If I were a good student...actually, scrap that. It's not quite correct to say that. I am a good student, I get my work done and hand in assignments and essays on time, and on work that I've had returned to me, I've not done too badly. So we won't suggest I'm not a "good" student. I am. Try again...
If I were a more stereotypical stu-...you know, again this is probably true to an extent. I'm not getting anywhere with this. I'll cut to the chase. Currently, there are plenty of student protests going on around the country to go with Cameron and Clegg (I might call them Los Conquistadores because it's amusing). Anyway, I won't try and tell you what Los Conquistadores want to do with students and tuition fees, you should really know about that. It's all over the news. Have a look, just make sure you come back and finish the blog.
There was the option and possibility for me to go and join in with the demonstration/walkout/protest. BUT...I woke up this morning to find that my room was very cold and my bed was very warm. It's a foolish man who leaves the warmth and comfort of his own bed to be in a cold room, wander through the city and be outside. Alternatively, I could stay in my flat, drink some coffee and write a blog entry and then do some music. It's really not much of a competition for me today...
AMAZING NEWS! I've been interrupted by Rachel. Complete change of stance on this entry now. It'll at least make her happy and keep her quiet for a while. She's always complaining that she doesn't get a mention on the blog. Well here you go Rachel!!! This shortened entry will now consist of you because you said you wanted to go and make some rice pudding.
Apparently, I need to be there as well while she does this. Strange.
The Ashes start tonight, so I'll be awake for that, or at least until I get ridiculously tired and need sleep. I might turn into something of an Ashes Zombie over the next few weeks, which could be interesting to say the least. I may write another entry and complete what I was on about later tonight.
Tell a friend about the blog, tell them to find me on Facebook or Twitter (thomaskayll).
Stay safe!
Wednesday 24 November 2010
Thursday 11 November 2010
Reading Week and not a book to be seen
Reading Week is very nearly over, and I'll be completely honest...I've not done too much reading. Then again, I've not really done a lot of the things that I planned to do. The original plan was to sit in bed and sleep for long periods of time, watch my Tagged Classic DVD (No Way Out/Backlash 2000), Survivor Series 2002 and the long awaited Chris Jericho boxset and then maybe do a little bit of work to celebrate my laziness.
However, it is now Thursday night. I've not even looked at a wrestling DVD and thought "I'll watch that". Instead, it's been a case of gazing at them and dreaming of having time to be able to watch them in peace and without a million other things to do. Saying that, this week has been a brilliant week...strange how that coincides with not having to go to Uni and work!!
On Sunday, I made a bold decision and something that I don't often do, which is to not watch a Grand Prix live. Obviously, this is partially down to not having a TV License and the licensing people being all over our backs and saying they're going to come and visit us. We don't have a TV, they can't get us that way, but I have watched some GP stuff live because it's just much better than watching it on iPlayer. BUT...this was also motivated by the fact that I was already going to be up and around at this time since I ended up going to university at 10am for library opening time in order to copy some papers for an essay I needed to write (and still need to).
Why didn't I watch the race live then? I went on a walk with some Honeydrummers. It was a glorious day, the sun was shining and creating that sort of really funky autumn atmosphere that is so amazing. We went along the Meanwood Valley Trail, and it really was a glorious walk. If you've seen my Facebook page, I took some photos of the views and bits of nature, and I'll be honest, I think they're pretty good photos.
I had no idea this sort of thing was in Leeds, and it really is in Leeds. Just a short walk from the university, and if you follow the trail for the entire 7 miles, you can end up in the Dales and in the middle of nowhere. I may well have to give that a go at some point!!!
If you haven't, go and have a look at those photos though. There are some really good shots, and there's an amazing array of colours thanks to the cycle of life.
Monday night was drumming night, and instead of the usual session at Wrangthorn, we did a gig for RAG as part of their fundraising week. They had a bunch of people walking over hot coals, which is a pretty impressive thing really. Slightly spoiled by the rain which apparently took some of the heat from the coals, but it's still a brilliant thing to do. When we played, we really got the crowd going. It seems Honeydrum always gets a great atmosphere going with a combination of singing, dancing and drumming. You really know you're doing something worthwhile when you can play with a big smile on your face, look up and see loads of people dancing along to the beats and enjoying it themselves.
