Diary of an English student

Yes folks, that's how exciting life is for me at the moment.

My days are filled with college, my evenings with revision. Thus on a day of little interesting jazz at college, revision becomes the most interesting thing to happen to me.

Or rather, for me to happen to it.

This evening, I sat myself down at half seven and swore to myself that I would accomplish my revision on the history of the English language that very night.

Half nine saw me proudly sticking my well-over-five-foot timeline of English on top of my Doctor Who poster near my bedroom door (obscuring the face of Rose, but hey ho - I'd rather look at David Tennant in any case).

It is bigger than me.

It has a red stripe down the middle.

It hardly has ANY crossings out or messy bits.

It has got LOADS of detail and really precise dates.

And if I finish the rest of my revision in good time, I will add quotes to it as well.

Thus, it has made me a happy person this evening

That, and the material my darling mother bought to make a dress for me at Mr Fabric Man's today .. and the fact that I drove without anything terrible happening! Woop!

Even though the same experience cannot be applied to everyone today. Jen was on Facebook earlier in rather a moh (can moh be used as a noun? I just don't know) because some scumbag had frightened the life out of her in Shelford today.

So if you're reading this, Mr Scumbag, I hope you are sorry. Go and flagellate yourself or something appropriate like that.

So, I forgot to blog yesterday, but the most crucial thing that happened (or at least, the only thing that I now remember that was striking) was someone getting pooed on by a bird. How we laughed.

But anyway. What's past is past and all that. Today is a new dawn and all that jazz.

And English just proved to me once again that not only is Mr Binfield very funny, he is also completely insane.

There was a wasp in the room, for a start. So he dealt with that by standing on his desk and poking it with an empty coffee cup, having first had to empty the coffee cup, naturally, and it flew straight out the window in an excellent example of comic anticlimax.

Later in the lesson, we were discussing technical jargon and ways to avoid it. This led to his revelation that he has no science O-levels whatsoever, and managed to become a teacher before it was deemed necessary for all teaching staff to have at least some O levels in science (as he said, because of course you need to understand photosynthesis before you can teach grammar).

We continued in this vein. Somebody mentioned figurative language. Mr B seized on the oppurtunity. 'Somebody explain photosynthesis to me' he cried, 'I know not what it is'(or words to that effect, anyway. He always makes fun of me for using archaisms). So Tom, myself and Kati all started to attempt a non-technical explanation. 'I'm looking for figurative language' he suggested.

And, managing to shout down Tom and Kati, blustering on about CO2 and the like, I explained that when a plant photosynthesises, it makes a cake. It takes the CO2 and puts it in the green mixing bowl, then cooks it with energy from the sun, and turns it into something nice to eat.

He was well impressed. But I felt not a little silly on realising that Oli does biology and thus knows a FAR more complicated and technical version of events.

But hey. You teach something new to someone every day.

Maybe I have a career in primary school teaching..

So.

Today I discovered a side to me I never thought I had..that of a really quite violent and not-that-wimpy paintball-gun-wielding fiend.

I didn't cry once - not when I got shot on the hand in the first game (even as I type I am observing the grazed and broken skin that results from a paintball hitting uncovered flesh at high velocity), not even when I got peppered all up my left leg by some BASTARD of a man in the free-for-all at the end (although that was a close one). In other words, all was not bad!

Having washed my hair and had a long shower and put pjs on, I am able to reflect on the day with much satisfaction. I only hope the photos aren't too dire..

At Maheen's afterwards (when we all went back for a bbq) I was faced with a dilemma. Which brings me to the second half of the title.

Because, you see, technically, it was still passover. So, in theory, no wheat. Except.. it's not really fair to be a real pain and request other food if somebody's laid on a massive spread for you. And there really was loads of food. And so much of it was filled with wheaty goodness. So I couldn't help eating a spring roll or two. Or three. They were soo tasty!

But that doesn't make me a bad person, right?

It's not like I ate the pizza fingers which are practically a wheat extravaganza. I just ate a little bit. And only reluctantly. And I hadn't had any wheat during the day, because I had NONE of the biscuits being offered round. And it was the last night tonight anyway.

So. Have I committed a terrible sin that will see me damned to hell for all eternity? Will I even go to hell? Does hell exist?

Or will God understand that it would be ruder to just not eat, or demand something else, than to observe to the letter some law that a rabbi thought up on his behalf?

Answers on a postcard please.

Yes folks, that's right.

You are reading the blog of the second - best sales assistant of European Sole nationwide.

The second best.

Sigh.

Reminds me of the Christmas Father Ted episode, where crazy housekeeper woman tells Ted she thinks he's the 'second best priest in the country'.

However, I think Ted took it rather more to heart than I did.

So that's alright.

