http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:mc043&section=today deviantART RSS for by:mc043 en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:44:33 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/25154959/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/25154959/ Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:25:40 PDT

New in brief:
- Exams/Assignments all done for Semester one, leaving me with 5 weeks break
- Slightly changing my plans for the remainder of this year. Still at uni, just hopefully not so stressed
- Done lots of baking in the past little while. It is delicious. If I start gaining weight, you'll know why...
- I now have a blog over at [link] so if you want to keep tabs on me, that's probably a better way then waiting for this to get updated!

Enjoy June!

-Michal

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/24419772/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/24419772/ Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:28:40 PDT
Enjoy the rest of the first semester.

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/21889185/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/21889185/ Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:42:05 PST
Also, I've opened a shop at [link] which will soon be is waiting to sell my creations. So, if you like anything you see turning up in my gallery, chances are it'll be for sale over there soonish. If not, ask and I might make another one just for you.

Life Update:
- Won NaNo last month, am very happy with that
- Just spent a week with the family for my brother's wedding
- Still trying to find work for the holidays, have a couple of possibilities (fingers crossed!)
- Going to a conference ([link]) in San Francisco area in January, and going to sing in Carnegie Hall in February
- Going flatting as soon as I get back from the conference

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/21196044/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/21196044/ Tue, 28 Oct 2008 01:40:16 PDT
Among other things, my camera is presently broken. This is very sad, as that means I currently do not have a camera to take to America with me. (Yup, I'm off to America in February for a few weeks)

This coming month, I'm once again attempting NaNoWriMo. Hopefully I will be a little more successful this year. If you want to follow my progress, head on over to [link]

In other news:
- I have a flat for next year
- I have 4 exams coming up in the first half of November
- I need to find a way of earning money this Summer

-M

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/18313260/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/18313260/ Tue, 13 May 2008 22:12:37 PDT 4 assignments due on/before June 9th (one very major group project release, most worth 15%ish)
-> 48Hours Friday May 16 - Sunday May 17 (I'm production manager of a team of 40ish people)
-> Several 21st brithday parties (Had one, 3 more before the hols, 1 more during them)
-> Ongoing contract work (software project, really should start working on that again)
-> Exams towards end of June (3 of them, all in the same week

Then I can go home for a bit. Until I go to Auckland to sing. And then back to Christchurch to start all over again.

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/17119320/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/17119320/ Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:10:45 PST
I got a bit behind on dA over the holidays due to not having unlimited time on the internet, so if there's anything you want me to see between about the middle of Dec and now, link me to it and I will follow.

The chorus I'm in here in Christchurch is going to New York in February '09 to sing in Carnegie Hall and I'm going with them!
It's costing quite a bit and we're only there for 4 nights, but still, it's New York! and Carnegie Hall! and I'm going to be singing there! like, on stage and everything in our ridiculously OTT chorus costume(s).

On the whole, I'm looking forward to my year. There should be lots of cool stuff happening, and hopefully I won't get as overwhelmed as I did last year.

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/15715396/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/15715396/ Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:27:29 PST
Good luck to anyone still attempting it. Go hard, it's almost over!

-=-

I'm heading off to Christchurch tomorrow morning for the premiere of Men Shouldn't Sing, which is on Sunday night. Should be fun.

After that it's back to Tauranga for the Summer.

-=-

And I got a pasta machine for birthday/Christmas

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/15335230/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/15335230/ Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:19:41 PST
other people I know doing it include:


people I've met from procrastinating in irc chatrooms include:


current Word Count: 12190

user page over there: [link]

And the offer from this journal [link] still stands, so comment here or there and I'll add you to the list.

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/14907997/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/14907997/ Thu, 04 Oct 2007 04:08:02 PDT
Anyway, seeing as I keep requesting work from people, it's time i stuck my own flag out and offered some. So:

I'm prepared to do a piece of work. One each, for 10 folk. My drawing skills be rather minimal, so I was thinking more along the lines of poetry/lyrics/photo/.

I won't be able to get much done anytime soon, but stick your name down if you be wanting something (a request of *what* you want would be useul too) and I will get round to it at some point in time. Possibly not until the Summer, but possibly while procrastinating exam study. Here goes:

You MUST duplicate this offer in your own journal and make 10
sketches for other people too. (Copy only this paragraph. Make your own explanation.)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/14281537/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/14281537/ Wed, 22 Aug 2007 01:39:48 PDT
I'm over halfway through my first degree.

