2012 New Year's Resolutions

Ok, as per Helena's suggestion, I'm going to try and make some New Year's resolutions (if slightly late). These will be my goals for the year 2012, and this is my letter to myself:

1. Stop procrastinating. This one is huge. I know I could be so much less stress and do so much better if I hadn't left work to the last minute because I keep putting them off.
2. Have better time management. This is related to the above point. Don't put too much time into projects/assessments/subjects that don't deserve the effort. Be clever with time and effort put in. Don't spend time doing an assignment that doesn't count for HSC marks when you could be studying for that exam that's weighted at 25%.
3. Wean off fanfiction. It's too good a time waster. It's a black hole. Don't get tempted, don't get distracted. There will be time for that later, after the HSC. This exam is important if you want to get into a good course.
4. Don't stress. If you don't get a good ATAR, it's not the end of the world. There are other ways to get to where you want to be in life. If it's almost time for exams and you have to cram, it's already too late. You're better off getting a good night's sleep. Sleeping works. Remember it.
5. Try to work out where you want to go after high school. Try and find a goal, something to work towards. What's a good career? What are you interested in? Even a vague direction is fine. Ask people if you have no idea.
6. Be more active in interact with other people. Not just friends, but strangers too. Don't be scared of making that phone call to ask for more information or change that appointment. It's better to do that than to have events/meetings not work out and have no way of fixing it, and having to make that phone call/ask them anyway.

Next year I'll do a review and see how much I've achieved in terms of these resolutions. Hopefully I'll have at least improved in some aspects.

p.s. According to my English teacher, putting up a big poster with the mark you want in your study space helps you get that mark. It's testified to work by some of her students last year. Shall I try it?

First post of the year

First post of the new year! (even if it's several days after the 1st) I wish everyone a wonderful, fulfilling year ahead of us. Year 11 is going to be a lot tougher than the years before, and it's likely to be more fast paced than we're used to, so let's work hard everyone. :-)

To start the year off with a laugh (hopefully), I present to you a funny website called (The Customer is) Not Always Right. This website showcases many many (410 pages as of today) anecdotes of when the customer is being stupid and when the salesperson is made of pure win.

I spent hours on Not Always Right last night and I laughed out loud so many time. The stupidity of some customers begins to make your faith in humanity falter. Not Always Right is extraordinarily funny, so I had to share it. Tell me if you like it! (I've learnt that my tastes are not always the same as other people's, so tell me if you didn't like it too)

Last Day of the Year

Thirty first of December. Last day of 2010 people. Who’s going to see the fireworks? I know I’m not, but I went last year. Fireworks looks epic anywhere, but it only feels right when you watch it with lots and lots of other people, with everyone going “oooh” and “ahhhh” and “wow”. I don’t have Australian TV antennas installed, so I can’t even stay up late to watch it on TV.  It’s a shame, I watched the midnight fireworks on TV a few years ago. I was curled up on the sofa with the volume turned down low and everyone else in the house sleeping, and it was actually pretty fun.