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For Science week in march, my sister's chemistry class have been learning the Periodic table song, by Tom Lehrer. However, according to her, it goes "nickel, neodymium, neptunium, geranium". I think that's a rather lovely image

Sexism and Sadness

Let me tell you a true story. Two days ago, in my (predominantly male) further maths class, whilst we were having a conversation about the merits of spending £60 on a calculator that basically does A level Maths for you, one boy, whom I had previously thought of as one of the less obnoxious specimens in the class, suggested that the only use my friend and I could have for the money would be to spend it on "makeup and dollies". Unfortunately for him, I don't even think he was trying to be ironic. Needless to say, this got me rather angry, and I told him so in no uncertain terms (although I have an unfortunate tendency to stammer when I am angry, which tends to somewhat lessen the effect).

 But this is just a convoluted introduction to the main point of this tirade- the extent to which sexism is still prevalent, everywhere we look, and even more pressingly, the fact that so many people don't seem to care. The worst of it in my opinion, are the girls I see everyday who have no problem with their lives being limited by an accident of the industrial revolution- the friend who declares that she doesn’t “see the point of feminism”, those who are willing to build a (short) career based solely on their looks, or who decide not to go to university, so that they can stay close to their boyfriend. Those who make dismissive remarks can be shown wrong, and luckily there are now laws so that Women who do have ambition beyond high heels and motherhood will not find it completely impossible to follow (although there are exceptions). It is at those poor, deluded, miserable girls, and their parents and friends I want to shout. Really? Deep down in your heart you are happy to be seen as nothing but a layer of makeup and a short skirt? You will throw away so lightly decades of hard work and passion? And most of all, you are happy to prove them right?

The fact that so many are blind to the injustices that are going on around them (and in this I include the many other things that keep people from equality- I am just afraid this rant may be too long if I extend it to include this) makes my heart heavy. Physically- I’m sure there is no scientific basis for this, but I can feel it nonetheless. My friends, my parents, have told me that I am too angry about it, but I will leave you with a question. If we are not angry, how will anything ever change?

An Excess of Extracurricular Activities

It's official- I now have no lunchtimes left. In an attempt to broaden my mind/ earn some brownie points from UCAS/ avoid severe consequences from subject teachers, my week now looks like this:

Monday: break- library monitoring, lunch -European Youth Parliament debating practise.

Tuesday: break- library monitoring, lunch -Library monitoring.

Wednesday: break- eat some food! lunch- Science tutoring (or if all those ungrateful year 11s decide to go to the RIVAL session, prefect duty. Or the lower school reading committee)

Thursday: break- library monitoring, lunch- Maths tutoring (and hopefully, the reading group once a month)

Friday: break: library monitoring, lunch: library monitoring (where I really have to be)/ German tutoring (where I should be) /science week planning (where I'd like to be).

And this isn't even mentioning violin lessons and practise, orchestra, choir, brownies or youth club, nor the holiday club I help with in the holidays. It’s on top of all this that teachers and University advisors are telling us to get A* grades and work experience, do volunteer work in old people’s homes, and make sure we are reading university textbooks in all the subjects we might be interested in (along with 4 hours homework per night and on-going revision, of course.). I’m sure I’m not alone in wondering how on earth we are supposed to do all this? Every night for the past week I have been up until at least 11 o’clock doing homework, and I haven’t done any revision or reading, let alone done anything that could be described as particularly enjoyable. Is this really what it will be like for the rest of our lives? Working so hard to get into University, then to get into work, then (hopefully) to actually achieve something before reaching retirement? Suddenly, running away from home to live in a mud hut somewhere seems much more attractive….

Aspirin results

Well, I've been applying the aspirin to my left hand and foot for a week, and I have to say, my fingers are significantly less swollen. On the other hand, this may just be wishful thinking... Oh well. It probably wasn't the most scientific experiment ever.....

What do you do with a dead chemist?

Ah...science jokes. A man walks into a bar and asks for a glass of Adenosine triphosphate. The bar tender says "that'll be 80p". (ATP...80p...get it?). The joke referred to in the title, however, was part of a larger, chemistry riddle, which formed one of the rounds of the Cambridge Chemistry challenge - http://www.c3l6.org/ , if you fancy giving it a try. Although the questions are challenging, you're allowed to use anything you like to find the answers along the way, and they're interesting brain-teasers.
However, my dear imaginary reader (I've decided on Emmeline. Hope it suits), if you are still wondering just what one WOULD do with a dead chemist, I'll give you this one. You Barium.

Aspirin

I've just finished reading a surprisingly interesting book on Aspirin (The "wonder drug"), which, as well as containing some interesting chemistry, was perhaps most helpful for the insight it gave into the world of academic and industrial research. After reading it, I thought I should attempt some research of my own. Now, as aspirin is known to prevent inflammation(as it prevents the formation of one of a group of biochemicals known as prostoglandins, which are helpful for holding cells together, but also have a role in inflammation, if you're interested), I thought it might help prevent chilblains, which I am rather susceptible to. Therefore, in an exceedingly scientific experiment, I am painting the fingers and toes on one side of my body with a solution of aspirin. I'll let you, my imaginary reader (I should really think of a name. Maybe...Webster? Fyodor?), know if there if there's any difference.

Whatever next?

I recently attended medlink, a conference held at Nottingham University intended to make half the medical school applicants in the country "stand out from the crowd". Well, needless to say after that rather illogical aim, I wouldn't entirely recommend it. The lectures were overcrowded, and many were merely from (well meaning, I'm sure) local doctors explaining what, exactly, GPs do. The "hands on" activities comprised of a group of 10 students talking to an actor pretending to be a "real" patient. (I really need to stop using quote marks. I'm sure it shows some sort of underlying psychological problem). At least the EDGE session offered a little light relief- the author of a self-help book, James Ridgeway, who alternated between telling us that  our friends were in fact, competition, and we should attempt to sabotage their applications at every possible moment, and encouraging us to "surf the wave". However, he did suggest one good idea- blogging our attempt to get into university, and things that interest us along the way, which you can then put on a UCAS statement to get around the word limit. Again, assuming a fair proportion of 3000 people do blog, it may not be such a deal breaker, but I thought it was worth a try.
The next problem is, that I have no idea what I want to with my life. As you (assuming anyone ever reads this) may realise, medicine is a possibility, but only that. I am also considering Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, pharmacology, German, or who knows what else at University. (If none of these work out, I'm also thinking of: becoming a librarian and writing a novel, starting a business selling clothes for ridiculously tall people, becoming a hermit in the caribbean, and a life of crime.) In any case, this blog is an attempt to organise my thoughts, share anything interesting I find along the way with anyone who is interested (probably no-one, but self-delusion can't hurt), and possibly (and this is a big possibly) boost my chances of getting an offer/a job/ a cave.