Goodbye 2008

Well 2008 is coming to an end... I can’t say it hasn’t been an exciting year. A lot of things have happened since the moment when 2008 was rang in. I got through my mocks, then I got through my Irish and French orals, I got through the ACTUAL leaving cert, I started my first job, I got my ACTUAL leaving cert results and did way better than I could ever have expected, I moved away from home and I started college. And what is even better is, I did all that stuff without getting really sick from the crohn’s! But even though all that stuff is amazing (well to me anyway- I am a nerd after all) all that stuff is on the academic side of things. What I’m trying to say is... I have no social life. So that is my New Year’s Resolution... to get myself a social life!

So on to other things of note in 2008, mediawise. We had another amazing series of Strictly Come Dancing. Many people were convinced that the crown was going to go to Austin Healey but when he got knocked out in the Quarter Finals, the competition was knocked into disarray and no one knew who was going to win. But the crown was finally handed to the very deserving Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup after they danced a most amazing showdance in order the get their hands on that coveted glitterball trophy!

Padraig Harrington won not one but TWO more majors. He is now, most definitely, Ireland’s greatest sport’s m an. And if anyone says otherwise, I will hurt them. First he retained his British Open title and then he went on to win his third major in the US PGA! YOU ROCK PADI!

The Pork Scare! A typical example of the Irish media’s scare mongering, as thousand’s of perfectly edible cuts of meat were thrown out and wasted. It was a crime. I was particularly distraught during this time as I live on bloody pig meat- ham, rashers, black pudding, sausages... it was a horrendous time for me and everyone who had to live with me!

Poor Bertie was forced to step down as Taoiseach after much speculation about his finances (frankly, I don’t care where he got his money as long as he wasn’t stealing it for the taxpayers!) I’d say he is thanking his lucky stars that he got out when he did. Brian Cowen has really been landed in it!

Probably the biggest and best story of 2008 is that of Barack Obama. The first Black Man to be elected president of the USA! It’s about time! Also, isn’t great to have yet another left handed man in the White House? Now there’s a man you know you can trust to run a country! CHANGE HAS COME TO AMERICA! AT LAST!

Well, that’s my round-up of 2008. I know there is a lot of stuff I didn’t mention but I have talked about what mattered most to me... now on to books. I have read 3 books since my last post.

The first book is “Captain Fawley’s Innocent Bride”... it was my first experience of a Mills and Boon novel... and let me tell you it won’t be last. The mother told me that I would probably be able to guess the end as soon as I read 1 page but there was a few twists in the tale which kept me guessing! I loved it!

The next book I read was “Driftwood Lady” by LD Tetlow. It was a Western. It was ok, definitely not the greatest book I’ve ever read. At times, it felt like a ten year old had written it. Plus, there was too much repetition in it. It did my head in a bit if I’m honest.

The last book is absolutely wonderful! Another Mills and Boon, but this one was ten times better than the first, and that is saying something! It was called “Marianne and the Marquis” by Anne Herries. It was just brilliant. First of all it was set in Cornwall and Secondly, it involved smuggling... love it!

Happy New Year

Later

Sal

PS: I'm so excited, Grey's Anatomy is starting back on Monday! WooHoo!

PSS: I'm going out for the traditional Family New Year's Day Meal tomorrow so I shall let you know how it goes!

Festive Greetings

My apologies for the complete lack of blogging! But I have started a new era in my life and it has taken quite a bit of getting used to. Blogging has been the last thing on my mind if I’m honest! Since my last post, I got my leaving cert results which far exceeded my expectations- more on that later. I have also started college and have moved out of home (well- I come home every weekend). With all these changes I have also been trying to control the ould crohn’s disease which got a little bit temperamental in September and October but it has calmed down now... thanks be to Jesus! I have just finished my first set of college exams and I am now back home with the parents and the sister and I get to relax for a WHOLE month... bliss!

