Week 1 done:

A review of uni: week 1...

Writing & Culture in the C19 - *****
Monday morning's 10am-1pm course is receiving a 5 out of 5 stars for the class content and overall feel of the class after week 1. It all seems like it will be really interesting. It will be incorporating outside British history to help understand concepts of why British culture influenced certain works of literature. The 1 hour lecture seems bearable and will outline key concepts within the 19th century. The 2 hour seminars will also be enjoyable as the seminar leader has great enthusiasm for the works we will be studying. The class atmosphere seems relaxed and the class has a good group of students taking the class.

Critical & Cultural Theory - ***
Tuesday afternoon's 2pm-5pm course is receiving a 3 out of 5 stars for being a bit too abstract. The class seems like it has too lose of a structure, which can be fine in certain circumstances, especially in the arts & drama department, but I think this class will be a bit "far reaching" for myself. I will stay in the class, but it will not be one of my favourites by far... If the language was in plain English and not so difficult to understand I think it could be a much more enjoyable course, but that's the price I pay studying abroad! The professor seems like he could be either a really cool guy or a bit harsh. For the most part he seems pretty open to any idea and never really says there is a "right way" or "wrong way" to interpret readings.

British Writing & the Enlightenment - ****
Friday afternoon's 2pm-5pm course is receiving a 4 to 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. It definitely seems like my kind of class. And also being in England, it was the best idea to take a British Writing & Enlightenment course as it would be far different than any offered in the States. The lecture and seminar both take place in the same room as the class is fairly small. It is heavily populated by Americans, which is great. The hour lecture shouldn't be too much of a problem... The professor seems a bit bland, but I'm sure it will be fine all the same. The seminars get really interesting as I have to first be able to understand 17th & 18th century works of literature, and then second, be able to interpret them. I'm really looking forward to digging deeper into the class.


"...And what new wonders can ye show your guest!
Who, while on this dim spot, where mortals toil
Clouded in dust, from motion's simple laws,
Could trace the secret hand of Providence,
Wide-working through this universal fame..."
-James Thomas, 'A Poem Sacred to the Memory of Sir Isaac Newton' (1727)

Oh the strange English weather...

After being in the 50s pretty much everyday since my arrival on the 10th of September the weather decided to do a full 180 degree turn.
It has been in the 70s the last two days with perfect Carolina blue skies.
And surprisingly not a single drop of rain.
Absolutely amazingly awesome weather.
(I am probably going to eat these words with a downpour in the next 5 minutes...)
Definitely reminds me of the States.

And apparently my English speech has kicked in by over-riding American English.
Out of nowhere as I was conversing with Pod about who knows what I slipped... uh oh!
Said "my" like a true northerner.

Updates to follow if this trend continues. :X

Pixie Lott at the Arndale

Was at the Arndale today (of course, when am I not).
And Pixie Lott (aged 20), the English singer, ect was in the building releasing her Lipsy collection.
Whatever Lipsy is...
None the less, I had no idea who she was until Alex Arnold told me.
He was freaking out thru text about her.
Her song "All About Tonight" is currently number 1 on the BBC and MTV UK charts.
It is her 3rd number 1 single in the UK charts. ("Mama Do" and "Boys and Girls" the other 2).
Also I might add that she is proper fit.
She and her guitarist did four acoustic tunes, including her no. 1 single.
She's a very good singer too. Check her out.

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, but lucky for me I had my Ipod!
I really do have great luck.

First day of lectures, first day of training:

Woke up very tired yesterday for the first lecture of the year that had a 10am start.
Taking a Writing & Culture in the 19th Century course which seems like it will be interesting.
The language of the texts will be, how can I say it... muy difícil.
The 1 hour lecture goes by quickly, but we will see how the 2 hour seminar does.
It all seemed pretty relaxed though, which I like.

Followed up the first day of lecture with the first day/night of training for hockey.
It was good turnout for the first session, which had a start of 11:30pm (ugh...).
Tom Wilson who led the practice ran us all into the ground. A sound introduction.

Training sessions take place at the Silverblades Ice Rink in Altrincham, UK.
Its about a 20-30 minute drive from Mill Point.
It was a nice facility and is home to the Trafford Metros and the Manchester Phoenix.



Unfortunately, games are being played at Deeside in Wales...
I really liked the ice at Altincham.
And the netting instead of plexiglass at Deeside really throws me off a bit.
It looks a bit strange and as well.

And I've yet to test out the right side driving seat or driving on the wrong side of the road...
But hey, a guy can still dream right?

Welp.

I ended up at Print Works after all.
For free though! Gotta love that word.
So whilst most paid the full £11, I just showed up at midnight!
Courtesy of Matt Rohani from hockey who had an extra ticket.
It was alright. Not my cup of tea; much like tea without sugar.
BUT! It was still nice, saw some fun people, some crazy people, and yeah.
There were just a ton of people.

Along with the wristband to like 7 clubs within Print Works I also received a free t-shirt.
A t-shirt that sung my American-ness.

