Big News!

I am so, so, so, so sorry for not posting in a very long time but things have happened that I couldn't help such as GCSEs, A-Levels and Sixth Form (which is a bit scary...).

My big news, however, is that I am no longer just a humble blogger with big dreams, I am also a bone-fide journalist. I am no longer that faceless girl sitting at her computer writing a load of rubbish for the internet. I am now a girl sitting sitting at her computer writing a load of rubbish for a newspaper.

I still haven't quite got used to the whole 'opening the paper and seeing your own face thing'. It can be quite scary at times to think that someone has been reading what I have been writing and nodding, shaking their head, laughing or tutting at something I have written. I realise this has been happening on here for a while but now there is something physical to hold.

The newspaper in question is The Nottingham Post and if anyone is in that area, I am in on a Friday on the Youth Page sometimes and I am very excited. This is a short post because now I have to go and write my column which is due in for Tuesday and I have no idea what to write about yet...

Geeky Inspiration

I recently read my good friend Katie's post entitled "The BEST Genre of Music Out There", it claims that the best genre of music is to be found on adverts and I have to say I agree that some are rather excellent. Although I do not think it is the best place to find good music. I shall first explain that my life is rather a nerdy one, I enjoy Doctor Who marathons on a regular basis and I am also partial to a Sherlock marathon once in a while (although that does take rather a long time, nine hours in fact...). I often try to deduce things about new people I meet, taking inspiration from the original Sherlock Holmes himself. I find nothing better than staying in on a Saturday night playing video games and watching videos from this year's VidCon (which I REALLY wanted to go to) and...listening to music. This is where my post really begins.

Due to my frankly startling obsession with all things Doctor Who I have discovered a band I rather like. They  are called Chameleon Circuit and, I can put this no other way, basically, they write songs about aforementioned Doctor Who. Before you stop reading and run away from the blog never to return, please hear me out. The music is rather good, some songs are about specific episodes (Big Bang 2) and some are about characters (Mr. Pond).

I will emphasise this, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LIKE (or even watch) DOCTOR WHO TO LIKE THE MUSIC. Obviously it helps, because you will understand the references to the show but you can still enjoy the music even if you do not understand what it is about. The band consists of five members, all YouTubers, Charlie McDonnell, Alex Day, Michael Aranda, Liam Dryden and Ed Blann. They are all really good vloggers in their own right but together they are BRILLIANT.

So basically what I am saying is, yes Katie, some of the best music is to be found on adverts, but in my opinion, the best music, once in a while, comes from some geeky inspiration.

Watch Charlie McDonnell's video about their album Still Got Legs here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg6b-yuabjI

Dorset

So, half term was a couple of weeks ago now, and it was pretty good, I suppose. To be honest it did not really feel much like half term, what with Study Leave, but I did go to Dorset. I had been before and I do not really want to go back, because well, it's a bit boring... I am a city girl at heart and all that green just got a bit tedious after a while... It may have been a bit boring but there were a lot of dramas during the week.

I will start with the weather. I have never in my whole life seen rain like it, or felt wind like that! The only thing that came close was being in the middle of a hurricane when I was in the mountains of North Carolina in the USA. In other words, it was like standing under a helicopter with blades the length of the Great Wall of China while having a bucket of water poured on your head. People say I exaggerate. I do, but not in this case...much. Opening the back door took two people otherwise you would be flung across the field behind the house. Closing the door? That took a Roman army prepared to battle anything, and it really was a battle. Plants were blown over (dramatic huh?), dogs chased toys that were being flung down the field (no, seriously) and umbrellas turned inside out. Ok, so just re-read that sentence. Doesn't sound very dramatic does it? Um....this is awkward.

Anyway, next drama. The beds. Oh. My. Croft. It was like sitting on a trampoline that had collapsed. You sat on the bed on the first floor and descended into the basement. I do not know who had been sleeping on there but my days they must have been BIG. My back by the end of the week must had molded to the bed I'm sure because it hurt, a lot. I tried to sit up, but ended up just rolling backwards into the wall. Oh dear. If I'm honest, I've had better nights sleeps.

Oh yeah and the big problem. Big is a good word to use because simply put, the house was not big, at all. I am 5'11" and my head wasn't a comfortable from the ceiling and I walked into the ceiling on numerous occasions. My mum had the same problem and I really don't know how the owner coped because he must have been at least 6'3". 

