Oh wow.

Because I didn't intend to get this kind of reaction at all.

I mean, I want to talk about how awesome my weekend was, but I guess I have to be the bigger man and set things straight...

So, this weekend was freaking insane... Let's not talk about epèe, it really isn't my weapon, I just do it for fun :P although my ranking did improve by like 1 place. Sabre was absolutely ridiculous, I managed to lose a very close final against Wikus Koen, 15-14... But I lost 2 freaking points for starting too early!!!! ARGH!! It's still burning me up now! And I was ranked 4th after poules for senior, which I was super super stoked about... I managed to lose to Günther Schroder in the quarters, so I just missed out on a medal. But now I have an insane senior ranking, which is cool :)

Foil was the most controversial. I should have beaten Pasha in the quarters of cadets, but I got two really dodgy calls losing 15-14, the last of which was so blatant the literally everyone watching said it was my point.... :(

I stayed in this crazy guest house which the McGregors had found, all the way with British culture. I am going to blanche when my mum gets the bill though :D whoops! At least we didn't get high on glue fixing weapons this time...

At least I fulfilled my medal quota, so it's all cool. And as soon as I get to Canada, I am finding that fencing coach and getting some hectic training done.

So, down to business...

Okay, let's make this perfectly clear. In my previous controversial blog post, I did not intend to insult anyone personally, above all Nick Koster or the Bishops 1st Team. Because they've worked bloody hard for their achievements. It was not my aim to be personally defamatory; it was intended to be a criticism of the school and the system, which I am perfectly justified in making. Just because you don't like what I have to say does not mean I am not allowed to say it, and it is my arguments that should be criticized, not me as a person.

And you really should pay attention when I say that I don't hate rugby and that I'm not saying fencing is the best/the only sport. I appreciate the fact that some of you have taken the time to provide well-structured comments, but you still show a complete disregard for my opinions which I have already expressed. If you do that, there is no way we can have a coherent argument.

You guys say I have no pride in the school? What if an OD came across the comments you have written on my post? What would he think of the school and the kind of boys it raises? How it educates them to not be able to spell and have a vocabulary not extending past expletives? And how it teaches them to be proud of their own honour enough to not stick their names on their criticism? I criticize the system, but at least I have the guts to do it in a legitimate manner and put my name to it.

Besides, why is everyone making such a big thing out of it? We won, didn't we?



1 week until I leave on exchange!!!! I have to still:
Buy trinkets
Pack
Re-pack
Give back science apparatus
Send off a few emails
Pack a third time
Remind the teachers to send me work :(
Say goodbye to my friends/enemies/girlfriend
Pack one final time
LEAVE!

wow. quelle horreur

It's the weekend, baybeeeeeeee!!

Good luck to all you guys playing Bosch this weekend, give it your all! Might as well take advantage of the spirit...

So, there won't be any posts this weekend because in about 2 hours time I am jetting off to Pretoria for the second-last national fencing tournament. It's such a pity, I would make the Worlds team if I could go to the last one, but as life dictates I am in Canadaarh. Well, some things you have to sacrifice... It's called opportunity cost, okes should learn this stuff in EMS (who says EMS is a waste of time!?)

Absolute meh sorting out weapons that actually work, am having to borrow lots of equipment as it stands... But at least I managed to get all my stuff into one fencing bag! Which means I won't be paying lots of extra for overweight baggage!

I've been hoarding memes, it's almost time to release them. It'll definitely happen before I leave. Which reminds me, there's still lots and lots of stuff to sort out, and I've only got a week! I still have to give back all the science expo stuff (good thing Mrs Douglas isn't here), say goodbye to everyone, take lots of AP Maths worksheets along (pah! :D), say goodbye to mah friendz, say goodbye to mah girlfriend :'( and stuff. I also need to pack. Would be advised.

Mindset: Absolute fencing. I am going to win the damn sabre!

My pleasures in life are not the same as everyone else's...

...but I'm sure quite a few people I know could say that as well. It just comes up during weird times, depending on what one happens to be doing.

I wish I could chunder up my emotions sometimes, like other blogs written by drug addicts and stuff. Or hell, even a tumblr like Chloe, but I don't think pictures can express what I feel..... or 1001 words, not gonna happen. It's just... different. I need systematicness, I need logical progression... that's what makes me who I am, and I can't change that! Besides, I'm not too comfortable with my inner workings being public domain.

Whoops, too late :D

But seriously, I want to tell people what I feel about them, whether I love them or hate them or anything in between. I'm actually a pretty troubled soul, if you haven't noticed... I'm not like super depressive, but sometimes I feel like I lack a means to truly express myself. But I don't want it public domain, this blog isn't it. I just feel like I'm limited by the system... I'M NOT A PART OF THE SYSTEM!!!!!!! Which is why Lonely Island's "Threw It On The Ground" is one of my favourite songs right now... hehe

:) I couldn't help smiling as I walked into English 15 minutes late because we'd been held up at the music school. ie, we were having lots of fun composing on the computers, engrossing even the teachers. I'm getting some awesome awesome stereotypical jazz thing together for a project which I doubt I will get to complete, but that don't matter here, it's all about the fun! I still need to figure out how to make dubstep on Logic though... But yeah, music students are actually insane. Like, we always just say we are, but we actually are. That's the way it is; we have our own building. Full of really expensive shizzaz. Which can actually run completely independently of the rest of the school. Feth yeah.

Today was the whackest chapel service evar! Apparently we're celebrating 150 years of Bishops Rugby. lol. So we got some okes to come speak in chapel, one who was apparently the headboy or something four years ago, very afrikaans accent, very very traditional "yah okes rugby is sick" speech... o.O No wonder people go out of this school not knowing how to speak, and what to speak about. Because if you haven't been to a Public Speaking Society meeting, or gone to Nationals, or even watched a freaking debate (as you should because you go to a prestigious private school which offers an ALL-ROUND education), you'd know a little bit about what a good speech is, because, BREAKING NEWS, that wasn't one. Us at the back of the chapel (ie all the musical choir people) severely unimpressed. Although I did get a chance to play percussion again!

