Hello.

One Friday (the one when everyone else broke up. It�s the summer holidays! Can you believe it?) I got a scary large envelope form school. I thought that it was giving me the results early because of my moving and that I had failed everything and I would have to stay and do the exams again after I�ve burnt all my notes (that�s a lie. I�ve actually packed all my notes. Every single pointless piece of paper.)

Actually, I got this:

Mathematics in the Sixth Form

You have chosen to pursue your studies of Mathematics beyond GCSE and you now face a number of weeks with thoughts of sand sea and doing nothing! [insert clipart of sand, a beach ball and parasol] We would urge you to do otherwise. Your mathematical skills need to be practised daily to keep you on the ball! Not hour and hours, but just like practising a musical instrument a little and often does you good - 30 mins just after breakfast is most refreshing. [oh my god]

[insert clipart of breakfast]

We have compiled a selection of algebraic topics for you to complete before the beginning of term.

I don�t even eat breakfast. I also have a feeling that this is the work of my sadistic (she is now) maths teacher who (interviewed me when I was 10 and has taught me for the last 4 years, but that�s completely irrelevant. what is relevant is that she) is the head of the maths department.

In addition to the pack with the nice little note, there are 2 and a bit narrow-lined sheets of double-sided paper, full of densely-packed tiny writing. Oh. They�re answers. Which shows how much attention I�ve been paying. I do plan to do these. Later. According to both amy and karen, we�ve done them before.

Figured out how to play the AVI, high quality RUTH videos today. So I texted ticca. She replied:

Deep down, every1 wants 2c Steve in a lycra catsuit. I�m so there. When?

Did you know that the phone�s predictive text dictionary does not contain the words �lycra� and �catsuit�? neither does the computer dictionary.

I was listening to my Sleep playlist last night. The last 3 songs were Why Do I Feel So Sad by Alicia Keys, One by Alanis Morissette and Can�t Get You Out of My Mind by Aqualung. In a way, the 3 artists represent my last 3 obsessions, including my present one, cos aqualung, duh. And they�re in chronological order, which is a nice touch.

I listened to a lot of Alicia keys during the LotR/Elijah Wood phase. Why Do I Feel So Sad has always been a frodo/sam song to me and the album Songs in A Minor gives me Elijah fuzzies.

Alanis Morissette was always the soundtrack for my Lex obsession. All her songs have ships attached to them.

It�s nice to have old, cold love juxtaposed with recent, tepid love and new, warm love. If only I had Angels on the playlist as well.

Sudden realisation: does this mean that each major obsession has a mini musical obsession attached to it? Does the end of one affect and effectively terminate the other? What happens when the object of both obsessions are the same? How does it end?

<< the sadistic side of maths, lycra catsuits and obsessions past and present. >>

th since 5th october 2001