Modies, Media and Biology Exams : The Full Sha-bang

Oooooooh, what a couple of days it has been indeed!

3 exams in 3 days and i haven't suffered some sort of mental breakdown :P (I feel sorry for the guys that have 4 next week)

I only have one next week but yes, this week i sat 3 exams.

So here's how they went :

Modern Studies on Tuesday morning, i was a bit nervous beforehand to tell the truth. But as i've found with most exams, once you get in and settled, you're fine. That was the case, particularly after looking at the question sheet.
No problems really apart from 1 question somewhere, so i may lose a few marks but if i was to predict right now i would honestly say i got a an A, or definetely a B. Also, the paper could have a been a lot tougher so a stroke of good luck there!

Media yesterday was quite a pain in the ass. The first part was actually not bad. An essay on the film The Untouchables, which we have been watching for almost a full year :P
So i was quite happy with that essay but the 2nd essay is the tricky one.
You are given a statement and are asked to sketch a quick poster justifying your reasons for the inclusion of say, clothes colours, lighting, what camera angle etc.
It's difficult coz you have to make it up on the spot pretty much and i was kinda rushing to get it finished, but hopefully my 1st essay will see me through safely.

...And now....the big one....

Biology, this morning.

I was up till 1am last night reading over notes (maybe not the smartest thing to do, but i did it anyway)
Now, for this exam, i was pretty nervous, as i expected to be. But the same story as usual - once you get settled you're fine.
I forgot my water bottle tho which was bad coz it's always good to have some with you.
Anyhoo, i opened the paper and the first page (multiple choice) was nothing too challenging, but it got a little harder after tht. I answered everything in section B and gave the two five-mark, essay-like questions a good shot.
On the whole tho, i found that the paper could definetely have been a lot worse. I finished it, answered all questions and did a quick prediction of what i thought i got and that turned out to be around 60%. I can't complain about it.
But what re-assured me is this :
My mum works as an invigilator (someone who watches over pupils sitting exams) in a different school nearby. She was in on the biology today and was able to bring me the exam paper home afterwards so i could have another look.
In a slightly calmer state i identified some things i did wrong but actually i think i may well have surprised myself!
Don't wanna get carried away but it's looking pretty good :D


But now it's time for some relaxation. I have a week until my Spanish exam which is next Friday and it's nothing i really have to study for. I think i've earned a few days off now and i am going to take full advantage of them.
I'm not out of the woods yet, but i'm very close, and soon you wont have to read anymore posts about exams! I know you must be getting a litte tired hearing about exams and i'm tired of sitting them but it will all be over next Friday afternoon and exams will be finished....for this year.

Hugs,
Rowan


Ever heard of MGMT?
Well, if not, it's time to introduce them to you.
You may or may not have have heard this song somehwhere, it's called Time to Pretend and it's trippy as hell, but so is the rest of the 1st album (Oracular Spectacular), highly recommended!


(Note : You can probably feel high simply from watching this video. Also note: A few guys with no shirts on thrown in for good measure :P)




Also try "Kids" "Electric Feel" and "The Handshake". Simply awesome :D

Louis' House

Today was another scorching day, just like yesterday. It has been really sunny here recently, makes a change for once.

I went to Louis' house today, had planned to for ages but the main aim of my visit was actually for studying.

I haven't ever actually properly studied like that before with another person but i found that it worked quite well. Must have done at least three hours of modern studies in the time i was there and that's quite something i think coz Louis has quite a lot of distractions in his house (pool table, PS3, Mac, loads of garden space....a grand piano lol)

He might have a lot of stuff in his house but not in his room. No tv for one thing so that's good. Also, you might think on a sunny day, being stuck inside would be awful but it wasn't. He has like slanted windows which open way out so you can still sit inside and study and it does kinda feel like you're outside.

Yeh, i love his house :P

It wasn't all work tho, we took a good 30 min break twice probably. Played some football, went on the trampoline, had dinner outside in the sun (2nd night in a row :D) so yes, i suppose you could say i enjoyed studying!

Louis must love it, he's got a perfect study room lol.

Today was good preparation for next week though. Modern studies, media studies and biology this week, the week i have been dreading ever since the timetablee were issued.
I need to work my ass off tomorrow studying so i'm hoping it rains like hell.
Got 3 subjects to revise, probably need to spend at least 2 hours on each :-/
Ho hum, it'll be over soon i suppose. Come Friday, i'll only have one exam left, and a week until it is upon me as well so there are a few positives i can take, can't just contemplate the negatives.

This all means i might not be able to post this week, might have to wait until Friday and it'll just be one big post. Who knows, i might be able to squeeze a little post in each night. We'll see....


Hugs,
Rowan

What a Disgraceful Day!

Eugh, Thursday's are always the worst day of the week. Today was no different.

I i think the reason they are horrible is coz it is a 7 period day with the worst combination of subjects.

I almost missed the bus this morning but caught it just in time. Maybe would have been better if i missed it coz the following happened in school today :

I lost my jacket which had money in it.
I still haven't got my maths result back yet
I completely fucked up a biology test.

