After everyone had dumped their stuff we all congregated in the down stairs hall. It was a large, rectangular room with a half carpet half wooden floor, white washed walls with a wooden trim, tables and chairs, a canteen area, an empty bookshelf and a roaring fire in the old stone hearth. It also had various uplifting Christian slogans such as "Peace be unto you". Very cosy. All the tables had been stacked in a corner and the chairs were spread out in choir positions, and this gave me just a slight inkling of what we were going to do next. Yupsidoodle, straight after the roll call the keyboard was taken out and the rest of the evening was spent rehearsing. At about 9ish (?) we stopped for a supper break before being shooed of to bed. I grabbed a cookie bear shortbreadything with jam in the centre and nipped upstairs.
It is quite interesting hearing what other female adolescent life forms talk about. There was a fair bit of nostalgia, some speculation about the bugs, probably a joke or two. There was even some talk about years 12 and 13 English being really dirty! If only you could see what most guys my ages (unfortunately me included) read about now.... And I also believe that Rebecca (senior one) said something about "this is the quite room and you must not keep talking after lights out". In the morning, I awoke at about 7:15, which was okay. Then I spent the next sevenish minutes waiting for everyone else to wake up so I could drop some eaves as Samwise Gamgee puts it. I am not a stalker, I was bored. They can't have talked about anything interesting anyways, because otherwise I probably would have remembered it. Then, everyone was up, and skipping merrily down the stairs to have breakfast. Breakfast. I sat at a table by myself and got joined by Ayshani and some year nines. Had porridge. Was awful. Stewie loved it though, pilled his bowl high and ate his way through steadily before going up for seconds. I hope this says nothing about the places we'll be eating at in the Europe trip..... The Porridge, made with water, oats, no salt. Ick. Not trying to sound fussy or anything but, these guys are a bit odd when it comes to porridge. After breakfast, reading under bed till it’s time to go, dropping some more eaves, Niamh played some ukulele and sang some songs in Japanese, including county road, was joined by Lilly. Very pretty, but It just pushed me further into that category of nobodies. Felt nostalgic, I <3 whisper of the heart and other films by the epic Hayao Miyazaki. Time to leave, and so began the epic journey which involved cars, Ke$ha and really deep puddles. More on that later. When we at last arrived at the hall, we were rather muddy, but nothing gets the cantalians spirits down, except perhaps voice matching. We then played some line tag, before doing the usual warming up and roll call. We devoted each hour to a different song, and every two or three hours we got a fifteen minute break. I'd be lying If I said I had enjoyed myself immensely, but it was so much better then the usual practices. At lunchtime, we all trooped outside and found a strange vehicle waiting for us outside. It much resembled a carnival ride, one of those cars they attach to a horse and dive you around the fairground on. It was bright yellow, blue and red, and up front there was a tractor with the camp dude happily gesturing for us to jump on board. We wasted no time in embarking on this strange vehicle, but I waited till last to I could jump on the back and hang off by one hand.
