Equivalence Chart

Yesterday I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Along with tea, Digestives biscuits, pie, and cheese, the Victoria and Albert Museum is a tourist institution in London, which I somehow managed to miss the last time I was in London. I took a billion pictures at the museum, feeling a little guilty about taking said pictures but as there were no signs I guess it was alright. I also found out that Marks and Spencers closes at 7pm, which is a bit of a disappointment when you're expecting to get dinner from there, but I managed to get a sandwich, some milk and dark chocolate Digestives. All in all yesterday wasn't a complete bust and I got to talk to both my Mom and my sister.
Anyway, the point of this entry is that I've come up with an equivalence chart for some of the stores I've either been to or are planning on going to. What can I say, I've got a lot of free time on my hands and this is just the kind of thing I think about.

• Primark = Target
• Marks and Spencers = Macy's + a small grocery store
• Sainsbury = K-Mart
• Tesco = Any grocery store you've ever been to
• Asda = Walmart (they're owned by the same people, which is why they're the same)
• Pret a Manger = Starbucks (as in, they're every where)
• Starbucks = Starbucks (because Starbucks doesn't change from country to country)

Well that's it for me. I've got more orientation and a boat party to look forward to and I'll be doing something tomorrow. I don't know what, but something will happen. In a final note I finally got my Oyster card which is nice. Until next time, don't panic and carry on.

Ups and Downs

The bullet points are back people. The homesickness hasn't gone away, but I figure that you all deserve to know what's going on with me. So here are the highlights:

• As evidenced by my phone, I found St. Ann's. I went to St. George's, which is another shopping centre in the same area and while it doesn't have as many useful stores as St. Ann's, it's there and it's good to know how not useful it is.
• I added one more class to my roster, "Art and Society" which will give me the opportunity to see different locations and galleries in London. I figure that it will be edifying if nothing else.
• I have all of tomorrow free so I've come up with a small-ish list of places I want to go to that are in central London. One of the locations is a restaurant called Bar Italia which Pulp named a song after, hence the appeal. Pictures will be taken and posted on my Flickr photostream. Expect pictures of the Gherkin and various other things.
• I'd never admit this under normal circumstances, but I'm really glad I'm a member of PEO. I'm also really glad my Mom has a friend in London who she's still in touch with. These are all things for which I am currently very thankful for, though I think we all know that this too shall pass and eventually I'll be really glad I'm in London. Eventually.

Well that's it. I got a normal night's sleep last not which was good. I'm not sure when I'll update next, possibly after the weekend and once classes have started up. We shall see. Until then, don't panic.

They Warned Me About This, But I Didn't Listen

Way back, when I was still at UMW, the international office held a pre-departure orientation for everyone who was going to be studying abroad during the spring semester. It was pretty much required and also pretty much irrelevant to me. I spent the majority of the orientation either skimming through the handbook they gave us or working on a paper I had due the next day. The one thing that was new to me, but I disregarded at the time, was a chart that showed the up and downs of studying abroad. It was a graph that showed the emotional roller coaster you could expect to go through both going to the country of studying and coming back home. The reason I disregarded was because at that point I was super excited about travelling abroad and wasn't expecting any kind of culture shock or anything like that. For some reason I wasn't even expecting to be homesick.
One of the pros of getting here a week before classes start is that I get to work through my jet lag without having to worry about classes. The major con is that no one else seems to understand that concept. I had started feeling incredibly homesick before I went to bed, but was fairly determined to move past that and get some much needed sleep. I put in my ear plugs and fell asleep. Close to 2am some noise filtered through my earplugs and woke me up. After repeated attempts to get the party that was occurring across from my window to quiet down (which included being offered a can of beer which I did not accept) I did the only thing I could think of: call home. It was only 9:30pm at home so I assumed someone would be awake to answer the phone. Of course this was after crying so hard that I started hyperventilating and subsequently guilt-ing the people bellow me into quieting down. It cost me four pounds, but calling home was well worth the cost (and not nearly as expensive as I thought it would be.) By the time I got off the phone and listened to "Bolero" the party had quieted down enough that my earplugs were enough to keep out the rest of the noise. I went back to sleep around 3:30am, but at least I didn't have to be anywhere until noon.
Bottom line: Homesickness happens at the most inopportune times and crying really loudly can do wonders for making people feel guilty about the obscene amount of noise they are making.
In other less depressing news I got a phone, a duvet cover that fits and found the Marks and Spencers closest to me. I also met someone else from the States who's here on her own and who isn't much into parties so things are looking up. Also, I went to file a complaint about my shower working and it turns out that my entire block is being investigated. Yay. I just have to get through the rest of the week and the weekend and then hopefully things will quiet down at least during the week. I'll have more to say after Thursday in all likelihood, so until then.

