Alive and well. Bloody well indeed.

[JoeyNormal]

In the last week I have:

• Visited a ghost down, complete with violent squatters.
• - Reached the summit of Mt Ruapehu.
• - Found a lost memorial plaque for a Mr Stanton.
• - Been caving.
• - Been gorging.
• - Found that I was second in the nation in the 6th form external exam for history and third in economics.

****in' great week all round.

More details on the trip to the National Park later, but for now:

Second in the entirely of ****ing NZ for history.
Third in New Zealand for economics.

****in'yeah, baby. Seeing as my class didn't even cover one of the topics in history and I'd put my good marks in eco down to the fact that I was the only metalhead in the class who wasn't teaching...w00t'n'****.

And I'm drinking real coffee. Real. None of that fake instant ****. None of that putrid, rank, inhuman imitation. Real, true mother****ing coffee. God, how I've missed you, m'love.

Going for a week with no coffee, wasabi or chilli sauce/powder was a real challenge. As was walking up a bloody mountain, but, hey, snow makes the trip down short'n'sweet.

Oh, yeah, and you've all seen the Two Towers, right? Well, I haven't...but the scene where gollum catches a fish below a waterfall? I've forded that river four times, above and below that waterfall, I've climbed the ridge-line, I've stood atop those cliffs, and I've slept by the trees downriver, just 'round the bend.

Yeah, I love my country.

[Dilbert]

Well done. Is that your highschool over now, or do you still have another year?

And bloody go and see the Two Towers asap.

[JoeyNormal]

One more year. I could skip straight to uni, but...

[JoeyNormal]

http://pub114.ezboard.com/fthx1138eb...cID=1647.topic

[RedLine99]

Awesome, Joey. I'm happy for you to have such wonder in your homeland.

But "Outdoor Pursuit Area"?? Couldn't you guys just call it a "park"

[JoeyNormal]

The Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre = OPC = Place running the 'leadership' course I attended.
The Tongariro National Park = The "park" which OPC is in.

[RedLine99]

There's hope for you guys after all

[JoeyNormal]

Hope? Coming from America, land of litigation?

[RedLine99]

btw - congrats on your scores!

"Litigation"? Aren't you the guys who publish in your papers "how to beat the system"? ( I was reading an article a while back on people beating out their student loans by lying to the bankers).

You guys are way ahead of us in that boat race.

[JoeyNormal]

Thanks.

Boat race? O'course we are. City o'Sails'n'****. You ain't ever getting the Americas' Cup back.

Oh. That one.

Hmm.

Studemnt loans are ****e. Complete excretia. So people find every possible way to escape'em.

If your article is useful and recent, send it my way. Law conjoint degrees cost a bit more than I'd like to spend.

[RedLine99]

Sorry, man, I didn't keep it or post it. It was interesting to me though from the perspective of "guidance". I was tempted to post it, but felt you in particular might have been offended by it.
I do recall it said something like "Students advised to lie" when applying for loans...basically about recent grads looking for home loans, etc, but being denyed because they told the truth about how much they owed on their college loans.

Harmless on one hand, but lying nonetheless. Just struck me odd though that a news site would promote deception. Well, maybe not...

[lily]

Hey Joey-David!

I missed you.

How are you?

love,
me

[JoeyNormal]

Hey, I'm pretty good -see above - how're you?

[lily]

yeah, I know... I knew you'd say that.

Man, you've been busy!!

I'm good. I was just about to go to bed, but I noticed you posted. I'll see ya soon... I have to ask you about your post on the ebn. (which one was me?)

ciao baby!

[JoeyNormal]

Cindy:

You care for me, and I care for you. Thank you for you prayers and support. Good luck with your life.

Actual SFEE exam marks now:

Chemistry: 73% [Mean: 46.5%], Percentile: 91
Economics: 88% [Mean 52.0%], Percentile: 99 [3rd]
English: 79% [Mean 53.0%], Percentile: 96
History: 80% [Mean: 44.5%], Percentile: 99 [2nd]
Physics: 90% [Mean: 57.0%], Percentile: 98

Woo!

[lily]

I thought that was the one!

What are SFEE exams? Is that like a college entrance exam? Anyway, that's amazing! Wow, you're a brain.

so you can probably go anywhere you want to go!

[JoeyNormal]

Nope. College/University entrance is at the end of this year; called University Bursary [or University Entrance, or Higher School Certificate, or...]. SFEE is the Sixth Form External Exam; sixth form is internally assessed, with a fairly screwed up and unreliable system, so a group of teachers/markers/bureaucrats made an optional external exam to allow for more objective comparison between students.

The stats course I took was UB though [79% exam/86% overall].

Thanks for the multitude of compliments