Here it is, the start of the big tests for Year 10 students across the whole of New South Wales: the School Certificate. This one was English and Science, as evident from the title, and so, without further ado, we must have a look at my day, so that we can see what happened (bit of a tautology, really. Yes, I use words like 'tautology,' OK? Although, if you read my blog, you know that I have a bit of a penchant for semi-obscure words like that. ...that was proof, right there. I rest my case.), and see how my exams went.
When I got to school, and after the bell went, I went down to the hall with the rest of the people in the group, and waited for them to mark the roles. However, nobody came, so I started to worry a bit. So I went to class, or what would have been class in Period 1 today, and waited. It then became clear that in the time I was up at class (with the rest of the class, I might add), the teachers and everyone in the other classes who had the idea to go to Period 1 first had gone down to the hall. Just my luck. However, it was sorted out in time (although it did involve going around a lot), and soon, we went inside to do the examination.
We got in (holy crap, did I just do a whole paragraph for just before school? I think I did. This may or may not be the case for the next few days.), and we sat down at our respective tables, as we were in approximate alphabetical order (there were a few mistakes, but pobody's nerfect. ...that was intentional.). The multiple choice was somewhat easy, although there was the occasional question that was really weird, and didn't seem to have a good answer, though there was an answer that was most right (I have checked around, and it wasn't just me for some of those questions. So, a sigh of relief there.). There were then two extended response parts: writing a short speech and a short story. I enjoyed writing the short story bit (it was all about a guy in a casino playing an unidentified game; like a lot of books, it makes much more sense if you read it), but the speech thing was weird. It was a response to a presentation, but here's the tricky bit: we weren't told the presentation. So we had to respond to a presentation we make up ourselves, and refer to bits in the presentation. Jees, but that threw me off, although I think I did some good quick thinking (the environmental organisation I put was 'Leaf the Forests Alone.' I think this is hilarious, especially considering I made it up on the spot in an exam.).
When we got out, we went up to the table, and then to the office, where I got a copy of a letter we got on Friday talking about the School Certificate and what-not. I'm just lucky I remembered some of the important parts before today, otherwise I would be in a bit of a sticky situation for the exams, and what to study for. In the break, the whole group pretty much talked about our short stories. No point stressing about them (then you make mistakes), and I figure that cramming in the last few minutes before an exam just stresses you out a bit more (studying in the morning is different. Cramming in the last hour or so is what gets you, although you might as well if you're really stuck.). We then went down to the hall when the bell went, to do the Science School Certificate exam.
We sat back down, and the exam soon began. And there was something about the multiple choice: there were a lot of strings. By which I mean, stuff like 4 As in a row, later two sets of 3 Ds, that type of thing. It really worries you, because you think that that can't be right, not without some significant stuff-up. But checking it confirmed it, and I soon finished the multiple choice. Then there were a lot of sheets about everything from evolution to environmentalism and onwards, for the extended response. I finished with about 40 minutes to go, and then I hit upon a problem: I was not going to be able to make the train, and therefore the bus, and so what would EJ do, and so on and so forth. I managed though, to find a solution, which was get one of the examiners to pass a note onto Mum over the phone so that she could work something out. So that was good.
When the exam finished, I went down to the station, and talked to Ebony, Shirisha and Kale, among others, who all catch the same train, and we talked about the exam, music, and how my iPod headphones just broke (One of the earpieces has fallen apart. Goddamn, that is annoying.). I still claim that Queen is better than the Monkees. Ebony disagrees, and Shirisha is ambivalent (note to self: try to stop using long words.). When I got home, I did some study for HSIE tomorrow, and so I decided not to go to hapkido. I need to study. Later, I watched 'FlashForward' with Mum and Dad; and there are a lot more twists now. I mean, more than already was. Anyway. I also blogged, although scheduling was not repaired.
To comments now, one from the guy who did last time. If you don't know who, it's the next word after this sentence ends.
*Mango (see?): Yeah, I'm guessing we will eventually get those seasons, but we're still in the first one. Very funny, it is, but we'll watch the rest of what we got first.
That was the first day of the exam. Holy crap, this post is over 1000 words (funnily enough, the number '1000' there marked the 1000th word. I enjoy coincidences.), which is the first time that's happened in a while. It's the magic of the exam, I'm guessing.
2 down, 3 to go,
AB
Showing posts with label study. Show all posts
Showing posts with label study. Show all posts
Monday, November 9, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
It's The Lawn
Do you enjoy bad puns? Then you'll love this one (even I think this one was terrible.). Basically, I'm referring to 'It's the law.' I was considering 'Taking the Lawn Into My Own Hands,' but that was a bit long. I didn't really feel that I wanted it. Good pun, bad title. Anyway. Let's have a look at what happened in my day. Cue the non-existent theme music!
I woke up at around 8, and played some cards with EJ, as he really wanted to play (I didn't want to disappoint him that much. I mean, I didn't mind playing.). After doing a lot of chores, I then sat down to watch a little TV, and play some more cards. Around 10, though, we were sent out to do the lawns, after a misunderstanding that we had in the game (that always seems to happen. It's probably due to the rules; they do get a bit contentious. Or, more likely, EJ and I are both equally as stubborn and absolutely sure that we are right. You know, it's probably that last one.). So I went out, getting my iPod, of course (when you're doing repetitive work that doesn't involve that much higher thinking, it's really good, if only to keep you occupied on something. Hell, I've listened to my iPod when brushing my teeth on at least one occasion. Note: attempting to sing while brushing your teeth does not work.), and I went to whipper-snipper the front lawn. And then we got onto the back lawn, which we were supposed to do next weekend, but we did it anyway. It saves us doing it later. Halfway through, though, the whipper-snipper ran out of wire to cut with, so Dad just went up to the shops to get new ones, so I finished off the actual mowing. Then it started raining (it sorta seemed like that type of day).
At that point, though, I had finished the mowing, and when Dad got back, he pretty much said that because it was raining, we were done. And so, seeing that we were done, I figured I could finally get some study for the School Certificate in. Of course, you can't study too well for English (you have to be good at writing and comprehension and so on, not actually know stuff. It's even more skills-based than Maths.), so I did study for Science, going over all the Year 9 stuff. I think I am ready for the exam. So, when I was done, I watched a new series that Dad had just bought the first two seasons of, 'Two and a Half Men.' May I say that it is hilarious? I think I can. It is very funny. I then blogged, although I didn't catch up. Damn. Ah well. So, here I am.
Let us now reply to comments, with one by Mango, who has been commenting a bit recently. Thanks, Mango!
*Mango: Yeah, yeah, I know. I really gotta charge it more often. I tend to let it run out of battery first; I'm not entirely sure why.
That was my Sunday. Trying to catch up, and failing. Trust me here, I'm giving it a shot. It just doesn't seem to be working. Soon though, soon. Anyway. Tomorrow is the English and Science School Certificate tests, and whether or not they count for anything, I'm still gonna try to get good in them. Well, obviously.
Bring on the School Certificate,
AB
I woke up at around 8, and played some cards with EJ, as he really wanted to play (I didn't want to disappoint him that much. I mean, I didn't mind playing.). After doing a lot of chores, I then sat down to watch a little TV, and play some more cards. Around 10, though, we were sent out to do the lawns, after a misunderstanding that we had in the game (that always seems to happen. It's probably due to the rules; they do get a bit contentious. Or, more likely, EJ and I are both equally as stubborn and absolutely sure that we are right. You know, it's probably that last one.). So I went out, getting my iPod, of course (when you're doing repetitive work that doesn't involve that much higher thinking, it's really good, if only to keep you occupied on something. Hell, I've listened to my iPod when brushing my teeth on at least one occasion. Note: attempting to sing while brushing your teeth does not work.), and I went to whipper-snipper the front lawn. And then we got onto the back lawn, which we were supposed to do next weekend, but we did it anyway. It saves us doing it later. Halfway through, though, the whipper-snipper ran out of wire to cut with, so Dad just went up to the shops to get new ones, so I finished off the actual mowing. Then it started raining (it sorta seemed like that type of day).
At that point, though, I had finished the mowing, and when Dad got back, he pretty much said that because it was raining, we were done. And so, seeing that we were done, I figured I could finally get some study for the School Certificate in. Of course, you can't study too well for English (you have to be good at writing and comprehension and so on, not actually know stuff. It's even more skills-based than Maths.), so I did study for Science, going over all the Year 9 stuff. I think I am ready for the exam. So, when I was done, I watched a new series that Dad had just bought the first two seasons of, 'Two and a Half Men.' May I say that it is hilarious? I think I can. It is very funny. I then blogged, although I didn't catch up. Damn. Ah well. So, here I am.
Let us now reply to comments, with one by Mango, who has been commenting a bit recently. Thanks, Mango!
*Mango: Yeah, yeah, I know. I really gotta charge it more often. I tend to let it run out of battery first; I'm not entirely sure why.
That was my Sunday. Trying to catch up, and failing. Trust me here, I'm giving it a shot. It just doesn't seem to be working. Soon though, soon. Anyway. Tomorrow is the English and Science School Certificate tests, and whether or not they count for anything, I'm still gonna try to get good in them. Well, obviously.
Bring on the School Certificate,
AB
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Borders Patrol
OK, I'm back in the realm of titling with plays on words. This one is referring to the fact that I went to Borders, the great two level book store in Macarthur Square that holds a number of magnificent books at prices at Dymocks level (that's not to say that they don't have, in my view, overpriced books. But so do Dymocks. Average price is what I'm saying here.). So, yes, I went to Borders. Anyway. Onward to my day!
I woke up at around 7:30, and I eventually, after messing around and doing chores, did some Science study. Mostly Year 9 stuff, as I need to know that and there are questions where you have to remember the facts, not like in Maths, for example, where you can work it out, or some other exams, where you can guess it pretty well, as the answer is fairly straight-forward (like PE, where you may only know a few facts, and use common sense to get the rest. How well you get usually depends on how well you guess.). Around 11, we left for Macarthur Square.