Walking in the Wrong Direction is Fun!

When I got my first job I very insistently walked the wrong way because I was sure I knew what I was doing. I'm naturally a very stubborn person, so it should come as no surprise that today's adventure consisted mainly of me walking in the wrong way because I was so sure that I was going the right way and would eventual get to where I wanted to go. I've since looked at a map and discovered that, no, I really was going the wrong way. Much like with my first job I was walking in exactly the opposite direction. Go me.
Today's mission was to get a phone. I didn't really care about anything else, but I was going to get a phone. This meant going some place other than Sainsbury. I looked up St. Ann's Shopping Centre on google and proceeded to write down directions. I then decided that I knew what I was doing and ended up going in the opposite direction of St. Ann's. The entire time I was walking I was sure that eventually I would happen across the shopping centre, that I was going the right way. After a good 20 minutes of walking I gave up and headed back towards Sainsbury. This was around 2:40, having woken up at 1ish (yeah, don't get me started.) I had a lovely lunch of cottage pie and cooked carrot sticks after which I did some more shopping. I got a clock radio so I don't miss orientation tomorrow and some ibuprofen to take care of the shoulder pain one gets when one drags 40lbs of luggage around. I also got some Cheerios ("give those Os a go!") which I'm enjoying.
Finally, people need to stop questioning my signature. I know it doesn't look like a signature and definitely isn't the same as the one I've got on my licensce but a) it is a signature and b) the one on my driver's license is from five years ago. Signatures are allowed to evolve. So yeah, stop questioning the scribble...I mean signature.

Journey to a Foreign Land Pt. 2

After finally being let out of the plane I started getting really nervous. What if they didn't let me in? What if I was completely wrong about everything and I got thrown out of the country forever. I had a lovely long walk to think about all of this before I finally got to immigration where I confused the hell out of the guy in charge of me. See the course I'm taking doesn't officially end until June 18th. However that's about two weeks after the semester ends. My Mom, in her wisdom, decided that there was no point to me spending two weeks twiddling my thumbs in London (which is probably what I would've done.) This confused the man in immigration to no end. He did not understand at all. And because he didn't understand he gave me the stink eye, which wasn't helping anything because I was a nervous wreck. I was terrified that he wasn't going to let me through. Finally he said rather curtly "have you paid for everything" and I said yes and he stamped my passport and everything was fine. But for a few minutes there, I wasn't sure I would get through.
After immigration everything went swimmingly. However I was left with five hours with nothing to do in Paddington station. And Paddington station is not heated. And if there are lockers, I couldn't find them which meant I was carrying/dragging around all of my luggage every time I wanted to go somewhere. And I was cold. So I wandered around Paddington station for a good hour before mooching around various locations trying to warm up. I desperately wanted to call people but a) didn't (and still don't) have a phone and b) would have felt really weird calling my great uncle at 9am. However I did realize that pigeons are actually the dominate species, at least in London and the female announcer at Paddington station sounds eerily similar to Freema Agyeman aka Martha. I also learned how to be a hobo.
The Paddington station has a Hilton Hotel attached to it which is very convenient since Paddington has trains going to Heathrow airport. Unlike the most of the rest of Paddington station however, the Hilton is heated. So at 10am I decided I'd had enough of the cold and was going to go sit in the warmth of the Hilton. The amazing thing is, is that I got away with it for two hours even though I spent most of that time either reading about the commercialization of American radio or half asleep. The key to my success I believe was my luggage. I didn't look like the hobo I was, I looked like someone waiting for someone at the Hilton, with my luggage. Either that or the staff at the Hilton are use to people being hobos in their lobby. It was during this time that I re-realized that Employment is almost exactly 45 minutes long and that I hadn't taken my meds. So I headed to Starbucks, got my second hot chocolate of the day (though I didn't finish either) and some shortbread cookies and remedied the problem. I left around 12:50, learned that you have to pay to use the restrooms and discovered the waiting room. There's a heated waiting room near the ladies' in Paddington station. I could have spent five lovely hours in a warm room instead of sitting around acting like a cold hobo for most of that time. Around 1:15 I left the wonderful waiting room, got myself a pair of wool gloves (it's cold dammit) and left for Harrow. Everything went swimmingly until I realized my internet wasn't working. I did however go to the British equivalent of Wal-Mart (Sainsbury if you're wondering) and got lots of crap I couldn't have packed but are absolutely necessary. But now my internet is working and tomorrow I'm going to head back to Harrow-on-the-Hill and get myself a phone and other pretty things that I need like a sheet and a duvet cover. Right now, I'm going to relax and then go to sleep. In a bed. It will be bliss.

