Not much to say, really. Jane Austen is a distant memory, as our class bores headfirst into Wuthering Heights, a Bronte Family Production.
Long paper on Americanization of British Cultural Landscape is done, all 3000 words (1500 over the target).
Money is looking better- I'm an official (albeit possible under-the-table) employee of Mrs (Yes, she's taken) Bunns Cob Emporium, working 12 hours a week an a yet undisclosed sum, starting at 9am on Monday.
The flat journeys out for our last all-flat, all-Mark and Carol-sponsored trip on Saturday, a trek to Haworth, where the Brontes resided, writing book after book of girly English sentiment. Jane Eyre be damned, I'll try and enjoy myself.
Gramps and Gram in a week, classes picking up, work finally coming in.... I feel like a real live citizen, bored with work and ready for the weekend.
England is bracing itself for wintry weather with a blanket of snow forecast to fall across much of the country.
The North East experienced light snowfall on Wednesday morning, but up to 6ins (15cm) of snow was expected to fall later in a number of regions.
The worst-hit areas are expected to be hilly parts of the Midlands, such as the Cotswolds, with East Anglia and the south of England also expecting snow.
The Highways Agency said it had 400 salt-spreading vehicles on standby.
It said England's motorways and major A-roads would be treated with salt before the snow arrived, while work to treat and clear the roads would continue throughout the cold snap.
Racing off
Early snow in the North East was worst in coastal areas, with a light coating in Newcastle.
Bob Davies, clerk of the course at Ludlow, said: "It went down to -10C (14F) and we have got frost an inch-and-a-half (3.8cm) into the ground."
The Met Office issued a warning of heavy snow spreading north east across England on Wednesday night, extending across the Midlands, London, the South East and East Anglia during Thursday morning.
It said the band of snow would continue to push into northern England by the end of the morning and would continue through the afternoon and evening.
While people in the Midlands were warned to expect up to 6ins (15cm) of snow, the Met Office said London and the South East could see up to 2ins (5cm) by Thursday morning's rush hour.
Schools closed
The opening ceremony for a new £30m road in Norfolk, scheduled for Thursday, has been postponed.
The official opening of the newly dualled A11 Attleborough bypass, near Norwich, was postponed due to the forecast heavy snow.
Schools in Dudley in the West Midlands will be closed on Thursday because of the heavy snow predicted for the morning rush hour, with a council spokesman saying the decision had been made after advice from the Met Office and the council's emergency planning team.
The schools are expected to be open as normal again on Friday. Some schools in other parts of England are expected to also close.
The Highways Agency has warned against driving in the snow unless a journey is essential and urged drivers to listen to travel bulletins while on the road and make sure they are prepared with items such as warm clothes, food, water, boots, de-icer, a torch and a spade.
Airport prepared
Network Rail said railway lines in Kent and Sussex were most vulnerable to snow and ice because they take their power from the rails rather than overhead lines.
A spokesman for Manchester Airport said it was expecting 1.2ins (3cm) of snow between 0500 GMT and 1200 GMT on Thursday.
It was calling in extra staff to drive snowmobiles and equipment to keep runways clear.
The South East and parts of northern and eastern England were hit by snow in mid-January.
Bookmakers Ladbrokes has offered odds of 6/1 that snow will fall in London on Valentine's Day - next Wednesday.
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It's like when it rains in Arizona, and everyone goes apeshit.....
LOST starts up again today, which means the flat will be huddled around my computer some time tomorrow, eagerly soaking up each precious morsel of downloaded goodness, a few hours after our American counterparts are exposed to the answer to last fall's cliffhanger.... I've discovered a cure for insomnia: Jane Austen's Persuasion. I'm sure it's interesting, but up to page 140, it's killing me. On the plus side, I've gotten more sleep on average in the last two nights than i did on Sunday and Monday combined. Go team.
Mark and Carol's paper looms ahead. It seems unreasonable to complain about being over the Word Count while only having convered half of my topic, but at the same time, I know that -even if i finish the paper as is- i'll have to delete half of it in order to turn it in. It's a good paper, and worth hashing out, but at this point it sucks.
Thinking about life here vs. life at Luther can be dangerous sometimes, and last night and this morning I arrived at some scary thoughts. Being in a house with so few people has its ups and downs. Sometimes people can get annoying, and the thought of only having these 8 people can be overwhelming, but at the same time there is a serenity and peace in the small group we've created.
Luther will seem like an expanse of people who have, like us, changed (for the better? worse?)- and I can't imagine what kind of claustrophobic feeling it will be to live surrounded by 2500 people again, many of whom I actually know and care about. Too often, we're lulled into a sense of refuge back here in the flat, refuge from the 30,000 people who we could care less about back at Uni. Surrounded by maybe 1500 people that I recognize and know again will be a big step in reacquainting myself with life in the States.
