Apollo 11 - 40 Years On

On this day, in 1969, Man first stepped on the Moon. It was the greatest adventure known to Man. I really am fortunate to be born during this era. If I'm alive in the next 10-20 years, I'll be able to see the next lunar launch, and somehow be humanly involved in the adventure I never had the privilege of witnessing.

I must say, space exploration is a most marvellous thing. Just imagine where we'd go...

Ad Astra.

I am so...

...BORED.

With my class perpetually at 41% attendance due to sickness, lessons cannot continue, so my whole week has been spent doing what little homework there was, then reading Ernst Jünger's Storm of Steel, and John Parker's Black Watch. I shall be reading John Parker's Gurkhas next.
And if it continues, I could lose my mind. God forbid that happen.

A ton of anniversaries coming up. The Apollo 11 anniversary on 20th July, Salamanca on the 22nd, and Talavera on the 27th.

Emdeavour has finally lifted off from the pad, and so I shall be following STS-127 closely. This should be exciting.

But not as exciting as PUP. :D

In a more morbid sense, the PUP title for this year seems like a pre-emptive course in how to handle the worst of crises. "When Your Dreams Are Shattered." It sounds rather foreboding. Something bad is on its way...its too quiet for comfort.

Requiescat in pace

I suddenly feel very emo today for matters not of my immediate concern.

A few days ago, the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, the Welsh Guards, Lt. Col. Rupert Thorneloe was killed when his vehicle ran over an IED in the 'Ghan. His death is poignant to me, not because I am related to the Welsh Guards in any way, but because of the nature of his death. A few weeks ago, he was alive and well, giving commentary from his base camp while watching the Irish Guards troop their Colour on Horse Guards in London. Now, the man I saw on YouTube is dead. It's quite shocking really, the space of time which this happened. I just saw the interview again. I see a man who is now dead. Also, he was a commanding officer. I am sure he was a father figure to all the Welsh Guardsmen serving with him, and his loss will be mourned by all the members of the battalion. I then wonder, what if this happened to my 'bosses', the authority figures in my life, like my parents or my DGLs? How would I take it? Certainly worse than how I'm taking Lt. Col. Thorneloe's death right now, though I never knew him.

I offer my sincere condolences to the family of the bereaved, and may God comfort you.

(Consequently, his family will also receive the Elizabeth Cross, which was announced the same day he died. How coincidental.)

What Now?

I've been thinking, if I don't want become a cadet lieutenant, what do I become? I've been wanting to join Youth Flying Club for a long time, and I think that it would be the only way forward. This is what I meant when I said 'aim higher' in the last post.

The only hurdles to overcome now are, convincing my teacher to let me off being a cadet lieutenant - (They'll try everything to keep me in), convince my parents that we won't fly until we've done ground school, and that it is mostly safe, and increase my mugging skills tenfold so that I can cope with next year.

I suppose the thing I should pray for now is concentration. So required of students, and so required of pilots. The strength to finish multiple essays, reports and worksheets in a row. The skill to watch the skies for incoming aircraft, watch the horizon to maintain your heading, and simultaneously adjusting the control column and yaw pedals, while checking a dozen different '-meters' in front of you.

But if I don't make it, I don't know what I'd do. Staying on in a uniformed group would not be a wise choice, given the dissatisfactory nature of the whole thing. Maybe BB Primers wouldn't be so bad...

The Beginning of the End

The end of 4 years of secondary education is round the corner. 2 more terms and then comes a long break. Until then, there should be no more slacking.

Today was really, really boring. Admin starts the day, ends on nearly the same note. Blablablablablabla...

CCAs are cancelled due to the H1N1, at least that's a nice rest. No assembly, no more crowded buses because I can't use the ones to the back gate.(It's closed.)

I only have one chance to get myself away from any chance of becoming a Cadet Lieutenant. No, I won't deprive my Year 3s the many golden oppurtunities to lead.

And I shall aim higher.

Church Camp

This post will be slightly longer and non-exceptionally humourless.



I suppose this church camp was a particularly meaningful one for me, especially on the last night.

Suddenly, when things fall apart dramatically, the Lord's message rings true and clear.



To those who were in my room IBS-ing after the message, I didn't mean to seem too rude or antagonistic, I was just rather emo.

Also interesting was the 24-hour watch. Because I can't play bridge (and shan't for a long time), I stayed up to watch. People were in our room till 6am. It is very interesting to see human reactions in the wee hours of the morning. Suddenly, we are higher than usual. I slept at 8am that day, having stayed up for 24 1/2 hours. I still feel a bit drained now even as I type this.

Must start working again.

A Quick Update...

...not like you're going to read it anyway.

So, I just came back from Malaysia yesterday. Come to think of it, I did more hw this afternoon than I did for the whole time I was there. Oops. X(

DG tomorrow, and come Saturday, there will be the highlights of the month - the STS-127 launch to the ISS, and the Trooping of the Colour in London. If only I could get BBC1 to work...