Journey to a Foreign Land Pt. 1

Right now my head's spinning (lack of proper food, lack of sleep, not taking my meds until very late in the day...who knows) but I'll persevere because there's so much to say. I'm in London people and it's real. An example: The guy who lives next to me (I know) said, after introducing himself "You're American?" Yeah people, this shits real.
I spent most of Friday either not feeling much of anything or feeling really nervous. By the time I got to the airport I was sort of just not accepting that any of what was happening was really happening. It was just something I was experiencing, but it wouldn't have any consequences. And then I got to the security line, which was ridiculously long and then...the metal detector. I haven't been on an airplane in years and so all these new rules and regulations plus my nerves completely tripped me up. I forgot to take off my watch and I didn't handle my computer correctly. But the best part was after taking of my watch the metal detector still went off. That's right ladies, if you're wearing an underwire there's a 50/50 chance it will be detected. So I got patted down after it was confirmed that the bra was the culprit, which wasn't that bad, just kind of bizarre. Still, not a great way to start a trip.
After a seemingly endless walk to get to my terminal I finally arrived with an hour to spare, so I decided to get some dinner. I arrived a half hour before boarding and then was herded in to my seat. I now understand what it feels like to be a chicken. Whilst being herded into my seat I got to hear a positively excellent cover of the Strokes "Last Night" and by excellent I mean horrifying. It was a smooth jazz version of the song. Once everyone was settled in and the pre-flight nonsense was done and we were up in the air one of the people who was sitting in my row disappeared which meant that me and the guy I was sitting next both had an extra seat to use (the guy on my other side didn't show up). This lead to an interesting game of "How many different equally uncomfortable positions can Nore arrange herself in, in an effort to sleep." I think I got about three hours of sleep total before my back just decided this wasn't happening. Around 5am GMT I was given the choice of juice, tea or coffee, and a granola bar or a muffin. I had orange juice and a muffin and tried my damnedest to go back to sleep after that. I didn't happen.
The plane landed at 6:40am GMT but we weren't let off the plane until about 7am.
In my next entry, the rest of today. Large parts of it were spent being cold.

No Bitchin' Just Op-eding

I'm deciding against bitching about the paper work that has suddenly appeared before me. I'm deciding against this because I think I've done enough complaining for now. I can complain to my sister. Instead I'm going to comment on a couple of news stories I have waiting to commented on. Up first the Kaiser Chiefs!
Nick from the Kaiser Chiefs has set up a record label. This is unsurprising if you know what Nick did between the demise of Parva (the first not as cool incarnation of the Kaiser Chiefs) and the Kaiser Chiefs. He just doesn't seem like the kind of guy who just sits and twiddles his thumbs (or actually enjoy some well deserved time off). My favourite part of the article is this though: "Kaiser Chiefs singer (and former art teacher) Ricky Wilson is also on board, and is designing a logo for the label." Mostly just the "former art teacher" bit. I'm unsurprised Ricky is involved.
I commented on a story related to the story I'm going to talk next on my radio show. Namely that Robert Zemeckis is looking to remake Yellow Submarine in 3-D. Now a cast assembled. It's a fairly interesting line up. You've got three Brits covering Paul, John, and Ringo and an American (Cary Elwes) playing George (who in my opinion probably has the hardest accent to fake). I've been against this project from the start (how do you remake such a trip fest?) but as much as I love Peter Serafinowicz as a comedian...it just doesn't feel right. I know the Beatles didn't play themselves in the original movie, but still. It doesn't feel right. Oh well, we'll see.
Finally, this list is the reason why I don't listen to American radio. Unless I absolutely have to (aka in the former-roomie's car).
I leave in two days. I doubt I'll be updating in that time, but you never know. Until then.
Edit: I found my hard drive. It was hiding under last year's calendar, not under my bed like I thought. Cheeky bugger.