It. Was. Epic. We raced down the hill, jostled up and down with every bump, splashing through the puddles and skidding around corners. Then some girls stated to sing a chorus, and everyone else (except me) joined in! It was just like I imagine riding the sun chariot of Apollo would be like. Then, when we arrived back it was a fifteen minute break before lunch. I stayed under the bed, reading until the last possible moment before going down stairs and joining the others. But imagine my dismay when I saw there was nowhere to sit! Save a few seats at tables with other people. Luckily (or unluckily?) Rebecca in my year invited me to sit at her table, which - wait for it - was also occupied by....the year thirteen’s! Well, not all of them, only the REALLY intimidating ones, Rebecca the music prefect, senior choir co director, and Susanna and Niamh, junior choir co directors. Thank god I had my book! Lunch was okay, actually quite interesting because rebeccainmyyear asked Rebecca13 about school ID cards, and so Rebecca13 and Niamh pulled out three of their old ones. Niamh looks pretty much the same all the way through, but in freshman year Rebecca had long hair (!). So, lunch over I headed up stairs and dropped some eaves until it was time to go, and also gave away my gummy worms and some chocolate. Then, practice - just a repeat of the morning - and then donkey cart, then dinner. I ended up sitting with the same people for dinner, but this time I asked if I could sit there. Yay! I deserve a medal, don’t ya think? Kidding! Dinner, same as lunch, with me going up first with the other veggos, eating fast, and as soon as finished washing up and sprinting back to the safety of under the bed. After dinner there was rehearsal, and then a really fun game!!! Firstly we all went up to the other upstairs room, and played space jump for a bit, and then Mister Stewart came up and announced that the game was ready! We were split into teams and then given lists with various items on them, brooms, breadbins, Lydia's sleeping bag, and even a giant can of pears! He then picked out two taggers, Lilly and Lydia, and a spot lighter, Naidi. The objective of the game was to find these items in the house, and then bring them back to the room without getting caught. You were allowed two team members in the blackened house at a time, no torches were allowed but cell phones were, and you were only allowed to carry one item at a time. The taggers would be blindfolded and I you got caught by either one of them or by the spotter you would have to go back to the start, no item, all the while calling I’m out I’m out! In my team were Victoria (her dad is chairman of the board), Freya, Laurilie (?) and of course, me. Then the same started, with much excitement, and very soon more than half the items were found! My team kept on coming up blank, and then victoria snaffled a pillow! I was determined to get upstairs, so every time I went out I tried to make it up the stairs, but to no avail. Finally, I made it UP the stairs only to get caught and sent back to the beginning. There HAD to be something up there of value, otherwise why would both taggers be there? The game was nearly over, and as my luck had it all of the enemy were occupying the down stairs hallway! I crept upstairs, sneaky sneaky, and met our pianist, Charlene at the top. Them, after combing the room I felt something cylindered, and metal and heavy. I FONUD THE CAN OF PEARS! And heading down to the other end of the room, as my luck would have it, Lydia’s sleeping bag was their too! Charlene took that, I wasn’t really fussed, they were both worth the same amount plus the sleeping bag was too noisy! We were just making our when someone suddenly spoke, “I know you’re there love, come out come out, no point in hiding”! It was the taggers! Shit shit shitty shittyty shit, there was nowhere to hide! So I hunkered down In a corner for what seemed like forever, then made my escape while they were in the bedroom, I was safe!!!!! Not much happened in the rest of the game. I stole a rug from Rabecca13 when she got spotted on the stairs and someone found a vacuum cleaner. Then the only items left were Mister Stewarts Crocs, so they went up 30 points in value! In the end they were found, the points were tallied, and team one was declared the overall winner and we were sent to bed.
Wow, yet another really long blog entry! Will start afresh before continuing, :)
Friday, June 10, 2011
Cantala, camp, comp', crazyness continued
Cantala Camp came all too soon.
It wasn't long before my bags were packed and the Friday of doom dawned. I had helped to make a macaroni cheese for one of the dinners, and as I retrieved it from the freezer and took it down to the car a million and one worries were racing through my head. Who would I carpool with? Would the mac n cheese taste okay? In which room with whom would I be staying? Will it rain? Should I have taken a second packet of gummy snakes? Should I even have brought along the first?
The whole school day my head was filled with worries. I couldn't concentrate on anything. And when the time came to go and wait with everyone in room one until we left I was practically melting into the floor. It turned out to be not so bad. I just sat in a corner with my bags pretending to read while everyone bustled about, laughing and chatting. I ended up carpooling with Rebecca (the one in my year)and Ayshani. It was okay, but I was mostly staring out the window, counting white cars. In all I saw 276, which proves the theory of white cars always winning 'the car game'. I saw two purple cars and no yellow ones. When we stopped at burger king I stepped eagerly out of the car. We were first there, and so we waited for some others to show up beofre ordering. The other girls (Rebecca, Ayshani, Naidi, Holly, Kervill and some other 'rentals) got burgers I think. Being veggo I just got fries. Yuck. And double yuck. Mcdonals, eeh, KfC, double eesh, burger king, cool furniture! Have you heard about the horrible way that fast food joints treat their animals before slaughter??? More on that later. Oh, and lydia, lilly and the-girl-whose-name-I-can-never-remember were there too I think. So, we all to booths and ate, duh. It was all talk and laugher exept for me, I just read my book. Thank god I hadn't taken anyof my other book I usually read, 'cause on the occasion someone asks me what i'm reading, i'd be like uh....awkies!
