All That Free Time I Have

So, many a thing has happened in the last few days. Here is a brief round up:

Monday:

• Concert Band

Tuesday:

• Gardening at the church (saw George)
• Went shopping
• Choir rehearsal#1
• Choir rehearsal#2
• Job interview
• Wide Game (wore trousers on my head - why not?)

Wednesday:

• Painted Scout Hut (Annexe, indoors)
• Didn't find the dead badger, left it for Becky and Jess
• Got ready for the ball
• Went to the ball
• Calmed down Jacqueline and Beccy

Thursday:

• Explained to Jacqueline and Beccy what happened Wednesday night
• Choir rehearsal#3
• Hung out with Martha
• Choir concert
• Sung for Wernykins

Friday:

• Went shopping
• Booked Doctor's appointment
• Photos with Becky (around Cuffley)
• Saw "ABBA" - they weren't fantastic, to be honest

Saturday:

• Bike
• Bought some medicine for my eye
• Saxophone
• Went to Charlotte's party

Sunday:

• Went to church
• Wandered around the school fete with my "peeps"
• Got sunburn (yes, I'm so white I burn that easily)
• Went to Leo's concert, which was fabulous by the way (saw Ben, Ashley and George - I think they may be following me)
• Laughed at Ben, Ashley and George's "dancing"

Monday:

• Sorted out things sold on eBay
• Became involved in multiple Scout crises
• Went to the Doctors, nothing is wrong
• Went to Concert Band
• Drinkies with Bernard and the gang 

So, as you see, my enormous amount of free time has been somewhat eaten up; maybe next week will be slightly less manic?

Arbeit Macht Frei

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for any offence caused by the title of this post. It hasn't been meant in an offensive way or as a reminder of the past, but as a way to grab attention and make a point. Last Wednesday was my last proper day of school at Owen's and this phrase (translstion: work makes freedom, originally written above the gates of Auschwitz) will be one of my overriding memories of the day. So I suppose today's pondering is why some people have to spoil things.

Our last day at school, traditionally known as Muck-Up Day, is always a bit of a joke. We are expected to come in early and decorate the school based on our theme, which we choose, and also dress up accordingly. Our chosen theme was "Neverland", as in Peter Pan, and about seventy of us had agreed with the Head that we would come in at 6:30 and make the school lunch hall into a pirate ship, complete with statue of Captain Dame Alice Hook*. It was an absolute masterpiece and everyone who was involved was really proud. (At this point I'd also like to thank and congratulate Joanna and Aisha on their amazing organisation of the whole thing.)

However, when we went to look at the rest of the school, we got a shock.

The front of the school looked great; Nicole has decorated her car to look like an island and there were big banners saying "Welcome to Neverland" and "Never Grown Up Since 2006". That was really good. But the further into the school you got, there worse it got. Classic pranks, such as buttered door handles and handrails were there but there was also writing on all the walls. Some of it was almost funny but some of it, like the Nazi slogans, Swastikas and some incredibly rude messages about teachers and one about one person in our year, were just completely unacceptable. There's no need for that sort of reaction to seven years of excellent education.

Later we heard that half the year had been in since 4am and had drunk considerably beforehand, leading to the ridiculous actions we witnessed. I would like to stress to any teachers that have wandered onto this blog that it wasn't all of us acting like this and that those of us who weren't involved are very sorry it happened. And in future, you might like to know that butter works very well at getting chalk off of walls. Butter, water and bare hands.

This isn't my only memory of that last day; the Assembly we had was very nice, with messages from the teachers and the award ceremony (Best Accessories!) It was all very touching and I cried a lot (and not just for the injustice against the teachers.) And after a disappointing 'social' at Old Owen's, a group of us went to one of Potters Bar's many pubs and had a lovely chat, which was nice. And of course, I have the memory of Jason's face when I turned up for my lesson with a bright green face... (I was a crocodile!)

*Our school has a statue of Dame Alice Owen, the foundress, in the lunch hall. She is traditionally dressed up for Muck-Up Day. In previous years, she has looked lovely in tin foil, bikinis and bubblewrap.

Passing The Time Between Sleeping

Hey, sorry it's been so long - yet again - since I last posted (not that anyone reads this anyway, unless I put a link on Facebook). Anyway, I've been all over the place recently, doing all sorts of stuff for various motives. What I thought would be an easy way to ease myself back into this would be to briefly outline everything I've been pondering (well, everything relevant) and maybe revisit them at a later time if I feel the need.