So some up the 'holiday' in a sentence? I've had better.

I'm back!

Hello readers! I have returned from GCSE hell and although I have not completely finished I only have two more left and they are both German exams and are bearable and plus, I couldn't leave my readers for such a long time again! I have a lot to tell...

Don't you hate it when you come out of an exam and think, "That was OK. I did it without much trouble!" then behind you emerging from the school hall are all your friends panicking about the exam saying it was impossible and they are going to fail? Yes? Well this happened to me on a couple of occasions during my exams. Unfortunately for me the people stressing about the exams were some of the cleverest in the year. They are also lovely people and somewhat modest, hence my confusion about whether they were just being modest or were genuinely worried. I just needed to forget about that exam once I had done it and simply...run away. Except that was not really feasible so I went home and ate chocolate instead while watching one of my many TV box sets. No doubt they will still get a better grade than me on those exams after panicking me after I felt fine!

The opposite also happened, I came out worried about the fact the longest question, worth the most marks, was on a topic I didn't know much about, only to find that everyone else felt absolutely fine. You can't imagine the stress... I have got to the stage now, however, after fourteen of my sixteen exams, where I am able to forget about them and just do absolutely NOTHING, and that is so lovely. I have prom coming up this week and am extremely excited to see how my friends will all look and to have a good time after exam stress.

Sorry this hasn't been a particularly funny or interesting post but I thought I ought to update you all on what I have been doing before I write anything else! I will do another post on my frankly 'interesting' trip to Dorset. I when I say interesting I mean in the sense of when you ask your mum whether she likes your outfit and she says with 'that' look on her her face - "Um, yeah, it's....interesting".

Apology in Advance

I know it has only been a couple of days since I wrote last but I need to make an apology in advance.

I am 15 years of age (as my regular readers would have discovered in Musings of a 15 year old) and therefore this year have my GCSE exams. My first exam is on the 11th May and from that point until the 27th June I will not be posting, if I do please tell me off, because I should be revising. So this post is simply to apologise for not posting during that period and probably not from now until then as these last couple of weeks have been full of frantic revision. I shall prove this by telling you that my post on Annoying People was based on an experience that happened over two months ago...

So this post comes to an end... Readers, I bid you a farewell and I shall see you again after the torture of my GCSEs are over! Wish me luck!

Maia xx

Annoying People

Can I first start by apologising for not posting for such a long time! I fear you may feel I have become one of the people this post is about. I simply have not had any time, it's all revision revision revision for me at the minute. Today I have taken a break from aforementioned revision to talk to you lovely people.

I realise the topic of this post could be a tad controversial as different people find different things annoying, but one recent experience of mine on an aeroplane enlightened me of a group of people who simply cannot help but be annoying. So there I was sat innocently on an aisle seat watching a television programme on my tablet PC (sorry but I don't know about copyrighting laws...) with my headphones in. The television programme in question was Top Gear, and in this specific episode, they were in Iceland. I was watching it and giggling to my self silently as the car's tyre caught fire, when I felt a strange prodding sensation in my right arm. I paused the programme, removed my right headphone and looked to my right to find the woman sat next to me staring at the screen. As soon as I paused the programme she looked at me and asked "Where are they?".

I am in no doubt that the expression on my face was, are you being serious? I stared at her in confusion and questioningly answered "Iceland?". She then nodded and mumbled something about how she thought that was where it was. Then reached over and pressed play on my tablet PC! I mean seriously, who does that?! As soon as the episode finished I packed my tablet away and got a book out, praying she wouldn't start turning the pages for me... Fortunately I survived and she fell asleep.

This incident led me to believe that there are people out there who simply have no idea how annoying something like that is. They just do things without realising that one day they are going to be that old woman with 17 cats living in an old peoples estate and hoarding newspapers from the 1920s. I do not mean to cause offence and these people probably do not know it themselves, but I am going to make a plea:


"Please think about what you are doing before you do it!"

Maybe, we all have that annoying streak within us, and it is more prominent in some people than others. But seriously, I cannot be the only one to find my plane experience, if not annoying, then at least a tad weird?

Me? Lazy? No?!

