A week's disappearance and a year's end

This past week has been the longest stretch of inactivity I've experienced on Air Nice-to-Livelands to date. At the end of Christmas Day, my laptop developed a problem and has been out of action since then, although one of my uncles was able to sort it out over the weekend after I left the device at my grandparents' house.

In addition to my laptop's problems, I've been at my girlfriend's house for the past couple of nights and since I've been busy spending time with her, I've not paid much attention to updating my blog.

And so, 2017 ends. For me, this year has broken major ground in that during it, I completed my first year of university, attended a wedding (two, if you include the reception I went to back in July for the first time since California and I started a relationship. As it stands, I am nearly halfway through my time at university.

Happy New Year, everyone; I hope 2018 brings you all much good luck and success.

Return to Clifton December 2017

I'm now back in Clifton after spending the past few days at my girlfriend's house. I enjoyed my time there with her and will be back again on the 29th but for the next two days, I shall be at my mother's house, although I'll still be sleeping at my university accommodation. Tomorrow morning, I shall be taking a walk to the city centre and back, provided that I do not oversleep.

Her old college

This afternoon, my girlfriend and I visited where she went to college several years ago. We weren't able to go inside, obviously, as the place was closed and because we are not students there. Still, just being able to see the building and the grounds gave me insight about my girlfriend's personal history with respect to her education; I talk a lot about Central and so it was good to see and hear about her college.

Christmas preparations 2017

This afternoon, my girlfriend and her mother needed to shop to pick up a few items for the Christmas activities they have planned for the next few days. They had asked if I would come along to help and I said yes but even if they hadn't, I'd have volunteered. I'm happy to help but more than that, it's time spent with them both and it gave more chance for us all to talk, as well as good exercise for me. Overall, a delightful and productive afternoon!

Five days in Newark

I shall be spending today until the 24th of December at my girlfriend's house in Newark. She and her mother wanted me over for some of the winter break and so that's where I will be travelling to after we meet up for an event in Nottingham's city centre.

The Fosseway Flyer

Travelling to Newark yesterday meant I rode a bus route that I've seen around ever since I started college in Nottingham: The Fosseway Flyer.

The Fosseway Flyer is one of two methods of public transportation that someone can use to travel between Newark and Nottingham. The route goes through much of my old bus route to college before it takes a major road towards Newark and Lincoln. Most of its stops are in Nottingham, Rushcliffe and Newark itself.

The trip takes about 40-50 minutes, depending on traffic and other road conditions. It is also an expensive route, with a cost of £7.20 for a return ticket.

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi"

I travelled to Newark today to watch Star Wars: The Last Jedi with my girlfriend. This marks the first time that my girlfriend and I have been to the cinema together but not the first time we've watched a Star Wars film together. We watched the prequels and Star Wars: The Force Awakens not too long ago because she wanted to catch up on all those films, having seen only the originals.

As for The Last Jedi itself, it's a great film. When it began I was extremely worried it was about to return into a repeat of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back but I was pleased when that turned out to not be the case. My girlfriend and I highly enjoyed it.

Only me for now

And just like that, I'm now the only person currently living in my student house! Everyone else has either moved out, gone home for the holidays or is at a partner's house. As for me, I remain. With the exception of a few nights at my girlfriend's house, I shall stay at my student house. There is no need for me to go anywhere else for the time being.

It is odd the house being so...inactive. I'm used to hearing my housemates' various movements. It's so silent here!

Most (Christmas) shopping done

Nearly all of my Christmas shopping is complete, save for a handful of small items that I shall be purchasing, as well as something extra for Mum. This year, I've had more Christmas shopping to do since I'm now in a relationship but that's okay: It's been good going out to purchase gifts for my girlfriend and her mother.

My girlfriend's birthday is next month and she prefers birthdays to Christmas. While I've bought her some nice items for the holiday season, I have something more special in mind to purchase for her in January.

One other for now

At present, there are only two people living in my house: The Resident Assistant...and me. One moved out awhile ago because he wanted to live with his wife, another left as term ended to return to her family for the break and the other is (presumably) with her boyfriend until her family comes to collect her for the break.

With regards to my Resident Assistant, he will be leaving soon to return to his family for much of the break whereas I'll be here for all the days with the exception of when I'll be staying at my girlfriend's house. As Mum lives a short walk from me, there is no point in me vacating my room.

Once the Resident Assistant leaves, I'll be the only one here until near to the next term.

End-of-term dinner 2017

My girlfriend, her mother and I attended an end-of-term meal yesterday, which was hosted by NTU's society for mature students (my girlfriend's mother is a student and the reason why my girlfriend and I met in the first place). The meetups usually take place at a pub near to the NTU city campus but this particular meet was held in one next to the city centre.

Besides us, there were some 11 other people, with most of them being the usual attendees of the mature student meetups. Not that that's a problem - they're a fun bunch to be around!

Senate special election in Alabama, December 2017 (2)

Alabama surprised us!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42333712

I was expecting to check the news to find that Alabama had once again done something stupid but no! Alabama rejected a horrible candidate for Senate, albeit narrowly. As such, Doug Jones is the first Democrat to win a Senate election in Alabama for 25 years. Well done, Doug Jones, and well done to the the Alabamans who voted for him!

Senate special election in Alabama, December 2017

In a few hours or so, Alabama will have decided its next Senator:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42322293

The Democrat is Doug Jones, who would be expected to lose in normal circumstances but the Republican, besides being a bigot, is facing claims of sexual assault, rape and child abuse, which have severely hampered his candidacy and the race is close.

The Republican, whose name is Roy Moore, should not be a Senator. He shouldn't even a candidate given the sex crimes allegations that are surrounding him. Unfortunately, Alabama is an extremely backwards state, given its support for the current president, its support for Barry Goldwater in 1964, for being a state that supported segregation and for being an ex-Confederate state. It has a history of backing awful people like Moore.

But, Alabama may surprise us yet. May it be on the right side of history for once and elect Doug Jones as its next Senator.

The housemate departs

This afternoon, I went to visit a former housemate of mine at her room here in Clifton. This particular housemate is from India and was on a Master's course here at Nottingham Trent University; her graduation was a few days ago and tomorrow, she will be returning to India. She will be travelling to London after midnight and her flight back will be in the early afternoon.

I will really miss this housemate of mine. We took several walks together during the summer and became good friends as a result. We shall still be keeping in contact, however, as there are several venues we have open to us to talk but sadly, it will be some time before we see each other again in person. I wish my friend the best and I look forward to when I next see her!

The BB-8s

Until a couple of weeks or so ago, the only Star Wars material I had in my room was a Darth Vader figurine. For my birthday, my girlfriend's mother me a BB-8 plush toy (at the request of my girlfriend) whereas my girlfriend herself bought me a BB-8 cushion.

I like both items, of course! BB-8 is cool and, as a droid who looks like a beach ball, he is regarded as one of the cutest characters in all of Star Wars. You can't go wrong with BB-8! As the plush toy is small, he is next to my Vader on a shelf whereas the cushion is on my bed.

Winter break 2017

As term 1 ended yesterday, students at NTU again have a month-long break, spanning exactly from the 8th of December until the 8th of January. Last winter break, I didn't have a lot to do; my assignments weren't terribly complicated and many of the plans I'd made that month were cancelled when people annoyingly backed out.

This year, it will be different. The biggest change is my girlfriend, as I will be spending quite a bit of it with her; both of us want to spend time with each other over the break. The other difference is that while my essays aren't much more complicated, they are larger, which will mean I will need to complete some of them during this break.

Another term ends

And so, another academic term ends. My fourth term at university has finished and the winter break begins; as of this writing, I have completed ten terms of education in the United Kingdom. My university course has five more terms until its completion.

Classes do not resume until January 8th but I'll be working on existing assignments before then; if I don't, I'll have too much to do in January and that would not be productive.

