TER Results

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Okay, before I even continue, I must let it be known to the world that I was MISLEAD.

I was told the results were coming out on the 23rd of December, and here I was happily thinking that I'd be free from the world of results till tomorrow.

Not quite so.

It turns out the results came out TODAY.

So yes, I have been completely and totally mislead.

So I called my mum in an absolute panic. And while yes my mum was really good about delving into my pig sty of a room to look for my ID number, her belief that I would not tell her my results was not so cool.

After arguing with her for at least 5 minutes and forcing her to finally tell me my Student ID with the promise that I'd keep her on the phone and reveal my results then and there, I finally managed to log in.

Okay, so at first glance, I was pretty impressed with myself. It was a good score by Australian standards. Then I remembered what the school had predicted for me and I grew even more impressed. Then I remembered what I was actually aiming for and grew steadily depressed again.

Of course, they then gave me a break down of my scores and I grew slightly more depressed at my scores.

Well, I guess I can't have everything.

But yes, before I stretch the suspense any longer, I got a grand score of: 90.25.

So yes, compared to a whole load of other people, it's pretty great. At first glance it definitely is! But compared to other people, and considering what my pride is like, it's not the best in the world.

Individual marks were...kind of dismal. Lit greeted me with 71.4%, whilst everything else ended up with 60 something and 50 something percents.

I so knew I wasn't going to do great in Human Biology and Political and Legal Studies.
History was disappointing on a dismal level. I was hoping for a score a lot higher than what I achieved. And History is pretty much my favourite subject! But Lit and History were my top two, so no complaints there. Chemistry was...on the ball. But I achieved a higher score than my Chemistry mock! Maths was again, dismally disappointing. [Sorry Mr. Mirichlis]
Those were the four subjects that were used in my TER calculation. Just like I predicted they would be.

So after a year of freaking out, almost endless turmoil, and wondering when the hell this torture would end- it's almost over.

I still have to get over the obstacle that is...

UNIVERSITY OFFERS!!!

Mishy <3

Good News...

Okay, so I didn't blog about this in my last post.
But only because I needed to change, confirm and finalise everything with the teachers.

And I finally did it today.

I GRADUATE WITH 2AS, 3BS AND 1C!!

Okay, so the C is not exactly something to be proud of. When I started out the year, I was a [supposedly] bright sparky student with somewhat unrealistic expectations that I was going to achieve straight As, or at the very least 3As and 3Bs.
But in the end...I think I did pretty alright.

I achieved an A in History and English Literature. [boy, I think we can all see which direction I'm headed in already huh?] Which, okay, maybe not so much of a surprise? They're practically my favourite subjects!
I achieved a B in Discrete Maths, Chemistry and Human Biology. [and Mrs. Ratnam told my mom that I was a science student in year 9? HEH.] I actually believed I was going to get an A for Maths, but I suppose, all things considered, and given the way my maths scores manage to swing up, down, left, right and centre...it's not actually that bad that I've finally gotten a B.
I achieved a C in Political and Legal Studies. Funnily enough, everyone thought I was going to ace this subject because I still wanted to be a journalist at the beginning of this year and would need this for the future. Still...I have never really been that good at completely memorising things, and perhaps this is no wonder that I am not really that good at P&L.

But anywho, That's what I've graduated with. =) Now to hopefully improve on those marks in the TEE...

Mishy <3

Murder Me

Seriously. Go ahead. Right now.

I have no idea whether to be happy or not.

I got my mock exam marks back, in case no one can tell. =(

Well, I guess I'll start off with the good news, since, well, it deserves to get out. :P
I got 82% for my history and my maths!! :DD Never been happier for these two. Especially my history. I didn't think I would understand what was happening, and true enough, for a few sources I didn't. But I made it through, and I'm glad. And now I have to make sure I do the same for the finals. =(