By and by the other girls poured into the carpark and stormed the resteraunt. By te time the last of 'em were arriving there wasn't much room to sit, some girls (high ranking, imposing, year 13 girls!!!) asked if they could sit with me and I was like no way jose and skiddadled out of the booth calling over my shoulder "you can have it". If only my friends were there.... So, while I was being a loner and doing a good impression of a floor tile the others were eating, chatting, mucking about and in general having a swell time. Later on some went to check out the playground and others went to check the arcade. Just before we left, one of the cars broke down!!!! The passengers were split up between the other cars which took forever, and this time we were the last car leaving. Seventeen minutes if I remember correctly.
And whoop de doo were were heading onwards, off to mount doom we go!
I stopped the car game after we left burger king. There was lots of interesting stuff out in the dark wilds of *insert name of place here*. I spent the rest of the journey moodleing, and before I knew it we had passed down a little windy road, signposted *Pine Tree Lakes, ?00m. Then I had a rather good time, listening to the others as they recounted how last year they had gotten lost.
The Homestead itself looked nothing like I expected. It was an old, 1920/30ish style house, and with its pastle yellow and green paintjob, it looked like it belonged. Inside, it was old, little bit tacky, but a really good place to hire out to kids. One in, everyone set about dibsing rooms, Ayshani and I lost Rebecca (younger one) and spent ages looking for her. She had gone upstairs, and bagsied us three beds in 'the quite room'. This room was different from the other rooms, which consisted of square boxes with two sets of wooden bunk beds and one metal bunk bed, plus a little wall cuboard and sometimes a sink. Very little house on the prarie. The upstarirs room however, was a long, oblong shaped room, with single beds all the was along apart from a spacesaver bunk which was second from the door end. The walls were washed a kindof creamy yellow, and the slanted ceeling was white. There were large numbers of spiders, moths, and as we found out later on, ladybugs??? There was a crooked wall trim and a faded old carpet, home sweet home.
Eeep! Yet another really long blog entry! English exams will be my downfall.....
And just for the record, this isn't a pity party, it's just a recount of what happened since I doubt that any of the other girls have blogs. I hate pity parties. Yuck, yuck and tripple yuck.
* Not the real name of the homestead.
It wasn't long before my bags were packed and the Friday of doom dawned. I had helped to make a macaroni cheese for one of the dinners, and as I retrieved it from the freezer and took it down to the car a million and one worries were racing through my head. Who would I carpool with? Would the mac n cheese taste okay? In which room with whom would I be staying? Will it rain? Should I have taken a second packet of gummy snakes? Should I even have brought along the first?
The whole school day my head was filled with worries. I couldn't concentrate on anything. And when the time came to go and wait with everyone in room one until we left I was practically melting into the floor. It turned out to be not so bad. I just sat in a corner with my bags pretending to read while everyone bustled about, laughing and chatting. I ended up carpooling with Rebecca (the one in my year)and Ayshani. It was okay, but I was mostly staring out the window, counting white cars. In all I saw 276, which proves the theory of white cars always winning 'the car game'. I saw two purple cars and no yellow ones. When we stopped at burger king I stepped eagerly out of the car. We were first there, and so we waited for some others to show up beofre ordering. The other girls (Rebecca, Ayshani, Naidi, Holly, Kervill and some other 'rentals) got burgers I think. Being veggo I just got fries. Yuck. And double yuck. Mcdonals, eeh, KfC, double eesh, burger king, cool furniture! Have you heard about the horrible way that fast food joints treat their animals before slaughter??? More on that later. Oh, and lydia, lilly and the-girl-whose-name-I-can-never-remember were there too I think. So, we all to booths and ate, duh. It was all talk and laugher exept for me, I just read my book. Thank god I hadn't taken anyof my other book I usually read, 'cause on the occasion someone asks me what i'm reading, i'd be like uh....awkies!