Another diet attempt

Over the course of this year I've made a few attempts at dieting. While I've lost a few pounds or halted weight gain throughout 2017, in the past two or three weeks I've regained some weight. My girlfriend and I have talked about this and I have more motivation than before to lose weight and slim down a little. Ideally, I'd like to return to the weight I was at during Pre-Access; I was much more comfortable at that weight.

I am no longer caring only for myself and need to consider that my girlfriend is part of my life; as such, losing weight is more important to me than ever.

Filming day December 2017

With advice and observations from my girlfriend, my video production group and I filmed most of the scenes we need for our Media creation. The only problem we encountered was that we thought we had permission to film at one of our locations but when I double checked, it turned out we did not and so I am now properly seeking that permission.

My girlfriend helped because she is a Media student herself - a year ahead of me and is working on her dissertation. Since one member of the group has had to temporarily return to her home country, my girlfriend offered to support me to help us get back on track.

The cleared ear

After almost a week of cleaning it, my ear is, at last, cleared of wax. I used the device tonight on it after continued use of the drops and once the wax was released, my hearing was restored. This comes at a good time because tomorrow, I'll be working with my video group to film some of the major scenes for our project and I need my hearing to be back to 100% to be a fully effective member of our group.

Rep assembly December 2017

This evening, the last rep assembly of this term took place this evening. I attended the second one at the City campus, as the first one at City and the Clifton rep assembly were both last week when I was away. While attending our home assembly is preferred, we are allowed to attend any provided that we attend one.

The next rep meetings and assembling will likely be around February or March time.

A better ear

My grandfather flushed out my blocked ear but was only able to clear the upper layer of wax. Unfortunately, there is a still a lump of it attached to my eardrum, which can only be removed via use of more drops and additional flushing.

To help with the latter, he has given a device that I can use to clean my ear. I'll be able to use it to flush out the remaining wax lump as well as use it to clear both my ears on a regular basis so that they don't become blocked every couple of years or so.

White House maintenance

I thought this was an interesting article with regards to the ongoing maintenance issues the White House is facing:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42200203

The pest infestations and structural damages are problems that go back years. Regardless of who occupies it, the White House is a magnificent building and an iconic piece of American history; it ought to be kept in top shape.

Blocked ear 2017

My right ear is blocked. Unfortunately, every so often, even with cleaning my ears, one or both of my ears becomes blocked with wax, which results in muffled hearing and pain in the afflicted ear. To clear it, I have to put special drops in to soften the wax over a few days and then someone has to clear it out with water.

I'll be going to my grandparents' house on Sunday, both to visit them and for my grandfather to clean my ear. He cleaned my left ear last year and should be able to clean my right ear just as easily, too, since I've been putting drops in to soften the wax.

The days away

I've spent the last few days away, as evidenced by my inactivity here. On Monday night, my girlfriend and I went to her and her mother's house in Newark from then until this morning, when we had classes again. During my visit there, my girlfriend, her mother and I walked around the area with their dog and visited the local castle. We had a wonderful time and it is the first occasion I've been away since I started this academic year.

I shall be visiting them all again next month, although I'll see my girlfriend several times before then and will see her mother before that time, too.

The joint birthday dinner

This evening, I'll be attending a joint birthday dinner. One of my Access friends had his birthday the other day and mine is also this month; while today is not either of our birthdays, we chose this evening to have the meal.

With us will be at least two other of our friends from Access; I don't know if anyone else is coming but as far as I'm aware, it will just be four Access people in attendance.

The film production team

In my video project workshop this afternoon, every student present had to take part in an exercise that involved us forming a film crew to record a short interview. The purpose of this was to give us feel for what it would be like working in a real film crew, to give us practice with the various forms of equipment and to test out camera angles.

My role was the sound technician. I tested the camera to ensure the sound was working and while the filming was in progress, I wore headphones at all times to ensure that there were no problems with sound. The sound did drop out at one point, which meant we had to reshoot a scene.

It was a lot of fun! The exercise really caused us all to feel as though we were on a proper film set, making a movie or TV show.

Thanksgiving 2017

It's Thanksgiving again in the United States. What am I thankful for this year? For 2017, I am thankful for all the people in my life right now whom I see regularly and those who support me regularly. The latter can be people I see often or those who message me/I message on a frequent basis; having them around keeps me feeling happy, wanted and needed.

Library time (2)

So I spent a first hours in the library last night but I didn't pull an all-nighter. No...once I'd figured out exactly what I needed to do for my assignment, I went ahead and completed it. No need whatsoever to spend all night in the library when a few hours was all that was necessary.

With that assignment pretty much out the way, I have freed-up time to work on other university projects from now until the end of the term in December.

Library time

I'm going to do some work in the library tonight. I have another formative assessment to complete and after working on it at the weekend, I'd like to get it done (or mostly done) after a session in the library for the next few hours.

This formative assessment involves writing an assignment that can be used as one of my four main assignments for this particular Media module, in addition to receiving feedback from my scale-up tutor.

"Closer to Broken Dreams" - Green Day and The Chainsmokers mashup

While I've known about the "Wonderwall of Broken Dreams" mashup for over ten years, this Green Day mashup I came across in the past few days:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We8x_o50MxQ

It's "Closer to Broken Dreams", a mashup of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" with The Chainsmokers' "Closer" featuring Halsey. I found this mashup while searching on YouTube for "Wonderwall of Broken Dreams"; it's a good find and the two songs go surprisingly well together.

Not circled

This afternoon, I was analysing the market research surveys that the other members of my video project group had carried out (it was agreed they'd do the research and I'd do the paperwork). On one of the surveys, I became confused when the respondent had circled multiple - and often contradictory - options on the multi-choice form.

After the confusion, the form then seemed like trolling but once I inspected it more closely, I realised that the respondent had circled the options that didn't apply to them and left blank the ones the did. As such, it became clear that anything they had left unmarked was to be taken as an option that applied to them.

While it was annoying that the person had filled out the form in this manner, they had nevertheless given valid answers and it was simple enough to decipher once I'd worked out the pattern.

"Wonderwall of Broken Dreams" - Green Day/Oasis mashup

After all the years that have passed since I first heard it, this remains one of my favourite mashups:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-PdV61Z8Mg

It's "Wonderwall of Broken Dreams" - a mashup of Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" with Oasis' "Wonderwall". On the pop music station my brother and I listened to in Oregon, it was easily the most played mashup on the station, helped significantly by the Open House Party we listened to every weekend.

"Wonderwall of Broken Dreams" has appeared in Air Nice-to-Livelands before, in a post from over six years ago.

Liveland History: 15th November 2014

So this amusing event occurred three years ago:

http://airnicetolivelands.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/the-sashaying-teacher.html

Yes...I recall that well! My English teacher and I gave a demonstration of a sashay after no one in the class knew what one was. Unfortunately for us, it was the worst demonstration of a sashay, ever! It was much fun, though, and brought about several good-faith laughs.

Annie's Burger Shack

Here in Nottingham, there is a restaurant called Annie'e Burger Shack, which serves American-themed burgers. During Pre-Access, my friends and I wanted to go there but it had a month-long waiting list; in Access, we still didn't go but finally, this past June, my Access friends and I went there for a reunion.

A few months later, I took one of my uncles there and then yesterday, I went to Annie's Burger Shack with my girlfriend and her mother. After two years of being unable or not going to Annie's, I've now been there three times in under five months.

Annie's is notable for being one of the best burger restaurants in Nottingham; I've yet to meet somebody who hasn't enjoyed the burgers there.

The tweeting leader

It wasn't so long ago when the American president didn't make reference to childish insults when discussing a fellow world leader:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41958553

Granted, a North Korean government department called him "old" but if the current president weren't so thin-skinned, he wouldn't have resorted to the tweet he wrote in the aforementioned article.

