(no subject)
Gwen and I, as you know from my last post, competed in the regional speech finals last night.
We turned up separately in the special school uniform that only speshal people get to wear (like Head Girl, Deputy Head Girl etc.). Want to see the shiny and posh uniform (also a teensy tiny bit too big for me)? Well, here it is anyways, whether you want to see it or not:
We stood around for a good while, making small talk with the organisers, something which I’ve discovered which I suck at. I saw the other competitors, and felt a small grain of hope, but squashed it just in case karma was working extra fast that evening. Mum had got talking to some lady who was the organiser’s’ Mother, Travis was probably bored, Gwen’s Dad and my Dad were talking, and I was panicking.
Gwen was amazing, it was like hearing her speech for the first time again. We were the only ones who had learnt our speeches off my heart, everyone else had cue cards. Well, I did have a cue card: it was about 20 words scribbled onto the palm of my hand.
So, I stood in front of the audience, and a few minutes in, promptly forgot my words. I improvised completely till near the end, when it all came back. Mrs. Rae, my english teacher, who also had my cue-cards (and consequently knew when I fucked something sideways), told me that she nearly had a heart attack several times when I didn’t say what was written. I did fairly well, I thought at the time, because I managed to keep my shaking to a minimal and I think I had the audience captured. I also finished in the right time, didn’t trip over myself and did not have John with a sign that said “Focus Here!” and an arrow pointing downwards.
We, I am sorry to say, are not going to Auckland for the National semi-finals. But Gwen came 2nd and I came 3rd.
Everyone else seemed remarkably more gutted about it than I was. What was surprising however, was exactly how peeved off Mrs. Rae got about who came 1st. She’s not that ‘type’ of teacher, like that ‘type’ or parent, who cannot see their students failings. She is not pushy, nor is she stupid, so when she told Gwen and I afterwards that she would talk to us tomorrow about it, I didn’t think she was that concerned. Well, she told Dad that she thought the judges were wrong, but I just passed that off.
However, the next day while I was at school, all the teachers seemed to be in somewhat of an uproar. In every class I went to, a teacher would congratulate me on getting the placing I did, then they would say that they’d heard that there was some dissatisfaction about the judging. Gwen said that teachers told her this as well.
When I saw my english teacher at interval, she was virtually spitting nails about the whole thing. She’d had us pegged down for 1st and 2nd, though she couldn’t pick whom would get which. She’d had her camera ready for when one of our names was announced. I mean, sure, I didn’t think the girl who won deserved it (she was still using her cue-cards for fucks sake), but I’d always thought... well... judges know best.
Mrs. Rae told me that Gwen’s teacher (Miss. Cowie, she rocks, and is Head of English in the school), had arrived at school early and demanded whether we’d won. She was apparently ranting at Gwen about it in english that day. Even our Deputy-Principal was apparently incensed about the whole thing.
All the while I was enjoying the righteous anger on our behalf, I was not feeling all that much. Sure I lost, it was only a judge coming up and telling me later that I got third, that let me know my placing. And sure I was disappointed, and sure I’d’ve liked to have won. And sure I don’t think the girl who won should have, but not to the respect that Mrs. Rae thinks I should have.
Perhaps it is selfish of me, but if that girl had not have won, Gwen would have. And as much as I loff her, and I would have been happy for her, it would have been a hell of a lot harder in that order.
Meh.
There is always inter-school debating, two more years for me to enter, and another Untied Nations competition to enter later this year.
Oh, and I am in the Shakespeare competition, under a student director (oh FUN), in the play Twelfth Night. Since I know the play, there’s only a few girl parts in it, main characters, so I’m curious to know who I’m playing. I also got in the Stage Challenge: not the core dancing group which was what I wanted, but meh, it’s all good. I still get time off school and a chance to perform.
School ties to all,
Poppi*~
EDIT: I love you guys so, so much. Those comments made me feel so loved and supported. Lina, Evie, Steph, Robert, Aimz and Kate, you are truly gorgeous and wonderful people. And Aimz, I'm sorry. We can have a virtual pity party together, hun. And also, the comments about the bird were also veyr much appreciated. Made my day. I'm going to try and read up on my flist, because I've had little time lately and I feel like shite about it.
