*i see you've brought your bedroom eyes*
happy birthday matt skiba.
alas, it is my birthday as well. i am currently sitting in my dorm room, sipping on a hoegaarden and listening to alkaline trio. also, reading here and there on the zane grey novel. i have to finish it by thursday.
it is customary that i post a birthday blog. i think i have done this since 2005. so, five years later i am keeping with tradition. it is always usually at the beginning of the day as well, and it couldn't get earlier than this (the clock just turned midnight).
*tuck me into bed with snakes*
so, it has been a really interesting two weeks or so. i feel like i have done so much, yet accomplished nearly nothing. probably just the wane in the cycle. tomorrow i begin to wax, then its all full moon from there.
*she took him to the lake*
as you can see, i am going down the list of "maybe i'll catch fire." but pretty fantastic, actually. i have had a hard time feeling creative lately. i am not quite sure why this is. i had a burst of creativity last semester, but i guess i had more life experience for material than i do this semester. when i say that, i mean much more going on in my personal life and directly effecting my emotions as opposed to actually doing something or being somewhere. i no doubt have a lot going on and a lot to write about, but i usually am able to express in better ways my feelings, but basically not currently.
*5-3-just kidding*
i wrote a letter to two friends back home last week. put it in the mail and now expect them to receive it pretty soon. one is one of the three best friends i keep in life. (megs). she is basically responsible for me surviving since 2006. a great support and someone who is always there to help me out through my tough times in life.
the other, well, is someone that only became special in my life last year. she probably doesn't like the shout-outs, so, yeah. but it was nice to get something down on paper to send to her. not sure what all this means, but i guess it is something special in my book. the photobooth shots really are amazing. it is interesting how connections are made with other human beings. not quite sure how it works, but sometimes you just seem to get along better with certain people. i may be rambling here, who knows.
*if you fall down enough, well, soon enough you will find hell*
so, as conor oberst says, this is the first day of my life.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
we are both writers...
*we can just sit back and watch it all go up in flames*
a nice travel to manchester this weekend. erin, aj, dylan, dylan, jake, bryce, and myself traveled there on saturday for the night. manchester is quite a large city, with a population of around 450,000. it was quite nice to just get away from york for a while. erin, aj and i got there earlier than the others, and spent the first part of our time wandering manchester, trying to find a place to get a bite to eat. the three of us were sharing a room at the britannia sachas, were the others were staying at the plain ol' britannia. pretty decent room, even though it didn't have a window. that made it quite interesting when waking up. anyways, after quite a lot of searching, we finally found this pub by the manchester metro university campus. it was called "the pub," which, well, was pretty spot on. it was my first guinness experience of the trip. pretty tasty over here. they had something on tap called "guinness red," but i was just a bit to afraid to try it. it was probably pretty tasty, but i'll save that for dublin and the brewery tour.
we then headed over to the manchester museum of art. it has been a while since i have been to an art museum, and it was such a good time. i really enjoy looking at peoples emotions spilled out onto various mediums. i think my favorite parts were the francisco de goya etchings (which were so utterly amazing), yue minjun's contemporary painting (go here to check it out), and ron mueck's sculpture work (go here to check out a sampling). it was a pretty neat time. i look forward to spending much more time in museums during the rest of my travels in europe.
after that we did a little bit of shopping. i wanted to get a few things at american apparel, but their prices in the UK are ridiculous. i did find some sweet things at "topman," which is actually a pretty cool, hip store. you know me and my love for 3/4 baseball t-shirts.
where the night really took a turn was at the mexican restaurant. i think all of us have been craving not only mexican food, but also a really good mean. i know i had been. so, i basically, along with some of the others, ate into a food coma. i haven't had food this good in a long time, and basically that is saying that i was so hungry, british mexican tasted excellent. (now if only they could learn how to make a cheeseburger). aj, erin, and i went back to our hotel room and just crashed. after all of the food i ate, i don't think i could have put any beer or alcohol down there. completely stuffed. we just sat around and watched some british television (which included a christopher walken-michael cain movie that had a person in the corner of the screen signing the movie for deaf viewers). i really don't know why they couldn't have just used closed-caption. so, maybe for our illiterate-deaf viewers. also, we saw the olympic women's curling team beat the british team. we weren't quite sure what exactly was going on, but when they won, we gave a little cheer. the room was desperately hot. and around 2am we got a call from the others telling us they wouldn't let dylan h back up because the security said there was too many people in their room. so we ended up sneaking him in our hotel and he crashed on the floor as well. four people in a window-less, 80 degree room. were quite the sight. good thing i showered the next day, because i was dripping with sweat. i wonder how that room gets airflow?
the next morning, we had an amazing breakfast at this little cafe called the teacup. damn, that was good. it was really neat looking and they had a ton of threadless t-shirts on the wall. very cool. i had poached eggs (which i now love) with ham on a bagel. oh, and some english tea. no milk though, on account of my "condition."
on the ride back, a girl was sitting across from me watching something on her laptop when suddenly she burst into tears. i took my headphones off because i was not quite sure what was going on. turns out she was watching "the notebook." figures. i got to get a bit into the next novel for my class, "riders of the purple sage" by zane grey. i am actually now becoming a fan of the western, with this novel and all of the john wayne movies we have seen. we watched "stagecoach" today, while we have seen "the searchers" and "the big trail." god, john wayne is a hell of a man. i particularly liked "stagecoach." such a great story line and great acting. the ringo kid. kind of like me.
*all i can see, the buildings they burn so bright*
so, tomorrow i turn twenty-five. the so called, "quarter century." it feels weird to not be in minneapolis celebrating with my friends and family. i have had many fantastic birthdays with everyone back home, and i will really miss that this year. last year i was at nye's, surrounded by my friends, drinking a maker's mark-sour. oh the memories. what will tomorrow bring? i think that is a question we all constantly ask ourselves. well, i will be one year older. think i will be any wiser?
*hold me down*
a nice travel to manchester this weekend. erin, aj, dylan, dylan, jake, bryce, and myself traveled there on saturday for the night. manchester is quite a large city, with a population of around 450,000. it was quite nice to just get away from york for a while. erin, aj and i got there earlier than the others, and spent the first part of our time wandering manchester, trying to find a place to get a bite to eat. the three of us were sharing a room at the britannia sachas, were the others were staying at the plain ol' britannia. pretty decent room, even though it didn't have a window. that made it quite interesting when waking up. anyways, after quite a lot of searching, we finally found this pub by the manchester metro university campus. it was called "the pub," which, well, was pretty spot on. it was my first guinness experience of the trip. pretty tasty over here. they had something on tap called "guinness red," but i was just a bit to afraid to try it. it was probably pretty tasty, but i'll save that for dublin and the brewery tour.
we then headed over to the manchester museum of art. it has been a while since i have been to an art museum, and it was such a good time. i really enjoy looking at peoples emotions spilled out onto various mediums. i think my favorite parts were the francisco de goya etchings (which were so utterly amazing), yue minjun's contemporary painting (go here to check it out), and ron mueck's sculpture work (go here to check out a sampling). it was a pretty neat time. i look forward to spending much more time in museums during the rest of my travels in europe.
after that we did a little bit of shopping. i wanted to get a few things at american apparel, but their prices in the UK are ridiculous. i did find some sweet things at "topman," which is actually a pretty cool, hip store. you know me and my love for 3/4 baseball t-shirts.
where the night really took a turn was at the mexican restaurant. i think all of us have been craving not only mexican food, but also a really good mean. i know i had been. so, i basically, along with some of the others, ate into a food coma. i haven't had food this good in a long time, and basically that is saying that i was so hungry, british mexican tasted excellent. (now if only they could learn how to make a cheeseburger). aj, erin, and i went back to our hotel room and just crashed. after all of the food i ate, i don't think i could have put any beer or alcohol down there. completely stuffed. we just sat around and watched some british television (which included a christopher walken-michael cain movie that had a person in the corner of the screen signing the movie for deaf viewers). i really don't know why they couldn't have just used closed-caption. so, maybe for our illiterate-deaf viewers. also, we saw the olympic women's curling team beat the british team. we weren't quite sure what exactly was going on, but when they won, we gave a little cheer. the room was desperately hot. and around 2am we got a call from the others telling us they wouldn't let dylan h back up because the security said there was too many people in their room. so we ended up sneaking him in our hotel and he crashed on the floor as well. four people in a window-less, 80 degree room. were quite the sight. good thing i showered the next day, because i was dripping with sweat. i wonder how that room gets airflow?
the next morning, we had an amazing breakfast at this little cafe called the teacup. damn, that was good. it was really neat looking and they had a ton of threadless t-shirts on the wall. very cool. i had poached eggs (which i now love) with ham on a bagel. oh, and some english tea. no milk though, on account of my "condition."
on the ride back, a girl was sitting across from me watching something on her laptop when suddenly she burst into tears. i took my headphones off because i was not quite sure what was going on. turns out she was watching "the notebook." figures. i got to get a bit into the next novel for my class, "riders of the purple sage" by zane grey. i am actually now becoming a fan of the western, with this novel and all of the john wayne movies we have seen. we watched "stagecoach" today, while we have seen "the searchers" and "the big trail." god, john wayne is a hell of a man. i particularly liked "stagecoach." such a great story line and great acting. the ringo kid. kind of like me.