Welcome to my 20th post! We are constantly bombarded nowadays with talk of obesity and the need for exercise and you may have read in Interviews that I am not the sportiest person in the world, due to my shock when the Head of my school presumed that I was sporty. I enjoy some sports such as eating and sleeping and the more contemporary ones such as rounders and netball. But there are some sports which really get in on my pip, due to the fact they are not real sports.
Here are my top five most annoying sports:


5. Running - One reason I think it is annoying is probably because I cannot do it, but most of all I do not see the point. To quote Miranda Hart, "Running should only be done professionally, or as a child. Or when your close to a train station, but check your watch first" and I have to say I agree with her. Yes, running gets you from one place to another quicker, but running 100 metres down a school field has no benefit to you whatsoever other than having an excuse to lie down in the middle of P.E.

4. Dance - I realise this is probably a bit controversial as I am a massive fan of Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing with the Stars for the Americans). I agree it is a great form of exercise and takes a lot of skill, which I lack considerably. But realistically it is not a sport, it is great to watch but hardly promotes team spirit and in my opinion can get a bit boring after a while, especially when you're five years old (yes, I got kicked out of dance class when I was five).


3. Rhythmic Gymnastics - Generally I draw the line as gymnastics full stop. This is because my gymnastics lessons usually consisted of the other two in my group doing some sort of clever trick while I just stood there and nodded, but rhythmic gymnastics is just, well, ridiculous. Gymnasts are very talented people, with all their back flips and handstands and....stuff, but the rhythmic gymnastics, simply put, is a lot of fancy ribbon waving. Yes it's very pretty, and probably tiring, but it is not a sport.


2. Table Tennis - Now, something I actually quite like. It is fun on holiday, when it is cold in the sea or the pool, to go into the games room and play a game of table tennis. Not in school. It is not exercise. It is tennis for lazy people. I enjoy playing it, but not as exercise. I was discussing this in said table tennis 'lesson' with my friends, we were all unanimous in our decision. TABLE TENNIS IS NOT A SPORT.


1. Wii Fit - Need I say any more?


Other things that annoy me are putting 'Engineer' after every profession such as "Underwater Crockery Engineer" is believe it or, someone who does the washing up, but that's a whole other story... 

Fear

I realise I am probably a bit late with discovering the genius of a certain show, I have found a new obsession with, but better late than never.
The television show in question is the absolutely brilliant BBC show - Sherlock. It is a modern take on the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and is set in 21st century London. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Mr Holmes himself and Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson. The writing is absolutely brilliant, but if it is not acted well, then the story line goes to waste. Fortunately Benedict Cumberbatch is utterly genius.

I am currently making my way through the second series and have one more episode to watch, which I am told is a shocker. So I have just watched 'The Hounds of Baskerville'... This is where the title of the post comes into effect. That episode definitely has the fear factor. I was warned by my friends to clutch a pillow and prepare for a heart attack. So I did, still thinking that was a bit extreme and over the top, but they were right, that is one of the freakiest things I have seen on a screen for ages. I have not seen the 'Woman In Black' and if I cannot cope with a rogue dog, that is made bigger by a hallucinogenic drug, then I do not think the 'Woman In Black' is for me, at all.

I have a few fears, birds (specifically Magpies - DON'T LAUGH) being alone outside in the dark and meeting Justin Bieber, but other than that, nothing really. But, it shocked me that people can be afraid of literally anything. I used to watch a programme on BBC 3 called panic room, where people tried to overcome their phobias and I remember a specific woman who had a phobia of - no I am not kidding - buttons. Yes, buttons. It is known as Koumpounaphobia, which is a bit of a mouthful. So I went online and found some strange phobias:


Fear of opinions - Allodoxaphobia
Fear of gravity - Barophobia
Fear of chopsticks - Consecotaleophobia
Fear of chins - Geniophobia
and my favourite:
Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth - Arachibutyrophobia

These are just some of the thousands of others I found online. I have Ornithophobia and Biebophobia, or maybe I just made that second one up... The thing is, are these phobias and fears just psychological or do people actually have a fear of them, spawned from an experience or upbringing? Oh, look, my blog just got serious. Anyway, I really must get back to revision, I definitely got a bit sidetracked here...again...

Maturity

Ah, Year 7. What is was like not to have a care in the world, learning multiplication in maths and spelling in English. How I miss it. Being in Year 11, I look back on those care free days with nostalgia. I realise (because I was there once, y’know) that in Year 7, more than one piece of homework due in for Monday feels like the end of the world, but it is not. Once you get to Year 11, having seven pieces in for the next day seems closer to the real end of the world. I admit, the reason I have seven pieces of homework in for tomorrow is because I haven’t done any for about a week...That is what truly inspired me to write this, the difference between Year 7 and 11 is so great, but not for the reasons you might think. For example, many people think one reason is that the workload increases, which is does, because Year 11s have GCSEs and are more mature, so can cope with the increased workload. Not true.

