Land of Lincoln, BoreChester Towers, Hells Kitchen
I almost clubbed a small boy today on the bus. To be fair, he was a redheaded chav blaring techno remixes of the Looney Tunes song on a very expensive SonyEricson phone while his teenaged mother looked on.
Maybe it's the Stella getting to my brain.
It's been almost a week since my last post, which means several things: 1) I've been doing other things, 2) I've been doing lame things that don't require postage, and 3) I'm so eagerly awaiting the arrival of my dear mother and stepfather that I can hardly type.
Last Saturday, we took an abbreviated full-flat trip to Lincoln, home of THE Lincoln Cathedral, where we were able to take a full tour (that means roof included). Emily and Hilary were out with their parentals in London and Wales, respectively, and due to small car space, Mary was a trooper and stayed home. Did I mention Kate was in France? I'm not sure why.
Lincoln was a beautiful city. It was slightly rainy, but at times the sun peaked through the clouds and illuminated the great towers of the cathedral like a sign from God. Or sun reflecting off of towers. I suppose it's up for interpretation.
Brandon, being scared of heights, was hilarious on the tour, which put us in various precarious situations. That rhyming seemed forced.
After taking the Notter way out (that is to say, we saw the sights, headed straight for the shopping area, and then hit a pub), we came home and rested our calves. The town is built on a huge hill, so steep that the street is literally named STEEP HILL. Kicking our feet back, Aaron, Brandon and I cracked open some drinks that are known for their potency. Like the STEEP HILL, they were aptly named- SUPER LAGER- and after one, Arrested Development seemed both funnier and hazier.
Sunday was a day of lost productivity. Mark and Carol have introduced Barchester Towers,
a book known for its lack of brevity and its comical characters. It's hard to get into a 500 page book about the Church of England, but my goodness, isn't that Mr Slope hilarious? Not to mention the Singnora, what a harlot!
Needless to say, it's been a difficult read.....
Tuesday, I had my first UK Class Presentation. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if I've had my first Luther presentation, so maybe this is my first collegiate experience. Anyway, it was on Televisual Styles, and my group was full of slackers, myself included. The assignment is about 30% of our grade, if not more, and we decided to do it after the Monday lecture at 7pm the night before it was due. A half hour of work later, we were ready for judgement.
In what can only be described as a serendipitous clusterfuck of good luck and smooth talking, we pulled it off- made up group activities, b.s.'ed speeches, candy, and an easy topic- we ended up getting 100%. Admittedly, the topic was a little too easy for my own comfort. Part of the presentation included me talking about the technical production characteristics of The Office, and it's relation to the Mockumentary tradition of satire and entertainment.
Getting my money's worth.
Work, in a semi related topic, is not really getting any easier or more pleasent. My boss can only be described as the illegitimate love child of Hell's Kitchen's Gordon Ramsey and Droopey the cartoon dog.
So, again, needless to say, I've left him disappointed. My favorites from this week include:
1) Monday
"Do you know how to peel an orange?"
(me thinking: are you serious? I'm from the US- have you ever heard of Florida?)
"yes, yes I know how to peel an orange"
(minutes later) "What the hell are you doing?!" (Gary then proceeds to show me how dumb I am by using his knife to peel the orange and then remove all of the pith)
*sidenote: he later threw two of my salads away, I had to overhear him trashing my assembly technique to the co-owner.... sad days
2) Tuesday
After making me clean grease off of vents, the grout out of floors, and using a shopvac to clean up his messes before cleaning the front window before i could leave:
"Well, I guess you'll never get a job as a window cleaner"
3)Wednesday
"How are you peeling those parsnips? You're so uneven...do you know how easy it is? You're over here attacking the veg - here, move out of the way....."
So, after a week of hard labor with nothing to show but a huge blister and a prayer that I won't get ripped off like last week, I'm not looking forward to more work.
In other news, Today is Aaron's birthday- another lackluster 21 in a land where kids have been chugging Carling since age 16 (well, 18 legally). Hopefully a trip to the Lakeside Art Center to see a trombone aficionado with Ems will do the trick- followed by some much needed Real Cask Ale at The Lion.
Last night I caught up with the Oscars, watching Children of Men and An Inconvenient Truth. Both were amazing. The cinematography of CofM blew me away- the acting of Michael Cane was, as always, great. The story wasn't exactly what I expected, but the way the situation was slowly uncovered leaving the audience in confusion for a good portion of the movie was challenging.
An Inconvenient Truth really rocked me. It's hard to get myself to admit it, but Al Gore is a phenom. Where was this animated, excited figure during the 2000 election? The guy has passion, the guy has connections, the guy has a huge political history. Why wasn't his 20+ year career in congress brought up at all? After watching it, I first of all fear for my life in 50 years, but now also support a Gore/Obama ticket in 2008. Democrat or Republican, you should watch this movie. Even if you think it's all a load of crap (which it's not , if you think it is, you're crap)- it's really well done.
Turning my attention to the future, I'm scared - in less than two weeks, My mom and stepdad will be here. The following week, we'll be in London, then after that? Straight to Nantes to visit Zach and Megs, followed by three weeks in Europe (Including some Eda and Katie time in Granada)- SO UNPREPARED RIGHT NOW.eep.
Planned or Unplanned, I'm still excited. Showing family around Notts will be great, and Ireland with mom and darol will be amazing- St. Patty's day or no St Patty's day-
More planning tonight.
posted by Kevin @ 3:55 PM
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