Wednesday 30 October 2013

Meal At The Fish Whistle...

Today was spent having classes and cramming in research for the World War II paper where I could. Now, the essay is pretty much planned, so I will write as much of it tomorrow as possible to keep up with the one paper a week schedule. 

This evening I went with a small group to the Fish Whistle, so my parents had chance to meet some people and put faces to names. We went back to KC and I did my usual round of tea for everyone, learning how Marcela and Ellie also have their drinks. 

I returned to Worcester and continued editing book chapters when a very happy Addison returned to tell me that the Red Sox had won the world series - as an adopted fan I was happy that my new team had been crowned champions.

Tuesday 29 October 2013

The Return Of The Wrath...

Today was officially the longest day of classes since beginning the year here at Washington College. The film class continued all the way up to 5:00pm, after over two hours of The Grapes of Wrath. You would have thought that watching the film would have been more enjoyable than reading the book. True, some depressing characters were left out along with a couple of deaths, including that of a baby, and it took less time then reading the book. However, at least whilst I was reading, I could picture the story in colour. The only thing more soul-destroying then watching over two hours of continual depressiveness, is viewing it in black and white, or more accurately, grey. The grey numbness of utter boredom that more than once caused me to dose off. 

Aside from the return of the Wrath, the rest of the day's classes passed quickly enough and I began on some initial thoughts and ideas for the next essay, which needs to be written this week. I also caught up on the new Modern Family episode and chilled out at KC for the evening after dinner. 

A New Coat...

With many deadlines on the horizon, I'm back to juggling work for different assignments. Before class I began researching for the World War II paper and afterwards, I read in the car for the upcoming Early Republic discussion class on slavery. 

Having met up with parents after class, we headed out to buy some walking boots with a predicted cold and snowy winter. As is so often the case when I'm shoe shopping, however, they had some boots I liked, but not in my size. So, to compensate, I was treated to a new winter coat after my current coat of five years is starting to give up the go. 

I came back to campus in time to join the others for dinner and then we went over to Lenka's to chill out with some Game of Thrones, which we have been neglecting lately. Sean came round for a while, which was good as we haven't seen him in some time, and then Shannon, Eoin and Pip joined us. 

Working around Lenka's suite mate raising the thermostat to near tropical conditions, we had a relaxing evening after a busy start to the week, with many plans in the works for the days to come.

Sunday 27 October 2013

Passing Time In The Past Time Bar...

I went for a brief brunch today before heading down to the B&B to meet with parents and God-parents, who were in Chestertown for the day before continuing on their coast-to-coast drive. 

I gave a slightly different tour of campus, trying not to be repetitive. After picking up a drink at Java George to keep us going and bumping into a couple of people, I finished the campus tour and walked them into town for lunch and a drink at Sam's - I hadn't realised that there was outside seating out the back, which was nice as the day warmed up. 

We made a stop in the Bookplate and walked down to the waterfront where a tall ship was sailing into dock for the Downrigging Weekend next week. From there we walked through an historic area of town I hadn't previously been to, and then back to the B&B.

Making use of the car, we went on a drive to Rock Hall where they have an amazing retro ice cream parlour that also does food, which I intend to go back to with people at some point. That done, we drove back to Chestertown and relaxed for a while before heading to The Lemon Leaf for dinner. From there, we went next door to JR's Past Time Bar for some drinks and to watch the world series, where we ended up chatting to the bar tender for ages - I even played a while at the red piano in the lounge. 

(I am depending on donated photos for the blog post today)

Saturday 26 October 2013

Parents, Pumpkins and Publications...

An early start to the day, despite it being the weekend. I got up and went down to the B&B to meet up with mum and dad. No sooner was I through the door, then I was seated at the table with a mug of coffee, a glass of orange juice, and a warm pumpkin scone, which was an excellent start to the day.

As it is Saturday the market was on as usual, so they got to see some of the regular town life of Chestertown, which was good. From the fountain square, we walked down past the old railway station, and to the college pavilion and boat house.