So, seen as I’m a nerd, my first topic of discussion is going to be my leaving cert results. I’m going to be quite boastful so I fear my head is going to get rather large. Having missed two months of sixth year and struggling through school with sheer exhaustion I managed to do damn good in my leaving cert. I’m very proud! For those non-Irish people, let me explain. The maximum you can score is 600 points. Most people study 7 subjects and then they count the best 6. For an A1 you get 100 points, an A2 90 points, a B1 85 points etc. It is extremely hard to get 500 points never mind 600! Well, mo chairde, I got 515... I was rather chuffed... in fact the mother and myself bawled our eyes out with sheer disbelief and joy! Here’s the breakdown:

English- A2
Maths- C1
Home Ec- A2
Business- A2
French- B1 (So proud)
Biology- A2 (but in fairness, that’s no shock. I have crohn’s disease- which is a disease of the digestive system and the digestive system came up in the exam).

So anyway, I got more than double the points I needed for my chosen college course, so I had no worries when the CAO day came around. I’m now studying Financial Services and I love it... obviously, I am a nerd after all.

In order to go to college, it was necessary for me to move away from home. It took a long while to get used to. First, just meeting new people can wear one out and then having to cope with brand new subjects and then having to feed yourself at the end of the day. And due to me having crohn’s disease, I couldn’t just stick a pizza in the oven I had to make everything from scratch. Because of all this, the disease reared its ugly head and I had to go into hospital for 2 days for tests and stuff. But I’m used to it now and at my last hospital visit, all the blood results were up and so was the weight... so I’m a very happy bunny.

Now on to my favourite topic of conversation- yep, you’ve guessed it- BOOKS! You might expect me to have read millions of books since my last post, but alas’ that is not the case. I will start from the last book I read which was “The Confessions of a Demented Housewife” by Niamh Greene. This book could be quite funny in parts but it wouldn’t set the world on fire. Sometimes the main character can be so dense you want to scream.

“The Teahouse on Mulberry Street” by Sharen Owens. I have to say I wasn’t expecting much from this book. But it turned out to be a really pleasant and light read. It could also be quite amusing in parts, particularly with the “Creepy Crawley’s”.

Of course, it wouldn’t be my blog if Meg Cabot wasn’t mentioned. I read “Airhead” by Meg Cabot. I have to say it wouldn’t be my favourite. It appeared to be unfinished to me which is very unlike Meg Cabot. I know it’s the start of a new series but the ending could have been a lot better.


I have also read two more Jeffrey Archer books, one which was far superior to the other. “A Prisoner of Birth” was a very good story but it couldn’t have got more farfetched. However, the courtroom scenes were savage!!! The other book was “As the Crow Flies”- typical Jeffrey Archer. It had me hooked from beginning to end and the ending was so sweet! I absolutely loved it!
Probably the most tragic story I have ever read is “The boy in the striped Pyjamas” by John Boyne. I did not see the ending coming and it is absolutely heart breaking. I couldn’t recommend this book highly enough!

That’s pretty much it. I’m reading a really good book at the moment. It’s so romantic. I’m not ashamed to admit it- it’s a Mills and Boon! More on that in a later post... which hopefully won’t be in 6 months time!

Oh my God! I saw The Killers in concert in August. They were absolutely amazing! The only thing that stopped me enjoying it to the full was the fact that I had to stand for 5 hours... my back was in absolute agony. But it was an amazing concert. They sang all the classics- Mr Brightside, Read My Mind, All These Things That I’ve Done. I love ‘em! I just bought there new album Day and Age... It’s not near as good as the first two but it’s still a good record!

Woohoo! It’s Christmas... don’t you just love the holidays with the smell of pine needles and Christmas pudding and the strains of “Fairytale of New York”? I’ve got all my presents bought so I can just relax and eat until the 19th January when Semester 2 begins.

Talk Later

Sal

Where do I begin...

Jaysus, can't believe I haven't posted a blog entry since the start of March!!! I guess that is what happens when you are studying for the gruelling Leaving Cert... which I'm delighted to say is ALL OVER NOW! And it wasn't too bad! I'm actually quite happy with how it went. Here's the rundown:

English- Paper 1 was a doddle as always. I was very happy with my essay. I based it in Glendalough and it was an auld soppy romance... you can't beat 'em... although I hope it's not a someone from the city who is correcting them because I may have insulted them... oh well. Paper 2 was ok aswell. The unseen poem was so easy! Although I think my Othello essay may have been a bit dodge.