Five Days to Go

I am decidedly less frazzled than the last time I updated. Admittedly a large number of my concerns have been taken care of (money) though I'm still waiting on that damn Oyster card. A new concern has arisen, unfortunately, but hopefully it will be taken care of soon enough. I've also been unable to locate my hard drive yet, but then again I haven't really been looking for it either. I'm sure once I start looking I'll find it.
One thing I have managed to do since I last updated is hyper-extend my left thumb. You don't realize until it's gone (or uncomfortable to use) how very, very useful and important a thumb is. I can't imagine not having a thumb. You can't hold things properly and typing, while not impossible, is a bit a annoying.
I should also mention that I'm completely obsessed with Chuck because I have nothing else to do and it has Jayne and Zachary Levi is kind of cute (even though it's quite clear that certain people are trying to straighten his hair, the idiots.) It's also a very fun show and much like the other show Josh Schwartz produces :cough:Gossip Girl:cough: highly addictive. Since I leave for London in five days (good god where did the time go) I plan on cramming in as many episodes as I can in between finding my hard drive and getting a planner. Hopefully it will keep my mind off the fact that I'm leaving for London in five days 0_0
One last thing: I have a new theory about why I keep seeing the same faces over and over again in British TV/film productions. Because the UK is only so big and only so many people go into TV/film, there are only so many people that can be hired for the number of shows and films that are produced in any given year. Taking into consideration that some actors make it in Hollywood, all that's left are the same two dozen or so actors in each area (and they very rarely over lap.) This is how you can get a cast that consist of actors who have been in Torchwood, Merlin, The Sarah Jane Smith Adventures and various mini-series. And why the same five people star in all of the country's comedies. Of course they come in waves (or generations if you wish) so a new wave will be coming along eventually. I just have this to say: Marc Warren can't be taken seriously as a good guy or a romantic interest by anyone who has seen Hogfather. It's impossible.
So that's all the typing I can do. Hopefully I'll get in at least one more entry before I embark on my six month adventure. But if I don't, I'll see you lot in London.

Can't Think, Too Worried

Since I currently have the attention span of small dog [squirrel!] and I really want to post something up in this here blog, I'm copying and pasting a review of "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" that was published in the Washington Post Tuesday that made me smile with happiness. I should point out that the Washington Post and I rarely agree on most things (movies, television, dvds, music, the meaning of life) so the fact that I agree with this review is quite something. Anyway, here it is for your enjoyment. I'm going to go freak out over the fact that I'm leaving for London in a week.

Without a hit single in the United States it's hard to make a big splash in pop music. But no pop album in 2009 sounded better, start to finish, without a true hit single, than Mika's "The Boy Who Knew Too Much," the follow-up to his 2007 debut, "Life in Cartoon Motion." With a sound that brings to mind some wild amalgamation of Rufus Wainwright, Elton John and Electric Six, Mika managed to be both out there and entirely accessible at once. The nonstop hooks and joyous beats pulled you in and the smart wordplay kept your attention throughout.

Mika is also a bit of a style hog. He channels his inner Kate Bush* on the dreamy "By the Time," visits campy torch territory with "Pick Up Off the Floor" and delivers his Broadway show tune best on "Toy Boy." Yes, it's all a bit over the top, but it's also magical. If Mika's music were simply pure pop pep, that would be enough. But each song tells a story, amuses, amazes and confidently makes its point.

"He's got looks that books take pages to tell/He's got a face to make you fall on your knees," the 26-year-old Londoner sings on "Blame It on the Girls," a bedazzling, boisterous track that somehow chastises ingrates and celebrates life all at once. The song is typical of Mika's fare: exuberant but also layered; candy-coated but also loaded with meaning. Few modern pop stars have achieved anything close.

-- Joe Heim

Recommended tracks

"We Are Golden," "Blue Eyes," "Blame It on the Girls"

Alright, I don't agree with "Blue Eyes," or the fact that there was no "one hit single" (there are many) but he got everything else right in my opinion

*Kate Bush via Imogean Heap, which is clear as glass if you've ever heard an Imogean Heap song and/or have looked at the Wikipedia article on this album.