For the others, I got in the 60% range. 60% for Human Biology. 61% for Political and Legal Studies. 63% for Chemistry. 68% for Literature.
How much more crap could this get, I was banking on Lit and Human Bio to be at least 70%! I always knew Chemistry would end up somewhere in the 60% range, although I was sort of hoping for above a 65%, seeing as I had somehow managed to convince myself that the paper was relatively easy. [Conto later told us it was actually edging on the hard side]
Still, I think Human Bio was a weird paper, and the top mark was 72%. =/ A scary thought, but at least the whole paper will get moderated up and I'll hopefully reach in with a 70-something% in that paper.
I sent my Lit paper in for remarking because I did a practice essay with the same question I did in the exam, and somehow managed to lose a full 5 marks from between the practice paper and the real thing. =/ Wonderous miracles indeed, but if all works out well, then I will have achieved at least two 80%s, two 70%s and two 60%s. Hmm, 4 A's and 2 C's. In Australia anyway. In South Africa and Malaysia, it would have been 2A's, 2B's, and 2C's.

Much as those marks look really good...it's still not good enough. Or at least not as good as I was hoping for. =/

Dear God, give me the strength to drag those marks up by the ear in the TEE. Amen.

Mishy <3

Mocks

Are overr!!!
But I now have to deal with the real deal in approximately three weeks. -_-"
Kind of upsetting considering the mocks feels like it's the end.
I think the exams went alright. I think.
Lit was pretty good. Well, then again, we had the questions beforehand, so it was more than alright.
P&L was...weird. =/ But I think I passed, and again, I reserve all comment till the results actually come out.
Human Biology has me slightly worried. I think I did okay.
Discrete Maths was pretty good, only I'm now wondering if I actually understood what was happening, or I misinterpreted it all.
History...has definitely got me worried. Then again, history constantly leaves me in doubt. I reiterate, I have an abusive relationship with history.
Chemistry will always freak me out. But for some reason, I wasn't as freaked out as I usually am before a Chemistry exam.
But, well, I have five days left of holidays, so I'll leave it all alone for now, and I'll confirm my feelings on the exams when the results come back. XD

I have a graduation dress! I love it. =) And I have no pictures yet, but there shall be some when I actually go for graduation. Xd LOL. But I can say that it is short, blue and has a strap. Hoorah! :P

Mishy <3

The Omens of Study

The eyelids droop lower, and lower. Like a geometric progression, slowly.
Wonderous of the number of people who must have done the same thing, years past. The 1990s. 1980s. 70s. 60s. 50s. Pre-war.
Did they all feel the heavy feeling on the foramen magnum of their necks? The drooping eyelids, and sudden lethargy that came from nowhere. The fingers crack a bit, releasing the air that's been trapped within the joints. And that was the 5th time for the day.
She needs fresh air. It's been stagnant, wafting around the same room for so long. O2. A nice change from CO2. And H2O. Dehydrated and restless. How many moles of crap, she wonders, are found in 10 grams of chem?
Probably no more than can be found in Parliament House. A debate rages in her head. Yes. No. Sit down. You need a rest. You need to study. It's only for a month, you'll be fine.
Look at the context of the whole period she urges. All that study you did before will surely boost you up now if you continue to do the same. This will ensure you social and economic surety in a racist and patriarchal society.

Yup, the omens were there.

Exams are coming soon.

And my mocks are up on Tuesday.

Mishy <3

"The horror, the horror!"

The words uttered by Kurtz, a character in the novella Heart of Darkness.
Yes, I may sound a bit of a geek, but I honestly believe that that quote comes in handy for what I saw in history class today.

I am currently doing the Vietnam War in history class [for the 2nd time- goodness, as if once wasn't enough] and my amazing history teacher Maisey showed us some of the stuff that came up on TV during those times, when the media still had free reign over what was and wasn't shown.

And that little girl with the napalm on her, wasn't as bad as I imagined it to be. I felt horrible, just watching her run, and the skin peeling off her back. Before, when I saw her running, in her photos, I imagined a silent scream emerging from that photo. It must've been painful. It must've been the worst thing she's ever experienced. An innocent girl, probably not understanding what in the world was actually going on, and she is the one who gets hurt out of all the real protagonists of the war. When I saw a shot of LBJ walking onto a platform immediately after that video, I just felt one pure unadulterated rush of hatred for him.
And you know what? I generally don't even hate people. I could easily be described as a sober hippie. [a rare occurence in any generation]
And then I saw another video...and I've also seen the photo version of this one as well. It was of a Vietcong member, who had killed an army general's best friend, wife, and six kids. The army general was the godfather of those six children, and this Vietcong member had killed them all. The man was arrested, and the general went up to him and shot him straight in the head. I cannot even begin to describe just how horrified I was, and...the pain that went through my head, even as I saw it through the slits in my finger was so intense. I cannot forgive that Vietcong member for doing what he did. But then again, neither can I condone what the army general did.