*all i can see, the buildings they burn so bright*
so, tomorrow i turn twenty-five. the so called, "quarter century." it feels weird to not be in minneapolis celebrating with my friends and family. i have had many fantastic birthdays with everyone back home, and i will really miss that this year. last year i was at nye's, surrounded by my friends, drinking a maker's mark-sour. oh the memories. what will tomorrow bring? i think that is a question we all constantly ask ourselves. well, i will be one year older. think i will be any wiser?
*hold me down*
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
born in the usa...
*everything must belong somewhere*
so, i'm not 100% sure what it is. it might be the fact that i have watched the olympics the past few days and have seen the usa do pretty damn well. or it could be the fact that i have been listening to a lot of springsteen. maybe it is the fact that for most of my life i have been the most patriotic person. i have never been that down with chanting, "u-s-a, u-s-a" at sporting events. nor have i owned a shirt with an american flag on it in the past eight years. i just really have been kind of bored with america. but, you know, it takes absence to make the heart grow fonder.
there was a point, a stretch from 2000 to pretty much now, that i really wasn't "proud to be an american." sure, i was damn proud to be a minnesotan. i mean, what is not to like about the best state in union? and mpls has always been my favorite city.
but there was still something missing...
i was walking back from my movie screening for my class (we watched, "the big trail" featuring john wayne) and i just was thinking to myself how much i have taken my country for granted. i see a lot of national pride with the british. this is even more so with other countries in europe. i haven't always seen the benefits of living in america until now. cheap goods and services (i can get a liter of maker's mark for $23.99 on sale at surdyks) nice, separated houses, and lakes. nice clean lakes.
i love my time here, but home will always be just that: home.
*power out*
so, i resigned from my internship. i just couldn't take the menial tasks that i was assigned to do. it was either cleaning something or being a tele-marketer. i am not a tele-marketer. i don't think there is someone more hated than a tele-marketer making cold calls. basically that was going to be my next 100 hours with the knights. their assistant coach and star player, chris thorman, was really helpful and friendly to me when i was there. that is one contact that i do not want to lose. other than that, i didn't get one beneficial thing out of it. spending almost 90 hours at a place and having basically nothing to show for it is a shame, but i didn't come to york to be miserable. i came to have an enriching experience, and this was not going to happen with the knights. i wish them all of the best, and hopefully interns in the future will be able to participate in more worthwhile projects.
*if it makes you less sad...*
so i have been listening to a lot of the boss lately. (bruce springsteen for those who just landed on earth). his music from the seventies really transcends generations. a lot of what he is talking about i can apply to the culture here and now. kids are just living life, trying to have a good time, but a lot of times they get in each others way and, well, feelings get hurt and fights happen, and well, life just happens.
i get kind of upset when people are unable to respond to basic communication formats. trying to communicate with people is sometimes hard, but with non-responsive people its even harder.
*i'm going to sneak to your bed and pour salt in your wounds*
a small group of us americans are going to manchester on saturday, just for the day. it should be a really grand time. i am pretty excited to see yet another british city. i have seen york, scarborough, and london. i just need to start crossing them off the list. we are staying in a pretty sweet hotel with a pool and hot tub. so, bust out the swim suit... oh, wait... i need to get one in order to bust it out. h&m, here i come! (i saw they had some on clearance they other day).
*your average woe has no punk-rock credentials*
well, this has been a mish-mash post, but i have been feeling a bit off lately with the stress over the internship. i can guarantee that when i wake up tomorrow, i am going to be fresh and relaxed. a new beginning.
*alive with the glory of love*
so, i'm not 100% sure what it is. it might be the fact that i have watched the olympics the past few days and have seen the usa do pretty damn well. or it could be the fact that i have been listening to a lot of springsteen. maybe it is the fact that for most of my life i have been the most patriotic person. i have never been that down with chanting, "u-s-a, u-s-a" at sporting events. nor have i owned a shirt with an american flag on it in the past eight years. i just really have been kind of bored with america. but, you know, it takes absence to make the heart grow fonder.
there was a point, a stretch from 2000 to pretty much now, that i really wasn't "proud to be an american." sure, i was damn proud to be a minnesotan. i mean, what is not to like about the best state in union? and mpls has always been my favorite city.
but there was still something missing...
i was walking back from my movie screening for my class (we watched, "the big trail" featuring john wayne) and i just was thinking to myself how much i have taken my country for granted. i see a lot of national pride with the british. this is even more so with other countries in europe. i haven't always seen the benefits of living in america until now. cheap goods and services (i can get a liter of maker's mark for $23.99 on sale at surdyks) nice, separated houses, and lakes. nice clean lakes.
i love my time here, but home will always be just that: home.
*power out*
so, i resigned from my internship. i just couldn't take the menial tasks that i was assigned to do. it was either cleaning something or being a tele-marketer. i am not a tele-marketer. i don't think there is someone more hated than a tele-marketer making cold calls. basically that was going to be my next 100 hours with the knights. their assistant coach and star player, chris thorman, was really helpful and friendly to me when i was there. that is one contact that i do not want to lose. other than that, i didn't get one beneficial thing out of it. spending almost 90 hours at a place and having basically nothing to show for it is a shame, but i didn't come to york to be miserable. i came to have an enriching experience, and this was not going to happen with the knights. i wish them all of the best, and hopefully interns in the future will be able to participate in more worthwhile projects.
*if it makes you less sad...*
so i have been listening to a lot of the boss lately. (bruce springsteen for those who just landed on earth). his music from the seventies really transcends generations. a lot of what he is talking about i can apply to the culture here and now. kids are just living life, trying to have a good time, but a lot of times they get in each others way and, well, feelings get hurt and fights happen, and well, life just happens.
i get kind of upset when people are unable to respond to basic communication formats. trying to communicate with people is sometimes hard, but with non-responsive people its even harder.
*i'm going to sneak to your bed and pour salt in your wounds*
a small group of us americans are going to manchester on saturday, just for the day. it should be a really grand time. i am pretty excited to see yet another british city. i have seen york, scarborough, and london. i just need to start crossing them off the list. we are staying in a pretty sweet hotel with a pool and hot tub. so, bust out the swim suit... oh, wait... i need to get one in order to bust it out. h&m, here i come! (i saw they had some on clearance they other day).
*your average woe has no punk-rock credentials*
well, this has been a mish-mash post, but i have been feeling a bit off lately with the stress over the internship. i can guarantee that when i wake up tomorrow, i am going to be fresh and relaxed. a new beginning.
*alive with the glory of love*
Friday, February 5, 2010
magnetic mid-west...
*minneapolis, rock city*
so this may be a random post, but, that is the way i like it.
last night i went out with caite, miles, and ayana (another girl from america). i live on the opposite side of campus from my regular group of friends, and it is sometimes hard to hang out with anyone when you have to walk a pretty long way to the other side of campus. so, it gets a little boring here in langwith g block. i also was feeling a bit down yesterday, missing mpls, my home, my friends and family, that i, as morrissey says, "i want to see people and i want to see life." so, i as i tried to figure out something to do, for the third night in a row things fell apart with my derwent friends. miles and caite were nice enough to let me cool along and hang with them. i haven't had a fun night like this in a long time. we went to a few clubs and basically danced and danced and danced some more. the dj was playing pretty bad house music (sort of brit-house) and i knew only a handful of songs, but it didn't matter.
i really like making fun of the way girls dress when they go out to "the clubs." so, basically they try and dress as skank-rific as possible, only to get disgusted by any guy that may try to go up and talk to them. if you can see your thong out the bottom of your "dress" then, i'm sorry for looking, but it isn't in awe, it is in utter disgust. i basically do not like seeing your ass (and by the way, none of these girls are ever really that cute, so maybe...compensating) hang out of the bottom of your dress at the club. i may not be the classiest guy in town, but i just get so turned off by this kind of thing. there is a way to get "dolled up" and go out to the club without looking like you are begging every guy in town to take you home. and women say men "try to hard." sorry, honey, but with your thong escaping out the bottom of your dress, it seems to me that you are trying harder than any guy in the place.