I'm sure I've ranted like this before, but I don't like the whole "rugby is everything" culture here. It's a sport, yes. It's a very popular sport, yes. We've got okes who get colours for it, well done to them. It's not the reason we go to school though. We go to school to learn, yes, if we managed to succeed in rugby/hockey/fencing that's all the better. I dunno, I rate the whole "1st team players must have a minimum average of x" thing is a good idea... And I didn't suggest it, don't crap on me!

Meh, I played a Romantic Grieg at the Eisteddfod on Tuesday, and apparently "it's not a battlefield". o.O So I managed to fail completely :( But I did almost get a diploma for my Baroque piece. Which was nice, because I have put a lot of effort into both.

Fencing this weekend, super duper national tournament coming up... I have a sabre title to defend and damn I am going to defend it! I now have new gear, which should make me more confident in my abilities :D Yeah yeah, whatever, actually all this means is that I won't be able to blame my weapons... :P

LOTS OF STUFF TO DO!!! But none can be done in this class... And most of them involve a piano and/or a drum kit. Or fencing. Or composing. Or anything!

I see what people mean about school being boring. But I have to accept it, because it's the gateway to anything and everything exciting! So I'm here for now...

Hard work

I'm not doing it.

Actually, I spent most of yesterday chilling at home, having father-son time repairing fencing weapons, desperately avoiding the birds/bees speech, eating sour bread, etc. Which was very nice. I would've gone climbing, but it was pouring with rain so I kinda got over it.

More importantly, today I played my Royal Schools piano exam, grade 6. Mega-stressing, but I was quite chilled about it. Wore big thick snow gloves, got a lot of flak for them, but Golesworthy said it's legal to lank avs vibes. At least they did serve their function, which was to keep my hands toasty.

Pieces, perfect. Scales, perfect, except for the two I severely messed up on. Sightreading, crap. Aural, crap. For some strange reason, whatever pitch I play in my head is never the [itch that comes out. Maybe I should just do more singing... Some people say I can't sing, but I can. Not very well, but you have to if you want to get anywhere in music. So, I was really disappointed when I couldn't croak the right notes to save my life. And I think I got the time signature wrong.... And stress stress stress stress!!

An entire year of my life has just been shown off to an arb British dude in 20 minutes. I hope he sees the blood, toil, tears, and sweat that I put in to deliver that silent performance behind locked doors at the Music School. I hope I did well, dammit! Now it's all over, it's actually completely beyond my control. I've managed to get that chapter of hard work behind me. There's no question of passing, but I want a Distinction. Because I know I've worked for it.

And people around me go on with their daily lives like nothing has happened. But I guess it's like that with many things, like doing really well in anything, making someone smile, falling in love for the first time...

Meh, I'll get over it soon. Because I like to think I don't wear a sandwich board that says "NOTICE ME!!!!"... Or maybe I do....

So, as the day dies, (wow, it's only 3pm!!) I screw around on Dakka and MemeGenerator and Wondermark and Tumblr, hoping to hold up the good mood I'm in. Which ain't gonna happen. But what I will do is get home very soon, and then I can play more piano. There are few things that would make me more happier right now!

Because after the exam is over, you want to finish that Rachmaninoff... :)

The Ring of Fire Strikes Again

Yeah, it's been a ride these last few days. So sorry if okes are desperately hitting "refresh" and not getting anything... It's been fun, caused a lot of late nights and all that, but I don't think I'm going to be doing a post a day anymore. Too much bore, too much stress. It's not that I can't, it's just that I think it's the way forward. So, as a bonus, you jammy readers get an awesome account of my past 4 or so days, complete with criticism, ripping, societal crapping-on, and general laffs (I hope).

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So, kicking off with Wednesday/Thursday, Langa, and chicken wings, as well as an awesome amount of poverty and trash! Srsly.

Well, as one of their "great ideas", the Bishops Exchange Committee decided that an awesome thing to do would be to send us off to Langa for a day and a night. Wicked sick, I was quite excited at the idea of having some questionable exchange choices quake in their boots at the idea of spending a night in Langa. God forbid. For those of you who don't know, it's a stereotypical township, like the one people always mention when they want to tune townships. So yeah, off we go...

But before that, we had one of them whatchamacallit broaden your horizons activities. Like, welcome to Bishops, you don't actually think okes are going to listen or care. Besides, it was all about agents of change and how we can all make change in our lives and stuff. That was the really ineffective part of the program. Although lunch was decent :)

Then, exciting stuff, we went to visit homeless shelters and stuff in the city. Which was a really solid experience. Our group went to a place called Homestead, which took kids in off the streets, sent them to school, established a routine in their lives, and got them off the streets. Hopefully. Maaan, it was so eye-opening already, and we hadn't even got started. There were messages scrawled on the walls by the bunks, messages of tears and pain and despair... There was a massive grassy vacant lot next door, but the owners weren't doing anything with it and didn't want to donate it to the kids to play soccer on... Wow, it's just like there's so much more corporate power then what people care about other people's lives... I started to see what Joe meant, life really does suck if you don't have the money.

Then, it was time to go to Langa. What a sight! Trash everywhere (because the plug had been pulled on street cleaning, and even the garbage collection was very sporadic), all sorts of decrepit bloc-style buildings everywhere... It reminded me a bit of Poland and CoD maps actually... And people live in this environment every day of their lives. We all walked around with our hosts in a giant group; little kids ran at us and hugged our legs and jumped on us, and we did all sorts of things like kick a ball and jump a rope, and one of them even bit Mitch!

It was getting dark, and people were braaing various things on the side of the road, such as intestines, wings, and even a whole cow's heart, just lying on the table there! People were brewing beer in shipping containers, foul pink frothy stuff kept in old oil cans. bleeh :P

We had a whole vibe going, singing and dancing down the street, it was so great to have such an awesome sense of community. But everywhere we looked were reminders that it was still a township. We passed some gangsters, a kid who had killed one of the girl's brothers, and a place where a boy got murdered last week. Talk about perspective.

So, my host was a really friendly girl called Babalwa. She lived with her one-eyed mom and two infant cousins in a little two-room flat as part of a bloc. They were so welcoming and willing to share everything they had, it was great to see how heartwarming people can be. I ended up not eating any meat for dinner, and that got me thinking about how they have to forgo things such as a proper diet and stuff just because they're living off social grants.

