Monday, November 14, 1988

Oops!

This day can best be summed up by the word "oops." That's not to be confused with "Whoops," which Doug described as the term you would use if, say, Jupiter blew up.

Anyway, the day started out just fine, waking up at 8.30 a.m. when Viv came to my room to say goodbye before she headed off to her day of classes. As soon as she left, I fell right back to sleep. I woke up again at about 9.30 a.m. when Doug stopped by. He had a good laugh when he saw me in my sweatpants and messy hair, then told me that we would meet at the bus stop at around 10.45 a.m. on Cottingham Road and head into town. He left, and I fell back to sleep. (Pictured: The actual bed where I kept falling back to sleep.)

So at 12.15 p.m. I woke up officially, well past the time I was supposed to meet up with Doug. Feeling enormously guilty but unsure of what to do, I took a shower. When I returned to my room Doug had stopped by and dropped off a piece of graph paper... and replacement lead for my mechanical pencil! (Journal returns from being written in black ink to once again being written in lead pencil.) So I guess Doug wasn't too upset with me for oversleeping. I went to grab a sandwich for lunch, then went over to his room to make amends.

I returned to my room to eat my sandwich, then started reading "The Cherry Orchard" by Anton Chekov for my Poetry and Drama class. Went to class at 3.15, discussed "The Cherry Orchard" and all of its brilliant significance, then came back to The Grange at 4.45 and got in line for dinner. After dinner I did a little map drawing using the graph paper that Doug provided for me, and then we started to get a group together to go see the Robin Williams movie Good Morning Vietnam. I'd already seen it twice when it came out in the U.S., but definitely worth a third look.

I went to get Viv, but she wasn't in and I wasn't sure where she was. I figured she must have been out with other friends, so I left and got Sid, Andy, Paul and he headed downtown to the movie theater.

After we returned from the movie, there was a rather harsh note left for me under the door by Viv. She was very angry that I did not get her to go to the movies. So I did the only logical thing... I explained myself in a harsh note back. I think the evening can be concluded by a quote by H.I. McDonough (Nicolas Cage) in Raising Arizona... "I'm in dutch with the wife." Whoops! (Yes, whoops!)

Sunday, November 13, 1988

The Yank Scores a Goal

I woke up about mid-morning today and caught a few cartoons on the telly. After lunch, J.P., Big Jon, Little Johnny and I, along with a few others, went up to the Cottingham Road site to play some football (the English variety, of course!) The game was going well for awhile, and we were quite close, the score being 5-4, thanks in large part to a great performance by our star goalie, Turlek. I even scored one of our goals! How sweet is that?

But then Turlek decided that he didn't want to play goalie anymore, so he came out and J.P, Little Johnny, Paul and I were left to circulate in the position. It was not good. Twenty minutes later, the game got out of hand and we lost, 12-4. Yikes, what a joke. It was fun, though!

I walked back to The Grange, only to remember upon my arrival that I had left my room key in J.P.'s room, and J.P. had gone from the game to a pub, so I was locked out. Viv hadn't returned from her trip home yet, so I didn't really have anywhere else I could go. I sat in with Doug for awhile, then visited Sid for a bit. Once J.P. returned, rather than head right back to my room, we decided to have a brief water battle. After those shenanigans, I returned to my room, and after dinner I rested in my room, awaiting Viv's return.

At 8.30 Viv arrived with her parents from Skegness. She brought along with her some pictures of her home, growing up, etc. So that was pretty cool to see. Later on, we watched "The Breakfast Club" on TV. Always a great film to watch. Fell asleep finally around 3 a.m., exhausted from the day's football match.

***

• Number One Song in Britain This Week: "Orinoco Flow" - Enya
• Number One Song in America This Week: "Bad Medicine" - Bon Jovi
  

Saturday, November 12, 1988

A Day in York

Oh what to do today, with Viv not around. Managed to wake up relatively early, about 9.00 a.m., got dressed and showered (though not actually in that order... see, this is why I need to write my journal in pencil!) But we had some fun planned... a group of us were planning a trip a bit north to the City of York.

I had been to the city back during my Camp Hill High School class trip back in the spring of 1987, and it was one of my favorite stops along that trip. So I was looking forward to returning... back then I had no idea I would be returning so soon. That was probably the moment where I started to think that I'd like to someday come back to Britain and study so that I'd have more time to spend in places like this.

