goals, aspirations and expectations. wow, that sounds deep… :)

OK then…

well, today is my last day of swotvac; my exams start tomorrow, with english studies up first. it's funny; for several years, i always thought that in the week that just passed, i would be working incredibly super hard for the entire time, and not waste any time whatsoever, because exams are right around the corner. Well, i can assure you, that most definitely didn't happen.

what did i do, you may ask? well, i did do some study, but really, not much more happened then in a normal week of standard homework, to be truthful. But i don't really care anymore… i mean, the course i want is only a 67 TER last year; and I doubt it will get much higher next year, and using last year's TER table, my current scores will hopefully get me somewhere in the mid80s anyway, so not all is lost.

But, i did have my japanese conversation exam yesterday; that went really quite well, i think. i know that i stuffed up a little bit in some points, but overall, i think i answered almost every question, except the ones that i couldn't understand, correctly, which is good! :)

i also had my solo and ensemble performance on thursday the week before last week, which i also think went pretty good. like A range good. :) i'm doing 1.5 music subjects, so the half subject (which will be musicianship) won't be counted, while solo and ensemble will. personally, now that i know that musicianship won't be counted, i really cbf doing the end bit of my arrangement; it's just not worth it, you know?? i'm like: fuck it, it won't count for ANYTHING, so why bother??

wow, i've got my exams like tomorrow… that's crazy, my whole schooling life has really been building up to this point, and i'm not studying… what does that say about me? haha that i don't like english studies, i think. :)

only 16 days and 17 hours until i'm finished exams… 3 this week, (monday: english, tuesday: physics, and wednesday: Japanese) and then one the week after that (geog on thursday morn) and then music the week after that on the wednesday; and then I'M FINISHED!! :D can't wait!

and also, just to let everybody know, caity owns the inactive half of my soul for the next two weeks. then i'll get it back again. :)

playlist wise: 9.1 hours, 127 songs, including one from caity that cost me half my soul for two weeks… :)

muck up day was fun, btw. i had a super short dress on, but there's no chance of me posting a photo up here! :) sorry guys! haha

oh, and i still don't know where i'm going or anything, just the district, still… ehh… annoyed…

my last…

ok, so today was my last monday of normal school ever. tonight is my last monday night of normal homework ever. tomorrow is seriously my last concert band morning rehearsal ever. and on and on it goes.

seriously, it just never stops. i can't stop thinking about how, incredibly soon, i'm going to be free of school. 29 days, 12 hours 7 minutes exactly, until i'm free of school forever. It's impossible for me to do something at the moment, without thinking, 'hey, will this be my last ever english lesson on a monday??' (today, it was! haha)

in other news; I might have a summer job!! i applied for a job at cibo, and called my old boss from fresh choice to ask her if it was ok to use her as a reference. and then i was denied my job at cibo, so i was depressed. and then my friend, who's family owns the restaurant, talked to me in my free today, and she's like 'hey ben, mum was surprised you didn't ask to work at fresh choice again' or something like that, and it turns out, i've still pretty much got a job at fresh choice if i want it! yay! but, i'm gonna work at yum sing express instead, because it's closer. and the other good news: another be working with me, because he's been failing at finding summer work also… haha

I'm so ready for school to be over… pretending to study is just getting old… i'm quite excited for uni, but school… it's just frustrating that i'm doing english studies. i'm regretting that decision so much… it's a really difficult, frustrating and boring subject, and it's really hard to try to make myself study for it, even more than the other subjects… (except music haha)

if i could change one thing this year, it would be doing english coms instead of studies. i would've gone so much better… i know it. argh…

in other remotely school related news; it's muck up day this thursday. i bought a fluro singlet (blue) and some fluro/black bonds undies this evening from Big W. having never worn a singlet before, it's a bit weird… not particularly in a good way either… haha. also, on friday, is our final yr 12 assembly is on friday, and i'm doing IT stuff, so it should be good. i know i'm gonna tear up in the formal bit; i was even a little close to it last year! haha

music playlist wise: 124 songs, and 8.9 hours!! i've pretty much made it to my goal! yay! :)

how on earth did caity's blog get so many views in such a short time??!?!?! that makes no sense… haha

that is all.

ben xx

caity owe's me one! :P

okay, so here's a post that i was pressured into writing, so as such, it won't be anywhere near as good as a normal one. any complaints can be directed to caity norsworthy. :P

Okay, so here goes.

rotary wise, nothing's really happened this week. as of this moment, it's 105 days, 18 hours 12 and minutes until i leave. speaking of leaving: my mum left us yesterday. :D she went on holiday to Japan, so i'm really jealous, obviously! currently, she's in Kyoto, and staying at the Granvia. Dad got me to talk to the woman at the desk when we called the hotel; and it was the most awkward conversation i've ever had with any body ever in japanese, and counts the time that i mixed up someone from China with a student from a Japanese High-School! :P

tomorrow, when we call, i'll try doing it in Japanese, and see how that goes instead. probably better, especially now that i know the room number.