*have another drink*
so, anyways, as this post is titled, i was missing mpls a bit last night. it was nice to be able to talk to a dear friend of mine the other day on facebook. jackie and i had a really great time last semester. we became quite close and have a very unique friendship. i miss seeing her on a frequent basis and haven't had a chance to communicate with her until the other day. she understands my weird sense of humor, and, well challenges me in a very good way. it made me think about all of my friends and family back home. i really didn't understand what these people have meant to me until i don't have access to them everyday. peej and meggers are truly two of my best friends and its tough to be sitting around waiting for friday to come only not realize that when i wake up on saturday, pj and meg won't be on my couch sleeping off a solid night at the otter. meg and i wont go to the bulldog for breakfast and have one of the most underrated breakfasts in the cities. i won't be able to see trav and kozz at macs on sunday and hear them complain about all of the football fans during football season and have trav cheer people outside for parallel parking their car successfully. seeing mike everyday at school for weekday wine club or causing trouble at various hamline parties. talking to the rev outside bush and laughing louder than you can imagine, bothering all of the kids coming out of the library. going for thai with mel and watching how people at chang mai thai never id her. metting up with stacie and laura wherever they may be. being able to escape up to rogers and hang out with my mom and dad and see my grandma. getting to tell my parents about all of the exciting things in life and just being with people that are always there for me.
i could go on forever, but you get the picture. i miss these things, and i feel like i have taken taken them for granted.
but, there is a positive side to this. so, i'm going to end it with a positive jam (or paragraph).
there is good in everything and if i would have never taken this trip to england i would never have met the wonderful hamline people that accompanied me or the amazing brits that have put up with our thick minnesota accents with great tact. every single person that is on this trip with me means a lot to me. they have collectively kept me from going completely insane in missing mpls. like they say, you can take the boy out of mpls but you can't take the mpls out of the boy.
i can't wait for tonight. more memories made, ciders drank, cups tipped, and friendships grown.
what will happen next?
i'm excited to know that i really don't have a clue...
*we all crack with no laugh-track*
so this may be a random post, but, that is the way i like it.
last night i went out with caite, miles, and ayana (another girl from america). i live on the opposite side of campus from my regular group of friends, and it is sometimes hard to hang out with anyone when you have to walk a pretty long way to the other side of campus. so, it gets a little boring here in langwith g block. i also was feeling a bit down yesterday, missing mpls, my home, my friends and family, that i, as morrissey says, "i want to see people and i want to see life." so, i as i tried to figure out something to do, for the third night in a row things fell apart with my derwent friends. miles and caite were nice enough to let me cool along and hang with them. i haven't had a fun night like this in a long time. we went to a few clubs and basically danced and danced and danced some more. the dj was playing pretty bad house music (sort of brit-house) and i knew only a handful of songs, but it didn't matter.
i really like making fun of the way girls dress when they go out to "the clubs." so, basically they try and dress as skank-rific as possible, only to get disgusted by any guy that may try to go up and talk to them. if you can see your thong out the bottom of your "dress" then, i'm sorry for looking, but it isn't in awe, it is in utter disgust. i basically do not like seeing your ass (and by the way, none of these girls are ever really that cute, so maybe...compensating) hang out of the bottom of your dress at the club. i may not be the classiest guy in town, but i just get so turned off by this kind of thing. there is a way to get "dolled up" and go out to the club without looking like you are begging every guy in town to take you home. and women say men "try to hard." sorry, honey, but with your thong escaping out the bottom of your dress, it seems to me that you are trying harder than any guy in the place.
*have another drink*
so, anyways, as this post is titled, i was missing mpls a bit last night. it was nice to be able to talk to a dear friend of mine the other day on facebook. jackie and i had a really great time last semester. we became quite close and have a very unique friendship. i miss seeing her on a frequent basis and haven't had a chance to communicate with her until the other day. she understands my weird sense of humor, and, well challenges me in a very good way. it made me think about all of my friends and family back home. i really didn't understand what these people have meant to me until i don't have access to them everyday. peej and meggers are truly two of my best friends and its tough to be sitting around waiting for friday to come only not realize that when i wake up on saturday, pj and meg won't be on my couch sleeping off a solid night at the otter. meg and i wont go to the bulldog for breakfast and have one of the most underrated breakfasts in the cities. i won't be able to see trav and kozz at macs on sunday and hear them complain about all of the football fans during football season and have trav cheer people outside for parallel parking their car successfully. seeing mike everyday at school for weekday wine club or causing trouble at various hamline parties. talking to the rev outside bush and laughing louder than you can imagine, bothering all of the kids coming out of the library. going for thai with mel and watching how people at chang mai thai never id her. metting up with stacie and laura wherever they may be. being able to escape up to rogers and hang out with my mom and dad and see my grandma. getting to tell my parents about all of the exciting things in life and just being with people that are always there for me.
i could go on forever, but you get the picture. i miss these things, and i feel like i have taken taken them for granted.
but, there is a positive side to this. so, i'm going to end it with a positive jam (or paragraph).
there is good in everything and if i would have never taken this trip to england i would never have met the wonderful hamline people that accompanied me or the amazing brits that have put up with our thick minnesota accents with great tact. every single person that is on this trip with me means a lot to me. they have collectively kept me from going completely insane in missing mpls. like they say, you can take the boy out of mpls but you can't take the mpls out of the boy.
i can't wait for tonight. more memories made, ciders drank, cups tipped, and friendships grown.
what will happen next?
i'm excited to know that i really don't have a clue...
*we all crack with no laugh-track*
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
not one more word tonight...
*unsubstantiated rumors are good enough for me*
well boys and girls, it is an "against me!" morning. every time i listen to this band, i love them more and more. i really wish i had a few more of their albums. i have heard a few songs off of "reinventing axl rose" and they sound pretty awesome. one of my own personal most underrated bands of all time. they just make me happy, especially at 7:30 on a wednesday (gmt, of course).
*there was cameras bought for pictures to hold all the small details*
*we left them all behind*
so, when i last left you, our hero had just arrived on the streets of london, via a five hour coach bus. he had met up with his friend and was now about to enter the underground towards the college in which jake's friends were staying at.
well, i almost forgot to tell you the purpose of this trip: brand new. yes. brand fucking new. one of my all time favourite bands since, well, junior high. i had discovered a week earlier that they were going to be in london, as well as discovered that vivian was also a huge fan of this band. my spontaneity being what it is, we decided to book the tickets as well as the bus tickets and head down for the show.
we had originally believed that we were going to be able to crash with jake's friends in their dorm room, but upon arriving, it became clear that their college was extremely strict on their visiting rules and that they were only able to have one visitor per person. since there was already three visitors, viv, joe, and i were left without a place to stay. viv and i being in the positive moods that we are always in, just decided to put off figuring out what we would do and instead try to enjoy the trip. i work much better under pressure (more on that later).
so we made it to london, headed off to the grocery store to buy liquor for the night, and then proceeded back to the dorms. jake, joe, viv, and myself were all extremely hungry, so we decided to go out and find a pub to have dinner in. the thing about british pubs is, quite like mpls, they have very good food. i still can't remember the name of the pub, but the bangers and mash that i had were excellent. i think everyone else had the fish and chips, but i'm not entirely sure.
also an interesting note is that the tube system in london is pretty neat. i really haven't had much experience with an underground system other than a few rides in dc when we were on tour, but that is about it. they can really get crowded, and they basically go everywhere. there really isn't a place you can't go (except when it is late and they stop running, and more on THAT later).
so, we found out that the doors for the show opened at 7:30. that meant that the show probably wouldn't start until 8 or so, meaning brand new would go on around 10. perfect. we had to drink most of the booze we bought (except for the two liter of cider viv and i shared on the tubes) and plan out our route to wembley arena. the cool thing was, this concert was right next to wembley stadium, which is a pretty bitchin' stadium. (the english national soccer game plays their home games there).
so, our travel commenced. problem was there were a few lines of tube down and we had to detour. we made it close, then had to take a bus towards the stadium. finally making it around 10 or so. thing was, the show started at 10. doors were at 6. so, brand new was already playing. we rushed in, ran up just im time for jesus. jude law followed, then seventy x 7. then at the bottom, and finishing up with play crack the sky. so, six songs in all. but, mind you, each song was amazing and the crowd was so energetic. i loved every minute of it and can still to this day (and beyond) say that i saw brand new in london. playing pretty much songs that i have loved for years. (jude law and a semester abroad has a very special place in my heart, jp).
well, the way back was much more of an adventure. viv and i lost joe when we went to the bathroom (or toilet as the brits call it). side note: i STILL can't say toilet. it just sounds... naughty. in a non-sexual way.
we then went to meet up with jake and all of the girls at "arch angel," some club in kensington. one cool thing about arch angel: they had real american beer. sierra nevada. which, by my standards, is a quite good brew. i bought some for my foreign friends and toasted away to honor (thanks barrent dahl for that one). if you want to know the toast, comment heavily and maybe i'll post it next time.
now came the real problem. we still had no place to stay. it was almost 2:30. so, shit. i'm in london and may be sleeping in the train station if i have to. now another problem was that my back was way acting up. disc 5-6 did not like traveling that long in one day. it was kicking my ass. and i wasn't nearly liquored up enough to deal with it. (without pain pills or physical therapy that my medical insurance won't cover, i'm a mess). so after a little drama, i ended up sneaking into a dorm in a college a few blocks down and sleeping on the floor. beautiful. but, at least it was a place to sleep.
the ride back was great, and i still give viv crap for the concert, even though i am thoroughly content with what i saw. i love brand new, 2 hours or 2 minutes.
the week was then spent as usual. reading, internship (which i will post more heavily about in the future), and enjoying the company of all of my new friends, american, and european.
in all, i am so happy i came to york. i have met new friends i will have for a long time to come and wouldn't trade them for the world. i do miss a lot of people back home, most of all my family and closest friends. my mom and dad have been the greatest in supporting my trip. they see the good that can come out of it, not only academically, but also personally. i won't be the same when i come back, but, hey, that is in a good way.
and i promise, i will still be the same tj, just added experience. i am learning so much more about myself than i even imagined.
i have now surpassed the time length that i have been away from minnesota. this is new territory. so far, it has felt like a vacation, but i am not going anywhere anytime soon. i am here. i live here. it is weird saying, "i'm heading home" and have it mean langwith block g, room 237. home is a lot of places. but i guess it can mean where you lay your head. my home will always be minnesota. i love that state, and trust me, i talk extremely highly of it over here. maybe the minnesota gov't should be giving me a cut of the future tourism that i am forging for the state. the british invasion will happen. trust me.