On the bright side, in that same tweet, he mentioned that he would like to be a "friend" of the North Korean leader. That would be a good thing, if it were to happen.

Have stayed put lately

I've ventured out of Clifton much lately. Part of it is because of when I had my colds, as I didn't feel like walking far or riding on buses when I was as sick as I was. Another reason is because of the  higher workload of Year 2; more reading is required for the seminars and the upcoming assignments.

I've still been walking and I've been eating less, so my weight has been coming down. I dropped another notch on my belt, which feels amazing. Still more weight to lose but I'm making great progress!

"Saving Me" - Nickelback

I really don't understand why Nickelback has attracted a crowd of people who seem to despise them and their music. Nickelback have made all sorts of awesome songs, like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPc-o-4Nsbk

It's "Saving Me", the third major single from All the Right Reasons, which was released in 2005. "Saving Me" helped All the Right Reasons - along with all the other singles from that album - remain in the charts for over two years and is easily my favourite Nickelback song.

Nickelback last appeared in my blog nearly five years ago in this post.

Catching up on comments

I've again been lazy when it comes to approving and replying to comments. As such, either tomorrow evening or at the weekend, I will spend a session approving all the legitimate ones and replying to them. I do enjoy hearing from people who take the time to comment and it's not been fair to them to not approve and reply.

United States 2017 elections

Yesterday, the United States held its 2017 intake of off-year elections. This included various mayoral elections, such as those in Los Angeles and New York City, but more notably featured the gubernatorial races of New Jersey and Virginia.

New Jersey's election result - a Democratic heavy victory - wasn't a surprise. The outgoing, term-limited Republican governor is deeply unpopular and New Jersey is a blue state; the Democratic candidate was expected to win unless they were to take it upon themselves to openly sabotage their own campaign.

The more interesting result was in Virginia. The Democrats took that governor's seat from the Republicans in 2013 and since 2008, the state has voted for Democrats at the presidential level. In the elections yesterday, the Democrats not only held the governor's mansion by a convincing margin but also picked up swathes of seats in the state's legislature. It's an astounding result for a state that was red not so long ago.

Liveland History: 7th Novenber 2012

Five years ago today, I wrote my analysis of the results of 2012 United States presidential election:

http://airnicetolivelands.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/on-results-of-united-states.html

What a truly great day that was - the United States had just re-elected its first African-American president. Those who were determined to cause him to only serve one term had failed and things were looking up. Then, four years later...what happened? America took several steps forward with the election and re-election of President Obama and then leapt twice as much back when it elected the current president. What a severe disappointment.

My new relationship

As this is open knowledge on my Facebook feed - and on someone else's, as will be noted in a moment - I ought to mention here that I have a girlfriend. After meeting a few short weeks ago and dating, my girlfriend and I made it official today and announced it publicly. We are crazy for one another and are breathless with excited anticipation at where life takes us from this day forward.

"Hold My Hand" - Jess Glynne

I'm staggered that I never wrote a post about this awesome song sooner:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLyUcAUMmMY

It's "Hold My Hand" by Jess Glynne. Released in March 2015, it is the third single from the debut studio album, I Cry When I Laugh. I listened to this song countless times in 2015, as it helped with cope with the events of that year; while I don't listen to it as much nowadays, I still love it.

While "Hold My Hand" has not been featured previously in Air Nice-to-Livelands, Glynne herself has, appearing in the following posts: (1), (2), (3), (4). I listen to a Glynne song most days, as her music generally puts me in a good mood.

Lincoln visit November 2017

Today, I visited Lincoln to meet up with a close college friend of mine from Pre-Access. She started university at Lincoln back in September and it was the first time I'd seen her since she began.

It was interesting being back in Lincoln. This was the city where I realised it was time to start doing something with my life, back in 2013 when my oldest younger cousin started (and has since completed) university.

The well-tidied room

Now that I've had a tidy room for a couple of days, it feels great having all this floor space once again and easy access to all my shelves, as well as places for my chair to roll to when necessary. If I throw something on the floor, it'll only be there temporarily because I don't want my room to become messy again.

So why will I stick to it this time? It's time to be more responsible, that's why. I don't want to live permanently in a mess. I'll keep it clean and tidy.

Time update for "The cat and college frames"

Yesterday's post, "The cat and college frames", was officially posted past 1:00am today but I edited it to be posted for yesterday and not today. The post was written yesterday but I submitted it after midnight by mistake and intended to change it earlier than now but forgot.

There are a few other of my posts where this has happened. It's not a problem when it happens - the post was written on and intended for the day before and that's where it should be recorded.

The cat and college frames

During my college years and Year 1 of university, I always had out on my window sill or desk my two pictures of the cats my family I had many, many years ago. They were packed away for the three and a half weeks I was at my mother's house and have remained that way until today. There was no symbolic or personal reason for keeping them packed away other than that my room was a mess as a result not tidying it while ill.

Now that I've tidied my room, I've placed the pictures of my cats on my desk. In addition, at the end of Access, one of my friends gave me a framed photo collection of him and me in London with another classmate, the poster of me from college and a picture of me by myself in London. This was one of the kindest gifts I received at college and I really like having it out on display, as the cats are.

Halloween 2017

I've had a more active Halloween than usual. This afternoon, my rep training meeting took place, I walked to the city centre afterwards and then, this evening, my Resident Assistant organised a gathering in our house. A few of the other students living in my village came over, as did a few of their friends - one such friend being someone I've met a several mature student meetups.

A few people dressed up, as it is Halloween. Halloween 2017 has been my most exciting one for over twenty years, although the one in 2012 was possibly the last active one before today.

Rep welcome lecture

My first event as a newly-reelected course rep took place this evening. It was a rep welcome lecture, which explained the role of course reps as well as informed the audience about various statistics with regards to the university (such as the demographic breakdown of students and the percentages of people satisfied with their courses).

The lecture didn't tell me anything I didn't already know with regards to my position but it was still worth attending; I am, after all, committed to my role and it was good to meet up with my friend who is also a Joint Honours Year 2 rep, as well as encountered another friend there, who I didn't know had been running for a rep role herself.

The former housemate

During the summer, one of my housemates from last year and I often went for walks together. We'd walk around Clifton or towards the city centre; on at least one occasion we spent three hours out walking.

This particular housemate is from India and she will be returning there in December. Until then, she has been living in Clifton and has been working. This evening, she and I met up to take a short-to-medium length walk around Clifton. Until earlier, it had been a few weeks since we last walked together, as I wasn't going to meet up with her while I was ill. Now that I'm better, we can meet up for walks before she returns to her family in India.

"Yesterday Once More" - The Carpenters

Here's a song from The Carpenters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTaWayUE5XA

It's "Yesterday Once More" and comes from The Carpenters' 1973 album, Now & Then. This song of theirs is notable to me because my grandfather has said it is one of his favourite songs of all time and because he has, on more than one occasion, praised Karen Carpenter and her voice.

Year 2 course rep

Last year, I ran in an election to become a course rep for the Year 1 Joint Honours students. I won that election and attended every meeting and completed all work that was expected of me. This year, I ran re-election as a Year 2 rep for Joint Honours.

The result? This afternoon I received an email that informed me of my success in the student elections - I'm once again an academic rep! For the third year in a row, I am a class or course rep at an academic institution. I am delighted to have any chance to represent my intake of Joint Honours students here at NTU.

Back to the diet

Now that my colds have concluded, I'm back to dieting to lose weight. Unfortunately, I think I put on a few pounds during my illnesses, as I barely exercised, had no loss of appetite, comfort ate somewhat and drank a lot of sugary teas. That weight now needs to be lost.

Having my wheat-based cereal, salad, fish and a few other low-to-medium calorie foods, plus returning to exercise, should be enough to drop the excess weight and what I was trying to lose before. It's also not a particularly expensive diet and should lower my weekly expenses somewhat, too.