SUBJECT: University Entry
REASON FOR PONDERING (RFP): Education
EXPAND? Basically, by October 15th, I have to have decided the next apart of my future. Hazzah(!) Anyway, it's a lot of stress, because I have no idea what to think/do and, even though I know what I want to study, I'm worried I won't get into the place(s) I want to get into. And filling out the UCAS form continues to be a pain (ask my Dad...)

SUBJECT: School
RFP: Education
EXPAND? Once again, I have my nose thoughtlessly shoved up against the grindstone of the everyday system. Once again, I am having to wake up at 7.15 (yes, I know that lots of people have to wake up a lot earlier than I do, but I'm really not a morning person) and get into school, but this time I am adorned with more responsibilities and even more work, most I which I asked for (obviously not the work).

SUBJECT: EPQ
RFP: Education (again)
EXPAND: OK, for those who don't know, the EPQ (which stands for Extended Project Qualification) is exactly that. I have to do a long and interesting project on the removal of the prisoners' right to vote; it's actually really interesting (well, for me at least) and I'm really enjoying the work I'm doing, but I'm finding that I don't know what to research and I'm constantly worried that I've not done enough, even though I have done a lot of work for it. I also don't seem to have the time to get as much done as I want.

That in mind, I'm going to stop writing this now and actually get on with something useful, probably the EPQ. I'm sorry this turned into a rant about education, but that seems to be what's dominating my life at the moment. Much love xx

Team Saxophone!

OK, this time, at the request of Hannah, I have been pondering Team Saxophone. I have to keep it civil, just in case any of them read it (just kidding) - but to be honest, I don't see why they would. Team Saxophone, for those of you who don't know, is a group of seven "epic" people, who all play the saxophone in Concert Band (probably as a punishment for something bad they did in a former life...). It's pretty cool, we've all become some sort of warped and confused family over the last two years, since Hannah, Ben Vize and I joined.

Over the years, we've had several "wonderful ideas" of things we could do as team bonding activities; these have included, but aren't limited to, a team trip to Legoland, a team trip to Cadbury World, a team Christmas Dinner and a Team Saxophone room on the Concert Band tour (this last one was Hannah's idea - unfortunately, because Ben is a boy, we couldn't make this work :-( ).

It occurs to me that I should probably introduce the members of the team at this stage; well, there's Holly and Ben, who plays first alto (I think), Rosalind and Ellen who play second alto (again, I think - I can't see who's playing what from where I sit on the end of the row). Then there's Bethan and Hannah who play tenor; recently though, this seems to have diminished to just Hannah as Bethan has been on study leave and so hasn't been to many rehearsals. And then there's me, stuck on the end (almost falling off the stage) with my Bari. So, all in all, not too bad.

One of our most long-lived rituals as a section is "The Saxophone Shotgun". This involves the entire Team saying "Shotgun" really quickly after we've finished playing the last piece and the last one to say it has to put away all the chairs, stands and music. Unfortunately, as I am on the end, it is not always registered when I say it, because nobody can hear. Oh well, Ben's always last anyway. (N.B. Ben seems to be of the opinion that normal rules do not apply to him and he doesn't have to bother. They do and he does...)


So yeah, that's Team Saxophone, they're pretty cool. So, further reading time! As I've already said, my friend Emily now has a blog. It seems to be getting more and more like mine whenever I read it, so if you like this, you'll like that...
http://shirleynomates.blogspot.com
Also, my German teacher (and possibly favourite person in the whole world) Mr Robinson now also has a blog. It is really interesting and I highly reccomend it to anyone who... Well, just to anyone!!
http://lorolocuaz.wordpress.com/
And, as always, if you like this, you can follow me on Twitter; @EmPernilla, probably.

