( see title! )

The last 300 words are a testament to the fact that I'm really, really, too young for all this :P Although exciting things are happening with my Amnesty group; we're doing an action on June 20th for refugee rights and awareness...aside from the fact that doing research and case studies left people near to tears, the practical planning is looking good. Bleeding heart liberals, yeah yeah. We're going to construct a makeshift refugee camp in Belfast city centre, in the main shopping district...all legally of course...it's looking very very cool.

Although of course, the fact that I've put so much importance on this summer means that in all likelihood it could be absolutely rubbish.

In other news, my dad helped me get 4OD working on the Mac last night, because I missed The Big Bang Theory because of Biology revision. Now Bio is over and I have room to breathe, I could afford to watch TV...aww, Sheldon.

I'm listening to a song at the moment that makes it all sunny, for some reason. It's nice, because it's currently bucketing it down outside. It was lovely for a few days there. Oh well. I'm in the middle of my GCSEs, on study leave at the moment. In between re-reading 'Our Town' and 'Animal Farm' for the 3590th time (English Lit), I'm writing letters and listening to music. Korma sauce is lovely over vegetables, interestingly.

Probably going into Belfast or Lisburn tomorrow; I'd like to get an address book...probably just a plain one, will decorate it with all the ragged comic books I picked up from Oxfam a while back. I have too many peoples' addresses and numbers written on scraps of paper, or worse; just in my mobile's phone book. Dodgy stuff, because mobiles are irritatingly volatile...this old brick is holding out nicely, but I don't want to take the chance :)

I can't wait for summer...something tells me this summer's going to be different. I'm hopefully starting A Levels in September (that sounds so weird, I'm definitely not old enough!), and I left compulsory edumacation a week ago. Scary stuff. I hope I don't lose touch with everyone...I'm doing A Levels at the same school, so it shouldn't be that hard until I get to Uni. Fingers crossed. Although having said that, I don't think losing touch with people would be all bad. Probably the opposite.

I'm hoping to do some work experience, and then just getting the train to wherever's sunniest, or biking around town for the craic. I'm not sure if I have the money or the energy to leave NIreland, but travelling's always fun. There's summer schemes booked, Belfast Pride (...for the craic), Amnesty, and going on the hunt for Awesome.

I have exams to do first though. Ho hum.

Also, does anyone know a vegetarian alternative to prawn crackers? A vegetarian friend of mine is going crazy for them, but obviously the prawn-y bit of them is not-so-good.

"You mean there's prawns in prawn crackers?"
"Um, yeah. Unless...what prawn crackers have you been eating?"
"Uh, well, I thought it was just a name."
"No, I'm afraid not. Well done there."

So what's been going on with you over the past wee while? Lots of good things, I hope.

It's actually been weird over the past few weeks, we've had some astounding weather for March. Today started off horribly, then was glorious over lunch, then shabby again. Ah well. Have been very busy, schoolwork, futureplans, life in general, gigging...
( Whirlwind of a week )

So tonight will be the first night in a while that I'm going to go to sleep without feeling under pressure to get things done IMMEDIATELY LIEK NAO.

P.S. spent too much money in Backbeat Records the other week, but on the upside Red Sirus are amazing. Apologies for the slightly breakneck pace of this entry, but I'm feeling quite restless at the moment. :) I love adolescence, especially when I know that I can do this.

3 people killed by assorted paramilitaries in the last 72 hours. Lost sons, a lost husband and father. It's...scary. Scary that there are still people out there prepared to kill because of politics and nationality. I lost any hint of naivete at quite a young age; that's what happens when you ask questions and get answers you don't expect.

I know that extremists, especially in the context of the Troubles, will never quite go away. There are too many people who take it seriously enough to educate their children and their peers in this way; they're vastly out-numbered by the rational population of Northern Ireland, but still they manage to cause fear.

The maximum amount of fear caused by the minimum amount of 'work'; that's what they're looking for. It can't go back to the 'bad old days' no matter what journalists will speculate. We've grown too much as a society, to let this drag us back. I may not agree with a lot of what my politicians say; I may not follow a popular church; but I know that I can't be the only one that gets frustrated when Northern Ireland is reduced down to Catholics and Prods, orange and green and blood red.

When I was small I was scared of everything. The politics and military edge to everything just made it confusing and violent. Now I understand it, I have my own opinions and my own voice. I refuse to be scared by a few 'wee ganches'. Murder and harming others is not the way to go about getting what you want. It may be an effective scare tactic, but you won't convince people for long.