Yeah, it’s been a while since I updated, a while since I even bothered about this blog. Not that anyone reads it, but that doesn’t matter. So here’s my excuses. A helluva lot has happened to me! Firstly, I was pretty damn busy with speaking exams for French and German and after that thought, “I need to take a rest from all this!”

So I did. And then I had to go visit my relatives in Musselburgh, see my Dad, the usual. That took a week, no internet, no friends, just old people and museums. I can’t even remember what happened, but what I do know is that I bought a lot of books and suchlike.

I still haven’t done my homework, and school starts on Monday. Deal with that later. Anyway. Got back home on Wednesday, lazed about. Next morning, I spot an envelope in the hall. Then I see who it’s from. Oh crap. The German scholarship people that I signed up with to go to Germany. Chances are they didn’t pick me. There’s bound to be loads more people better at German in the UK than me. I didn’t even try hard at the application since I was in the middle of my exams, and I sent it in late. Open envelope. Put it down and give the cat some milk. Pick it up again and take out letter.

“Herzlichen Glückwunsch, du bist ausgewählt für das diesjährige internationale Preisträgerprogramm in Deutschland!”

You must be kidding me. If my German is any good, that means:

“Congratulations, you have been selected for this year’s international Preisträgerprogramm (winner’s programme) in Germany!”

Oh my God. They chose me. I’m going to Germany. But I’ve never been abroad! This is what I’ve always wanted! And it’s not with family!

Yeah at first I didn’t believe it. But it really happened, and I’m now going through countless forms and passport thingies and health checks.

Enough of the excuses. Enough about me and my incredible luck and pride.

Today I’m going to discuss the importance of keeping a journal and/or notepad with you at all times.

It’s difficult to begin keeping something up like that, particularly if you’re busy or a complete procrastinator like me. But something I really hate is forgetting things that have happened to me. I don’t like not being able to tell someone what I did the day before yesterday. And something incredibly annoying is seeing a word I don’t understand or a quote or phrase I like and not writing it down and not remembering it. Keeping a journal is one of the wisest things you can do. Not only can you look back and see when you did or thought something, but you can solve problems a lot easier. That’s because when everything is crammed into your head, it’s difficult to sort out problems and solutions, things you need to remember and things you want to think about later. Minds can’t cope with that. So you write it down or type it up and there you go! Don’t need to think about it till later!

Although it can be exciting to start a journal and the first entry is huge and full of all sorts of things, after some time you stop being so bothered or you forget or whatever. So I think the best thing to do is, and I got this from a Murakami book, that you should write down little key words and important things every day, and then after a couple days, write it all up when you have time. The key words will make everything come back to you and the important things will be there. Unless you spend all your days at a computer, it’s best to carry a book around for that, so that as soon as something comes to you, you can write it down.

Notepads can be equally important. I keep one with me, A6 size, fits in my pocket. When I see a word I don’t understand, I write it down and find the definition later. When I see something I want to remember, or use later, like a clever phrase or quote, I write it down. It can help your writing skills, your general knowledge, and really makes your mind more organised. You can make it more personal by naming your notepad or journal, but then, I name all my inanimate objects. My computer is called Seaweed! And all my plants have names too.

Anyway, this can be a really quick and amazing way to make your life that little bit easier to handle. Try it.

Another thing is, carry novels with you wherever you go. There’s so much time wasted waiting for buses and people and life in general that could be better spent… reading!! I’ve become an obsessive reader of recent. Read on all your journeys (unless you’re driving), read on the street, though not whilst crossing the road. Of course you could carry a DS or PSP with you too. I just think books are more convenient and less likely to be stolen. Although I do love games. I’m rambling. Life is great right now, I’m so cheerful. But that homework is sitting at the back of my mind like a raincloud. One day to do it.

To finish off, let me tell you some things I have in my notepad.

Smorgasbord- n: a collection containing a variety of sorts of things (assortment, mixture, miscellanea, variety, salmagundi)

Mind like a kaleidoscope.

Sapiosexuality- Attraction to intelligence

Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz- longest German word meaning ‘beef labeling regulations and delegation of supervision law’.

Why is abbreviation such a long word?

Why do people have fluffy dice in their cars, out of all the fluffy things you can hang in a car?

Hehe.