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Why won't my drafts save on the blogger app? I almost finished a post on Thursday or Friday, but now it's nowhere to be found...
At this moment in time I am about to commence thorough, timetabled revision for my A2 exams. I will soon complete my chemistry coursework practical (finally), and I am also preparing my Exposé for the German oral exam. One week ago today Muse Watson retweeted my tweet, which was delightful! Midweek I ventured to Cardiff again to check out the university, and I was bowled over by the brilliance of the Students' Union complex. This uni decision is harder than I anticipated, and it's becoming a question of what I want most: freedom or family. (Incidentally, both of these options are also titles of  NCIS episodes.)

Happy/sad

Wednesday 10th of July was a day of contrasts for me; I awoke feeling refreshed and enthusiastic, but fell asleep with tear-stained cheeks and muddled thoughts. My emotions for most of the day were excitement about my sister's prom (a highly edited picture from the event is featured below), and anticipation for the NCIS season 9 finale, which aired for the first time on terrestrial UK TV at 9pm.

Prom people! (My sister is in the centre wearing purple)

Before the prom, I was nervous about taking photos for my sister, but once we were there I snapped away freely, capturing all of the main moments as the leavers paraded outside the front of the school. They were soon on their way to the prom venue, as my mother and I walked home. During the evening my excitement for the NCIS episode grew and grew, and it certainly did not disappoint; Jimmy and Breena are so sweet together, but the bomb blast and Ducky's heart attack on the beach moved me more than I expected them to. It didn't, however, prepare me for the bombshell that hit three hours later, when it was announced that Cote de Pablo is leaving NCIS. Initially I was in disbelief, but soon the reality hit me: Ziva will no longer be a part of the show. I cried a little, but I'm feeling better about it now; I'm just a bit apprehensive about the manner of her exit.

Things I am excited about:

• Going to a Big Reunion concert in May (More here)
• New (season 9) NCIS every Wednesday, plus season 7 Saturdays
• Animal Crossing: New Leaf being released on 14th June
• NCIS season 9 being released in the summer
• Going to Berlin in October

And more, but I can't think of anything else at the moment!

When I look at 2012

The end of the year is finally here, and I'm taking the opportunity to look back on 2012.

When you look at 2012, what is it that you see?

(Partly inspired by this tumblr post)
In the future, my 2012 will be memorable to me for the reasons listed here. Enjoy!
FF54B0 32 Emilys Candy

Concerts!
I attended six this year and each one was marvellous for it's own reasons! NKOTBSB kicked off the year back in April, memorable for the insane energy and wondrous excitement (and some crying). I saw Twenty Twenty in May, the evening after my RS GCSE exam and it was awesome; I was into it as soon as the first support act performed "Good Vibrations". July 1st was the next concert date, T4 On The Beach. We woke up at 4:15am and queued in gusty wind and intermittent rain for over 4 hours, but it was worth it to see and hear acts such as The Wanted and Labrinth. In September I went to see Aiden Grimshaw with two of my best friends from primary school; we managed to get second row and the concert experience was great, very comfortable. Exactly four weeks later I was back in the O2 Academy watching Labrinth along with my mum and sister. It was horrifically sweaty but I loved seeing him and hearing the songs live. Just 8 days later the three of us were off to London for the last concert of the year: Owl City. It was wonderful, we met the support act, Matthew Koma, and we weren't at all disheartened by not getting to meet Adam when we stayed outside after the concert till almost midnight.


School changes!
Despite staying at the same establishment, lots has changed education-wise for me this year. I'm now a student because I choose to be. Many of my friends have gone to different places; Rachel now resides in Australia! The last few days of year eleven were lovely, but I knew things would never be the same again. Thankfully, it's not unmanageably different now, and we all seem to have settled in well to our respective courses and locations. Lunchtime in the common room is becoming the norm, and it's pleasant to get to know different people better. Also, signing up to Envision has been a great decision this year, I've already gained great experience and helped to earn £500 for our project via a pitch and video.


NCIS!
I'm not quite sure how my obsession with love of this show began, but I started watching it in mid-February and have been enthralled ever since! So far, I've managed to see all the episodes in seasons 1, 2, 3 and 5, plus most of season 8, quite a lot of season 6 and the first third of season 4 on my DVD box set. In some ways, it has defined my year, [psychology part] each episode acting as a retrieval cue for events around the time I watched them [/psychology part] and I'm sure it has helped my happiness. It's safe to say my exploration of the series has been emotional: on numerous occasions it has made me laugh, cry and almost cry with laughter! I think Kate and Palmer are my favourite characters, but I adore them all, and I don't think it's possible to watch an episode too many times (I've seen one, About Face, 5 times already!).

Turning 17!
My birthday was only 12 days ago, so I'm still getting used to this new number, but I've never been this old before, and I'll never be this young again. It's scary to think that this time next year I'll be an adult... probably best to not think about that for now! My birthday itself will be memorable because I was ill and barely got out of bed. I had my cake today though!

Merry Christmas!

I know it's a bit late, but I hope everyone had a great day yesterday. Mine was full of festivities; we spent the big day at home this year, rather than at our uncle and auntie's or grandparents', so with no travelling we had more time than usual. Em and I still received stockings containing little presents such as pens and chocolates, then we migrated downstairs to tear in to our main presents. Mine was the new PRODUCT(RED) iPod touch this post has been written using, and it's wonderful! Christmas dinner was scrumptious and afterwards we watched TV and opened presents Granny had brought round. Later on some of the leftovers became our tea and I became acquainted with Siri on my iPod in addition to sending a keek, while watching NCIS until 1am. A very merry Christmas indeed.

She was just turning 17...

The "she" is me; I am now a 17-year-old! My birthday was the 19th December, but rather than celebrating I spent almost the whole day in bed, recovering from illness that had overcome me in the early hours of the morning. My mother and sister were ill too, and my dad stayed home, so in a way it was nice because we were all together. I didn't open my presents till the following evening; I was very happy to get them! Also I've already watched 8 NCIS episodes since my birthday.

Summer: Done

This time tomorrow, I will be eating my lunch on my first day as a sixth former. On Thursday, I will have my first full day of lessons since 23rd May, over 100 days previously. Back in June, I posted this list of things I could do over the summer, and now that the season is ending, I feel it's time for a "Things I actually did over summer" post...

Things I actually did over the summer

1. Listened to two albums in their entirety: 8:09 by Joey McIntyre on August 9th and How The Mighty Fall by Mark Owen on the 27th. I was also "treated" to The Midsummer Station by Owl City, courtesy of my sister.
2. Watched at least 60 episodes of NCIS (actually, it's probably nearer 70+, as I watched About Face four times in the past three days)
3. Rekindled my character ideas, which were originally based on watching a few minutes of Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue when I was much younger. I also drew a character and created more.
4. Met up with friends a few times, this included three birthday parties, a trip to two parks and going to the seaside with my sister and some of her friends.
5. Created many roller coasters on RCT3
6. Had a great time in Derbyshire
7. Set up an Animal Crossing blog, purchased a second Wild World game and created an account on Animal Crossing Community
8. Saw two films at the cinema, Ted and Chernobyl Diaries
9. Completed the 25 Day iPod Challenge on here
10. Ate ketchup flavoured crisps dipped in ketchup!
11. Oh, and I've done a little preparation for my A-level subjects