I don't feel at all ready to take on the big wide world yet. It's academia for me a while longer yet. Current plan is to eventually have a BSc(hons) in Computer Science & Pure Mathematics. Should be fun!

Have managed not to die this term. Which is always a good thing. Am enjoying Uni, work, Navs, violin, chorus, quartet, orchestra... I do too much.

Any uni people heading off on holiday soon, have a good holiday. I'm sticking around here for our holidays. Will be spending them at uni working on various assignments.

Back to work now!

-M

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/12914629/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/12914629/ Thu, 10 May 2007 18:36:29 PDT
Life's been pretty quiet on the photography front. I think my batteries are wearing out, so my camera will only take a couple of pictures before it has a fit and says to recharge the batteries. Will have to get new ones. But I have just got Photoshop, so hopefully will have some fun with that when I get a spare moment. I still have some older stuff I can play around with.

Uni is going reasonably well, still haven't failed any major tests. Have been spending a fair amount of time in the lab, with assignments and labs to complete not too surprising.


In cosc208 we've just switched from using c under linux (Fedora 6) to c++ in Visual Studio. It's been a while since I've used a Windows machine for anything other than displaying songwords at church and web-browsing, so I'm finding that interesting. It's a bit of a pain, because until we don't have to use Visual Studio anymore, I can't work on my Mac.


So yes, standard sort of life-in-general-ness.
Uni=assignments+tutorial work+study
Chorus=fun+hard work
Quartet=heaps of fun

And I get to be production manager for a 48 Hour film comp team.

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/12214746/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/12214746/ Sat, 17 Mar 2007 03:48:32 PDT
So, yes. Life. Uni is back in session. 3 weeks until the end of tern now. So have a COSC assignment to do as well as the usual round of fortnightly MATH assignment, weekly GRMN Arbeitsblatt and fortnightly MATH tut prep.


I'm currently having fun switching between Java and c in labs. 208 is a c programming course, but 225 uses Java Swing. I'm finding that c requires a bit of a different mindset to Java, especially when you start dealing with pointers. I'm really enjoying 225, which is HCI (Human Computer Interaction). We've finished the section on GUI programming and are now getting into the psychology and ideas behind good GUI design, which is looking to be very interesting.


Canterbury have enough players to send 3 teams to uni games this year (which are in Christchurch, so we aren't being sent far!), so we actually have trials. Hopefully I won't end up in the c team, though I don't hold out much hope of making the a team.

And Ive started violin lessons again. Have had 2 lessons, and am enjoying it. I may end up joining an orchestra next term depending how busy I am.

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/11490122/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/11490122/ Fri, 19 Jan 2007 05:01:18 PST
So, I've had my 6 week holiday at home during which I successfully mananged to catch up with hardly anyone. Sorry about that. I'm now back in Christchurch where I've been hanging around home for the past couple of weeks and hopefully starting work soon. I've got a couple of temporary violin students too. So I'm doing more practice than I used to.

And I'm Anaemic. Which explains how tired I was getting towards the end of last year. So I got put on iron tablets (which is not very fun) and gradually got less tired again. Until I got to the point when I went back to not sleeping very well.

In other news, I'm 18 now, which hasn't made that much of a difference to me really. And I've been invited to do honours in Computer Science. Which is great, because that's what I wanted to do anyway. Just goes to show that girls can code.

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/10462254/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/10462254/ Sat, 21 Oct 2006 03:04:00 PDT
While they were away the network at 86 went down, and I had no idea how to fix it. Hence my non-appearance on dA for the past few weeks. However, it was fixed yesterday so I'm back!

Heading into finals now. 5 exams then holidays!! I have work for the Summer down here at uni. Hopefully I will be spending my Summer coding in C#, so my few weeks at home will be spent catching up with friends and experimenting with C#. It will be god to be working in the field I hope to get into careerwise.

I'll be home on November 13th (and 18 on Nov 7th ). I'm staying in Tauranga for 3 weeks or so. 25th of November is the Taupo Cycle Challenge which I am doing 80km of (1/2 of the way round the lake, a friend is doing the other half). Head over to [link] for sparse updates on how my training is (or is not) going.

Anywho. Everyone have a lovely Summer! Be safe, be seen. Watch for cyclists. Don't drink & drive. Slip, slop, slap. etc. etc. etc. And don't forget to swim between the flags!! (unless there aren't any, in which case do whatever you like, just don't drown. I would be sad.)