As proof of how warm it was in that building though, when we arrived, I was completely soaked and had very wet hair. By the time we finished, my hair was completely dry.
Tuesday was where the week highlighted, and I went to the Steel City to see another part of the world and catch up with the ever-delightful Molly Toal and the equally-awesome Sophie Moore. Sheffield is a really nice place actually from the little bits that I saw. It certainly seems different to Leeds! But the union was really nice (and they had some cracking food!), and I'll be honest, their flats are MUCH nicer than the one I'm in. I wonder how difficult it would be to commute each day. :P
Molly and I did some wandering while Smoo got a bit closer to being a medic, and it was a really good wander. We ended up in a museum where we were able to fool around a little bit and see some really cool things. They had dressing up as well, so that's also awesome! I put on a carrot costume, we were both Anglo-Saxons, Molly found her true profession as a Victorian maid and we dressed like Inuit people. I tell you, the Inuit clothing was ridiculously comfortable and warm...I definitely want one of those jumpers!
After watching Father Ted (Escape to Victory) A delightful walk to buy fast food for dinner was part of the evening, and then we had a couple of drinks in some pubs/bars around the area, before getting back to Molly's flat and watching some more Father Ted (Kicking Bishop Brennan Up the Arse) before collapsing on the rather comfortable sofa and having some well earned sleep.
In the morning, we went to the union for Molly's morning lecture and had breakfast in a cafe in the union (why don't we have that in Leeds?!). While Molly was gone, Smoo and myself had some typical conversation where we end up getting a bit mopey and depressive...that always happens whenever we end up together and talking. Brilliant. :P
It was a fantastic trip, and I really did realise how much I've missed those two over the last two months. They are pretty much the best friends I have in the world, and I hope I rank pretty high for them too. Hopefully they'll get to Leeds at some point in the near future, though it seems that this might not be until next year since Sophie's timetable is a bit mental! If they'll have me returning, I'll definitely head back to Sheffield at some point to see them again...it's a rather delightful place!
So this rather brings us to Thursday...today. I've now done one of my essays. For something that was only 250 words long, it certainly look me a while to do! Bit ridiculous really, but at least it's out of the way. I've got another one to write at some point over the weekend, and then hopefully that should be it.
I'm back to Liverpool tomorrow (Friday). It seems it may well be a bit of a crazy weekend though, I've got a mental Saturday ahead of me where I'll be in Manchester doing rehearsals for the diploma, but hopefully I'll get some time to play some Xbox, see friends and then catch up on sleep!
I'll probably be back some time next week with my next blog entry, stay safe people!
However, it is now Thursday night. I've not even looked at a wrestling DVD and thought "I'll watch that". Instead, it's been a case of gazing at them and dreaming of having time to be able to watch them in peace and without a million other things to do. Saying that, this week has been a brilliant week...strange how that coincides with not having to go to Uni and work!!
On Sunday, I made a bold decision and something that I don't often do, which is to not watch a Grand Prix live. Obviously, this is partially down to not having a TV License and the licensing people being all over our backs and saying they're going to come and visit us. We don't have a TV, they can't get us that way, but I have watched some GP stuff live because it's just much better than watching it on iPlayer. BUT...this was also motivated by the fact that I was already going to be up and around at this time since I ended up going to university at 10am for library opening time in order to copy some papers for an essay I needed to write (and still need to).
Why didn't I watch the race live then? I went on a walk with some Honeydrummers. It was a glorious day, the sun was shining and creating that sort of really funky autumn atmosphere that is so amazing. We went along the Meanwood Valley Trail, and it really was a glorious walk. If you've seen my Facebook page, I took some photos of the views and bits of nature, and I'll be honest, I think they're pretty good photos.
I had no idea this sort of thing was in Leeds, and it really is in Leeds. Just a short walk from the university, and if you follow the trail for the entire 7 miles, you can end up in the Dales and in the middle of nowhere. I may well have to give that a go at some point!!!
If you haven't, go and have a look at those photos though. There are some really good shots, and there's an amazing array of colours thanks to the cycle of life.
