When life gives you lemons...: ...document the whole thing like the guy in that Banksy film

Hey.

It's just past midnight, Wednesday 24th August. I have another thirteen days until I begin whatever new school life has in store for me. Less than two weeks of freedom left.

A couple of months before the start of the holidays, a friend, Annalise, and I wrote to-do lists. Mine is as follows:

* Pierce ears again [done]

* Read Lord of the Rings trilogy [I watched the films a few weeks ago, if that counts]

* Exercise at least once [if mincing around in a bikini counts, done]

* Earn money [found twenty quid last week, done]

* Get ahead with AS syllabus [not done]

* Have a camping party [kind of - Soul Survivor is essentially one massive camping party]

* Pass out, intoxicated [not done. I've actually been really good this summer]

* Write a short story [in the process of completing a long one]

* Take photos every day [so far - done]

* Learn to play the ukulele properly [doing]

* Get some action [not done. I'm still as much of a pathetic virgin as I was at the start of the holidays]

* Paint something really cool to go in bedroom [done]

* Buy clothes for sixth form [not yet]

* Meet someone famous [fake Howard Donald?]

* Don't fall out with anyone [until yesterday, done. Thanks to Josh and his unnecessary douchebag comments, failed]

Considering how many targets I set for myself, and how little energy to do anything I've had for the last few months, that's not too shabby, right?

One I've been vigilant about since the beginning is the photos one. My friend Ben once went off on a massive rant about people who live their lives through a camera, and how you should experience something fully, properly, just the once, and not try to recreate it for later with pictures and videos when they just distract from and can never compare to the real thing. I completely see where he's coming from, but I just think there's something amazing about looking back through old photo albums - I'm getting to the point where I can do that with albums I actually compiled, when I was little, and there's nothing quite like the nostalgia you get from a good reminiscing session. I think.

So, anyway, two weeks of mostly nothing, save for Luke's birthday next week, until I'm back to depression. Thought I might share some of the best bits with you.

Okay - I just spent about an hour sifting through about two thousand photos and selecting them for uploading, chronological order and all, and they were all just about to upload and then mum switched the internet off, effectively cancelling all my work. I feel like crying. No way can I be arsed to go back and do all that bollocks again.

The typical family pose.

My delightful lil' cuz, up to no good with a phone box

"Indifference - Mild Distaste." My idea of hilarity.

Gary

The duck at Loch Morlich I befriended

Skillz

Haggis, nom

Guess who just lost the game?

Some serious monkey shenanigans going on here

Pretentiously artistic, possibly

No idea where this place is, but I think it's pretty

My attempt at throwing a clay pot

Rob's attempt, before he attacked it with paint

Not my dad.

LOVEBIRDS

Loch-En-Eilein - my favourite place in the world

My jugs look huge. As do my biceps, but just ignore those.

Best sport ever

My skinny, opinionated, brilliant friend Jamin. If only Colin Firth had this face every time he wore a wet shirt.

I have no idea how to pronounce that, but they're the most addictive things ever.

Puppet Academy team '11 - the epitome of awesome, blatantly. It was after the person taking the picture described this as "three inches of chip fat on the lens" that I decided to not abuse the pinhole setting so much.