We went to Borders first, and there was a reason (we weren't just going in for no particular reason. We should actually do that more often.). You see, it was Shaylee's birthday about a week ago (November 2, to be precise), and I hadn't had a chance to get anything for her. So I looked around the shop, and I ended up finding a book for her (I haven't read it before, but it looks pretty good). Mum got her something too, and so with that done, I went to the lower level to check out the physics book. I ended up finding another book on string theory, which is surprising as this one isn't by Brian Greene. I got it of course; it wasn't too expensive, as some physics books are (I saw a book for $40! And not one of those gigantic, hardcover, A4 sized books, either; a regularly sized paperback. Jesus, that's a rip.). I also found something for Dad for Christmas, or, rather, Mum found it and I got it. I think he'll like it. We then wandered around the shops for a while, and at around 12:30, we left for home.
When I got home, I blogged for a bit, and played cards with EJ. For dinner, we went to Moorebank Sports Clubs, with the family of one of Dad's friends from cricket. Unfortunately, the oldest kid is EJ's age, so I was feeling a little bit left out. Dinner was good, though, as I had a bacon and beef burger (it didn't have any cheese on it, which is something that could have made it much, much better.). And for dessert, I had ice-cream with chocolate topping. I think it can be safely said that it was a good dinner, although I didn't have much to do. On the car ride to Club Italia and back (we had to drop Dad off to a meeting), I listened to my iPod, which promptly ran out of charge. In all fairness, I haven't charged it in a while. And when I got home, I blogged, but not enough. So here I am.
I shall now go on to comment replies, with two from the one person.
*Mango: ...that makes sense. Thanks for that!
*Mango: I rarely actually use that calculator, and I have never had reason to check the modes. So, there.
And that was my day. I'm trying to get back up to schedule, trust me, but there's been study for exams getting in the way, and a lot of other stuff coming up (did I expect to go to that dinner? No.). So I'm guessing after exams. And I know I'm procrastinating, but what do you expect?
I do enjoy book shopping,
AB
I woke up at around 7:30, and I eventually, after messing around and doing chores, did some Science study. Mostly Year 9 stuff, as I need to know that and there are questions where you have to remember the facts, not like in Maths, for example, where you can work it out, or some other exams, where you can guess it pretty well, as the answer is fairly straight-forward (like PE, where you may only know a few facts, and use common sense to get the rest. How well you get usually depends on how well you guess.). Around 11, we left for Macarthur Square.
We went to Borders first, and there was a reason (we weren't just going in for no particular reason. We should actually do that more often.). You see, it was Shaylee's birthday about a week ago (November 2, to be precise), and I hadn't had a chance to get anything for her. So I looked around the shop, and I ended up finding a book for her (I haven't read it before, but it looks pretty good). Mum got her something too, and so with that done, I went to the lower level to check out the physics book. I ended up finding another book on string theory, which is surprising as this one isn't by Brian Greene. I got it of course; it wasn't too expensive, as some physics books are (I saw a book for $40! And not one of those gigantic, hardcover, A4 sized books, either; a regularly sized paperback. Jesus, that's a rip.). I also found something for Dad for Christmas, or, rather, Mum found it and I got it. I think he'll like it. We then wandered around the shops for a while, and at around 12:30, we left for home.
When I got home, I blogged for a bit, and played cards with EJ. For dinner, we went to Moorebank Sports Clubs, with the family of one of Dad's friends from cricket. Unfortunately, the oldest kid is EJ's age, so I was feeling a little bit left out. Dinner was good, though, as I had a bacon and beef burger (it didn't have any cheese on it, which is something that could have made it much, much better.). And for dessert, I had ice-cream with chocolate topping. I think it can be safely said that it was a good dinner, although I didn't have much to do. On the car ride to Club Italia and back (we had to drop Dad off to a meeting), I listened to my iPod, which promptly ran out of charge. In all fairness, I haven't charged it in a while. And when I got home, I blogged, but not enough. So here I am.
I shall now go on to comment replies, with two from the one person.
*Mango: ...that makes sense. Thanks for that!
*Mango: I rarely actually use that calculator, and I have never had reason to check the modes. So, there.
And that was my day. I'm trying to get back up to schedule, trust me, but there's been study for exams getting in the way, and a lot of other stuff coming up (did I expect to go to that dinner? No.). So I'm guessing after exams. And I know I'm procrastinating, but what do you expect?
I do enjoy book shopping,
AB
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Melbourne Cup '09
It's been a while since I've done an event with '09' on the end of it (exams don't count.), but that's because nothing's been on. But there was something on, so, I title after the Melbourne Cup. Mainly because I can't think of much else. Anyway. ...Let's skip to my day, because I'm drawing a blank for this opener.
Period 1 was Agriculture, which, like prac PE yesterday, was the first one of the term, which is much more unlikely seeing as we have 4 periods of Ag in every cycle. Exams got in the way, mostly (at one point, the Ag exam got in the way). And we got out exams back. Ag exams and I have never got along, with the only consistently worse one being Japanese (for obvious reasons). Even Art and Music I did better (I was actually good at Music and Art theory, though I wasn't too good at prac. I could visualise it, but I couldn't actually do it. Ah well.). However, this exam I did well at, getting something like 86.5%, which is a good sign for things to come (I mean, if I can do well in Ag...). We then went down to the shearing sheds, to watch people shear sheep. And then we looked at some of the wool. That's Ag for you. Period 2 was Geography, which ended up being just talking with Hewie and Alan about stuff like Subway and Red Rooster. How we got onto that subject is a very good question. But we did, and we talked about that for a while. We also did some studying for the HSIE School Certificate. Recess was talking.
Period 3 was Mathematics, and we learnt about probability. Or, rather, we got taught basically the only two equations for probability that there are (there could be others, but I really can't think of them.). All the rest, apparently, is working out what the variables in the equation are. There was also a set of extremely funny jokes when Tri called out that Karen wet him. The class cracked up. Justin and Chris then, being smartasses, called out simultaneously that 'She was just watering the Tri.' The whole class laughed even more, with Rawson even laughing (you, see that's just the sort of pun that I wish I would have made. Ah well.). Period 4 was Science, and we started a new topic: evolution. It's a bit of a controversial topic, of course, but we didn't have any objections; is anyone else getting extreme déjà vu here? I really am (looking back on previous posts, I found that we started the same topic again when we had Bruce instead of Robson. I thought I remembered doing something similar.). Anyway. He explains it pretty well, and he made sure to put in that evolution doesn't necessarily clash with religion (which it doesn't, depending on how you look at it. If you take the Bible literally, then it sorta does clash a bit, but if you don't, evolution works. That's not to say I'm not atheist, but I accept that science and religion can coexist.). Lunch was cards, for the first time of the term. Don't know why we waited, other than that I kept forgetting the deck and we had exams on (actually, that works pretty well as an explanation).
Period 5 was Commerce, and we all went up to the library for some reason or other. It was never fully explained, and we didn't use the computers. So whether a class wanted our room, I don't know (I wouldn't think so), but we went up to the library nonetheless. I sat on a table with Jenny Tran, Oishi and Nancy, and we talked a lot about the formal and siblings and stuff like that, considering the work was relatively easy and completed quickly (it was that type of work where you just look through the textbook and write stuff down). Period 6 was English, wherein we looked at a poet called Keats, which you have probably at least heard of (he was the guy who wrote "Beauty is truth, truth beauty," which you really ought to have heard of.). I also found out that he wrote 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci,' which isn't French and I've always remembered from primary school for some reason. And when we got home, we watched the Melbourne Cup.
Dad had bought tickets for us all, as he does that. We all had $10 on different horses: Dad had 'Roman Emperor,' Mum had 'Newport,' EJ had 'Viewed' and I had 'Alcopop.' Before the race, though, we were looking at the horses, and I saw one called 'Shocking.' I thought that had a good name, so I went for that. And surprise, surprise, guess who won? 'Shocking.' That is the third time I've picked the Cup. Anyway. I then played some Battlefield Heroes, and ended up blogging for a while.
And that was my day. My posts have finally begun to get longer, which is good because I don't enjoy 500 word posts. Still, there's a major problem with lateness, and I'm trying to get out of it. Anyway. I'll try to get back up to date, but no promises on when.
Go 'Shocking,'
AB
Period 1 was Agriculture, which, like prac PE yesterday, was the first one of the term, which is much more unlikely seeing as we have 4 periods of Ag in every cycle. Exams got in the way, mostly (at one point, the Ag exam got in the way). And we got out exams back. Ag exams and I have never got along, with the only consistently worse one being Japanese (for obvious reasons). Even Art and Music I did better (I was actually good at Music and Art theory, though I wasn't too good at prac. I could visualise it, but I couldn't actually do it. Ah well.). However, this exam I did well at, getting something like 86.5%, which is a good sign for things to come (I mean, if I can do well in Ag...). We then went down to the shearing sheds, to watch people shear sheep. And then we looked at some of the wool. That's Ag for you. Period 2 was Geography, which ended up being just talking with Hewie and Alan about stuff like Subway and Red Rooster. How we got onto that subject is a very good question. But we did, and we talked about that for a while. We also did some studying for the HSIE School Certificate. Recess was talking.
Period 3 was Mathematics, and we learnt about probability. Or, rather, we got taught basically the only two equations for probability that there are (there could be others, but I really can't think of them.). All the rest, apparently, is working out what the variables in the equation are. There was also a set of extremely funny jokes when Tri called out that Karen wet him. The class cracked up. Justin and Chris then, being smartasses, called out simultaneously that 'She was just watering the Tri.' The whole class laughed even more, with Rawson even laughing (you, see that's just the sort of pun that I wish I would have made. Ah well.). Period 4 was Science, and we started a new topic: evolution. It's a bit of a controversial topic, of course, but we didn't have any objections; is anyone else getting extreme déjà vu here? I really am (looking back on previous posts, I found that we started the same topic again when we had Bruce instead of Robson. I thought I remembered doing something similar.). Anyway. He explains it pretty well, and he made sure to put in that evolution doesn't necessarily clash with religion (which it doesn't, depending on how you look at it. If you take the Bible literally, then it sorta does clash a bit, but if you don't, evolution works. That's not to say I'm not atheist, but I accept that science and religion can coexist.). Lunch was cards, for the first time of the term. Don't know why we waited, other than that I kept forgetting the deck and we had exams on (actually, that works pretty well as an explanation).