Now the jacket, i think i know where it is. I left it in the dining hall today from what i remember so hopefully i will be able to retrieve it tomorrow. The worst thing was i had to walk home from the bus whithout my jacket, in the rain. The bus stop is only 4 or 5 minutes from my house but that was enough time to get me absolutely drenched so that didn't help add to events previous to this today.

Such as, my whole class has recieved their non-calculator test result back but i haven't yet. It's apparently sitting in the "late" pile coz i did my tests one day after everyone else before the holidays due to me being off one day. I should get the result back on Saturday. Yes, Saturday. The weekend morning maths class returns again....

But the biology was the worst thing. I knew i had the test coming up but ima tell you right now, i do minimal studying for biology. I just cant get any of the stuff into my head. Ive really lost the plot with biology, i would say it has now replaced maths in terms of what i am worst at. Anyway, i sat the thing and guessed at what i would say is about 75% of the questions. There's no doubt about it, i definetely haven't passed.
In a way i'm glad that it is my new worst subject coz at least if i do fail it, i dont have to re-sit the course, like i would with maths which looks like its coming on a little stronger. Of course, i would know that for sure if i could get my bloody results back!

Pppphhhh. This post has been a bit of a downer hasn't it?

I don't really have anything to lighten it up tho really.

Just a few things i will mention :

I'm conducting a little experiment in school at the moment. It's my own little idea and i'll let you know the results in my next post....or i might let it run for another week.

My first exam is in 6 days....

I did two english essays on Monday and Tuesday, i think they went ok but wont know till next week. I also did a french test that went fine.

I have a spanish test and media test tomorrow too. SO MANY TESTS!!!

There is just no rest at the moment, i want the weekend to come but i dont want it to come. I'm not looking forward to this other extra maths class but i am looking forward to going out to a meal on Saturday coz it's my mum's birthday. We're all going.
My mum sometimes acts a little strange around her birthday tho. She shares the same birthday as her mum (my gran) who has passed away now and i don't think she likes to make a big deal out of her birthday but hopefully she will enjoy it this time round. My dad got her some really nice jewellery too and me and my brother are gonna get her a nice card and probably something else.

But for now it's busy, busy, busy, worky, worky, worky, testy, testy, testy (in the words of biology) :P


Cheers,
Rowan

100th Post!!!

Wow. I never realised this was my 100th until a few days ago.

100 posts from 17th September 2009 – 13th April 2010.

I wanted to write something really nice and cool-sounding but I am typing this from my local library lol. My internet went out last night and we can’t get it fixed but we have a technician coming round to the house tomorrow so hopefully he/she will sort it out.

The computer went tho after I got back from my biology supported study which, again, I found to be quite handy.
I even got to sit next to Alan, it was awesome! We got to work in pairs too and help each other out a lot, I actually thought it was really enjoyable. (Got as close as I could to Alan :P)
Brand was there too, sitting behind us and the teacher that took the class was my normal biology teacher who is a legend so it was pretty much a perfect class to be honest.

After all that, I got the train home and never even got charged for it (coz I only travelled one stop) and then the sun was out so I sat in my back garden with a nice cold can of pepsi…..then the internet went.

My brother and I tried for a few hours to get it sorted but we resigned ourselves to the fact that we weren’t getting on even after messing about with some complicated settings, well they’re complicated to me anyway.
It’s something up with the DNS settings….. :S
Whatever that means.
Everything shows as being connected and linked up properly, no cables out the back, so it’s pretty much out with anybody’s control. Just need to hope this technician can sort it tomorrow.

As for today, I did nothing really, that’s coz last night I couldn’t sleep so I pulled an all-nighter: P

Who would have thought that the only night I do that over the holidays would have been the night I don’t have the internet? Lol
I watched an interesting John Barrowman thing about him finding out if being gay was determined before birth or through other factors after birth.
The general conclusion was that it was determined before birth but there isn’t an exact answer yet.

That’s always what I’ve believed….it isn’t a choice, we have no control over our sexuality and I like to think I am right.
What do you guys think?
Do you believe it’s a choice?

Anyhoo, after watching the programme (thanks Rhyn) I did something you might find peculiar. I turned the lights off in my room and proceeded to listen to music with the iTunes visualizer on full screen. I was bored and had nothing to do and wasn’t particularly tired so I found it really cool, just looking at random shapes while listening to my favourite song (Call me a nutter)
I must have done that for about three hours, listened to three Muse albums (typical me) and then the sun was up and so was my mum who walked in on me awake at about 7am. Not something anyone is used to seeing, me up at that unholy hour….


I’ve rambled enough here, plus, I don’t have much time left on the computer in the library so I just want to thank all you guys for being here. Quite a few since my very first post but many other wonderful people who haven’t been.
Regardless, you guys are all great and mean a lot to me, so for thanks for being here, I hope it stays that way for a good while yet as I have no intention of leaving anytime soon :)


Love you guys,
Rowan


P.S There was some talk over my music selection last time, so this time, I’m going to pull out all the stops and give you my favourite ever Muse song and what is up there with some of my favourite songs of all time.
This one is called Citizen Erased.

Gotta Take the Good With the Bad

So on Tuesday, i didn't go into school in the morning even though i said i would....

Oops.

But i did go in.....in the afternoon.