Maths- Aah, good ould maths. Believe it or not I actually stuck with the higher level thanks to my wonderful sister! Paper 1 went really well for me... unsurprisingly I wasn't able to do any part cs but I tried them and all... and sure isn't that the main thing! Paper 2 wasn't quite as good... the probability questions weren't as easy as I had hoped but there was like 3 theorems on the paper!!!

Irish- It was ordinary level... enough said!

Business- To be honest I came out of my business exam a little bit upset. I got stumped on a questions about the advantages of privitisation and it was all I could focus on. But when I got home the mother made me go through the whole paper again and I realised it went alot better than I originally though. Still I'll be happy to just get a C3.

Home Ec- Oh my God! I was so happy with this exam. I absolutely aced the Question 1... which was on Lipids! YEAH! The teacher had predicted it would be on the paper so you can only imagine how happy I was when I saw it. The elective on social studies wasn't quite as good though and it will have brought my grade down! But overall I was very happy with it!

French- My god... how easy was the aural? I have never ever had an aural so easy! So I was delighted with how that went! The written exam wasn't too bad either. I got to write about Glendalough... again! I tell you, glendalough is going to help me pass my leaving cert! The comprehensions, however, were tricky... but they always are!

Biology- The best exam of the all. It went so well! And whats best is... the digestive system came up... I mean, who knows the digestive system better than a person who is missing a foot of hers and has crohn's disease? The short questions were really challenging but the long questions were just brilliant!!!

So there you go, two years of constant studying and it all came down to 8 days of exams... it's all over now. I just have to wait for the results to come out on the 13th August... fingers crossed, eh?!

Now, what else have I to tell y'all! Oh yes! The quiz team? Well, first we got through to the 4th round... we were delighted with ourselves we beat this really posh boy's school by 10 points. So we were so shocked to get through to the quarter finals... there we bet another boys' school by only 2 points to get through to the All Ireland School's Quiz Semi Final! But sadly, that's where we were knocked out... but we got iPods... I mean, that is a deadly prize for only getting to the semis!

Oddly, I haven't read hundreds of books since my last post. Between the March and the leaving cert I read like one book! which was A Woman Of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford. I read the other four after the exams...

It was an ok book but man was it loooonnnng. I thought I was never going to get to the end of it. It's a very good story of revenge and forgiveness, I probably would have enjoyed it alot more if I hadn't of been spending all my time studying!!!

You can always rely on Marian Keyes for a really enjoyable read. This Charming Man is very different from her other books. There is a lot of things going on and it can be a little confusing... but stick with it because it all comes together in the end and it is just a brilliant brilliant story... very dark but brilliant!!!

Why oh why are these books so addictive? They are just brilliant. I haven't read one in over a year... and suddenly I find three brand new books in my local book shop!! Anyway, both of these books are brilliant. Not a lot happens in Only in Your Dreams but after you read it you really really want to move onto Would I Lie To You which throws out some surprising storylines... especially about Dan... I didn't see that one coming!!!

Meg Cabot rocks!!! How can she keep turning out this absolutely hilarious books! This one ends on a cliffhanger and I will have to wait like a year for the third Queen of Babble book to come out... probably even longer because I don't live in the USA!

Here's what else has happened since my last post:

1) I got 420 in the mocks- be shocked if I get that in the real LC!

2) I have a new baby cousin... he's so cute!

3) I have my Debs date sorted! But not the dress... going to Dublin tomorrow to buy fabric for the dressmaker!

4) My health has never been as good and I have maintained my weight over 8 stone and I never felt sick once during the exams!

5) I bought tickets to see The Killers in Concert! I plan on sending Brandon Flowers a packet of strepsils a week before the gig... because the last time I had tickets for The Killers they had to cancel because he had a sore throat!

Yeah... that's all I can think of for now!

Laters

Sal

Confirmation of My Nerdiness!!!

Well- I finally have confirmation of my nerdiness. Even though I missed so much time in fifth year and 2 months of sixth year... so far. I have managed to get honours in maths, business, French and biology in my mock exams. I got a C1 in Irish but because I'm doing pass it doesn't count. So from the four honours subjects I have 260. If I got two more C1s (In home ec and English) I would have 400! Which would be amazing considering everything that's gone on and I only need 300! Just shows how much of a nerd I am doesn't it???

