Today was quite a good day for me, let me explain why. Today is the traditional annual HCYO (Hampshire County Youth Orchestra) New Year concert at the Anvil theatre in Basingstoke, which features the HCYWO (Wind Orchestra) and HCYSO (String Orchestra, in which I play the violin). This year, as we often do, we shared our concert with the HCYB (Hampshire County Youth Band) and WAYO (Winchester and Area Youth Orchestra). That enough acronyms for you?

The point is this: we totally rocked! This year was better than any other as the finale piece, featuring every single musician was the last movement of Mahler's 3rd Symphony. For those of you not familiar with this work, it's an intense, romantic piece with superb harmonic progressions and an excellent recapitulation (ending). I thoroughly recommend that you listen to it if it's your kind of thing. Mahler did, however, suffer from what I call "Beethoven Syndrome"- he doesn't know when to stop!!! In the first violin part, this movement of the symphony ends with TWENTY-FOUR BARS (at the tempo of the piece, it lasts around 45 seconds to a minute) on a single note with constant tremolo fortissimo (scrubbing the bow back and forth as hard and fast as you can). This clearly left my right wrist in a bit of a state after having rehearsed it twice and then performed it. Luckily, though, it was worth it, as the audience loved the performance, two thirds of them even giving it a standing ovation!

This week I also finished a second Halo Music Video and got through the last of my exams! I was lucky in the English, a really great question came up that was the angle on the book we had been studying, so that wasn't too bad. Now, though, we've started on the next module already, and I need to get down to writing this essay on Arthur Miller (or more accurately, one of his plays). I'm just glad I can use my computer and not my wrist...

Peace.

Today was the last exam of the January session, and now I don't have to ever ever read "The Spire" again if I don't want to! :) The only reason I'm not happy these exams are over is because I know I have an A2 french oral in May and everything else in June, which I'm not looking forward to. Back to the traditional schoolwork now, at elast I can look forward to the imminent arrival of my Wii!

Peace (and maybe some sleep now...)

Well, today was my first AS exam since last year's early French modules, and it was Music...God, what a way to start the year. For those of you (most of you) who aren't familiar with the Bournemouth School Music Department, it essentially consists of two crappy classrooms, a "recording studio" (two really old computers in a 6"x6" booth) and a teacher who is some kind of odd cross between a salmon, a frog, a pidgeon and Louis Armstrong (don't ask, it's like having lessons with an anally retentive Godzilla). Essentially, then, I didn't get my hopes up for a high grade, despite the craploads of revision I've been doing recently. The main reason was that this is in fact a re-sit, and I took the Historical Studies exam last year and got a U ("Look on the bright side, at least it was only 2 marks off an E" - helpful friend number 1). I don't think I got less than half marks this morning, at least, I answered all the questions and didn't write anything absolutely stupid, and some of the things I'd revised actually came up ("And if you did fail, at least you can take it again in the summer!" - helpful friend number 2).

Now I'm just waiting for my English exam on Wednesday to be over, and that's it until June...in the meantime I have tradition al schoolwork to do...*sigh* no rest for the wicked...

...well, night before last I had these really bad stomach pains and couldn't sleep until after I had been sick (and even then I kept waking up every hour or so). I didn't have a fever or anything, and my parents and I were quite concerned. So I went to the doctor and she said, "Well, it could be just a bowel infection, so leave it for a while, although there is the possibility that it is appendicitis, in which case you will have to go for the appendectomy."

GREAT  I thought to myself, in a sarcastic tone of subvocalisation, if the timing is just right might miss my AS modules next week. Not good. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping it's something minor, or at least hoping that if it is something more serious, it holds off until the exams (those damn exam boards, setting exams in January...) are over.

Peace.

Won't be as active as I have been recently, as I have my first exams of the year coming up (Music- Introduction to Historical Studies and English Lit- Post-1914 Prose). I need to be devoting time to these exams which take place in a week's time!!!

Wish me luck!

Well, all four of the necessary charter members are signed up. The other four, please accept your invitations ASAP so that you can become officers (and boy are you worthy of it) straight from the start.

I can barely believe this is happening, let's start 2007 as we mean to go on shall we? Forward, the brotherhood of sanity and sensible debate!

Peace.

News just in, two more members have signed up, namely Fox and Ribbo. the rest of you, now is the time! Only need one more person, but it would be good if all of you got involved as you were so keen.

Amazing...this morning I was just mucking around with the Union settings and although I had received a PM telling me I could not re-form the GSMU until 1/2/07 (British date system :P), I was able to invite eight of the people on my new Charter Member list! EJ902 has already accepted, so come on the rest of you! I only need three more of you to accept!

Yup, as predicted, the Union creation failed miserably, but so many people have expressed an interest that at least we'll have a better chance next time. If you have already expressed an interest, then you are on my friends list and eligible for invitation on 1st February 2007 (can hardly believe that one, I'd have thought we'd be driving hover cars and living on the moon by now...). And if you haven't yet contacted me but are interested, make sure you do so that you can go on the list.

In other news, I've started making videos for various games. I haven't got any in the works right now, but the very first one I did was made on Boxing Day, and I made a second one yesterday. I will be posting them as soon as I reach the amazing status of Level Ten, so watch this space.

Peace, and a happy 2007 to all of you.