I woke and still felt like crap, slightly better but crap overall. Then i had a realisation. All my tests were in the afternoon, so i suggested to my mum if i could just go in for the afternoon so i didn't miss the tests. She didn't like it for some reason but my dad did and so it eventually ended up that way.

I went in and did the 1st part of the maths paper. I thought i would be sitting the one i missed on Monday but i just slotted into doing the same (calculator) test with the rest of the class, which was an annoyance coz i was more prepared for the non-calculator.
But i needn't have worried. The paper was pretty easy, and for me, thats saying something. I answered all the questions and i felt quite good about it, was only the first half but at least i did my best.

Music theory test came after this and it was bareable. Difficult enough but not to the point of impossible.

I don't need to say anything about biology apart from it was crap.


And so, today.

2 tests.

Maths part 2 was the 2nd half of the calculator paper and it was a lot harder than the 1st half. Loads of angles and volumes and triangles and circles.

Ugh.

Think i did ok but i wont get my hopes up yet.

And the media exam which counted for 20% of my final exam result was after lunch. I found out we had to leave english 15 minutes early, that was good, we got an hour to do the paper.
45 minutes just isn't enough and the extra 15 were really helpful.
Still had to write quick but i got to fill in some of the gaps after i finished. Didn't really stop writing at all so i have quite a good feeling about it although analysing the front page of The Sun isn't really anything exciting.


I was so relived when i plonked myself down on the bus after that test. Still got a sore head and i feel quite tired but the only thing i have to worry about now is the other maths paper tomorrow.

So, when got home i thought, due to the majority of my tests out of the way i would play my bass for a bit, some Muse, always cheers me up....



EXCEPT WHEN THE FUCKING NEIGHBOURS COMPLAIN ABOUT THE NOISE!!!

Which btw, they've done before.

I hate our neighbous on both sides. We live in a terraced house. 4 houses joined to each other. Pretty small, we're one of the middle houses which sucks coz we're surrounded on all sides.
If we had one of the houses on the end then i could make more noise but as only one wall divides our houses, it alters my bass playing.

That pisses me off greatly.

I'm in the middle of having pretty much the only fun i'll get today then my mum tells me i have to stop.

All coz of our moany neighbours, who, i shall say, i have never got on with and i never will. And the thing is, i've played it louder than i was playing it just there and they haven't said anything....

But getting interrupted like that really puts you on a downer. I'm actually quite angry right now.
I'm quite surprised they can hear anything being that fuckin old but there ya are....


To be honest, the title of this post doesn't really make much sense. Should be more like "Gotta Take the Bad With the Bad" coz this week has been nothing short of awful really.
I've missed tests, missed important school work, been feeling ill and now i can't even....reward myself.

And now i'm probably making everybody else feel bad coz they've got to read about me feeling bad.
Sorry, wasn't quite what i had intended. This post was going to look a lot different up until half an hour ago.

Thank my neighbours.


Cheers,
Rowan


Times like this calls for some loud, angry Rage.
I know i've posted this song before but turn that shit up!

Boring Week

Yeh, hence the lack of posts this week :P

Pretty uneventful to say the least so i've tried to let things build up to make a bigger post so here we are.

I did go to the maths supported study on Tuesday and i thought it was pretty useful. Just sat down and did a past paper (old exam paper) and whatever question i got stuck on there was always a teacher on hand to help.
Gonna keep going as much as i can, kinda regret that that was my first one tho and there can't be many left....

Complete contrast the next day tho in Biology.
The teacher was useless, she hardly taught us anything just kinda rushed through stuff, too fast for me to get a grasp of. Alex was there too and he thought the same.
I thought we would be getting the same teacher as the week before, who actually explained stuff, but we didn't.
I'll keep going tho, i need to.
Got in test in biology on Monday too, as well as a few other tests.

It will be crap on Monday. 3 tests.
Maths is the first. It's the "2nd" Prelim.
And it will last three periods of that week.
After that is biology.
Then after biology i will have a media studies exam. Yes, exam. Analysing the front page of a news paper which will count toward 20% of my final grade so i won't even get the mark back until August.
But i will get maths and biology back.....dunno if i want them tho :P


So yeh, i seem to be talking about next week instead of this week, simply coz there isn't a lot worth mentioning.
Well stuff i dont know is worth mentioning but i suppose i will anyway :

I was sitting on my computer last night and my mum came in and said my hair has been looking nice recently :P
(Random, but nice)

Then she said she is going to the hairdressers soon and i should go just to get the ends trimmed and then one day she said she would straighten my hair coz it would look better and be way longer lol.
I just said ok and shrugged.

Then this morning i went and took my shower as usual and my mum did another strange thing.
She told me she got me a packet of razors and some shaving cream :P
It's never something we've talked about much before. I normally just took one out of my dad's packet, used it for me and he never used it.
He must have noticed one was missing and decided to buy me my own.
That was cool.
Just in case you're confused....i never used the same razor as my dad. I took one and kept it in my little "case" in the bathroom. I know not to share a razor coz you can get infections but now there really isn't a chance of that happening.