But honestly:
If it hadn't been a free ticket, I would've been nicely settled in my room.
Vimto and bed!
Cheers!

Route To Remain Tour

While most people spent their evening "pre-drinking" for Cirque de Works, AKA the BIGGEST freshers event with like 7K students at Print Works--

Forget it -- Forget that.
Because I went and saw Bleed From Within: easily one of my favourite bands.
They were playing down at the Manchester Roadhouse, less than a 10 minute walk from my accommodation.
No way in the world I was going to miss this show.
They've been a huge inspiration in my writing style and Scott Kennedy is my favourite vocalist.
And to my hair stylist, (name would be here, but I don't want to spell it wrong as there are about 10 different ways to spell your name :D haha), who I heard thru the grapevine has been given this link: I know I show you a lot of hair cuts that would be awesome to have. BUT. He has the most genius hair out there.
BFW was playing on the Route to Remain tour alongside The Safety Fire and Rise to Remain.

Bleed From Within played a fantastic set including a new song from their soon to be new album.

1. This Is Our Legacy
2. Last Of Our Kind
3. The Novelist
4. New Song
5. Servants of Divinity
6. The Healing

They are a MUST see band live. Everything is flawless and as I've said before...
SCOTT KENNEDY IS THE GREATEST VOCALIST EVER.


(^can cross off "Meet Scott Kennedy" on my "Who I want to meet..." list.)









For the complete album of photos from the Bleed Within Show, visit my Facebook page.

Theatre of Dreams

For a complete album of photos of my visit to Old Trafford, visit my facebook.

I'm out of Frosties D:

Headed up to the Arndale in the centre of Manchester today.
I've probably ended up there almost daily since I arrived.
Great place. Loads of shops and such.

Few awesome facts I guess for the Arndale:
It is the largest inner-city shopping centre in the UK with 240+ shops.
And it has a square footage of just under 1.5 million square feet (not including the dept. stores).
There are just under 1,500 parking spaces in the multi-storey parking deck.

www.manchesterarndale.com

I enjoy Southern Elven in the food court which is the English take on the food of the American South. It includes brisket, pulled pork, chicken, ect. But what cracks me up is ordering from Pizza Hut and getting chips as my side item. They really do give you chips with everything here.

Alex (The Russian), Ravi, Dom, Pod, and I went up to the "13th" floor of the Arndale parking lot for some scenic photos.
If the sun wasn't so bright, the Manchester version of the London Eye would be seen clearer in the background.

(Not picture would be Ravi)

Dom took me to Selfridges which is quite the posh store.
Up on the 3rd floor they had a small "American" product section of various American treats.
Won't be buying anything from there.
That is unless I wish to spend £4.99 on 8 Poptarts or £7.49 for a box of Lucky Charms.
They DID have a great deal on those Lucky Charms though! --> 2 boxes for £10. -__-

Selfridges also sold some top of the line clothing.
Like a jacket for £605.
So mom... I will be needed more money as it was a jacket I couldn't pass up.



Kidding.

Booked my Old Trafford tour tickets for tomorrow. Tour starts bright and early at 10:40AM.
Which is normally when I'm just starting to wake up. It'll be worth it. Many photos to come!

Vimto...

Is the drink of the future. I'm surprised it has not caught on in the States.
Its a soft drink originating out of the UK since 1908: A LONG TIME.
It comes in cans, bottles, or a tetrapak and I assume also in many other forms.
Picked up a 1 litre bottle from Quality Save for 95p or $1.45 USD.

Apparently you can't drink it straight from that litre bottle as it is too strong...
So just a tiny amount into a cup and add water, simple as that! :D
It also seems to be a pretty healthy drink with some Vitamin C action going on.

Feel free to check out their site:
www.vimto.co.uk

I know...

I keep getting asked for photos of my flat...
No fear! They will be coming soon.
And by soon, I mean when I get the energy to tidy up my room a bit!

Cupcakes and Cypriots

My mates David (Pod) & Dom have by far the COOLEST flatmates.
I of course spend most of my time over there with the other honorary flat-members: Alex "The Russian" Arnold, Ravi, and company.

Back to the coolest flatmates ever: the Cypriots! Alexia (Alex) who is attending MMU and her sister Stella who will be leaving us for Essex in October D': :: Their cousin Chris also comes about quite often. ALL of whom are wicked awesome people. Their mom spent a few days in the flat before she left back for Cyprus this past Monday.


(Stella ; Ravi ; Alex ; David (Pod) ; Chris)

BUT... before she left, she invited everyone (Dom, Pod, the Russian, Ravi) ALL to their place in Cyprus for Christmas! Of course I won't be passing that opportunity up, gotta work out the details, but I'm getting excited. It sounds simply awesome, especially from all the Greek words and phrases they've been teaching us. :D

Both Stella and Alex enjoy baking things so they involved us all in helping them bake cupcakes. They were yummy to say the least.