I've noticed my blogs have been getting rather descriptive of late.. a bit too much like a diary entry and not so much like a philosophical discussion in which you, the reader, actually feel engaged. Its all very well me spouting on about my life, but quite frankly, what's the point if no-one cares?

Thus I am changing tack. I will turn over a new leaf. Today is the start. Henceforth, I promise to write about interesting things, and not about myself. I also promise to revise for my A-levels, not freak out when asked to drive a car, and get fit enough to run the Race for Life this summer.

Hmmm. I think I may be setting my standards rather high.

Isn't it amazing how if the evening before is good, no matter how crap the day, then the following day tends to be good too?

I have just felt absurdly optimistic today. Perhaps thats because the sun was shining enough for me to wear my new and groovy fatface shorts (don't hate me), perhaps it was something to do with the FINALLY giving in my English coursework, perhaps it just felt like a lot of things were coming together. But I had a really nice day.

Highlights:
- Sam tying Sophie's bangle to Jenny's shoelaces so it looked like a target for something rather dodgy
- Being late to History and Gitanjali and Anna saying 'the tables have turned'
- Actually bringing myself to write a French essay and translate a piece of Ovid this evening
- Making cinnamon balls (mmm cinnamony goodness)

and of course,

- GIVING IN MY ENGLISH COURSEWORK, YEAH BABY!

I love sunshine. It makes me happy.

Another thing that was quite nice was that I left my hair to dry naturally this morning (something I *never* do) and got compliments for it! Yeah! See, haystacks can be pretty. There's a pretty famous painting of hay, after all. So ha.

And even though I've got to work tomorrow, and I seem to have far more work than is strictly necessary, life is good.

If this were the title of a book, it would be the story of my life this week so far - the only difference would be the handsome male that would inevitably turn up and save the day, which has thus far not occurred, nor is likely to do so.

*sigh*

It feels like it's been a very trying day. French and History are never a good combination, granted, but the verging-on-tropical-rainstorm that deluged us for some time did not lighten the mood. My period 3 free with Jen was fine - nothing like our 'picnic' of yesterday though, where we discovered that we are really bad at geography but pretty good at fish. And I made the statement that I was only a 'passive' lesbian, as it was Nichola that kissed *me*. Which made us laugh a lot.

So yes. Then Classics society was alright, although Jo and I suffered considerable abuse at the hands of our fellows who think that a) Robert Pattinson is ugly, and b) he looks nothing like Edward Cullen (from the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer). We disagreed. Voices were raised. Monopoly boards were created. Lessons were headed off to, and emails were received stating that ENGLISH HAD ONLY BLOODY WELL GONE AND BEEN CANCELLED.

RAAAAAAAAAAAARH

So I was not impressed. I did the set work and sent some emails; and that was about it. On arrival in Latin, 2 different people asked me if I was alright.. I was not in a good mood. Latin wasn't so terrible though.

When I got home, I was thrown into a frenzy by a form. Yes, you heard me - a form. A PN1 form to be precise. It seemed to suggest that it needed to be in tomorrow. Which naturally freaked me out a bit. However, my mum calmed me down by saying that it didn't actually need to be in til June, and it was all fine.

Then she made me go driving to pick my sister up from school. It was horrific. Lots of stalling in the middle of roads etc was involved.

So this evening, I moped quite a lot and drowned my sorrows in History revision - Protector Somerset, woop! It could have been worse. But then, it could have been so much better. As usual.

Story of my week? Story of my life, more like.

So - I didn't write yesterday (or should I say 'I didn't blog yesterday? is blogging different to writing? an interesting question) because
a) I couldn't be bothered
b) Jenny came round and it was twenty to midnight by the time she left
c) I was at work. Its not like much interesting happened.

So yes.. apart from the presence of Jen, who lights up my life like a little sunbeam (clearly), my day was UTTERLY unremarkable. Oh, and we had about a zillion customers as Jo was off sick. And someone got a bit shirty because they'd been waiting for 45 minutes. Pah, I say to that. If you haven't got time to spare, don't come shoe shopping. And don't complain when you can see that everyone else is rushing round like mad people trying to serve other customers who got there first.

Ahem. So. Because I didn't get to bed til late, I didn't wake up til twenty to ten this morning - and let me tell you, it was very weird waking up naturally and not being jerked awake by 'The Tom and Emma showgram, Q103' (raaaarh). In a good way.

And then we ate Matzah Bry for breakfast (woop woop!) and in a leisurely fashion myself and dear mama drifted into town for a bit of shopperising.

We went to the Grand Arcade and accidentally bought Daniella a t-shirt straight away.. then I bought socks in Topshop (they have dinosaurs and butterflies and flamingoes on! woo yeah!) and then we went to Office. My mum bought red converse high tops. I didn't buy any but I have officially decided to get some green low tops.. because they are that cool. And so am I.