Also, another...."grown up" thing happened today.
I got my National Insurance card in the post. Now i can legally work :P
They usually don't give them out until you are 16 but i think they're starting to give them out a little earlier now, still 2 and a bit months till my birthday in June.
So yeh, i'm becoming a man now lol

Probably a good amount of time until that fully happens tho. I can have some fun for another few years at least!
(I heard it goes downhill when you become an adult :P)

Oh and while on the subject of birthdays....it happens to be a very special day for a very special someone.
That someone is JJ. XD
Happy birthday JJ!!!

Go say happy birthday if you haven't already :P (link is in the blog roll)


Cheers,
Rowan





Apparently they're singing happy birthday to a BBC show called "Saturday Club" for an anniversary i would assume but let's just pretend it says "to JJ" instead of "to Saturday Club" :P

Middle o' the Week

School-wise, not too much happened today.

A few things i wanted to say tho,

PE is getting to be rather annoying coz we're playing outside at the moment, it's freezing and windy and the wind messes up my hair for the rest of the day :P

I think i need it cut soon anyway but yeh....

RE is also falling from grace.
Not much discussion happens anymore, we just do work like a normal class....
Also in RE, as Steven sits behind me, i've noticed he is calling me "gay" or "fag" a bit more often these days.
I dunno if he's being serious tho or just being like every other thicko who uses these expressions.
He says things like, "Rowan, ya fag" and stuff like tht when he wants my attention, to which i ignore of course until he just calls my name.
When he did it a few times today i felt like turning around and asking, "Is there something you really want to ask or say to me?" Perhaps provoking him to ask if i'm gay or not.

Dunno why i would wanr to ask that tho coz i dont really know what i would say if he asked me.
I certainly think he is becoming a bit more suspicious of me tho....

I went to biology supported study after school today but i really needn't have.
They pretty much covered what i knew (problem solving questions, graphs etc.) but next week they will cover knowledge and understanding questions which is where i fall down so i will be in attendance next week too.

Lastly, just another heads up that tomorrow is my guitar exam.
It got changed to 11am for some reason today but yeh, i have been over my pieces a few times tonight and i played them fairly well, i would be happy if i can replicate that performance tomorrow.



So, away from school stuff.

I was delighted to return home today to find that my mum got me another Stephen Fry book!
One i was actually wanting her to get, "Moab is my Washpot"
It's an autobiography and i've just been wanting to read it for a while so that should be cool.
My mum only found it in a charity shop but i don't mind.
I wonder if she had a look as to what the book is about....it does mention on the blurb and the inside page about homosexuality......


Also, i was reading some comments on JJ's latest post and i found a comment by an anonymous person who linked a NY Times magazine article in his comment. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/magazine/27out-t.html)

Curiosity took over and i went to read it.

I found it to be particularly interesting, it is about gay youth/coming out in middle schools....

One thing that really caught me though was the mention of a Day of Silence to raise awareness of homophobic bullying.
I researched it online and found out that this year it will be on Friday April 16th.

I'm gonna try to do it.

Then i thought it would be difficult coz i would be in school but i realised that we are still on holidays on the 16th.
This kinda makes me think it is a little pointless, coz the main aim is to be silent during the school day whereas i will most likely be in the house then.....

I still think i will try it tho, even if i am only in the house although i would have liked the challenge of it at school and baffling everyone as to why i was a mute for the day.

The real way it works is through a group called Glsen (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network)
I think this only exist in America, but im not 100% sure on that.

But now, i put it to you, the reader here, can you try and stay silent on that day this year?
Regardless of whether there is or isn't a Glsen group around.
Regardless of where you happen to be that day, at work, in school, in the house....

I'm gonna give it a go, who's joining me?


Cheers guys,
Rowan

Marching On In

Yeh, fail title i know :P


Today was just a pretty average day at school i suppose, nothing extremely eventful but a few things worth of note.

The maths test never went ahead today, it has been re-scheduled for tomorrow. Good times.

Biology was quite fun as usual.
Still no pass mark back yet, hopefully soon, but today we were watching a video about the lungs and it was strange.
They were cutting down a sheep's (removed) throat and when they did it made a really crunchy noise :P
Apparently, we're gonna be doing tht tomorrow, should be interesting :P


PE, we got to play badminton XD

I love badminton and i even got put in a group with Steven and i bet him haha.

When we weren't playing he decided to discuss Scissor Sisters with me again, it's getting a bit old to be honest.
I just told him it's only one song i like (and it is only one) but then he's calling me a big fag and stuff like that and talking about how i aspire to "mince" around on stage like they apparently do.

*facepalm*

So i asked him about Queen and Freddie Mercury and he said, "Oh but he's alright, he was a legend, he's allowed to be gay, i can handle that, but anymore than that....*shakes head* "

I left it at that.

It seems that no matter what i say to Steven he just isn't going to accept gay people.
This time next year he won't be at school and in some ways i'll be glad to see the back of him.
He's just so intolerant, not just of gay people but anyone who isn't British, white and Christian.
He's just full of hate for people although i can tell he takes the rip quite a bit, not really meaning everything he says.

But at the same time, i'll be sad to see him leave. He is a good friend to me, he's kind, funny and (although it may not sound like it) easy to get along with.
I think i'll be able to move on a bit more tho, be more who i really am at school but i really dunno how i'll feel when the time comes for him to leave.....