A shorter nighttime library spell

I'll be heading off to the library shortly to do a little work. It won't be an all-nighter like many of my library visits at this time; no, I have about 25 pages of something to read and a set of questions to answer. It should take me a couple of hours or so - not all night!

Originally, I went to the library this afternoon but when I realised I didn't have a lot of work to complete and could do it once the library was quiet, I decided to stop and come back later.

Flaking out

A few weeks ago, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) accounted that he would not be running for re-election in 2018; today, another Republican Senator, Jeff Flake of Arizona, has said the same:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41743473

Flake then disclosed that his rationale for leaving was due to his distaste for the current president and that he "...[would] not be complicit" in associating with the president and his agenda. There's just one problem: Flake, along with the aforementioned Corker, has regularly voted to advance the president's agenda. The words of both Senators are great but their actions say otherwise; until they start to vote against anything that would help the president, their words are hollow.

Bug-free lecture

Today marked the start of my first healthy week a for my second year at university. While I have a tiny bit of a cough left, I am otherwise free of germs and I feel great. After coughing my way through the past three weeks, the feeling of not having to announce my presence with massive coughs was a huge relief.

Now to not catch any more bus for the rest of this year - and for the rest of the academic year! Or if I am going to have another cold, at least let it be during a reading week so that it doesn't affect my performance in lectures and scale-ups/seminars/workshops.

Once again, a messy bedroom

As a result of my recent colds, I have neglected keeping my room tidy. The desk is a mess and I've bags and belongings over much of the floor. It's not impossible to find anything and it's not a hazard having to walk in the room - it just needs sorting out.

Thankfully, I have energy again and once I've pressed "Publish" for this post, I'll go tidy some of the mess up.

"Stuck in the Boring Car on a Road Trip" - CollegeHumor

This recent CollegeHumor video appealed to me (they usually do but this one more than usual):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9zmxymUntw

I can understand the frustration of being isolated from the main group at a social outing, as it means you lose out on the friendship circle that forms for the duration of the outing and beyond. This has happened to me and in such cases, I've been grouped with either a person or people who didn't want to talk or worse, was grouped with no one at all. This made fitting in with everyone else extremely difficult, at best.

On the other hand, in the case of a road group, being in the "boring" car may not be much a bad thing, for there's less of a chance of the driver being distracted by any funny business"

This particular video is the first in a multi-part series to do with something else but holds its own as a standalone video.

The West Bridgford gig

Near the end of August, I attended a gig at a bar in West Bridgford - alone. Gigs and bars aren't usually my thing...and attending them alone is even less my thing...but I went because a friend of mine from Central, who was a member of staff there and now works at NTU, was hosting a musical event there. She sang two 45-minute sets and I was impressed with her musical talent.

My friend is holding another one of those gigs tonight and I'll be leaving shortly to attend. Unfortunately, I'm going alone again but next time, I want to bring someone else with me.

"Oxygene, Pt. 17" - Jean-Michel Jarre

Taken from his nineteenth studio album, Oxygène 3 (2016), here is Jean-Michel Jarre's "Oxygene, Pt. 17":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WUoT6GVtXI

Oxygène 3 is the follow-up album to both Oxygène (1976) and Oxygène 7-13 (1997). I possess Dad's Jean-Michel Jarre albums, as I wanted to keep them along with a few other of his CDs. Dad was a fan of Jarre and had even seen him in concert at the London Docklands concert in the 1980s. Evidently, he never heard Oxygène 3 but I think he would have enjoyed the album.

Prior to this evening, the last time I wrote about Jarre was in this post.

Close to bug-free

At long last, I have nearly recovered from my colds. I'm coughing a little bit but compared to how I felt two weeks or even two days ago, I feel great. In fact, I've felt good these past couple of days with the exception of my dodgy throat and coughing.

What will be most pleasing is going into my Monday lecture in good health. These past three have been ruined somewhat by my colds.

The burnt garlic bread

One of my housemates accidentally burned some garlic bread this evening. While he was able to immediately quell any fire, the resulting smoke overwhelmed the entire bottom floor of the house, which set off all the smoke alarms and it became necessary to open all the windows.

While the house is no longer filled with smoke, the smell nevertheless remains. At least the house and everyone are okay - it was just burnt garlic bread, which was easily dealt with! Disappointing that the smell of smoke overpowers the smell of garlic.

Liveland History: 16th October 2014

It was three years ago today when my Pre-Access classmates and I visited London as part of a course trip:

http://airnicetolivelands.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/london-again.html

We visited the Imperial War Museum and then the two friends with whom I spent the day and I walked to area where the Palace of Westminster is located. I later posted some pictures of the trip.

My first-ever term at Central is almost a "forgotten term", as it was the only term that occurred before Dad's death. Quite a few events occurred during that term but given what happened in January of 2015...

The long-awaited walk

For the first time in well over two weeks, I walked to the city centre from here in Clifton. A major factor of my recent colds were that they sucked away my energy and along with it, my wanting to exercise.  Finally, this afternoon, I once again had the energy and it was pleasant outside, so being cooped up inside wasn't at all desirable.

In addition to achieving a long walk, when I made it to the city centre I encountered a university friend, who subsequently invited me to a small gathering she was attending with mutual friends. I stayed for an hour and a half before I returned to Clifton. Much as I would have liked to have joined them at a pub quiz they were attending, the fact I am still coughing occasionally was enough to make me decide to leave before they moved to that venue.

A Saturday of rest

As I have no immediate reading to complete, I decided to spend today resting as to help finish off my bug. While I'm still coughing somewhat, today is the best I've felt in two weeks - I felt so great, in fact, that I was able to go for an hour-and-a-half long walk around Clifton, which was my first long walk in over two weeks.

With regards to tomorrow, I'll sleep in again as well as go for another walk but I'll also have to start my next batch of reading for next week.

Client-led workshops

The workshops for my Client-led Media module began this afternoon. Unlike last year in my video project module in which I knew most people in the session and the group I entered into consisted of fellow English and Media students, I knew no one in today's workshop and only met the lecturer yesterday afternoon. In these workshops we can plan our videos and edit them there but we can do this anywhere if we choose to do so; the workshops are merely the officially timetabled sessions for this module besides the lectures.

Still, several groups formed from the students in attendance and the group I'm in consists of four women from East Asia and me. At least one of them is from Hong Kong, which makes her the first person I've met who lives there who isn't my uncle or cousin. I've only met three of the four because one wasn't in due to illness but she is a friend of one of the others.

I wasn't sure about this module when I realised that I would not be with my exact coursemates but I'm happy with how it's turned out so far. It should be interesting and productive.

No loss of appetite

A consequence of my now-fading cold is that I had little energy during the height of it; this meant I didn't go out for my usual walks and instead I spent the extra time resting when I would otherwise have been exercising. As such, the past 10 days is the most inactive I've been for months.

At the time same, my cold did not affect my appetite; while every other part of me felt terrible, my stomach was very much in good working order. Thanks to no drop in appetite combined with an increase in sugars, such as having a lot of tea, I have gained some weight. To lose this weight quickly, not only will I have to start walking again but I'll also have to drastically cut back my diet; I wanted to do this, anyway, as I already had extra weight I wanted to shed but now I have some more I need to lose.

I shall do it; it will be good for me to lose the extra pounds and get back down to the weight I was at 2-3 years ago.

The pizza night

The housing manager for my accommodation paid for a pizza night; this is what he did last year except back then it was held in the first week rather than this far into October. Nevertheless, the effect was still the same: We had the chance to meet other residents of the student village and ate pizza for dinner.

In addition to being a pizza night, the event doubled as the occasion where we handed in our inventory forms to the housing manager; however, I did not need to do this because I gave it to him last week when he was here briefly for another reason.

