Monday, November 7, 1988

April is the Cruelest Month

This was a frantic day spent working on THE PAPER!!! I woke up at 8.50 a.m., went to breakfast, then went straight to work on my 2,000-word essay on T.S. Eliot's "The Wasteland." I worked straight from 9.15 to 3.45 (I overshot my deadline by .45, since it was due by 3.00), and only took a 15-minute lunch break.

It was an intense, but valuable experience. I had a bit of a scare when handing it in because I wasn't sure of the system, and with it being late and all. But Viv and I made it to the office in time to drop the paper off, so it appears that a volatile situation has been avoided.

After dinner, I spent some time with Viv, followed by a disastrous/victorious game of Risk. It was disastrous because Kenny (pictured) and I were wiped out in the first round (being the reigning champions, our team was picked on and targeted by the rest of the players.) Rather than sit and watch, I joined J.P.'s team, where we built a stronghold in North America, and when J.P. had to leave, I was able to score decisive victories over Kenny (who had taken over for Little Johnny and wanted to go to bed), and then Andy. It wasn't long after that when I went to bed myself. Tomorrow's the big election day!

Sunday, November 6, 1988

There's Plenty of Time

This Sunday was spent talking about how we were going to work on our papers for class tomorrow. Unfortunately, we all got sidetracked by various elements (trips to Double Happiness, etc.)

Eventually, I did get started on my T.S. Eliot paper, and I managed to get a good bit of research done, but only a little bit of writing started on the rough draft (one paragraph, to be exact) before I decided to call it a day. I figure I can work on the paper tomorrow, since I have until 3 p.m. in the afternoon to work on it. We'll see how that goes.

Only two days now until the presidential election. The Sunday Times had an impressive layout on the election. (Cover is pictured.)

****

• Number One Song in Britain This Week: "Orinoco Flow" - Enya
• Number One Song in America This Week: "Wild Wild West" - The Escape Club
• World News Today: A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits Burma and China, killing 730 people and injruing 3,900.

Saturday, November 5, 1988

Shakespeare the Sadist

Woke up relatively late this morning, but just in time to catch lunch. After some food, Doug and I made our sortie into town to catch the Hull Record Fair. We spent a good two hours there, and both of us bought our share of records, with Doug spending significantly more than me.

I bought the Genesis "A Trick of the Tail " record... the same one that I saw a few weeks ago in London but didn't have the money at the time to purchase. I also picked up a Genesis single that has the non-album track "Submarine," the Talking Heads "Nothing But Flowers" extended mix EP, and Sting's "Ghost in the Strand." We returned before 4 p.m. with our wares and ate dinner.

That evening, J.P. and I went over to Hull University to see the student production of the play "Shakespeare the Sadist." The acting was good, the stage design was brilliant and the script was bizarre, to say the least. However, the sound was awful, and to say it was somewhat offensive is an understatement. It did provide some interesting ideas, though.

We returned from the play in time to watch Monty Python's "And Now for Something Completely Different" on TV. After that, Viv and I hung out in my room. Only three more days to go until Bush's decisive victory!

*****

• World News Today: Cornell University graduate student Robert Tappan Morris, Jr. s confirmed as the cause of the worst computer sabotage to date, creating the first computer worm on the internet.

Friday, November 4, 1988

Home Brew

Woke up bright and early for my Roz seminar. It wasn't all that bad... if you look past the blatant Communist propaganda. Came back to my room, then went on a shopping excursion with J.P. and Kenny in downtown Hull, where I bought a Prince EP for my friend Scott back home (featuring the non-album track, "Another Lonely Christmas") and some batteries. J.P. and Kenny bought a bucket for the home brew they are planning to make. St. Hilda's beer... well that should be interesting. (Pictured: J.P., meditates in Queen's Park in Hull. Perhaps he's asking the beer gods to give him the gift of brewmastery.)

Went back to the residence and ate dinner. After dinner we went to the Gardner's Arms for a pint, then over to Double Happiness for some chips and gravy. A little while after returning to my room, Viv stopped by for a visit. She was planning on going home to Skegness for the weekend, but as the evening progressed, it became more and more obvious that her friend who was going to pick her up wasn't going to return her message. I guess we'll have to wait and see if she hears anything tomorrow. Only four days until the presidential election!

Thursday, November 3, 1988

Tremendous Significance (Nothing of...)

Five days until the presidential election. Woke up bright and early for no apparent reason (though probably because I went to bed so early last night), so I went to breakfast. Then I bummed around the day until my class started at 2:15 p.m.

Well after dinner I did nothing of tremendous significance, so no sense boring you with needless details.

(Picture is a small alley way nestled in the heart of downtown Hull. It has nothing to do with this particular day, but none of my photos do.)

Wednesday, November 2, 1988

Inspired by Geography... and Boredom

Six days until Bush's victory speech! Actually, I'm at the "worried something's going to go wrong" stage right now, but I still think he should win the election.

Spent the first hours of the day in breakfast (what is in that sausage, anyway?) and my Geography lecture. I spent most of the day doing rather routine things, such as food shopping and reading. In a fit of boredom, and I guess somewhat inspired by my Geography class, I sat around creating a map of a fictional country named Flamenco (pictured). It's odd, but interesting, I guess. Maybe I'll continue to develop the country and see what comes of it.

Ate dinner, then met up with Viv. We watched an episode of "Family Ties," and then a new episode of "Doctor Who." Then Viv and I studied a bit until I got tired, so I returned to my room and went to bed at around 11 p.m. Of late, going to bed that early has been highly unusual.

Tuesday, November 1, 1988

Glasnost Propaganda Day

Only 8 more shopping days until the election! It still looks like George Bush's race, but we'll wait and see. I woke up early, got some breakfast, then finished the last two chapters of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Sad ending to the book.

Went to Literature in Context class at 10:15 a.m., which turned out to be nothing more than a Marxist Propaganda Session. Then it was off to Geography, where the seminar discussion was on Communist China. Then, after a bit of time in the library, I went to Soc/Pol Structures, where we discussed POWER with Roz Billington. For awhile, it seemed like Glasnost Propaganda Day at Humberside College of Higher Education.

Came back to The Grange at about 3:15 p.m., and rested until dinner time. After dinner, Viv and I went to see "Big" starring Tom Hanks. I had already seen it back in the States, but it's such a good film that I didn't mind seeing it again. After the movie we came back to my room and had a little bit of the German wine that I had bought the other day.

(Pictured: J.P. sitting on a bench at Queen's Park in downtown Hull.)