List Of Things One May Feel Inclined To Buy Cards For

• Birthdays
• Christmas
• Easter
• Eid
• Hannuhak
• Diwali
• Valentine's Day
• Mother's/Mothers' Day
• Father's/Fathers' Day
• Anniversary
• Engagement
• Wedding
• Wedding Acceptance (Sender)
• Sorry, We Can't Come To Your Wedding/Soiree (Sender)
• Grievances/With Sympathy
• New Baby
• Christening/Batism/Whatever
• Good Luck
• Passing Exams
• General Congratulations
• New Home
• Getting A New Address (Sender)
• We're Moving! (Sender)
• Apology
• Late Birthday
• Thank You
• New Job
• New School
• Leaving An Old Job
• Retirement
• Get Well Soon
• Justin Bieber Day. (It's actually a thing. Today. If you send me a card for this, I will disassociate myself from you permanently.)

Any I've missed, please feel free to add :-)

Shout It To The World!

You peeps! I have a very serious, yet jokey ponderance today.

This evening I found out a very interesting fact about one of my best friends that, really, I should have found out about a year ago. It's nobody's fault, it's just how things happen to have turned out. But it got me thinking. When I asked my other friend (Alice) if she knew she said it was "knowledge" but that there "hadn't been a huge song and dance about it". This gave me an idea.

From now, I am starting a campaign to get people Shouting their news from the rooftops!!! I think that the best thing we can do for our society and for ourselves is to be more open about our lives. So, if anyone had anything they'd like to share, they can comment here or message me and I will make it public (slightly) for them. This blog only reaches about forty people, but it's more than one person can tell at a time without a microphone or a soap box. You don't have to give a name, if you don't want to, but telling people will make you feel so much happier within yourself.

I'll start.

My name is Emma (we all know that) and I play the saxophone. I use the saxophone as a way to stop being sad and be awesome instead. I am a massive grammar nerd. I am a huge geek. I am both massive and huge. I have some friends, but no boyfriend, which is a shame. I study English (which I'm not as keen on as I used to be), German (which I love), Religious Studies (which I also love) and Chemistry (which is difficult, but worth it). I am a Methodist Christian (but not in a "you should all come to church with me" way. It'd be nice if you did, but I respect your right to choose, as long as it's not a danger to anyone else). I have recently discovered that I possess a power which makes people answer "yes" when really they should answer "no". This came back to bite me. I have the most supportive friends in the world!! I am an Explorer Scout and a Ranger (Guide Senior Section). I love playing the saxophone and it is a major part of my life. My saxophone is like the child I have yet to have (don't worry I'm not pregnant). My favourite film is Snow White. My favourite book is The Shell House.

Is there anything else? Ask me questions, I'll answer them. (Keep it clean please)

SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!
Spread the word! Start telling people things!

Year 13 :S

This week, as the current Year Thirteens have been planning and executing their final scheduled days at Owen's, apparently not actually doing any work, I have started pondering what it'll be like for us next year. There are several things which are worrying me and these are what I want to write about today, not that anyone actually reads this (in pretendy posh accent) garbaaaarrrge.

Firstly that I'll end up not keeping in touch with people. Not just the important people (they know who they are, CBA to list them all), but less important people like Martha and Kelly (joke, I very love you much...). Seriously though, I saw the current year 13s saying goodbye to each other today and it became very real how far they'll be spreading out; traveling all over the country now, perhaps even Europe, the world; traveling all over the country now, perhaps even Europe, the world. They're probably never going to see 190/200 of those people ever again, and as for anyone else they know at Owen's, well they'll almost definitely not keep in touch with them. That scares me. These people have been a MASSIVE part of my life for the last six years, not necessarily a good part most of them, but I've seen them practically every day for about 1/3 of my life. 


Clearly there are some people I never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever want to see again (I'll leave that to the imagination), but there are so many great people at Owen's that I really want to keep in touch with, and I'm so scared that I'll never get to laugh at their failures (or oddly-sized shorts) again. That really scares me. I know I said that already, but it honestly does.


Secondly, what the hell should I have on the back of my leavers' hoody? I can't just have "Cracknell", that's boring. The only nicknames I have are "Crackpot", which has very negative connotations in some circles, and "Em Schmem", which only Alice calls me. Actually, that'd be pretty cool. Maybe I'll get that. OK, that problem's solved. Comments?

Finally, once I leave the safety of Owen's and the regularities of this life, I have to face the harsh truths of the real world. THAT is scary. I mean, I think my problems are pretty big at the moment, but they'll just get bigger once I leave this microcosm and join the actual rat race. The World's a big place, I don't know if I'm ready to be pat of it yet, and I'm pretty sure I won't be in a year's time either.

