First day back!

Today I started year 11. I could go on for ages about how I don't feel old enough to be sitting my GCSEs next May and how it only feels like yesterday that I was a nervous year 7 on my first day, but instead I'll outline the main events of today:

1. 6:45 am - get up my dad's clock is fast so we were up before 7, but at least it meant we weren't late to...
2. 8:07 am - meet Georgina a couple of minutes earlier than usual (only because it's the first day). Thanks to this, I subsequently miss seeing 8:09 on my watch, but the songs I listened to on the walk to school make up for it.
3. 8:31 am - at school Em, Daisy, Georgina and I are now at school, commenting on how small the new year 7s are and talking about TV shows. This area of conversation is lifted when Chelsea arrives; she will later attempt to work out how many hours of TV she watches in a week (it's a lot).
4. 8:45 am - tutor time we get our new planners (I predicted the cover would be dark and stripy), fill in our timetables, do a fire drill and Rosie's ruler makes my head bleed. Break follows, before our first proper lesson of the day:
5. 11:10 am - science work out our current grades in each module in science, and shake up our seating plan. We now sit (clockwise from the sink): Rachel, Chelsea, me, Chris Donati, Tom, Chris Green, Rosie.
6. 12:10 pm - RS same teacher, seating plan and module as before.
7. 1:10 pm - lunch hall closed so we eventually settle around the morning bench. I hold Em's mirror for her to put her brace bands in.
8. 1:55 pm - PE with no kit, there's nothing to do in PE except listen to sir talk for the best part of an hour. Luckily next lesson we can listen to music while walking. Good times.

I could go on, but assembly isn't particularly interesting and my right arm aches from the tetanus injection I had at the doctors earlier. See ya!

I'm feeling ever so slightly bored, so I figured it was time for another blog post.

So far this summer holiday I have:

• rolled down a hill
• tweeted 536 538 times
• posted a lot on tumblr (139 posts in August alone)
• rediscovered my love for Animal Crossing
• celebrated my sister's birthday
• listened to "2 In The Morning" by New Kids On The Block at 2am 5 times
• blown up 5 balloons
• read "To Kill A Mockingbird"
• consumed 32 toasted cheese sandwiches
• written 21 diary entries
• admitted my Joe girl tendencies (to myself, at least...)

Here's to the rest of summer!

Achtung Baby: All Grown Up

Yay! U2 have finally announced the release date for the hotly anticipated remastered re-release of it's (in my opinion) greatest work to date: Achtung Baby! The 31st October 2011 is the date set, which coincides with drummer Larry Mullen Jr.'s 50th birthday, and is just short of 20 years since the original album first hit the shelves on the 19th November 1991. The remaster is available in 4 physical editions as well as download, ranging from the standard CD with a provisional RRP of £13.20, to a limited edition Über Deluxe box set containing the original album, sister album Zooropa and 4 other CDs (presumably containing a lot of B-sides, reworkings and demos); 4 DVDs including Zoo TV: Live from Sydney and a new documentary about Achtung Baby titled "From The Sky Down"; a pair of Fly Shades; an 84-page hardback book; a sticker sheet; art prints and more, but it comes at a very hefty price: Amazon UK shows an estimated cost of £385.99. Other formats include the album with a bonus disc (for around £16), and the 6 CDs, 4 DVDs, a 92-page book and 16 art prints (£105.99).

Are you excited about the anniversary release of Achtung Baby? Will you be purchasing it when the time comes? If so, which version takes your fancy?

Chelsea the author?!

Based solely upon her hatred of our English teacher, Mrs Cross, Chelsea was the last person I'd expect to say she'd quite fancy writing a book. However, that's exactly what happened this morning as we waited to begin the dreaded lesson. Though born of a combination of this loathing and Chelsea's rather competitive nature, the project seems to have pretty solid foundations; the writer in question just sent me the opening via email (as is the norm these days) and I have to say, it's pretty good! Always one mark short of a B in our controlled assessment tasks, Chelsea could, providing she keeps this up, be heading far higher! And all because of a simple teacher/student tiff... inspiration arises from the strangest of matters!

My week experiencing work

I've been rather busy between 9am and 5pm these last few days, gaining work experience at local libraries. My duties have included shelving, withdrawing books, shelf check (searching the shelves for books requested from other libraries), assisting with Rhyme Time and helping to create the summer reading challenge display. I found it really fun and was actually sad to leave today! My colleagues were really friendly and happy to help me out when I needed it. I was always busy and time went by pretty swiftly. It's a bit annoying that we have another week (well, four days) of school next week, and I'm a bit worried that I'm gonna start instinctively arranging items next time I go into a shop! :X

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Recent good times

So, topless Bono month on my U2 calendar is officially over (has been for days), and I'm still yet to compile a blog post in the merry month of July. What can I say, I've been not at all busy! Here's a few excerpts from the more interesting events of late:

Tuesday 28th - Brace date
I got braces a week ago today! They ached a bit at first but I'm getting used to them now.

Thursday 30th - Bad Teacher
I went to see the film Bad Teacher with Chelsea and Chris. It was fun, especially watching Chris on the dance game in Bowlplex.

Saturday 2nd - Georgina's party
I had so much fun around Georgina's house with her brother James, Em, Chris, Daisy, Chelsea and Elisha, especially trying to catch food in your mouth (I'm surprisingly good with small pieces of dorito!)

Here's to a fun-filled July!