I'm Freakin' Out Man

I am currently in the throes of "Oh dear god I'm leaving for a foreign country in a week"-style panicking. I spent Sunday making up lists of the things I need to pack and the things that I'll be buying once I'm in London. I've figured out how to get to my dorm from Heathrow and how to get to the orientation sight from my dorm. I'm currently worrying about money (surprise, surprise) and whether my parents (Mum) actually know what they're talking about when they say I can use by debit card like I normally do when I'm in London. I've got a knot in my stomach that comes and goes and for some reason people keep asking me if I'm packed and ready to go even though I'm not leaving for another week. I've applied for an Oyster card but haven't received any word as to whether my application has been approved and I'm starting to wonder whether there will be any cash points in Heathrow so I can pay for the train and bus or whether I should go to the bank and buy cash there. I also have the attention span of a small dog [squirrel!] and can't locate the external hard drive that holds all of my favourite things in the world.
However I will say this for myself: At least I have the lists and I'm doing a very good job of not exploding at people. I'm also pleased with myself for already figuring out how to get to and from places for the most part and the whole not exploding at people thing is also very good in my mind. I'm sure there will be more freaking out in the days to come, but for right now I've got everything I can have under control, under control. Let's just hope it stays that way.

And A Happy New Year

I was drunk last night, dear Mother;
I was drunk the night before.
But if you forgive me Mother,
I'll never get drunk anymore.

--- Tootie Smith (from Meet Me In St. Louis)

After watching other members of my family get drunk, I've hypothesized that when one is drunk one's greatest fear in life comes to the forefront (or at least it does with my family.) This is what I learned about myself:

• I'm quite jovial when drunk
• I'm more irrational than usual
• My greatest fear in life (based on my hypothesis) is death and not understanding the people around me (and that they are making fun of me)

Anyway, since I basically have sign post entries for every other major event in my life, I thought I'd continue that tradition by writing about getting proper drunk for the first time. I will say this however - I'm glad I did it at home and not college. At least at home you know for certain that people will make sure you haven't died in your sleep because for some unknown reason you've suddenly stopped breathing.

Best of...

Here are my list of favourite songs and albums from 2009. The one thing I realized from making this list is that I didn't listen to many whole albums and more individual songs (damn you Zune!) and that my taste in music has expanded considerably over the course of the year. Also, per usual, my list doesn't match up with any other list I've read this year save for the inclusion of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in my top songs list. And Miike Snow and Franz Ferdinand. Everything else is just proof of how not indie I really am.

Top 15 Songs (In No Particular Order)

• Emasculate Me - The Cribs
• Don't Upset the Rhythm - The Noisettes
• Remedy - Little Boots
• Never Gonna Happen - Lily Allen
• Dr. John - Mika*
• Tigerlilly - La Roux
• French Navy - Camera Obscura
• Not the Only Person - The Rumble Strips
• Twilight Omens - Franz Ferdinand
• Animal - Miike Snow
• Dimestore Diamond - Gossip
• Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• The Golden Age - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour
• Seattle - BPA
• Morning Light - Ida Maria

Top 5 Albums (In a Kind of Order)**

1. Miike Snow - Miike Snow
2. The Boy Who Knew Too Much - Mika
3. It's Not Me, It's You - Lily Allen
4. Tonight - Franz Ferdinand
5. La Roux - La Roux

Honorable Mentions for Top Albums

• Fortress 'Round My Heart - Ida Maria
• Ignore the Ignorant - The Cribs
• Fruit - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour

Albums I Wish Had Been Better (Or That I Would Have Liked to Have Liked Better)

• Quicken the Heart - Maximo Park
• It's Frightening - White Rabbits
• Humbug - Arctic Monkeys
• Strict Joy - The Swell Season
• The Resistance - Muse

And finally an explanation for the album order: As with my choice for my favourite Mika song, I didn't want to be too obvious in picking my #1, so I went with the most consistently really good album. From there I ordered the albums according to a) how consistently good they were and b) how many tracks I consider to be above par. Hence why Franz Ferdinand comes after Lily Allen (the entire end of the album being crap as compared to the one or two tracks being not very good.) As mentioned in my foot note for this section, there are albums that I probably would have included if I had listened to them in their entirety :cough: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Noisettes, Gossip:cough: and some I'm sure I would have included if they had been released in the US this year :cough:VV Brown, Little Boots:cough: So there's the logic for my top 5 albums. There is no logic for my top 15 songs because I basically just picked songs that I listened to a lot that were released in 2009.


*I picked this based on the fact that a) "We Are Golden" is too obvious and b) it's the second most listened to song according to Zune
**The problem with this category is that a lot of the albums I would like to included (I'm sure) haven't been released in the US. That and the fact that I didn't listen to many whole albums from 2009, just individual songs. I plan on emending that for some artists, but again I'm limited by what has and hasn't been released in the US.