Period 5 was Commerce, and we all went up to the library for some reason or other. It was never fully explained, and we didn't use the computers. So whether a class wanted our room, I don't know (I wouldn't think so), but we went up to the library nonetheless. I sat on a table with Jenny Tran, Oishi and Nancy, and we talked a lot about the formal and siblings and stuff like that, considering the work was relatively easy and completed quickly (it was that type of work where you just look through the textbook and write stuff down). Period 6 was English, wherein we looked at a poet called Keats, which you have probably at least heard of (he was the guy who wrote "Beauty is truth, truth beauty," which you really ought to have heard of.). I also found out that he wrote 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci,' which isn't French and I've always remembered from primary school for some reason. And when we got home, we watched the Melbourne Cup.
Dad had bought tickets for us all, as he does that. We all had $10 on different horses: Dad had 'Roman Emperor,' Mum had 'Newport,' EJ had 'Viewed' and I had 'Alcopop.' Before the race, though, we were looking at the horses, and I saw one called 'Shocking.' I thought that had a good name, so I went for that. And surprise, surprise, guess who won? 'Shocking.' That is the third time I've picked the Cup. Anyway. I then played some Battlefield Heroes, and ended up blogging for a while.
And that was my day. My posts have finally begun to get longer, which is good because I don't enjoy 500 word posts. Still, there's a major problem with lateness, and I'm trying to get out of it. Anyway. I'll try to get back up to date, but no promises on when.
Go 'Shocking,'
AB
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Trial School Cerificate: Mathematics and HSIE
I would have said 'History and Geography' instead of 'HSIE,' but that would mean that the title would be 'Trial School Certificate: Mathematics, History and Geography,' which is way too long for a title. Anyway, on the sheet they gave us, they actually said 'HSIE.' So, I have an excuse. Anyway. Let's have a look at my day, shall we?
I got up, of course, and packed my bag and stuff like that, making sure to include my History textbook, because History was one of the three subjects I was most worried about out of the three I was doing (History you have to know stuff, whereas Geography is more a skills-type subject, meaning you can cope with knowing less facts. Mathematics is almost nothing but skills. Do you know what I mean? I think I do... Anyway.). When I got to school, I showed John something I'd been talking to him before: the tale of the Squish (confused? Not any more! Well, less confused anyway.). Then the bell went, and we all went up to the room, but not before borrowing one of Cam's protractors, because mine broke. A while ago.
It was, I must say, a fairly easy exam. I mean, it wasn't incredibly easy, but it was fairly easy. My guess is that it's because the exam is designed for the average person, and we're in Hurlstone. And I'm in the top Maths class (I don't want to seem like I'm bragging. But, you know, it's true.). So I finished with 30 or so minutes left, out of something like 80. So I pretty much just doodled and daydreamed. It was fun (the daydreaming part, not the exam part. Exams are rarely, if ever, fun.). I think I did pretty well on the test, considering I checked and re-checked.
It was then time for the break, which, as in Tuesday, was a sort of combined Recess and Lunch (which it seems I did not mention on Tuesday's post. How strange.). There, we discussed the exam, and eventually got on to Battlefield Heroes. It's almost inevitable. We also watched the local school dog, a border collie called Hallie, chase the balls of people playing handball in the main quad. Tennis balls, that is (I just want to make that clear). Ian also showed his skills with dogs, which is rather fitting as he goes on about them all the time, and he was able to grab the dog, and lead it away on a number of times. I now call him the dog whisperer; it's just spooky. Soon, though, it ended, and we all had to go back and do the last exam of the week.
It was HSIE, which is pretty much just History and Geography, as I mentioned before. I wouldn't say it was easy, but it was easier than I expected. Of course, I've been saying that about almost all of the exams and it's unlikely that I'm right about all of them. Unless, of course, I ace every test, which I doubt. I mean, I went well in Drama, but we'll have to see about all of the others. With some of the questions in both of the exams, though, I had to think on my feet and use a bit of common sense, which I don't usually have but seems to work well for me in exams (it's what I used in Drama, and that certainly worked!). When I got home, I blogged, though certainly not enough. I also watched an episode of 'FlashForward.' It's taken a big twist, let's just say that. I didn't catch up though, in blogging.
Retro comment replies time, this one from Ebony about Tuesday's post:
*Ebony: Gnomes and fairies, sounds like a fantasy. Hmm. I do care, though; I like seeing how people find different ways to do the same question. It's pretty interesting with these open-ended questions, like writing narratives.
That was my Thursday. Sorry about the very late post, but, well, you know. I'll get back up, you know the drill. I'm not going to repeat myself again. It would be superfluously superfluous (intentional. I like jokes like that.).
Exams over; for a while, at least,
AB
I got up, of course, and packed my bag and stuff like that, making sure to include my History textbook, because History was one of the three subjects I was most worried about out of the three I was doing (History you have to know stuff, whereas Geography is more a skills-type subject, meaning you can cope with knowing less facts. Mathematics is almost nothing but skills. Do you know what I mean? I think I do... Anyway.). When I got to school, I showed John something I'd been talking to him before: the tale of the Squish (confused? Not any more! Well, less confused anyway.). Then the bell went, and we all went up to the room, but not before borrowing one of Cam's protractors, because mine broke. A while ago.
It was, I must say, a fairly easy exam. I mean, it wasn't incredibly easy, but it was fairly easy. My guess is that it's because the exam is designed for the average person, and we're in Hurlstone. And I'm in the top Maths class (I don't want to seem like I'm bragging. But, you know, it's true.). So I finished with 30 or so minutes left, out of something like 80. So I pretty much just doodled and daydreamed. It was fun (the daydreaming part, not the exam part. Exams are rarely, if ever, fun.). I think I did pretty well on the test, considering I checked and re-checked.
It was then time for the break, which, as in Tuesday, was a sort of combined Recess and Lunch (which it seems I did not mention on Tuesday's post. How strange.). There, we discussed the exam, and eventually got on to Battlefield Heroes. It's almost inevitable. We also watched the local school dog, a border collie called Hallie, chase the balls of people playing handball in the main quad. Tennis balls, that is (I just want to make that clear). Ian also showed his skills with dogs, which is rather fitting as he goes on about them all the time, and he was able to grab the dog, and lead it away on a number of times. I now call him the dog whisperer; it's just spooky. Soon, though, it ended, and we all had to go back and do the last exam of the week.
It was HSIE, which is pretty much just History and Geography, as I mentioned before. I wouldn't say it was easy, but it was easier than I expected. Of course, I've been saying that about almost all of the exams and it's unlikely that I'm right about all of them. Unless, of course, I ace every test, which I doubt. I mean, I went well in Drama, but we'll have to see about all of the others. With some of the questions in both of the exams, though, I had to think on my feet and use a bit of common sense, which I don't usually have but seems to work well for me in exams (it's what I used in Drama, and that certainly worked!). When I got home, I blogged, though certainly not enough. I also watched an episode of 'FlashForward.' It's taken a big twist, let's just say that. I didn't catch up though, in blogging.
Retro comment replies time, this one from Ebony about Tuesday's post:
*Ebony: Gnomes and fairies, sounds like a fantasy. Hmm. I do care, though; I like seeing how people find different ways to do the same question. It's pretty interesting with these open-ended questions, like writing narratives.
That was my Thursday. Sorry about the very late post, but, well, you know. I'll get back up, you know the drill. I'm not going to repeat myself again. It would be superfluously superfluous (intentional. I like jokes like that.).
Exams over; for a while, at least,
AB
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Trial School Certificate: English and Science
Now, what you may notice is that I did not put an '09' in that title. Well, that's because I'm not going to be doing another Trial School Certificate. So '09' seems a little redundant. The same will go for the School Certificate, in a few weeks' time. Anyway. Let's have a look at my day, shall we?
I got to school, and we talked about stuff before the bell went, and when Shafi got here, he was transfixed at the sight of 'Five Greatest Warriors,' which I had brought to school as I had started it. Of course, you'd probably expect that, considering who he is (Shafi reads like I do) and what book it was (I mean, it is a bloody good book). When the bell went, we all went to our separate rooms, to do the English Trial School Certificate. We were given, to start off with, 4 booklets and an A3 sheet of paper, which is pretty big as you can guess. So I did one, the multiple choice, and that didn't take too long. We then had to write both a speech about one of the texts they gave us and a short story using one of those prompting phrases that you have to start off your story with. I think I did well in the short story part, however I finished it sorta quickly (I can't write short stories in two pages. Not in an exam, anyway. In the half-yearly, I got four in. It was well-written, but... anyway. You know what happened.). I finished with some time to go, and when the bell went, we all went outside.
There, we talked about the exam, and it seemed we all had different stories. Way different stories. I did sort of a science fiction story that probably would have crossed into a disaster movie territory (I didn't get that much time to develop my story), and a lot of other people did a lot of other different things. Soon, the conversation crossed into Matthew Reilly territory, and what he did in his books (it's been said before, but I'll say it again: it reads like an action film. That's because Reilly cuts out a lot of the unnecessary stuff, and the end result is nothing short of awesome.). We also talked about Battlefield Heroes, and what potential videos we could make, as Eric, John and I are considering making a video on Battlefield Heroes. I hope we do, but we'll see. We also studied for Science. More as an afterthought than anything. Then, at around 12:45, we went back to the room to do our next Trial School Certificate: Science.