Then we went to Fatface and said HELLO! to Katie, and I bought a top and some cropped trousers (despite it being chilly, overcast and verging on foggy weather) which she very kindly gave me a 20% discount on, yay! And then we went to a few other places, like Boots and Holland & Barrett and Zara. And then we summoned our taxi (my dad), came home and had lunch (more matzah. With cheese this time.).

I spent this afternoon trying to add all the necessary bits to my English coursework without actually adding any more words to the word count, which has been quite a task. However, I think I've got away with it - as long as I don't actually have to write an introduction. If I do, it will have to be six words or less.

Hmmm.

Then this evening we had a proper seder meal, which was characterised by the usual 'no, *my* book says we do this next' and so on and so forth, sang some songs (badly), and generally pigged out. And then we had a cup of tea, and watched last night's Doctor Who. Which was alright.. not as good as last weeks. But then, it didn't have any classical references, so it was never going to be.

And now I must sleep. G'night y'all.

Today was the long-awaited Latin party. And what a party it was!

But I am getting ahead of myself - before partying, I met Nic and Jen at Cafe Diem for a cup of tea and a gossip (and a little bit of work, but not much in the grand scheme of things). We sang the song about Hitler's balls. Not as random as you would think..

And then it was time for Latin. Woop woop! First, we had to actually finish translating the Cicero text, as that was the reason for partying in the first place. Some people got a bit keen and opened packets early; however, we managed to restrain ourselves until we had translated (and even analysed) the last sentence..

And then we grooved.

We had honey cake, little cakes, fruit pastilles, M&Ms, chocolate crunchy things, and to top it all off, about a ZILLION kinder Eggs.

We spent the rest of the lesson eating and opening the Kinder Eggs to get at the toys, some of which were highly disappointing, others of which were AMAZING. And we also made up 'Fortuna' (Chance) cards for the Latin Monopoly we've been creating..

Naturally, at break, I was not hungry, so I divided up the uneaten cake and made my chums in the kitchen eat it. Even then, we still didn't manage to finish it, so I gave the rest to Mr Binfield in English.

English was quite a laugh. Myself and Kati did our presentation on 'recipes' - from the 1390s to 2007, woop! Mr B. had a bit of a rant about one of the key things that have changed in English cooking, aside from the grammar and all that jazz, is the use of spices. He gets worked up about the slightest thing.. lol. Anyway, at the end of the lesson he picked up some random sheet of paper on his desk and said 'that always worries me... its the last page of an essay'. Meaning, oh shit, I have lost the rest. The man is mad.

At lunch we went on an expedition to the bank and Nic got a chinese takeaway. On returning to the kitchen, we proceeded to watch her eat it, which seriously put her off and made us laugh A LOT.

Then it was history. Merh. By the end of the lesson, I had a major headache and really couldn't be bothered with anything.

I walked back to Addenbrookes with Jen, then cycled the rest of the way home. I had barely been in ten minutes when I was hurried out the door by my dear mother to go pick my sister up (with me driving - eep!). This we did, after not a small amount of palaver. Could have been worse though, in all fairness.

And this evening I have simply wasted away, doing nothing worthwhile and putting off all my work til the weekend. Great.

You know when you are looking forward to a day, in anticipation of all the good and useful and fun things you are going to get done, and then it turns out to be just like any other day, except slightly worse?

I had one of those days.

French was.. well, never expect too much from French. It just isn't worth the effort. History - I was convinced that Miss Smith was going to make revision checklists with us. Well, after a slow-ish start, we got going.. except she 'pulled up' (she uses that phrase all the time and it struck me today just how annoying I find it) the revision checklist they made LAST year and asked us if we wanted to add anything to it. Which is RUBBISH, because half the point of a revision checklist is making it and realising what you know/dont know/had completely forgotten. So that was rather annoying.

AND THEN I came out of History, disappointed and also very hungry, expecting to see Jen, but she had already left to meet Corinna in town. Moh. Faced with the prospect of a lonesome p3, I was not a happy bunny at break, and ended up walking Sam to his lesson with Mrs *crazy* Contrino in the hope I might come across someone. Which, luckily for me, I did - Basil, Phil, Mahony and Alissa Schurov, of whom the only person I really know is Bas. But hey. Could have been worse - I could have had to do work *shock*

Then it was lunch, woop. Or rather, Classics Society. In which Eric had wind orchestra. Leaving the grand total of people interested in classics at one - me. Great. So, the others played cards/went to revision surgeries/chatted with their boyfriends (Rachel!) etc whilst I slaved away on our brilliant monopoly board. Which is truly amazing, and is colour co-ordinated and everything, but still. It still needs a bit of work.. we havent got property cards for it or money or anything yet. But we're getting there.