Christmas Time is Here Again

I have acquired an irrational fear of the holidays. They always seemed to sneak up on me like a bad dream or crappy grades. One moment every thing's fine and then bam: awkward holiday meals where I'm left talking to relatives who have nothing to say to me and who I have nothing to say to, watching my parents get more and more obnoxious and feeling overly tired. This year, for whatever reason, the holidays haven't been that bad. My cousins are pleasant and talk to people other than themselves and while my parents remain obnoxious, the whole process doesn't seem nearly as taxing as it has in previous years. Of course the spectre of previous Christmas meals still looms, I feel optimistic about today's meal. I sincerely think it won't be as bad as Christmas' past. I also sincerely hope I'm not proven wrong, otherwise I may go back to strongly disliking all family gatherings, just on principle.
On a completely different note, I got some really excellent swag this year (even though I kind of knew about all of the DVDs and books that I received.) I got a lot of "practical" gifts (guide books, maps, UK-style chargers) but possibly the silliest gift was given to me by my sister. Every year she gets me something I didn't ask for and almost never need. I love her to death though because the gift is invariably linked to whatever I'm interested in (hence the bootleg Kaiser Chiefs DVD I still haven't watched). And since I have a really spiff camera, here's a picture of what Sophs got me:

I really do love her. Even if she gets me ridiculous articles of clothing. (And for those of you who are unsure, yes that is a shirt that says "We Are Golden" and is from the official Mika web site.)

2009: Favourite Moments in Chronological Order

This has been a fairly negative year for me. I wouldn't say it's been the worst year I've ever had (that one goes to 2004) but it wasn't exactly a happy-go-lucky/gosh isn't life wonderful year (that would be 2006). Despite the rather devestating event earlier this year, there have been a number of good moments which have made the year not really terrible. There have also been general trends that I'll mention through out this list. Yes, bullet points will be used. So here are the highlights from 2009:

• The acquirement of a pen-pal (even if it was fairly short lived) who finally got me to listen to Pulp
• Becoming closer friends with Heather and Ana after the break-up
• Discovering Ashes to Ashes and Life on Mars
• Becoming an unofficial member of the radio station elite, without even trying very hard
• Getting to see Franz Ferdinand for the first time and absolutely loving it
• Discovering music that lies just slightly outside of what I normally listen to and letting those discoveries lead me to even better discoveries
• Giving Mika a chance
• Getting into the University of Westminster for the spring semester
• Becoming more and more fabulous
• Watching "Bad Romance"
• This season of NMTB
• Getting into the practical module I wanted at the University of Westminster
• All the really great friends I made and solidified over the past year

So that's my favourite moments of 2009. Tomorrow I may or may not post my favourite songs/albums of the year. We shall see. In any event there will be something after the holidays and in the lead up to my leaving for London. Happy Christmas and a good New Year to you if I don't say something before then.

Lengthy Updates Are My Speciality

Well, Westminster let me back into their system, which was awfully nice of them. My ID card is going to be a bit scary, but I now know when my three classes meet, in what buildings, and that British syllabuses are called handbooks are equally boring to American syllabuses. So let's get with the descripting!
Music Radio
This class is the one that confuses me the most in terms of scheduling. We meet twice a week from 10am to 5pm but it's only listed for meeting for the first half of the semester. Which confuses me because I'm getting a full 15 credits for it (4 in the American system). But in terms of content I'm really glad I got into the class because it's going to teach me an invaluable skill: How to incorporate quizzes into my radio show. That and other technical stuff that will be really good to know once I graduate from free form radio to regular programmed radio. Also one of the books we're suppose to read for the course I've already read, so that's nice.
Law and the Music Market
Contracts! We meet once a week for two hours where in I will learn about intellectual property, copyrights and you, and contracts! I'm actually really quite excited about this class because...well because I am. The copyright and intellectual property stuff is actually very pertinent what with illegal downloading and mash-ups and all that good stuff. I don't care what anyone says, it's going to be interesting dammit. Even if I can't explain why.
Principles of Music Marketing
This is the class I'm least excited about largely because I have no plans for going into music marketing. Sure it will be interesting from an intellectual standpoint and in terms of transfer credits it will do quite nicely, but in terms of real life interest...not so much. So yeah.
Well those are my classes. Last night I slept with my older dog (Nikki) who, once she is in position, doesn't move. This was annoying because a) I wasn't expecting to sleep with her and so my door was open and b) meant it was very hard to adjust the number of covers I had over me when it got too hot. So I didn't sleep very well last night.
In other news Rage Against the Machine got the #1 Christmas single this year. The group won over a Simon Cowell creation, so that's nice. But on the other hand Rage Against the Machine aren't a very good band. Yes I'm all for taking down crappy pop acts that do a disservice to the entire genre, but people of the British Isles, think about who you've given this title to: An American metal band that very few people in America like anymore. If you're going to take down the system why not do it with a British band (Franz Ferdinand, the Cribs, etc) who are actually talented (Arctic Monkeys, La Roux, etc) not some crap American band (Rage Against the Machine.) Nonetheless, down with crap manufactured pop music, all hail crap American metal.
Umm...snow. Lot's of snow. 19 inches of snow. And I've been assigned to the morning orientation group which meets at 9:15am. However I get pastries so that's something. And snow. More snow than we've had in years and years and years. And I did really well this semester and brought my GPA up to almost a 3.0. I went to Williamsburg on Thursday and spent 2+hrs looking at wreaths and thinking "dear God I'm bored and cold and bored. Why did I say yes to do this again?" I think that covers everything. I've been having weird dreams, but that's not that bizarre in actuality. So yeah, that's everything. Until next time, don't panic.
Edit: Here's the AV Club's take on the whole British Christmas single. It's an excellent summary for anyone who's either never seen Love, Actually or just wants a more descriptive reason for why RATM's win is a big deal.

