More a yardstone than a mile

Today I came to the realisation that in less than a month I'll be 16 and under two months from now I'll have finished all my GCSE exams for ever. But, as has been the case for around 5 years now, I'm not at all excited for my birthday because:

• It's going to be revision-filled. I have exams the next day and in the following weeks. There's really no time to celebrate.
• As usual, I plan to postpone my birthday. I haven't even received my main presents for my 15th birthday because I postponed it and then never really got back into the birthday mood.
• I don't really feel like having a party or anything of the sort. Of course, I want to spend time with friends and family to mark the occasion.
• Although 16 is considered quite a milestone birthday, I don't really have anything to look forward to. I just want to make this a fulfilling year of life.
• The idea of buying lottery tickets, sex and being able to drink one glass of beer or cider with a meal in a licensed pub accompanied by an adult does not excite me.

What a sensible (boring) and mature (disdainful) 16-year-old I'm going to be.

Disregarding pretension

No matter how pretentious it may sound to burst into a foreign language unannounced...

Mon examen oral de français est fini - comme c'est marveilleux!/Mi examen oral de español es terminado - ¡Qué maravilla!

Which translates as 'My French/Spanish oral exam is finished - how marvellous!' Of course, it's a big relief - I've been preparing for these exams for months and had to learn many pages of answers for both exams which were within a week of each other. This weekend I became quite ill with some kind of flu/cold/sore throat combination, thus making the Spanish oral of today even more difficult. But both are done now and I can resume revision for the written exams.

The skin on my thumb looks like that of a roasted chestnut

Most of my blog posts come to mind when my brain lets go a little and just starts to conjure up random ideas. A phrase might pop out at me, such as the title of the post, and then I'll just write. I hate routine andwant my blog to reflect my eclectic life, so after I the title has come about I try to let the words flow.

So, normally I shun the 'I did this, then this, before doing this' etc. type of posts as my life tends to spill out of traditional blog formats, but I feel that this week in particular could provide some interest...

Monday - Shuffle into school awaiting five hours of Drama for my final exam. Get on with the work surprisingly well, considering how scary the whole prospect of the final exam is, and return home proud of my group and our progress.

Tuesday - Pretty much do the norm in lessons, except Biology and Chemistry in which revision notes are attempted. Become frustrated at the messiness of my handwriting and hail the mighty computer.

Wednesday - Buckle down to another full day of the Drama exam. With the fellow group members, manage to finish devising our piece. Perform it to the teachers in the afternoon and receive a surprisingly warm reception. Stay at school until 4.40 pm finishing my portfolio, before trudging home to make revision notes about railways in Britain 1815-51.

Thursday - Act as an American gossip columnist persuading the magazine editor, my teacher, to run a story about Ashley Cole having further affairs, possibly with a man this time. Receive full marks and rejoice that something that comes to me so naturally worked out well. Continue through the day as normal.

Friday - Spend the morning frantically preparing for the Drama exam performance to the moderator. Squeeze every ounce of acting talent into the eventual performance and hope.

Saturday - Mill about the house writing my History coursework on the economy in Nazi Germany. Feel mentally taxed, and somehow physically, too.

Sunday - Do the same thing as yesterday, but over a longer period of time. Meticulously check through my work, print the 14-page essay and feel proud of myself. Take a pleasant bath, followed by an energetic shower.

Oh, and in less than one week I'll be in Spain, to revise for my upcoming Languages Orals, of course. ¡Adios por ahora!

(For reference, my the skin on my thumb looks like that of a roasted chestnut because on Wednesday I was 'hammering' the floor all day in Drama and this wore away the skin on my thumb. I've been wearing a plaster almost constantly since then which has wrinkled my skin)

Ploughing trhough with rigor

Well, by next Thursday afternoon exams will be over for now (but only for now). I probably digest more information than I do food on an average day, and that's a substantial amount because I do like to eat.

I've noticed that recently my dreams have been deeper, possibly having new meanings. A particular example of this was Wednesday night's dream - my first dream-falling experience. It could symbolise an overload of pressure or stress, but my life wouldn't be complete without either of those things I suppose.

Anyway, something else kind of coinciding with this is the fact that I don't seem to talk much to people anymore. Not that I don't physically talk much, but that I haven't expressed any particular feelings or emotions for a while. I have a lot to discuss, it's just I'm rarely in the right place to discuss it. Oh, and further identity crises ensue.

Sorry, I NEED one

(Again, if you're Sara there's a post dedicated to you further down the page)

I could not imagine life without a shower. I feel I have to have a shower before I go out otherwise I feel ill and paranoid.

I'm going to Ireland on Tuesday and during the holiday we're having the bathroom refurbished. I asked for it to be done in this time so I wouldn't have to suffer the horror of not having a shower or at least a bath.

However, the refurbishment is going to start on Tuesday morning meaning that, should I stay at home until I have to leave for Ireland, I would be unable to have a shower until I got to to the hotel.

Therefore, I plan to stay at my grandparents' house on Monday night so I can have a shower in the morning (oh, and to spend time with them too, of course!). They will then drop me off at the train station.

Also, I plan to sneak my science books into my bag so I can revise on holiday. This probably seems ridiculous by mock exams are a month and 10 days away and the marks go towards my predicted grades so I really want to do well.