. Yes you are.
*Mango: I did not elaborate, most likely because I really couldn't sum that up well. It was just randomness. Pure and simple.
*Rosa: I wouldn't say the best; I hope we'll do well, but you can't be sure. I'm sure you'll do good too.
*Ebony: Pickle? What? (Though, he does actually look like a 'Pickle.' Huh.) And I suppose it was a bit strange. I really want to see the production we're going to go too, I've only been to one professional play. And you see, if your intimidation theory is right (if), then please end your comments with first. Not awesomest. And people give dogs names to call them over, and fish, we haven't named our fish. You also stole my 'ignore my insanity.' That's mine, dammit! And weekends are awesome. Get over it.

Well, that was Saturday. Sunday will be work, work, and more work. Ah well.

Goddamn Geo assignment,
AB

The Storm

I was tossing up a few titles, but I ended up thinking that the simplest title is the best. I disregarded the rest of the day (though I will talk about that), and just wrote 'The Storm.' Because of the massive storm that just hit us. I'll definitely get to that. Oh, and as I've done once before, I'm writing this (or part of it) in a notepad, again, because of the storm. OK, enough of the opening paragraph. To my day. And I know I should be doing this earlier, but this bloody storm.

I woke up at 7:30 (don't blame me. I was woken up.). Then after chores and so on (I couldn't even go on my laptop), we headed straight to Westfields, with me bringing my wallet and my iPod (speaking of which, the song stuck in my head is 'U' by Super Junior. It was one of my dance songs, that's how I know it.) My Mum's car was due for a service, so we dropped the car off around 9 and walked to the shops. Once we arrived, we bought tickets for a movie, 'Race to Witch Mountain.' My Mum and my brother wanted to see it, and I didn't have any particular movie I wanted to see, so that's what we saw. It was better than I expected, and it had really good effects. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, and I definitely don't want to be a film critic. So I won't. But it was good. After the movie ended, we went down to Dymocks, so I could pick up the book I ordered, 'The Three Musketeers' by Alexandre Dumas. (I have a funny story about him, or rather, one of his books. I was reading 'The Count of Monte Cristo,' by the same guy, last year in Maths. Arriola came up and said 'Good book! I remember when it first came out.' Now, this book first came out in '44. 1844. I never get tired of that story.). Then we went to Angus and Robertson, where we used vouchers we got. I bought a Bill Bryson book, because he is the funniest writer I have ever read. Read as many of his books as you can. Then we had Red Rooster, where I spent too long trying to explain to the person who was waiting on us what we wanted. 'I'll have a regular chicken strip meal.' I do this every time, and it's never a problem. But I didn't count on this girl. 'A chicken sub?' 'Chicken strips. A chicken strip meal.' 'We don't have meals, we have combos.' (At this point it gets annoying. This is not difficult.) 'A combo then. Regular.' 'Regular or large?' (Haven't I already said this.) 'Regular. No sauce.' Then my brother ordered. 'I'll have the same as him.' Her face was classic. I thought we might be here for a while. 'Sauce?' (Exact same. No sauce.) 'No.' Bloody hell. Then after we ate, we walked back to the car, passing a fruit shop. This may seem pointless to mention, but I have to mention two signs advertising prices: 'Apples, 49c a bucbet' and 'Weter, $2.99 a bay.' What? I'm not going to try to understand these. When we got home, we watched the rest of Avatar, book 3, including the movie. That is some good stuff.

Now to the storm. It started quietly, when it started raining. Then I heard some banging sounds; hail hitting the windows. Then the lightning started. At this point, it is pouring, and we look out the window, I hear my Mum say, 'The shelter is gone.' We have a shelter in our backyard, or, more accurately, had. We went outside, after the rain had slowed, and found the whole metal frame bent and cracked. The top was at a 45 degree angle, one leg over the neighbour's fence and one leg parallel to the ground. The whole thing is essentially destroyed. To top it all off, the lights went out, and we had to turn off the power because of the lightning. It was, no exaggeration, the worst storm I have ever witnessed. The dog was forcing his way into the house; the side doors were leaking, making us gather towels and buckets like crazy to stop the flow, and the backyard was underwater. I put my foot down and sank in ankle-deep.

I was supposed to go a bit philosophical here, but with all the things that have happened, I'll postpone it until tomorrow. And it was really good too. I was going to get all John-like and all. Well, not as good as him, but still. Philosophical. Instead here I'll mention one of my goals for the holidays: I'm going to write (or at least start to write) a book. We've been doing writing in English, character development in Drama, I've been blogging (a form of writing), and I've always wanted to write a book. So tomorrow, or the day after, I'm going to start. I might even post a bit now and then.

Comments, now, starting with more late ones (which I shall now call retro comments, because that's what I call them in my head and it's just easier to call them that.), both of them on Sunday.
*Ebony: I would say I use Bebo, but that would be an overstatement. I have a Bebo account. I never go on it. My blog is my page on the net. And I don't think I've ever seen :L, though that could just be me. And it's true, he was my first commenter. I almost forgot that. And I post everyday, it's what I do. This way I know what I'm doing everyday. I like to keep a record.
*Shafi: ...OK...
Now to yesterday's comments: 8 from 5 people. Now the only missing person is AC. They're probably just on holidays though.
*Victor: Long posts? Here's one for you. And shut up about my labels, they're awesome. OK, maybe not, but still.
*Karen: Hopefully you'll beat him next time. Someone has to beat Victor. And, yes, I get up at 6. This way, I can go on my laptop in the morning.
*Ebony: I put my blog in my pm right away as well, but it didn't make a difference. Ah well. Gave me a chance to get in the swing of things. Blogging earlier, I will do, if I can help it, but blogging shorter is not my thing. Just me though. And I have no idea how lol is a label either, I don't know why I put that their either. More strange labels I have used are 'bus' and 'w00t.'
*Ebony: Relax, long comments are good. And I read your comments. At least twice: Once to read, and once to reply too.
*Victor: Help out with what? It was kind of vague. Though if you're talking to Ebony, use MSN.
*Victor: It's not that bad. In fact, it's not bad at all.
*Kevin: I think you misspelled 'carp' there. Just saying. And I've finished it all. It is good.
*Shafi: I really can't explain it all here. Wikipedia is your friend. Here's the article. Avatar and Dragonball Z. What?

Oy vey, that was a long post. Hopefully tomorrow I'll start a bit of my book, as well as do that philosophical thing. It won't be your classic relaxation, but I'll take that any day.

I'll try to post earlier,
AB