And You Won't Let Me In

Before I got locked out of everything at the University of Westminster site (for no reason as far as I can tell) I found out what classes I'm signed up for. I got into one of the practical modules I requested (Music Radio) which means that my portfolio must not have sucked as badly as I thought it did. I'm also taking a class in music marketing (eh) and music law (interesting). After finding this out I almost immediately got locked out which makes me unhappy because I'd really like to be able to login to things, but at least I know what classes I'm taking. And I can complain about not being able to login when I get there since I know the vital information (which classes I'm taking.)
There was something else I wanted to talk about, but now I can't remember what it was. In light of this fact, I'm going to take a nap. Ahh, it's good to be on winter break.

Slightly Related Items of Interest

To make up for a lack of posts, I'm doing double duty tonight. Here are two random, but somewhat related items from Youtube.
*



*I would just like to say that while I'm mostly a-political* and I do my best to keep this blog neutral** I wanted to post this video because it really brings home what it's like to be gay and not have the right to get married because of that fact. Again I seldom touch on this stuff because I don't feel it's my place to proselytize to my readers, but just think what it would be like if you had to ask over a 300 million people*** if you could get married to the person you love. :shrugs:
*I believe in a democratic system and all and I consider myself a liberal but...after eight years of a douche for president you're either going to be extremely active in politics or shun it all in my opinion
**Two of the closest friends I've had have been deeply conservative. They're good guys and I value my friends, so I had to learn pretty quick how to keep my mouth shut because losing friends over something you don't care about is stupid.
***According to Population Finder the estimated population in the US for 2008 was 304,059,724. The estimated of population of VA (where I am) is 7,769,089. So yeah.

Completely Off Topic

But still amusing to me. I found this tid bit of information at List Universe and was glad to know that what I'm hearing is real. So here's the tid bit:

Intrusive R and Linking R are pronunciations of the letter ‘r’ in English dialects that don’t generally pronounce a final ‘R’ (such as New Zealand English). For example, in these dialects, when saying “don’t go far” – the word “far” has a silent ‘r’ – but the ‘r’ is pronounced in the sentence “he is far away”. This linking ‘r’ smooths out the phrase. Intrusive ‘r’ is when an ‘r’ is added where one doesn’t exist at all – as in the case of “Africa or England” – this would be pronounced “Africar-or-England”.

This principle also applies to "saw" and "idea" but I find "saw" much more amusing because it sounds like they're saying "sawr" which isn't a word and therefore highly amusing. I think this is a strange hold over from the Norman conquests because they French are all about making everything sound really smooth. So yeah, that's my exam week interruption. I'm going to watch Mock the Week and Firefly, completely ignoring the fact that I have a music history exam I probably should be studying for. Until next time, don't panic, like me, and go "oooommmm."