*wednesday night dance party, winter 2010*
well boys and girls, it is an "against me!" morning. every time i listen to this band, i love them more and more. i really wish i had a few more of their albums. i have heard a few songs off of "reinventing axl rose" and they sound pretty awesome. one of my own personal most underrated bands of all time. they just make me happy, especially at 7:30 on a wednesday (gmt, of course).
*there was cameras bought for pictures to hold all the small details*
*we left them all behind*
so, when i last left you, our hero had just arrived on the streets of london, via a five hour coach bus. he had met up with his friend and was now about to enter the underground towards the college in which jake's friends were staying at.
well, i almost forgot to tell you the purpose of this trip: brand new. yes. brand fucking new. one of my all time favourite bands since, well, junior high. i had discovered a week earlier that they were going to be in london, as well as discovered that vivian was also a huge fan of this band. my spontaneity being what it is, we decided to book the tickets as well as the bus tickets and head down for the show.
we had originally believed that we were going to be able to crash with jake's friends in their dorm room, but upon arriving, it became clear that their college was extremely strict on their visiting rules and that they were only able to have one visitor per person. since there was already three visitors, viv, joe, and i were left without a place to stay. viv and i being in the positive moods that we are always in, just decided to put off figuring out what we would do and instead try to enjoy the trip. i work much better under pressure (more on that later).
so we made it to london, headed off to the grocery store to buy liquor for the night, and then proceeded back to the dorms. jake, joe, viv, and myself were all extremely hungry, so we decided to go out and find a pub to have dinner in. the thing about british pubs is, quite like mpls, they have very good food. i still can't remember the name of the pub, but the bangers and mash that i had were excellent. i think everyone else had the fish and chips, but i'm not entirely sure.
also an interesting note is that the tube system in london is pretty neat. i really haven't had much experience with an underground system other than a few rides in dc when we were on tour, but that is about it. they can really get crowded, and they basically go everywhere. there really isn't a place you can't go (except when it is late and they stop running, and more on THAT later).
so, we found out that the doors for the show opened at 7:30. that meant that the show probably wouldn't start until 8 or so, meaning brand new would go on around 10. perfect. we had to drink most of the booze we bought (except for the two liter of cider viv and i shared on the tubes) and plan out our route to wembley arena. the cool thing was, this concert was right next to wembley stadium, which is a pretty bitchin' stadium. (the english national soccer game plays their home games there).
so, our travel commenced. problem was there were a few lines of tube down and we had to detour. we made it close, then had to take a bus towards the stadium. finally making it around 10 or so. thing was, the show started at 10. doors were at 6. so, brand new was already playing. we rushed in, ran up just im time for jesus. jude law followed, then seventy x 7. then at the bottom, and finishing up with play crack the sky. so, six songs in all. but, mind you, each song was amazing and the crowd was so energetic. i loved every minute of it and can still to this day (and beyond) say that i saw brand new in london. playing pretty much songs that i have loved for years. (jude law and a semester abroad has a very special place in my heart, jp).
well, the way back was much more of an adventure. viv and i lost joe when we went to the bathroom (or toilet as the brits call it). side note: i STILL can't say toilet. it just sounds... naughty. in a non-sexual way.
we then went to meet up with jake and all of the girls at "arch angel," some club in kensington. one cool thing about arch angel: they had real american beer. sierra nevada. which, by my standards, is a quite good brew. i bought some for my foreign friends and toasted away to honor (thanks barrent dahl for that one). if you want to know the toast, comment heavily and maybe i'll post it next time.
now came the real problem. we still had no place to stay. it was almost 2:30. so, shit. i'm in london and may be sleeping in the train station if i have to. now another problem was that my back was way acting up. disc 5-6 did not like traveling that long in one day. it was kicking my ass. and i wasn't nearly liquored up enough to deal with it. (without pain pills or physical therapy that my medical insurance won't cover, i'm a mess). so after a little drama, i ended up sneaking into a dorm in a college a few blocks down and sleeping on the floor. beautiful. but, at least it was a place to sleep.
the ride back was great, and i still give viv crap for the concert, even though i am thoroughly content with what i saw. i love brand new, 2 hours or 2 minutes.
the week was then spent as usual. reading, internship (which i will post more heavily about in the future), and enjoying the company of all of my new friends, american, and european.
in all, i am so happy i came to york. i have met new friends i will have for a long time to come and wouldn't trade them for the world. i do miss a lot of people back home, most of all my family and closest friends. my mom and dad have been the greatest in supporting my trip. they see the good that can come out of it, not only academically, but also personally. i won't be the same when i come back, but, hey, that is in a good way.
and i promise, i will still be the same tj, just added experience. i am learning so much more about myself than i even imagined.
i have now surpassed the time length that i have been away from minnesota. this is new territory. so far, it has felt like a vacation, but i am not going anywhere anytime soon. i am here. i live here. it is weird saying, "i'm heading home" and have it mean langwith block g, room 237. home is a lot of places. but i guess it can mean where you lay your head. my home will always be minnesota. i love that state, and trust me, i talk extremely highly of it over here. maybe the minnesota gov't should be giving me a cut of the future tourism that i am forging for the state. the british invasion will happen. trust me.
*wednesday night dance party, winter 2010*
Monday, January 25, 2010
better things...
*i feel it crash upon your skin*
*do you miss me like i miss you? do i miss you like you miss me?*
i think the subtitle to this post should be "from the beautiful beaches of scarborough to the deep, seedy underbelly of london."
i hope you are prepared, because i am about to take you on a fantastical, wonderful, radical journey in this edition of "plainrides." i hope you have your seat backs and tray tables in an upright and locked position.
day scarborough: when i last left you, i was filling your heads with visions of far off castles and my current life-long goal to someday live in a castle of my own.
well this is all true, and more.
scarborough was a fantastic day trip. i took quite a few pictures, which i will now share with you below.
view of the north sea ^
me (a rare cameo), dylan, dylan, jake ^
view of scarborough with castle in background ^
castle ^
lovely seaside scarborough ^
the castle was the main part of this trip, but that was the last thing we did. first, we walked along the shores of the sea, which was very cold (i had to feel the water). a few of us found some smooth rocks and skipped them in the water. i got only three skips, pretty shotty for a person that has a family cabin. we then wandered around scarborough where we found my favorite dollar-store-in-the-uk-name so far, "price pounder." i wish i could have taken credit for this, because it is brilliant. we then all ate at the golden grid, which is apparently famous for their fish and chips. i actually ordered it and surprisingly enjoyed it quite a bit (for those who don't know, i'm not a seafood fan). when we saw the actual castle, i knew that i needed to someday have one. or two, since i am american. jake and i talked about how this is what we thought england would be like. being on a high shore, looking out over the ocean with a cold wind whipping at your face. it was fresh, sea air. and it felt good. i loved the feeling. for the first time in the trip, it finally sunk in that i actually am in england. and for a while.
that night, a small group of us traveled to the lighthorseman to see the vikings v. cowboys, which the owner steve had agreed to put on for us. it was pretty awesome of him to put it on in a british pub. we all cheered the vikes on as they pummeled the cowboys and made it to the nfc championship game (which i will not mention again at any point in this blog).
the week was really action packed. at least it felt that way. on tuesday, we went to visit this old church, the holy trinity church. it was quite old and still in basically the same shape. i thought it was interesting that people were buried right beneath the stones inside the church. it felt almost weird walking over gravestones, but i guess when you are strapped for space, you need to do this. we then got a chance to go back to the minster and walk up to the tower, even though it was quite foggy. i still found it amazing, and we did get to hear the bell of st. peter ring, which is the second biggest bell in england outside of the bell at west minster.
stained glass in the holy trinity ^
the half-way point up to the tower at the minster ^
at the top of the tower, looking at the bell towers ^ (the big one is on the left)
dylan and i walked home from the minster together, with stopping at mcdonalds (to check the fries) and poundworld. (not as good as the price pounder). all of the snow had melted at this point, causing the river to flood a great deal.
here is dylan standing next to the bar we usually start at when we go out ^
note that the road goes to the end of the sidewalk and beyond. there is a road that runs left to right (on your screen) beyond the building. so the river ouse had flooded quite a bit. as of now (the 25th of jan. it is basically back to normal). no one really seemed to be fazed by the flooding and i heard that it happens quite a bit. they were more freaked out by the snow.