Also, japan-wise, i was watching one of my fave shows ever, The Amazing Race, and it was the start of the new series. and the first place they were going was to TOKYO!! it was a pretty lame episode; i wouldn't have wasted japan on the opening episode, but fun nonetheless. Phil, if you're reading this, please have me and mum on the next season; we'll do anything!!!

currently, i'm on holidays in-between terms 3 & 4, and i know i'm not doing as much work as i should be. i'm gonna read back on this and be pissed at myself, but seriously, i just don't want to work… it's just uninteresting… you know?

oh, because mum's in japan atm, we as a family are going all japanese-y. yesterday, we made a version some may call tonkatsu (for those learning/speaking japanese - 豚カ) and today, i went down to woolies and bought stuff for curry rice, which i made. just a pointer, guys; - if you're looking for older women, look no further than the supermarket during the middle of weekdays. i was seriously the only teenager that wasn't working at the checkout in the whole store! :P

anyway, better get back to some english work… warning to all scotchies: DON'T DO ENGLISH STUDIES. if i knew how bad it is atm, i would not have done it at all…

cya!

my rotary life this month

ok, it's very early/late in the morning, and can't be bothered going to bed, so i'll do a post instead!

on saturday, i had the rotary short term youth exchange district conference/meeting thing. it involved all the outbounds and inbounds from the two SA rotary districts, and associated counsellors, random rotary people, and parents. it was a day of lectures, listening to some quite interesting talks on things ranging from home sickness, travel itineraries, to personal safety, and "what is rotary" style things. the travel and homesickness talks were the most interesting, especially hearing things from the "rebounders" ie people who have already gone on exchange, and come back home. that was definitely the most interesting thing about that day, hearing about other people's experiences.

also, i found out where the other people were going to. a significant majority (ie 90%) were going to Europe, with only me, and two other rural girls (one to america, and one to brazil) not going to europe. out of the people going to europe, most were going to scandinavia, with the rest dotted around germany (popular) switzerland, belgium and france (only 1 or two each). I, on the other hand, am braving it in the only asian country at all! :) The other outbounds and inbounds are all really nice, and i've made fb friends with some of them already! i can't wait to spend more time with some of them, it'll be great! :)

we heard a talk from a guy called Brad who had been to Japan in 2007, where he had a great time, but also some difficulties. mum, dad and my counsellor had a talk with his mum, where she detailed some of the problems that he faced. When he first arrived, for about 5-6 months, he wasn't allowed to have a mobile phone, which i felt to be pretty weird. Apparently, the boy that was at the district before he was, was very rowdy, and as such, they think rotary was trying to clamp down on brad before he could do anything out of line, even before they realised what kind of person he was: a nice, easy going, hard studying honorary student. after a bit of cerfuffling, they eventually allowed him a phone, but there were still some other issues.

i was also told by his mum that apparently, for all of last year, Brad, and my own japanese district, have banned all exchange students from having a mobile phone at all. so, i used my facebook contacts to check out whether that was the case, and apparently, it's not anymore, which is good! haha

I also found out that i'm going on the 23rd of January, and that i'll be going into Singapore or Kuala Lumpur and then onto Nagoya airport. I was having a look this morning with mum, and we found that Malaysia doesn't go into Nagoya, but Singapore does, so it looks like I'll be going Adelaide>singapore>nagoya on the saturday, 23rd of january, which is only 138 days and 10 hours away! ahh!! i'm really excited!

anyway, this is a really long post, so i better get to bed!

night/morning! :)

ps music wise: i've got 4 and a half hours of music, after raiding my radiohead collection, which added quite significantly to my playlist! :)