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/9834608/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/9834608/ Sun, 27 Aug 2006 03:52:59 PDT Mood: on holiday
Listening to: Summer of '69
Reading: Rachel's Tears
Watching: High School Musical

So the last day of term was fairly stressful. Until 1:30ish at which stage i handed my last assignments for the term in and immediately felt much more holidayish and lighter! It felt so good to be able to sit down and enjoy my lunch and a chat with a classmate.

So, tomorrow I'm heading off to Dunedin for the weekend to go stay with Tim & Ellie. It will be good to catch up with them. I get back on Sunday for another week hanging around in Christchurch.

I'm supposed to start training for my 80km bike ride that I'm doing in November. I haven't. The race is the Taupo cycle challenge, around lake Taupo. The full distance is 160km but I'm in a team of 2 so only going halfway.

I bought a new phone on Saturday. Same number, they even transferred my contacts for me. I finally got too annoyed with my old phone and its freezing. The new one is very basic and quite small.

*begins to fall asleep and realises that if I am falling asleep writing this then probably nobody wants to read it*

I'll try and get motivated enough to go on a photo mission sometime soon.

-Michal

Edit: Anyone who cares, have a look at [link] and tell me what you think. I'm possibly going to run off to sea (well, to Tauranga anyway) for 5 months in the second half of next year in order to do this course. Still in the should I/shouldn't I/when should I do it anyway stage, so any thoughts will be welcomed. (If it's too long to put in a comment, then e-mail me.)
And I am now back from Dunedin
-M




]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/9698404/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/9698404/ Sat, 12 Aug 2006 03:55:24 PDT Mood: unmotivated
Reading: chem textbooks
Watching: Crazy/Beautiful

2000 words to write, by Friday. on a topic that I currently don't know much about. And with my current motivation levels in regard to Chemistry, I'm finding it quite hard to begin. Trouble is, I don't really care about chem much anymore. I'm not doing it next year. I just have to pass and do well enough to get a B+ average. So tomorrow, I'll head over to uni and spend a few hours in the Physical Sciences Library. Fun.

News:
-I only have 1 week of term left. I'm not quite sure if this is a good thing or not, as I have 2 assignments due on the last day of term, as well as a test on Thursday night. On the other hand, I'm not sure how I'd cope if the term was much longer.
-My team was the top Tertiary-junior team in Christchurch (not nationally) at the programming comp. I was the only girl at the event in Chch. It was fun.

Goodnight, I've got church in the morning, then a lot of Chem to do
-Michal

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/9539393/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/9539393/ Sun, 30 Jul 2006 02:38:35 PDT Got up at 9, had a shower got dressed went to uni via the supermarket to get lunch for my team. Spent the day in the COSC lab practicing for next Saturday's programming comp. We finished at 8pm, by which time we were all fairly tired and beginning to laugh hysterically at our own stupid mistakes (a sure sign that it's time to pack it in). I then went home and did another couple of hours of programming before I went to bed.
Sorry, you don't need to listen to this. I do.

So News in Brief:
-Next Saturday I'm doing the New Zealand Programming Competition from 1-6 (yup, i think I'm definitely a geek )
-I played basketball on Friday, it was fun. Despite the fact i can't throw, catch or get the ball in the hoop
-My car gets to Christchurch at the end of September
-The new coins come out tomorrow. No more 5c
-We had a student protest on wednesday. It was silly. But we won.

Goodnight peoples, I'm off to do Math and go to bed (I might leave the math til tomorrow)
-Michal

Edit: I just got a month's subscription courtesy of *Aotearoa

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/9409642/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/9409642/ Mon, 17 Jul 2006 19:58:55 PDT
Yay! now i only have 2 and 1 hours of chem on a Mon & Tues instead of 6 & 5!

In other news:

-I did well in my 1st semester 100-level papers. I'm not doing quite so well in the chem, but that's cos it's actually rather difficult! (of course, the fact that I don't tend to study is entirely unconnected )

-I'm probably getting a car in September. It's little and blue.

-I gave blood on Thursday. Now I have a bruise on my left arm where they broke my vein. They eventually took it out of my right arm. At least they gave me a chocolate fish for my trouble. I hope someone appreciates that blood. ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/9014152/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/9014152/ Thu, 08 Jun 2006 23:53:28 PDT I survived my 8am lecture, fixed up my COSC Lab 9 cos I figured out I'd stuffed it up, went to chem, went to COSC. Pretty typical Friday.