By and by the other girls poured into the carpark and stormed the resteraunt. By te time the last of 'em were arriving there wasn't much room to sit, some girls (high ranking, imposing, year 13 girls!!!) asked if they could sit with me and I was like no way jose and skiddadled out of the booth calling over my shoulder "you can have it". If only my friends were there.... So, while I was being a loner and doing a good impression of a floor tile the others were eating, chatting, mucking about and in general having a swell time. Later on some went to check out the playground and others went to check the arcade. Just before we left, one of the cars broke down!!!! The passengers were split up between the other cars which took forever, and this time we were the last car leaving. Seventeen minutes if I remember correctly.
And whoop de doo were were heading onwards, off to mount doom we go!
I stopped the car game after we left burger king. There was lots of interesting stuff out in the dark wilds of *insert name of place here*. I spent the rest of the journey moodleing, and before I knew it we had passed down a little windy road, signposted *Pine Tree Lakes, ?00m. Then I had a rather good time, listening to the others as they recounted how last year they had gotten lost.
The Homestead itself looked nothing like I expected. It was an old, 1920/30ish style house, and with its pastle yellow and green paintjob, it looked like it belonged. Inside, it was old, little bit tacky, but a really good place to hire out to kids. One in, everyone set about dibsing rooms, Ayshani and I lost Rebecca (younger one) and spent ages looking for her. She had gone upstairs, and bagsied us three beds in 'the quite room'. This room was different from the other rooms, which consisted of square boxes with two sets of wooden bunk beds and one metal bunk bed, plus a little wall cuboard and sometimes a sink. Very little house on the prarie. The upstarirs room however, was a long, oblong shaped room, with single beds all the was along apart from a spacesaver bunk which was second from the door end. The walls were washed a kindof creamy yellow, and the slanted ceeling was white. There were large numbers of spiders, moths, and as we found out later on, ladybugs??? There was a crooked wall trim and a faded old carpet, home sweet home.
Eeep! Yet another really long blog entry! English exams will be my downfall.....
And just for the record, this isn't a pity party, it's just a recount of what happened since I doubt that any of the other girls have blogs. I hate pity parties. Yuck, yuck and tripple yuck.
* Not the real name of the homestead.
Cantala, camp, comp', crazyness
Well hello hello hello.
It has been AGES since I last blogged.
Well, since I last tapped away at a key board a lot has happened. In particular, I have finally been accepted into my school's auditioned choir. I remember my first audition, which went pretty horribly. I couldn't stop shaking and stumbled and stuttered my way through the national anthem, my heart like a stone in my chest. My second audition..... well, it never happened, a mere week before the audition I fell ill and couldn't sing for AGES. My third audition was no better. I was SO convinced I was going to fail, but hey, don't count your chickens before they've hatched. However, I must have done better than I thought, because one day after school I opened my email account and there was something from a certain Mr Stewart. And once I had read the email I read it again. And again. And again. Just too make sure. Then with a shriek like a banshee I leapt into the air and stared doing a crazy victory dance.
It was the best moment of my life.
It was epic.
The first practice was awful. I'm crap with people skills. Wasn't always, but two years in a bottom of the barrel public school can do that to you. I came in, late as usuall, and got a scolding from the choir master. Not a great start. I completely stuffed up the test thingumabob in which your vocal range is checked. I didn't even turn up to the first few group music lessons.