Anyway, I'm still alive and well after that, so yeah, it was a really great trip. AIS, I didn't get much sleep because the noise of the highway was too loud.

My family doesn't spend money unnecessarily. I don't have a fancy cellphone, don't drive a fancy car, don't have a big house. True, I get to go to exotic locations for holiday, but that's personal preference. Bishops puts me in such stark contrast to Cape Town's elite. And still I feel like a criminal purely for having so much. If anything, this trip certainly re-affirmed my belief in communism and the left wing. The guys want to go back. I can't say I blame them, I think I'll go to Langa again if I can.

Man, it feels like there should be something that we should be doing about this poverty and crap in Africa, because it's really bad. And then you realize that the government is responsible for these people, responsible for their services, responsible for them getting a good life. Hardly any of those people are there by their actions, and none are certainly there by choice. I'm not hating on SA's government specifically, but just capitalist governments as a whole. They don't have enough power to look after the poor properly.

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Well, after that eye-opening experience, I was understandably pretty nihilistic, and the fact that I have to do things before going on exchange and everything changes for me is only adding stress to that pile. I'm leaving in 14 days, but that isn't helped by the fact that I've got a piano exam, a girlfriend, a Scout troop, a fencing club, a pipe band, and all my friends and life left behind (temporarily). I'm actually trying not to think about the stresses it brings, because that just makes me worried about whether all that will function effectively without me :D.

The good news is, stuff for exchange has been sorted. Music lessons, sports practices, etc. So no turning back now, I am making the absolute most of it!

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ARGH! How I hate seeing people in relationships for the sake of relationships. It makes me sick to think that people can call each other partners when they don't care about each other at all... They're just doing it because everyone is! I literally want to eat people! It makes me so freaking crazy... And then I think about the fact that those aren't the people who's opinions I care about anyway, so screw them :)

I could be really emo. I could write something about how stupid love can get, and about how awesome it would be if I didn't have to worry about hormones and stuff, but I'm not like that. Because writing systematically actually cheers me up, unlike some blogs I've flicked through, which is just people chundering on the internet. Really.

Anyway, sometimes it's difficult to be in a relationship. Silly things happen, and it makes you forget what you're there for in the first place, because you're there for each other. Y'all know what I'm talking about... Well, y'all who have a special person close to your heart. You forget those things that make that special person special... That's bleak dayz right there, but I guess everyone has their fair share... Well, I did grow very fond of The Ring of Fire. Because it was just that appropriate ;) And I was reminded of why I loved you in the first place.

But, as Guy once said, when I'm sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead :) And it's a really cool feeling to know there is love in this world!

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FRIDAY'S fencing practice was crazy. Because no-one's listening to me yet :D I think they just want to spite me... But it's chilled, see how they'll miss me when tyrannous Rob takes over! :D I think leading the club is going to be a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I'm happy to accept that responsibility. And being super-bleak didn't help that day, but it'll all be cool for next weekend. Because next weekend, I fence sabre. AND I WIN!!!!!

Also, I don't get a reprise at all. Because I shouldn't be blogging :D I should be fixing weapons and practicing piano! But yeah, basically I have about a billion foils and stuff to fix today and tomorrow. Which is really a lus, because I don't want to but I have to. Meh.

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Aaaaaaand finally today's report: Model United Nations. The most undebating and unpublic speaking debating and public speaking competition ever. Seriously. It's fun, it's cool, and it's interesting, but competition-wise, most retarded thing ever. And I'm not just bleak that we didn't win, because that's not really that important anyway. Although a trip to DC would be nice!

So yeah, we ended up representing Egypt in the BATTLE FOR INTERNET FREEDOM. And we had absolutely no information on our new Egyptian government after the revolution except for a provisional constitution on www.egypt.gov.eg. And I guessed the web address, turns out it was right :)

And we basically got to argue with people about how it's a fundamental human right, like a UN session. It was really nice to do, but I didn't take anything from it! Well, maybe the fact that you don't want to do it! because it's a silly idea! Because it is! And the adjudicators don't know a thing about public speaking! And that there are no criteria you can possibly judge it on! And that all these exclamation marks are making me sound like someone in a panic mood :D !!!

So yeah. Well, at least we did get to see the cabinet vibes.

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And on the way back, my teacher just ripped into everything about the elite of our society. Because they come here and want to make it a Little England. It is NOT FREAKING LITTLE ENGLAND!! You come here with your Bishops "I'm so snazzy" attitudes and expect life to just work! Because it doesn't!

And Joey, you should probably listen to this.

Screw you guys, I'm going to learn statistics. And I'm getting a PhD. And I am freaking teaching at university, because seeing people grow under your guidance is an amazing thing. If you have the love for it, you have to teach. It's one of the few professions, along with medicine and law, that transcends all boundaries. It is necessary for civilization to continue. You think you're so cool with your accounting degree, wowzers, you are nothing. Because you can buy yourself a snazzy house? What? So can I. Who said there's no money in teaching?

Teaching. That's the only way forward, because our schools are stuffed with bad teachers and therefore bad students. If you lose the students, you lose everything.

Which is why we don't have a socialist society.

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Wow, I have ranted for so very very long. I hope you got something out of it. Something more than me telling my life story! Because if I've gotten you, dear reader, to think about our world and the issues with it, then I have succeeded.

Fencing braaaaaaaah

Today, school was average as usual. But, after school, the fun started good and proper, because it was the BISHOPS FENCING CHAMPS EVENING! (ie fencing's equivalent of the Rondebosch Rugby)

So, as per tradition of the club, we played soccer for two hours straight, and then went and sort of faffled about, kinda getting stuff from the armoury and kinda getting the piste stuck down with liberal amounts of duct tape. Because those things cost like R5000 a metre, so we're still stuck with the old copper one with a hole in it from like pre-World War 0.5. And to make a full piste we would need 16 of them :) So yeah, if we wanted to use up our meagre budget for the next 15 years, maybe....

As usual, lots of free food, lots of vaab, I ended up (narrowly) losing to Rob in the semi, Kidd narrowly lost to Ogilvie in the inter-house, and then Landon beat Rob in the final by a split-second point. I've never seen a more intense series of bouts! I don't know about okes who think fencing isn't tiring, but I can tell you I could hardly stand after I'd finished my first one. Ask Mr Wood, it's true ;) As per usual, okes were always cheering on the underdogs, raucusly throwing insulation tape at each other, etc. etc. as always happens with these informal events! I mean, hell, if you're not wearing a suit, please leave.