I have finished another book and it is ANOTHER Meg Cabot book... what can I say, the woman is hilarious! This time it was Size Doesn't Matter... it's the third book in the Heather Wells mystery series. It was really funny and it had a fantastic ending!

Went shopping today. Had to buy a present for the mother as tomorrow is Mother's Day. Me and the sister bought her a charm that says "Ma" on it for her birthday! It's so cute! We already gave it to her and the good news is she loved it!

Thats All Folks!!!!!!!!

Laters

Sal

PS: Sorry this entry is so short but unfortunetly mo chairde I have to go study home ec! You know me and my nerdy ways!

Another Day, Another.. Book

Well, after reading one book for two whole months I've actually finished another one in less than a week. That book is "The Princess Diaires: To The Nines" by the brilliant Meg Cabot and I have to say it is most definetly the best book of the whole series. I can't believe the turnaround with Lily and as for JP... it's quite shocking!!! The incident in the chem lab is pure brilliance... great example of Meg Cabot's comic abilities!

Now, I know this goes against everything I am (A nerd) but I haven't done any study AT ALL this weekend. I figure I needed a break after all those friggin' mocks!!! I'd sat I'm not the only one now... We were all wrecked after the first week... so you can imagine what we're like now!!!

I went shopping yesterday with the mother yesterday. I had to get a birthday present for my friend C. She won't be expecting it all (Not because I am a scabby cow or anything- In fact I'm far from scabby I LOVE giving people presents!!!) because her birthday was the 18th November... HEY- I was in hospital recuperating from major surgery, I didn't have time to think about shopping for presents. So anyway, I got her a lovely pair of dangly earrings and a pair of funky fluffy slippers!!!

Well, I went to the dressmaker yesterday... she absolutely loved the design I have picked. She's recommending that we get it made out of raw silk (pricey!!!). It's going to look really amazing though when it's finished!!!

Well, it seems that Dustin the Turkey is going to be representing Ireland in the Eurovision song contest. When I first heard he was trying out I thought it was hilarious and a brilliant idea. And then I heard the song. It's not even funny. They could have come up with something like "32 counties"- that was a really funny song. But "Irlande Douze Points" is just crap and it sounds like car alarm music! I think we can officially say what we have saying unofficially saying for quite a few years now- THE EUROVISION IS A JOKE!!!

Laters

Sal

Thank Crunchie it's Friday!!!!!

Thanks to be to jayzus I have finally finished the stupid smelly mocks. It was English paper two today and you know what, it actually went quite well. However, I only wrote two and a half pages for each essay but I feel I got my point across and as the English teacher always says "It's quality not quantity".

The question that I did on Othello was about the theme of Jealousy and Revenge and how Shakespeare portrayed it. I was delighted that came up because i had actually written a whole page on that yesterday in a condensed format so it was just a matter of padding it out. My conclusion- Let me tell you it KICKED ASS!

The question that came up on the comparitive section in Theme Or Issue was how the treatment of a theme/issue can add to one's enjoyment of a novel/drama/text/biography etc. I was quite pleased with this and it was my longest of the three essays. And considering I always had trouble with that one... Well, let's just say I'm very proud of myself.

The poetry question ROCKED MY SOCKS! First of all, Philip Larkin came up (and he is like the best poet EVER!) but the essay was based on this statement "What Philip Larkin's poetry means to me"... I mean, how easy is that... you can write about whatever you want.

Then the unseen poem was about the feeling you get when you finish exams, which was very appropriate when you think about it!!! I know what I feel FREEDOM!!!

In other news... I have got myself a summer job!!! I know I know... I'm very organised. But I'm just so thrilled to have it sorted because I need to money considering I'm going to be living away from home when I started college IN SEPTEMBER. I find it so hard to believe that I'm starting college in like 7 months time. I have to save up to buy a laptop and also if I want to remain in the luxury that I'm accostomed to... a job, well, it's essential really ain't it?