I. Was. Terrified.
Still am. The last term has been an absolute nightmare, with Mondays and Thursdays being my least favorite days of the week. And the other girls, wow. They are ALL* incredibly charismatic, incredibly good singers and most of them are older then me. If any one of them had to run for priminister I'm sure they'd get it. I'm NOT a lesbian (though there's nothing wrong with being gay) but these guys are so awesome. Its like being in the same room as the queen. Who has been meshed with Sauron. And Gandalf. And some amazing opera singer. But THEN after surviving my first half term we had a choir camp. I freaked. Sure, I had done the practice, learnt my lines, not gotten sick. Well, not THAT sick anyways. But we were going on a camp, a sleep over camp, in which I would be miles from anyone I knew and trapped in the same house with three dozen terrifying teenaged girls. And my music teacher. And out scary as choir master.Not cool.
Oh, wow. I sure have babbled on alot about this and that, but not about the actual practices.
What's to say?
So, every morning or afternoon we have practice, everyone hangs around outside 57 until someone with a key turns up (or sometimes the door is left open), and then we all storm the room, dump our bags and shoes; grab our music and then hang around until six of our number have gotten up and positioned the benches and piano. This is then followed by a warm up, roll call and sometimes a game. Line tag is my favorite. What line tag is, is a game where you have two taggers who are holding hands, and whenever they tag someone, that someone must join either end of the 'line'. The objective of the game is to be the last person who is not included in this human chain. It is quite a ruckus, including much squealing, yelling and falling over. Once we have done a few warm ups, we are given one of the songs we have been doing to work on, and this continues for a good half hour/ forty five minutes, sometimes an hour or even a whole session! Once this is done we can all head off in our separate directions.
Well, that being a rather long blog entry, I guess I had better stop there.
Until next time :)
* well, MOST of them
It has been AGES since I last blogged.
Well, since I last tapped away at a key board a lot has happened. In particular, I have finally been accepted into my school's auditioned choir. I remember my first audition, which went pretty horribly. I couldn't stop shaking and stumbled and stuttered my way through the national anthem, my heart like a stone in my chest. My second audition..... well, it never happened, a mere week before the audition I fell ill and couldn't sing for AGES. My third audition was no better. I was SO convinced I was going to fail, but hey, don't count your chickens before they've hatched. However, I must have done better than I thought, because one day after school I opened my email account and there was something from a certain Mr Stewart. And once I had read the email I read it again. And again. And again. Just too make sure. Then with a shriek like a banshee I leapt into the air and stared doing a crazy victory dance.
It was the best moment of my life.
It was epic.
The first practice was awful. I'm crap with people skills. Wasn't always, but two years in a bottom of the barrel public school can do that to you. I came in, late as usuall, and got a scolding from the choir master. Not a great start. I completely stuffed up the test thingumabob in which your vocal range is checked. I didn't even turn up to the first few group music lessons.
I. Was. Terrified.
Still am. The last term has been an absolute nightmare, with Mondays and Thursdays being my least favorite days of the week. And the other girls, wow. They are ALL* incredibly charismatic, incredibly good singers and most of them are older then me. If any one of them had to run for priminister I'm sure they'd get it. I'm NOT a lesbian (though there's nothing wrong with being gay) but these guys are so awesome. Its like being in the same room as the queen. Who has been meshed with Sauron. And Gandalf. And some amazing opera singer. But THEN after surviving my first half term we had a choir camp. I freaked. Sure, I had done the practice, learnt my lines, not gotten sick. Well, not THAT sick anyways. But we were going on a camp, a sleep over camp, in which I would be miles from anyone I knew and trapped in the same house with three dozen terrifying teenaged girls. And my music teacher. And out scary as choir master.Not cool.
Oh, wow. I sure have babbled on alot about this and that, but not about the actual practices.
What's to say?
So, every morning or afternoon we have practice, everyone hangs around outside 57 until someone with a key turns up (or sometimes the door is left open), and then we all storm the room, dump our bags and shoes; grab our music and then hang around until six of our number have gotten up and positioned the benches and piano. This is then followed by a warm up, roll call and sometimes a game. Line tag is my favorite. What line tag is, is a game where you have two taggers who are holding hands, and whenever they tag someone, that someone must join either end of the 'line'. The objective of the game is to be the last person who is not included in this human chain. It is quite a ruckus, including much squealing, yelling and falling over. Once we have done a few warm ups, we are given one of the songs we have been doing to work on, and this continues for a good half hour/ forty five minutes, sometimes an hour or even a whole session! Once this is done we can all head off in our separate directions.