Here, we parted for it was time for me to head back up to campus for brunch whilst mum and dad continued walking further along the river. I ate brunch with the others and at midday, I walked back down to the B&B to go out for a drive with parents. We went back to Galena to show mum and dad some of the antique shops. I picked up a 1936 edition of 'The New Republic', which is a very useful source for two of my courses, and a vintage Red Socks baseball card for Addison, which he doesn't know about yet. 

Planning to spend the day and meals out tomorrow, we arrived back at campus for me to go to the dining hall for dinner. I ate with the others and caught up on the day's events before we went over to KC to chill out, along with some of the chocolate supply from home that mum and dad had brought over. As expected it was gorged on like the zombies of The Walking Dead that we watched, going after the desperately fleeing humans. 

Friday 25 October 2013

The Parents Are Across The Pond...

The big highlight of the day was seeing my folks for the first time in a couple of months shortly after breakfast. I had just enough time to give them a general tour of campus before classes started. The reaction to the college and Chestertown in general was overwhelmingly positive, which I had suspected, but the confirmation was still pleasing. 

After classes, they returned from a drive out, to pass over some things I had forgotten/needed for semester, and took away some summer clothes that are now redundant with the sudden drop in temperature this week. Most importantly was the big stash of good chocolate that came with them that is now hidden away in my room. I will drip feed it to people so that it does not go in one evening. 

I walked my parents into Chestertown and we had an earlier dinner at The Lemon Leaf, which was great. After food I headed back up to campus to go and see a senior thesis show, 'Almost Blue', written by Keith Reddin; a man who can always make me laugh one way or another - his show was no different. The performance was great and afterwards, inspired to continue writing, we went over to KC for wine and The Walking Dead, whilst I continued with the 1920s crime thriller. 

Thursday 24 October 2013

Jedediah Meth-Head...

Lots of small tasks done today outside of class. I did laundry after breakfast, read some last bits in Black Hawk for discussion class, wrote a letter home to Sara after going to find my package of envelopes myself after the post room neglected to email me, gave the borrowed video camera back to the library, printed off a first-draft essay, and went to Walgreens to get some supplies.


After dinner, we went over to the basement of East Hall for some pumpkin carving. As usual there was a great array of faces and as Lenka had never done it before, I let her dictate what ours would look like. Sufficed to say, it was our most beautiful creation, dubbed Jedediah the meth-head

We took the pumpkins back to KC and chilled out with some wine and The Walking Dead - I am struggling to see how they have made three seasons out of this. Now, with everything done for the rest of the week, I will get some rest before the long Friday of classes and seeing parents when I can.

A Power Cut...

Yesterday was a time to finish off some remaining work for this week and make any last requests for things to be brought from home before my parents set out today. I think I've asked for everything, but I'll no doubt remember some small detail once they've arrived. 

Once class had finished I headed back to Worcester to grab my things and went across to the library to work with Lenka before dinner. No sooner had I bought my tea, however, then a large portion of Chestertown lost power, including the library. So, amid the incessant door alarm, which was one of the few things that had ironically survived the outage, and the horrified screams of seniors who had been working on their unsaved theses, Lenka and I downed our tools and set about relaxing and doing book stuff instead. A short while later the power returned, meaning I could leave the library and come back inside - the joys of electric doors. So, when Shannon came in, me and her sorted out cameras for Kick Off! later in the evening. 

We ate dinner slightly earlier off paper plates and with plastic cutlery as the dishwasher had not been able to finish its load. Then, we returned to the library for a while before Shannon and I headed over to Kick Off! We had a good turn out, great speeches, ice cream, and we made some money, so I think we did pretty well in the end.  

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Untitled...

Yesterday was spent reading up for discussion classes at the end of this week so that I have nothing to do when my parents are down. I did have the soul-destroying realisation that I spent an hour reading a chapter that was for last week's class, but having thrown the book at the wall in frustration, I got on with what had to be done.

After Miller's class, I caught up with Homeland and began another episode of Boardwalk Empire. I also did an hour stint on the relay table, making a few dollars on wristbands - every little bit helps. Tonight is 'Kick Off!' so that will be where we can really boost awareness. Now, I need to read for tomorrow's discussion class and hopefully get some notes down for the essay at the same time. 


Monday 21 October 2013

Mr Smith Goes To Washington...