anyways, wednesday we visited a nunnery that was started by mary ward. it was really neat to see and the most wonder old lady showed us around and told us all about it. since there is a lot to talk about here, i will post a link to the wiki page so you all can enjoy the wonderful tale about this convent. i thought it was most interesting to see the actual hand of saint margaret clitherow. it is an actual hand from the 1580s and it is still intact. honesty remarkable. and she is now a saint. that's pretty sweet stuff. read more about both margaret and the bar convent at the links i posted above.
tired yet? since i am losing readers by the minute (or second) i will try to make the rest of this a little more interesting.
on thursday, i started my first day at the york city knights rugby league club. this is going to be an awesome internship. anyways, my match day was thursday night as the knights were playing the hunslet hawks. after a lot of boring prep-work, i was able to watch the match from the box seats that the directors of the clubs sit in. it was amazing. i really like the sport and it didn't take me long to get into it. most of the game was spent watching as well as simon or myself (simon is my boss and the commercial manager for the club) checking in on all of the box suites ensuring that everything was okay for them. they all loved the fact that i am american and gave me a little rubbing on now i am actually seeing real football instead of the wussy stuff with pads that is played back in the states. overall, everyone was extremely friendly and i had a wonderful time. i can't wait until the first real match v. leigh on february seventh!
friday was my first class of "middle english romance and popular fiction (john wayne to gawain)." there is only one other male student in there, and when we got the novels for the term, i sort of realized why. aside from zane grey and various popular movies and middle english texts, we have five romance novels to read. "king's pawn," "oh-so-sensible secretary," "her warrior slave," "nightcap," and my personal favorite "the sheikh's virgin." pretty exciting stuff. i do think the class is going to be great and all of my classmates seem to have their shit together, but i have never ever considered reading a romance novel, so this should be interesting.
friday was another night out with the crew (sans jake, who had traveled to london). i was meeting up with jake on saturday and going to see brand new at wembley area. i'll skip to the travel saturday as my mother thinks i write a bit too much about drinking, and, yes, friday night had a little drinking to go along with it (don't worry, i didn't spend any money. i two liters of cider to drink for the night).
saturday, i woke up nice and early and met up with vivian and joe (her friend from brighton). we were taking the coach down to london, which was only eight pounds. the train costs 23. so, we figured this was a good deal. and, let me tell you, the coach ain't too bad. yes, it takes five and a half hours, but we did get a break and, with a good romance novel assigned by my class from friday (i started with "oh-so-sensible secretary," by the way), the trip went by like that. when we got to london, we tried to meet up with jake and took a very nice long walk around london, by the river mostly. i saw it all, big ben, parliament, westminster abby, the millennium eye, the thames. oh yes. it was great. it took us almost an hour and a half to walk towards jake (whom we met by st. paul's cathedral), but it was worth it. i love london. and people said there is no such thing as love at first sight. i only took two pictures, but i will be back. and i was spending most of the time just enjoying the fact that i was finally in the city i have wanted to visit for ages. over anything. yes. i am a london kind of guy.
apollo victoria theatre ^ (i thought the wicked sign was cool and i really want to see it)
front door of westminster ^ (i like york's minster better)
*sleepyhead*
well, i am going to leave you with a cliffhanger here... i think the rest of the london trip will need its own post.
part deux: soon.
*do you miss me like i miss you? do i miss you like you miss me?*
i think the subtitle to this post should be "from the beautiful beaches of scarborough to the deep, seedy underbelly of london."
i hope you are prepared, because i am about to take you on a fantastical, wonderful, radical journey in this edition of "plainrides." i hope you have your seat backs and tray tables in an upright and locked position.
day scarborough: when i last left you, i was filling your heads with visions of far off castles and my current life-long goal to someday live in a castle of my own.
well this is all true, and more.
scarborough was a fantastic day trip. i took quite a few pictures, which i will now share with you below.
view of the north sea ^
me (a rare cameo), dylan, dylan, jake ^
view of scarborough with castle in background ^
castle ^
lovely seaside scarborough ^
the castle was the main part of this trip, but that was the last thing we did. first, we walked along the shores of the sea, which was very cold (i had to feel the water). a few of us found some smooth rocks and skipped them in the water. i got only three skips, pretty shotty for a person that has a family cabin. we then wandered around scarborough where we found my favorite dollar-store-in-the-uk-name so far, "price pounder." i wish i could have taken credit for this, because it is brilliant. we then all ate at the golden grid, which is apparently famous for their fish and chips. i actually ordered it and surprisingly enjoyed it quite a bit (for those who don't know, i'm not a seafood fan). when we saw the actual castle, i knew that i needed to someday have one. or two, since i am american. jake and i talked about how this is what we thought england would be like. being on a high shore, looking out over the ocean with a cold wind whipping at your face. it was fresh, sea air. and it felt good. i loved the feeling. for the first time in the trip, it finally sunk in that i actually am in england. and for a while.
that night, a small group of us traveled to the lighthorseman to see the vikings v. cowboys, which the owner steve had agreed to put on for us. it was pretty awesome of him to put it on in a british pub. we all cheered the vikes on as they pummeled the cowboys and made it to the nfc championship game (which i will not mention again at any point in this blog).
the week was really action packed. at least it felt that way. on tuesday, we went to visit this old church, the holy trinity church. it was quite old and still in basically the same shape. i thought it was interesting that people were buried right beneath the stones inside the church. it felt almost weird walking over gravestones, but i guess when you are strapped for space, you need to do this. we then got a chance to go back to the minster and walk up to the tower, even though it was quite foggy. i still found it amazing, and we did get to hear the bell of st. peter ring, which is the second biggest bell in england outside of the bell at west minster.
stained glass in the holy trinity ^
the half-way point up to the tower at the minster ^
at the top of the tower, looking at the bell towers ^ (the big one is on the left)
dylan and i walked home from the minster together, with stopping at mcdonalds (to check the fries) and poundworld. (not as good as the price pounder). all of the snow had melted at this point, causing the river to flood a great deal.
here is dylan standing next to the bar we usually start at when we go out ^
note that the road goes to the end of the sidewalk and beyond. there is a road that runs left to right (on your screen) beyond the building. so the river ouse had flooded quite a bit. as of now (the 25th of jan. it is basically back to normal). no one really seemed to be fazed by the flooding and i heard that it happens quite a bit. they were more freaked out by the snow.
anyways, wednesday we visited a nunnery that was started by mary ward. it was really neat to see and the most wonder old lady showed us around and told us all about it. since there is a lot to talk about here, i will post a link to the wiki page so you all can enjoy the wonderful tale about this convent. i thought it was most interesting to see the actual hand of saint margaret clitherow. it is an actual hand from the 1580s and it is still intact. honesty remarkable. and she is now a saint. that's pretty sweet stuff. read more about both margaret and the bar convent at the links i posted above.
tired yet? since i am losing readers by the minute (or second) i will try to make the rest of this a little more interesting.
on thursday, i started my first day at the york city knights rugby league club. this is going to be an awesome internship. anyways, my match day was thursday night as the knights were playing the hunslet hawks. after a lot of boring prep-work, i was able to watch the match from the box seats that the directors of the clubs sit in. it was amazing. i really like the sport and it didn't take me long to get into it. most of the game was spent watching as well as simon or myself (simon is my boss and the commercial manager for the club) checking in on all of the box suites ensuring that everything was okay for them. they all loved the fact that i am american and gave me a little rubbing on now i am actually seeing real football instead of the wussy stuff with pads that is played back in the states. overall, everyone was extremely friendly and i had a wonderful time. i can't wait until the first real match v. leigh on february seventh!
friday was my first class of "middle english romance and popular fiction (john wayne to gawain)." there is only one other male student in there, and when we got the novels for the term, i sort of realized why. aside from zane grey and various popular movies and middle english texts, we have five romance novels to read. "king's pawn," "oh-so-sensible secretary," "her warrior slave," "nightcap," and my personal favorite "the sheikh's virgin." pretty exciting stuff. i do think the class is going to be great and all of my classmates seem to have their shit together, but i have never ever considered reading a romance novel, so this should be interesting.
friday was another night out with the crew (sans jake, who had traveled to london). i was meeting up with jake on saturday and going to see brand new at wembley area. i'll skip to the travel saturday as my mother thinks i write a bit too much about drinking, and, yes, friday night had a little drinking to go along with it (don't worry, i didn't spend any money. i two liters of cider to drink for the night).
saturday, i woke up nice and early and met up with vivian and joe (her friend from brighton). we were taking the coach down to london, which was only eight pounds. the train costs 23. so, we figured this was a good deal. and, let me tell you, the coach ain't too bad. yes, it takes five and a half hours, but we did get a break and, with a good romance novel assigned by my class from friday (i started with "oh-so-sensible secretary," by the way), the trip went by like that. when we got to london, we tried to meet up with jake and took a very nice long walk around london, by the river mostly. i saw it all, big ben, parliament, westminster abby, the millennium eye, the thames. oh yes. it was great. it took us almost an hour and a half to walk towards jake (whom we met by st. paul's cathedral), but it was worth it. i love london. and people said there is no such thing as love at first sight. i only took two pictures, but i will be back. and i was spending most of the time just enjoying the fact that i was finally in the city i have wanted to visit for ages. over anything. yes. i am a london kind of guy.
apollo victoria theatre ^ (i thought the wicked sign was cool and i really want to see it)
front door of westminster ^ (i like york's minster better)
*sleepyhead*
well, i am going to leave you with a cliffhanger here... i think the rest of the london trip will need its own post.
part deux: soon.