So, I ended up gettingnot only Half Colours but the Captaincy and the Technical Armourership as well... I am a super-happy bunny once again :D! Well done to all the guys who've all worked hard this year, I know fencing is one of the few sports where we have this tight-knit group of people who are just super-awesome at everything. And we only have a 1st team, so you're either that or bench. Rob is my right-hand man now, ha, I got him that administrative position after all! Because he really didn't want it, but he's got it, so nyaaaaah!!!! No, srsly, he'll be an epic vice.

And, believe it or not, WE LOST AGAINST THE ODs!!! Who were drunk anyway! In fact, they were so unconscious, three of their team didn't even pitch (One was in America and didn't know how the hell he'd got there...)! Well, all I'm saying is that at least we didn't fail epically, it came down to pretty much the last point once again. It's so great to have ODs that actually come back every year and fence, for the first time in 1 year probably! Because they're actually surprisingly good. For people who are barely conscious...

[okay, in reality, they aren't actually drunk, they do have to drive back home after all :D]

So that's chilling in my email signature now, College Captain of Fencing. Lets hope it doesn't get into my head... ;) no chance, as Scott put it, here comes the Bishops-wide socialist fencing regime!!

And guess what? Tomorrow, there won't be a blog post, because I'm spending the night in (of all places) Langa. On this (and I've always always wanted to say this) cultural spiritual political exchange sort of thing. Actually, it's a "broadening horizons" activity in preparation for my real exchange. So, I'll only be back on Thursday, enjoy the time alone Ismail and Guy, at least you can do some work in maths now :D

Drop

Just spent most of my internet time downloading insane Warhammer pictures and artwork off DeviantArt. I love MajesticChicken's ones, they're really really cool re-coloured GW pictures, form like codices and stuff. Would make awesome posters, I want one!

I'm actually really worried about my music exam, it's happening on Monday! I really know my stuff though, and I've been staying up until midnight practicing every day. So, I know my stuff. But I'm doing still more practicing as we speak. OR rather, as you read.

Because there's been lots of dubstep pumping through the house speakers today, I thought I'd dwell in yet more musical thoughts. Well, basically I've noticed that generally well-cultured but non-musical people, especially older ones, have been brought up to cringe at the sound of dubstep, death metal, dubstep, speed metal, metal, alternative rock, dubstep, drum & bass, dubstep, etc. The problem is that musical people, who appreciate all the talent and creativity that goes into creating much of each of those genres will be able to show it some more respect, despite maybe not altogether liking it. Have you ever tried to make dubstep, Joe Bloggs? I can tell you, it's flipping tough. Ditto for the rest of those genres. In fact, people don't appreciate any of the effort that goes into music, but I've already ranted about that.

With this in mind, here are my All Time Top Ten Favourite Songs Of All Time, although there are actually like 15 of them. It's because I can't decide. And, believe it or not, I am taught classical music, I can play classical music, and I tend not to deviate that much. Except for when listening for pleasure. Because then it gets pretty hectic, much like anyone else. Anyways, this is the list, I keep an iTunes playlist around and regularly update it, so I haven't just bunched them altogether for now. So, ladeeez and genteelmen...

16) Wolves of the Sea - Alestorm
15) Keelhauled - Alestorm
14) The Quest - Alestorm
13) Breathing - Yellowcard
12) Miles Apart - Yellowcard
11) Life of a Salesman - Yellowcard
10) Injection - Rise Against
9) Life Less Frightening - Rise Against
8) Under the Knife - Rise Against
7) Strength of the World - Avenged Sevenfold
6) Paper Wings - Rise Against
5) Fury of the Storm - DragonForce
4) The Island, Part 2 - Pendulum

and now, the top three: (hey, this'll be really interesting to look at every six months or so and see how it changes!)

3) Drones - Rise Against
2) Almost Easy - Avenged Sevenfold

And my favourite song right now:

1) Witchcraft by Pendulum.
No surprises there, Guy, Ismail, Sevi, Joe, etc. Don't hate :P

If you're looking for some good heavy listening, I would highly highly recommend checking at least one of these bands out. I warn they are a bit heavy, but not death-metal-heavy. Just alternative metal. Because each of these songs is a classic example of high-quality musicality.

So, with that, I sign off, and (to keep the suspense going) I won't tell you what's happening this week, although I know exactly...

Well, tonight I'm having lots of pancakes and speaking French :P


And no, all you hopefuls, I'm not going on exchange YET! :D

The Weekend. baby.

Apologies for not writing a post yesterday. You got two on FRIDAY, don't complain. Plus, I was busy fencing/being young and frolicky. Because I won't be young for much longer, must enjoy now.

So, I feel kinda obliged to put the results up, but I don't know all of them. What I do know is that Rob won Senior Foil, I won Senior Sabre, Rob beat me in Cadet Foil, Rob beat me in Cadet Epèe, so all in all a very good haul. Oh yeah, Andrew won all the other Epée medals. Well done to all the other guys, especially Soo-Min who was absolutely INSANE!!! So I guess this means I'll get colours, WP at the very least if not school ones yet.

Which puts things into perspective. Because if I had WP rugby or hockey colours, I mean, hell, I'd be... freaking awesome? Well, yeah, but when I get fencing colours, it's like, yeah, it must be really easy to do, I rate I could get there seeing as he's only been doing it for 2 years etc. etc.

And it's not just fencing. It's anything non-mainstream. Okes think they can play piano, especially the rugby types. No, you can't. Playing the opening bars of Fur Elise with one hand is not playing the piano. Playing it with both hands is not playing the piano. Playing it with both hands and going to the funky high section is not playing the piano. Hell, playing the entire piece is not playing the piano, although you are expected to play it if you do. Playing the piano, and truly playing it, is broken and cramping fingers, it's the tears when you finally overcome difficult passages, it's the joy of the performance, it's the time you put in practicing every single hour after hour. That is playing the piano. And it's technically the Bagatelle No 25 in A minor, by the way.