Then I dashed off to English, normally a grand lesson in which Mr Binfield says/does lots of silly things. Not so today - written assessment on either standard English or accent. Woop woop. Finished a little early and probably didn't write enough, but hey ho. We shall have to see about that one.

And then it was Latin, and we corrected the translation I slaved away over last night.. turns out the comprehension I also slaved away over is actually due for Monday. Raaaarh. Never mind. Mine had a lot of red pen over it, but actually I had got more right than I thought.. still needs work but its a step up from the work I did the other day. Then we did 'quin', a ridiculous word with about a zillion translations, and some other jazz. And then it was time to cycle home, not seeing Ed, and feeling slightly warm in a leather jacket but a little chilly on the hands. Crazy weather.

But this evening has been quite good.. I did some English revision, WOO!!! yeah! Now that I have started, hopefully that will help me carry on. I also made a honey cake for the Latin party tomorrow, and mini muffins, just because I could.

And now I need to sleep, because I can't cope with late nights

Strangely, I feel rather cheerful this evening.

I wonder what this could be down to.

Mayhap it is because I have made a pretty damn good (and also quite large) revision list for English, and also for Latin.

Mayhap it is because Miss Smith has promised that we will do a revision checklist in History *tomorrow*

Mayhap its because I've been catching up with quite a lot of people over FB/msn

Mayhap its just because I washed my hair, and now its curly again

Of course, if I were writing a history essay on the subject, I would conclude that it was a combination of these factors that led to my cheerful feeling, but that this should not be taken at face value and the rest of today's events, cheerful or otherwise, should also be examined in order to get a true picture of the situation.

Thankfully for you, dear reader, this is not a history essay, and I can't be bothered to describe the less-fun aspects of my day here, so I shall just say I went driving with my dear mama and all did not go quite to plan. But it was fine. I survived. And so did everyone I encountered. Therefore, success.

And because its late, and I quite want to sleep, I am off to bed.

So its goodnight from me and the team.

So. After yesterday's rant about the insensitivity of males and the like, and on my telling of Basil this morning that he would not be getting a high-five because I was angry with him, I assumed that his non-appearance in our usual free was due to him avoiding me, because he *must* have realised how pissed off I was.
Thus, when I texted him this afternoon to question his actions, I was more than a little surprised to discover he didn't have a clue what he had done; was not, indeed, aware of any wrongdoing on his part.
Which is clearly ridiculous. I ask you. What a complete fool.

In other news, little of note occurred today, really. In our free, myself and Jen found ourselves effectively watching Matt and Rachel, which I am sure they found a little off-putting (we didn't mean to, it was just how we were all sitting), and then at lunch, we ended up outside because the weather was nice, and I bought an ice-cream. Then, after being late to French, we had quite a standard lesson.. Richard occassionally playing the harmonica (much to Ms Sutton's utter bewilderment) was the only slightly out of the ordinary element. Then history. Oh the depression. I diligently made notes on the rest of the powerpoints we watched, then Miss Smith decided to lecture us on the proper way of tackling a section A question. I mean, come ON! For a start, we can't answer a question if we don't have the knowledge, no matter how good our technique is, and secondly, we have done about a million section As in our time.
In my anger and boredom, I nearly had a weepy moment - after all, it wasn't that long ago that I asked if we could make a list of everything we needed to revise, like we did for the Elizabeth I paper, which was clearly effective for me as I got 88 out of 90 for the exam. And not an unreasonable request, you would think. But she seems to have forgotten all about it. Raaaaaaaargh.

Then I walked up the the hospital with Jen and we both raged about things in general, and then I cycled home and had another weepy moment whilst contemplating the amount of stuff I have to do.

The weepiness did but increase on my trying to do two different Latin homeworks and coming to the conclusion that I am actually rubbish at Latin, which was (understandably) demoralising. More tears ensued. So I put it to one side and helped make tea.

This evening, I watched the French news - and I've started making lists of revision topics. On the one hand, it's depressing how much I have got to do- on the other, its a massive boost to know that I have made a start by listing it all, and that I'll be able to tick off all those things as I get to them (I'm a compulsive box-ticker, you see).

So it's been a rather weepy, demoralising day, with a few high points.

Again.

I wonder if it's a result of tiredness or simply an overwhelming feeling of despair that has led to a general sense of merh that seems to be rather evident today.

Not sleeping well (although I did have a dream about a pair of boots..), Basil behaving like a twat, only getting half marks in the Latin comprehension - all these nearly resulted (in combination) in a bit of a verging-on-weepy episode.

Call me wimp (you won't be the first) but its just been such a miserable day. I *hate* Mondays.