Blue Skies smiling at me...

Sunshine is great. It was warm today! By 1pm, anyway.

I got my COSC assignment result and I got 52.9/50 I'm stoked.

Exams should be interesting. Not sure how the CHEM one will be. ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/8964043/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/8964043/ Sat, 03 Jun 2006 23:04:29 PDT
I've been missing Photoshop, but being a poor student can't afford to get my own copy (and can't get it free how I did at home, as that was a Windows version). So I downloaded the open source image editing software GIMP and am now enjoying playing with it and figuring out how it all works. So far, it looks pretty good. Perhaps I should have waited until after exams before I downloaded it...

-Michal ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/8879550/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/8879550/ Fri, 26 May 2006 01:28:58 PDT
So tomorrow, I fly to Auckland where I will go to a family friend's wedding. (I wasn't expecting to go to it, as I'm in Christchurch, but now that I want to go home anyway, I'm going in time for it.) I should be in Tauranga on Saturday or Sunday, not sure which. Staying in Tauranga until after the funeral (Mon/Tues) then hopefully getting back to Christchurch in time to do my MATH115 test on Wednesday night. ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/8868673/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/8868673/ Wed, 24 May 2006 21:53:58 PDT
Today I turn 1! I have now been on dA for a year.

I'd like to thank =theodamus ~Roger-the-ranger for getting me into this in the first place (all that time you guys spent checking your dA before school).

In other news:
-I've finished & submitted my COSC assignment, complete with bonus step.
-I still need to finish my MATH assigment & tutorial prep for tomorrow
-I'm back in Tauranga June 24th - July 8th, so if you want to see me, that would be a good time. (assuming you are also in Tauranga)
-I haven't got round to finding a violin teacher yet, but I have now got a phone number for one thanks to my old teacher
-I got my scholarship money last week, so my savings account is looking healthy ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/8793600/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/8793600/ Tue, 16 May 2006 23:02:47 PDT
i) I can quite successfully be independent. In fact, I quite enjoy it.

ii) The Windows/Mac debate is rather like the Ford/Holden debate. It's never going to be resolved, people get very passionate about it, and it really doesn't matter, it's just personal preference.

iii) Most of what I learnt in year 13 Chemistry was not quite correct. Apparently neither is most of what you learn in 1st year, but that doesn't affect me as i never learnt it.

iv) Most lecturers have interesting quirks (such as the stats lecturer that often says 'okey doke', and the Maths lecturer who ends his friday lecture with 'go the crusaders'. Also the chem lecturer who decided that a Rhinocerous is a mixture of a dragon & a unicorn, and another who related transition metal complexes to the Spanish Inquisition!)

v) Macs can right click! I connected a basic usb mouse to my laptop and voila! I have right-clickingness. So it is the hardware, not the OS that affects the right-clicking ability. Hmm... Now I can ctrl-click and right click.

vi) Not all assignments are easy. I'm currently attempting to make my COSC assignment playable with a mouse. So far it's not working. I have got the graphics going, just the mouse input is still useless.

Overall, my first term went quite well. I haven't failed any tests/assignments that I am aware of yet. Just waiting on two more results - a chem assignment I can get back tomorrow & a maths test. ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/8576340/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/8576340/ Mon, 24 Apr 2006 22:33:17 PDT
Rules: The 1st player of this "game" starts with the topic "6 weird habits/things about yourself" and people who get tagged need to write a journal about their 6 weird habits/things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you are tagged" in their devpage comments and tell them to read yours....

Here goes... This could take a while.

1) I routinely grow my hair out for a few years, get bored and cut it short again. i then start growing it again...

2) I program games into my calculator. Currently I only have Connect 4 on it. (I am now working on a Java version of Connect 4)

3) I sporadically collect stamps.

4) I spent 3 Saturday mornings doing Scholarship level Calculus AFTER the exam. And I actually enjoyed it.

I'm not doing too badly, only 2 to go...

5) I go to church every Sunday, and read my bible & pray every night before I go to sleep. I try to anyway, sometimes I get lazy

6) I write out most of my lecture notes twice. Once during the lecture, then again later on. If I leave it too late I sometimes can't read what I have written.

So, who to tag...