I'm in no way saying that messing around on the piano one day and finding something cool is WRONG. In fact, go for it, it might tame your aggressive zombie side or whatever. It's just that you can't say that you can now match up to, or hell, even comprehend matching up to those of us who pour our lives into this.

Same goes for fencing. I am not the national sabre champion and a whole lot more besides because it's easy. I have earned it because I put my heart into it, I put every last drop of blood and toil and tears and sweat from my body until I am left as a withered shell into getting to the place I am today. I put my life into fencing... And it's certainly paid off! I have put just as much, if not more, effort into it than the okes who play WP rugby.

And they deserve the respect, because they've also earned it. They've also had to struggle and strive to get there. Though we may not respect the sport they play as much as we do ours, we still need to accept that their talents are worthy of such high recognition. Because you have worked for it. But please realize that I have too.

The competition went freak well, I'm not just whining. it's just that these are the things I think about when the medals are handed out.

Moar school (again)

Why? Because I can, and because I have awesome things to talk about...

So, Maths with Bizony was the best lesson evar, turns out we didn't have an ordinary temp. As Sevi said, he seems to be the only teacher who can silence me, and not just silence anyhow, but with a single finger-point! And this is me we're talking about, I'm as loud as a freaking bagpipe!

The entire lesson, we didn't do a single exercise on paper, we just talked about combinations and permutations. Hell, he even got out a deck of cards so we could do different combinations of letter arrangements. We got enough opportunity to explore and be wrong (as I always am in his class, surprisingly!) Bizony is actually one of the best teachers in the school. Maybe even better than Wrensch, who knows... We managed to learn so much more than we usually do in maths! Afika fell asleep anyway.

Man, if only I had assurances of some sort that my teaching would be as awesome as this, because it really teaches us stuff! Instead of the work we do in most other classes... This is why I want to be a teacher of some sort, so I can be awesome like Mr Keating, because there's no better feeling than seeing people enjoy and learn and spread the knowledge around. Plus, it also helps increasing man-hour potential ;)

The rest of the teachers are actually lank average, I really feel as though sometimes I'm sitting in class doing not much, I mean, I still LEARN, just not in the world's most efficient way. I cringe to think how this bad teaching philosophy is perpetuated due to "my teacher did this to me so I will do it to you!". Because it isn't working....

I'm so altruistic it's not even funny. The newboys in Mallett can testify to that... or maybe I'm just such a pedophile ;) Don't laugh Joseph it's not funny :D Seriously, I have a teachers' syndrome. Plus, I want to solve everyone's problems. Although that may involve certain drastic measures which Chloe would certainly know about because she suggested it actually.

Okes are talking about how I ripped into that dude a couple of months back, I don't know why, it's so old news. I'm so over it, I'm practically on Venus as far as that's concerned. At the very least, have the decency to read my blog on the website and rack up my pageviews, and not from that crappy email getting sent around, because that's just dick, okes. Like, seriosuly bru.

(The scary thing is, people at Scarbraa actually speak like that. Found that out last week :D)

Yeah, I can't resist. Because everyone was reading my blog once again. I thought I'd give them a bit more entertainment... I do go to Bishops though, so I'm pretty scared of people sending lawyers and hitmen after me purely because they have the money to. Which is why all my posts were and are politically correct!

Plus, Duncan has a new post up. Read it, you CoD addicts!

Moar school

So, I thought about my schedule for today, and I've decided to write this now, before life gets too hectic. Which it does on FRIDAYS!

So, today I almost missed assembly, came just in time to get Music half-colours. Which was a pleasant surprise. Joe got a Distinction Tie, but he wasn't there to collect it, bunking as usual... I have got to talk to that child before he ends up dropping out of school and becoming a drug addict ;) I've had to pull him out of class like 20 times this week, and we ended up being late for the next period as well. Due to unnecessary brawling....

Anyway, that was off-topic. I love having a girlfriend that lives right next door (practically), it means we can see each other whenever we have a bit of free time. In fact, if I try hard enough, I can almost pretend we're in a first-world country and that we can walk the streets and chill in public parks and ride the midnight buses and stuff.... Lol, I can't possibly imagine doing those things here!

Shakespeare gets better by the day... I can't understand why people actually scoff at it! Quote Ismail, "the old man really needed a continuity checker!".

Act V, Scene V
A cry within of women
Macbeth: What is that noise?
Seyton: It is the cry of women, my good lord. (o.O riiiiiiight!)

Well, maybe in this case it's not a continuity checker that's required, it's just blatant. Very. Also, Macbeth has major issues.

Heh, we have our second lesson with our maths temp today... Should be really really raucus once again, this time I will personally make sure that a trance partay will go down. We need speakers in the classroom, I can't believe the AV people haven't responded to my email...

Anyway, you can't have everything in life. Enjoy it while it lasts, or else it'll end way to quickly. (see: Macbeth)

Oh yeah, and Mallett is going up against Ogilvie in the inter-house fencing. It's only the semis though, so I have real doubts about whether we'll get a shot at the crown this year. Although the individual champs should be an epic watch, I am determined to make this the best bout of my life. And WC finals champs this weekend. I WANT COLOURS!!!!!!

The Societal Swing

Because, for those of you who don't know, an integral part of being awesome at Bishops is taking advantage of societies. Because we have them. If you're not used to this concept, we basically have guest speakers at evening meetings on topics like politics, history, current affairs, philosophy, and international travel. Which is really great, not to mention the fact that there are cokes and doughnuts on offer which attract boarders like moths to a flame. But, usually, all-round awesome intellectual vibes, and I get to have tea in the Kidd House matric room afterwards.

So, as perfect as this system seems, there are actually many flaws to it, which do tend to get in the way of having a good intellectual time.
1) Most societies have a preferred evening of the week, usually from Tuesday to Thursday.
2) Most societies start at 7.30 and finish at around 8.30 or 9.
3) Most societies are attended by the same group of intellectual people.
4) Most teachers in charge of societies think theirs is the best and don't care much for the others.

So, it's pretty damn obvious what happens. Today was lank chilled, only two clashed, but I remember at one point last year I think I had four societies on one evening! One was postponed, but I think I still went to two of them....