The relaxing weekend ended with a very long day of classes, running all the way up to 5:00pm because it was a very long film. However, the film in question was 'Mr Smith Goes To Washington', and it certainly lived up to the expectations of the blog. 

We had an earlier dinner because 'Big Man On Campus' was beginning at 7:30pm in Gibson. The event is run by the ZTA sorority in support of breast cancer awareness. Basically a bunch of guys do a group dance, have a formal attire strut, show us some "talent" and then finish up with a question and answer. There were some interesting sights, but everyone was in the spirit of things and it raised lots of money, so you can't really go wrong. 

Afterwards, we made a run to the grocery store for some Ben & Jerry's before going to KC to watch another episode of The Walking Dead. Ice cream and TV made for a welcoming chill out after a long day.   

Sunday 20 October 2013

Four Papers Down, Four To Go...

Having not had enough of 'Play It Again Sam's' yesterday, after brunch me and Sam went down once more - me to continue writing the second film paper and Sam some reading for Miller this week. We spent a few hours in there, having a bite to eat and I managed to get over half of the essay done. 

Returning to campus, we went on to the library, where I spent the hours before an earlier weekend dinner finishing the paper  - family dinner at KC and a relaxing evening ahead as my motivation to keep going. Finishing the paper with some time before dinner, I went to the pianos in Gibson and spent half an hour tinkling the ivories. 

The dining hall had a specialty of crab being served at My Pantry, which I declined, not wanting a dodgy crab leaving me feeling rough in my week of visitors. There really is nothing more soothing than trying to chat over food with a deafening chorus of people smashing their crabs to bits with hammers. Aside from our neighbouring tables mimicking the ape in the opening scene of 2001: Space Odyssey and sending crab shell shrapnel flying in all directions for the tiniest morsel of meat, we managed to eat unscathed. 

Then, as usual, we headed over to KC where US Sam was cooking us pasta, which I'm sure had an actual name that I can't remember. I'm sure she will find it in herself to comment when this post is on Facebook and enlighten us. A big thank you to her for food. 

Following our miscellaneous pasta dish, I made six teas, memorising what each person has for future reference, and then we watched the first episode of The Walking Dead. I tried to shelve my skepticism of zombie-related dramas and stuck with two episodes. I think it has potential, so I won't give up on it. But with that, Homeland, Boardwalk Empire, and Game of Thrones that I watched back in Worcester, my viewing schedule is becoming quite crowded. 

Saturday 19 October 2013

Pancake Breakfast...

A perfectly relaxing Saturday - I could spend every weekend doing much the same. We made our way down to KA frat's pancake breakfast in the church just off fountain square in late morning and then we went onto the Bookplate to browse their selection as usual - the others bought a couple of books. Thanks Marcela for the invite, it was a really good start to the weekend!

After Bookplate, we went to 'Play it Again Sam's', where we chilled out with books, coffee, tea and then a game of scrabble - utterly relaxing. 

Then, we decided to go on an impromptu antiquing trip to a nearby town - I forget the name. Anyway, I found a souvenir Peter Pan ink pen from the New York World's Fair that is at least 50 years old. It has a functioning pencil at one end and a nib at the other. 

Shannon drove us back to campus, where I returned to Worcester and watched the second episode of Boardwalk Empire. By the time the show finished it was too late for dinner, so I went over to KC and hung out with Shannon and Lenka. We attempted to get into 'Reign', but the first episode wasn't anything to shout home about. 

Later on we went upstairs to Sean's where they had been drinking for a while and we joined them, meeting others as they drifted in throughout the evening. All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing day. Tomorrow I have to try and motivate myself to write an essay on women in Hollywood film.  

Feeling Vintage...

Yesterday felt like a big hurdle to jump before the weekend. However, I gave myself a running start by finishing my essay plan before first class, which meant that I would have the day free to relax once classes were over. After second class I had an adviser session with Dr Sorrentino to talk about the classes I'd already picked for next semester, which, if I get into them all, are:

  • History of the US since 1865
  • The American Civil War
  • Comparative Cultural Encounters
  • Hollywood Film Genre
Basically, they are the four follow-on courses from the ones I am currently taking, which means that the assessment style will pretty much stay the same, as will my timetable. 