Monday, January 18, 2010
hey beauty supreme...
*yeah, you were right about me*
so week one in england really turned out a success. as my friend the rev (mr. derek dixon) pointed out, "glad you're taking the circus on tour." precisely, my friends.
clifford's tower is quite an amazing piece of historic architecture. it was really mind-numbing to see something so old, something that we can not experience in the states. when i think of old, i think of the cobblestone on main street or pracna. this tower is from around the 13th and 14th century. kind of different than the 1850's.
that is the tower ^
view of york from the tower ^
some hamline friends inside the tower ^ (jake, dylan, alyssa, erin, dylan)
after the tower, we hit it hard wednesday. i ended up going to the clubs with a few people, including tom, roberta, amy, and vivian. we actually hit a bar first, then went to a club but roberta couldn't get in because she forgot her id. i never get id'd here, mainly because i'm almost twenty-five and more than likely older than the bouncers that are checking the ids. we did order some pizza when we got back, and eventually decided on what we were getting after a little cultural barrier. viv, roberta and i were looking to get the pizza's together and share because it would be quite cheap, and they wanted to get margherita pizza. well, in the states, we know margherita pizza is served with big slices of tomato on it. as most know, i hate big slices of tomato. so i was pleading that we should get at least one just cheese. they couldn't figure out why i would want a pizza like that. turns out, the margherita is a cheese pizza in america. just tomato sauce and cheese. us americans and our crazy, fancy pizza toppings. side note: the pizza was ordered from "viking pizza" which helped me feel a little closer to home.
on friday, the hamline group toured the fabulous york minster. i really do not think words can describe how amazing this gothic cathedral is. amazing doesn't cut it. but it was. and more. it was really hard to take pictures in there due to the lighting as well as the day being quite dark and cloudy outside. i tried and managed to snap a few good ones. while we were there, a visiting high school choir from argentina performed an impromptu performance. it was just a great feeling to be in such a magnificent place hearing beautiful music. our tour guide told us that the minster has amazing acoustics, and that a certain note (he couldn't recall which one) can carry for up to seven seconds after it is sung. quite the place. you could probably spend a full eight hours exploring the minster and still not see everything it has to show. for some information on the minster, click here. i don't want to have to type everything i learned.
outside the minster ^
the nave ^
you can fit an 18 story building under this point and it would just touch the ceiling ^
the five sisters window ^
the ceiling of the chapter house ^
the main entrance to the minster ^
as you can see, my pictures are not the best. but check out the link i added to the wiki page. they have some great photos that do the minster much more justice than my photos.
friday night was one of the best we have had so far. we pretty much started the party again in derwent with most of the hamline crew and the derwent crew that we have been hanging with. we all decided to take the bus downtown to do a little bit of bar hopping. on the bus (a double decker one, and yes, we were on the top) we broke out in acapella karaoke (boni tyler-total eclipse of the heart and journey-don't stop believing). the group was getting rowdy. we chilled at the first bar a bit (i can't remember how long) and then went to our old faithful, the vudu lounge. there our group merrily drank away until around 3am, and then we cabbed or walked home. (this point of the night is a bit of a blur). the group weeded out a bit when we got back and only a few of us were left drinking in the derwent second floor (for you yanks third floor) kitchen. my back was hurting a bit (if you know me and my herniated disc, this means my nerve was getting pinched as well) and my thumb was getting a bit numb. viv, who was wearing my sweatshirt and military hat for reasons i can not recall, tried to pinch my thumb to see if i could feel it, which i couldn't really. then she (again for reasons unknown) bit it. well, it was a hard bite that actually punctured my thumb and caused me to start bleeding quite a bit. now this was all in good fun and i don't blame viv one bit for what happened (it was around 5:30am at the time). but needless to say, it provides a great story to tell my grandkids.
the next morning, i woke up and found that i was sleeping in jake's extra bed in his room because all i had was a t-shirt on. i basically had taken off all of my layers last night at various times (including my western shirt at the bar). well, the western shirt was still at the bar, and that meant that so was my id and bank card and student id and meal card were in there as well (i forgot to bring my small wallet and was using the snap pocket in my western shirt so i wouldn't "lose anything.") jake and i realized this as it was 1:30 in the afternoon. we first thought that viv must have had my shirt, but that ended up being false (she did have my hoodie and hat). after numerous phone calls, the club had found my items and through hamline teamwork, we recovered everything that evening (thanks alyssa).
that night (saturday), we all ate at the punch bowl and i had a pie (turkey, stilton cheese, and a port cream sauce). it was amazing. i have never had a pie like this (almost like a chicken pot pie). i can get used to this british food.
we went to scarborough on sunday and it turned out to be a pretty sweet day. i'll post more about this next time, with pics of a pretty sweet castle. i now know that one of my main goals in life is to live in a big castle. with cannons. and archers.
so week one in england really turned out a success. as my friend the rev (mr. derek dixon) pointed out, "glad you're taking the circus on tour." precisely, my friends.
clifford's tower is quite an amazing piece of historic architecture. it was really mind-numbing to see something so old, something that we can not experience in the states. when i think of old, i think of the cobblestone on main street or pracna. this tower is from around the 13th and 14th century. kind of different than the 1850's.
that is the tower ^
view of york from the tower ^
some hamline friends inside the tower ^ (jake, dylan, alyssa, erin, dylan)
after the tower, we hit it hard wednesday. i ended up going to the clubs with a few people, including tom, roberta, amy, and vivian. we actually hit a bar first, then went to a club but roberta couldn't get in because she forgot her id. i never get id'd here, mainly because i'm almost twenty-five and more than likely older than the bouncers that are checking the ids. we did order some pizza when we got back, and eventually decided on what we were getting after a little cultural barrier. viv, roberta and i were looking to get the pizza's together and share because it would be quite cheap, and they wanted to get margherita pizza. well, in the states, we know margherita pizza is served with big slices of tomato on it. as most know, i hate big slices of tomato. so i was pleading that we should get at least one just cheese. they couldn't figure out why i would want a pizza like that. turns out, the margherita is a cheese pizza in america. just tomato sauce and cheese. us americans and our crazy, fancy pizza toppings. side note: the pizza was ordered from "viking pizza" which helped me feel a little closer to home.
on friday, the hamline group toured the fabulous york minster. i really do not think words can describe how amazing this gothic cathedral is. amazing doesn't cut it. but it was. and more. it was really hard to take pictures in there due to the lighting as well as the day being quite dark and cloudy outside. i tried and managed to snap a few good ones. while we were there, a visiting high school choir from argentina performed an impromptu performance. it was just a great feeling to be in such a magnificent place hearing beautiful music. our tour guide told us that the minster has amazing acoustics, and that a certain note (he couldn't recall which one) can carry for up to seven seconds after it is sung. quite the place. you could probably spend a full eight hours exploring the minster and still not see everything it has to show. for some information on the minster, click here. i don't want to have to type everything i learned.
outside the minster ^
the nave ^
you can fit an 18 story building under this point and it would just touch the ceiling ^
the five sisters window ^
the ceiling of the chapter house ^
the main entrance to the minster ^
as you can see, my pictures are not the best. but check out the link i added to the wiki page. they have some great photos that do the minster much more justice than my photos.
friday night was one of the best we have had so far. we pretty much started the party again in derwent with most of the hamline crew and the derwent crew that we have been hanging with. we all decided to take the bus downtown to do a little bit of bar hopping. on the bus (a double decker one, and yes, we were on the top) we broke out in acapella karaoke (boni tyler-total eclipse of the heart and journey-don't stop believing). the group was getting rowdy. we chilled at the first bar a bit (i can't remember how long) and then went to our old faithful, the vudu lounge. there our group merrily drank away until around 3am, and then we cabbed or walked home. (this point of the night is a bit of a blur). the group weeded out a bit when we got back and only a few of us were left drinking in the derwent second floor (for you yanks third floor) kitchen. my back was hurting a bit (if you know me and my herniated disc, this means my nerve was getting pinched as well) and my thumb was getting a bit numb. viv, who was wearing my sweatshirt and military hat for reasons i can not recall, tried to pinch my thumb to see if i could feel it, which i couldn't really. then she (again for reasons unknown) bit it. well, it was a hard bite that actually punctured my thumb and caused me to start bleeding quite a bit. now this was all in good fun and i don't blame viv one bit for what happened (it was around 5:30am at the time). but needless to say, it provides a great story to tell my grandkids.
the next morning, i woke up and found that i was sleeping in jake's extra bed in his room because all i had was a t-shirt on. i basically had taken off all of my layers last night at various times (including my western shirt at the bar). well, the western shirt was still at the bar, and that meant that so was my id and bank card and student id and meal card were in there as well (i forgot to bring my small wallet and was using the snap pocket in my western shirt so i wouldn't "lose anything.") jake and i realized this as it was 1:30 in the afternoon. we first thought that viv must have had my shirt, but that ended up being false (she did have my hoodie and hat). after numerous phone calls, the club had found my items and through hamline teamwork, we recovered everything that evening (thanks alyssa).
that night (saturday), we all ate at the punch bowl and i had a pie (turkey, stilton cheese, and a port cream sauce). it was amazing. i have never had a pie like this (almost like a chicken pot pie). i can get used to this british food.
we went to scarborough on sunday and it turned out to be a pretty sweet day. i'll post more about this next time, with pics of a pretty sweet castle. i now know that one of my main goals in life is to live in a big castle. with cannons. and archers.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
home is where the photobooth is...