Monday night was drumming night, and instead of the usual session at Wrangthorn, we did a gig for RAG as part of their fundraising week. They had a bunch of people walking over hot coals, which is a pretty impressive thing really. Slightly spoiled by the rain which apparently took some of the heat from the coals, but it's still a brilliant thing to do. When we played, we really got the crowd going. It seems Honeydrum always gets a great atmosphere going with a combination of singing, dancing and drumming. You really know you're doing something worthwhile when you can play with a big smile on your face, look up and see loads of people dancing along to the beats and enjoying it themselves.
As proof of how warm it was in that building though, when we arrived, I was completely soaked and had very wet hair. By the time we finished, my hair was completely dry.
Tuesday was where the week highlighted, and I went to the Steel City to see another part of the world and catch up with the ever-delightful Molly Toal and the equally-awesome Sophie Moore. Sheffield is a really nice place actually from the little bits that I saw. It certainly seems different to Leeds! But the union was really nice (and they had some cracking food!), and I'll be honest, their flats are MUCH nicer than the one I'm in. I wonder how difficult it would be to commute each day. :P
Molly and I did some wandering while Smoo got a bit closer to being a medic, and it was a really good wander. We ended up in a museum where we were able to fool around a little bit and see some really cool things. They had dressing up as well, so that's also awesome! I put on a carrot costume, we were both Anglo-Saxons, Molly found her true profession as a Victorian maid and we dressed like Inuit people. I tell you, the Inuit clothing was ridiculously comfortable and warm...I definitely want one of those jumpers!
After watching Father Ted (Escape to Victory) A delightful walk to buy fast food for dinner was part of the evening, and then we had a couple of drinks in some pubs/bars around the area, before getting back to Molly's flat and watching some more Father Ted (Kicking Bishop Brennan Up the Arse) before collapsing on the rather comfortable sofa and having some well earned sleep.
In the morning, we went to the union for Molly's morning lecture and had breakfast in a cafe in the union (why don't we have that in Leeds?!). While Molly was gone, Smoo and myself had some typical conversation where we end up getting a bit mopey and depressive...that always happens whenever we end up together and talking. Brilliant. :P
It was a fantastic trip, and I really did realise how much I've missed those two over the last two months. They are pretty much the best friends I have in the world, and I hope I rank pretty high for them too. Hopefully they'll get to Leeds at some point in the near future, though it seems that this might not be until next year since Sophie's timetable is a bit mental! If they'll have me returning, I'll definitely head back to Sheffield at some point to see them again...it's a rather delightful place!
So this rather brings us to Thursday...today. I've now done one of my essays. For something that was only 250 words long, it certainly look me a while to do! Bit ridiculous really, but at least it's out of the way. I've got another one to write at some point over the weekend, and then hopefully that should be it.
I'm back to Liverpool tomorrow (Friday). It seems it may well be a bit of a crazy weekend though, I've got a mental Saturday ahead of me where I'll be in Manchester doing rehearsals for the diploma, but hopefully I'll get some time to play some Xbox, see friends and then catch up on sleep!
I'll probably be back some time next week with my next blog entry, stay safe people!
Tuesday 2 November 2010
Sometimes, it's the simple things that mean the most.
I sit down to write this feeling rather awake and refreshed, though my head is still throbbing. I don't like Tuesdays really...they just go on and on and my head hasn't enjoyed this Tuesday. It's annoying really, since I got to bed at a rather sensible time last night and got plenty of sleep and woke up to the thought that it wouldn't be a drastic day. However, since around midday, my head has felt like every single German word I've ever learnt has been trying to explode and escape. I guess sometimes, Tuesdays can just be a bit of a Germanic overload...
That's alright though, because I've had my birthday now. By the laws of logic, this means that I'm probably a little bit wiser, a little bit more mature and a whole lot more awesome. Thankfully, only the latter is correct. I highly doubt I gained much intelligence by adding another year to my tally, I certainly don't feel any more mature, and I wouldn't want to either. As I've stated many times, the day I feel mature and that I should grow up is the day that I give up on life.
I imagine now is a pretty logical time to write about my weekend...it was a pretty funky weekend to be honest. Admittedly, the Friday journey didn't go so well since my train ticket to get me from Leeds to home failed in epic fashion, so I had to pay another £16 to get a new ticket. Douchebags. That's the same price I paid for a return ticket originally, robbing little...