~thebluelagoon ~courtis ~JeezyKreezy ~Roger-the-ranger ~i-want-a-life ~Chisadako ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/8251763/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/8251763/ Fri, 24 Mar 2006 01:43:56 PST Yes I am still down here in my little corner of Christchurch. I emerge fom the south at Easter. I'm in the sounds for Easter then up to Wellington for Uni games and finally getting back to Tauranga on April 22nd. i will be in tauranga for a week before flying back to Christchurch on April 30th just in time for my 8am lecture on May 1st.

NEWS:

-I handed my first uni assigment in today. It was a fairly easy MATH108 assignment. I haven't got any other assignments yet although I should get another one next week.

-I've discovered the Computer Science students' version of texting or talking in lectures... I've had random guys sending me stuff on Bluetooth ever since I got my laptop. It's useful having a laptop in COSC lectures as I can follow through with the examples and test out other methods of solving the problem as i go instead of trying to remember it later. It's also a bit distracting when I get bluetooth file transfer things popping up...

-CHEM is turning out to be rather difficult. Perhaps it will become clearer when I begin to actually study. I might start tomorrow.

-Nobody has got food poisoning from my cooking yet (or from Michael's). This is good. Long may it continue.

-I'm thinking about getting some violin lessons again. I'll wait a couple of months, see how much practice I do, see if I can somehow afford it, then talk to Judith. She's sure to know most of the teachers around. I would really like to teach violin part-time someday.

Anyway, that will do for today's installment. Hope you are well and happy.
-Michal

P.S. If you don't know what Bluetooth is: A specification for short-range radio
links between mobile computers, mobile phones, digital
cameras, and other portable devices. (www.dictionary.com)

& I still miss you ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/8038019/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/8038019/ Wed, 01 Mar 2006 13:54:41 PST
Basically, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I do miss you guys a lot. The hardest thing is that I can't just talk to you and discuss things with you and actually see you! So please, please, please keep in touch. OK?

NEWS:
-I am doing some of the 200-level honours chem papers. I decided not to do the whole course, as that would be 90 points of chem, leaving not much time for other papers. (the official fulltime study is about 120 points, I'm doing 145) And I now have 8am lectures 4 days a week. Except on Thursdays I don't have lectures until 12!

-Yesterday I got lots of free stuff. I spent $250 on textbooks and got a free recipe book. Then I went to a Microsoft Demo and got free pizza & software. Now I just have to wait until I get my scholarships so I can buy a laptop...

-Scholarships...I was stoked last Thursday to discover that I had passed all 3 of my scholarship exams. Chemistry was 'outstanding'. From that I earnt $2000/year for 3 years, provided I keep up a 'b' average.

-I was in the paper on Monday morning. A lovely big photo of me. If you want to see it, then go to [link] and go to the national news, education page. There should be an article about Canterbury university doing podcasts. the headline was 'Portable Lectures Excite Student'

-If you want to see where I'm living, you should be able to see the lounge and 'orange' in the house I'm boarding in. (The 'orange' is Michael's studio which has very bright walls) Once again the news is about the podcasts.

phew! that was longish...
Keep in touch

PS to pass schol calc this year (last year) you only needed to get 20 marks out of a possible 120. That was a ridiculous exam. (I got 35) ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/7946208/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/7946208/ Sun, 19 Feb 2006 18:48:25 PST
Unfortunately, I wasn't actually planning on doing a degree in Chem at all. i was planning on doing Computer Science & Maths not Computer Science & Chem. If I did the chem honours course I would still do computer science, cos that's what I want to do. I do love Chemistry, It's great fun, I just didn't think I'd take it right through. Now I'm not sure.

Questions, comments, anything that could possibly help me? Speak now (within the next few days) or forever hold your peace ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/7928992/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/7928992/ Fri, 17 Feb 2006 19:58:45 PST I've been down here since 3:20pm Tuesday 14th Feb. So far I have entirely escaped homesickness...
On Thursday I felt very skilled and self-sufficient as I set up my bike. (Cycle computer, rear light, pump bracket, brake adjusting, checking seat adjustment etc.) And yay for broadband!!! One of the perks of living where I am (right up there with heated tile floor in the bathroom). Unfortunately it's also a long ride to Uni.
=theodamus I hope you are settling in well up in Wellington. Everybody else who is still at school I hope you have an awesome year, and don't get too stressed around nationals & exams. ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/7791740/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/7791740/ Fri, 03 Feb 2006 15:45:49 PST
No not an NZQA one, those results still aren't out. I got one from the Otumoetai Lions Taiwan Education Trust. I'm stoked!