Sorry, offloading on the general public. not that anyone actually reads this shiz apart from Kelly, Martha and Misa, and they'll just be happy I've mentioned their names (Except Misa, who's probably on the run from the police....).

The School Library

Today, as I have a free period and I have already "exhausted my grey matter" I am pondering the joys of our school library. There aren't many. We come in here to work during our "study periods", or free lessons, and usually end up discussing anything and everything, including (but not restricted to):

• Politics
• Facebook
• The many escapades of Ella's dog Zak
• Ditto Hannah's dog Merlin
• Jacqueline and Beccy's work experience with lambs
• Misa's plan to conquer the world/universe/multiverse
• Cake
• The Queen
• Fashion
• Sophie and Henry's suppressed sexual tension (or whatever)
• Phillip Crout (and Mrs Georgia Crout)
• Scouts/Rangers/Guides/Splorers
• How much work we have to do
• The effects of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome on the exam process

However, more often than not we sit, in our small groups, discussing the work with whoever happens to be sitting nearby. For example, today Jacqueline has been checking that her revision notes for Biology are correct, Misa and Maria have been discussing maths and, whilst I've been writing this, Ella has asked me to Goggle some physics-y thing for her.

Unfortunately the wonderful Mrs Compton doesn't seem to understand how people need to talk to each other sometimes for work to be effective; we can't always be competely independent. Some bloke once said "Man is not an island" or something similar. We should respect that; how can we check that our German essays are accurate if we can't ask people like Leila or Stanley, who know everything? Etc. etc.

I could go on about this all day but to be fair, there are some people who abuse the library. Somehow it goes unnoticed if  Stanley and Maria play Library tennis (which was really funny, we should do it again next year), but it is noticed when Oliver lies across the table and starts singing at someone (usually Chris). Yeah, that was awkward....

Examinations (Part the Second)

So, my ponderings are back for "part the two".

Adults and other old people often say that exams are getting easier. This is possible, but it is more likely that the number of opportunities we have to resit and increase our marks has practically tripled. Apart from the fact that our exam system now is spead out over several weeks, so that if you have a bad day on the day of English paper 1, you can  make up for it with English paper 2, you can also then redo English paper 1 in six months time. And if, after that, you are still not happy, you can resit again six months after that.

However, I'd like to point out that the a Level exams are NOT easy! A "friend" of mine in year 13 said that he knows people who are resitting their AS Level English paper again this month for the second time because the exam board requires three essays about six different texts to be written in two hours and that requires superhuman speed and agility (or something). Secondly, Chemistry is almost as bad; if you write one incorrect word, you can lose three marks. And we're not even talking key words, just the difference between "lots more" and "increase in" or whatever.

Personally, I think the government should have away with compulsory written exams, give people the choice as to whether they answer with a written piece, a verbal response or some other form of assessment, such as a practical exam (which there already are for some subjects) as that would be a much fairer way of assessing people based on their own skill set. Or, as they've begun to do in primary schools, continuous assessment throughout your time at school, rather than three weeks of pressure at the end of every year; in what possible way is that an accurate representation of someone's performance??!?!?!

Thanks for listening to my random and annoyed/annoying wafflings. Have a nice day and good luck in your exams!

Examinations (Part the First)

So, here I am in a German lesson (hooray!) and I find myself pondering, surprise surprise, the impending exam period. Written exams are actually the most pointless invention of the human race since someone decided that the eyelash curler would be a step forward. When do I ever need to be able to write a coherent essay after I finish in education? Surely being able to write a decent letter which achieves a purpose is a much more marketable skill? Or being able to physically tell the difference between Hydrochloric acid and water, rather than the different effects they have on the human body after consumption. Isn't it a bit late by that point?

And what about the sheer number of exams we have to participate in? Seriously, next Wednesday I have two exams on the same day and I have to write five essays. Five essays. When will I ever have to write coherently about "Frankenstein" under timed conditions again (with the exception of the retake I'll have to undoubtedly do in January)? How is it in any way useful to put teenagers under this much stress for four years? I'm not suggesting that we should have the old-style exams, where your entire future was balanced on one five-hour long paper on the history of the sock or whatever, but there has to be a better way!

Seeing as this is going to turn into a very long rant, I'll post the next bit as a separate post. Stay tuned (or something...)!