Anyway, returning to school, just for a spot of english.
We're doing group presentations to the class about a book we're reading called Sailmaker.
We were due to present today but didn't have enough time so we have to do it tomorrow.
Then the teacher announces he won't be in tomorrow and the head of english will be. So we're up first presenting to him, lovely.


Spanish was good today. (Don't say that an awful lot)

Our normal teacher wasn't in so we were pleasantly surprised.
We could actually talk a little for once!
So i took the opportunity to ask the four other boys in my class if they were doing spanish next year.
Only one said maybe, the others said no.

Which brings me back to what my mum said last night about spanish.
I perhaps didn't say it very well.

This could get a bit bogged down but try and bare with me.

I was giving the main reasons to my mum about why i didn't want to do spanish (two languages at one time, same teacher etc.)
We discussed those reasons then after that, i added that i might be the only boy in the class, this is when she asked (in a non-serious tone) "Why? Do you get lonely without boys around?"

So it really wasn't out of context but i apologise anyway for my bad writing of that bit.

Another thing in the last post that was written badly by me.
At dinner when my brother said, "Oh, the gay one?" (Stephen Fry)

When he said that, my mum was eating so couldn't speak right after he said that.
So while my mum was eating i rolled my eyes and said, "Yes the gay one"

THEN mum finishes what she was eating and says, "I don't care, i'll look out for some books"

So yeh, sorry wrote it badly in the last post, i hope i've cleared things up now.
What my mum said wasn't really out of context.

Also, a few of you were saying how mums always know and how my mum must be really nice.
She is, but, like everyone, she has her faults.

Such as, last night, i was finishing off on the computer then she asks me if i was almsot done and i said "Yes, almost"
Then, a few minutes later i lose internet connection completely....

I asked my mum if she touched it and she said she didn't but she obviously did as the wirless router is plugged into a socket in my sister's room and as my sister was sleeping, she never touched it.
My mum was the only other person awake in the house, the only person that could have possibly turned the plug off.

It was a really shitty thing to do and even worse of her to lie to me about it which i know she did. :/

But then today, i come home and what has she got me?

A mini-fridge!

WTF.

Last night she was all bitchy and now she's bought me a mini-fridge :S
I don't get it!

Women are confusing lol (hence why i stay away from them :P KO)


But that's quite a coincidence as i'm sure someone mentioned that i should get a mini-fridge a few posts back :P
Well whaddya know?

I've got one now. Haha.

Only thing i need is USB extensions and i pretty much am sorted.
Don't want a wireless keyboard, they're too much hassle in my opinion.


But back to my mum, don't get me wrong, she is nice, really nice, she does strange things sometimes though and is quite confusing and difficult to read.
Nobody is perfect though.

If i was to tell anyone in my immediate family i was gay it would be my mum.
I'm not ready to yet tho, i still need to figure her out and try and find the best way to tell her.
To be honest, the whole topic of coming out to my parents still scares me quite a bit so i'm not really sure about it yet.

I don't really feel ready and i would prefer to leave it for a while, it's not like i'm desperate to tell them.
It's a secret i would like to keep a little longer.


But, as Stephen Fry once said, "A secret is something you tell just one person at a time".

Thanks to r.jimlad for that one, it is very true :)


Love you guys,
Rowan


P.S Hope you had a good start to March!!!

Today's Activites

It turns out i was wrong about the whole situation with D and his brother.

Nothing happened.

So i was right in a way.
It was all just macho bullcrap.

D and his brother both get on the same bus as me but they never said anything on the way to school so i had a feeling nothing was going to happen.

It actually turns out that Steven got a hold of D's number and sent him a text saying he was sorry.

There you go then, situation resolved.


What else happened today?

No biology pass mark received yet, although i still doubt it will be as low as 48%.
Still, i live in hope.


I got my times and dates for my final music perfoming exam.

Bass guitar is first. It is at 11:50am next Thursday.
Guitar is second. It is two weeks after that. 18th March 10:15am.


I was quite surprised that they were this soon.
I thought they would be in along with the rest of the exams in about April/May.

It's not that it's a problem.
I know my bass pieces fairly well. Same ones as i did for the prelim back in October.
Changed the guitar ones about a little tho, but at least for the exam i can use an electric, which i think might have been a downfall in the prelim as i didnt get to use one.
So hammer-ons and pull-offs etc didn't sound right.
I can also use one of my stomp boxes for the final exam if i really want to show off, so i'm pretty sure the exam will go quite well.
I'm confident about it even though its about a month away!

No room for complacency tho!


Got a Media exam coming up next month as well.
It's worth 20% of our final grade and it's on analysing the front page of a tablopid newspaper which i dont find too difficult.
But imagine!
I get full marks in this, then get a similar score to what i got in my prelim and thats an A!!!

Thats seriosuly cool.
And seriously important i do well in it.


The math tests i was talking about last week are Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
I'm not too worried about it tho.
It's only one unit, not all three of them put together like the prelim.
We've been over what may come up in the tests and i'm fairly happy with it.


I didn't think i would have a lot to tell you guys about today but i do.