Flat-Earthers

On Facebook, I follow some pages that are to do with photography or science. Something that has concerned me in recent weeks is the prevalence of "Flat-Earthers" commenting on them. I don't mean people commenting jokingly about how the Earth is flat but people who genuinely think that this is the case.

Pun partially intended but what on earth is this nonsense? How can anyone, is this day and age, think that the Earth is flat? There is zero evidence to prove the flatness and plenty to prove that it's a sphere. An obvious example is watching a ship on an ocean: As the ship descends over the horizon, it's because it's travelling the curvature of the planet.

Has idiocy increased or is it just becoming more obvious because of social media? Anyone who believes that the Earth is flat and insults others for understanding that the opposite is true deserves to be laughed at as though they're an imbecile - because they are.

More vindictiveness - and environmental damage

The current administration in charge of the United States is continuing its unhealthy obsession of undoing everything the previous administration achieved:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41556342

How vindictive. And bad for the planet. The current president and his party have long talked about this mythical "war on coal", so rolling back these environmental protections is part of that as well as getting revenge on the previous administration.

We all share this one planet, despite what they think. The damage done to it affects us all.

Liveland History: 8th October 2014

 It's been three years since I froze some brownies:

http://airnicetolivelands.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/freezer-success.html

I froze them because I had an excess of brownies and they were starting to go mouldy faster than my grandparents and I could eat them. The freezing experiment was a success but to my recollection, I have not frozen any brownies since then.

Also of note in that post from three years ago was the small part about walking and weight gain. It was much easier for me to keep weight off back then than it is for me now.

Pale Waves

Thanks to a YouTube recommendation, I came across the band Pale Waves this afternoon. Their song "Television Romance" was recommended...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot1j5M5PTC4

Followed by their song "There's A Honey":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfPZ6hukcw8

Pale Waves are new on the big scene and are from Manchester. They have worked with The 1975, who are also from Manchester; The 1975 produced "There's A Honey" for Pale Waves and directed the video for "Television Romance".

Pale Waves will be going on tour later this month and one of their venues will be Bodega, which is here in Nottingham.

End of week 1, university year 2

Today marked the end of my first week of my second year at university. My lecture today was for my sole English module for this half of the year and it was followed up with the first seminar of said module.

So far, I'm happy with my Year 2 modules. The workload appears to be what I expected and the topics are more interesting than I had anticipated. I'm looking forward to the upcoming lectures, seminars and workshops that the first half of the year has to offer!

The only downside to this week is that I have been ill with a bug I caught last weekend. I thoguht I was on the mend but I've been sneezing today and my nose has been running this evening, so it's either showing more symptoms or I've picked up another bug!

Client-led

My lecture today was the start of my client-led video project module, on the Media side of my course. This module is similar to the video project I did in my first year except this year we're making a video for a client; this client is the university itself.

The three subjects we can choose to make a video about are student living, the student societies or healthy living. Depending on what my group thinks - when we from groups next week - making a video for mature students would be a good idea, for I don't think there is enough information out there for mature students.

If a video is considered worthy enough, NTU will use it in its marketing programmes.

Goose Fair 2017

The Goose Far is an annual fair held here in Nottingham; it is a famous fair and is reported to have started in the 1200s. Before the 1920s the Goose Fair was held in the market square but moved to the Forest Recreation Ground due to reconstruction of the square.

For the first time in the years I've been here, I attended the fair; I went with three of my housemates. While I didn't go on any of the rides, I did purchase a burger and chips from one of the stands. I also encountered a friend from Pre-Access whom I'd not seen since the days of that course. It was a festive atmosphere and I fully intend to attend it again.

Puerto Rico and Hurricane Maria

Puerto Rico has been devastated by Hurricane Maria; there are multiple deaths and massive damage has been done to the island and its infrastructure. The damage alone would be difficult enough to recover from but Puerto Rico is both not an American state (it's a territory) and is deeply in debt to Wall Street; as such, recovery will be deeply painful.

So! What does the current President of the United States do? Oh, only made his usual nonconstructive remarks:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41487814

Rather than guaranteeing Puerto Rico aid, he has instead used the "could have been worse" argument with regards to the death toll, as his administration has received criticism for its sluggishness in sending aid. Granted, Puerto Rico has not received the same amount of death has other places have done but making comparisons trivializes those who have died.

Puerto Rico has a long road to recovery ahead of it. Perhaps those who hold its debt could provide it with some relief, such as by writing it off or at least putting lengthy extensions on the repayment plans. Changing the legal status of the island would help, too, but in the short term, it needs help rebuilding.

First lecture 2017-2018

My first lecture of the new academic year took place this morning/early afternoon. The subject was my core media module, which will run for the first half of the year only. For this year, I have three subjects in the first half and another three in the second. Four of my six modules I chose and the other two are core.

Work completed during this year goes towards my final grade, unlike work completed during the first year. There is greater pressure this year for students to put in more work to obtain a good grade.

The Harry Potter quiz

Tonight is the last night before the university term officially begins. As such, some of my fellow students in my accommodation village and I will be going to a Harry Potter quiz night here on campus. I'm not sure how it will turn out but it should be interesting, to say the least.

My first lecture tomorrow is at 11:00am.

Bakewell September 2017

As a treat for both the help she gave me over the past academic year and for her return to Nottingham for the new one, I took a university friend to Bakewell for the day. Said friend is a fellow mature student (significantly older) and half of her course is English, as is half of mine. In addition to having a pleasant walk up there, we had lunch - fish and chips, in fact - as then paid a short visit to Matlock Bath on the way back.

When classes start back next week, we're in a meeting together on Wednesday and in a class together on Friday.

Caramel Irish cream

A few months ago, a friend of mine from one of the other houses at my accommodation gave me a bottle of salted caramel Irish cream. The drink was highly delicious and when I mentioned it to my mother, she liked the sound of it and wanted to try it at some point.

As a gift for her and my brother, I purchased a bottle of it the other day and will be presenting it to them next time I'm at their house. Salted caramel Irish cream - the Tesco Finest brand - is deeply tasty and for anyone who is a fan of Irish cream and salted caramel, I recommend it, regardless of brand.

From one to the other

So, this morning I woke up early to move. Boxes needed to be carried, various items packed, belongings carefully placed on the other side - all that good stuff.

But...it wasn't me moving! No, not this time. A university friend was moving to a different part of her building and required some help, for she had only two hours to move all her belongings before
starting work. As I was free this morning, I was more than happy to wake and leave early to help her.

The hard part now for my friend, assuming she hasn't already finished it, is sorting out the mess we left her new place in from hurriedly taking her belongings there. This isn't really a task I can help with since people have their own arrangements when it comes to where they live.

Lea & Perrins

Years ago, whenever Dad had tinned fish on toast, he would mix Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce into any particular fish mix. Before I left my accommodation a few weeks ago, I'd re-discovered Worcestershire by mixing it in with tinned fish to then put in salad.

The primary purpose of Worcestershire sauce is to enhance the flavour of any food it is mixed into; in some cases, such as tinned tuna, it can be used to moisten a particular food. It is especially effective when adding to casseroles and some pies.

I re-discovered it because I had some tins of tuna to eat but the tuna was all dry; as such, I remembered what Dad used to put in his tinned fish.

The new bath mat

At my accommodation last year, it quickly became necessary for me to purchase a bath mat, for there was none outside the shower and when the floor became wet, it became dangerous as it would be easy to slip on.

Unfortunately, I accidentally left the bath mat in the house and during the maintenance period it was seemingly removed. Fortunately, this after I went out I purchased a new bath mat. It was either buy a new one or go stick to trying to not slip on the wet floor. I prefer the former.

So, for the second year in a row, I have a new bath mat!

Liveland History: 25th September 2017

Three years ago, I shared my baking in Pre-Access

http://airnicetolivelands.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/sharing-baking.html

I ended up starting a trend by doing so, although the reason I brought brownies in the first place was because another classmate had brought store-bought muffins in on the preceding Thursday. After our contributions, people would bring in baked or bought goods to class on a Thursday and the tradition lasted until almost the end of the year.