Public Speaking was awesome as usual, we played the Bulls*!t game and sorted out a team for Nationals (well, Joe did. Keen to be president much?) so that was all good. And then International Society was a jol, because all the Herschel exchange girls came to tell us about where they were from and all the experiences they had. Mostly, due to general lack of public speaking skills, they ended up telling us fun facts about their country.... It was okay, but I would have liked to see more pictures.

Which reminds me (and Chloe will absolutely kill me for this), I have to start preparing for exchange in terms of getting shizzle together. Andy and I were talking about what to take and stuff, he said he's going to take like a whole lot of sangoma bangles and stuff to give to new friends as keepsakes. I rate I should probably do something like that, it's just that I don't have the time to go shopping. Despite the fact that the most important thing is the time you're there, it's always good to leave behind tangible things. I mean, I'll have so many I won't need to buy any authentic canadien bracelets!

Man, I'm just going to make sure that if they ask me to do a presentation, it'll be one they'll never forget. Public speaking is actually such a crucial skill it's not even funny!

More on topic though, I think I'm going to have to do some major major sorting through my external and laptop, especially photos and schoolwork-wise. because I honestly just dump the stuff and it keeps on piling, good thing I haven't run out of HDD yet. Coz that would be a problem. Meh, I actually hate having to look at how little hard drive space I have left, it reminds me that I should do something about my e-filing system. Well, at least it's not a real cupboard. Or else I would die.

Of drownage in paper!

Vanity of vanities

Not that it has any relation to what I'm about to say, but I'll try make it relevant. It's just that I had this epic philosophical discussion which I forgot to write about yesterday. See, that's the damn problem about being so bloody tired when blogging, you forget stuff!

So, today I checked Monday's timetable, ended up waiting at the music school for about five minutes, realizing it was Wednesday, and sprinting to my English class. And I didn't pack my copy of MacBeth either... which was a cost, because I missed out on the greatest discontinuity of ol' 'spear's evar! In case you missed it, it reads thus:

MacBeth, Act IV, Scene II
Son: Thou liest, thou shag hair'd villain!
First Murderer: What, you egg!
[kills him]
Young fry of treachery!
Son: He has killed me, mother! (????????? okaaaaay)
Run away, I pray you!

Well, that's how it's written in our textbook vibes anyway. Whatever, I totally think we should act it out. Maybe we can invoke an alternate reality so Shakespeare don't have to be bent...

Vanity of vanities. That's apparently from Ecclesiastes, not that I read the Bible. But it certainly got me thinking. What the hell is the point of anything? Everything we ever do, everything we ever see, or read, or smell, or hear, or taste, or experience... it's been done before. You may think you're in love, and you may think it's the best feeling ever and that no-one has ever felt like you have felt before, but yet it's all been done.

The height of vanity. You think you're original, you think you're creative, and yet you're not. There is a story at the bottom of all stories, there is music at the bottom of all music, everything artistic or creative or requiring free will and free ideas is unoriginal... It is just a rearrangement of something that has been previously done.

That's a rather "meh" way of looking at it, though. I usually feel a lot cooler about life, which is why I'm a socialist democrat and not a communist tyrant. Not that I rule a country anyway.

But I rate I could effectively run a little colony myself, like I'm talking Age of Empires style colony vibes. Man, the only thing I'm worried about when running for president is assassination. Because I'm just that likely to get killed by marauding gorillas. Or guerrillas. Or whatever, wherever I happen to be.

Where has my mind taken me? How the hell did I end up talking about this? Why am I meandering backwards and forwards across the plains of time? Because I'm starting to realize that life inherently has no meaning. When you are born, you are nothing but the love of your parents. Over time, you build on that. You accumulate time spent building the nation. Hoarding resources. Getting educated and accumulating knowledge. Lo and behold, at age 20 your life as an individual might actually be worth something. Regardless of how you measure it, although my preffered unit is of course man-hours and their potential.

Why does this sound like a politically-motivated propaganda vibe? Because this is pretty much how my NESM will start.

But wait, I don't have the time! Because my piano exam is 12 days away... COUNTING 'EM DOWN!!! PRACTICE THOSE SCALES!!! Also other things too, but mostly that! Mission!

Action-Packed Long Weekend Day 4

...which incidentally happened to be the most productive of the lot. Despite the fact that I woke up at half past ten.

Because, now that I was fully rested, I managed to say to myself, "okay, Sammo old boy, today we are going to get things done, yes siree!!". Okay, like I seriously have a voice in my head. It speaks alternately like the Wondermark cast, or Chloe, or even my mother. Although then she uses Polish grammar. Depends on the situation of course. The vocce of reason comes in many diffrent forms.

So, where was I? Oh yeah, at home, fixing epèes. Ie getting the rust off them with some sandpaper, which took a while but it was immensely satisfying. This means that, even if they aren't working, they'll at least be shiny for the champs evening. But seriously, they are working coz I just fixed them. And I also managed to get some rust off my foils, which I've been meaning to do for a long time.

Then, I managed to get reeled into a FAMILY PICNIC vibe, and managed to get lost in Bishopscourt (ah, look at that huge house! This is number four. This is number five...) and eventually got there. Meh'd at not having brought my Argus discount thingies. Meh'd at the fact that you could technically go like 200 metres up the mountain and get in for free. Meh'd at the fact that they didn't want balls in da hood. Probably so people wouldn't destroy the lawn playing touchies.

It's almost like flipping PRAGUE!! Or maybe I just don't like touristy places in general...

Then, I'd hardly managed to eat all the food in the picnic basket, when I got reeled on a Scout hike happening on Lion's Head, which is like a mile away or something, which was vitally important that I come to. So, pack up, off I go, carrying just myself with the hiking shoes I happened to be wearing, and the cap I happened to bring along, and the bladder full of water that just happened to be in the car. Cosmic coincidence? Not as much as this. But anyway, caught up to the guys halfway up to the chains, had an awesome hike... That's literally how hectic my life is, backwards and forwards all day. This is supposed to be a freaking LONG WEEKEND!!

I was feeling a little existential nihilist vibes today, so I wanted to write my Manifesto, but I think I'll let Norway die down a little first. Plus, I got over that mood quite quickly. Thanks to coughexternal factors.