After a quick film discussion class on 'Bringing Up Baby', I went back and, in a vintage mood, I bought some swing and jazz music, delved back into my 1920s crime thriller idea and watched the first episode of Boardwalk Empire. The series looks pretty good from the outset, so I'll keep going with it. 

Once we'd had dinner, we all went over to KC to Shannon's for a while and then to Lenka's as a sort of house warming get together for Kristine, who is Lenka's new roommate. 

Thursday 17 October 2013

American Horror Story...

A very relaxed morning watching Modern Family before I realised that I had some reading to do for Miller. I crammed it well though, and Stringer's course content is currently running alongside Miller's so I was relatively well-versed in what we were talking about anyway. No midterm grades as of yet, so I'm assuming that we'll hear something next Tuesday. 

This afternoon I went to the pianos and then created an outline for what the plan of my film essay would be (if that makes any sense). Now I know how I will set out the essay, I need to spend tomorrow planning what will be written in it. 

After dinner we went over to KC to watch American Horror Story, which is...interesting. I'm not sure I really get dead people interacting and being with the living as if they were still alive and I don't really get to know the characters well enough before they are disposed of by their house. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be seeing more of it in the future and it may grow on me. 

Wednesday 16 October 2013

The Fish Whistle...

Today I focused on sorting out my online networking through Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and to link everything and make it all work better together. 

After classes Shannon and I did our posters for Relay with a breast cancer theme for this month's awareness. Before going to the meeting however, we went down to the Fish Whistle to have dinner with Sam and his parents who are over from Australia. A huge thank you to them for the meal and inviting us to them whenever we want. Now that I have had the food I won't hesitate to take my folks there when they're down next week.

The RFL meeting was wrapped up quickly and then I went over to Kent Crossing to see Fran and Samson the puppy that she was bringing over with her - he's mostly Yorkie and a little Chiwawa. 

On the way to KC Shannon needed to fill up her car, so with Pip as well, we went to Rofo's where we picked up some Ben &Jerry's - I went for Cinnamon Buns, which was great and the rest of it is now residing in Shannon's freezer for when I next want it. It is clearly labelled and I know how much I had by the way, for anyone who feels like binging on it whilst I'm not there. 

The Half Way Point...

In the post-midterm euphoria I simply forgot to post yesterday. Not wanting to appear arrogant or falsely modest, I will say that the exam went okay, I think. Hopefully we'll get grades back soon as Miller needs to send them to the registrar's office pronto. 

After a morning of looking over notes and forming arguments, the midterm came and went in a blur of frantic scribbling, leaving the rest of the afternoon wide open. In the end I used the time to do laundry that had suddenly piled up after New York and caught up with episodes 2 and 3 of Homeland. Despite telling people how good it is and how it wins all the awards over and above the other shows they watch, I am yet to convince anyone else to begin watching it. But, I won't give up that easily and this series promises to be just as great as the previous two. I also spent a while chatting to parents, discussing the trip and the dreaded talk of Christmas ideas already - as usual I have very few. 

Then it was time for dinner, and after nearly two hours at the table, we headed to the library. Still enjoying the fact that the exam was over I decided to shelve any work for the evening and got on with writing the new book, which is becoming much more intense than I had originally envisaged.  

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Back To Work...

After a few days in the big city, it was an early start and straight back to work yesterday. The useful thing about the courses is that they are all starting to overlap with subject matter, meaning that understanding and getting a better insight into the topics for essays and exams is easier and less independent work on my part. 

In between classes and late into the evening I was revising for the midterm later today. Although, it seems that exams here are much smaller not only in their duration and percentage towards the course, but also in the amount you are expected to write. The booklets for the exams are nearer to A5 size than A4, and the line spacing about twice as wide. The result will probably mean asking for extra paper and trying to write as small as possible. However, I am not underestimating the exam in the slightest and am working as hard for it as I would any other that I've taken. 

Now, it's back to looking over notes and thinking on the lazier afternoon of catching up with Homeland, some necessary laundry and maybe squash, after the exam is done with. 

Monday 14 October 2013

Getting To The Core Of The City...

Having arrived back late from New York and going straight into classes I haven't had chance to write up the rest of the trip. So, here we go.