Once I got back though, it was rather epic. My birthday was effectively spread out over Friday and Saturday since I got presents when I got home, and then I had friends round on Saturday. Clearly, this is good...and made the weekend far better than my actual birthday, though that will come towards the end of this entry.
As you know by now, I got the rather amazing caricature drawing of me as a Red Bull Racing driver which was done by Steve from Mum's school. Huge thanks for that, since it really is awesome. Hopefully, this link works, but if not...then it's my Facebook profile picture, you can't miss it!
72243_10150296138010624_583305623_15744173_5571508_n.jpg (517�629)
I also got a bunch of other cool stuff like the new Jericho DVD (which should be epic), a new hat, the new Smackdown game and grapes. Grapes, for those who aren't aware, is a present based around the love of this particular food by Matt Hardy. Check his videos on Youtube, they're unintentionally funny and brilliant stuff..
Saturday was a cool day since I got to see Cheryl, Joseph and Maisie. And oh, how much Joseph has grown in the last 6 weeks! The dude's huge now! He's what, 6 months old? I'll be honest, it's pretty cool seeing him when I come home, and I think he probably likes me more than Maisie does, or at least did at the same stage. Hopefully, Maisie's decided she likes me a bit more now...she at least speaks to me now, and that's progress from last year. After some Xbox playing, I had people over. We played games, we ate food and we just chatted the usual crap that we do on one of those nights. I've missed those evenings...they're awesome!
Mum made her chocolate cake, which should really be world famous, or at least famous to the continent of Europe and all chocolate cake fans. Combined with more ribs than you can shake a stick at, it was a food-heaven day (and Sunday, since leftovers were my best friend).
Then Sunday came, and I saw KP and Smoo! Again, I've not seen those guys for a few weeks, so it was awesome to see them both and catch up for an hour or so about life. I don't know man, for an hour or so, it didn't feel like we'd been away for a month and a half. It was just like the days of school and just wasting time doing nothing of great significance, but enjoying wasting that time. Pretty cool stuff.
Just before I left to head back up to Leeds, I did the Lantern Carnival with Beatlife. Oh, this felt good to be playing with the full band again. And of course, I saw the ever-wonderful Harley and the magnificant Matthew. Awesome dudes. It was good to play some new rhythms as well, and I think I got away with not doing a single rehearsal with them (admittedly, getting to Liverpool on a Tuesday evening isn't possible), but with the tunes being on the website, I gave them a listening and think I pulled it off. Chris said he might be up in this part of the world soon, so hopefully I'll catch up with him then.
My actual birthday was pretty average to be honest for a Monday. A couple of hours at uni, coming back to the flat and working for another few hours until I've finished my work and then drumming. I guess the differences were that I bought a sandwich for my lunch from Bakery 164. Damn, that food is like crack...addictive stuff and for what it is, rather reasonably priced. I'll be honest, I'm still a fan of the sandwich from Tesco that involves brown bread, ham, cheese, lettuce and pickle for £2. That's a damn fine sandwich, and it's mayonnaise free...which means it's Tom-friendly. Win! As well as the Bakery 164 sandwich, I treated myself to a "nap" for two hours in the afternoon once I'd finished my work. There is no greater feeling than going to bed at 3pm and waking up at 5pm, having some DELICIOUS crumble that I brought back with me from home (more excellent home cooking right there!) and then going to do a few hours of drumming.
Bizarrely, I'm feeling tired once again. I imagine this could be a sign that I'm ill or something, but I'm past the point of really caring too much about that. Instead, I'll just go back to bed, finish listening to the podcast I've got on and wake up tomorrow for the start of a new day.
I usually stick a quote on the end, and since I'm listening to his podcast at the moment, I'll stick on one of Joe Rogan's from an old blog entry of his:
Life can be really fucking beautiful, but man is it a tricky thing to manage.
That's alright though, because I've had my birthday now. By the laws of logic, this means that I'm probably a little bit wiser, a little bit more mature and a whole lot more awesome. Thankfully, only the latter is correct. I highly doubt I gained much intelligence by adding another year to my tally, I certainly don't feel any more mature, and I wouldn't want to either. As I've stated many times, the day I feel mature and that I should grow up is the day that I give up on life.