Which reminds me, James' foil still isn't re-wired. I promise I'll do it by Friday.

AAAAnd I am so glad my girlfriend doesn't live in Noordhoek.

SCHOOL TOMORROW!!!!!!!!

ENJOY MATHS, SUCKAAAAS!

Action-Packed Long Weekend Day 3

Yep, it's STILL the long weekend. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to write this post earlier (it's not that I'm just really lazy!) so that's why I'm chilling up now. Also catching up on various internet stuff s/a Dakka, Facebook, and the magic that is Bishops Mail.

So, today we went to the bank, to sort out bank accounts, ie open one for me. So, we wait in the queue, get hold of a teller person thingy (who is Indian. Nevarr was right.) and they then tell us I can't open on. Without my dad there to sign it. Because he's the one who's name is on the lease agreement or whatever. So apparently, despite the fact that my proof of address is in my ID book (which is authorized by the FREAKING GOVERNMENT) I still have to have an affidavit signed. Which we (mum and I) got really pissed off at because it doesn't say so anywhere, it says bring yourself and your ID book and your proof of address. WTF?

Of course, knowing us, major shouting ensued from my mum, major hypothetical scenarios of it being in my dad's estate's name because he (could be) dead, etc. etc. bank losing more customers by the second. Lol. Hell, okes like this do not belong in my idealistic utilitarian socialist dream state. They WILL be extradictatedateddingthingy (or whatever their trying to do to Dewani).

Anyway, after that anticlimax, we went climbing, we being Andy, Josh, Chloe, and mum and P-dog. Which was cool. Went to Blaze, weather was perfect, got super-pumped coz we were out of it, and basically did some fun ~20s. All on lead, I'm quite stoked about that.

Then we went and chilled at Andy's house, totally pwned at 30 Seconds (the junior one. which is really easy for us old people!), and then basically I'm now sitting here at the end of a rather productive day. Blogging. Whatever else?

Before mum steals the interneatz, Guy, if you're reading this, send me an email or drop a comment. Sorry i didn't like call or anything, hope you're having a good time in Scotland! Have you found the world's largest climbing gym yet? No, seriously, drop me a mail... Or else I will first.

Sam out.

Action-Packed Long Weekend Day 2

For lack of a better title.

This morning, I got woken up to the beatz of Bon Jovi, and assorted drunk people singing along. Which would have been okay, was it not at 3am and was I not trying to sleep. Oh yeah, and when I say "drunk", I mean PROPER SMASHÈD. Like, it's not even funny.

So, I'm lying there, and I'm wondering two things: The morality of getting smashed, and the relationship between singing ability and smashedness. Because it seems as though, the more drunk you get, the worse your speech and obviously singing ability become. But, I postulate, it's only up to a certain point. Beyond that point of absolute smashedness, one's musical/singing ability actually increases, thus that you remember all the words and make your entries on time. Also,you're not worried about diction coz you're pretty much screaming everything at the top of your vocce. Hey, we should try this for inter-house sometime...

The other thing I was wondering about is why I'm such a black sheep. I don't like the taste of alcohol, I don't like drinking in general, and I do not like the idea of being smashed and doing random things. I have no problems with people around me chundering and passing out, and I'll be more than happy to knock sense into my friends if it comes down to that, also carry them wherever necessary, but I'm not actually going to do any drinking. Why? I don't have an answer yet, the best I can do is "decrease of potential man-hour output". State assets, okes.

So, guess what? I wake up at 7 today, get dressed, go to school, turns out the shadow team has been dissolved and so I end up not debating at all. Great. Well, at least I didnt have to debate that horrible TLDR wife-beating motion. Ah juniors and their prostitution/death penalty ease.

Go home, practice piano and drums, absolutely PWN Scott Joplin's Entertainer (ie a little bit of polishing off and I have the first page or so), as well as some killer jazz beats... Looking for a pianist and double bassist (that's you Sevi) as well as other jazz players so we can start jammin'. Would be cool.

Action-Packed Long Weekend Day 1

(Actually, that's a hint of sarcasm in there because the most extreme thing I'll probably be doing is walking from the Mallett Centre to various debatig venues around the school)

Despite Friday being my best day of the week, I tend to miss out quite a few things, so I end up writing a really crap blog post due to fatigue and lack of time (esp. regarding the fact that my mum is like threatening to confiscate the interneatz permanently if I don't go to sleep before 11...) Thus I missed out a really funny episode in yesterday's post, and I have to include it here because it's too legend to pass up.

So, instead of our usual LO lessons yesterday, a couple of classes (ours included) went to the BSU (that's the psycho place for okes who don't know) for a "discussion". So, we're all sitting in a little circle like an AA meeting, and Mrs King (I think?) asks us about decisions: how we make them. So, me being the super keen bean I am ;) end up saying that we should make decisions based on the Greater Good (can from Ismail at this point), and what will cause the most happiness for the most people. "Oh, so basically looking at the bigger picture then?" I nod my head in approval. Then, she moves around the rest of the boys.
Mrs K: "And what do you think is the most important thing we should take into account when making decisions?"
Oke: "Yah, ma'am, I also, like, think we should think of the bigger picture..."
Mrs K: "And you?"
Oke 2: "Yah, ma'am, me too, I also think so, eh"
So, I'd managed to convert my entire class into communists during the first five minutes!

It got better, because then we were broken up into groups and tasked to make decisions in specific scenarios given to us. I was quite bleak, because I was amping for having to choose between lives and deaths, but we instead got "drinking at a partay". So, absolut kaos ensues.
Alternatives: 1) Stay and drink 2) Stay and don't drink 3) Leave and find a bar
Pros & Cons: +) The good feeling (drunkness) +) chising +) "Sick jol vaabs"
-) Falling down the stairs -) Looking like a n00b -) Losing respect
Eventual conclusion: Drink. In moderation!
Our poster vibe also had lots of drawings of different beer bottles and brands, which Louis of course knew.

Oh yeah, because we had the least representative group it was possible to find. Stephen and I didn't like the taste of alcohol, and Ismail never drinks because of Shariah Law. So Louis was in fact the black sheep of our group, which got some good laughs, especially when it came time to digest our knowledge on what it feels like to get drunk!