There's a guy in my Enlgish class who i barely talk to and we were put into the same group today for a task.
At some point i mentioned Muse (as i quite frequently do) and then we end up having this long discussion about Muse!

He's a pretty hardcore fan, not quite my level, lol, but he surprised me big time. He seen Muse way before i did, even way before i had heard of Muse he had heard of them. Back in 2006 he was at a concert!
I sure Hope we're doing the same task again tomorrow.


But it isn't Muse that is occupying my musical mind today.
I'll tell you who is :

Scissor Sisters


Really! They are what i'm listening to at the moment.

Specifically the song Take Your Mama.


Steven and Alex freaked when they seen that on my iPod.
"What the hell Rowan!?"
"Are you serious Rowan!?"

"Yes, deadly serious"

and they laughed at me.

"You know they're gay, right?"

"Yeh, so? That isn't going to stop me listening to a band"

They just gave me a whatever kind of look.

And then on the bus back home Alex jokes, "That can be our next concert, eh? Scissor Sisters!"

"I like them but i dont think i'd be going to one of their concerts" i told him.

He says "Yeh just loads of gay people there looking for some bum"


Suuuuuure.
Every single person at a Scissor Sisters concert just wants to hook up for sex like ALLLLL gay people do, dont they?
Pah.
How i would have loved to say that right to his face, with added sarcasm.
(Then tell him i am gay, punch him in the face and run off :P KO)


I just stared out the window and chose not to answer his remark.
What i usually do nowadays when someone brings up a gay comment, i just don't repsond to it.

Does it raise suspicion?
I don't know.

Nobody has said anything to me about it, so until somebody does i will keep on not responding to such comments.


Wow.
I never thought i would have wrote that much when i started. Things just kept coming.


School does seem to occupy me a lot,
I was definetely occupied today in school.
Not just by subjects and tests but i was thinking of JJ and Mike all day long.
About 2pm (British time) was when they would have got to school, and they'll still be there as i write this.

I hope things went ok....

I hope JJ sorted things out.

Won't know for a few hours yet i suppose, so i wait with anxiety and i leave you with Scissor Sisters.


Cheers,
Rowan




This song is just so awesome in my opinion.
Apparently it's about the lead singer coming out to his mum.
Some lyrics suggest this and some don't.

The lyrics about the wedding does.
And pretty much the whole second verse does.
It's the way i interprete the song anyway and i love it so much.
Here's the lyrics for you to make up your own mind :



When you grow up
Livin' like a good boy oughta
And your mama
Takes a shine to her best son
Something different
All the girls they seem to like you
Cause you're handsome
Like to talk and a whole lot of fun

But now your girl's gone a missin'
And your house has got an empty bed
The folks'll wonder 'bout the wedding
They won't listen to a word you said

[Chorus]
Gonna take your mama out all night
Yeah we'll show her what it's all about
We'll get her jacked up on some cheap champagne
We'll let the good times all roll out
And if the music ain't good, well it's just too bad
We're gonna sing along no matter what
Because the dancers don't mind at the New Orleans
If you tip 'em and they make a cut

Do it
Take your mama out all night
So she'll have no doubt
That we're doing oh the best we can
We're gonna do it
Take your mama out all night
You can stay up late
'cause baby you're a full grown man

It's a struggle
Livin' like a good boy oughta
In the summer
Watchin' all the girls pass by
When your mama
Heard the way that you'd been talking
I tried to tell you
That all she'd wanna do is cry

Now we end up takin' the long way home
Lookin' overdressed wearin' buckets of stale cologne
It's so hard to see streets on a country road
When your glasses in the garbage
And your Continental's just been towed




Love you guys :)

The Past Week at Home

It's been pretty awesome to be honest with you.

With my brother gone and my dad gone it's been a lot more quiet around the house and i've really enjoyed that.

Although they are due back within the hour and things will be back to their slightly busier and normal selfs.


But it has been good.

For example, me, my mum and sister have treated ourselves over the past 7 days to take aways and days out and lots of other stuff.
Like, a random outing to a cafe down the road, making hot chocolate together, making pancakes together.
Doing a lot of stuff that my dad wouldn't have done if it were he, instead of my mum here.

But as i've said, i have enjoyed the more quiet nature of the house in the past week.
It has been a lot more relaxed and a lot less busy.
My dad sorta has this "busy" presence about him like he's always doing something important and my brother hasn't been screaming down his Xbox headset so it has been nice to get a rest from that.

Also, one thing i only realised the other day - i've been the man of the house for the past week.
Not that i've done much to fulfill that role, but it's a nice title :P

My "manly" duties consisted of spending copious amounts of time watching movies, sitting on the computer, playing football with friends.
Just like normal.
But it felt like there was a bit more freedom to it and that was savoured however, it is just about at it's end now.


Anyhoo, i also wanted to address some issues from comments on the last post.

Dru - Hearing someone say Muse sound like Radiohead is a Muse fan's worst nightmare! Particularly after listening to a song as strange and unique as Megalomania.

The first album by Muse "Showbiz" had elements of Radiohead but since then....no
Megalomania is the closing track off the second album "Origin of Symmetry". Listen to that full album and try to tell me Muse sound like Radiohead. In fact, listen to any album except Showbiz and try to tell me that.

