Sta.sh
Bliss February, I remember distinctly as being really freaking cold. All the pipes were frozen for about ten days; all we could get was cold water from the kitchen tap. We had to very carefully drive up to a friend's house through the snow- and ice-covered roads just to get showers. It was kind of fun, though, I'll admit. It's a story to tell. February also brought my first work experience, in a blood analysis lab. It was pretty damned boring, but an experience all the same; I have no doubt that work will be boring for at least 70% of the time. So I shredded paper, put stamps on envelopes and generally tried to be helpful and not get underfoot. Oh well. It was something to do for three days before the holidays.
May was my oral exam I had to pass in order to get my brevet. I was so lucky to have gotten the Guernica as my subject, the only one I knew anything about, really. Ask me to describe it now, though, I'd fail completely, at least on the side of when/where/how/why.
June was eventful. My grandma passed away and we took a week out of school to go to the funeral. Then we got an offer on our house, which had been on the market for, what, six months? More? Not sure. And then I took the dreaded Brevet, after all that happened, and I passed easily. Didn't get top marks - actually, I'm not sure what I did get, just that I didn't fail and that I did fairly well. Oh well. That's over now.
August was my birthday; books and music, as always, not that I'm complaining. Books and music are all I ever want, really. Saw some of my friends who'd already moved back to England, which was nice, albeit sometimes rather awkward. then the Olympics, which was great; go Team GB and all that. Hopped over the Channel for a week in order to find a place to rent, and suffered in the unexpected heat of the English summer for the first time in nearly nine years.
The first week of September, we were packing everything except the kitchen sink almost literally. It was not a hugely pleasant week, because it was 35C and cloudless every day, and we were moving heavy boxes outdoors. But the day came when the removals van had left for England and it was our turn; the nine-hour car journey across France to our new home was pretty hellish. Cramped conditions was an understatement, not mention both of our cats yowling all the way. But we got here, in the end, on the 10th. The cats were pretty scared, of course, and took to hiding underneath my bed whenever possible. But the unimaginable happened - Spirit, excellent hunter, very smart for a farm moggy and much loved, managed to get out of the house one evening not more than a fortnight after we'd arrived. We haven't seen hide nor hair of him since. Blackjack's fine, completely settled in, but then he always was the more laid-back of the two. I still miss our soppy grey bundle of fur, though. I hope he's alright. Late September, I took the entrance exam for a local Grammar School, and not long after was accepted.
I started school on the first of October, and I'm now preparing for my GCSEs - English, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, German, Art, Product Design and ICT if you must know. I'm also taking the French GCSE this year outside of classes - in all honesty, it's ridiculously easy. Overall, though, school has been amazing, and unbelievably enjoyable - I've even liked PE! I've never liked PE before! And art is so much fun! I've never actually painted properly before then, so that was satisfying. I'm in no way the best artist in the class, but neither am I the worst, so I'm happy. Sciences are so much more interesting, and the tests are so easy I can't believe that anyone with half a brain could get lower than 70%, and yet they do. I'm aiming for straight A*, and I really don't think it'll be that difficult. English is a lot harder, though; A month ago, I'd never written an essay. It's safe to say that I have now, about 930 words on the subject of interviewing techniques used by Susanna Reid. I don't know how I did yet, but here's hoping.
I guess there's not much else I've done in the last two months, so I think I'll drop this here - but not before I write down my art-related New Year's resolutions.
Draw more backgrounds. Draw only backgrounds. I really need to learn to draw better backgrounds, because what I've been doing so far just won't cut it anymore. Draw things I don't like drawing, because how else will I learn? This means bird talons, dragon claws, the underside of paws, human feet, humans in general, reptiles, insects... Try out different media, different techniques. I'm going to try my hand at proper shaded pencil drawings, and whatever my art lessons throw at me, I guess - I'm told that next term is sculpture, which will be interesting. I'd also quite like to give speedpainting a go, but I can pretty much guarantee that it won't really be either speedy or painting. But nevertheless. 