And you know, even as I walked away from that history class. Even as I was taking my panadol and swiging down the largest amount of water I've taken this entire winter to calm myself down, I could only think: This is what war does. This is war. All's fair when it comes to war. Could I really accept what was happening? No.

But then again, if I was in that position...would I have done exactly the same?
I think I most probably would have. All's fair in war.

I hate war.

Mishy <3

MIA

Which I have been for a while. Year 12 is no bed of roses, let me tell you.

With 5 weeks to go before mock exams, I can't really even begin to comprehend keeping up with anything. My head of year decided to have a River Rock in two weeks time. Which would have been all fine and well, even if I didn't go, I would have considered going. Except for the fact that it was on a Wednesday. Yes, Wednesday. Who puts things like these on a school day?? It's like having the Valentine's Dance in GIS on a Wednesday. Or having the Barn Dance at Saints on a Wednesday. Simply not done. And completely wrong timing too, especially for us poor souls doing six TEE subjects, who, really, would love nothing more than a break, but simply cannot go due to wrong timing on the organiser's part.

I am currently looking for scholarships to apply to and such. I mean, yes, I may not ever get the top TER in the school, and yes, perhaps my headmistress doesn't actually believe that I will be the person to best achieve my goals in university, but I guess it never hurts to try. =)

I have also finally finally [finally] FINALLY received my TISC application guide for university. I can FINALLY apply without trying to murder myself with worry over getting something wrong. Or at least I believe I can. Who knows, I may actually get something wrong, even WITH the TISC guide. Life is so weird.

With regards to Leaver's Week, I have been pleasantly surprised. My MOM is letting me go. I said it would be in Moore River, and even though she is rather unsure of where it is [don't look at the geography failure please] she is STILL willing to let me go! This is the biggest shock I've had since being told I was moving to Africa 3 years ago. I've moved out already, but the shock still remains. And, well, she's okay with it, with the exception that she is rather worried about me being driven there by P plate drivers. Casey, JB and Teo, much as the RAC believes that you are capable of driving the streets, unharmed, my parents still have their doubts. I forsee problems with this for when I get my Ls and licence next year. Or, well, at least attempt to.

I meet Elaine tomorrow!!! I can't wait, and I am tres excited. What can I say, even in the midst of exams, and whatnot. :P Of course, I sincerily hope that I will not get lost in the city.

I had four things due in today. I had a history essay [which I am almost certain I failed, due to the whole class being completely unsure of what to write about], a chemistry quiz [which I am absolutely certain I failed- I mean, Conto even FORGOT that we had a quiz today...], a P&L debate [which I never got to finish due to running out of time], and a maths test [which was so long, I only just finished in time as opposed to my ten minutes before the ending finish]. It is appaling, the conditions I am forced to work in really.

I am also rather surprised at the amount of people who visit my blog on a daily basis. Of course it may help that I actually add in labels and such so people google it and find it more easily [someone in Morley SHS googled Morley SHS and chanced upon this blog during english lit, which is a class I belong to. How embarrassing]. But quick message: if you read this, AND you know me, OR you think you find something worthwhile commenting on, please please do so? I like to hear other opinions, and views. It make life just that much more interesting. =)

More soon.

Mishy <3

Upcoming Events

I have a hectic two weeks ahead of me.

This week, 9th of August Saturday, is JB birthday. :P And I know he doesn't want me to make any form of fuss about it, but I'll announce it here just to annoy him slightly. :P Muahaha. But it's okay, I won't be able to celebrate it properly seeing as I'm going to be so busy anyway.