Friday



We started by going up to the Natural History Museum, anticipating a day of rain, but aside from a shower whilst we were inside the day was warm and dry. From the museum we walked across Central Park to meet up with Katri and Sophia outside the MET. Then they went to the Plaza Hotel and we went to a great little restaurant famed for its burgers called J.G. Melon. After food we walked a way down 5th Avenue to the Rockefeller Center to see the shops and the plaza in the daylight. 

Deciding that a rest was in order, we went back to the hotel and chilled out before heading out for food with everyone at the Times Square Hard Rock Cafe. The food was great as always and after shunning the photo opportunity as a new money-making scheme, we discovered that the photo was actually pretty good so we all bought a copy. 

Saturday
Saturday was shopping day in the morning, beginning with Forever 21 - not my idea. When I was looking at garments on the rack and utterly lost as to what possible purpose they could serve I decided that it was time to clear out. Moving on, we went around several more stores and I actually bought a few items of clothing (because they were on sale). After shopping we went for food at Murray's Bagels - a many award-winning eatery with the best bagels ever. Before going to drop our stuff off at the hotel, we made a stop at Grand Central where I discovered an Apple Store had popped up on one of the balconies of the main hall - they will literally get everywhere. 


In the evening, we went to the Top of the Rock, crossing our fingers for a short queue. Our prayers were answered and within 20 minutes of buying our tickets we were on the observation decks and looking out across the brightly lit Manhattan skyline. By this time the bagels had worn off and so meeting back up with Lenka's friend David, we found a pub in Times Square not automatically IDing people at the door and went in for food - I had my first fish and chips since arriving, newspaper and all! Not to rain on the others' evening, I headed back to the hotel whilst they went out for drinks, arriving back at the hotel an hour later - New York needs more frequent subway trains. 

Sunday
The final day was spent walking along the waterfront first thing and taking the Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty under blue skies and sunshine. With separate plans of action, I rode with the others on the metro and then walked across to the highly recommended Public Library. 

From there I got lost on the way to Grand Central on a continued but doomed search for a Christmas decoration. With no luck and a deadline to meet back at the hotel, I got lost trying to find the subway line in the station. Boarding the right train I took it back to Fulton Station and then got very lost finding my way back to the hotel. Lesson: for some with as bad a sense of direction as me, a map or GPS would have been really useful. However, I got back in plenty of time. Lesson: men, you really don't need to ask anyone for directions if you don't want to. 

After some hanging around for the coach, we boarded for Chestertown and began our drive away from the Big Apple and a very busy but thoroughly enjoyable Fall Break. 

Friday 11 October 2013

Biting Into The Big Apple...

In the end I did bring my laptop with me, but it is not until now that I have any free time to write a post. So, I will begin with yesterday and a very wet start from campus. To my surprise we were taking a coach to New York, so my visions of being sardined in a seat for three and a half hours were ill-founded. In traditional coach trip style, my breakfast was a much needed Burger King meal on the way down. 

After a slight delay with some roadworks we caught our first glimpses of a hazy Manhattan. Crossing over from Brooklyn, we arrived at the Best Western Inn, Seaport in the financial district right next to the Brooklyn Bridge. 



We went to our rooms, dumped our things and then were straight out the door in the direction of the Freedom Tower and the 9/11 memorial. The memorial itself was very impressive and a change from our visit seven years ago when there was little more than messages taped to chain link fencing. 







That done, we walked on to Chinatown and then to meet a friend of Lenka's studying in New York. He showed us to Shake Shack - a great burger venue in Madison Square Park. The sun set and the pink top of the Empire State light up the backdrop. 





With David navigating for us, we made for Soho and Greenwich to find somewhere to have a drink, settling on the 'Tavern on Jane'. Having said our goodbyes, we trekked back to the hotel after a long day's travel and walking. 


Wednesday 9 October 2013

Packing Preparations...

Today felt like a big hurdle to jump before we set out for New York in the morning. I have not yet decided whether I will take my laptop. If so, I will do a post each night and upload the day's photos as we go along. Sadly, the one thing I will be taking is my stack of notecards for the midterm on Tuesday, but I won't let them weigh down the trip.