I have comprised the maturity scale for Year 7 to 11:
Year 7: Coming out of primary school. The being insane instinct is still there. So Year 7s tend not to be the most mature people in the world, but to be honest, that is to be expected.
Year 8: Maturity level growing. Having a year below you seems very cool and grown up, makes you feel important but the instinct to be crazy is still lingering.
Year 9: Maturity peaks. Insane instinct has gone. In the middle year of senior school, least worries, no fitting in worries, no GCSEs, no coursework. Everything is perfect.
Year 10: Starting GCSEs, don’t panic. Insanity returning... Have to be big and confident in front of other years, but clearly the maturity is on the downhill slide.
Year 11: Oh dear... Last year of compulsory school, last year of GCSEs and the result is...? The maturity you have just built up over the past 4 years just went out the window.

Now, if the above scale has just offended you and you have complaints, please...keep them to yourself.

That is my point, Year 11 is the downfall of everyone, maturity wise, Year 11 is a serious year and I care about my work but it just seems like the best year to have fun. I mean at the end of the day...I mean, year, a lot of friends are leaving. You may not see them very often at all after that and that just seems, well, sad. The maturity level of some Year 11s is higher than others, and some people think they are more mature than they are, although they are probably not. But in my eyes, this, of course, is nothing to worry about, because, just think girls, no matter what age you are, at least there will always be a group of people less mature than you, teenage boys.

If you want a truly 'mature' blog visit: www.hfutersbox.blogspot.com , it's a tad more serious than mine but a good read nonetheless!

Interviews

I am finally coming to end of Year 11. This is it, the end of compulsory school and that sounds FABULOUS. Legally, if I wanted to, I could leave school for good now, go and find a job, or get an apprenticeship. I could do whatever I want. Except...I'm not...

Instead, I am going to sixth form at my current school. I have only been there five years, so as far as I am concerned two more years is nothing. I can hear you say "ONLY five years?! That is ages!". I realise it sounds a bit contradictory but compared to people who have been at the school since nursery, my measly five years seems like a week to them.

I promise this post relates to the title, it does, honest. It is entitled 'Interviews' because, last week I had my scholarship application for Sixth Form interview with the Head and Deputy Head at my school. I admit, I probably should have done more preparation for it, but I had just finished my mock exams and really was not in the mood to prepare questions. So, all the way to school on the bus that morning, I got my friends to think of as many interview questions as possible and ask me them. After half and hour of constant grilling from my friends, I felt I had the perfect answers to every possible question the head and deputy head could ask me. When I say "perfect answers", what I mean is, I would end up lying through my teeth if I wanted to make a good impression... Now, I know that sounds awful, but it is true, of course all the answers were based on truth, only I had modified the truth to make it sound more impressive by saying it in a certain way.

So, the time is 11.55am. I am sitting on the white leather chairs outside the heads office, waiting to be called in. I felt mentally prepared, I had the answers to every possible question me and my friends could think of and I was sitting down, meaning I couldn't faint. Only, there was one problem, I was unbelievably nervous. I tried to calm myslef down, but nothing was working. Finally, after five minutes of hyperventilating, the head came out and called me in. I sat down on the chair, and almost immediately, I forgot EVERY question I had prepared answers to. The head and deputy tried their best to say everything was fine, but of course, nothing was working. So, the first question came - "Maia. I know you are quite sporty..." WAIT, WHAT?! Sporty? Me? Then I thought, does she think I am somebody else? Maybe I got my time wrong and am not supposed to be here... The head carried on "...what do you think of the 2012 olympics being held in London?" For the life of me I cannot remember what I said. I am hoping it was not my real opinion, because to be honest, I couldn't give a monkeys about it...

As the interview progressed, I started to relax, it then became clear to me that not one of the questions I had prepared was being asked... But somehow, I was answering them. I don't know how, but I did. There was an odd moment about half way through the interview, where I think I got a little too relaxed and attacked the piece of fluff floating in the air in front of me...

Each interview is meant to last 15 minutes. Considering I was in there for 35, I think it went quite well. The best part is, I don't think I lied once, just trying to work out now, whether that is a good thing...