Wednesday, October 14 - Memory Like A Fish

One reason i started this blog was to remember all of the fun times i've had here. For some reason the past few years my memory has been terrible. I used to be really good at remembering what people said in our conversations and recall just the little things. Now i can barely remember what i wore two days ago. Sometimes i don't remember what people said to me. Now that it's been a week since i've last blogged i don't really remember what i did starting Wednesday night. This means that i need to start writing more often.

I'm pretty sure that on Wednesday i did indeed play some football with Andy, Mikael, and James. But i don't really remember what i did afterwords. Most likely just relaxed and got to bed early for Thursday's festivities.

Thursday we spend all day in the lab. We had to do a variety of demonstrations such as drop jump, single leg jump, 15 meter spring, 5 meter spring touch and back, and a concentric/eccentric test. We used force plates, speed cameras, and velocity guns. It was really interesting being able to perform the task then use the technology on another student and see how it works and get the feel for it. Like i said earlier that classes are really hands on and i really like that.

Thursday night Lindsay and I went to the pav to watch a hypnotist with Kat, Gemma, Shakira and Sarah-Beth. It was awful. The guy had 10 subjects and spent maybe 30 min with them and couldn't get anything to happen. People in the audience started talking or leaving and you felt pretty bad for the "hypnotist". Then you started to feel really bad when 9 of then 10 subject on stage just walked off. He was left with one and was trying really hard to get him to by hypnotized and he actually got it to work. (It's a possibility that he just told him he would give him 20 quid if did whatever he told him to do.) But like i said he wasn't a very good hypnotist and just kinda did stuff that either a) didn't work or b) was stupid. I think the guy who does it back at Winona was much better. After dinner Sarah-Beth and i went to go get some Indian food. I've never had Indian food before so i didn't know what to order, i ordered some type of chicken with rice. It wasn't that bad, a lot of food. I'd try it again. I learned of a Mongolian BBQ place that has a buffet on some nights. Definitely going there!

Friday, went to the gym with Lindsay and Andy. No idea if the weights are in kg or lbs. It's so messed up. I just lift what feels right. Seemed to work for the first day. After lifting Andy, Lindsay, Peter and I went out for the traditional Friday night dinner. We went to Chiquitos, a Mexican restaurant downtown in the Printworks.
I had a spicy beef wrap, it was really good. After Chiquitos we went to the Sinclairs Oyster Bar again for a drink.



After the bar i went to the casino to meet some friends for Mahjong. An Asian gambling game. We didn't gamble i just tried to learn the game. It's especially confusing if you don't know what the symbols on the tiles stand for. This picture pretty much sums up my first experience with Mahjong with Edmond and I:



After the casino I met up with Lindsay, Andy, and Peter again and we went back to our house to play Ride the Bus. A drinking game which Lindsay is very bad at and got drunk very fast. I also wasn't the best at it but was feeling it towards the end of the night. Rules are simple. Lay out 4 cards face up and 1 card face down in the middle of the 4. Starting with card 1, you guess if the next one to be flipped is higher or lower, if you're right you go to card 2, if you are wrong you take 1 drink and start over. This idea continues throughout the cards. If you're on card 4 and get it wrong, drink 4. The middle card that is faced down has to be guessed red or black. It's a fun and easy game to learn, ask Lindsay!

Saturday i played some football with Mikael, Andy, and James. We also went to the city to do some shopping. Bought 2 shirts for like 35 dollars, which is a really good deal here. Saturday night was a little too much partying for me. We went to the flat and hung out there with the crew and played ring of fire. We then went to a flat party and hung out there for a bit. It was really crowded so we went to IQ for another party and it ended up being kinda quiet there and the guys wanted to leave. So we left there, went back to the flat party and security showed up and kicked everyone out. So we just chilled out back at their flat. I had a mustache drawn on me with permanent marker and went to bed with it on. I woke up and it was on my sheets, comforter, and pillow. Not good. So Sunday morning i try to wash it off and end up tearing my skin off cause i was rubbing too hard. So now i have a scar and some of the mustache left on my face. I think I'll get around to cleaning it off later today.