Sorry for the rant but Muse are nothing like Radiohead.
Plus, they're much better.


Southern, R.Jimlad - Ash Wednedsay, as far as i remember, is the marking of ash on the forehead to celebrate the "holy spirit" (a sort of fire thing) coming down from heaven and descending upon the heads of the twelve apostles of jesus.
I think only Catholics celebrate it.
I know it sounds crazy doesn't it?
Just like a lot of things in the Bible. You read it, and only then do people says that its not supposed to be taken literally.....
Well why didn't you tell me that before i read it?

And also, i didn't "give in" to religion.
I chose to get the Ash to save questions i couldn't be bothered answering so i simply wiped it off when i was out of sight.


And lastly, just as general news - My biology prelim got a 48%.
To be honest, i wasn't quite expecting that, i thought it would be a lot lower but now that it's only 2% away from half marks, i'm feel rather let down.
The pass mark varies from year to year but my teacher doesn't expect it to be as low as 48% so it looks like i've faled biology too.

Oh and we went over the second maths paper today and i stand by my "on a different day i could have passed" statement.
Like the first paper there was a load of careless mistakes and not knowing what to do. I took a tally of my careless mistakes which was about a dozen in total. In the right frame of mind i don't think i would have made them and i would have passed but you win some and you lose some.


So, i'll get back to everyone with my final round up of Prelim results after biology is confirmed but now i must welcome back my dad and brother and get back to normal life inside this normally busy and noisy house.


Cheers,
Rowan

Tomorrow

Just a quick post regarding tomorrow's happenings.

Tomorrow will probably bring about the rest of my Prelim results.
So that's English, Media and Biology.

Actually, Biology will be Thursday but hey.


We're gonna have a Mass at some point as well. Probably in place of R.E which sucks coz R.E is well fun!
Confused?
Yeh, the teacher doesn't make us do work we just normally chat about current events and me and Steven piss about so it's annoying that we have to miss that.
The Mass will be about Ash Wednesday too.
I've just realised now that tomorrow might be the frst ever time i don't take the Ash....
That's a strange thought actually, i'll have to debate over that.

Also will be going over the maths prelim. That will be painful but at least i can identify the areas in which i need to improve...

(So, everywhere then :P)


Tomorrow afternoon will be tough as well coz English is followed immediately by Media so it will be a double whammy of results.
Let's just hope they're the postive type of results.

I can imagine it tho, getting a bad result in Enlgish which would just make me fear getting my Media result back.

*sigh*

Just gotta try and get through it i suppose.

Quite like the way the past week or so already has been for many of us, so i'm kinda getting used to that now.


Anyway, as always i'll keep you all updated.


Gfn


Cheers,
Rowan


P.S Gay for now, Ikey?
Nah i think it's rather long term :P

A Bad Day....

Today was a nightmare. Simple as.

Got my Maths Prelim back and i can tell i did awful in my Biology.


Maths was rather disappointing as i did actually have a sneaky feeling i would do well.

I was wrong.


I got 40%

10% off a C.

Only person in my class to fail as far as i know.

And this news came at me about 20 minutes before i sat down for my Biology so my confidence was pretty low going into it.

I looked at the paper and could just tell from the off that it wasn't to be my day.
I finished it but if i pass it i'll be shocked.

Things weren't made better in PE coz i forgot my kit so the teacher had a right go at me and i had to write for the whole period while everybody else enjoyed basketball.

*sigh*

Just one of those days i suppose.

I'm at fault tho, i didn't put enough into maths and biology as i could and should have done.
It's not the be all and end all but it's a right kick in the arse to get me moving.

But it's strange, i get 4 A's then a fail just pops out of nowhere.
Maybe that's why i'm as annoyed as i am....

I'm just waiting on Media, English and Biology now.
I predict a B or C for English and Media and a fail in Biology.
Hate to be pessimistic but that's just the way it is.

I would love to say i don't care about Maths and Biology but i do, i wanna pass them. I just don't have the willpower to.


Mum was disappointed by my failings. She asked what we should do next and i just said i didn't care.
I shouldn't have said that but i dunno what to do.
Mum thinks moving down a level is the best step for me tho. I dunno.


Anyway, thanks for all your support guys but things just didn't quite work out today.


The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!



Cheers,
Rowan


P.S I like your Spanish idea r.jimlad but Spanish language is very similar to Italian, maybe i could meet up with an Italian boy and still do the same thing :)
Lol at your "split" theory as well.

The Next Few Days

Okay so i'm afraid i'm going to be a little pessimistic about the next few days.

My last Prelim (Biology) is tomorrow.
And i'll probably be getting my Math results back as well this week.


I'm not expecting it to go swimmingly.

I'm awful at Biology as i've already said and i don't hold much hope in my Math test.
Hell if i pass them both i will be extremely happy.

I might even kiss both my teachers!


Ok, i won't do that but i will be relieved if i pass them. :P


At least i have some holidays to look forward to.
Wednesday is my last day in.
Thursday, Friday, the weekend, Monday and Tuesday i have no school.
Some sort of holiday, i dunno what for but i won't complain.