Anyway, at about noon we caught the city bus, which meandered from Hull to York. It's about 40 miles away, and we finally arrived at about 1.30 p.m. The train would've been faster, but the bus was much cheaper. For a couple of poor college lads, the bus was the best option.

Once we got there, we walked around the various shops for awhile until Big Jon, Paul, J.P. and Littly Johnny went to a pub. Doug and I decided to continue walking around the very picturesque town, taking in the very crowded sights and sounds of York (lots of Christmas shoppers already!)

We went into York Minster, and it was very impressive. However, I felt that there were just too many visitors in the church at that time to really enjoy it. I did get some nice black-and-white photographs outside of the minster.

Afterward, we walked along the wall that surrounds York, during which time we crossed paths with the rest of our group. Doug and I then walked down the steps off the wall and walked around town some more, taking in more of the sites of York. When we have more time (Our next trip here will likely be on Nov. 25), we will be able to take in more of the sites.

I bought a cheap Mike + the Mechanics EP, "Nobody's Perfect," for 99p, and the sheet music to The Proclaimers song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" so that I could practice it on my guitar back in my room. But later, as we were on the bus home, I realized that the inside page was missing, so I didn't have the full song. Bugger all!

Anyway, after walking around York a bit longer, Doug and I found the train station where we were to pick up the bus. We grabbed some dinner there while we waited for the rest of our group to arrive, and I also bought a copy of "The Times." We caught the 5.45 bus and headed back to Hull, where we finally arrived at about 7.30 p.m.

After returning, I took a brief sortie out to Double Happiness for some delicious chips 'n gravy, over to the "offie" to buy four cans of Tennent's Lager, as well as a bottle of Cloberg (Yugoslavian wine) for later use.

Later, we had a casual, less intense water battle, which ended when we decided to retire to the television room in St. Hilda's to watch the Eddie Murphy-Nick Nolte film "48 Hours."

Afterwards I returned to my room to write my latest article as the foreign correspondent for The Snapper. It was a criticism of the IRA, the Irish Republican Army. It may ruffle a few feathers. Well, good night.

(Photos: #1 - Me along the wall in York, near York Minster; #2 - York Minster, as seen from the wall; #3- Doug in York; #4 - A street artist paints a portrait on the sidewalk in York.)

Friday, November 11, 1988

Post-Election Decor

It's the 70th anniversary of the Armistice of World War I... Veteran's Day. I woke up early for breakfast, and ate in the refectory with Viv and Kenny. Then I went to my Roz seminar of Social/Political Structures, then went to the library to get my Geography Paper Assignments down.

I came back to my room afterward, where in a little while Viv came over and we had some lunch. She they stayed for awhile in my room until she had to leave to get ready for her trip back home, where she was going to be visiting for the weekend. Good news, though... she let me borrow her TV for the duration of her visit!

After that, I spent a couple of hours re-arranging my room (post-election decor, pictured), and going through the newspapers, clipping out election articles. I think they'll be interesting to look back upon someday.

Later, after dinner, we had another water battle, which lasted from 6.30-7.00 p.m. It was quite intense and loads of fun.

(Editor's note: Up until now, the entire journal has been written in pencil.)

Doug borrowed my pencil and it ran out of lead, so now I'll have to start writing in pen. Good news on Doug... he's finally decided that this place isn't too bad! I spent the rest of the evening writing letters, watching a little telly (it's about 15 inches, ha ha!), then listening to some tunes on my stereo before finally turning in for bed.

Thursday, November 10, 1988

Sack Edgar Page, Part 2

He did it! Bush won Pennsylvania! And California! Also, I was happy to see that Sen. John Heinz won re-election in Pennsylvania by a comfortable 2-1 margin. The final score: George Bush - 426 electoral votes (54.5% of the popular vote), Michael Dukakis - 112 electoral votes (45.5%).

Anyway, I woke up early for no apparent reason. (Viv woke me up and told me that she had missed her first class.) So I just took it easy until 10 a.m., when we took the bus into town to do some shopping. I only bought a newspaper. Then, instead of taking the bus back to The Grange, we walked back, hitting several shops along the way (record, book, music, etc.) I bought another James Bond paperback ("You Only Live Twice") for 20p, and some water balloons (gotta be prepared for the next water battle.) We then returned and rested.