We got the room, but after the teachers got to the class late, and then couldn't open the door, we got in really late. So late, in fact, that we had to skip reading time, which was a major inconvenience to say the least. I wouldn't say that the exam was difficult, because it wasn't. However, the problem was that every so often a question pertaining to Year 9 stuff popped up, which was very annoying considering we weren't even given the chance to study it in class, because Robson has been away. I don't think this is fair. I finished with a few minutes to go, and when the bell did go, we all went down to the station, where, thanks to the new train times, I was able to talk to Eric, Ian and Kevin about the exam. The jury's still out on one of the questions, which was a pretty bizarre one if you ask me. I don't know what the answer'll be. And when I got home, I blogged, but not enough, of course. So here I am.
And that was my day. There aren't any comments, but hey, that's life (the universe, and everything. Dammit, read Douglas Adams, people!). Or at least exams, getting in the way as usual. I mean, I haven't even gotten back to schedule yet! Soon though, soon. Keep an eye out.
2 for the Trial School Certificate down, 2 to go,
AB
I got to school, and we talked about stuff before the bell went, and when Shafi got here, he was transfixed at the sight of 'Five Greatest Warriors,' which I had brought to school as I had started it. Of course, you'd probably expect that, considering who he is (Shafi reads like I do) and what book it was (I mean, it is a bloody good book). When the bell went, we all went to our separate rooms, to do the English Trial School Certificate. We were given, to start off with, 4 booklets and an A3 sheet of paper, which is pretty big as you can guess. So I did one, the multiple choice, and that didn't take too long. We then had to write both a speech about one of the texts they gave us and a short story using one of those prompting phrases that you have to start off your story with. I think I did well in the short story part, however I finished it sorta quickly (I can't write short stories in two pages. Not in an exam, anyway. In the half-yearly, I got four in. It was well-written, but... anyway. You know what happened.). I finished with some time to go, and when the bell went, we all went outside.
There, we talked about the exam, and it seemed we all had different stories. Way different stories. I did sort of a science fiction story that probably would have crossed into a disaster movie territory (I didn't get that much time to develop my story), and a lot of other people did a lot of other different things. Soon, the conversation crossed into Matthew Reilly territory, and what he did in his books (it's been said before, but I'll say it again: it reads like an action film. That's because Reilly cuts out a lot of the unnecessary stuff, and the end result is nothing short of awesome.). We also talked about Battlefield Heroes, and what potential videos we could make, as Eric, John and I are considering making a video on Battlefield Heroes. I hope we do, but we'll see. We also studied for Science. More as an afterthought than anything. Then, at around 12:45, we went back to the room to do our next Trial School Certificate: Science.
We got the room, but after the teachers got to the class late, and then couldn't open the door, we got in really late. So late, in fact, that we had to skip reading time, which was a major inconvenience to say the least. I wouldn't say that the exam was difficult, because it wasn't. However, the problem was that every so often a question pertaining to Year 9 stuff popped up, which was very annoying considering we weren't even given the chance to study it in class, because Robson has been away. I don't think this is fair. I finished with a few minutes to go, and when the bell did go, we all went down to the station, where, thanks to the new train times, I was able to talk to Eric, Ian and Kevin about the exam. The jury's still out on one of the questions, which was a pretty bizarre one if you ask me. I don't know what the answer'll be. And when I got home, I blogged, but not enough, of course. So here I am.
And that was my day. There aren't any comments, but hey, that's life (the universe, and everything. Dammit, read Douglas Adams, people!). Or at least exams, getting in the way as usual. I mean, I haven't even gotten back to schedule yet! Soon though, soon. Keep an eye out.
2 for the Trial School Certificate down, 2 to go,
AB
Monday, October 26, 2009
Yearlies '09: Agriculture
The second of the most worried about exams has arrived, my perpetual concern for these last few years, Agriculture. But, after today, it was done, it was finished, and Ag had essentially finished for the year. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. So, let's get to my Monday, and see if I can try to beat this late post streak. Probably not, but we'll see.
I was driven to school today, as I was for Friday, just in case the train was late and I miss part of the exam because of it (Mum insists, but not unreasonably.). I went straight up to the library, where I saw Eric, John and Shafi sitting around a table, where they were studying for Ag. I joined them, of course, and we discussed many things and anything from our Ag books, in an attempt to get ready for the exam. I also told Shafi that I had 'The Five Greatest Warriors,' at which point he sat bolt upright, checked his watch, exclaimed that the book was already out, and begged for the book. It was quite funny to see, but also predictable in a sense (Shafi is like that with books.). When the bell went, we all went down to our rooms, to start the Ag exam.
It went for 80 minutes, as it usually does. I wouldn't say that it was easy (they never are; you have to memorise a lot of facts for Ag), but it was easier than I expected. Probably because of my study, though: it did help quite a bit. Without that, I would have been in severe trouble in some parts. I think I did well, but we'll have to see. I finished with a few minutes to go. Here's hoping the Ag exam comes up good. Recess was talking about the exam.
Period 3 was Maths, in which we did a non-calculator exam. So we did that for 30 minutes, and then we marked it, because that's just the sort of thing we do in A1. I got 22/25, which is pretty good (only one person got 25, and Mango got 21.). It was stupid mistakes that tripped me up, as they so often do. They get very annoying sometimes, as I can, say, miss one word in the question, which is so often one of the most important ones, giving me the wrong answer. Damn. Period 4 was Science, which was doing study for the exam tomorrow. Do these exams ever end? (Yes, on Thursday. That's not soon enough.) I also finished 'And Another Thing...' It's good, to say the very least. Lunch was more talking.
Period 5 was Commerce, where we too had a study session. Apparently, we aren't going to start any new work until the exams are over, which seems fair to me. Now, if some of the other classes were like that, we'd hopefully be going better. Ah well. Period 6 was English, where we got a copy of the Year 11 exam for Advanced English, and we went through one of the sections together as a class, just to have a look at it and maybe prepare for next year. I think. It wasn't really too clear (you'd reckon with an English exam tomorrow... anyway.). And when I got home, I did some study, blogging, and then it was time for hapkido.
Shirisha wasn't there today, and neither was Grandmaster Geoff. Not entirely sure why for the latter, but he doesn't have to come. So we had Manuel (I think that's his name) for the first half of the lesson, who works us a lot, and Tina for the second half, who is equally as tiring for us, maybe more so. One thing's for sure: you get a good exercise in hapkido. I learnt how to get out of a bear hug, for one. And when I got home after a time, I blogged, but not enough. So here I am.
That was my Monday. I am really sorry about the late post, believe me, I don't like it. It's not fun trying to remember two days back, and doing a decent sized post about it. But I'm trying, and soon I'll get back up to schedule. Soon.
Yearlies down, Trial School Certificate to go,
AB
I was driven to school today, as I was for Friday, just in case the train was late and I miss part of the exam because of it (Mum insists, but not unreasonably.). I went straight up to the library, where I saw Eric, John and Shafi sitting around a table, where they were studying for Ag. I joined them, of course, and we discussed many things and anything from our Ag books, in an attempt to get ready for the exam. I also told Shafi that I had 'The Five Greatest Warriors,' at which point he sat bolt upright, checked his watch, exclaimed that the book was already out, and begged for the book. It was quite funny to see, but also predictable in a sense (Shafi is like that with books.). When the bell went, we all went down to our rooms, to start the Ag exam.
It went for 80 minutes, as it usually does. I wouldn't say that it was easy (they never are; you have to memorise a lot of facts for Ag), but it was easier than I expected. Probably because of my study, though: it did help quite a bit. Without that, I would have been in severe trouble in some parts. I think I did well, but we'll have to see. I finished with a few minutes to go. Here's hoping the Ag exam comes up good. Recess was talking about the exam.
Period 3 was Maths, in which we did a non-calculator exam. So we did that for 30 minutes, and then we marked it, because that's just the sort of thing we do in A1. I got 22/25, which is pretty good (only one person got 25, and Mango got 21.). It was stupid mistakes that tripped me up, as they so often do. They get very annoying sometimes, as I can, say, miss one word in the question, which is so often one of the most important ones, giving me the wrong answer. Damn. Period 4 was Science, which was doing study for the exam tomorrow. Do these exams ever end? (Yes, on Thursday. That's not soon enough.) I also finished 'And Another Thing...' It's good, to say the very least. Lunch was more talking.
Period 5 was Commerce, where we too had a study session. Apparently, we aren't going to start any new work until the exams are over, which seems fair to me. Now, if some of the other classes were like that, we'd hopefully be going better. Ah well. Period 6 was English, where we got a copy of the Year 11 exam for Advanced English, and we went through one of the sections together as a class, just to have a look at it and maybe prepare for next year. I think. It wasn't really too clear (you'd reckon with an English exam tomorrow... anyway.). And when I got home, I did some study, blogging, and then it was time for hapkido.
Shirisha wasn't there today, and neither was Grandmaster Geoff. Not entirely sure why for the latter, but he doesn't have to come. So we had Manuel (I think that's his name) for the first half of the lesson, who works us a lot, and Tina for the second half, who is equally as tiring for us, maybe more so. One thing's for sure: you get a good exercise in hapkido. I learnt how to get out of a bear hug, for one. And when I got home after a time, I blogged, but not enough. So here I am.
That was my Monday. I am really sorry about the late post, believe me, I don't like it. It's not fun trying to remember two days back, and doing a decent sized post about it. But I'm trying, and soon I'll get back up to schedule. Soon.
Yearlies down, Trial School Certificate to go,
AB
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Seeing, Read
OK, maybe that wasn't the greatest pun, as I wasn't actually angry (as in, seeing red). I just couldn't think of a decent title, and I wanted a title, any title, to do with books. This one worked. Anyway. Without further ado, to my day, as I am having severe posting issues to do with lateness.
I was woken up at around 7:30, as we had stuff to do in the day, of course. I was a little reluctant, as I am on doing things on Sunday (It's not that I'm religious or anything, no, I'm atheist, but I'm lazy.). I wasn't going to go before (which would be a pity, as you'll soon see), but with the new revelation that the shoes Dad brought back from Canberra were actually his, not mine, it has become evident that I have lost my shoes (no idea how you lose shoes, but I did), so we had to get new ones. Me being me, I just basically found any set of white shoes that would fir me (not as easy as it seems, as I have huge feet. Size 12, or something.), and brought them to Mum. This was in Big W, and so while Mum had to go look at something, I looked around the book section, seeing if they had anything decent. And then I saw it.