Classwise, I can't imagine being able to walk five minutes to class, and then taking more than one in a day. Here, a day with one class is at least a 3 hour adventure. I can't even remember what it feels like to have two classes in a day.... It's not that life here is any lazier or easier, it's just a very different sense of accomplishment and growth.... does any of this make sense?
I fear the fall, when I'll have TV Cultures and American Lit in my rearview, staring into 18 credits of pure Englishy, Educationy hell and wondering what i was complaining or commenting critically about....
As if Jane Austen readings, American Novel 2, and TV Cultures (trust me, there is work involved) weren't enough, I've become increasingly addicted to a tv show here in the UK called Little Britain... I've downloaded three seasons, and have managed to get zero work done in the meantime. I'll call it a cultural experience for now, but maybe some time around finals week I'll be regretting it....
The basic premise is that, as a sketch comedy show, there are reocurring characters, mostly played by two men... the costumes are amazing, the sketches are rediculous, and you'll feel more British having watched them.
Part One of Day One
Part Two of Day One
Part One of Night Two
Part Two of Day Two
Otherwise, life is slowly trudging along. Quiz over Jane Austen that destroyed me (i'm a bit behind in the reading.... i'm curious as to how Mark and Carol will react to my test, based on my b.s.'ed answers during our discussion this morning.
Eda and Katie left this morning. Last night wasn't quite as eventful as we would have hoped- Eda forgot her ID when we went to Oceana, so we took a cab back. On the plus side, we saw some guy get thrown out of the club like you'd only see in cartoons- lifted up, tossed out like a sack of potatoes (is it potatoes or potatos....Quayle has forever ruined this for me....)
It was sad to see them go, but i'm looking forward to a weekend (or more) in Granada, Espana.
Busy week ahead- MC paper, Yellow Wallpaper, CSI and 24 screenings in TV class, and more reading.... this weekend, trip to godknowswhere with Mark and Carol... Grandparent Countdown looking at around 8 or so days.... can't wait....
4 hours of sleep, a friendly reminder of what American drinks can do to a person's head, and a pricey early morning trip on the tram - all things i could have lived without this morning.
Today was my first day at Mrs Bunn's Cob Emporium (She's married, i guess), a world class sandwich and strange salad shop that caters to the Forest and for some ungodly reason is about an hour from our flat. Why I even thought about taking the job is beyond me, but having wasted my morning getting there, I wasn't leaving without a job, 30 pounds, or a good reason. My job? Not worth talking about until the setup explains Mr Boss' reaction to my arrival this morning.... So i show up after a hellish ride/walk, feeling a mild headache and in otherwise normal (so, critical, sarcastic, lazy) spirits, to which MB replies (in a craaazy thick accent) "Oh. there's been a misunderstanding....I saw on your sheet that you'd only be here for a few months... and I... uh, should have called you?"
Yes. yes you should have.
Being the friendly, cantankerous Brit that he was, he offered to 'let me work for the day, considering i made the effort to show up and all...'
Thanks, Mr B.
For the next 4 hours, we stood in relative silence, as I became the chef I've always wanted to be. Nearly slicing of my fingers, I assembled salad after confusingly concocted salad, putting myself to the culinary test.
Sadly, despite the mindless robotronic activity that slicing celery, peppers, etc is, it was a job. I felt productive. I was making things again. Unfortunately, my American franchise teachings were not enough for a respectable Cob Shoppery such as the Emporium. At one point during my decimation of celery, MB turned to me and said "Oh....so it looks like we're having an American salad today.... big chunks.....Here, we like our celery smaller.... although the way things are going.....(grumbling, trailing off, speaking of fat kids....)"
I was devastated.....American Style Salad? Whatever man. As long as I gets paid.
We arrived at the conclusion that I could do (pardon my French) Bitch work around the place, not really interacting with customers, making salads and bread and the like while people ran around up front. Every Monday, maybe some Fridays and Wednesdays or something in between..... fair enough. money is, again, money.
Class was rich.... I skipped merrily to the Uni in the hopes of reading Jane Austen (HA), but instead took a nap in the library, carefully waking myself up every 20 minutes in case i was snoring.
TV Cultures provided more fodder for the contention that I should drop teaching and pick up some BS Media degree or film studies equivalent and teach at a Uni in the UK..... Best quote of the day? "If you don't know who Groundskeeper Willy is, you need to drop this module (class)"
Tonight, Eeds and Katie come back from Dublin, and the gang is headed to Oceana for what is becoming a Monday night ritual. 3 pounds for world-class clubbing? Yes please.