*we stayed out for forever*
so, it has been a whirlwind of activity since my initial post and subsequent arrival at the university. i am finally getting settled in my "home away from home." the first day i moved in, on sunday, i sort of freaked out. i got to my dorm room and it was a fucking mess (pardon my french). the floor had never been vacuumed, nor had any of the surfaces been wiped down or disinfected. well, to get to the point, it was a long way from the third floor of the stone arch apartments. well after calming down and cleaning everything (i now know how my mom feels when she travels) i settled and found all of my classmates from hamline. sunday night, we went out for indian food in town and i stayed and had a beer at the pub (the lighthorseman) that i had been drinking at the two nights prior.
the nice thing about this trip is that most people from the group have been quite nice and hang out a bit. i have been spending most of my time in jake's room (a new friend from hamline who lives in derwent college). i live in langwith g block which is on the complete opposite side of campus. the entire group from hamline is amazing. i am so glad that each person came with and is here and has been so kind to me and all of my weird, strange, and old man ways. i'm keeping up with these young pups quite nicely. to introduce the crew, on my floor is miles, alyssa, nissa, and sam. caite also lives in langwith with us, but is on the ground floor. evan is another hamline-ite, but he is a hold over from the previous group. he also lives on the ground floor. jake, dylan h, dylan a, bryce, erin, and a.j. live in derwent, which is really where all of the action is. i must say, we are a pretty sexy looking crew.
anyways, monday night is really when things started looking up. i went over to jake's and we met quite a few kids from the university. they took our group of americans out to the bars in town and we really ended up hitting it hard. jake and i did quite a few shots with our new british friends at a club called the "voodoo lounge." i was able to talk some football (soccer for you yanks) with the brits and hold my own quite nicely. i guess the most humorous part of the night was when we were all trying to get home from the club and i was out in the road trying to hail a cab. everyone here waits in queue (or in line). well, i was hailing a cab as if it was bar-close on a friday night outside bootleggers in downtown mpls. i ended up getting escorted off the road to which i yelled at the police man (or bouncer i'm not 100% sure), "this is how you do it in minneapolis!" it was a good laugh for all.
everyone is so nice to us minnesotans, its actually very comforting. it helps me get over the fact that i am a long ways from home and is setting up the semester quite nicely. the group from derwent that we have met is quite a large group, and it would take forever for me to name (and i don't want to bore you more than i already am) so lets just say they all have fantastic names.
tuesday, jake and i decided to keep things a little lighter. we went to a trivia night that was happening in derwent. i only knew two answers, to music questions, but thanks to my parents i will never forget simon and garfunkel OR the red hot chili peppers. it was still a lot of fun. in the middle of the night, the trivia hosts needed two volunteers from each table to come up for a competition. i was "volunteered" from my group and a girl named roberta came with me. they then covered my face in shaving cream and roberta had to throw cheese chips at my face to try and see who could get the most stuck on their face. not sure what i got myself into, but roberta and i put together a valiant effort. we lost, but only because the team that won blatantly cheated. but, it was quite great overall.
now onto a little bit of info on what life is like here in york. the cafeteria food is okay. they serve a lot of chicken tandori (an indian dish). i'm pretty sure between the two places i can have dinner i could eat it every night. breakfast is great because you can either get tons of meat or cereal. they have soy milk here so i can actually eat cereal (first time in a year or so). i have always been afraid of soy milk but it is actually quite tasty. i have been drinking a lot of cider here instead of beer because not only is it cheaper, but it is also a bit stronger. my room is extremely cold, but it is something i am finally getting used to. the one thing i am missing as far as food goes is barbecue. i did find some bbq chips in town (very rare) but they aren't the same. a nice rack of bbq pork ribs from rudolphs would be pretty nice.
i'll post more next time, since i'm set to go out with the hamline group again. we toured clifford's tower yesterday, and today we are checking out some more shops and a bridge. friday we will be seeing the minister and saturday we are taking a day trip to scarborough. i am taking my camera, so pictures will be posted soon.
so, it has been a whirlwind of activity since my initial post and subsequent arrival at the university. i am finally getting settled in my "home away from home." the first day i moved in, on sunday, i sort of freaked out. i got to my dorm room and it was a fucking mess (pardon my french). the floor had never been vacuumed, nor had any of the surfaces been wiped down or disinfected. well, to get to the point, it was a long way from the third floor of the stone arch apartments. well after calming down and cleaning everything (i now know how my mom feels when she travels) i settled and found all of my classmates from hamline. sunday night, we went out for indian food in town and i stayed and had a beer at the pub (the lighthorseman) that i had been drinking at the two nights prior.
the nice thing about this trip is that most people from the group have been quite nice and hang out a bit. i have been spending most of my time in jake's room (a new friend from hamline who lives in derwent college). i live in langwith g block which is on the complete opposite side of campus. the entire group from hamline is amazing. i am so glad that each person came with and is here and has been so kind to me and all of my weird, strange, and old man ways. i'm keeping up with these young pups quite nicely. to introduce the crew, on my floor is miles, alyssa, nissa, and sam. caite also lives in langwith with us, but is on the ground floor. evan is another hamline-ite, but he is a hold over from the previous group. he also lives on the ground floor. jake, dylan h, dylan a, bryce, erin, and a.j. live in derwent, which is really where all of the action is. i must say, we are a pretty sexy looking crew.
anyways, monday night is really when things started looking up. i went over to jake's and we met quite a few kids from the university. they took our group of americans out to the bars in town and we really ended up hitting it hard. jake and i did quite a few shots with our new british friends at a club called the "voodoo lounge." i was able to talk some football (soccer for you yanks) with the brits and hold my own quite nicely. i guess the most humorous part of the night was when we were all trying to get home from the club and i was out in the road trying to hail a cab. everyone here waits in queue (or in line). well, i was hailing a cab as if it was bar-close on a friday night outside bootleggers in downtown mpls. i ended up getting escorted off the road to which i yelled at the police man (or bouncer i'm not 100% sure), "this is how you do it in minneapolis!" it was a good laugh for all.
everyone is so nice to us minnesotans, its actually very comforting. it helps me get over the fact that i am a long ways from home and is setting up the semester quite nicely. the group from derwent that we have met is quite a large group, and it would take forever for me to name (and i don't want to bore you more than i already am) so lets just say they all have fantastic names.
tuesday, jake and i decided to keep things a little lighter. we went to a trivia night that was happening in derwent. i only knew two answers, to music questions, but thanks to my parents i will never forget simon and garfunkel OR the red hot chili peppers. it was still a lot of fun. in the middle of the night, the trivia hosts needed two volunteers from each table to come up for a competition. i was "volunteered" from my group and a girl named roberta came with me. they then covered my face in shaving cream and roberta had to throw cheese chips at my face to try and see who could get the most stuck on their face. not sure what i got myself into, but roberta and i put together a valiant effort. we lost, but only because the team that won blatantly cheated. but, it was quite great overall.
now onto a little bit of info on what life is like here in york. the cafeteria food is okay. they serve a lot of chicken tandori (an indian dish). i'm pretty sure between the two places i can have dinner i could eat it every night. breakfast is great because you can either get tons of meat or cereal. they have soy milk here so i can actually eat cereal (first time in a year or so). i have always been afraid of soy milk but it is actually quite tasty. i have been drinking a lot of cider here instead of beer because not only is it cheaper, but it is also a bit stronger. my room is extremely cold, but it is something i am finally getting used to. the one thing i am missing as far as food goes is barbecue. i did find some bbq chips in town (very rare) but they aren't the same. a nice rack of bbq pork ribs from rudolphs would be pretty nice.
i'll post more next time, since i'm set to go out with the hamline group again. we toured clifford's tower yesterday, and today we are checking out some more shops and a bridge. friday we will be seeing the minister and saturday we are taking a day trip to scarborough. i am taking my camera, so pictures will be posted soon.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
homesick at spacecamp...
