Today was all about the final, official, informal celebration of my class’ graduation. Prom and the ceremony will be next Saturday and I’m not loking forward to either.

Day of chaos - as this last day is called - includes beer and loud music and water guns and a thousand students and sunshine and a pizza booth. Put all that out in a schoolyard and you’ve got yourself a party. Traditionally, teachers are given presents as a thank you and forced to take part in silly games. We also started selling our AZ, the senior book of class ‘08, and will continue to do so tomorrow.

Over the past couple of years, day of chaos didn’t work as it’s supposed to because students of the lower classes somehow found out the date beforehand and then simply didn’t show up which, of course, made it impossible to hunt them all down with water guns.

So this year we changed the start of day of chaos to the end of second period (9.30 am). That way, all students were already in the building, cluelessly minding their business. We got the principal to agree that with the ring of the bell, they would also set off the fire alarm. That way, everybody had to get outside and we completely took them by surprise.

After the general water gun shenanigans, all the kids from the lower classes were soaking wet but the sun shined and they enjoyed the program we had planned. It’s all pretty silly and I was busy pretty much the whole time selling the senior book but everything went just great.

You never know what to expect from 120 drunk graduates who couldn’t care less about their school now and usually go wild, but they all did so good and helped clean up and stuff. I’m proud of my class, actually.

And there were a few people I saw that I had almost forgotten about and for just a second that feeling of losing everything once school is really and truly over on Saturday came back. But now that I’m back home, it’s gone again. Weirdly, it’s the opposite of once something is gone, you realize how much you miss it. It’s more like, once I don’t have them around me, I realize that life is just as good without them.

Anyway, I’m glad day of chaos turned out to be such a success!

My former best friend N, who has become more of a real friend to me again over the past couple of months because we had to do a lot of work together, came over today because she had asked me to help her prepare for an interview for an apprenticeship/studying grant.

She originally applied for this very popular system of being an apprentice, while also attending classes at university at the same time, at the company’s headquarters based in Germany. Her application was rejected but they offered her a place - well, not so much the actual spot but the opportunity for an interview - at the company’s Scottish headquarters. I know, Scottland, of all places! - right?

However, I am really excited about this because for some reason when I think Scottland I automatically think Ireland and in my head both are about the same thing as far as landscape, language and national quirks go. I am aware that that may upset true Scotts but, I’m sorry, that’s the way I feel and besides, it’s more a compliment, really, than anything else.

Because when I think Ireland, I think of a wild ocean, an open sky, gorgeous cliffs and endless plains. Ireland, in my head, equals beauty. Ergo, Scottland is a beautiful, magical place.

When N thinks Scottland, she thinks Scotch, drinking games, pubs. She thinks grey cities, oil rigs, chemicals. Which is fine, I guess, because that’s what she’s looking for: a future job in the general field of anything chemical and this apprenticeship combined with studying is her perfect chance.

Thing is, her English is not the best. When I say that, I really mean this: she has trouble putting together an actual sentence and while she’s not bad at all at understanding written texts in English, she will have trouble getting through a whole interview. I have wondered whether it’s a smart move to even consider applying for this thing because if her English isn’t good enough for an interview, how is she going to manage university classes in English? I have told her this but at the same time I encouraged her to go through with it. It’s definitely worth a try and, after all, when in life will one ever get a chance like this again?

Going off to Scottland when you’re first moving away from home? Sure does sound like the perfect dream to me.

Today was one of the first days in a really, really long time that the whole family got along not just fine but well. Which was especially unexpected since I had to pick up my drunk dad from an after work party at the restaurant/bar/lounge he runs last night. I’ve had to do this every now and then in the past but last night had me bouncing off the walls because he kept calling and telling me to get him half an hour later. When I got there, it still took him fifteen minutes to get outside and when he got into the car he smelled like a freakin’ winery.

But moving on to this morning. When I got up - which was embarassingly late around noon - no one was at home (even though today is a holiday: celebrating The Day of Work by staying at home) but doors and windows all over the hours were wide opened, breakfast left-overs were all over the kitchen and the dining room, cabinet doors stood open. For a minute there I thought we’d been robbed and they’d kidnapped everybody.

Turns out my brother had never really come home the night before and my parents decided to do a little cruising in their Saab convertible in the early morning sun before it started raining. So that explained the hasty storming-out-the-door. They then brought home green asparagus from this farm about an hour from here and when they got home, my mom started fixing supper while my dad went to read outside on the terrace.

Now this all may seem boring but peace in this house is a rare thing.

During supper we all were laughing our heads off about stupid things (for the most part) and even my dad didn’t act all bitchy and pissed when the joke was on him. He then also asked all of us for our opinion on some of the advertising concepts for his new project, a super-modern, gorgeous studio apartment complex right by the beautiful river in the town he works, and… It was just really nice to see everybody talking and getting along for a chance.

In the late afternoon my mom helped me studying for my Biology exam. Which, truth be told, didn’t help all that much. Who the fuck can actually memorize whatever the hell happens inside a freaking cell of the human body and how the central nervous system works in all its details? Exactly.

My dad then went to visit his mom and my brother left to meet some friends - or whatever it is that he does when he’s out… And the whole day was just really quiet and peaceful and fun.

I have a feeling that I will laugh at this entry later on. But I also felt that I had to document that days of joy still do exist in this family.