Back in Worcester, I am about to turn in for as much rest as possible before a long day tomorrow. I have packed most things, ensured that my funds can withstand a certain degree of shopping, and skyped the family throughout the day as I won't have chance to do so until next week. 

This evening we went over to Kent Crossing for a while and then went over to the German suite in Chester to celebrate Oktoberfest with beer, pretzels and authentic German beer-drinking music. 

Now, the camera battery is charged, an array of chargers are in and after looking at the forecast, the raincoat is out ready - Not that a little rain would stop any hardy Brit from enjoying himself!

Tuesday 8 October 2013

Sprint For The Sunset...

A key part of today was finding out about the midterm next Tuesday. It sounds straight forward enough (touch wood) and a high five between me and Sam for coming up with two possible exam questions that Miller thought were good enough to include on exam papers in the future. 

Outside of Miller's class I played squash for an hour as I haven't played for a week and I won't get to play again until this time next week - because of New York! 

During dinner I noticed the sun setting on the building out the window, so I headed to Worcester to grab the camera and ran over towards the stadium to snap it before the sun went down. Apparently the one thing that will get me sprinting in public is the promise of a good photo. 

After dinner, I went over to Shannon's with Sam, Lenka, Ester, Eoin and Pip to watch some TV and play cards. 

Monday 7 October 2013

A Shorter Week Ahead...

The shorter week has begun with a three day countdown to Fall Break and New York - one down, two to go! 

A second paper back in class with the third being returned on Wednesday. Outside of classes, I have spent the day adding pictures to the notecards to make them more exciting to read and hopefully, more memorable. With them finished, I now have my entertainment for the drive to New York sorted. 

After an early dinner, Sam, Lenka and I went over to Toll for a talk related to The Early Republic on the role of popular political culture in the American Revolution. The talk was interesting enough, aside from an incredibly long-winded, irrelevant observation from an elderly gentleman in the audience to wrap up proceedings. 

Then the three of us went to the library where I finished my notecards and Sam ruined Lenka's pristine work of lining up my pens in a smooth colour spectrum. I enjoyed them for a second before Sam slid them across the table, receiving a notepad to the face from Lenka for his troubles. After I had calmed the children and restored order, I wrapped up work for the day and moved on, as usual, to book work. After listening to an horrendous conversation between three frat guys behind us in which fights between panda bears (not actually bears) and polar bears were discussed, as well as different forms of non-shooting war. Thankfully they have now left and we can continue our work in peace. 

Sunday 6 October 2013

Posters and Pierogies...

A great end to the week, after the last few notecards and laundry this morning. Me and Shannon spent some time in Hodson getting creative with the paint to do our posters for this week's Relay For Life meeting. That done, we went to the library where I spent more time relaxing with book stuff whilst the others continued with their papers and deadlines for tomorrow. 

Then we went over to the Global Education Office to have our New York meeting, where we went over details for the trip and had some food. I can confirm that we are staying at the Seaport Best Western, which is as close to the Brooklyn Bridge as you could get. We now need to plan out what we want to do when we're there. 

As usual we had Sunday dinner with Sean as this week's chef, making us Pierogies. It was a great evening for cooking and hosting with cool lighting, relaxing music, international food followed by superb cupcakes from Shannon with a mug of tea. 

At 9:30pm me and Shannon went over to Hodson for the RFL meeting in which we discussed ideas and scheduling for Kick Off and other upcoming events - all details of which will soon appear on the RFL blog. 

Fall Country Concert...

Another day spent not doing any college work yesterday. After brunch me and Sam went down into Chestertown to Bookplate for a while and then headed back up to campus in 30'C. The rest of the afternoon was spent in the library doing book stuff and enjoying the break from work. 

After dinner I skyped parents and then went over to KC with Lenka and Sam, where we hung around and chatted for a while before going over to the Fall Country Concert on Hodson Green. The music was well underway when we got there, so we joined everyone else on the grass under a mighty fine blanket of stars in the heavens. 


Once the music was winding down, to get a better look at the stars, I went down to the boathouse with Sam, Lenka, Caitlin and Shannon, and, after disturbing the nearby geese, we chatted and took in the sky. Once we had stayed long enough we phoned safe ride and came back to campus - satisfied that I had seen a couple of shooting stars. 

