New York New Yooooooooork!

*Phew*

Made it to New York safe and sound (just - BA overbooked the flight and - shock! - everyone turned up, so I only just got a seat) and spent the day catching breath, researching cell phones and getting ready for the next couple of weeks. Can't get a bank account or cell phone until I have an apartment, which kinda sucks, but never mind. The day ended awesomely with film watching with 10,000 others in Bryant Park, an evening of Communism, love stories, jibes about my lame home town, snapple, twizzlers and turkey jerky. Yum! Also made it back to Natalie's awesome apartment for a full nights rest (which is good, as by that point in the evening I was ever so slightly tired...)

Today made two appointments for apartment viewings tomorrow, with another two being sounded out via e-mail as we speak. Fingers crossed it won't take too long, so I can get down to the more important business of exploring the city, learning about my new role and playing with a shiny new phone...

Eek! And Yay! But Eek! Yay, though!

Less than 2 days to go! Heading to my Dad's with my brother tomorrow, then catching my flight early on Monday morning... Had a couple of really good weeks catching up with friends and family, including a trip around London where I ran into Rickesh in the MC office (and I was all like "What the crap!").

Pretty much packed now... Nearly there!

Ba da ba ba baaaa...

Noticed a change to the McDonalds advertising some time last week in Manchester. As well as the "I'm Lovin' It!" crap there was "It's what I eat and what I do". They may as well just make us all sign a form saying that they're not responsible in any way for the size of our asses.

Did my first Sudoku today, and it was actually pretty fun. May as well use up my free time exercising my brain. No idea what I'm talking about? Check it out:

http://www.dailysudoku.co.uk/sudoku/

Fill in the gaps so that the numbers 1-9 are used once in each horizontal line, vertical line and 9x9 square. Fun, in a nerdy kinda way. Either way, a better use of my time than sitting on the couch and watching MTV2, anyways.

A Little Adventure...

Sunday, 5am: Return to my apartment after the G&S Society summer ball and after-party. Have breakfast, change out of tux etc etc etc

6:20am: Leave apartment, head to train station to catch a bus. Weird.

7:30am: Bus leaves. The Long and Winding Road by the Beatles plays on my MP3 as I leave Manchester for the last time (awwwww). Now, by this point (having not gone to sleep yet) I'm a little bit tired, so I set all 3 of the alarms on my phone so I don't miss my stop. Hurrah!

9am: First alarm goes off and I wake up. Hah! No problem. 20 more minutes and I'll be at my stop!

9:30am. I wake up.

9:31am: Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK.

9:35am: OK. The situation: I have missed my stop, waking up in a small bus depot in the Yorkshire countryside, about 5 miles away from where I wanted to end up. The driver was just about to leave when I stood up, to which he said "Fucking hell!" (and I thought "that's just what I was thinking!"). I wander outside and I'm pretty much in the middle of nowhere. But - aha! - there is a train station nearby and a helpful old man and his dog give me directions. Around the corner, up the hill, over the roundabout, left at the lights and I'm sorted!

9:40am: Around the corner; there are two hills. I'm in a fucking valley. I choose right, because it looks like there's a roundabout up ahead...

9:45am: Aha! A roundabout! I knew I was great!

10am: It appears that I'm not so great. Further attempts to get directions indicate that I'm nowhere near where I need to be. Damn you, old man!

10:20am. OK, back to the valley and up the other hill. And there's a roundabout! And the old man/dog! Back on the right track!

10:50am: Goddam this is taking a long time. The Long and Winding Road comes on again. For the second time today it takes on new meaning. However... Station Road! Promising!

11am: The rail station! And a train leaves in 10 minutes! Hurrah! Get ticket for Leeds, wait on platform.

11:10am: Train to Leeds is announced. Train arrives on opposite platform. I shit myself.

11:30am: OK, was not my train. Just the station playing tricks on me. Now at Leeds, and am crashing - sugar time.

11:35am: Machine took my money but the Snickers didn't come out. Attract quite a crowd by crying on the platform.

11:40am: Buy stupid amount of chocolate from human seller and all is well. Now to wait an hour for the train...

12:45pm: 2 hour train journey. Very tired now.

2:35pm: Arrrrive in P'teboro. Woozy. Yeah.

3:30pm: Tr'n to Ipswish! Nerly home!

5:30pm: Stagger into Mum's car. Home a little while after.

At least my last trip home from uni was the most interesting one. Was actually kinda funny, apart from the whole Snickers thing (that sucked). Anyway - back home, watching TV, using dial-up, seeing friends. This time in 2 weeks - hurrah!

Violentest movie EVER

Don't get me wrong, Sin City was great, but daaaaaaaaamn. Kind of a "guy" movie, what with the explosions and the breasts and the gun fights and the girlies and the death and so on. Either way, and afternoon well spent.

Packing up my room - seems like it was only recently that I was moving in... Next post will be from the English countryside!

Done.

Done done done done done. No more revision, no more exams, no more essays, no more crappy seminar leaders with bad attitudes, no more random, random classes on Marcuse's One Dimensional Man. All I need to do now is pack, enjoy the rest of my time in Manchester and the UK and let the summer begin.

Aaaaaaaah Yeeeeah.

So... Close...

Work, Industry and Society turned out fine today despite the "early" start (I left my place at 8:50am) and the all-day downpour. Not only that, but I've just written out my Media exam revision notes from memory, so it looks like I'm as ready as I'll ever be for my final final tomorrow. Its pretty cool... I can usually remember anything if I write it out a few times; place lines, exam stuff, that kinda thing. Just need it to work one more time...

As for after the exam, no idea what's going to be happening apart from a celebratory drink with the other media students right after. If nothing turns up, there's always Sin City...