And to top it all off, I had a headache in French and it rained on the way home, so my jeans got wet and my legs got cold. And then, because mater et sister were out horseriding, I was in charge of the creation of tea. So I couldn't even really go and chill or sit in my room and mope for a bit.

So unlike the other day, when I was just rage-filled and active in my anger and dissatisfaction, today I have been swamped in misery and apathy.

It hasn't been all doom and gloom; there were a few good moments. English was quite good fun, and comparing universities in the library with Jen had its fair share of jokes, and running into Eric at the end of p4 and Jen saying his shirt was 'very yellow.. in a good way' was certainly rather amusing - but I think that about sums it up for enjoyability of today.

If I were to analyse the cause of my misery ('nooo' I hear you groan, but it must be done), I would say it would have to be boys.

Why do they treat you *so* differently if you ask them out (because they pretty much led you on in the first place) and they turn you down?

In short, why did Basil cling on to Jen when we got up to go towards the end of p2 and berate her for not contacting him, insist on a hug and the like, and yet I just have to stand there and wait for him to release her. Why can't we be friends like before? Why? Why should I have to lose a friend over a relationship that never even existed?

Why are men so BLOODY irritating, is what I am trying to say.

Answers on a postcard please, to this address.

I didn't sleep all that well last night, but that might have been because I was concerned about kicking Nic in the face, or something similar.
However, I still got up early so she wasn't the only one, and at 7:25 waved her and my dad off.

Then I had breakfast, and decided it would be a good idea to wash my hair. Which was a great plan, up until the hot water went off - precisely at the moment I had smothered my head in conditioner. Great. So I gave it a thorough combing to kill some time, on the basis the hot water might come back on again.

It didn't.

So I had a rather chilly shower trying to get all the conditioner out whilst letting as little of the water as possible actually touch my skin.

Then I was seized with a desire to straighten my hair - so I did! took me over an hour, but my hair is now straight, woop woop. And once I had done all that, it still wasn't even past 10:30 - in fact, Max wasn't even up!

So I helped my dear mama create the Tesco shopping list online and did some other jazz, like homework and the like, mostly killing time until lunch. And then after lunch, I did some actual homework and some ironing while the football was on (Liverpool v Blackburn, first half - v dull). Once the football had finished (a Liverpool win, thank goodness) I was dragged out for a drive, which I subsequently did, so that was all good.

Then.. I can't even remember what I did. But I have spent all evening cutting out and putting together pattern pieces for my costume for Nic's movie-themed 18th - I *am* Hermione Granger. So I'm making robes.

And now time for a bath, yippee

I LOVE DOCTOR WHO

I LOVE LATIN

Therefore, tonights episode of Doctor Who was actually amazing. End of. My two favourite things - does it get any better?

No, is the answer.

TK Maximus. LOL

But anyway. Aside from the legend that is Doctor Who, my day was.. uneventful. I drove to work and back .. so that was good.. and did some Latin sentences and Cicero and the like.. and served some brats and also some very sweet children. Didn't have any real horrors though. So it's all good.

And now Nic is round, so we have better things to do than tell you about our evenings. We have to discuss the sexiness of Mr Darcy (I say yes, Nic says NO WAY - but she is mad), the SEXINESS of David Tennant (clearly he deserves capitals - and in case you were wondering, we are both HELL YES for him) and other such important jazz.

So it's goodnight from me and everyone here in the Fagelman household. (and Nic)

After a bit of a lazy start, decidedly relaxed in nature, I made it into college for 10 of the clock and a nice bit of Cicero and a biscuit. Actually, I lie, there were no biscuits involved. But we did have a test. Which isn't really the same thing, but hey. Once we finished, we read a bit more of the actual text and realized that by next week, we'll have finished it! Wow! So next Friday, we're having a Latin party. Which is as cool as it sounds - ie MEGA cool.
Then it was break, in which Lizi turned up! Woop! So I dragged her off with me for a chat and we ended up in the kitchen, trying to talk around Matt Ahluwahlia smooching with Rachel. So it wasn't quite like that, but hey ho. Life is no fun without a little exaggeration from time to time.
Then Lizi headed off and I had English.
I don't know what was up with Mr Binfield today, but he had about three different rants on various things. I can't even remember what they were now, just that they were quite random (private schools might have been one of them). I suggested he was having an angry day and he laughed, the way he does.
At one point, he was talking about RP (or 'Received Pronunciation' - ie middle class speak) and he said that in extreme RP, the u/o sound is pretty sketchy. So to illustrate, he said 'Muntgumery' would be the pronunciation of 'Montgomery', 'Cuventry' for 'Coventry' and so on. So, to put them all together, as only Mr Binfield can, he said 'Muntgumery from Cuventry is a bit of a cont'

Oh how we laughed.
Are teachers allowed to say things like that? He seems to swear and rage quite a lot, but he's probably the best teacher I have - so much energy and enthusiasm, and so much knowledge in that bearded head. I mean, he literally quotes bits of Shakespeare off the top of his head to illustrate points he makes about Early Modern English, and all sorts.