This week, Sunday is the University of Western Australia open day. I am soo excited to be going for this. I have an ass load of questions to ask about the Communicatiosn course and whether or not I have a one in hell chance of getting in, considering I really want to get in here. Weird and workaholic-ish as it sounds, I am absolutely estatic to be going for this, and I cannot wait for Sunday to come. =)

Next week Monday, university applications will be due in. And I will be in such a state of panic and agitation as no one will have ever seen me in before. Apparently, there is some TISC guide I must follow which hasn't come out yet [why it can't come out BEFORE the day the application entries OPEN is beyond me...] and of course, I do not have it yet. They say it is one long complicated process, and I refuse to get mine wrong. Watch me freak out and fall in a dead faint on Monday night.

Next week Wednesday, Elaine is coming!!! This is the first time I've ever had an old friend come visit me in my current country of residence, so I am even more estatic at this visit than I am with the UWA open day. She'll only be here for a week, but I think that's all fine and jolly considering I really should be studying anyway. Any longer, and I will officially be doomed to complete distraction.

Next week Sunday, is the Curtin open day. I am not so keen to go to this university, but it is where I am expected to go, should I fail to get into UWA. I would apply interstate, but I am not even sure if the parental units approve of the plan. I forsee a major problem. =/

Anyway, back to history, seeing as my history teacher has just landed me with an entire month's worth of assignments to complete...

Mishy <3

A Day In Parliament

MOCK Parliament. :P

Like I said in my last post, I had a role-playing Parliamentary debate at Curtin University today.
Initially, I was nervous. Without a doubt. When I got up, I was shaking quite badly.But surprisingly, I didn't falter once. And this is me, the person who could never open her mouth in front of others, and the person who would never try to be loud. Yes, I AM loud, but only around a few people.
During question time, I think everyone started warming up. Most of all me, I guess. I made every argument I could think off, literally scolded people for coming up with funny ideas and ways of answering the question... I have no idea, I didn't realise I could actually debate. XD

It was somewhat ironic however, this debate.
Australia used to have a White Australia Policy where only immigrants [particularly of the British and Irish racial stock] would be accepted into the country, and other races were not accepted.
And somehow or other, my entire debating team ended up being...well, you may have guessed it. Chinese. All three of us were Chinese in some way, shape and form. Whether we were born in Australia, or were slightly mixed made no difference. Racially, we were all still Chinese. And female. All of us were female. And all of us hadn't reached the age of 40 yet. [obviously] When in truth, we should really have been old white men.
And we were forced to act as old white men, saying that we didn't want, and I quote from what my first speaker said: 'yellow, black, blue, green, red, purple people in our country!'
The administrator was laughing when she monitered our debate, I swear to it.

But I suppose it was worth it in the end. I got full marks for the speaking part of my oral mark. =)

I think Curtin University is more interesting for history excursions than it is for english ones.

We went into the Prime Ministerial Library to read up on Prime Ministers. And we were MEANT to go into the archives, but unfortunately, we didn't actually get a chance to as we ran out of time. I would've loved to go into the archives. Just to see what it looks like, and how things are preserved and such.

On a different topic, I am sort of starting a countdown to the Mock exams in September/October. It's gonna be the last one before exams, and the last one before the TEE when everything is FINALLY over. And...I've only got 8 weeks left!!!

It's too early as of yet to actually think about putting a count down timer on my blog, so I'll just counting down the weeks until it finally does get close enough.

Mishy <3

I Rule...

Well, as the Shadow Deputy Prime Minister at any rate. :P Well, okay fine, so I DON'T exactly rule anything. But I WOULD have...if my party was popular enough...

I make no sense whatsoever do I?

I have a history excursion tomorrow [at Curtin University once again, woohoo- do I really need to go for the Open Day anymore?], and I am officially playing the part of Sir Eric Harrison, Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the Liberal Party.
I also have an ass load to say, and loads of thinking on my feet. As I am roleplaying a parliamentary debate.

Gorgeous.
I just hope I get the full three marks I deserve for my oral after putting in this much work...

Anyway, more news on that tomorrow when I finally do make it to Curtin University for my history excursion.

Oh the joys of life.

I still love history despite what it puts me through...<3

Mishy <3

Time Marches On...

It just kind of hit home a few hours ago that I had just about 13.5 weeks left before the exams.
And the teachers have given us all motivational talks on how to prepare.