I imagine now is a pretty logical time to write about my weekend...it was a pretty funky weekend to be honest. Admittedly, the Friday journey didn't go so well since my train ticket to get me from Leeds to home failed in epic fashion, so I had to pay another £16 to get a new ticket. Douchebags. That's the same price I paid for a return ticket originally, robbing little...
Once I got back though, it was rather epic. My birthday was effectively spread out over Friday and Saturday since I got presents when I got home, and then I had friends round on Saturday. Clearly, this is good...and made the weekend far better than my actual birthday, though that will come towards the end of this entry.
As you know by now, I got the rather amazing caricature drawing of me as a Red Bull Racing driver which was done by Steve from Mum's school. Huge thanks for that, since it really is awesome. Hopefully, this link works, but if not...then it's my Facebook profile picture, you can't miss it!
72243_10150296138010624_583305623_15744173_5571508_n.jpg (517�629)
I also got a bunch of other cool stuff like the new Jericho DVD (which should be epic), a new hat, the new Smackdown game and grapes. Grapes, for those who aren't aware, is a present based around the love of this particular food by Matt Hardy. Check his videos on Youtube, they're unintentionally funny and brilliant stuff..
Saturday was a cool day since I got to see Cheryl, Joseph and Maisie. And oh, how much Joseph has grown in the last 6 weeks! The dude's huge now! He's what, 6 months old? I'll be honest, it's pretty cool seeing him when I come home, and I think he probably likes me more than Maisie does, or at least did at the same stage. Hopefully, Maisie's decided she likes me a bit more now...she at least speaks to me now, and that's progress from last year. After some Xbox playing, I had people over. We played games, we ate food and we just chatted the usual crap that we do on one of those nights. I've missed those evenings...they're awesome!
Mum made her chocolate cake, which should really be world famous, or at least famous to the continent of Europe and all chocolate cake fans. Combined with more ribs than you can shake a stick at, it was a food-heaven day (and Sunday, since leftovers were my best friend).
Then Sunday came, and I saw KP and Smoo! Again, I've not seen those guys for a few weeks, so it was awesome to see them both and catch up for an hour or so about life. I don't know man, for an hour or so, it didn't feel like we'd been away for a month and a half. It was just like the days of school and just wasting time doing nothing of great significance, but enjoying wasting that time. Pretty cool stuff.
Just before I left to head back up to Leeds, I did the Lantern Carnival with Beatlife. Oh, this felt good to be playing with the full band again. And of course, I saw the ever-wonderful Harley and the magnificant Matthew. Awesome dudes. It was good to play some new rhythms as well, and I think I got away with not doing a single rehearsal with them (admittedly, getting to Liverpool on a Tuesday evening isn't possible), but with the tunes being on the website, I gave them a listening and think I pulled it off. Chris said he might be up in this part of the world soon, so hopefully I'll catch up with him then.
My actual birthday was pretty average to be honest for a Monday. A couple of hours at uni, coming back to the flat and working for another few hours until I've finished my work and then drumming. I guess the differences were that I bought a sandwich for my lunch from Bakery 164. Damn, that food is like crack...addictive stuff and for what it is, rather reasonably priced. I'll be honest, I'm still a fan of the sandwich from Tesco that involves brown bread, ham, cheese, lettuce and pickle for £2. That's a damn fine sandwich, and it's mayonnaise free...which means it's Tom-friendly. Win! As well as the Bakery 164 sandwich, I treated myself to a "nap" for two hours in the afternoon once I'd finished my work. There is no greater feeling than going to bed at 3pm and waking up at 5pm, having some DELICIOUS crumble that I brought back with me from home (more excellent home cooking right there!) and then going to do a few hours of drumming.
Bizarrely, I'm feeling tired once again. I imagine this could be a sign that I'm ill or something, but I'm past the point of really caring too much about that. Instead, I'll just go back to bed, finish listening to the podcast I've got on and wake up tomorrow for the start of a new day.
I usually stick a quote on the end, and since I'm listening to his podcast at the moment, I'll stick on one of Joe Rogan's from an old blog entry of his:
Life can be really fucking beautiful, but man is it a tricky thing to manage.
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