A few things have prodded me to move journals, and so without further ado:

mossy_jade is moving to a new journal as of now. Please accept the friend request from missjadey
If you have added me purely for the purposes of NaNoWriMo 2008, there's probably not much point in adding this new journal - there won't be much NaNo chatter there. Best of luck to you!

Everyone else - I hope to see you over there!

xx Jade

*snork* I was expecting a score in the seventies. Eighties at most. Lord.

Jadey has a new lovely Brian/Justin layout thanks to the truly wonderful xlovexlolitax. If you haven't already, go check her out at xlolliexiconsx - she makes a tonne of awesome icons. And take a look at the prettiness - mossy_jade.

In other news, I wrote 5k last night despite the fact that my brain was deaded from the maths exam. Only 80k more to go *sigh*

And in other other news, I got my plane tickets for Japan yesterday!!! Eighteen more days then I'm off to run around without my parents in another hemisphere for two weeks... Hooray!

Well, I must have done this meme ten times over the years, but I'll do it once more since I'm in my free period and very very bored.

( The Name Meme )
On a side note, I'm 99% sure I didn't fail my end-of-semester maths exam. HOORAY! Only one exam to go then onto my shameful, shameful NaNo count...

Ganked from abusing_sarcasm (who had very interesting results).

Make a list of twelve of your favourite HP characters in no particular order. Once you've made your list, click the cut to see the questions. But make your list first, or you might be tempted to cheat! :D

1. Nymphadora Tonks
2. Severus Snape
3. Harry Potter
4, Luna Lovegood
5. Draco Malfoy
6. Sirius Black
7. Remus Lupin
8. Scorpius Malfoy
9. George Weasley (but not Fred)
10. Bellatrix Lestrange
11. Ginny Weasley
12. Neville Longbottom

( The Questions! )
So there you have it! Not quite as incestuous as poor Camden, but interesting nonetheless.

So physically and emotionally drained, feel like I'm about to fall over dead. But I'm less than 100 words off 11k, so at least I'm on track for my 100k goal even if I do collapse in a miserable heap.

So, the last couple of days have been spent at Outdoor Education camp. I was expecting it to be a not-so-fun waste of money and time. And well, I am exhausted, can't type a coherent word (let alone sentence) to save myself, am covered in filth and burnt to a crisp, but it was a lot of fun. May have almost been worth it. Stand out points (be it for positive or negative):

- Having to haul myself up 5km of steep, rocky mountain every day. So. Not. Fun. I almost died, and my poor little knees did die. I had to strap them up so they wouldn't literally fall apart. I can't wait for reconstructive surgery.
- Caving.    My God. I love caving with a passion. I have developed an affinity for small spaces, and I have always loved clambering over huge piles of rock. Caving was just amazing. Crawling through tunnels, sliding my way down dark, muddy paths, sitting in awe in darkly lit chambers that you can't see the roof of... At one point, when we were very deep underground, our instructor made us turn off all of our lights and sit in absolute silence. The darkness... wow. I have never, ever been in such complete darkness before. I was like I had no eyes at all. I had my hands so close to my face that I was brushing my eyelashes with my fingers, and I couldn't tell any difference between that and having my hands in my lap. The silence was amazing, too - it felt like my ears were being compressed with the sheer density of the silence.
- Abseiling. Getting up there KILLED ME. I am waaay too unfit, and so reaching the top of a 40m cliff was most definitely not fun. And well, abseiling was always going to be interesting. Remember my affinity for small, enclosed spaces? Well, I was FREAKING TERRIFIED of abseiling. I went into full on panic attack mode, hyperventilating, crying, shaking etc. I had to laugh afterwards, though:

Me: Fuck fuck fuck oh my god oh my god fuck fuck fuck...
Instructor: ... *looks around for help* Just... just... uh... calm down, Jade. Calm down.
Me: I'M SCARED!!!!!
Instructor: It'll be fine, Jade. Just calm down and walk backwards over the edge of the cliff.


... yeah, real great advice there ^_^

Eventually I got over my panic attacks and did my abseiling on a few different cliffs. It didn't end up being too hard (except on one wall where I smacked into an overhang and got massive bruises all over my shins. Not to mention huge lumps.) God, I know why they call it abseiling, though - my stomach muscles are so sore now XD
- Centimetre-thick foam sleeping mats. Most definitely not fun. I have a lot of back/pelvis damage that comes along with all the damage to my knees, and my god that was painful.
- Camp fire. It gets very cold in Wee Jasper at night, so the camp fire was awesome. Not to mention, thanks to the wonderfully lax supervision from Droz (our teacher), I got to play pyromaniac to my heart's content.
- Lord of the Rings-style stone bridge, narrow thing with huge drops either side. Very very scary to walk across, but I felt like Frodo, especially with Sam lumbering in front of me bellowing, "You shall not pass!"
- Falling asleep in the cave. This was actually pretty cool. At one point my knee was so swollen and screwed that the instructor decided to leave me with the bags in one of the bigger chambers while my classmates went crawling through some crevices. My torch died though, so I was left sitting in complete darkness once more. I lay down on a curved rock... and next thing you know, I was asleep in the cave. Much more comfortable than the foam mats. I really, really love caves.