I missed the worst with my Chem teacher for now, because he's been off somewhere [possibly America]. Although it hasn't been quite so sane with the other teachers.
My human biology teacher has started to shape up. The Asian group now sitting behind me has begun to shut up for 60% of the lesson. I think we may have just witnessed a miracle in Human Biology.
My P&L teacher decided to spend two entire leassons teaching us how to study. =/ Instead of P&L. I have absolute reason to be worried at this stage.
My history teacher may be the only one who doesn't give a damn if the school gets uprooted by floods, or if Western Australia suddenly discovers that a volcano was hidden under the Perth CBD by all the buildings. With him, the show MUST go on!
Mirichlis in Maths was in a pretty good mood today. I'll have to watch out very closely for him tomorrow. I shudder to think what he may have up his sleeve if he's in this good a mood straight after Open Day Reporting. Or, maybe he just likes our parents better than he does us.
Lit went on as normal. Lots of procrastination, endless talking, debates with McInerny...

He's also badgered us to take a look at our scaled average on the TER calculator which is on the TISC website.

If I do no scaling whatsoever, I figure that I will get 91.65. Which is tres brilliant in my case! But with scaling, I figure that I actually only get 88.95 or something similar to that. Which is not so bad, I am still in the safe zone since my TER only needs to be 81. But in case the cut-off grade for Bachelor of Arts [Communication] decides to annoyingly move itself up, I want to be ready and waiting for it. And...I guess an 88.95 may not be so good after all. =/

Other news regarding the school: I am now firmly convinced that I am surrounded by thieves and possible criminals.
During the holiday, someone brought a torch bomb to school, broke the window of the office and stole 45 Leavers Tops. It's fine for me because I already have mine, but I have friends who unfortunately haven't gotten theirs yet. This is the crappiest thing EVER. I canNOT believe that people would actually just sneak in and steal tops like these, especially since they have no value whatsoever. They have names on them, and there is a track record of who has actually bought these tops. Plus my mates who haven't gotten theirs are completely bummed out. And I have great apathy for whoever's taken them at the moment. Apparently they couldn't stop there either. They broke into the history classroom [my tute room] and stole the new overhead projector as well as this crappy computer that actually squeals at pitches so high my history teacher can't hear it. =/ But the point is that the school had a theft. And I am somewhat upset that this could happen. It's a police matter, but hey, who said that the case would ever be solved?

Heh. And I thought South Africa was dangerous?

Mishy <3

Semester 1 Exams

The joy.

And, well, to be more serious- the horror.

Exams started on Tuesday and I am officially more then half way through.
My timetable looks something like this:

Tuesday [3rd]- Political and Legal Studies
Wednesday [4th]- English Lit and then History
Thursday [5th]- Human Biology
Friday [6th]- Maths
Monday [9th]- Chemistry

And you know what, this timetable actually does look okay. I have enough time [or I hope I will] to study and rave and rant for chem, and all the essay subjects are out of the way first, the ones which literally tell me what's on the exam before I head in.
Unfortunately, not quite so.
For P&L, I answered a total of 5 questions, and 2 essays, which wasn't bad. Then for Lit, which was the next day, I wrote 3 essays. Also expected. But then I had History after and had to do a document study AND 2 MORE ESSAYS! So in total, I wrote 5 essays, with a document study being the near equivalent of an essay, in one day. Plus I had the two from the day before. I had officially written 7 actual essays and one substitute essay if you want to count the document study in. =)
My hand fell off after History.
If you've ever tried to keep your hand straight out, without bending your fingers, it's actually quite easy. Observe it now: it's not hard. But after the History exam, I tried to straighten my fingers, and they just bounced back into a nice curve. My hand was shaking, and it would not straighten. Potential arthritis patient perhaps?

I had Human Biology today, which was alright. I didn't quite know what hormone the thyroid gland secreted and stimulated, but that was, admittedly, my fault for not studying it- I guessed it though. I think I did alright for the extended answers though, because I drew lots of pretty diagrams and wrote about a page and a bit per long answer. Of course, it didn't quite help that the pain from the essays came back during the long answer questions.

So tomorrow, I have Maths exams and Chemistry on Monday. Oh the joy. Maths is alright, just need a bit more practice today, and for chem, I will need...a multitude of practice? Rats, doesn't help that I have to go to work on Saturday as well...Ah well, just gotta use the time wisely.

Anywho, back to the grindstone...

Mishy <3