Nott What You'd Expected...

Welcome to Nottingham. Crime Capitol of the UK

Violent crimes are down 9% in Nottingham so far this year! Not if I find the chav pricks that stole Emily's computer, camera, and my beautiful Canon SD400 Powershot (complete with autofocus, 12x total zoom, and a 2 GB card- full of Italian sunsets and Gelato shots) from the flat on Friday...
I'm not sure if full disclosure is allowed (pending police reports, etc...), but basically, we have a sneaking suspicion that someone may have broken into the flat DURING CLASS held upstairs, and then exited, all while we were chatting about Arthur Seaton and Nottingham circa 1930.

There's no way to describe the crushing feeling of loss and helplessness when items that, especially during a period of ..eh.. excessive travel and life-altering experiences.... experiences that, for the last month of Nottingham, will be less-documented.

There are reasons to look up. I find it hard to feel bad about myself when Emily has lost so much more. My loss pales in comparison to her computer- her pics, writings (English major, you understand), and work for the year... The rest of the girls were shaken by the idea that people, who we don't even know, have been inside the flat WHILE WE WERE HERE, and got away with taking our things.... what's to say that they won't be back later for the 6 computers, 4 printers, and my own external hard drive that were left behind? That's maybe a little frightening.
We've been in close contact with the police, and have been doing research (ok, ebay browsing) for new items, as well as combing through insurance info to see what Luther/personal insurance will pay for and what it won't. I'm in no way an expert.... does anyone have a clue how this stuff works? I'm a little disappointed in how much Mark and Carol haven't done or haven't really cared about the incident..... call it the bitter resentment of someone who has had an expensive piece of techno stolen from his or her life.... the camera was a souvenir of the year itself! How many times did I drop that thing in Decorah before i left? Sorrento on the floor? Broken the screen in Howarth?

I digress. The clouds of depression have somewhat subsided... Like I said, we're looking into it...

I'm looking up. Bob and Patty, globetrotting members of the Cronin clan (My mom's side of the family) managed to make their way to Notts before trekking off to Istanbul on Sunday morning. Bob had been checking into work down in Watford (near London), and worked out a way to come up. It was great to add another member of the family to the list of People Who Actually Know What I'm Talking About. We had traditional Fish and Chips, visited the flat, saw the Castle ("I mean, it's only 3 pound 50?!?") and even had time for a pint in Pitcher &Piano before they had to head back for a dinner party.
It was great to hear about their experiences in re-entry, having lived in Singapore for several years. It was reassuring to know that there are, again, members of my family who have experienced it, seen what I've been through, and can relate when I come back and need some kind of reaffirmation.

In way sweet news, Megan is here from Nantes (see also: First week of Spring Break) until Tuesday, and so far her time here has been pretty sweet. She landed on Saturday to discover the sunny, chav-filled streets of Nottingham- Market Square was hopping, due in part to a hip hop crew (in England? who knew?)

It's crazy to think how spoiled I am to have the worldly-traveled friends that I do. Last year, it seemed as if I would be alone for an entire year- without Luthery contact, without the reminder that yes, there are people back home who will know what you're going through.... So far, I've seen John, Alex, Eda, Katie, Heather, Nick, Zach, Megan, Molly, Keely- it boggles my mind....

Saturday night was pricey- a trip to Brandon's play, a quick stop at Ark, a cab ride to Geisha, some drinks at Pitcher, back to Geisha, and then the ride home... Pricey but well worth it...

The play was artsy- very minimalistic staging, interesting costuming, cool stage lighting, and some unique plays with the literature. It was about Germany pre-war, and the 6 cast members played different characters in something like 20 different 'sketches', some connected and others seemingly random. It was a good show- tough to follow at times, but the second half was impressive....especially a certain scene involving three choreographed make-up applications, a very disheveled looking Brit, and a lot of suitcase slamming. The death scene was pretty dramatic....

We hit up Ark for a typical Uni drinking experience, snakebites and all, and made out way to Geisha to meet up with Brandon for the cast party of the show. We were a bit early, so decided that Megan couldn't come to Notts without seeing Pitcher. We each settled in with a classic overpriced P&P drink (Screaming Orgasms, Mango somethings, Pint of Pedigree) and enjoyed the eclectic mix of Michael Jackson, Mika, Lipps Inc, and Robbie Williams. God bless this country.
Geisha was not the scene I expected- 30 somethings dressed to screw, giving the 'I could be out of this room and in your car in less than 2 minutes' look to anything that walked into the door... I felt dirty in the presence of such sexual-minded 'old people', but fought my urge to run in the other direction, and instead laughed while Ryan feel asleep in the VIP room and the black John Mayer lulled us with acoustic versions of The Fray, Howie Day, and even Guns 'n' Roses...

Today I awoke with a strange feeling of deja vu.... I hadn't made it to bed until dawn (I'm a bit of a night owl of late), but for some reason woke to a familiar voice that could not have been.... At first I thought Hilary had introduced some friends from Uni into the flat, then thought perhaps I had just misheard the TV or radio....

I was wrong... or right, i suppose... It was Keely, a friend from Luther, studying in Ireland with Molly- both girls had been en route to Prague, and ended up missing their flight in nearby East Midlands Airport. Their misfortune was our luck- a chance to hang out with some Luther friends who might otherwise have never seen the flat or Nottingham...

Sunday itself was boring.... I prefer to think of it as 'typical', the same way Italian restaurateurs try to get your attention by plastering 'typical Italian food' on every blank space on the menu... We hung around, watched some American Idol, lounged around some more, facebooked a bit, ate some pasta from Friday night, and planned out a busy Monday. All in a day's work...

To be fair, we made up for complete homebodiness by visiting Brandon in church for Evening Song Service and then getting some takeout Fish and Chips (mini version, not to be mistaken by UKExpress' Dolphin and Chips), and a quick ThirstyBoozers run...
Skyping with some Luther friends (ok, THE Luther friends) made it feel like 'old times'... that is, of course, until Mika came on BBC2 after Match of the Day and I ran up to watch a bit...

New habits die hard too.

Tomorrow, an action packed Monday is in store for Megan, as I attempt to impress her to the best of my abilities (no worries, Zach...considering...)
First, a gift-buying trip to SportsWorld for some (5) Forest Kits, then to Ms Bunns Cob Emporium to show off my old stomping grounds, then TV Cultures class, and flat dinner before going to Oceana (The club I'm least uncomfortable going to)...

Maybe someone will take pictures.

posted by Kevin @ 1:13 AM