But anyway. After English, it was lunchtime - woop woop! No Jen, as she had a lesson (I ask you) but we wiled away the time somehow. Sam and Shahreena spent quite a lot of the hour throwing small rolled up balls of tissue paper at Nichola's file, trying to get them in the little hole on the side, mostly unsuccesfully.

And then, wonder of wonders, it was History with the ineffable Miss Smith, one of the maddest and most alarmingly enthusiastic teachers on the planet. I did a powerpoint presentation which I spent AGES making yesterday on the 'Abilities of the Rulers' - ie, Somerset, Northumberland and Mary I. Which was quite a task. And some other people did powerpoints as well, which I dutifully made notes on like a good student.

And then I was free, freeeee like a bird, so off myself and Jen hopped to Frankie and Benny's (again) for a smoothie type thing and a sundae. Both of which were extremely nice. And then Jen had to restrain her giggling when the waiter picked up my card and read my name - wrong, naturally. How hard is it to say 'Fagelman', I ask you? Not that hard. But evidently too hard for some. Sigh.

And then I came home, and my darling mother made me go for a drive, which I thought was going to be horrendous but was actually quite good, and even a bit fun in parts. Which was a nice surprise.

And then this evening, I watched Doctor Who AGAIN

I haven't done any work tonight, and I know I won't get much done tomorrow, what with being at work and all, but hey ho. Sometimes, you just have to watch David Tennant in a tight suit.

Well.

I had my A level French oral this afternoon.

I *think* it went alright.. looking back, there were lots of things I could have expressed better.. but at least I used plenty of subjunctives

Also - Jenny was back, yay! So we spent our free period third plotting and planning for a surprise event so secret I can't even tell you. Thats how secret it is. Uhuh. And we bought ice creams from the ice cream van that likes to position itself in the staff carpark and make lots of money. But we don't mind, because it's actually quite reasonable price-wise and ice creams are fabulous

Then in Classics Society, myself and Eric set to creating a Monopoly board in Latin (I kid you not) while everyone else made merry and ate their lunch etc. We are dedicated, and they just come along for the ride. But hey ho.

And then it was Frenchifying time. As discussed. It's weird to think that I'll never be tested on my spoken French again.. after so long learning to speak it, I haven't quite got over that yet..

And then I had English, which naturally I was late for as the oral overran into it, but that was ok as Mr Binfield didn't even ask where I had been. Although I would have liked to have been asked.. but hey. And then I had Latin, and that was quite good fun. I do like Latin on a Thursday. Eric and I ganged up on Lizzie (as usual) for a little anti-scientist rant. Which she does deserve, after all. So it's completely justifiable. Nor is it bullying, because she doesn't give a damn about what we say anyway, she just likes arguing and provoking us. And she brings it all on herself in any case by being the only outright scientist in the class...

So yeah. Then I cycled home and bumped into - guess who - Ed Middleton! The man who might as well be known as invisible, the amount I see of him. Naturally he did not have my DVD with him, the swine. So I abused him in a friendly manner for a little until he dashed off on the pretext of 'revision'. Pah, I say to that.

And then this evening, I made a MEGA powerpoint on the abilities of the rulers between 1547 and 1558, which is a lot of information, as there were quite a lot of rulers. And I made tea. So.

Overall, quite a packed day, I suppose..

I was having quite a good day until I got home and saw that a certain person (who shall remain unnamed, not that he reads this anyway but just in case) had changed his relationship status on Facebook to 'in a relationship'.

Why, you may ask, did this hack me off so much?

Well, truth be told, I don't actually know why I feel so bitter about it. It's over a year since I broke up with him, after all. But then again, this is the THIRD girlfriend he has been with since me. And who I have I been 'in a relationship' with in that time?

Sodding no-one, is the answer. And not for lack of trying.

So. That angers me. I'll just rage a bit here and let it all out.

RAGE RAGE RAGE RAGE RAGE RAGE RAGE RAGE RAGE

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!

Right. Thats a bit better.

In other news... In my two lessons today I did not do *much* of note.. I hung with Rachel in my free period as her lesson was cancelled, and I went home at lunchtime, where I proceeded to prevaricate by reading my mum's magazine, before actually getting down to some work. I then translated some Latin jazz (Ovid's Metamorphoses, woo!), made some notes in French for my oral exam TOMORROW (eep) and so on. Then my mum made me drive back from Whittlesford (don't ask why.. it went alright, but it's kind of a long story explaining why Whittlesford etc etc).