Although something rather extraordinary is happening.
On Wednesday evening my little brother and my Dad will be jetting off to Lanzarote by themselves for about 10 days.
How nice of them.

Sounds strange, yes, but let me explain.

My dad works at the airport and he won this sort of equivalent of Employee of the Month.
So they gave him two tickets for him to travel anywhere he likes in Europe.

Last year he won it as well, and he went to Lanzarote with my mum but she didn't want to go anywhere this year.

But, why did he choose my brother?

Strange one again.

The harsh reality is that my brother and my dad have always had this closer connection that i never had.
I feel closer to my mum than my dad.

But the way he said it was like. "Well, you probably have too much studies to contend with so i don't wanna take you out of school coz you'll lose some precious time."

Sorta true. But i couldn't really see me and my dad getting along on a holiday by ourselves and i dont think he could either.

But it makes up for itself.

Mum said that me, her and my sister can go somewhere at some point.
She asked me where and i quite like the idea of Italy.
Never been before and it seems real nice.


But really, thats how my family has been divided.

My little brother and my dad.

Then me, my mum and my little sister.

If they were ever to get a divorce then i could see that being the living arrangements.
Don't worry tho, i don't think one is on the horizon but i used to think one was.

They always used to argue, at least a couple of times a week.
This was about a year ago.
Things were bad back then.

So, i think they thought a holiday abroad would sort things out. It didn't really but at least they stopped arguing as much. They don't really talk much tho and they complain about each other to us.
That's annoying, i'd rather not hear it.

I heard things when they used to argue too. More things i didn't want to hear. The reasons why they were arguing but i'd rather not go into them.


Anyway, i went seriously away from what i was talking about.
The holidays.

LOL, how'd that happen?
Suppose we all can be yacky boxes sometimes :P

Oh, something else thats happening soon - Arsenal vs Liverpool on Wednesday.

I'm dreading that. I can see Liverpool getting embarrased. And then Steven will be on my case.
It's starting already!
All the build-up, me and Steven having a go at each other about the game lol.
It will be interesting this week in school.

But luckily i won't need to face him on Wednesday coz of the holidays but i'm sure i'll see him at some point during....


....I must go, i want to do as well on this Biology crap as i can tomorrow :D
And as for Prelim stuff, i'll keep you updated as always.


Cheers,
Rowan


P.S I wrote this at the same time i've been talking to you JJ. I can do it lol

Prelim News

I've been getting some results back from Prelims this week and thought i would let you all know how i'm getting on.

I still have two to sit tho, Media tomorrow and Biology on Monday.
Both will be tough but especially Biology as it's pretty much my weakest subject along with maths....not a sciency person me.

Anyway the results i have got back so far have all been A's.

Good times.

But i don't see them all remaining that way unfortunately.
We can't all be perfect.

So here's what i've got back so far


Spanish : Reading - 22/30
Listening - 16/20
Writing - 20/20
Speaking - 30/30

Giving me 88/100 so overall i got 88%!


Music : Listening - 31/40
Performance - 43/60 (the music playing back in October)

So it gives me 74 out of 100 - 74% (Just an A)


Modern Studies i only got back today and they handed it out each section at a time, i did pretty bad on the first section and i was dreading the next two papers but i made up for it and got 79% overall!

British Parliament - 16/26 Boo!
Crime and Law - 23/24 Yay!
America - 16/20 Meh!

So that's 55 out of 70 - 79%


Gor French back as well but not all of it. I've done well so far tho.

Writing - 20/20
Speaking - 30/30

Listening was awful. I made two dreadful mistakes. I mistook the word "trois" as the number 2 when in fact it is 3....
Gah.
Would have given me two extra marks to my abysmal 13/20.
15/20 is what i really should have got at least.

But that just leaves me to wait for my reading results which i'm sure won't be too bad.
So far i have 63/100 but that means i only need about 10 marks out of 30 in the reading to secure an A. Something i am quite confident of. :)


Something i am not confident of tho is maths.
God awful.
I sat it a few days ago and i really didn't get much sleep so i was tired and im not even good at maths when im not tired!
To be honest, i think i might have failed it.
The papers were difficult and the teacher said today that she was happy overall but there are concerns over a few individuals. Surely me.

I was definetely not expecting an A in all subjects.
I have 3, probably 4 A's already so i can't be too displeased, i'm doing ok.

So i have to wait for the last bit of French. Then English and Maths and then Biology and Media which i haven't sat yet.
So final results may not be for a couple of weeks.


Anyway, i divert attention away from my tests and onto something else.
A new blogger.
A special new blogger.

JJ.

I talked about him a few days ago and told you i was talking with him a lot on MSN, and i still am.

He's got his own blog now after many of us were going way off-topic on RB's discussion pages. (Sorry Tristan)

It is : http://3jhome.blogspot.com/
The name of his blog is JJ's Yacky Box, a great name in my opinion!

Please go and visit him, say hi, link to him, follow him etc.
He's so sweet and awesome and he deserves it.
So go ahead....make his day.....punk.

:P

Cheers,
Rowan

P.S I've recieved a few more followers in recent days so i just want to thank everyone, old and new, for reading my blog!
And also thanks for all your comments, especially over the past couple of days, they've all been real supportive and it means alot to me. Love you all!