Tablets: The cynical view…

Ok, just to clarify, I’m talking about these tablets…

An iPad 2

Not these tablets…

Does anyone else find this slightly creepy?

My business teacher likes to think of himself as the technology guy. You know the type right? The type of person who’s first reaction to an unresponsive computer is not turn it off then turn it back on again, but to fiddle with the circuit board. Well, I’m pretty sure computers have a circuit board…

So recently he’s taken it upon himself to educate us on the wonders of tablets. I mean it’s clearly the obvious thing to teach a junior cert class about. Teaching the subject is sooooo mainstream…

According to him, tablets can do anything. They’ll cure world hunger, and make our school lives better, all in one go! He’s head of the small band of teachers in my school who are convinced that tablets and ebooks are the future. But I’m fairly sure they’re wrong.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against ebooks. I have a Kindle myself, and I think it’s great. Just not for school.

First there’s the obvious issue of the price. If the books or the tablet were free, the heck yeah, go for it, embrace the technology! But they’re not. Books are expensive enough without having to buy a tablet on top of it. I mean £200 (I’m using pounds because I can’t seem to find a euro button on my keyboard. Does that seem like a bad omen to anyone?) is remarkably cheap for a tablet. On top of that, you still have to buy the books. They’re not much cheaper than the actual paper books!

Second, tablets are valuable, but fragile. I can’t speak for anywhere else, but I wouldn’t put any money on a tablet surviving more than a week at my school. It’s not that my school’s rough, but with 600+ teenagers in a building, it’s a tad rambunctious. I don’t like the idea of telling my parents that they have to buy me a new tablet, because my old one got lost, or broken. It’s just not a good plan.

Lastly, I don’t even like tablets. I don’t have one, but I’ve messed with enough in stores to know that:

1. It’s almost impossible to type on them.
2. It’s almost impossible to go online on a tablet without clicking (or tapping) something accidentally.
3. Tablets are really only good for games.

So that’s my rant against tablets. I hope you found it exceedingly grumpy, and that after reading it, you are now inspired to have a more cynical outlook on life. Because as one of my close friends said the other day, critical thinking really is a life skill.

So until next time just remember:

Many keyboards don’t have a euro symbol on them, and jazz hands make everything better.

Work experience woes…

For those that don’t know, in Transition year in Ireland, it is required that you do work experience. I’m not sure if it’s required in England, or anywhere else for that matter, but in Ireland, or at least in my school, it’s mandatory.

Work experience is basically when you take two weeks off school (preset dates) and work (unpaid) somewhere, to get an idea of what working life is like. In theory it sounds great, but it’s actually really hard to get it.

By that, I mean to apply to somewhere. I’m still in third year, and I’m having a hard time finding places for December. I have no idea what it would be like to leave it too late, and be pressured for time to find a placement. It’s hard enough now.

As it’s mandatory, if you don’t succeed in finding a placement in time, you have to work in the school. Now that would be my idea of Hell. Just cleaning up the school, and running messages for two weeks.  

So yeah, stress.

I’m afraid that’s all for today, as I’ve my mocks this week, and studying takes priority.

So until next time just remember:

It’s pretty much impossible to find a placement that involves Jazz hands.

Caplocks overload…

“Caplocks overload?” you may be asking. I’m referring to my Facebook news-feed (If you don’t know what that is, you can’t be living in the 21st century!), both today and last night.  There were three status’ on repeat. (And repeat, and repeat, and repeat.)

1. How AMAZING was the One Direction concert last night???? Did you see when they..??? And when they…??? And when  that happened!? OMIGOSH I ALMOST DIED!!!!! <3 <3 xxx
2. OMIGOSH I CAN’T BELIEVE I COULDN’T GET TICKETS!!!! MOM I HATE YOU!!! I’m here crying over my computer while I’m watching their videos OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!!!!!
3. WOULD EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP ABOUT THE ONE DIRECTION STATUS’!!!???? >:(

Yes, that’s how obsessed some people get. I’d like to say it was just the girls, but I’m afraid I can’t. And by that last sentence, I am in no way implying homophobia. But yes, for those who don’t know, or like myself don’t care, One Direction were in the Dublin O2 last night. And for those who don’t  know who One Direction are…

There’s the one with the hair.

The Irish one.

The other one with the hair.

And two others who are kind of forgettable. Ah who am I kidding? They’re all forgettable!

But yes, One Direction infection (as I’m told it’s called) hit Dublin hard last night. The way I see it they’re like a monument to mainstream music. But the way some of my friend see it…

• They’re perfectly perfect in every way.
• They’re so perfect, it’s ok to spend a few hundred Euros on merchandise.
• They’re so perfect, it’s ok to buy their dolls, even when you’re 14/15.
• They’re so perfect, it’s perfectly acceptable to take two days off school for their concert, a week before the mocks. That’s one day off to get ready, and one day off to get over the disappointment of not getting proposed to by the one with the hair.

It’s times like this which just remind me how weird and obsessed some teenage girls (and boys) can be.

I’m going to stop writing about this now, so until next time just remember:

Maybe if One Direction threw in some Jazz hands, I’d consider not complaining about them.

Monday Blues? Not really…

Only a short post today. About how this week is actually not going to be depressing. For those who are wondering, last week was depressing because of the workload. Check the last post if you care enough to want to find out.

“So why is this week better than the last?” you ask. And I answer: It’s not-too-bad for two reasons. One, I only have one full day of school this week, that being Friday. This happy occurrence is due to a dentist appointment, a staff meeting, a half day, and a relative’s birthday. Not too shabby. Sure it’s two weeks before my mocks, and missing ten classes, the equivalent of one full day, is probably not a good thing. But sod that, I can study the night before the tests. I’ve been doing it for years, and I get good grades, so there’s no need to panic. Hopefully.

That brings me to the second reason. Well, kind of. There isn’t actually any link between the two reasons, but ah well! This is actually a pretty stupid reason for being happy, but I think it’s worthwhile blogging about it.  I finally found my “Mission Impossible” box set. So that means I can watch the first three before going to see the, recently released, fourth film. This is spectacular news, because that box set has been missing for around two years. So good news all around.

That’s about it for now, it’s off to study some more.

So until next time just remember:

There’s no need to panic, because Jazz hands make everything better.

Three years in two weeks…

Yes it’s that time of year again…

The time when every third and sixth year in Ireland is either sick of studying or yet to start. Last week it was three-years-in-three-weeks, but now it’s three-years-in-two-weeks. Yes that’s right, it’s time for the mocks…

For those of you who may be wondering what the mocks are, I envy you in your ignorance. The mocks are bad. Like really bad. They are the most torturous thing ever invented. They are horrible, they are horrific, and any other H words that mean bad. Actually, as this post is about studying, I’ll even throw in an English quote. So here goes… The mocks are “like a devil’s sick of sin” ( “Dulce et Decorum est” by Wilfred Owen). I’m pretty sure that’s right. And if not? I’d better get back to studying.

Basically, the mocks are mock exams. They are a mock junior/leaving cert exam, four months before the main event. It doesn’t sound so bad I know, but the mocks are actually worse than the actual exam. I know this doesn’t make much sense but it’s true. See before the mocks, all the teachers make such a big deal about them, and act like they’re the most important things ever, but after they’re over, you know the teachers are just going to say “That was just the mocks, they don’t mean a thing, they’re not nearly as important as the junior cert.” It’s annoying because something you’ve put so much work into doing well in, has just been declared irrelevant.

But yeah that’s about enough for now, I’ve got to go and study.

So until next time just remember:

Not even jazz hands can make this better…