Well, that being a rather long blog entry, I guess I had better stop there.
Until next time :)
* well, MOST of them
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Falling
Time really does fly, doesn't it? When I was in primary school the year just seemed to drag on, in high school however, there isn't enough year for me to get everything done. I find my spare time mostly filled with homework, and any other time I have is spent doing extra curricular activities. Not lunch time though. Lunch time is all mine, my own space to wander back and forth as I please. Like a cat, I stalk the path between reality and imagination until they are so meshed I cannot tell the difference. That Is why I enjoy cleaning the house, and long car rides too. These time are the few and far in between, the precious few moments when I can indulge in retreating into my head, and not coming out. My room at home is irrelevant - nice as it is - in my head I can be in any room I want. In my mind I see flying cows and purple giraffes. I see solid clouds and silver oceans. There is noone to tell me what to do, or when or how to do it. But sometimes, I retreat so far into my head, that I forget what lies in the world of reality. When I was eight years old, I became so gripped by the joy of my own imagination I wouldn't come out. Hours at a time were spent staring into space, and bed times were eagerly awaited, with the thrill of a subconscious dream ahead.
i'll continue later,
i'm not really soposed to be on the computer this late at night.
"And with a flick of my wrist the curtains pull shut and the candle is extinguished..."
sweet dreams ;)
i'll continue later,
i'm not really soposed to be on the computer this late at night.
"And with a flick of my wrist the curtains pull shut and the candle is extinguished..."
sweet dreams ;)
Friday, October 29, 2010
Time
I'd like to jump but the distance is to great. I'd like to change but time is but nought. I'd like to live but am yet to be accepted. Time is like a river, fast flowing and ever changing. Just once god, couldn't you give me a time and place I can be accepted? Just for five minutes I want to be envied and adored, to be silver, not slime. I want to write, not to be a tough, well experienced killer and saboteur, but an authour of the golden pen. Fine is the thread she spins, words flowing like water onto the page. Do we have to change to suit the world, or does the world have to change to suit us? Only in fairy tales, people see each other for what is inside, not out. Our world is fragile, and it only takes a gust of wind for it all to collapse. Do we stand alone or divided? The choice is made by all of us, to work together or alone, that must be decided and soon
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Pins and Needles
I remember when I was little, I had just started sewing and had a new set of metallic sewing pins. I thought they were so pretty, and when no one was looking I snuck off with them to play. I had lots of fun arranging and rearranging them in pretty patterns on my bedroom floor, when suddenly I dropped a handful and six of the pins pricked my hand, making little red dots which swelled into large spots of blood. It hurt so much I wanted to scream, but I silently packed up and sucked my hand to stop the bleeding. Later that night my baby sitter asked what I had done to hurt myself but I kept my silence. Keeping my silence has been a thing with me my whole life, I don't think I could share my innermost secrets even if I wanted too. I even fib in truth or Dare games, I HATE doing truths, but I'll do any Dare.
Zoo
I feel like an animal in a victorian zoo, trapped in a tiny cage, trapped behind bars. I want to get out but If I did where would I go? I feel confined by the unspoken rules of modern ediquite, restrained by forces I can feel, but cannot see. How did the current rankings of everyday teenagers come to be? Is there anyway to topple the forces of the popular? The unknow is still out there and still undiscovered. You know who your true friends are when you make a move for them to back you up in, then turn around and find yourself alone. To avoid danger in life, we must live alone with the door locked and the curtains closed. I am a fly, drifting towards a light, confused and entranced. With out my writing I would fall to peices, am I going mad? Writing to no one, and writing to everyone. Where is the exit from this tangled labyrinth of my mind? Scared yet brave, in a group yet alone, all my thoughts contradicting eachother in one big whirl pool of unhappyness.
Softly falling, silently drifting off in to the unkown of my world.
Softly falling, silently drifting off in to the unkown of my world.
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