*tonight i'm writing you a million miles away*
so, i made it. barely.
i began my journey at 6am (central standard time) on thursday the 7th. i woke to find that chicago o'hare airport had cancelled at least 200 inbound flights. that sucks for me because i flew into o'hare around 3:30pm. i quickly went online and checked my flight... sure enough it was cancelled. since i (smartly) booked my trip through orbitz, i called the customer service hotline to try and figure out what to do next. after being told to call back in an hour, and a subsequent call that lasted two hours, i was re-booked on a different flight that left at 2:15pm to chicago. well, this flight actually left, but not until around 3:40pm. i had a connecting flight in chicago to dublin at 6:50 (still all central standard time). now this flight left chicago around 7:30pm and was a seven and a half hour flight to dublin, so arriving in dublin at 9am (greenwich mean time). i had a connecting flight in dublin to manchester leaving at 9:30am (gmt). i still had to go through international customs and make my connecting flight. needless to say, i was running full speed the minute i hit the ground in dublin. (side note, aer lingus [ireland air] is really quite spectacular). i couldn't sleep on the plane so at the time i was awake for a grip of hours, and in not the best shape. i ran a mile through the airport in approx. 10 minutes (very fast for me). one point i want to stress: irish customs is quite simple. the man asked to see my passport and asked me how long i was staying in ireland. my reply: "15 minutes." he stamped away and i took off running another mile to where my gate was. when i got to the gate, the ground crew was just pulling the stairs away from the plane, with the plane door shutting at the same time. they saw me and after various radio communication, put the stairs back and let me aboard. this flight was delayed another hour though, and i arrived in manchester around 11:30am. i never went through customs in manchester, which is weird because i was asked only one question in ireland. silly uk.
the train ride in from manchester to york took about an hour or so. it was quite nice. comfortable, even though i was lugging around a 60lb bag, a smaller bag, and a messenger bag. when i arrived in york, i hailed a cab and proceeded to my b&b, chelmsford place. the room was fantastic and the proprietors, nigel and wendy, were more than hospitable. pics of the room are below.
as you can see, it was quite nice. i walked to town to find a cell phone because my internet was not working at the time and did at t-mobile. it was a quite cheap phone but i now have an english number! so "street cred." for me. the rest of my day was spent wandering around the city before i decided to have dinner and a few pints at the nearest pub, the lighthorseman. this bar was like a home away from home (for bars). steve, the owner, and jane, the bartender, talked my ear off for hours, which was great. all of the locals were drawn to me because of my "exotic" accent and tales of snow and cold that they could never even imagine. yes, to answer what you are all thinking, i was asked about "that movie fargo" at least five times the first night. i managed to say up almost 40 hours before i passed out. it was a good day.
the next day, i woke up around 8am for breakfast (full english breakfast) which was amazing. bangers, bacon (which is ham), poached eggs, tea, orange juice, and toast and jam. it was the best meal i have had in a long time! (probably because it was in england). i managed to sleep after breakfast for a few hours and then wandered the city again. i went home for one more snooze and then walked into town to have dinner at the "punch bowl." it is one of york's historic pubs. the food was excellent but i have yet to have a beer that i completely love. i am a big fan of IPAs and i have yet to have one in york. the ale is quite nice, so not complaining, but i like all those hops. after the punch bowl, i went to a local punk-rock concert at a place called the city screen basement. it is, like the name says, in the basement of a movie theatre. the show was pretty awesome. i bought a few pints and the first band had a female lead singer and bassist. the girl that sang was really good and she had the sweetest belt (made of gun bullets). the next band was a real throw-back. the lead singer reminded me of the rev. horton heat. they sounded more like the ramones, which is what they were going for, but that was still cool. they were older guys and you could tell they just loved playing music and it wasn't about how talented they were. the last band was by far the best, they sounded a but like the strokes or interpol. what was cool is that the lead singer was wearing a prince symbol necklace. after the show, i went up to him and told him i was from prince's hometown. they guy thought that it was so crazy someone from so far away was at the show and he introduced me to his wife as "tj from prince's hometown." after that, i went back to the lighthorseman and met the girl from america that steve was talking about the previous night. met a few chaps that want to take me to a york city football game and drank until i was nice and warm.
thats it for now, i'll update on my move into the university tomorrow, with more pictures.
so, i made it. barely.
i began my journey at 6am (central standard time) on thursday the 7th. i woke to find that chicago o'hare airport had cancelled at least 200 inbound flights. that sucks for me because i flew into o'hare around 3:30pm. i quickly went online and checked my flight... sure enough it was cancelled. since i (smartly) booked my trip through orbitz, i called the customer service hotline to try and figure out what to do next. after being told to call back in an hour, and a subsequent call that lasted two hours, i was re-booked on a different flight that left at 2:15pm to chicago. well, this flight actually left, but not until around 3:40pm. i had a connecting flight in chicago to dublin at 6:50 (still all central standard time). now this flight left chicago around 7:30pm and was a seven and a half hour flight to dublin, so arriving in dublin at 9am (greenwich mean time). i had a connecting flight in dublin to manchester leaving at 9:30am (gmt). i still had to go through international customs and make my connecting flight. needless to say, i was running full speed the minute i hit the ground in dublin. (side note, aer lingus [ireland air] is really quite spectacular). i couldn't sleep on the plane so at the time i was awake for a grip of hours, and in not the best shape. i ran a mile through the airport in approx. 10 minutes (very fast for me). one point i want to stress: irish customs is quite simple. the man asked to see my passport and asked me how long i was staying in ireland. my reply: "15 minutes." he stamped away and i took off running another mile to where my gate was. when i got to the gate, the ground crew was just pulling the stairs away from the plane, with the plane door shutting at the same time. they saw me and after various radio communication, put the stairs back and let me aboard. this flight was delayed another hour though, and i arrived in manchester around 11:30am. i never went through customs in manchester, which is weird because i was asked only one question in ireland. silly uk.
the train ride in from manchester to york took about an hour or so. it was quite nice. comfortable, even though i was lugging around a 60lb bag, a smaller bag, and a messenger bag. when i arrived in york, i hailed a cab and proceeded to my b&b, chelmsford place. the room was fantastic and the proprietors, nigel and wendy, were more than hospitable. pics of the room are below.
as you can see, it was quite nice. i walked to town to find a cell phone because my internet was not working at the time and did at t-mobile. it was a quite cheap phone but i now have an english number! so "street cred." for me. the rest of my day was spent wandering around the city before i decided to have dinner and a few pints at the nearest pub, the lighthorseman. this bar was like a home away from home (for bars). steve, the owner, and jane, the bartender, talked my ear off for hours, which was great. all of the locals were drawn to me because of my "exotic" accent and tales of snow and cold that they could never even imagine. yes, to answer what you are all thinking, i was asked about "that movie fargo" at least five times the first night. i managed to say up almost 40 hours before i passed out. it was a good day.
the next day, i woke up around 8am for breakfast (full english breakfast) which was amazing. bangers, bacon (which is ham), poached eggs, tea, orange juice, and toast and jam. it was the best meal i have had in a long time! (probably because it was in england). i managed to sleep after breakfast for a few hours and then wandered the city again. i went home for one more snooze and then walked into town to have dinner at the "punch bowl." it is one of york's historic pubs. the food was excellent but i have yet to have a beer that i completely love. i am a big fan of IPAs and i have yet to have one in york. the ale is quite nice, so not complaining, but i like all those hops. after the punch bowl, i went to a local punk-rock concert at a place called the city screen basement. it is, like the name says, in the basement of a movie theatre. the show was pretty awesome. i bought a few pints and the first band had a female lead singer and bassist. the girl that sang was really good and she had the sweetest belt (made of gun bullets). the next band was a real throw-back. the lead singer reminded me of the rev. horton heat. they sounded more like the ramones, which is what they were going for, but that was still cool. they were older guys and you could tell they just loved playing music and it wasn't about how talented they were. the last band was by far the best, they sounded a but like the strokes or interpol. what was cool is that the lead singer was wearing a prince symbol necklace. after the show, i went up to him and told him i was from prince's hometown. they guy thought that it was so crazy someone from so far away was at the show and he introduced me to his wife as "tj from prince's hometown." after that, i went back to the lighthorseman and met the girl from america that steve was talking about the previous night. met a few chaps that want to take me to a york city football game and drank until i was nice and warm.
thats it for now, i'll update on my move into the university tomorrow, with more pictures.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
new voyage...
next thursday, i set off on a new adventure with in my life. i will be living in the town of york, england for five months. taking a class on popular fiction and middle english romance and working an internship for the york city knights rugby league club.
this will be a big step for me, and i can not wait to get started.
i will be using this blog as an outlet for all of my experiences abroad. pictures will appear from time to time and you will be able to get a good sense as to what my everyday life in york is like (granted that you are actually interested).
this is just an initial post, and you will see more once i actually make it across the pond.
stay tuned and enjoy.
this will be a big step for me, and i can not wait to get started.
i will be using this blog as an outlet for all of my experiences abroad. pictures will appear from time to time and you will be able to get a good sense as to what my everyday life in york is like (granted that you are actually interested).
this is just an initial post, and you will see more once i actually make it across the pond.
stay tuned and enjoy.
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