Anyway, I survived my triathlon... If you want to see photos go to [link] and look for the Bendon Sport triathlon photos. my race number was 31. You can search for photos by this. Unfortunately, my mother beat me. she did it in 50:08, I took 54:41.

Got NCEA results back. They were pretty good. I passed all of English this year! Got my formal offer of enrolment from Canterbury so now it's all official. I leave at 2:15 on feb 14 from Rotorua airport. ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/7267021/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/7267021/ Fri, 09 Dec 2005 17:05:17 PST
YAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!

I picked up my testimonial & stuff on Tuesday but at that stage I still had 3 exams to do. My last exam was this morning (I know, on a Saturday). It was Scholarship Calculus and ridiculously difficult. I only answered about half the paper or less so unfortunately that's not hopeful. kinda disappointing cos I did put in a lot of work for this one. I was the only person at my school sitting the exam, but there were two examiners cos they have to have two for Saturday exams.

Well, at least it's over now. 12 years & 1 month & 2 days ago, I first went to school at St. Thomas's school in Auckland. And now I've finished! ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/6829306/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/6829306/ Fri, 21 Oct 2005 15:45:43 PDT
Year 8 and Year 13 Collage

I am leading a different life, my brain works strangely
I am leading a transitional life, slowly gaining independence
I am watching the growth of an animal who relies on our care
I am watching changes happen all around
I had a sense of pride in everything I did, but my brothers soon destroyed that
I had a set of classmates, but I exchanged them for another
I had a kind big brother, but we grew up and he learned how to annoy
I had an awesome friend and she has become my sister
I thought a year was eternity
I thought my world was safe
And now at 12 I know it's not
And now at 16 I know that nobody is invincible
I have seen New Zealand from 'top-to-toe' but not a single other country
I have seen the love of god shining in a young child's face
I have heard the sound of a gunshot rolling around the hills
I have heard the power of a fijian song
I know that my days are numbered, but I enjoy them while I can
I know that I am blessed
I know that God is real, but some people don't believe
I know that God has placed me here for a purpose
I don't know why the world began or why I was born at all
I don't know what that purpose is
I dislike the thought of dying and leaving this world behind
I dislike struggling to sleep at night
I hate the thought of war touching our country
I hate the pain and suffering in this world
I love the beauty of nature
I love the beauty of creation
I used to love Nutella, but now I've had too much of it
I used to love solitude, but now I've grown to love people
I've lost my perfect trust
I've lost some of my fears
I've lost many friendships because I move around a lot
I've lost many of my friends because I have changed so much
I'm looking for the answers to the many questions I have
I'm looking for my purpose
I'm hoping for a place where I can go and think in silence
I'm hoping that someone will notice next time I need a hug
And my heart is locked inside me to hide from prying eyes
And my heart is slowly opening out

Thankyou to everyone who has helped me to grow! ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/6523976/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/6523976/ Fri, 16 Sep 2005 20:55:09 PDT
Tomorrow is a youth service at our church so I'm leading the music team again. Here's an open in vitation for anyone in Tauranga that wants to come: 10:10am Sunday 18th September in the Bethlehem Hall.

Anyway, I'm goning to go now, before I just start typing for the sake of it...

Take care
-Michal

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/6499806/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/6499806/ Wed, 14 Sep 2005 02:17:22 PDT Listening to: Go Go Gollum
Reading: Falling Leaves
Watching: In My Father's Den

Right, well I too have received a free weeks subscription. Sadly when it runs out in a weeks time I will have neither the credit card or the spare funds to update it. Any help on how to do all the cool subscribery stuff would be much appreciated...

Anyway, I've been to UWH nationals now. We came 5th which was pretty awesome for our inexperienced team. Both our quarterfinal and our 5th/6th playoff went into extra time. In our 5/6 we were down 3-0 at halftime but manage to pull it back to a draw at full time. And we won the extra time.
YAY!

]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/6380210/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/6380210/ Wed, 31 Aug 2005 16:24:39 PDT Barbershop Nationals, 7th
Chorale Nationals, bronze
Underwater Hockey Nationals, leaving to go in 2 hours.