And now I have just watched the French news, in case anything groundbreaking happened today that I should know about.

And then I raged a bit, as you can see.

But Jenny is back tomorrow, so all will be right with the world

I'm only writing this post this evening because of the conversation I had with Rachel this lunchtime, which was just too funny not to record and cherish forever.

It will probably make very little sense - however, I hope there is enough that does to make it vaguely amusing to you folks

On the way home yesterday, I commented on Rachel's way with words, after her use of the expression 'it really gets on my tits'

Today, she used that same expression (about what I cannot remember) and somehow conversation led to me saying 'I have a very high regard for your tits, they have been my companions these long years'

For those of you that don't recognise it, (probably most of the world, but hey) that's straight from Pride and Prejudice. This led to quite an outbreak of hysteria, culminating in the assertion that Mr Darcy had moobs. Which is in itself rather amusing.

What came next, however.. we discussed briefly Elizabeth Bennet's saying she dated her love for Darcy from 'first seeing his beautiful .. grounds.. '

Then Rachel tried to make some clever comment on Darcy's genitalia.

However, what she said was 'Mr Peni's Darcy'

HOW we laughed.

And from henceforth, a cock shall always be known as a Darcy.

Tee hee

Aside from this hysterical moment, I also did a history assessment that went less than well, planned a French essay and went to the gym. So not a bad day, really.

Ed. - I feel bound to point out, on rereading this post, that the line 'I have a very high regard for your tits, they have been my companions these long years' is not in fact *straight* out of Pride and Prejudice.. can you guess which word I have substituted? (clue: it begins with a t, ends with an s and has 'it' in the middle)

Hmm, yes, so today was very interesting and different..

Not.

Except - and you'll have to allow me to rage a bit here, because it's something that really annoyed me today - they have put the fares up on the Park and Ride AGAIN!

It now costs £2.20 for me to go to college and back. Except, and this only enrages me further, the buses don't even stop at Hills Road in the afternoons, because it gets "too crowded". I nearly threw myself in front of a bloody double decker today in an attempt to alert the driver to my presence.. no luck. So I, and Rachel, as she had kindly volunteered to accompany me, walked down to the Perse. Where another bus drove past us. Undaunted, we continue to Addenbrookes, on the basis that if they don't stop there they might as well not run at all. A bus did stop there, of course, but still. The anger remains.

Graaaaah! putting up prices and delivering a WORSE service for the privilege. I call it ridiculous, and scandalous.

So that is my rant for today. Apart from that.. well, I properly translated a bit of Aeneid VI today all on my owney, with only a puffin translation and a HUGE dictionary for help (it's hard, alright?)

And... I spoke a bit of French at college.. so that's definitely good, as my French oral is on Thursday. Eeep!

And... I was going to do some history revision, but with an assessment tomorrow, there really doesn't seem any point this evening. Lets just go find out what I don't know, I reckon.

Plus I made tea and washed my hair. And watched the French news. Apparently, some ship near Somalia has been invaded by pirates and the crew members taken hostage..
Interestingly, the presidential elections in Zimbabwe didn't make the French news, although a musical about the life of Nelson Mandela did. I hope this doesn't mean the West has simply forgotten about Zimbabwe now and Mugabe will be left to continue in his corrupt dictatorship until he dies or gets bored..

On a happier note, my parents will be home soon, yay! Some responsibility will at last be removed from my shoulders. I have cooked, cleaned, organised, galvanised, washed, etc etc etc over the past few days. I'm a proper housewife, me.

But from tomorrow, I can go back to being a self-obsessed teenager again, w00t!

Indeed, mice and cake.

Not at the same time, I should say - just two events of my fun filled day. Yes indeed folks, that is what happened to me today.

I made a cake this afternoon - a chocolate swirly traybake.

And then this evening, after my relaxing bath, I shooped merrily into my room and discovered 2 cats looking rather interested in something by my desk.

Thats right. Somehow, a mouse had found its way *up* the stairs and into my bedroom. I decided to leave it where it was for the time being and wait for it to make an appearance, rather than pulling out all the furniture away from the walls, making a lot of mess and risking mouse jam.

And not that long after, a bit of scrabbling and perking up of cats ears, and the mouse was off again. I chased it down the stairs, hotly pursued by the cats, and after a bit of flailing around I got it safely outside, uneaten with barely a scratch on it. Yeah! Go me, mouse-rescuer of Hinton Way! Woop Woop! I should have a cape.

So. That's what I did today.