Housemates 2017

My accommodation fits five people. While inductions are next week - many beginning on Monday - so far my house only has four of its intended five occupants. There is a fifth person scheduled to arrive but they have yet to make an appearance. My hope is that they have a reason to have not moved in on the standard move-in days and that they are merely delayed for whatever reason.

If they don't show, I'll only have three housemates this year unless a replacement is found. I expect the person will show, however. As for my current housemates, I'm again sharing with the year's Resident Assistant and he's been doing a good job so far with his role, meeting whoever has moved in and offering to help them. There is a man from Malawi in the house this year and a woman from Doncaster.

So far, everyone seem friendly. May it be kept that way.

Back to my accommodation (3)

And it's done. I'm fully back in my accommodation. My aunt and uncle from the East of England came over, helped me transport my belongings to my accommodation, helped me unpack my items into my room and they did a small shop for me at Morrison's - the same as they did last year.

Next week is welcome week but that's for new students, not second years like myself. My classes do not begin until Monday the 2nd of October.

Back to my accommodation (2)

I'm now officially back at my accommodation. I went over to my campus in the morning to ensure I was enrolled again and then I picked up my key to my old room. Once at the house, I met my new Resident Assistant; this RA will be in the same house as me, same as the previous one.

While I'm staying at my accommodation tonight, I've only brought a few items with me. As my uncle is coming tomorrow, there wasn't any need to bring loads of stuff over.

Back to my accommodation

Tonight will be my last night in my mother and brother's house before I return to my accommodation. Tomorrow, I'll be registering for Year 2 of university, picking up the key to my accommodation and moving a few items over. My East of England uncle will be here on Saturday to help me move the rest of my belongings over.

Summer is over. Fall starts along with the new university academic year. Hard to believe that nearly four months ago I'd finished my sole exam of Year 1.

"Something in the Way You Move" - Ellie Goulding

This is by far my song of choice at the moment - most addictive track I've heard in a long time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0_GWTy9FEM

It's "Something in the Way You Move" by Ellie Goulding, taken from Delirium (2015), her third studio album. While it is possible I might have heard it on a radio somewhere, my first confirmed hearing of "Something in the Way You Move" was a few days away when my brother and I were listening to the deluxe edition of Delirium. A day later, I heard it in the city centre when I was out with a friend and since then, I've listened to it every day so far.

Beyond that, I'd say that it's Goulding's best song to date, beating "I Need Your Love", which was a collaboration of hers with Calvin Harris.

The identical dresses

Here's a light-hearted piece from the news:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-41321595

Seeing five identical but accidental outfits at an event like a wedding would be hilarious! At least the women involved here saw it that way. For men, we're uniformly in suits at formal occasions so we're all dressed identically by default.

Walk interrupted

My intended walk this afternoon was Clifton-Ruddington-Wilford-City Centre via the tram walkways. When I stepped outside, it looked as though it was going to be cool but otherwise dry, although just in case I had brought my umbrella.

After I walk out of Ruddington, I notice a massive black cloud hovering over the region. I expected that it wouldn't be long before it would unleash its contents onto the fully-suspecting ground below. Not to be disappointed, as I approached Wilford, the rain fell upon the land, going from a light shower to a downpour in seemingly no time at all.

The rain was so heavy that my umbrella was overwhelmed; as such, I ran to the upcoming bus stop and took the 3 route, thus ending my walk until I returned to Clifton, when the rain had stopped and I walked back to my mother's and brother's house.

Cash and the teacher

I was out with someone this afternoon and one of the places we went to was the Arboretum part of Nottingham. While there, we encountered a pro-environment festival that was being held; I had read the other day that it was on but I forgot about it.

Two odd events occurred: The first was that I found a £10 note on the floor. I didn't want to keep it but at the same time, if I reported it as missing, there was too high a chance that someone who never owned it would claim it. As such, I gave it to one of the charities at the festival. I didn't want it so why not give it to charity? At least the money will benefit someone by my giving it away.

The second was that I encountered my old mathematics teacher from Pre-Access! I saw him at a distance as he walked towards us and when he became close to us, I recognised him as my teacher. He was with his other half and did not appear to see me. Not a big deal - I hope he had an enjoyable afternoon, too.

Family fun event

This afternoon, I returned to, for the first time since I moved out, the Clifton campus. My reason for being there was to attend a family-friendly event, designed for mature students to meet other mature students; however, I had not realised exactly what "family-friendly" entailed.

I had expected it to be an event that students with young children would be welcome at in addition to those who don't yet have kids. Instead, it catered primarily to those with kids so that parents could network. As a result, there wasn't really much for me to do there and it wasn't really possible to involve myself in conversation when children were the link. The three main people I spoke to were an existing friend, one of her friends and a member of the Welcome Team.

While this particular event wasn't of much use to me, I nevertheless support events like it. Mature students with children are increasingly going to university and it is deeply important that they be made to feel included and welcomed.

A missed post

After many years of blogging, despite many close shaves in that time, I'd never missed a day of posting. Then came yesterday - the first day since I started on which I did not post. What happened?

Nothing terribly serious. I was with a college friend in the morning and with another college friend in the afternoon. The latter friend is going to Lincoln University this weekend, so to celebrate we went to the new Krispy Kreme donut shop in the Victoria Centre and after that, we went to the pub for drinks. The sugar from the hot chocolate I had in the morning, plus the donuts plus the cocktails combined with my lack of a proper lunch and enough water caused me to have a headache. When I got home, I rested and ate but then went to bed, thus missing making a post.

So, yeah, I was out celebrating and then had a headache. Not too much of a big deal; the headache, which I overcame fairly quickly, was a small nuisance given that I'd had a great day preceding it.

Bernie and Hillary supporters

The presidential primaries that the Democrats in the United States held last year ended well over a year ago. Yet, despite this, hardcore and/or bitter supporters of both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders still insist on arguing about the final result of the election.

"Bernie would have won, Hillary cheated!" the hardcore Bernie supporters yell

"Bernie shouldn't have run, he made Hillary lose!" the Hillary supporters shout back.

This continued back and forth, while being spouted by a minority on either side, achieves nothing. Continuing to divide the Democratic Party as they are doing will only serve to give the current president another term in office in 2020. That must not be allowed to happen. Re-living the 2016 Democratic primaries over and over again is destructive.

Mexican aid

Mexico has withdrawn its offer of help to the United States for the latter country's recovery from the ongoing hurricanes and storms:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/mexico-earthquake-us-hurricane-aid-withdraw-donald-trump-condoloences-harvey-irma-houston-texas-a7942626.html

Why has Mexico done this? The largest reason is because a massive earthquake has hit that country and it needs to focus on sorting out damage within its own borders. The other reason is because the current President of the United States not only failed to accept aid from Mexico but also failed to send condolences to them for when the earthquake hit.

The faces

This afternoon, I walked to Ruddington and from there, I rode the 10 bus to the city centre. On its own, this isn't worth of noting here; however, the events on the bus and afterwards are.

Shortly after the bus passed the former site of Central's West Bridgford campus, it stopped to pick up two people; to my surprise, one of these people was a friend of a cousin of mine. My brother and I met this person in passing during our visit to Drayton Manor over six years ago. I did not acknowledge her, on the basis that it was a brief meeting years and because it was unlikely she would have recognised me, given my appearance changes since then.

The second familiar face was towards the county hall stop in West Bridgford. At this point, a librarian who helped process me when my progression advisor encouraged me to undertake an assessment back when I first visited Central then boarded the bus. I have seen him since then to speak to and he acknowledged/spoke to me when we departed the bus.