So, camp was good. Tomorrow I'm off to Melbourne until sunday for the Tournament of Minds Australasian-Pacific finals! I am so. Frigging. Excited. We're going to get completely thrashed by all the other states and countries, but that's no big deal. The main thing is that I made it there in my last year of TOMS, and that I'm damn well going to make the most of it!!!

The net is about to turn off, so I'll stop rambling now. I shall talk to most of you either tomorrow morning or when I get back on Sunday/Monday! Wish me luck :)

xx Jade

For abusing_sarcasm and anyone else who reads her fic Runway...

 

( A hard whiteness surrounded Scorpius completely. He was not aware of his clothes, his body or even his own thoughts; the only thing that existed was this white, not soft or hazy in any way, but clear, sharp and unyielding.  )

Sorry for any typos. I'm too tired to proofread this at the moment XD Anyway, hope you enjoyed, Cam *squishyglomps you*

Stolen from abusing_sarcasm, who is Teh Awesome *glomps* (Yes, teh.)

I scored 45.36489% :D

In other news, I have spent most of today rediscovering my childhood play Jet Set Radio Future. I love that game to pieces; it was the first Xbox game I ever owned ^_^ I then got bullied into going to see Journey to the Centre of the Earth late tonight, which I know nothing of bar the title. Should be interesting.

Ganked from xie_xie_xie over at IJ... Post one of your favourite Queer as Folk quotes and a picture to go with it. Aside from the one in my icon (made by the awesome xlovexlolitax at xlolliexiconsx, go check her stuff out!) this is one of my favourites simply because it's so liberating. You can feel the defiance radiating off it in waves, particularly in Gale Harold's performance of it. I have no doubt that it's a lot of people's favourite quotes.

‘I’m a cocksucker! I’m queer! And to anyone who takes pity or offence, I say judge yourself. This is where I live. This is who I am.’

- Brian Kinney, Queer as Folk S5E1

Despite the fact that this quote is from season five, the picture I've got to go with it is actually a very poor screenshot from the very first episode, when Brian climbs up onto the wall on the hospital roof and shouts "I'll jump!" There's so much power in that scene (even though Brian's so high it's ridiculous ^_^) and I love it to pieces.

( Cuts for Image )
I'm supposed to tag three people to do this, but I don't really think that there's anyone on my flist who watched QaF and would do this; so I tag anyone who will!

In other news, I got back my first piece for accelerated English yesterday, the essay on women in Othello, and I got 92. Topped my class, even though they're all a grade above me, so I was happy :) Chest infection is pretty much gone, too. Hooray! Third book in the Inheritance Cycle comes out tomorrow, but I'm going to reread Eragon and Eldest before I buy it... the books aren't that good, so not really worth the rush.

Oh, oh, and has anyone else read The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand? I've just finished The Fountainhead, so I'm interested to hear people's thoughts on it, and any comments on if it's worth reading Atlas or not would be appreciated :)

 

Today I convinced my mother that I deserved a day off (it was amazingly easy... *shocked*) and descended into the debauchery that is fanfiction. Without meaning for it to be so, this very very quickly became the Day of Sick and Twisted Ships. I started off with a little Harry/Scorpius, always a favourite, before quickly descending into depravity with such ships as Harry/Al, Harry/Al/Scorpius, Slytherin/Harry-looking-like-Hufflepuff, and then truly going off into the deep end with some nice Harry/Hedwig. I am highly amused with myself.

Meanwhile, the assignment that I mentioned yesterday remains unstarted, despite the fact that it was due... oh, about five hours ago?

ETA: The assignment was now due about ten hours ago and I still haven't started it. Oh well. I've now moved onto a Harry/Remus fest... not many people know, but I love Harry/Remus even more than I love a good Snarry. It can be so sweet... :)

By some amazingly disturbed miracle, my Tournament of the Minds team managed to win State Finals today, so we're going to the Australasian-Pacific finals in Melbourne next month! Hooray!!!

In other news, I have a 1000 word religion essay due tomorrow that I can't even be bothered to start, let alone put any real effort into. I figure, when I've only got nine weeks left after suffering through eleven years of this Catholic brainwashing shit, I have the right to not care any more. Besides, the assignment is boring as hell:

In addressing this task consider the following:

• Using Luke’s Gospel as a starting point, explain why the Church and the Jesus followers have sought to reach out to those in the greatest need.
• Discuss ways in which the message of Luke’s Gospel is relevant to us today, by identifying social justice issues in Australia or the world. Compare and contrast these social justice issues with those mentioned in Luke’s Gospel.
• Discuss efforts and organisations that translate this concern for the downtrodden into real and visible action in the contemporary world.