Today was quite an anticlimax, I had to get up at 7am to get to school, only to find out that one school hadn't pitched for the debating, and so the Shadow team were NOT DEBATING. Watched the first round in which Bishops totally creamed ass, and then sort of went fencing, looked after the little guys, refereed, fenced, and then tanked up for an epic squad practice sesh. How I hate the Prep hall, it has such a slippery floor, bad lighting, etc.

Eeh, I don't even know what's for dinner today.

Another FRIDAY avec sabres

Indeed. School today was lank average, the usual old stuff... learning, bleh. Anyways, fencing was (yet again) super awesome (sheesh, I really love mah fencingz don't I ;) and the 2-man Mallett team managed to beat the 3-man Grey team, so we're through to the semi-finals against Ogilvie, so we might not even make it to the evening this time around. Ah well, it's not gonna happen every year. The good news is that I am in the semi-final for the individual champs. Against Rob. :( But whatever, so long as it's an epic bout. Also, we had some EPIC EPIC sabre fencing, which I managed to win! Yay! Now I'll just see if I come out on top in the overall rankings, and if I do I win moneys! Yay!

Hah, then spent half an hour waiting for scouts to arrive at my house. Had a fun evening eating pancakes, playing board games, and tying knots. Okes, we do not do these stereotypical things on a daily basis!! Srsly!

The long weekend is full. Once again. But at least I'm doing fun stuff instead of wasting time in a classroom all day.

Pops 2 (and bunking school)

Actually, not entirely. Just the first two periods, but still, it's a good feeling to be able to wake up at 10.

Wow, Pops was freaking INSANE!!! Even more insane than the night before!!! Every piece was perfect (AFAIK), save one or two of the tiniest errors! Okes were sounding crisp and/or wallow-y, depending on the situation required! Andrew managed to make people laugh at things that weren't really funny! Etc.

It was by far the greatest musical experience I've ever had... I don't think I'll ever play in something of this magnitude ever again, but I know I won't turn an opportunity like this down. EVER! In fact, as soon as Alex leaves, I'm kinda going to be 1st Percussion for the Orchestra and Other Stuff, which I guess means more responsibility! I will take it with both hands :)

I had to stay and pack up percussion afterwards, so I didn't get a bus back home. I helped the AV crew pack up a bit, and then got home at literally 00:30. Ate lots and lots of fruit salad, and then crashed. I woke up at 10 today, and slowly got ready for school. Ended up walking in to my music lesson, where we were doing WORK!! But it was a really chilled period and we drank tea and coffee and actually just hung around instead of doing work. Yays! I can't wait 'til I'm in matric and delegate newboys to follow me around with a kettle and tea-making necessities!

Life is so great! I had a Big Think about culture, effort, appreciation, and success yesterday, got pretty bleak, and then cheered up this morning because MUSIC STUDENTS ARE AWESOME!!!! Joe, man, you must get over your depression, coz it's silly.

So, now I have another full afternoon/evening, spent the past like hour practicing piano, and now I have GIN and Philosophy Society... Which we haven't had in a long time, I'm actually glad to get back into the swing of things. Which means back to work, back to piano slavery, back to freaking awesomeness and running around all day having no time to do things. ie, back to NORMAL!

Pops 1

Okay, before I start ranting on how awesome Pops was, here's a random picture of me during civvies day, as requested by pretty much everyone I know. Apparently, it's "ostentatious"... Okay, Ismail, I guess.

So, school, fencing, and then off to the buses to get to the City Hall. Super amped, it was literally the most amazing performance I've ever played in. Ever! It's such a weird feeling, being up on stage and playing something you've played a thousand times before, no chances of a re-run, no opportunity for error. I actually knew most of my pieces off by heart, especially the Gershwin bass drum ;)

Whoof, running backwards and forwards, round and round in circles, I had to get my kilt on, kilt off in between items, bleh... One point I ended up running off, pulling pants on, and literally just making it for the next piece. Which I was kind of essential in!

Kudos to everyone who played, we've put like 20 billion hours of rehearsal into it! It was super cool, everyone loved it, Severian got a standing ovation too! Got back home at around midnight, went to sleep at like 1am. I ended up not writing a blog post because of that, so sorry about there not being one yesterday.

What's with these random okes walking onto our buses and trying to sell us sweets!? WTF!? Welcome to SA, I guess...

Anyway, I woke up today, and the Pops Madness continues. Fell asleep in the first two periods, although I did manage to get some work done. I have a feeling I'm not going to do much more of it though. During Music History, we ended up spending the entire period discussing the performance, and we decided (unanimously) that the school should be kicked out and more parents put in. The thing is, the boys in the audience aren't doing anything particularly constructive to the performance, and they end up sitting there not doing anything/chilling on their BlackBerries, and all they end up doing at the end of it is hating classical music even more. Plus, seating boys, especially boarders, on the stage next to the choir, which is quite possibly the worst place to put them. Well, the performance wasn't hindered by it too much, but it would just polish it off nicely.

The good news is it's almost the long weekend! Which means lots of free time.

Pops: T -1

Wow, time flies when you're having lots and lots of fun... I was actually so out of it, I kept looking at my phone to check the time, but never actually registering it, so I'd end up only actually realizing what the time was at like half past eight. We have just spent the past 8.5 hours in the City Hall. Rehearsing. Over. And over. And over again.

The good news is that we actually sound really really insanely good, except for one or two things which are like, okay. The good news is I'm not playing in too many of those ;) But seriously, if you haven't already bought tickets and shizz, it might be a bit late, but you're seriously missing ayout.

Bleh, just as Andrew (both of them actually) told me, it's (hopefully) back to normal once it's all over. That means no saying "Sir, I couldn't do the hwk coz of pops lol", or I couldn't come to practice coz of pops lol" or anything like that... Bang goes my LEGITIMATE reason for not doing any work, I guess major ass will have to be heavèd, starting Thursday.

I was high yesterday, okay... Apologies, but that's the kind of raw emotion okes are getting next time too! :D

So, tomorrow is civvies day. Wait and see, Mallett House Best Dressèd Champion for what, like 2 years running? I've come up with something truly fresh and exciting...

I don't want to promise any photos, but I will try get some. Of Pops and my ridiculous outfit :D

Good luck to y'all playing. Sam out.