Sunday i played some more football with the guys and a bunch of randoms. I was afraid to play cause they looked really good, and in fact were pretty good. But i was able to keep up with them and scored twice. Sunday night James, Mikael, Lindsay, Andy and I went and saw Inglorious Bastards at the Trafford Center. That place always amazes me. You can check the picture below to see what i'm talking about. The movie was really good. It was directed by Quentin Tarentino so you knew some parts would be gory. Besides that though it was a great flick, i recommend it!



Monday came around and I didn't do much. Had nutrition class. Went to optional training for Theory and Practice of Training. We practiced the clean (an olympic style lift) for an hour and half. I'm pretty sore from that. By the end of the year we need to explain how to properly do the lift to someone who is learning it for the first time. After that I went to the flat and hung out with Mikael, James, and Andy. Played some Fifa and just relaxed.

Yesterday was Theory and Practice of Training. We worked on Plyometrics for an hour and then practiced the clean again. I'm going to get really good at this clean soon! Last night I finished a book i've been reading for the past few weeks called 90 Minutes In Heaven. It's a non-fiction story about a gentlemen who get's involved in a car crash and dies. During his death he visits heaven and for 90 minutes gets a taste of heaven before he is sent back down to earth. The accident was extremely graphic and the author had many surgeries and spend countless months in the hospital recovring. He goes into a deep depression because of his injuries as well as being back on earth, and not spending his time in heaven. He later overcomes his depression and anger towards God and uses his story to heal others. If you aren't a big religious person i would still recommend this book to read. He is not a terrific author, but that is expected because not everyone is and he felt he needed to share his story even if he isn't an author. Although he isn't very good, it's still very interesting to read how he viewed heaven and how his story has helped others. Go and read it if you're looking for a book!

After finishing that i picked up Once A Runner. A fictional story with a non-fictional background. It goes though what life is like as a competitive runner from college to old. I'm not a competitive runner myself but i do like to run. So far I've read a few chapters and it has already pulled me in. It's been talked about as the best book while describing a runner, so naturally i had to pick it up. I haven't been disappointed yet. I'll let you know after i finish it how i felt about it!

Today i didn't have classes so i attended Operation Pavillion. It was put on by the Greater Manchester Fire Service as well as many police man, and ambulances. There had to been a few hundred servicemen there. The point behind it was to simulate a terrorist attack in which we the subjects were contaminated and needed to be properly taken care of. It started at 9 in the morning and didn't get done till 2. I initially didn't want to do it, even this morning waking up but i ended up going and had an alright time. I met some people, ate some good food, and helped out the services here! It basically consisted of us changing into these special suits, going into a shower, cleaning, and then leaving. Of course it was much more then that, but that's the basis of it.

Other then that i've just been hanging out today. I bought my plane ticket to Paris today! Lindsay, Andy and I are leaving the 13th of November and coming back the 15th. I'm so broke though, i'm waiting on some checks from boss man over summer and then i'll be safe for the rest of the semester i think! I went to the gym with lindsay and got nice and sweaty also. I think tonight i might go out with the sports teams here for Initiation night. All the sports teams initiate the first year players tonight. From what i heard it consists of them being egged, floured, forced to drink pints of vinegar, eat dog food, wear hideous outfits, and so forth. Luckily i won't be doing any of this cause I'm not in any sports, just going for the entertainment! This should wrap up my day quite nicely.

Some random thoughts:

Prawn Cocktail chips are soooo good. They are a sweet/sour mix. I'm gonna try to either send some home before i leave, or go home with a duffel bag of them.

Leave a comment with your address if you'd like a postcard from me sometime this semester! I have some people already but if you're like my friends Megan and Christine and you collect them, it's a nice touch to your collection!

Yes they do walk on the left side of the sidewalk here and up stairs as well. Takes some getting used to.

Listen to "Riverside" by Sidney Sampson

The 3 things i miss as of right now are Family, Friends, and Food!