I'm considering just arguing that if our sect is illiterate to the point that they can't put enough capital letters in our name, then the "Jesus followers" need all the reading practice they can get.

ETA: Whilst procrastinating, I came across a list of ten reasons as to why you shouldn't do marijuana. Reason two: "Marijuana contains many harmful chemicals. One such ingredient is carbon, the same chemical found in your urine, poison, and feces. Yuck!" *dies laughing*

I haven't posted a desktop screenshot in awhile, so I thought I would. Please, please post yours! I'm always fascinated to see people's desktops (in a non-stalkerish way).

Hm, so I'm gonna tag people... xlovexlolitax, killermanikins, abusing_sarcasm, crystalkei, emerald_dragon8, 1863, triptychdream and selinabln.

So, my desktop... not that interesting. I was bored, I made it, using a Dr Who quote with my trademark little guys in the corner. (Warning, 1280x800 large.)

( Desktop )

Since when is the correct spelling of igloo "ingloo"?

Ganked from jamie2109. This is a mix of HP fic, QaF fic and original stuff. Anyone want links/word docs, just tell me. Otherwise, I can't really be stuffed XD

( First and Last Lines )

I know, I know... you're sick of hearing about debating. But I can help it (RE:my icon).

First, I have a request - for my accelerated English oral presentation, I have to study four Shakespearean sonnets in depth. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions/recommendations?

And next, I have for you, the practice test for debating trials on Saturday. Some of the questions are Australian-centric, but have a go in a comment (or even on your own journal!) - I'm interested to see how everyone goes.

Ok, so before state finals for Tournament of the Minds pops up on my radar in the next week or so, debating is consuming my life. I have trials for the state debating team that's going to nationals in about six months, and even though I know I'm going to lose the 3rd speaker position out to either my own school's debating captain Laura or Ned from Radford (or possibly even one of those mysterious Braidwood debaters that mysteriously came out of nowhere to almost beat Ned and his SuperSidekicks in the Murray Trophy this year) I'm still very nervous about it. Two secret/impromptu debates working with people I don't know and probably not even in my usual speaking position, followed by a general knowledge test on stuff that isn't really general knowledge. (More on the test later, though. I'm gonna need your help on some of the freaking practice questions. It's all politics and law and evilness! Though I had to laugh at one of the questions. Which countries possess nuclear weapons? That's not such a good question to put on a test for debaters, of all people. At least, not if you want a definite, concise answer.)

But I have a general plea for you all first. Maddy and I have our first debate in Senior Crime Prevention tomorrow, and we'll be debating British Parliamentary Style for the first time, against people a year or two against our own year level. So again, we're very nervous. And we've been put as the affirmative/government/proposition on the most stupid topic to ever be called into existence - that blackmail should be legal. (Yeah, I know. I want to know what Jeremy was smoking when he assigned that topic.) We somehow have to get half an hour (literally!) of positive speech on that. So, obviously, we're going to have to very heavily restrict the terms of 'blackmail' for our model in the debate. But what I need as much help as possible on is thinking of arguments as to why blackmail should be legal, particularly focusing on information as a commodity. But really, any single silly thing you can think of. I'll be in your debt forever if you can come up with some argument at all, because otherwise Maddy and I are screwed.

Hey guys :) I know I've been absent-ish... school/debating/Tournament of the Minds/work/Reflections/miscellaneous other crap has been killing me. There's not been a single day in the last week and a half where I haven't been double or triple booked before/during/after school and on the weekend. To top it off, I've had a chest infection T-T But after this week I'll hopefully have at least a couple of days that aren't complete murder. Eventually, I'm going to post a few pictures of our recent trip to the coast - babies on the beach! They were so cute!!!

And since I was tagged by Lollie...

Pick 10 people and give them the "you make my day" award in no particular order. If you're picked, you are charged with picking 10 of your own (unless you've already done it).

xlovexlolitax, abusing_sarcasm, killermanikins, 1863, magick_7, besame_bj (you made my day just with the knowledge that there's going to be a chapter of Precipice tomorrow!), gaedhal, brianslave68, my debating coach Radhika and the unknown Hungry Jacks employee who drew a smiley face on my cheeseburger wrapper. You all made me smile today for one reason or another!

Ganked from abusing_sarcasm ... You get to say whatever you want to me anonymously. Please tell me something, even if it's not sunshine and rainbows. Actually, what I most need to hear is probably not sunshine and rainbows ^_^

I discovered bianslave68's journal today, with lots and lots of lovely QaF icons. Along with my userpic, I've stolen a few that I need to credit. Go look at her icons!!!


I'm tired. I had to work two eight hour days of checkout chicking this weekend T-T