There was another march by the Save Edgar Page lefties that we were tempted to water bomb... but we didn't. They canvassed Humberside College quite extensively to get marchers... but only two from our college went. Ha ha! There would've been more, however, the secretary of the Humberside College Labour Club (a guy named Martin, who seems to be intimidated by me for some reason), got his group lost and never made it to the march. I should laugh, and yet I do.

That evening a group of us (Viv, Kenny, Liz, Little Johnny, Andy, two of Viv and Liz's friends and I) went to see the movie "Buster" starring Phil Collins. Others (Big Jon, Sid and Neil) went to the other theater to see "A Fish Called Wanda." I thought "Buster was a pretty good movie, with an interesting plot (based on the true story of a guy who led the biggest train heist in British history, then went on the lam for years before getting caught.) I thought Phil Collins was impressive in his cinematic debut as a leading man.

Afterwards, most of us went to McDonald's for chocolate shakes, and then it was back to The Grange. Viv came over to my room for awhile, and stayed until I got too tired and fell asleep.

(Pictured is a close-up of my room door after the election. I had posted updated results as they rolled in. For fun I put a curly-wigged photo of myself as "Gern Blanston" on the ballot as well. A few people wondered what was up with that. I still wonder that myself)

Wednesday, November 9, 1988

Water Battle

Woke up at 8.50 a.m., just in time to get to my Geography lecture. However, I opted out, and decided to go get some breakfast instead, then get some more rest after only four hours of sleep.

Once again, I didn't receive any mail, but I was still happy most of the day because of Bush's win. I spent a good deal of the morning and afternoon catching up on my writing, with a break for lunch at the refactory. During the day, I watched two talk shows dealing with the American presidential election. One of those shows, which was filmed in Norwich, had a section of Americans, including college students, and they were discussing the election. One of the students, I swear, looked exactly like Brian Lobel, a friend of mine from grade school. He had a mustache and a deeper voice, but the tonality was the same and he looked exactly like him. I'll have to check into it to see if it was actually him (I know, probably a one in a million chance.)

Later in the day, we had our first major water battle throughout the residences. Having recently purchased my own water weapon, I was prepared for combat (me pictured ready for combat above). It took place outdoors as well as indoors, and it lasted for a good half an hour, with a significant audience watching us. It was good fun. The battle took place shortly after we watched a new episode of "Dr. Who," featuring the Candy Man.

After the water battle, I spent the rest of the evening with my girlfriend Viv. Oh, before watching Dr. Who, Viv and I went to the library so that she could get some work done. I got a newspaper and spent the time reading over election results, but the final tally hadn't come in when it went to press. Then I worked on a Scrabble puzzle in the paper, which became obsessive. That's all.

Tuesday, November 8, 1988

The Big Day

It's election day! I went to classes starting at 10.15 a.m. with Poetry and Drama. Then I went to my Geography seminar, but decided to skip my Soc./Pol. Structures lecture to go into town to return my library books (due today) and to buy a .44 caliber water pistol (only 99p), because you never know when something like that is going to come in handy. I also purchased Paul Simon's new album, "Negotiations and Love Songs (1971-86)." It's a greatest hits album. I also bought a copy of The Times and some food, then I returned to my room, went to dinner, then spent sometime with Viv, during which time we watched "The Cosby Show," "Fawlty Towers" and the news (among other activities.) Fortunately, Viv has a TV that she set up in my room so that we could watch the programs. Because of my room location, I can pick up a better reception than she can in her room.

Then at 11.30, coverage began for the election, which I watched until 4.30 a.m. As I had anticipated, Vice President George Bush (R) was victorious over Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis (D). I was hoping to catch Bush's acceptance speech, but I fell asleep beforehand (which I kicked myself for missing.)

During the festivities, Viv was with me until about 12.30 p.m., when she left to return to her room. Another visitor was Simon McMullen, or Sam, who lives down the hall from me. He's an older student and a married socialist who was completely annoyed at the whole ordeal. We had some spirited and good-natured arguments and discussions during the evening.

J.P. and Sid also stopped by the room when they returned from LA's, and Ian, who lives next door, also stopped in to check it out for a bit. Needless to say, Bush scored a decisive victory over the Duke. Four more years of prosperity awaits... yaaaay!