(Stella ; Allen ; Chris ; Alex)

Funny spellings AND funny pronounciations...

In America we say: aluminum --> in England they say: aluminium (all-oo-men-y-um)
In America we say: nokia (no-kia) --> in England they say: nokia (nah-kia)
In America we say: adidas (a-dee-das) --> in England they say: adidas (ah-dee-das)

In America we say: cash, bills -- in England they say: notes
In America we say: tired -- In England they say: knackered

And then of course there is tomato, potato, and an assortment of veggies said differently.
It allllll comes with the accent. And apparently, British girls like a GOOD American accent :D.
^^ Especially if you say "awesome" the 'American' way as they say.

Man of the Match:

Been slacking quite a bit... as my time has been consumed by sleeping, going to the Arndale in the center of Manchester and by the lovely club known as 5th Avenue (playing the greatest indie music).

Took a trip over to Deeside, Wales for my first hockey friendly playing with the Manchester Metros against the Aardvarx A team . After being up 3-0 heading into the 3rd we ended up squandering the 3 goal lead and tied 3-3.

I personally played a great game. Felt good being back on the ice for sure. The play was much, much different from what I am used to back home, but it was still enjoyable.

Ended up being selected as "man of the match" by the Aardvarx. It was a great honor to be recognized that way.



Team photo following the game:



NOTE: AND OF COURSE FOR A LARGER PHOTO JUST GIVE THE PHOTO A CLICK!

Weather today... Sunny?!?!

Headed to the driving range at Hoebridge with Katy and Patrick, thoroughly enjoyed it. XD but the sun has stayed out since I've been awake AMAZING.

Oh and for the record, tea without a large amount of sugar...


NOPE!

Paid a visit to the Queen's crib:

Welp. Today started after waking up from my 12 hour nap... yeahhhhh that was REFRESHING to say the least. Got the day of right by turning down some foul smelling marmite. Should be worth a try at least, but the salty smell is no flower. Headed to Windsor Castle with Katy and Patrick and there was a booth that you could have yourself photoshopped next to Prince William and Kate, lol worth a look but would much rather see the REAL Kate :D.



Had some pub food at The Carpenter's Arms which is a really old pub that supposedly has a tunnel in the basement area that leads right into Windsor Castle. My chicken had the best Canadian bacon on it...

Got to see some of the Royal Queen's protected swans and those things are massive! And there are millions of them around it seems.

OH! And got to see the "posh" college of Eton College that has been around since the 1400s: that's a long, longggg time. Harry and William both went there, among many others, but still, place was pretty ritzy.



We returned home just in time to watch ManU lay a whooping on Bolton, 5-0 (3 from Rooney, 2 from Chicharito). Then it was back out to the pub! This time to The Inn at Marybury and oh my geez that waitress was a looker :D. I had the spit chicken with lemon and Patrick was right when he said that every meal came with chips. Katy had the duck pizza and I hate a bit of that and well, it definitely tasted what I think a duck should taste like... hahaha.

And I've come to find I really have no idea what to say on this. Won't bore with facts, just may say whatever floats my boat.

Who needs sleep?!?!

Arrived into London - Heathrow at 8:20ish this morning... I was forced to stand in a line of over 9329932929 people at customs until the hero of the day called for "FIRST TIME STUDENTS!" and I passed everyone in the line. Talk about luck.

Well, Patrick was waiting for me at arrivals and it was a shocker at first to be sitting in the normal drivers side but be the passenger. Wild stuff.

Upon arrival in Old Woking, Katy was ready to get our day started in London. And by being ready, a brisk walk is a strong understatement for the hustle she displayed XD. Katy ALSO really enjoys walking up stair cases... an FYI!

It was a great day as we got "fast pass" tickets for the London Eye. Although midway up, I got weak knees due to my fear of heights... -__-



BUT I did recover enough to get a great picture with Big Ben in the background.



And for all you Harry Potter fans... does this scenery look familiar? How about the host site to the world premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt II?
--INTRODUCING TRAFALGAR SQUARE--


Lastly, who can head to England without taking a "faking a phone call" photo in the classic red box!


Oh and I paid a visit to the Queen's crib!


And look at these rascals hanging around out front :D



So after the longest day in my life, one that has yet to include an hour of sleep since 8AM on Sept 8th, I've curled up on the couch anddd am watching Criminal Minds. Really glad they show it over here! :D

Patrick is out at a mate's 40th birthday and Katy wants pub time, but we're gonna curry fried rice it w/ chicken at the moment. Maybe pub later, I can get my soda. XD

When going to England...

Consider bringing a long a box of Lucky Charms...
Strange? They tend to go far as they seem to be quite the popular cereal.
Why? In England, they apparently cost £7 or $11.15.
That compares to our what, $2-$3.
So do yourself a favor and pick up a box of the old Leprechaun before you head out:
You'll make a lot of friends in the process :]



I on the other hand, will be needing to pick up another box as I got a bit greedy...