Upside down, on a shelf, but still perfectly recognisable: the new Matthew Reilly book had finally hit bookshelves. The final book in the Jack West Jr trilogy (for want of a better name), known as 'The Five Greatest Warriors.' I could hardly believe it. I grabbed it and held it tightly to my chest, not caring who saw me. I rushed to see how much it was, which was $25. For that price, it was mine. As I repeated several times, to get it they would have to pry it out of my cold dead hands. So I got the book, very pleased with myself for spotting in, and by sheer chance, after we got out of Big W, Mum let EJ and I go into Angus & Robertson. Where I came quite possibly the closest I've ever been to a religious experience (I may be exaggerating there. But not much.)
I stared at 'And Another Thing...' the sixth book in the 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series even though Douglas Adams passed away in 2001 (Wikipedia explains it better than I could), written by Eoin Colfer, and 'And Another Thing...' stared back. I'm surprised I didn't drop to the ground on my knees. I picked up the book; and goggled at the price. $44, it was. I was in two minds about getting this book. On one hand, it was from 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'. On the other hand, it was $44 (the fact that 'Genius Wars,' the end to the trilogy by Catherine Jinks, was out wasn't helping.). What ended up happening was that I figured that it would be cheaper in Dymocks, if they had it, but just in case they didn't, I made sure we could come back to Angus & Robertson. So we got to Dymocks, and because 'Genius Wars' was cheaper there, EJ bought that. I put the points on my Dymocks card, leaving me at $7 worth of points. 'And Another Thing...' was $40 at Dymocks, but I got it for $33, which for buying books is an acceptable price range. After we got that, we went happy, and I was quite happy with my day so far.
However, all good things must come to an end (this being a semi-accidental reference to this song), and when we got home, I had to study, as tomorrow is the Agriculture yearly, which I'm not too happy about. Mainly because it's bloody Ag, and Ag exams and I have never gotten along (as opposed to English exams, which was only really the half-yearly. Still, what a half-yearly it was...). So I studied for quite a while, but every so often, I sneaked a peek at 'And Another Thing...' which was the book I chose to read first. I really couldn't help it. Once I was done, I blogged for a while, trying to keep up with previous posts. It's hard. I tried to get a lot done, but I didn't get all of it done. So here I am.
And that was my Sunday. Again, sorry about the late post, it's mainly because of Saturday, and how it threw me all out of whack by putting me two posts behind instead of my usual one. Believe me, I'm trying to get back up, but with exams, I am having difficulties. Just bear with me and soon I'll be back up to schedule. Hopefully.
Books, wonderful books,
AB
I was woken up at around 7:30, as we had stuff to do in the day, of course. I was a little reluctant, as I am on doing things on Sunday (It's not that I'm religious or anything, no, I'm atheist, but I'm lazy.). I wasn't going to go before (which would be a pity, as you'll soon see), but with the new revelation that the shoes Dad brought back from Canberra were actually his, not mine, it has become evident that I have lost my shoes (no idea how you lose shoes, but I did), so we had to get new ones. Me being me, I just basically found any set of white shoes that would fir me (not as easy as it seems, as I have huge feet. Size 12, or something.), and brought them to Mum. This was in Big W, and so while Mum had to go look at something, I looked around the book section, seeing if they had anything decent. And then I saw it.
Upside down, on a shelf, but still perfectly recognisable: the new Matthew Reilly book had finally hit bookshelves. The final book in the Jack West Jr trilogy (for want of a better name), known as 'The Five Greatest Warriors.' I could hardly believe it. I grabbed it and held it tightly to my chest, not caring who saw me. I rushed to see how much it was, which was $25. For that price, it was mine. As I repeated several times, to get it they would have to pry it out of my cold dead hands. So I got the book, very pleased with myself for spotting in, and by sheer chance, after we got out of Big W, Mum let EJ and I go into Angus & Robertson. Where I came quite possibly the closest I've ever been to a religious experience (I may be exaggerating there. But not much.)
I stared at 'And Another Thing...' the sixth book in the 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series even though Douglas Adams passed away in 2001 (Wikipedia explains it better than I could), written by Eoin Colfer, and 'And Another Thing...' stared back. I'm surprised I didn't drop to the ground on my knees. I picked up the book; and goggled at the price. $44, it was. I was in two minds about getting this book. On one hand, it was from 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'. On the other hand, it was $44 (the fact that 'Genius Wars,' the end to the trilogy by Catherine Jinks, was out wasn't helping.). What ended up happening was that I figured that it would be cheaper in Dymocks, if they had it, but just in case they didn't, I made sure we could come back to Angus & Robertson. So we got to Dymocks, and because 'Genius Wars' was cheaper there, EJ bought that. I put the points on my Dymocks card, leaving me at $7 worth of points. 'And Another Thing...' was $40 at Dymocks, but I got it for $33, which for buying books is an acceptable price range. After we got that, we went happy, and I was quite happy with my day so far.
However, all good things must come to an end (this being a semi-accidental reference to this song), and when we got home, I had to study, as tomorrow is the Agriculture yearly, which I'm not too happy about. Mainly because it's bloody Ag, and Ag exams and I have never gotten along (as opposed to English exams, which was only really the half-yearly. Still, what a half-yearly it was...). So I studied for quite a while, but every so often, I sneaked a peek at 'And Another Thing...' which was the book I chose to read first. I really couldn't help it. Once I was done, I blogged for a while, trying to keep up with previous posts. It's hard. I tried to get a lot done, but I didn't get all of it done. So here I am.
And that was my Sunday. Again, sorry about the late post, it's mainly because of Saturday, and how it threw me all out of whack by putting me two posts behind instead of my usual one. Believe me, I'm trying to get back up, but with exams, I am having difficulties. Just bear with me and soon I'll be back up to schedule. Hopefully.
Books, wonderful books,
AB
Friday, October 23, 2009
Yearlies '09: Mathematics and English
Yes, they've put arguably the two biggest exams of the year that aren't for the School Certificate (Maths and English being two of the most important subjects, and the yearly being big for both of these. Of course, if you do IPT, you've done your biggest exam. But I'm not, so I haven't. Anyway.) on the same day. Is this intelligent? I don't think so. So, without further ado, to my day, as I must post quickly. I'll explain next post.
I was driven to school, as I had an exam on the first period, and I went to borrow a book from the library. When school actually sounded, we went to our exam, but apparently, we had to have Assembly, instead of before Recess. I'm not entirely sure why, but we ran with it. In the actual assembly, the microphones didn't work (there was a blackout), and at one point we were left for 15 minutes as all the teachers (I mean, every single one there) went to go and get Norris, who wasn't there. The word 'disorganised' comes to mind. We did eventually get around to doing the Maths exam, and I went for almost the whole time allotted. I went over my work, and I think I did pretty well. Some people actually didn't finish (even Mango didn't!), so I'm thankful I did. All in all, I think that exam was, if not easy, then at least not mind-bogglingly hard. Recess was discussing the exam.
Period 3 was Drama, and in that we had a sub, as Kolodziej was evidently not here. Our sub was Hackett, who was good enough to let us study for our English exam, something which was much needed and much appreciated. So, I checked over that, and thought up a few techniques for the extended response. Period 4 was Commerce, and Kearney, like Hackett, knew there was an English exam, and he also let us study. I mean, it is the English exam, and teachers seem to realise that you really have to study for that. Which is good, because I don't want to completely stuff it like the half-yearly (I really should stop mentioning that.). Lunch was doing some last minute reading up on my texts, as well as talking about jokes and Battlefield Heroes, simultaneously at some points (as in, jokes about BFH. Very rarely were they funny.). And, then the bell went.
I got to the English exam room with a sense of major worry. I was nervous about the exam, and I wanted a good mark to make up for... well, you know. I went through the comprehension in about 25 minutes. It wasn't particularly difficult, as the texts weren't ambiguous like that bloody 'Walter' story from the half-yearly (it just keeps coming up in conversation, I'm afraid.). Soon, I got to the extended response, and after looking through the question, I started to write. And write. So you can imagine my reaction when there's only 20 or so minutes left of the exam, I've done only four and a half out of eleven paragraphs, and I've already used up half of the allotted space for writing. I started to panic, and thus began to write like there was no tomorrow. I finished with about three minutes left; and then the bell rang. And with having to catch the train and everything, I had really no choice. I quickly went over the stuff I'd written, and said to Wilson (who was taking us for the exam) that I had to dash. So I handed in the exam and ran for dear life.
I thankfully got to the station in time for the station, triumphant if a little out of breath, and I got home soon. When I did get home, I played some Battlefield Heroes for a while (I was messing around with abilities, but once I got it down, I was going pretty well), and then Mum and Dad called me in to watch another episode of FlashForward. It's going pretty well; I advise you to watch it. And for the rest of the night, I pretty much just watched TV, and blogged a bit.
And that was my Friday. Before you say anything, I know, this is very late (it's bloody Sunday afternoon), but that's for reasons that were not under my control. So I'll try to get back up to schedule as quick as I can. But with the Ag exam... let's just say I won't make any promises.
5 down, 1 to go,
AB
I was driven to school, as I had an exam on the first period, and I went to borrow a book from the library. When school actually sounded, we went to our exam, but apparently, we had to have Assembly, instead of before Recess. I'm not entirely sure why, but we ran with it. In the actual assembly, the microphones didn't work (there was a blackout), and at one point we were left for 15 minutes as all the teachers (I mean, every single one there) went to go and get Norris, who wasn't there. The word 'disorganised' comes to mind. We did eventually get around to doing the Maths exam, and I went for almost the whole time allotted. I went over my work, and I think I did pretty well. Some people actually didn't finish (even Mango didn't!), so I'm thankful I did. All in all, I think that exam was, if not easy, then at least not mind-bogglingly hard. Recess was discussing the exam.