The final familiar face was in the Victoria Centre. I saw in there a coursemate from the Media side of my university course. The last few times I've seen her have either been in the city centre or on board South Notts 1. Since she lives in London, I wasn't expecting to see her around again until later this month, at least. She and I did acknowledge each other.

So, plenty of familiar faces this afternoon!

The confined room

At my university accommodation, I had a large room, which easily accommodated my belongings and any boxes/suitcases they all came with me in. At my mother's house, however, the room is not at all large enough to fit in many of my belongings; most are in the storage areas of the house.

Even so, a large amount of my belongings are in the room I have here and the limited space there was before is even more limited now. To be able to sleep, I have to move excess belongings from my bed to my chair and if I want to use my laptop, the reverse becomes true.

To be fair, however, this is a temporary arrangement; I'll have my big room back soon. This post isn't a complaint - merely a small window into where I'm currently living.

The new Mainline

I travelled to Bingham this afternoon to attend the rebranding/relaunch event of the Rushcliffe Mainline, which involved it becoming just the "Mainline" as well as new buses being introduced to replace those that have been in service for years. In fact, the event was all about the new Mainline fleet - two of the new buses were on display.

Both buses were open to public viewing. One of the new features of these buses compared to the old ones were the USB chargers, which I had been expecting; another were the skylights, which I'd read about in advance. More surprising, however, were the lights along the floor, the non-slip floor, the "mood lighting", the enhanced display panel for the upcoming stop and the removal of the aisle-facing seats. What can I say? These new Mainline buses are vastly superior to the old ones - they almost rival Red Arrow, in some respect.

I couldn't help but be impressed by the new Mainline bus fleet. I definitely want to ride on one soon; they will be put into official service tomorrow.

The leafblower

At my grandparents' house this afternoon, the work there included mowing the lawn, finishing cutting down the rotten plum tree and...using the leafblower.

When my family and I lived in Oregon, we owned a leafblower, although we mostly used it in reverse mode, which meant it sucked leaves up and mulched them. In blowing mode, however, while it wasn't a weak blower it wasn't an overpowered one, either.

Now, my grandfather's leafblower...that one is a beast of a machine. When I turned it on, I was not only surprised by how far it blew the leaves but also by how much of a recoil there was! Never before had I felt such a strong recoil on a leafblower. Once I overcame the surprise, however, I immediately hopped in to the joy of blowing the leaves into a large pile, which I then scooped up and took around the back to use as fertilizer.

So yes, this afternoon I had fun using a powerful leafblower. It wasn't as taxing as cutting down the plum tree but it was still intense in its own way.

Two years since the start of Access

Two years ago, my Access course at Central began:

http://airnicetolivelands.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/second-course-first-day.html

Yep, two years since that epic academic year began. It got off to a bit of a tough start, what with having to adjust to not only a new group of people but a large group, at that, given that Pre-Access had shrunk to eleven people by the time it concluded. Yes, Access became a stellar academic year, indeed.

The squat slug

This afternoon, I went outside to the back yard to do some weed clearing for my mother; I had promised some garden work to her during my stay. While clearing near a strawberry bush, I encountered an enormous slug.

Now, this slug wasn't enormous in length - in fact, it was shorter than many of the slugs I've seen around here and in Northamptonshire. No, this slug was wide. It was at least an inch thick and couldn't have been much more than two inches in length. Never before can I recall seeing a slug with such short length in proportion to its width.

As for what I did to the slug, I left it alone. I moved away from that area of the yard so that the slug would not be disturbed any further.

"Yesterday, When I Was Mad" - Pet Shop Boys

Time for a song that I have loved since the 1990s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBHjVq3SUXk

It's "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" by the Pet Shop Boys, taken from their album Very. This version of "Yesterday, When I Wad Mad" is the album version of the song, for the video version is significantly different in sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS0fsoyrFg4

It wasn't until 2005 when Dad, my brother and I heard the video version but we'd all heard the album version many years before then. We used to play Very a lot when we lived at our second house in California, quite often when certain friends were over to visit.

"Yesterday, When I Was Mad" it not only one of my favourite Pet Shop Boys songs but also remains one of my favourite songs overall. Very itself is probably my favourite album overall, given that I have highly positive impressions of every one of the songs it contains.

Liveland History: 4th September 2014

Three years ago today, I had my second-ever class at Central College Nottingham, during my Pre-Access course:

http://airnicetolivelands.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/second-class.html

It was the first Sociology lesson of the year. The teacher of that class went on to be my course leader for Access as well as the teacher I had the best interactions with. Even now, she and I still communicate with each other, mostly via text.

In that lesson, I spoke up somewhat in the group I was with and during the brief induction, I had ruled out the Poland trip for that year. In retrospect, that was a good decision and at any rate, I travelled to Poland the following year and enjoyed it far more than I would have done if I'd gone in 2015.

Matlock Bath and Matlock 2017

My best friend and I spent the day in Matlock Bath this afternoon. As she will be heading off to university later this month, I treated her to a trip up there as a gift before she leaves. As per my recent visits to the Peak District, we travelled via Red Arrow to Derby and then the Sixes 6.1 to Matlock Bath.

Once in Matlock Bath we climbed the mountain, via its footpaths, that faces the Heights of Abraham. We did not visit the Heights of Abraham itself because the cable car ride up was too expensive for us; however, the view of the Heights from the opposite side was just as worthy. We walked along the mountaintop paths and exited in the town of Matlock itself before walking back to Matlock Bath.

We had a fantastic day out in the Peak District and I wish my friend the best for her upcoming journey through university.

Tram path walk

There are four major routes I take to walk from Clifton to the city centre of Nottingham:

1. Clifton - Wilford - Ruddington - West Bridgford - the city centre

2. Clifton - Wilford - down a footpath close to the river - the tram path via The Meadows part of Nottingham - the city centre

3. Long way via Clifton - Ruddington - West Bridgford (via the route of the 10) - the city centre

4. Direct to the city centre via the footpath by the tram tracks

Recently, I've been walking on that last one, the footpath via the tram tracks. This is easily the most direct way into the city centre from Clifton, as it is a mostly straight route, in addition to avoiding much of the traffic. A modified version of this walk is to take it all the way to the bridge over the Trent but to then turn right and go via West Bridgford, which is what I did today as it adds some extra distance to the walk.

The rotten plum tree

For much of today, I was over at my grandparents' house, completing more garden work for them. Today's biggest task was cutting down the nearly-dead plum tree near their back shed. My grandfather said that the tree died to a lack of sunlight, as caused by the trees around it in other yards growing. A few years ago, the tree produced these delicious plums - now, it can only manage a few scattered leaves.

The tree has been dying for a while, for when I cut into some of the branches, they were thoroughly rotten. In some cases, I didn't even need to use any sort of tool to cut the tree because the branches would snap once enough pressure was applied.

This is at least the second time I can recall cutting down a major tree. The first was when a willow tree on our property back in Oregon died in 2009; Mum and Dad asked me to cut it down and I did.

Mature student meetup, Year 2, meetup 1

Since I've been at university I have been attending the meetups for mature students, despite missing those that occurred before my first term began. I am now fairly well known at them and I enjoy meeting up with fellow mature students.

Today was the first mature student meetup of the 2017-2018 academic year. This meetup was so incoming mature students could make new friends from both existing mature students and others that would be coming to university this year; it was also so the regulars could see each other again. As far I knew, there was only one new student there; however, if there were other new students there I didn't meet them because most of my conversing while there was with her. Not a problem, of course, as it's always good to meet a new person!

"Adam Ruins Everything Corrects ITSELF!"

A few times, I have posted links to chips of the show Adam Ruins Everything, which is a both an educational and comedic show that busts modern falsehoods. In many ways, it is similar to Mythbusters and Penn and Teller: Bullshit! in doing so. Here is a clip from a recent episode, in which it addressed claims of providing incorrect information to viewers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ijI_kGG1eg

I agree - admitting to errors and learning from them increases someone's credibility. Claiming that you're 100% is far more likely to lead people to believe that you're often wrong.

