h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ahh. I'm starting school tomorrow, and looking forward to it!
(at least that's what I keep telling myself, do NOT contradict me!)
It'll be fun to see all the crazy buggers... I have, of course, kept in touch with some of them throughout the summer, but there are some that you just don't keep in touch with, (Yes, I'm referring to the M-guy, for those who know him, those who don't: you lucky bastards!!!). So i'll be going to bed early and well...
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ohgodohgodohgod, I WILL ENJOY SCHOOL, I WILL ENJOY SCHOOL, I WILL ENJOY SCHOOL, I WILL ENJOY SCHOOL, I WILL ENJOY SCHOOL, I WILL ENJOY SCHOOL, I WILL ENJOY SCHOOL, I WILL ENJOY SCHOOL!!!

im very sorry for you. i started school last friday and its been absolutely dreadful. essays, tests, quizzes, homework! lord have mercy on our souls! pleased to meet you by the way.

Ahh, nothing to worry about, I'm actually enjoying myself there...
This year will be very demanding, but I think it'll be allright...
Sorry to hear that you're not feeling the same way... What and where do you study?
Nice to meet you too!

I live in Georgia, US. I am having to go into college next year, but I'm currently in the eleventh grade and getting the evil core classes out of the way. I plan on studying environmental behavioralism. You?

Hmmm... well, our school system is quite different from yours, I'm only just getting used to the idea of college...

Anyhow, I live in Kana, Norway. I study music in "Videregående skole" (dunno how that compares to your school system...), whilst still getting all the evil core classes out of my way... I have no idea what to study, but I was thinking of something within mathematics...

Environmental behaviouralism... that sounds fun... what sort of study would that be(I'm a Norwegian, so I'm not really good at those advanced expressions)?

Does your grade system compare at all to ours? I haven't a clue about Norway, so I am of absolutely no help.

Math is scary. I am absolutely hopeless at it though I have a fantastic teacher. What sort of career are you interested in? Music or mathematics?

Environmental behavioralism is a study of migration patterns, breeding habits, societal development, etcetcetc. Surely Norway isn't backwards!

Hmm... you seem to assume that I know something about your grade system...

Well, we divide our grades into a numerical system, the marks ranging from 1-6, where 1 is a fail, and 6 is near perfect... Also, the marks 2-5 may be noted with an extra plus or minus sign denoting where on the scale you placed within that specific grade.

Ahh.. yes, some find it horribly scary, I love it... I sort of understand it, it all seems totally logical, at least up until I started reading Stephen Hawking... I have no idea what I wish to do when I'm through with studying... I don't think I have the guts to become a musician. A friend of mine told me that her mother's first response to her wish to become a musician was: "You'll die young from drinking".

Ahh, we have that study here too, I can't remember what it's called in Norwegian, though...

Backwards??? I'm offended... Norway is a VERY rich country, the worlds' richest, actually(at least we were the last time I checked)... We invest loads of money in education...
I can't imagine that the money are spent for nothing...

Wow, that's really different from mine. Since the United States doesn't have a generalized grading system, I'll tell you about mine. Our grades are from 0-100 with 100 being the best. The number grades are sectioned up into A, B, C, D, and F's which are then categorized into the 4-pt system. For example, a 100 would be an A which would count on the GPA as a 4. Got it?

My uncle is a professional musician, and he is perfectly stable excepting his personal life. I suppose most people who are talented in one area tend to be a little off in others, but it is not always the case.

I never said it was backwards. Okay, maybe suggested it, but I was simply feeding off of your comment about Norwegians not being able to comprehend technical terms, therefore it is YOUR FAULT. I know for a fact that the US doesn't hold up moneywise. We're what? A few trillion in debt? Then again, who's counting?

Hmmm... you do have a VERY specific grade system...
We don't have a four-pt. system here... at least not in "Videregående"... But I think I get it...

Good to hear, my brother is a professional musician as well, and he's also perfectly stable, it was mostly intended as a joke, but there is a truth to the fact that there are few jobs for musicians nowadays(except teaching somewhere... arrgh).

We seem to have misunderstood each other... My point was that such a specific field of study with such a specific name is not the sort of thing you're taught about in the English lessons at school.
It's not that we don't comprehend technical terms, we just don't know the names for all of them in English...

Anyway, it doesn't really matter...

I don't know who came up with it, but it's much too complicated for a mathematically impaired person.

I've had a few disgruntled band directors in my time. I would agree that that would really suck.

I suppose it doesn't matter. Technicalities are grand, I absolutely thrive on them. So, what sort of things are you interested in?

I see...

Well, you can't blame them. They have a terrible job, and usually underpaid too...

Yeah, so do I... Well... I'm interested in music, books, computers, mathematics, programming, composing (not that I'm very good at it, though), physics, cosmology, parapsychology... The list is endless...
So, what kind of music are you into, and what do you play?

It would be a terrible job for someone who had hopes of becoming a professional. I've had a few who actually love teaching.

What type of books do you like? I play the alto saxophone and like most kinds of music. I really hate rap. At the moment, hearing anything jazz related makes me scream due to an overload of crappy Ct. Basie arrangements.

Yeah, and most of the music teachers out there are just that, someone who once had hopes of becoming a professional... There are some, though, who are genuinely into teaching, my teacher is one of those few.

Hmm... well I read a lot of things, I read a lot of the classics, but I also have this completely unserious side, which throws me into Terry Pratchett/DNA. I also read a lot of... well...scientific literature on whatever subject catches my fancy... How about you?

Haha... yeah, crappy arrangements do that...
I have had a few of those myself... It usually lasts for a couple of months, and then it's gone... I have a very bad relationship to, believe it or not, The Beatles at the moment because of a really horrible choir arrangement...

I have a teacher who acts like a student but still harbors hope of becoming a professional. Maybe he'll mature some day.

I try to stay away from the classics though I have been avidly chewing through all of these historical books. I do have a fondness for science fiction and mystery, but, recently, I've become mildly obsessed with...books that have the same story but presented in a different view in completely different places. As if that made any sense. I could give you an example, but you probably wouldn't have heard of the books.

there's a bad arrangement of the Beatles??

Yes, we had to sing a, quite frankly, awful arrangement of "Blackbird" for the spring concert at school... It sounded just plain ugly...

I'm quite sorry. That must have been a horrid experience. I really didn't like the original 'Blackbird' but anything worse must have been terrible.

Oh, it was horrid, allright. It sounded terrible even when it was sung correctly, and loads of people lost the pitch, because we had no instruments to accompany us, and because the arrangement was sour...
Arrgh...

Feel the anger?? I was stuck playing a different part of the same evil Ct. Basie arrangements today. The group I'm currently playing with is so week. I begged to go to second alto part because the two guys who are playing it aren't but I was forced to stay on first. The only sections with people that play are first alto, tenor, baritone, first trombone, and first trumpet. One would think that he'd split the good players up among parts but nooooo...