Tired End of the Semester Rambling

I'm going to make something of an admission which, if you look at the entries over the past three months(ish) shouldn't come as much of a shock: This has been the most stressful semester of my college career. The odd thing is that it's been stressful not because of the classes I'm taking but because I've procrastinated on so much of the work I have to do for those classes. And I think the reason I procrastinated more this semester than in previous semesters is twofold but basically comes down to one thing: applying to study abroad. In the first half of the semester I procrastinated* because I was stressed about applying to Westminster. When I found out that I had gotten into Westminster I procrastinated because, as much as I knew I needed to do the work, I just didn't give a damn. Of course I'm a horrible procrastinator to begin with, but this semester has been truly appalling. As an example I finished my Mozart paper about an hour before it was due. For me, that's terrible. I don't like doing that because it causes me to lose sleep, but I just didn't care enough, so I put it off. But just thinking about this semester and looking at entries from the past few months the main theme seems to be stress and when I think about why I was stressed it largely had to do with putting off crap until the last possible second.
With the end of this semester less than a week away (four tests, one project presentation) it's been slowly dawning on me how strange next semester is going to be. And as I tried to explain to my sister it's not just because I'm going to be in a different country. Granted saying "I'm going to be in a different country" kind of covers all the bases, but it's little things that are going to be strange. Not doing my radio show, not having band or chorus at their normal hours. Not seeing a certain group of people every single day, not having breakfast as Seaco. Not playing the clarinet or having a private lesson every week. No more randomly running into friends on college walk or trying to not stare at every one who walks past me (Yes, I'm weird.) Just weird little things that, yes, do get covered by not being at Mary Wash, but whose I'm absences I will feel nonetheless. I've been banking on having some kind of breakdown as my departure date gets closer, but I keep thinking about all the things I'll miss but it's more of a mental exercise than me actually missing them. I guess that will come in time, but I wish I was acting a little more sad than I am right now. I suppose that will come with time as well.
I think either my sleep debt is finally catching up with me or I'm getting sick because I'm just so tired. Ridiculously tired. And if I am getting sick, I'm going to be well pissed because now is not the time to be getting sick. So let's hope it's just my sleep debt.

Big Ball of Stress

So this week has gone from mildly frustrating to "Oh my god, why does the world hate me so very, very much?" in the matter of about five hours. I haven't been updating on Twitter or Facebook because they only way I can describe my current state of mind is by making strangled noises of frustration and then curling up in the fetal position. I just want this week to go away and not come back ever, ever again. Of course all of this means that I've been listening to Mika non-stop since this morning because clearly listening to a strange amalgamation of techno/pop/glam is the best way to deal with the massive amounts of stress I'm under right now. Funny thing though is that my roommate said that I don't worry about anything. Oh how wrong she is about that. I worry, I just don't let people know (thanks Dad!) unless of course they read this blog. Then they get to hear about it all the freakin' time.
First major stresser this week is a paper I have due on Thursday in music history. One of the key resources we need for said paper has been checked out by a mysterious entity who is not in our class. There's a neat little summary on Google books and I can kind of glean some stuff from various reviews of the book, but seriously. I just want to glance over the real thing so I can accurately describe what all the hubbub is about. But no, no luck there. Thankfully it's a not a very long paper and there are other sources I can talk about in more depth, but...I just want the book to come back so I don't have to worry about it.
Second major stresser is that I've been waiting for weeks now to hear about boarding at Westminster. I get a neat little email this morning fro, the housing officer at Westminster saying that they haven't heard from me and that I missed the deadline. However if I can get my paperwork in by Friday all will be well. I didn't get an email. I don't have the paperwork. And the housing officer guy hasn't responded to the email I sent him this morning. Now I realize there's a four hour time difference, but seriously. I sent it at 10am EST which would be 2pm GMT. He had time to respond to my email, or at least in my mind he should have had time to respond to my email. And what if I don't hear from him soon? Will I not get a room because of some clerical error or whatever? Then what will I do? :makes gargled frustrated noise:
I also had a tiff with my mom last night over a power cord I ordered almost a month ago that got delayed. I try not to argue with my mom as much as possible because in her mind she is always right and I am always stupid. So in an effort to not have a fight about the layout of the Dell website (which is frustrating and stupid, like most tech websites) I just tried to move on. She wouldn't let it go, so I had to say, in a loud voice, "anyway" just to get her to let go. It's just...aaargh.
Then of course there was my jury last night. Thankfully I didn't almost cry this time, so in comparison to last year's jury, much better. However I'm very glad I won't be doing this again. Very, very, very, glad.
So that's it. I hate this week almost as much as it hates me and I have my last radio show on Wednesday. Thank god I already made up the play list otherwise the show wouldn't be happening. I'm now going to play solitaire and listen to Mika. Because that's how I roll.

Edit: Westminster rooming situation has righted itself, thank god. And my Mom decided to buy me a copy of the book I need for my paper. Which may or may not get to me in time to be useful. In which case, I have a book on Mozart's Requiem that I really don't need. So yeah, one less stressor is still a good thing.