The only thing pulling me through exams

All of this week, i've got exams. I had English studies on friday last week (3 hours: 2 essays and a comprehension) and then Physics and Japanese today (both 3 hours as well). it's ok, i'm not studying any where near what i could be; but they're only trial exams, right?!?! :D

but the one thing i look forward to more than anything else is coming on blogger, and reading the blog posts of the americans who are now dotted throughout the world. for me, it's become more enjoyable than reading engadget even! :D I even love reading ben mau's blog, even though he's Germany, rather than japan; it doesn't matter as much anymore! in a way, it helps it feel more real, knowing that i'll be off in 142 days, 11 hours or so. without hearing about 5 people's first day of school, it would seem more surreal, this knowledge that i'm off to Japan in a few months time.

but first, i've got to finish this beast that's called year 12. not that much to go, actually. geog exam tomorrow afternoon, and music the afternoon after that, and then i'm done for a few days, until school starts up again normally on the tuesday. oh, and a quick update about my shoes: I LOVE THEM. i had to walk home this afternoon, since the Jap exam finished later than normal school, and i spent almost the entire time just looking down at my feet, admiring my shoes! hahaha it sounds so sad, but i love them so much; way more than my converse or globes. i'm gonna take them to japan, i know it.

but, only 77(!) days until i'm finished with official schooling forever. once that's done; i'm going to apply to a couple of retail places for a summer/xmas job. i'm thinking diamonds camera and digital, EB games, Game, Next Byte and maybe myer/djs. see who wants me. i know i do… :D wouldn't mind selling/being around apple stuff all day, even if it is just selling iPods to people that really shouldn't be attempting something that difficult, but we'll see.

let's finish year 12 first. woo… :/

oh, and btw, i'm really quite looking forward to Jamila's 18th on friday night, and then the Rotary district briefing weekend on the saturday; it should be brilliant! :D

and plane playlist wise: i'm at 3 and a quarter hours of music so far; a third of the way there! :D

only four months and 29 days to go! not that i'm counting or anything! :D

i'm completely over this school thing. sometimes, i just feel like i'm ready to throw in the towel, and just call it a day, but at the same time, i want it to be finished, with me being given a TER out the other side. my english teacher briefly mentioned how we'll be rid of yr 12 in only 84 days today, and i actually felt a little deliriously happy, thinking about how soon it is until i won't have to do work for ages! i'm really looking forward to just spending time with people, and then going to japan.

I can't wait to just talk to the japanese, watch my language skills improve, go skiing a lot, and go to school, where i'll hopefully start a small riot with my gorgeous locks! haha but seriously, almost more than anything else in the world, i can't wait to go to my first day of school; it'll be so great to be at a Japanese school for a year! imagine how good my jap will be, even after a month! haha it'll be brilliant!

in a week and a bit (AFTER TRIAL EXAMS!! WOOOT!) i've got a rotary outbound district briefing day, which should be pretty good, methinks. i'm looking forward to meeting other people going through the same waiting process as i am; it'll be good to have someone to relate to, even if they are going to somewhere in Europe.

anyway, only approximately 149 days to go until i'm gone. omg i just realised i missed it skip over from 150 to 149! that's like a big milestone! haha i really want to see it go from 100 to 99, that'll feel so good!! ahh it's coming; not to much more to wait now.

i love it when it comes to the late teens and early 20s of each month, where i can say once more, "only x months until i go! soon it'll be four months, which isn't long at all; that's only a third of a year! wow!

anyway,

bed time now.

night!

my new addiction…

ok, so nothing new is happening rotary-wise, but i've found that i've become absolutely addicted to finding people who are going to Japan in the next few weeks. And once i've found them, i google them to try and find a blog, because over and over, i want to read what their first experiences are like, more than anything else in the world! i just can't wait to do that first post of mine with a title like: "hello from Japan!!" or something like that, it'd just be brilliant.

so, i've already added like 4 people on facebook who are going to the same district as me from the US, and they leave in a few days, which is so annoying, because i've still got 156 days to go! but pretty soon, i'll be down to 5 months to go; only about 5 days away, i think! ahhh! it keeps on coming!

school-wise; umm… i did pretty well in a physics test today, i think i probably got around 75%+, which is great for physics; hopefully my percentage goes up! we also got our yr 12 jumpers today, which is brilliant! the photo to the right is what it looks like; but i ordered mine one size too big! i was gonna get a medium, but then the sleeves were a bit short on the tester, so i got a large instead, but there weren't any to try, so i blindly went with it anyway. that was my undoing. it looks like i've put on about 5

0+ kg on my stomach; I look huge! haha oh well, fits me in the arms atleast! :D

that photo, btw, was my 6th try! :D haha

now, how about starting some work… ? hmm, maybe…:D

oh, and i also got some nike airs over the weekend, they look so cool!! (see photo)