Friday 4 October 2013

First Friday...

Sam & Ester - such a happy couple ;)
A lazy day to finish the working week. Outside of classes I relaxed and played the piano. After class, we went down into Chestertown where as 'First Friday' (of the month), the shops and restaurants open later, some places do free food and drink. The Hotel Imperial had a cheap happy hour, which I unfortunately couldn't take advantage of. 

We came back to campus for dinner and deciding that we wanted a quieter night, Shannon, Lenka, Eoin and I picked up 'Now You See Me' from the DVD rental outside the grocery store and went back to Kent Crossing for an evening in.  

Thursday 3 October 2013

So Many Notecards...

Breakfast was unusually quiet today, but I had Sam as company for a change. The bonus was also that there was no queue at the omelette bar, so after a little persuasion I had two to take advantage of their availability. That and a jam topped cinnamon and raisin bagel meant that come lunchtime I was still not hungry. 

So, I skipped lunch and continued in the library with writing notecards for the midterm, which has taken up nearly all of the day. At mid-afternoon I skyped the home to catch them in the evening before they went to bed and Tom left for uni tomorrow - I refrained from pointing out that whilst he is just about to go to uni I have already written three papers, taken a quiz and written revision for an exam. I also helped do some testing for an app, 'Squares', that he has put to market, which I am pretty addicted to already. 

Rewinding slightly, my ethernet cable came this morning, so I could watch the rest of Homeland without any buffering and in perfect picture quality, which was a great relief after the torment of the first half.

After dinner, I went back to the library and printed the second essay for tomorrow and then did a couple more hours of notecards. Now, with them all practically done, I will give my brain a rest and watch the beginning of season two of GOT. 

Wednesday 2 October 2013

What A Wednesday...

You know those days when you wake up and think I could take my head off this pillow, or put it over my face? Well, today felt like it was going to be a smotherer. Three long classes, a book to finish reading, a midterm to begin revising for and papers due straight afterwards that need some consideration, not to mention the two essays in this Friday that needed last amendments and printing. 

But, I left my pillow behind and it wasn't actually that bad. In first class I got back my first paper which went well. I won't divulge the grade because I find the advertisement of one's own achievements irritating to hear...on the other hand, an A+ isn't to be sniffed at, so go ahead and let those eyes roll, I don't care. To celebrate I went and played something especially cheerful on the piano after class.

I finished reading the autobiography of 'Black Hawk' for an upcoming class discussion and a paper later in the term, laid out initial ideas for the next Hollywood film paper, amended and printed one essay for Friday, and set out the general areas to make notecards on for the exam. 

As Lenka is coming down with the flu, I accompanied her to Walgreens where she picked up some horse tranquilizers and I a new toothbrush and some more toothpaste. A word to the wise, Oz Sam is also ill so approach both of them with caution and a face mask if you have one to hand.

This evening the Public Relations Committee had our first biweekly meeting to discuss the advertisements for upcoming events and the pass over of the Facebook group to me and Shannon. The two of us also spent some time getting the photos of the bonfire together to go on the Relay For Life blog - some of which you can now see, and we started editing together the video clips. 

Now, I will sit back and relax with some new Modern Family episodes and do some book work that I've been putting off with such a busy college work schedule - all this work when back home people have been enjoying Freshers' Week. 

Tuesday 1 October 2013

Chestertown Family Meal...

Today was a slight mash of different bits of work. I started a plan for an essay and began reading for another, as well as buying notecards in advance for revising for the midterm. As usual I played squash mid-afternoon and then hung around outside for a while in the renewed warm weather until Caitlin had to go to class and I continued to read before 6pm.  

This evening I met up with David and Deirdre, my Chestertown family, for the first time and they had me over for a very nice dinner of fajitas and nachos. Having visited the brewery, it was also good to drink a couple of Steam Whistle beers. Both were extremely accommodating and made me feel at home. I also met up with their good friend Joan who worked as a reporter for the New York Times and as a book editor. She has said that she would like to read some of my work, which is good of her and so I look forward to some worthwhile feedback. An all round great evening eating around a kitchen table for a change.