Of course, there were other things.. I haven't been in a state of non-existence in between times. I also made the siblings go on a forced march round Wandlebury (quite fun, as it turned out), watched the French news, installed my printer thats been sitting in my room for months unconnected to anything, and typed up two excerpts of Ovid's Metamorphoses I had promised I would scan in and send to Eric, only to discover the scanner wasn't working.

So - thats what I did today. A full and honest account. And now, its time to rest my weary head and all that, because I've got college tomorrow. Woopee. Back to the daily grind.

Doctor David Tennant, baby!

Oh yes, the man is back, providing me and millions like me once more with my weekly fix of impish grins, raised eyebrows, ear twiddling and *beautifully* cut suits.

Now don't get me wrong - I love Doctor Who, I don't just watch it for the loveliness of Davey T - but you will never catch me criticising him. What a man. *Swoons just a little bit*

Apart from Doctor Who, my day has been unremarkable. Work in the morning, lunchtime at home, work in the afternoon, came home and organised tea, then shovelled it down at top speed avec la famille and sat in front of the tv.

And then came 45 mins of YAY and then it was Doctor Who confidential, which is almost better if you're looking for a fix because he talks in his lovely scottish accent

And then I ended up watching last night's Torchwood again on BBC Iplayer... I cried.

So it's been an emotional evening.

And now to read Antigone, and secretly plan how I am going to join the cast of Torchwood/Doctor Who within the next 5 years. Mwahahaha.

You know when you look back on a day and you think - 'was that really all today? Did it all happen in 24hrs?'

Thats what I just had.

I think it all comes of being drawn in by television..

I just watched the last episode of Torchwood. But I'm not allowed to say any more, because, obviously, it was only just on and I don't know how to alert people to potential spoilers. So I'll just say OH MY GOD and leave it at that.

In other news.. after getting up early to see my parents off as they jet off (well, Eurostar off, but I don't think thats a real verb) to Paris, I had a driving lesson, which went quite well, and in which I learnt to reverse around a corner, something which is really rather difficult and doesn't seem to have a useful practical application to me. But hey. Then I went home and did a bit of work, but not much, as I was expecting to be summoned into town to meet up with my Lampeter pal, Charlotte (I say Lampeter pal, but she lives in London - I just met her in Lampeter, on a Classics summer school, because we are both that cool). When I subsequently was, I cycled to the P&R, leapt on a bus and met her by the market - and then we went to Auntie's Tea Shoppe and ate cake and ice cream by way of lunch, and drank tea. So it was all good.
Then I came home and did a bit more work, but again, not much, as my gran turned up to be the voice of parental authority while the 'rents are in la Belle Paris.
And then I didn't do much. Except watch that Torchwood I'm not allowed to talk about yet.

So now, it's time for a relaxing bath, and then its off to bed - I've got work in the morning. Yay.

Given that I didn't do much of note today (apart, clearly, from passing my driving theory test, having a driving lesson, going bank-account shopping and even doing a bit of French), I thought that instead of describing my rather dull life in detail for all you avid readers (!) I would just put up some poems I wrote a while ago, after Eric gave me 'The Ode Less Travelled' by Stephen Fry for Christmas.

Here's one I wrote at work over the Xmas holidays -

Something out of the common way
An interesting person to meet
That's what I'd have liked to happen today
But all I've done is look at feet
Rhyming lines and counting their beat
Still, there are worse ways to spend my time
Than sit in an office composing rhyme.

And another one..

It's so much easier to write poetry
When you don't have to think about metre
There are writers who would have a go at me
And descend on me, screaming 'beat her!'
But while I like the classical stuff,
Where English is concerned, enough's enough.

And the last one for this evening:

I learnt about trochees, pyrrhics and iambs
and anapaests, dactyls and more
I wrote exercise poems about rain, strawberry jam,
and how working in shops is a bore
I hope you can see how much I have learnt
And appreciate not *all* my poems need to be burnt.

Let me know if you like them, I'll put up some more.. these are the corny, meant - to - be -vaguely - amusing ones, but thats not the only kind of stuff I've written!

Ugh, my tea has gone cold. In my fervent hunting for music clips of Spamalot, I had forgotten all about it.
Never mind. Back to business.

I feel like I have had a very productive day today, what with the going into town and buying some jeans (purple! woo!) and seeing the Grand Arcade, which was less exciting than I thought it would be, and then being mega organised on my return home - get this:
1) I finished making the history notes on some article about the nobility
2) I prepared tea - chili - and managed to chivvy the beasts (siblings/other family members) into helping, something my mother is rarely able to do
3) I made a swiss roll for pudding
4) I served and organised the creation of tea
5) I practiced my hazard perception jazz for my theory test tomorrow (gulp)
6) I helped my parents fill in my PN1 form for university funding (double gulp)

And I washed my hair. So I think I've had a productive day.

Apart from all that revision I didn't do, of course..