We turned up separately in the special school uniform that only speshal people get to wear (like Head Girl, Deputy Head Girl etc.). Want to see the shiny and posh uniform (also a teensy tiny bit too big for me)? Well, here it is anyways, whether you want to see it or not:
We stood around for a good while, making small talk with the organisers, something which I’ve discovered which I suck at. I saw the other competitors, and felt a small grain of hope, but squashed it just in case karma was working extra fast that evening. Mum had got talking to some lady who was the organiser’s’ Mother, Travis was probably bored, Gwen’s Dad and my Dad were talking, and I was panicking.
Gwen was amazing, it was like hearing her speech for the first time again. We were the only ones who had learnt our speeches off my heart, everyone else had cue cards. Well, I did have a cue card: it was about 20 words scribbled onto the palm of my hand.
So, I stood in front of the audience, and a few minutes in, promptly forgot my words. I improvised completely till near the end, when it all came back. Mrs. Rae, my english teacher, who also had my cue-cards (and consequently knew when I fucked something sideways), told me that she nearly had a heart attack several times when I didn’t say what was written. I did fairly well, I thought at the time, because I managed to keep my shaking to a minimal and I think I had the audience captured. I also finished in the right time, didn’t trip over myself and did not have John with a sign that said “Focus Here!” and an arrow pointing downwards.
We, I am sorry to say, are not going to Auckland for the National semi-finals. But Gwen came 2nd and I came 3rd.
Everyone else seemed remarkably more gutted about it than I was. What was surprising however, was exactly how peeved off Mrs. Rae got about who came 1st. She’s not that ‘type’ of teacher, like that ‘type’ or parent, who cannot see their students failings. She is not pushy, nor is she stupid, so when she told Gwen and I afterwards that she would talk to us tomorrow about it, I didn’t think she was that concerned. Well, she told Dad that she thought the judges were wrong, but I just passed that off.
However, the next day while I was at school, all the teachers seemed to be in somewhat of an uproar. In every class I went to, a teacher would congratulate me on getting the placing I did, then they would say that they’d heard that there was some dissatisfaction about the judging. Gwen said that teachers told her this as well.
When I saw my english teacher at interval, she was virtually spitting nails about the whole thing. She’d had us pegged down for 1st and 2nd, though she couldn’t pick whom would get which. She’d had her camera ready for when one of our names was announced. I mean, sure, I didn’t think the girl who won deserved it (she was still using her cue-cards for fucks sake), but I’d always thought... well... judges know best.
Mrs. Rae told me that Gwen’s teacher (Miss. Cowie, she rocks, and is Head of English in the school), had arrived at school early and demanded whether we’d won. She was apparently ranting at Gwen about it in english that day. Even our Deputy-Principal was apparently incensed about the whole thing.
All the while I was enjoying the righteous anger on our behalf, I was not feeling all that much. Sure I lost, it was only a judge coming up and telling me later that I got third, that let me know my placing. And sure I was disappointed, and sure I’d’ve liked to have won. And sure I don’t think the girl who won should have, but not to the respect that Mrs. Rae thinks I should have.
Perhaps it is selfish of me, but if that girl had not have won, Gwen would have. And as much as I loff her, and I would have been happy for her, it would have been a hell of a lot harder in that order.
Meh.
There is always inter-school debating, two more years for me to enter, and another Untied Nations competition to enter later this year.
Oh, and I am in the Shakespeare competition, under a student director (oh FUN), in the play Twelfth Night. Since I know the play, there’s only a few girl parts in it, main characters, so I’m curious to know who I’m playing. I also got in the Stage Challenge: not the core dancing group which was what I wanted, but meh, it’s all good. I still get time off school and a chance to perform.
School ties to all,
Poppi*~
EDIT: I love you guys so, so much. Those comments made me feel so loved and supported. Lina, Evie, Steph, Robert, Aimz and Kate, you are truly gorgeous and wonderful people. And Aimz, I'm sorry. We can have a virtual pity party together, hun. And also, the comments about the bird were also veyr much appreciated. Made my day. I'm going to try and read up on my flist, because I've had little time lately and I feel like shite about it.