Oh my God... I thought I was going to have to go back to hospital last night! nothing to do with the smelly crohn's or anything now. But my right calve swelled up like a balloon and I couldn't straighten my leg... I don't know what was going on. But eventually the awful tightness eased. But it's kind of coming back again... it's like three times as bad as the shin splints! And they are bad.

Also, I'm going to the dressmaker tomorrow for the first time about my debs dress. I can't wait!!! When I was in Dublin last week I got a swatch of this beautiful emerald green fabric. Exactly what I wanted!!!

Anyhoos,

Later

Sal

Mocks Schmocks...

Well, well, well it's been quite a while since I last posted because over the past like six weeks I have been so busy and SO exhausted. En ce moment, I am in the middle of my mocks... In case you are wondering what this is. It is a pretend version of the big exams that I will be doing in June. It's to get us prepared.

When I say in the middle I mean nearing the end. I only have one more exam and that is not until Friday so I have all day tomorrow to study. I may as well tell you about them now...

English Paper 1- Could have gone better but to be honest it could have gone worse as well. I was quite pleased with my Comprehensions but to be honest the Essay wasn't great. The theme of the paper was "A Sense of Occasion". I wrote the essay that started with "The air was electric..." I wrote about a girl performing on stage in a musical.

Maths Paper 1- Was ok. I attempted everything. And if you make a good attempt at every question you're well on your way to passing the exam.

Irish Paper 1- I was shocked by this paper to put it bluntly, a chara. I dropped to Ordinary Level to make life learning Irish that little bit easier but sure, the comprehensions were rock hard and my letter and my essay were absolutely hopeless!!!

Biology- Oh my dear God, I thought I was good at Biology until I did this exam. I may have found it easier if I had actually opened my biology notes the night before. But c'mon, IT WAS MY 18TH BIRTHDAY!!! (more on that later...)

French- Thrilled to bit with French. I had no bother with the comprehensions and I used vocabulary from the Oral for the Question Obligatoire. And then a question on Obesity came up and we had just done that in class recently and I also did the question about Bebo and the internet.

Business- I was really scared about business because I had not prepared for it AT ALL. Let me tell you people, when business teachers tell you you can't waffle THEY'RE LYING!!! I got through the exam no problem- sure most of it was common sense anyway!

Maths Paper 2- All my good work on paper 1 was undone and I doubt I have even passed. That's all I'll say about that!!!

Irish Paper 2- EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!!!

Home Ec- That was my exam today... It was grand but there was so much in it. We were only given two and half hours for it and I was writing until the very end. I was raging though because I had made up a song to the tune of "Money For Nothing" by Dire Straits to learn the principle of the Microwave Oven and it didn't come up!!! I had also made up a sentence (Fat Wonda MAde Off with Paddy's Tractor) to learn the conditions needed for bacterial growth and they didn't come up either!!!

I have only English paper 2 left now, which I have to study for tomorrow. I have to learn 24 poems, a whole Shakespeare play and a comparative study on 3 stories.. GULP!!!

Hopefully the results will be out soon and I'll have gotten at leat 300 points!!!

In other news, It was my 18th birthday on the 5th February. The very day I had to do my maths and irish exams. How horrible is that? I got a beautiful swarovski bracelet from mam and dad and I also got a Hard Rock Cafe hoodie!!!

My sister bought me a really beautiful jewellery box made of mirrors and there is a gorgeous little butterfly sitting on top of it!!! My friend L got me a gorgeous costume necklace... I can't wait to wear it somewhere flash!!! I didn't do anything special for my birthday (it being in the middle of the mocks and all) so me and a couple of friends went bowling... but I have to say... it was the most fun I've had in a long time!!!

Believe it or not, I have only finished one book since I last posted and i had started reading that in November. It was "Tell me Your Secret" by Deirdre Purcell. It was an ok book... NOTHING compared to "Falling for a Dancer".

Hopefully it won't take me as long to write the next time. And I'm already nearly finished another book. I don't lose my reading mojo for long... Plus, I'm blaming the book... to be honest it wasn't that well written which I can't believe because as I said "Falling For a Dancer" was AMAZING. Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent!!!

Laters

Sal!!!