Ingredients for a Nottingham Superbowl Experience: 9 flatmates 13 pitchers of bubbly American brew 100 wings (50 medium, 50 bbq) 1 piece key lime pie 1 piece chocolate cake 6 scoops ice cream 2 orders curly fries 2 sides of nacho cheese dip 1 co-hosting gig on Sky Sports from ambassador to Miami, Don Johnson 3 awkward Englishmen with Broncos jerseys 1 lame guy in a Cleavland Indians top 1 fake-tanned, awkwardly dyed waitress 1 bill for 130 pounds
let sit for 6 hours.
drive home in two cabs when done......
Without a doubt the most interesting (to say the least) Superbowl experience of my life. Hooters was packed with Americans, wannabe Americans, and so much testosterone that our girls actually started growing facial hair... i kid. At one point, there were Ohio State Jerseys, a Peyton Manning supporter in the Indianapolis Whites, a guy rocking a Chelsea jersey for some reason, and countless waitresses walking around in Urlacher and Manning-scripted White Hooters tops. It was Americana at its best.
I was a bit shocked when the din died down for Billy Joel's national anthem, but a few boos did make their way through the crowd. It was an embarrassing moment as the Brits realized that they were letting their true obsession with America show, and they were forced to overcompensate by booing the footage of troops in Iraq and Mr Joel tickling soaked ivories.
The night was long and laborious, but we succeeded in our goal of watching the entire thing. A few cultural moments I wont soon forget:
- at one point, an obviously clueless supporter became irate when Manning's 53 yard TD pass flew into the arms of a receiver who had beaten two Chicago defenders down field... in an act of pure Britishness, the fan screamed "YOU CAN'T DO THAT...HE WAS OFFSIDES!"... wrong football, buddy.
- In an act that recalled cold afternoons watching Forest matches, as each team scored, a round of Football (as in, soccer) chants started up, with changed words - usually referring to local clubs, now changed to support the Colts and Bears.
A late night (the game started here at around 1130pm) turned into an early morning, as I hit the sack at around 4am. Work in the morning at 9 didn't sound pleasant. Neither did the thought of 100 wings and 13 pitchers sitting in my stomach. One thing's for sure... we celebrated like true Americans.
Is laziness a lack of action or a state of mind? I feel like lately, aside from an almost inhuman abilityto watch Grey's Anatomy at high rates of speed, my existence on this earth is somewhat wasted. Not in a suicidal way by any means, but just in the sense that I haven't and most likely won't do crap for the last few and upcoming days.
There's a lot on my plate right now- job searching, first week class preparations, reading for M&C's novel class, even more reading and tons of writing for a Paideia paper, and yet I'm like that guy in episode 10 of Season 2 when the guy is in the vegetative state... only instead of waking up after 16 years, I feel like I might just fall asleep after 20.5... On the plus side, my music collection has grown substatially, i have done soooome reading, and my appreciation for American television is growing, so in many respects I've been subconciously studying for my TV cultures class...
Friday was a wash, I was wiped for no reason and fell asleep on the couch instead of going to a pub with Mary and Brandon.... they ended up meeting up with Mark and Carol by complete cooincidence, so maybe it's best that I didn't go out.
Saturday, more Greys, a bit (ok, maybe a lot) of reading and prepping for my paper to be written today, and a whole lot of procrastination about job searching. I posted on the UK equivalent of craigslist that i needed a job, and got the creepiest pyramid scheme responses.... most had links to online videos or pamphlets with sayings like "Unbelievable but true", "Beyond your wildest dreams" and other off-putting statements that make you wonder who would actually buy into this crap.
Today, the flat buckles down, starts writing, and as a reward? Hooters. Despite our distance from the states, and inhabitance within a country that would rather pour scalding tea into their knickers than watch a match of American football, Aaron (after much sleuthing) discovered that there was an oasis of Americana, namely Hooters, that was brave enough to display THE SUPERBOWL (XLI) starting at 9pm and lasting until somwhere around 2 or 3 in the morning. Aside from the fact that our outing may cost upwards of 32 dollars after beers, tram tickets, a taxi home, and countless hundreds of wings, it will be worth it. So, dangle carrot, dangle... as I write today of Britian's slipping stance as a global world power in the sphere of cultural exportation, and the increasingly frightening impact of American film and television on the global market, I'll really be thinking of cheesy halftime shows, awkwardly sweaty announcers, and the typically over-the-top experience that is.... The Super Bowl (especially at the ONLY Hooters in the entire UK).... As far as predictions go, I'll stick close to my native home and birthplace and choose Da Bears- not because of talent, defense, or Peyton's innability to get the job done (yet, i know, really it's a toss up as far as I'm concerned), but I choose Da Bears because deep down, we all see bears for what they are: Godless killing machines. Don't believe me? Watch your Colbert.
This is what HAPPENED when 9 students from the middle of nowhere WERE picked to live in a flat in the middle of Nottingham, England.
This is what HAPPENED when people stopped being polite, and start being REAL.
This WAS Luther- Nottingham Campus, 2006-2007
...And now I'm back.