Period 3 was Drama, and in that we had a sub, as Kolodziej was evidently not here. Our sub was Hackett, who was good enough to let us study for our English exam, something which was much needed and much appreciated. So, I checked over that, and thought up a few techniques for the extended response. Period 4 was Commerce, and Kearney, like Hackett, knew there was an English exam, and he also let us study. I mean, it is the English exam, and teachers seem to realise that you really have to study for that. Which is good, because I don't want to completely stuff it like the half-yearly (I really should stop mentioning that.). Lunch was doing some last minute reading up on my texts, as well as talking about jokes and Battlefield Heroes, simultaneously at some points (as in, jokes about BFH. Very rarely were they funny.). And, then the bell went.
I got to the English exam room with a sense of major worry. I was nervous about the exam, and I wanted a good mark to make up for... well, you know. I went through the comprehension in about 25 minutes. It wasn't particularly difficult, as the texts weren't ambiguous like that bloody 'Walter' story from the half-yearly (it just keeps coming up in conversation, I'm afraid.). Soon, I got to the extended response, and after looking through the question, I started to write. And write. So you can imagine my reaction when there's only 20 or so minutes left of the exam, I've done only four and a half out of eleven paragraphs, and I've already used up half of the allotted space for writing. I started to panic, and thus began to write like there was no tomorrow. I finished with about three minutes left; and then the bell rang. And with having to catch the train and everything, I had really no choice. I quickly went over the stuff I'd written, and said to Wilson (who was taking us for the exam) that I had to dash. So I handed in the exam and ran for dear life.
I thankfully got to the station in time for the station, triumphant if a little out of breath, and I got home soon. When I did get home, I played some Battlefield Heroes for a while (I was messing around with abilities, but once I got it down, I was going pretty well), and then Mum and Dad called me in to watch another episode of FlashForward. It's going pretty well; I advise you to watch it. And for the rest of the night, I pretty much just watched TV, and blogged a bit.
And that was my Friday. Before you say anything, I know, this is very late (it's bloody Sunday afternoon), but that's for reasons that were not under my control. So I'll try to get back up to schedule as quick as I can. But with the Ag exam... let's just say I won't make any promises.
5 down, 1 to go,
AB
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Yearlies '09: PDHPE
I was tossing up putting just plain 'PE,' but I figured that in the half-yearly posts, 'Mathematics' wasn't 'Maths,' so it's 'PDHPE' instead of 'PE' (yeah, I checked past posts. I won't really bother with linking, because it's only a title. Also, I should really stop with the apostrophes.). So, before too long, let us all have a look at my day, on this 256th post (that's sort of a nerdy computer joke, to do with binary. I will link you the Wikipedia page, as Wikipedia somehow has a page for the number 256. OK, enough binary nerdiness.).
Period 1 was Maths, where we did some study for the Maths exam tomorrow. Faulds actually didn't get to class until about 10 minutes after the bell, and for the whole of the class I pretty much just played Sticks with Justin (we're about of even skill), as well as doing dice rolls with the random integer function on my calculator (I can say it's not really random; there's a clear favoritism for some numbers. Though coin flips are evenly distributed.). Period 2 was Drama, and we had more groups doing their 'Fawlty Towers' scenes. Shane made an excellent Basil Fawlty (as I said, I sorta wish I'd been Basil, but Mr. Hamilton), and Tansy made her appearance as Mr. Hamilton in classic Tansy fashion, that is, in mock-promiscuous nature (or, rather, I think it was mock). Recess was talking.
Period 3 was the exam, and we got in, as we do, and we read through it. And there was quite a bit of chuckling. The PE staff, geniuses they are (no sarcasm intended), had taken 'at least one incredibly wrong answer in multiple choice' to a hilarious level, with some answers being 'Chuck Norris was born before his father' for which is the most true and 'A fully sick car' for road safety. They also had repeated mentions of Mr. T, proving once and for all that the PE staff are the funniest in the school without a doubt (they even had cartoons in last year's yearly. Cartoons!). Period 4 was Science, in which we got a sheet saying absolutely everything we had to know for the Science yearly, and I thankfully knew most of it, except for the stuff we hadn't been taught, which is quite annoying. I also, with the help of a stopwatch on my iPod, was able to find out that I could do the periodic table in about 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Which is pretty good, I say. Lunch was more talking; we will return to cards soon.
Period 5 was English, and in that we discussed potential for the exam tomorrow. By which I mean that we talked about what the question could be (Hancock obviously knows, but he wasn't telling us. He was more telling us what we should do so we could be prepared for all manner of eventualities.), and he told us things to do for the essay: the basic structure, substructure, technique, quotes and so on. Basically, doing what he could to prepare us for the yearly, which I need; after the half-yearly, I need a good mark. Period 6 was History, which was watching a video on Gough Whitlam, as we have been for quite a while now (we got back into the swing of things in a new term like we never left.). In it, I also talked to Hewie about the English thing, which most seem to be worrying about rather than Maths, with good reason (not to say Maths is unimportant. But English exams...). And when I got home, I did some study, and blogged for a while.
And that was my day. There aren't any comments, but that's understandable, since most people are studying like crazy (me, I figure that you have to have some balance, so I do hapkido and blogging. It works.). So, this is the last paragraph. Tomorrow brings the two biggest exams, and one of the two I'm most worried about: English (the other being Ag.). So, I better finish up on this post, as I have time problems. As usual.
3 down, 3 to go,
AB
Period 1 was Maths, where we did some study for the Maths exam tomorrow. Faulds actually didn't get to class until about 10 minutes after the bell, and for the whole of the class I pretty much just played Sticks with Justin (we're about of even skill), as well as doing dice rolls with the random integer function on my calculator (I can say it's not really random; there's a clear favoritism for some numbers. Though coin flips are evenly distributed.). Period 2 was Drama, and we had more groups doing their 'Fawlty Towers' scenes. Shane made an excellent Basil Fawlty (as I said, I sorta wish I'd been Basil, but Mr. Hamilton), and Tansy made her appearance as Mr. Hamilton in classic Tansy fashion, that is, in mock-promiscuous nature (or, rather, I think it was mock). Recess was talking.
Period 3 was the exam, and we got in, as we do, and we read through it. And there was quite a bit of chuckling. The PE staff, geniuses they are (no sarcasm intended), had taken 'at least one incredibly wrong answer in multiple choice' to a hilarious level, with some answers being 'Chuck Norris was born before his father' for which is the most true and 'A fully sick car' for road safety. They also had repeated mentions of Mr. T, proving once and for all that the PE staff are the funniest in the school without a doubt (they even had cartoons in last year's yearly. Cartoons!). Period 4 was Science, in which we got a sheet saying absolutely everything we had to know for the Science yearly, and I thankfully knew most of it, except for the stuff we hadn't been taught, which is quite annoying. I also, with the help of a stopwatch on my iPod, was able to find out that I could do the periodic table in about 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Which is pretty good, I say. Lunch was more talking; we will return to cards soon.
Period 5 was English, and in that we discussed potential for the exam tomorrow. By which I mean that we talked about what the question could be (Hancock obviously knows, but he wasn't telling us. He was more telling us what we should do so we could be prepared for all manner of eventualities.), and he told us things to do for the essay: the basic structure, substructure, technique, quotes and so on. Basically, doing what he could to prepare us for the yearly, which I need; after the half-yearly, I need a good mark. Period 6 was History, which was watching a video on Gough Whitlam, as we have been for quite a while now (we got back into the swing of things in a new term like we never left.). In it, I also talked to Hewie about the English thing, which most seem to be worrying about rather than Maths, with good reason (not to say Maths is unimportant. But English exams...). And when I got home, I did some study, and blogged for a while.
And that was my day. There aren't any comments, but that's understandable, since most people are studying like crazy (me, I figure that you have to have some balance, so I do hapkido and blogging. It works.). So, this is the last paragraph. Tomorrow brings the two biggest exams, and one of the two I'm most worried about: English (the other being Ag.). So, I better finish up on this post, as I have time problems. As usual.
3 down, 3 to go,
AB
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Yearlies '09: Commerce
Yes, it's the second exam in this session of many, and this is the post talking about such a fact (I started that sentence having no idea where I was going, and so I got caught in the middle of the sentence having no idea what to do. Damn, I suck sometimes.). Yeah... Anyway, it's a late post, but that's because the bloody schedule has been thrown off yet again. I have no idea when I'll get it back up. Probably when exams are over, but we'll see.
Before school, I looked for my shoes (this does have a point), and after some searching, it turned out Dad had taken them to Canberra (yes, my feet are that big). So I used his. They fit. When I got to school, there weren't that many people in our group, as a lot of our group does IPT, and they had the option to not go to school to study (it was the same yesterday, but there was an exam yesterday. Today, it would be IPT. Anyway.). First, it was Role Call, which was reading, as well as doing some studying for Commerce. Period 1 was Science, and in that we started a new topic, which was evolution (which, you can probably guess, due to my atheism and self-confessed science nature, I am all for. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that there wasn't any religious objections, although, in all fairness, we aren't that much of a really religious school.). That was pretty fun, and I actually read through the whole chapter in the period, as well as reading up for Commerce. Period 2 was Computer Maths, or, rather, it would have been if we actually went on the computers. Instead, we did a non-calculator test, and talked about the School Certificate (which, according to Rawson is sorta pointless. Certifiably pointless. ...OK, even I thought that pun was bad.). The non-calculator test was pretty easy, really, and I spent the remainder of the time doing more Commerce revision. The more the better! Recess was talking, as I'm yet to bring cards. After exams.
