Journal Entries
Apologies for the delay...
Posted Sep 27, 2002
...it's just that I can never seem to force myself to write journal entries, even when I want to. Probably something to do with the fact that they can't be erased or editted later, and also that several of my real-life friends are now on Hootoo (you know who you are) and, if they are so bored that even reading this seems appealing, could be watching my every move. Post. Thing.
6th year's going ok so far, although the two teachers in charge of helping me with my Cambridge application are going out of their way to avoid me at the moment. When they have to talk to me they just ask how the other one has been helping. Wonderful.
Having a bit of a crisis at the moment on whether I really should be applying for Physics - everyone assumes I'll become a Physics teacher at the end of it all (nooooo!) and my current teachers aren't doing much to recommend the profession. One is, I swear, laughing at my answers to his questions about the universities I'm applying for and what my parents do. The other set a surprise test on us today. She says she told us about it beforehand, but I (along with five other people) don't remember anything about this (Andrew, back me up here please). And before the test certain people were plaguing me with images of penguin-golems and blonde haired-dolphins so I couldn't concentrate. 
It's Friday night, but my social life is as non-existent as ever. No prom date either. I'm sure my parents are longing for the day when I come in completely bladdered at 5am, just to prove they have a normal teenager. They've been dropping hints for a while now. I'm friends with all the people who do stuff like that, but I "never get invited to those sorts of parties".
On reflection, maybe quoting Hitch-hikers isn't the way to go about getting a social life. So here's the future - I'll go study physics, and then turn into someone like the wierd maths teacher who adds in facts to his lessons about the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation for bemused fourth years to ignore. 
~~A~~
QOTD: "Been thinking about you, so how can you sleep?"
Radiohead - Thinking About You
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Latest reply: Sep 27, 2002
Manchester NCBF - Help!
Posted Mar 24, 2002
As you may know, I'm in our school's senior wind band, which is all very fine and well (unless I'm made to play my trombone). The thing is, our power-hungry conductor (known as the Durno) decided to make us more than an ordinary school band by introducing us to choral music, and even getting a £7000 lottery grant.
Every year we try out for the National Concert Band Festivals, and usually we get through the regional bit to go on to the big one in Manchester. And usually we win Gold there, too. So there's always pressure on the band to do well, and this year there was even more, because of the grant.
We got Bronze.
We didn't play too badly, at least I didn't think so. But out of the six schools that entered, one got a Gold and five got Bronze. Nobody thinks this was fair, since the only school to get Gold was a music school and shouldn't have been in the competition anyway, and the other five all managed to get Gold in regional finals, so they can't have been that bad.
Apparently they changed the scoring system, so that the judges can't just say "They sound good, they've played a hard programme, let's give them Gold" but now have to tick boxes like "The band always played in tune." By the old music system, playing easy music well would not earn you as good a medal as playing difficult music well. Not any more.
So my question is this, does anybody know why they'd change the system without telling any of the conductors? Thank you.
Sorry for the long rant, but it's been a long week. 
~~A~~
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Latest reply: Mar 24, 2002
There was this one time, at band camp...
Posted Nov 6, 2001
Sorry, this isn't a full journal entry, I just wanted to say that line, having been at band camp all weekend, playing my trombone... The scary thing is that our band camp looks identical (admittedly with less sunshine) than the one in American Pie 2.
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Latest reply: Nov 6, 2001
Music
Posted Oct 31, 2001
I know there're lots of you out there with great taste in music, so can anyone give me any information on the following bands... Album reviews, which album should I buy first, stuff like that 
All comments appreciated.
xx Thanks xx
Mercury Rev
Radiohead
Elbow
Cousteau
Pulp
~~A~~
Discuss this Journal entry [9]
Latest reply: Oct 31, 2001
**Faints in disbelief**
Posted Aug 14, 2001
The postman came early today so I was asleep when my exam results arrived (I was too nervous to get to sleep last night). I opened the envelope and... well, I know everyone says it, but I never expected nine grade 1's, which is what I got. 
~~A~~
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Latest reply: Aug 14, 2001
Aurora
Researcher U142060
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