MTBS Revisited

The week has been ok, but the past 24 hours were tough. The week had mostly been introductions and admin. Because of that, I only received assignments for half of my classes and if I put two and two together, then this is going to be a trying semester. But, I haven't lost hope yet and I'll have a clearer picture of how things are going to be in two or three week's time. I've already missed out on my first choice for a year project, but I still have several options in front of me. I might get something similar to my first choice (I am, however, not going to get my hopes up). There are also two other projects that have caught my attention, but, just my luck, neither of them are fully defined. In the one I have to think of my own contribution to a larger project and in the other the specified work itself is unlikely to be sufficient to pass: I'm going to have to add my “own flavour”. So, essentially, I'm back where I was when I was trying to think of my own project during December. I'll toy around with a few ideas and read some of the literature I've been referred to, but I'll wait it out this week still and see what happens. After that, I'm going to start to get anxious.

I have Fridays off. I would have had been completely free on Fridays had I not signed up to demi for Computer Science 2. I was angry at myself for not doing the obvious thing and checking when the tuts are scheduled, but afterwards I thought it would be good to have an incentive to not have every weekend become a long weekend. Besides, I need the money. But, anyway, I have Friday mornings off and I decided to go to Bellville to watch the opening of the MTBS. MTBS is an inter-schools sporting (athletics) event that can compete with any intervarsity in South Africa. The name is an acronym with each letter representing a participating school: Malan (D.F. Malan High School, my alma mater), Tygerberg (Tygerberg High School), Bellville (Bellville High School) and Stellenberg (Stellenberg High School). While the main attraction is suppose to be the athletics, the supporting role of the students on the pavilion have become renowned and inspiring. While the medleys and flashes can't compete with what you'll likely find in, say, China, on a local level it is impressive to see the synchronisation and enthusiasm of the students. Apart from the usual cheering and recital of age-old medleys during the day, each school opens the day with a big, themed, medley, complete with flashes. When I was in school, I was on the pavilion for three years and worked on the 'technical' team (the team responsible for creating the flashes and making sure everyone knows what they are suppose to do) for the last two. No matter how corny you think the whole thing is, how hot you get on the pavilion or how many times you doubt yourself: when you see everything come together, you get chills down your spine.

First up was Stellenberg. While I was at school, there were considered the biggest competition. I liked their opening, but it was a bit long and became tedious towards then end. Bellville was also doing alright, but their theme (“Lion”) meant that they included that horrible song Leeuloop in their medley: immediate disqualification as far as I was concerned. Tygerberg was less than impressive, to say the least. Finally it was DF's turn. They really did a good number: they had very good flashes and it seemed like the old spark was back. They did also, however, make the most mistakes of all the schools. So, in the end, it was overall the same old story as I was use to during my years of participation. Later the afternoon, while I was demi-ing, my friend let me know that we had won both the athletics and the cheering trophy! I am sufficiently proud and I hope that the student will continue the year on this high note.

In other news, my car broke down on Thursday. I'm still waiting to hear whats wrong and how long its going to take to fix it. In the mean time, to my great shame, I have to use my dad's car (its an old BMW). I should be thankful, really, but I'm still anxious to get my Jetta back.