Period 3 was the major exam (that's not to say it was the major exam, except it was an exam on my major. That's still confusing. Anyway.), which was the Commerce exam. It was long, it involved a lot of writing for 40 minutes, and it was... easy. Or, rather, it was easier than I expected. I expected long questions needing statistics and knowing in-depth stuff about employment. Instead, we got questions that just needed far-reaching answers, ones that didn't need that much detail. And, from what I heard from other people who did Commerce (such as Kevin), they thought the same too. So, yeah. I got good luck on the Commerce front, and I hope I get good marks. Lunch was more talking, with the only people there: me, Kevin, Victor and Ebony, the latter two having come down from study (I have no idea where Andy got to.).
After Lunch, we had sport, or that's what we called it. What we actually did was go down to the computer rooms (they said it was because it was too hot. I'm not entirely sure, but I'll run with it.), and mess around for a while. For about half an hour, I went on the school's version of Pivot, which, if you don't know what it is, is a program that lets you create animations with stick figures (here, let Wikipedia show you). However, we soon actually had to do sport, as a teacher came in and said we had to do it. So we went down to the oval; and he promptly said that we only had to play sport if we wanted. So 7 people did it, and the rest sat down. Pretty much pointless, really. When 'sport' eventually ended, I went and read for a while, and once I got home, I did a little study for PE tomorrow. And at around 6:45, we left for hapkido.
When I got to hapkido, I talked to Amadeus for a while, on a whole manner of things really. Shirisha wasn't there today, but that's understandable, as she goes erratically anyway (it's not her fault.). It was another tiring session today, and coming up to summer that means a lot of water being lost. Today, I learnt a bit of a new technique, which was a way of getting out of a bear hug, I didn't get to try it for long though. I was also Grandmaster Geoff's training dummy at one point when it came to doing stretches, and damn did it hurt. I mean, jees. And after hapkido, I blogged, but not enough.
And that was my day. Next in the line of exams is PE, which should be pretty straight-forward; you don't need to know that much. You just need to memorise a few choice facts, use common sense, and you'll most likely pass with ease. And we don't have much to study, since we didn't have many periods (hell, that was why the half-yearly for PE didn't go ahead. Not enough classes.). Anyway. Soon I will post on time. Until then, I'll keep trying.
2 down, 4 to go,
AB
Before school, I looked for my shoes (this does have a point), and after some searching, it turned out Dad had taken them to Canberra (yes, my feet are that big). So I used his. They fit. When I got to school, there weren't that many people in our group, as a lot of our group does IPT, and they had the option to not go to school to study (it was the same yesterday, but there was an exam yesterday. Today, it would be IPT. Anyway.). First, it was Role Call, which was reading, as well as doing some studying for Commerce. Period 1 was Science, and in that we started a new topic, which was evolution (which, you can probably guess, due to my atheism and self-confessed science nature, I am all for. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that there wasn't any religious objections, although, in all fairness, we aren't that much of a really religious school.). That was pretty fun, and I actually read through the whole chapter in the period, as well as reading up for Commerce. Period 2 was Computer Maths, or, rather, it would have been if we actually went on the computers. Instead, we did a non-calculator test, and talked about the School Certificate (which, according to Rawson is sorta pointless. Certifiably pointless. ...OK, even I thought that pun was bad.). The non-calculator test was pretty easy, really, and I spent the remainder of the time doing more Commerce revision. The more the better! Recess was talking, as I'm yet to bring cards. After exams.
Period 3 was the major exam (that's not to say it was the major exam, except it was an exam on my major. That's still confusing. Anyway.), which was the Commerce exam. It was long, it involved a lot of writing for 40 minutes, and it was... easy. Or, rather, it was easier than I expected. I expected long questions needing statistics and knowing in-depth stuff about employment. Instead, we got questions that just needed far-reaching answers, ones that didn't need that much detail. And, from what I heard from other people who did Commerce (such as Kevin), they thought the same too. So, yeah. I got good luck on the Commerce front, and I hope I get good marks. Lunch was more talking, with the only people there: me, Kevin, Victor and Ebony, the latter two having come down from study (I have no idea where Andy got to.).
After Lunch, we had sport, or that's what we called it. What we actually did was go down to the computer rooms (they said it was because it was too hot. I'm not entirely sure, but I'll run with it.), and mess around for a while. For about half an hour, I went on the school's version of Pivot, which, if you don't know what it is, is a program that lets you create animations with stick figures (here, let Wikipedia show you). However, we soon actually had to do sport, as a teacher came in and said we had to do it. So we went down to the oval; and he promptly said that we only had to play sport if we wanted. So 7 people did it, and the rest sat down. Pretty much pointless, really. When 'sport' eventually ended, I went and read for a while, and once I got home, I did a little study for PE tomorrow. And at around 6:45, we left for hapkido.
When I got to hapkido, I talked to Amadeus for a while, on a whole manner of things really. Shirisha wasn't there today, but that's understandable, as she goes erratically anyway (it's not her fault.). It was another tiring session today, and coming up to summer that means a lot of water being lost. Today, I learnt a bit of a new technique, which was a way of getting out of a bear hug, I didn't get to try it for long though. I was also Grandmaster Geoff's training dummy at one point when it came to doing stretches, and damn did it hurt. I mean, jees. And after hapkido, I blogged, but not enough.
And that was my day. Next in the line of exams is PE, which should be pretty straight-forward; you don't need to know that much. You just need to memorise a few choice facts, use common sense, and you'll most likely pass with ease. And we don't have much to study, since we didn't have many periods (hell, that was why the half-yearly for PE didn't go ahead. Not enough classes.). Anyway. Soon I will post on time. Until then, I'll keep trying.
2 down, 4 to go,
AB
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Yearlies '09: Drama
I have chosen the title in accordance with the rules set down by myself in the half-yearlies (I was going to say 'in accordance with the scriptures,' but it seemed a bit religious. So I put it in brackets.). And if you don't believe me, then do (by clicking on that link.). Because it's right there, in the first paragraph. Anyway. Let us all have a look at the second day back to school, and the first day of exams...
Before school, I attempted to do some work on Monday's post, but since I had to catch the bus, I didn't get much done. Ah well. Period 1 was Geography, where we did work on synoptic charts, which is basically another word for weather charts (which, if you want to get technical, I would call meteorological charts. I suppose they all have subtle meaning differences, but it all amounts to the same.). It involved looking at sheets, and, on some occasions, pointing out the interior flaws that were present on them (I mean, you can't say that winds move anticlockwise and then show them pointing clockwise. It just doesn't work. It's confusing.). Period 2 was Science, where we went down to the computer labs in the DT block (it used to be called DT, now it's called TAS. Does it honestly matter?) near the dance studio (I haven't been in there in ages), and we went on the net and looked up stuff for the Science exam, which is next week for the Trial School Certificate. Apparently we have to know stuff we haven't even been taught, so I'm not too hopeful. With any luck, I'll be able to wing those parts. Recess was studying.
Period 3 was the first exam, which, if you read my title, was Drama. We got in, and once we'd unpacked, we went straight into it. It was a fairly long exam, and Kolodziej packed a heap into 40 minutes. I think I got it done with about a minute to go. It wasn't hard, I'd say, and I suspect people will lose marks for two reasons: because they didn't finish, and because Kolodziej put questions into the exam that he didn't teach us the answers to. Or, so I think, as everybody did seem to not know the answer to one of the questions. Anyway. Period 4 was PE, and Wilson pretty much said that we're not going to have that many theory PE lessons for the rest of the term, so he gave us a booklet and essentially said (in fact, he did say; there's no 'essentially' about it) that we just do whatever we want from it for the rest of the term. Which was pretty cool. In the end, we went around the class saying professions beginning with each letter (hard ones included K, Q and X. I didn't get around to saying 'Quantum Physicist,' which I think was a good one.). Lunch was talking, as well as paying some money to the cash registrar for the formal.
Period 5 was Maths, and we pretty much just did some revision work. Nothing particularly hard, just really using basic algebra and geometry, and occasionally getting your calculator out to go over some stuff. It wasn't really that difficult. Period 6 was Drama, which was pretty fun. Ours was the only group that actually did the run-through of the Fawlty Towers skit. Kolodziej asked if I was going to be Basil, but I said that I was Mr Hamilton. It would have been pretty good to be Basil, though (but if we are doing another one, I am going to be Manuel. Just because he is awesome.). And when I got home, I studied for Commerce, and surfed the net. But I didn't get to post that much, so here I am.
And such was the beginning of exams for Term 4. I know this is a late post, it's mainly because hapkido got in the way for Wednesday. Ah well. Tomorrow's exam is Commerce, and, well, I'll get to that when I get to that. Until then, enjoy the late posts (because I'm definitely not.).
1 down, 5 to go,
AB
Before school, I attempted to do some work on Monday's post, but since I had to catch the bus, I didn't get much done. Ah well. Period 1 was Geography, where we did work on synoptic charts, which is basically another word for weather charts (which, if you want to get technical, I would call meteorological charts. I suppose they all have subtle meaning differences, but it all amounts to the same.). It involved looking at sheets, and, on some occasions, pointing out the interior flaws that were present on them (I mean, you can't say that winds move anticlockwise and then show them pointing clockwise. It just doesn't work. It's confusing.). Period 2 was Science, where we went down to the computer labs in the DT block (it used to be called DT, now it's called TAS. Does it honestly matter?) near the dance studio (I haven't been in there in ages), and we went on the net and looked up stuff for the Science exam, which is next week for the Trial School Certificate. Apparently we have to know stuff we haven't even been taught, so I'm not too hopeful. With any luck, I'll be able to wing those parts. Recess was studying.
Period 3 was the first exam, which, if you read my title, was Drama. We got in, and once we'd unpacked, we went straight into it. It was a fairly long exam, and Kolodziej packed a heap into 40 minutes. I think I got it done with about a minute to go. It wasn't hard, I'd say, and I suspect people will lose marks for two reasons: because they didn't finish, and because Kolodziej put questions into the exam that he didn't teach us the answers to. Or, so I think, as everybody did seem to not know the answer to one of the questions. Anyway. Period 4 was PE, and Wilson pretty much said that we're not going to have that many theory PE lessons for the rest of the term, so he gave us a booklet and essentially said (in fact, he did say; there's no 'essentially' about it) that we just do whatever we want from it for the rest of the term. Which was pretty cool. In the end, we went around the class saying professions beginning with each letter (hard ones included K, Q and X. I didn't get around to saying 'Quantum Physicist,' which I think was a good one.). Lunch was talking, as well as paying some money to the cash registrar for the formal.