And somewhere in between all those, an aunt I barely nkow dies of cancer so Mum & Dad rush off to Christchurch for a few days, leaving me to camp out at Clare's ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/6146419/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/6146419/ Sat, 06 Aug 2005 00:27:17 PDT
Anyway, at least my chemistry is one step closer to being finished. That's a good thing cos it's due in on Friday.

Tomorrow is gonna be one loooong day. I have Chorale 1-3 and then Symphonic Band 3-5:30. Then I have just enough time to go home and grab my gear before going to Underwater Hockey at 6. And I can't get a ride cos Anna is on crutches. Which is a problem as nationals is only 3 weeks away. And we are so not ready. ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/6135706/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/6135706/ Thu, 04 Aug 2005 19:46:59 PDT Internals are silly!!!!
I hate sitting at school at 3:00 and knowing that I won't be home for another 6-7 hrs. From Stats it's off to work then off to Youth group. Apparently we're doing something with gumboots???? (at youth group)

Seriously though, I love my job. It's great. And the boss is away tonight, so it should be extra fun with the assistant manager in charge. ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/6015739/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/6015739/ Sat, 23 Jul 2005 19:34:24 PDT
While down there I was staying with the family of one of the Computer Science professors at Canterbury Uni which was great because he showed me round the uni and answered any questions I had. It looks like I'm going to be boarding with them next year. It should be fun! They're extremely musical.

I got down to see my brother and his wife in the second week. their flat was soo cold. One day it stayed at 5 degrees in the warmest room all day.

And then it was a long drive home... ... ... ... ...


With a rough ferry crossing... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

And now school starts again tomorrow. ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/5852986/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/5852986/ Wed, 06 Jul 2005 01:34:39 PDT
At least English is out of the way. I ended up having to do my speech first 'cos I was using PowerPoint.

All this week I've been spending my free time in the Chem lab titrating salt. And sorry Clare, but I'm going to have to miss Barbershop tomorrow so I can be sure of finishing in time as one of my experiments didn't work too well today.

-Michal ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/5765976/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/5765976/ Sun, 26 Jun 2005 20:44:49 PDT
I have a chemistry internal for which I need to have finished the practical work for by the end of term. So far my method has failed miserably.

Aside from internals I have 5 difficult pieces of music to learn before I go to the NZSSSO in the first week of the holidays. And extra rehearsals for Symphonic Band, Chorale, and Barbershop. As well as all my normal stuff. ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/5631600/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/5631600/ Sun, 12 Jun 2005 22:12:03 PDT
Worst thing of the weekend: getting lost with a bunch of immature juniors in the back seat. Best thing: winning our 3rd/4th playoff even though we'd lost our semi.
It was so exciting. That was the first time I had represented the school at a sports tournament. We played 5 games on Saturday.

I've just got back from Barbershop regionals. We had an awesome performance and came 2nd to Hamilton Girls' again. (By 3 points) So we are hoping to finally beat them at nationals. ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/5591636/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/5591636/ Wed, 08 Jun 2005 17:44:51 PDT Then I have Underwater Hockey Qualifying tournament so I'll be trundling off to Auckland to spend two days at the bottom of a 2 metre deep pool. (Don't worry, I will come up to breathe occasionally)

Yesterday was a long day. I had two exams, then a 2 hour rehearsal which I had to leave early so I could catch the bus to work 'cos strangely enough, I didn't have a car to drive.

By the way I HATE ENGLISH EXAMS!!! ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/5548396/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/5548396/ Sat, 04 Jun 2005 03:15:39 PDT
Today I headed off to pick up a friend from Faith Bible College, went down the wrong road and just could NOT find it. (Funny that aye?) Eventually I rang home and discovered that I was on the wrong road. By now I was getting quite upset.

Heading back towards the right way i spun out on a corner and ended up parked neatly in a driveway with the back of the car on the gatepost. Luckily I escaped unharmed (just very shaky for a while).

Another quick call home and Mum & Dad came out with the other car. The car I was driving is still driveable but needs some serious panelbeating and a new towbar and brakelight cover. The excess is $1000. Ouch. There goes my uni savings. ]]> ~mc043 http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/5497373/ http://mc043.deviantart.com/journal/5497373/ Sun, 29 May 2005 22:07:21 PDT
If only they actually made decent-sized, sturdy pop-up umbrellas. The kind that you can keep a violin, a schoolbag and a person dry under instead of having to decide (cause the violin always wins, so i always get wet). ]]> ~mc043