Period 5 was Maths, and we pretty much just did some revision work. Nothing particularly hard, just really using basic algebra and geometry, and occasionally getting your calculator out to go over some stuff. It wasn't really that difficult. Period 6 was Drama, which was pretty fun. Ours was the only group that actually did the run-through of the Fawlty Towers skit. Kolodziej asked if I was going to be Basil, but I said that I was Mr Hamilton. It would have been pretty good to be Basil, though (but if we are doing another one, I am going to be Manuel. Just because he is awesome.). And when I got home, I studied for Commerce, and surfed the net. But I didn't get to post that much, so here I am.
And such was the beginning of exams for Term 4. I know this is a late post, it's mainly because hapkido got in the way for Wednesday. Ah well. Tomorrow's exam is Commerce, and, well, I'll get to that when I get to that. Until then, enjoy the late posts (because I'm definitely not.).
1 down, 5 to go,
AB
Monday, October 19, 2009
Back and Fourth
You know, there are some titles I don't like. This is not one of them. This is a good title. Why? Because it means that I went back (to school) and it is the fourth term. Also, it's a play on words on 'Back and Forth.' Really, this is a kickass title. Anyway. Yes, I went back to school today, as well as a few other things. So, let's see, and just this once, let's cut the theme music. Because, I didn't make it on the holidays. Ah well.
I woke up at 6-ish, as it turned out my alarm forgot to go off. Luckily (or, unluckily, depending on how you look at it), EJ got me up, and I spent the morning getting ready for school, and finishing Sunday's post. I mean, it wasn't on time, but it was near enough that I'm starting to get hopeful about posts that are actually on schedule. When we left, we dropped by the local shops to put credit on my phone, which was playing up and made us think there was nothing left, when there was. Oy vey. When we did get to the station, I listened to my iPod, and at school, I caught up with the guys at school. Which sort of evolved into tales about Battlefield Heroes (evolved may be a bit of an overstatement; the whole conversation was basically BFH-centred. It's something that we pretty all have in common, except Ian, Cameron and Mango. Everyone else, I'm pretty sure plays it. Oh, and Ebony.).
Period 1 was Science, and Robson was away, and Bruce was our sub (no offence to the guy, but I prefer Robson. He's nice and everything, but...). To top it off, a minute into class all the lights went out. So yeah, we were having a fantastic start to the lesson. The period itself was going through notes and flicking through the textbook, as well as trying to remember stuff from last year. Period 2 was Geography, in which we did more study, as Johnson gave us a book which had all the skills in it (and I would like to say here: I finally know the difference between longitude and latitude. Latitude measures north and south, and longitude is the other one. Yes!). Recess would have been cards, but I forgot to bring them (you would think I would have remembered something as important as that. But, no.). So it was yet more talking.
Period 3 was English, in which we talked about the right way to do an essay, and specifically, the right way to do the yearly. And from what I hear, you have to remember stuff (which we've already done an assignment on), and not read a page and a half about some random guy called Walter which, if you get wrong, amounts to a shocking English fail, even if you explained it well and wrote (even the English staff admitted) a good story! (Sorry, that really touches a nerve. Goddamn English staff.). Period 4 was Maths, where we traded rooms for what turned out to be no reason (yeah, it was just one of those days.). We just basically did revisional work (revisional is a word, right?), and looked at different topics we had done. I'm fairly confident about the Maths exam, if only really because maths is a fairly logical subject and, well, I'm good at Maths. I don't like to brag, but I am. Lunch was talking, as well as going up to the library to print out my Science assignment and hand it in, as well as see if they've got the sequel to 'The Colour of Magic' by Terry Pratchett, called 'The Light Fantastic,' which they didn't. Damn.
Period 5 was Drama, in which you would think we would have studied (I mean, it's the first bloody exam!). But no, we did something which was more fun, if perhaps a tad less sensible: we got into groups, and Kolodziej gave us a script from a scene from a great episode of 'Fawlty Towers,' called 'Waldorf Salad.' (Wikipedia article included, of course.) I played the part of Mr. Hamilton, the American who stands up to Basil. If you've seen the episode, you will know what I'm talking about. If not, then you will mostly likely be confused. Ah well; it ain't my fault if you haven't seen it. Period 6 was Commerce, and we got our assignments back. No, not marked: they're our new study guides. Apparently, in the exam, we have to write about whatever we wrote about in the assignment. Come to think of it, that's what we have to do for English too... Anyway. When I got home, I studied for Drama, played some Battlefield Heroes, and at about 7, we left for hapkido.
It was a pretty tiring class today, considering we had Tina and Grandmaster Geoff. They make for a very good combination for class, but it really takes it out of you. I was partnered with Dom today, and he helped me with a new technique, which starts off with a cross hand grab, and ends with a sort of karate chop to your tricep that can put you flat on the ground if you do it well enough. Hapkido is awesome like that. In fact, in multiple grabs, when Amadeus said something, I was able to hurt him (I forget what he said.). After class, we nominated people for hapkido awards (I had never heard of these), which are things like 'Best Effort' and 'Best Technique.' I can't say who I nominated, as it's a secret ballot and I somewhat forgot. And when I got home, I blogged, but not enough (I got halfway through the post.). So here I am.
And that, my friends, was my day. Sorry about the fairly late post, but things got in the way. Most of them study or hapkido related. Ah well. Also, if you haven't noticed, it's a rather long post. I really thought that once I got back to school, I could post longer; and I did. The system works! Anyway. I'll try to get back to schedule, but with exams, promises really can't be made.
The final term of Year 10 begins,
AB
I woke up at 6-ish, as it turned out my alarm forgot to go off. Luckily (or, unluckily, depending on how you look at it), EJ got me up, and I spent the morning getting ready for school, and finishing Sunday's post. I mean, it wasn't on time, but it was near enough that I'm starting to get hopeful about posts that are actually on schedule. When we left, we dropped by the local shops to put credit on my phone, which was playing up and made us think there was nothing left, when there was. Oy vey. When we did get to the station, I listened to my iPod, and at school, I caught up with the guys at school. Which sort of evolved into tales about Battlefield Heroes (evolved may be a bit of an overstatement; the whole conversation was basically BFH-centred. It's something that we pretty all have in common, except Ian, Cameron and Mango. Everyone else, I'm pretty sure plays it. Oh, and Ebony.).
Period 1 was Science, and Robson was away, and Bruce was our sub (no offence to the guy, but I prefer Robson. He's nice and everything, but...). To top it off, a minute into class all the lights went out. So yeah, we were having a fantastic start to the lesson. The period itself was going through notes and flicking through the textbook, as well as trying to remember stuff from last year. Period 2 was Geography, in which we did more study, as Johnson gave us a book which had all the skills in it (and I would like to say here: I finally know the difference between longitude and latitude. Latitude measures north and south, and longitude is the other one. Yes!). Recess would have been cards, but I forgot to bring them (you would think I would have remembered something as important as that. But, no.). So it was yet more talking.
Period 3 was English, in which we talked about the right way to do an essay, and specifically, the right way to do the yearly. And from what I hear, you have to remember stuff (which we've already done an assignment on), and not read a page and a half about some random guy called Walter which, if you get wrong, amounts to a shocking English fail, even if you explained it well and wrote (even the English staff admitted) a good story! (Sorry, that really touches a nerve. Goddamn English staff.). Period 4 was Maths, where we traded rooms for what turned out to be no reason (yeah, it was just one of those days.). We just basically did revisional work (revisional is a word, right?), and looked at different topics we had done. I'm fairly confident about the Maths exam, if only really because maths is a fairly logical subject and, well, I'm good at Maths. I don't like to brag, but I am. Lunch was talking, as well as going up to the library to print out my Science assignment and hand it in, as well as see if they've got the sequel to 'The Colour of Magic' by Terry Pratchett, called 'The Light Fantastic,' which they didn't. Damn.
Period 5 was Drama, in which you would think we would have studied (I mean, it's the first bloody exam!). But no, we did something which was more fun, if perhaps a tad less sensible: we got into groups, and Kolodziej gave us a script from a scene from a great episode of 'Fawlty Towers,' called 'Waldorf Salad.' (Wikipedia article included, of course.) I played the part of Mr. Hamilton, the American who stands up to Basil. If you've seen the episode, you will know what I'm talking about. If not, then you will mostly likely be confused. Ah well; it ain't my fault if you haven't seen it. Period 6 was Commerce, and we got our assignments back. No, not marked: they're our new study guides. Apparently, in the exam, we have to write about whatever we wrote about in the assignment. Come to think of it, that's what we have to do for English too... Anyway. When I got home, I studied for Drama, played some Battlefield Heroes, and at about 7, we left for hapkido.
It was a pretty tiring class today, considering we had Tina and Grandmaster Geoff. They make for a very good combination for class, but it really takes it out of you. I was partnered with Dom today, and he helped me with a new technique, which starts off with a cross hand grab, and ends with a sort of karate chop to your tricep that can put you flat on the ground if you do it well enough. Hapkido is awesome like that. In fact, in multiple grabs, when Amadeus said something, I was able to hurt him (I forget what he said.). After class, we nominated people for hapkido awards (I had never heard of these), which are things like 'Best Effort' and 'Best Technique.' I can't say who I nominated, as it's a secret ballot and I somewhat forgot. And when I got home, I blogged, but not enough (I got halfway through the post.). So here I am.
And that, my friends, was my day. Sorry about the fairly late post, but things got in the way. Most of them study or hapkido related. Ah well. Also, if you haven't noticed, it's a rather long post. I really thought that once I got back to school, I could post longer; and I did. The system works! Anyway. I'll try to get back to schedule, but with exams, promises really can't be made.
The final term of Year 10 begins,
AB
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