Apple tree and Chinese candy

In my mother's and brother's backyard is an extremely prolific apple tree; it has been producing apples at an incredible rate - to the point where Mum and my brother had too many apples and had to give some away. As such, when I went over to my grandparents' house today to do some gardening and other work for them, I brought with me a huge bag of apples for them. On the bright side, with all these apples we have fresh fruit for the time being!

While I was at my grandparents', however, they had something for me: A bag of Chinese candy. One of my cousins and his girlfriend were recently in Hong Kong and they brought back with them a load of candy from there. They gave a lot of it to my grandparents; however, it was too much for my grandparents and so they gave the excess candy for me to share with Mum and my brother.

Excess apples, excess Chinese candies - what fun!

The return of the key

I awakened early this morning to head over to my accommodation, where I finished off the last of the housework. It took me about two hours to complete the cleaning work and then after that, I visited the security office to return my house/room key.

And with that, today was the day that fully marked the end of my first year at university. I'm off campus and no longer have access to my accommodation - at least not until the latter half of next month. I have a small reprieve before return.

Another move completed

All done, another move completed. I spent the day packing my remaining items and then carrying them by hand; it took me five trips to carry nearly everything over to my mother's house and as a result, I am now exhausted and looknig forward to going to bed. I'll be up early tomorrow to finish tidying my accommodation and to then hand in the key.

For the next few weeks, I'll be living with family again.

Last night here, back in a few weeks

Tonight will be my last night in my student accommodation until the 2017/2018 academic year starts for universities in the second half of next month. While I hand in the keys on Monday, I'll be going to my brother's and mother's house tomorrow; most of my stuff is at theirs but there are a few things I have here and I'll be carrying them my hand. It'll be good exercise because it'll take a few trips to take them all!

This will be my first time living with family again since I started university last year.

EU applications for British citizenship

Since the European Union referendum here in the United Kingdom last summer, EU immigrant applications for British citizenship have skyrocketed:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41053684

This is to ensure they are allowed to stay here, assuming the EU-UK negotiations don't protect their right to stay. Ever since the referendum, I have been concerned at what will happen to the 3,000,000 EU immigrants who live here. None of them wanted to be in the situation where they could end up having to leave the UK through no fault of their own; topics like this were barely, if at all, discussed during the referendum campaign.

Beating the bus - from Gamston!

To pick up some food items that I wasn't able to purchase at Clifton Morrison's, I took a long walk and then rode a bus to Gamston Morrison's, as that store is larger and contains a greater selection. I spent fifteen or so minutes in the store and then returned to the bus stop; however, the next bus was in 25 minutes and I had no desire to wait.

As such, I walked to West Bridgford from Gamston Morrison's; at a point during this walk, I saw, going in the direction of Gamston, the bus that that I would have taken had I waited. Some twenty or so minutes later, once I had nearly reached the stops bound for Clifton, that bus appeared again. I beat it by a minute.

While I only saved myself a minute of time, which was negated anyway by my having to wait for the Clifton-bound buses, walking from Gamston to West Bridgford was still beneficial, in my view, because the exercise performed while doing so was preferable and better for me than waiting around for nearly half an hour.

"How College Loans Got So Evil"- a clip from 'Adam Ruins Everything'

I watched this on YouTube within the past hour or so:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVKEsiNMPNc

I had wondered the American student loan debt was so bad. What we have here in the United Kingdom isn't as bad; although the debt is hardly a good thing, on current rules, you only start paying it back when you reach a certain income.

Before this evening, I most recently posted about Adam Ruins Everything here.

Theme tune to the 'Good Ending' of "Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus"

This is an excellent piece of music from the theme tune to the 'Good Ending' of Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVgig1I4USc

The first twenty seconds of deep sadness as the clip shows the Mudokons who are still trapped and enslaved, then the melody changes and the remaining thirty seconds signify Abe and his fellow Mudokon's determination to find their missing brethren. It truly is fantastic game music.

The 'Good Ending' is achieved when the player saves 150 - or half - the Mudokons in the game. If the player fails to save at least this many, Abe is executed. Save the Mudokons!

Tinned fish and salad

I've become hooked on a dish that I should have eaten more at the beginning of my university year: Tinned fish and salad. Last night, I had two bags of salad and some tinned tuna, which I combined and also mixed with Worcestershire sauce. The result? A super tasty meal that's also easy to prepare and healthful for me, as well as cheap.

People often complain that salad is bland on its own and so they add salad dressing to it; the trouble is, salad dressing is fattening because of its sugar content. Fish and Worcestershire sauce have little to no sugar or artificial sweeteners in them and are thus better for a person than salad dressing.

This evening, I had tinned mackerel with salad and Worcestershire sauce. I can lose weight with this!

Holme Pierrepont August 2017 (2)

While I last visited there under two weeks ago, I went to Holme Pierrepont this afternoon. I specifically wanted to test out the 11C bus, which runs on Sundays to the water sports centre. The bus stops just outside the park, at the entrance where my grandfather, father, brother and I walked into it back in December 2010.

This was a better visit to Holme Pierrepont compared to the previous. There were more people around and I had zero feelings of loneliness. Since I got that first visit since Dad's death out of the way, the second was much easier. I walked around the main water once before taking the 11C back to the city centre.

The cleaning week

For my last week at my accommodation for this contract, I'll be helping to clean the house. Fortunately, since only two people have lived here for the past month, it's not that dirty. Besides vacuuming and kitchen work, the main cleaning that needs to be done is the bathtub as it is draining slowly; I'll be on that tomorrow, as I'll be going out in the morning to purchase some drain cleaner.

It's funny to think that as of tomorrow, I'll only have a week left here before I'll be at my mother's and brother's house, only to be back in less than a month.

Accommodation move-out 2017, Phase 1

Phase 1 of my move out is complete. The vast majority of my belongings are now at my mother's and brother's house; my East of England uncle and one of my cousins came to transport my stuff for me. Now, at my accommodation I have few of my belongings left here; mostly clothes, some kitchen items and last-minute miscellany.

All that's left here can be carried by hand back to my mother's and brother's place. It might take me two or three runs to take it all but I'll do it...it'll be great exercise!

Finding from packing

I'm still in the process of packing and will continue to work through the night until I'm either tired or there's not much left to pack. While I've been packing, I came across a few items I thought had gone missing; in this case, clothing.

While searching through my wardrobe, I discovered a 'new' blue shirt that I had completely forgotten about, as it was buried under socks and other clothing. I call it 'new' because I've barely worn it. There are a few other items of clothing that were buring alongisde it; I'll have to ensure these are hung up in the wardrobe when I'm back in my accommodation, rather than waiting on the shelves.

Swinging crane fly

A crane fly got itself caught in a web this evening. This wasn't noteworthy by itself, as the spiders here often catch crane flies, but what made this catch funny was that the end of the web the crane fly was caught in wasn't attached to anything; as a result, the crane fly swung on the web as though it were a pendulum.

Fortunately for the crane fly, the spider who built the web was nowhere to be found. I used the time to cut the web and free the crane fly, who promptly started buzzing around the nearest light source. The crane fly will be safe provided that it doesn't fly into another web.

To obtain an extra box redux

Good news! I was able to obtain not one but three new boxes for my temporary move out of my accommodation. My grandparents had some spare suitcases that they have kindly given to me. My belongings here will take up less room at my mother's house as a result, in addition to being easier to transport.

One of my uncles will be coming on Friday to help me move the majority of my items but I'll still be in my accommodation until next weekend.

To obtain an extra box

This afternoon, I re-assembled the cardboard boxes I brought with me when I moved into my current accommodation; however, as I have since acquired a few more belonings, I need an extra box. First, I shall contact my mother and brother to see if they have a box to spare but if not, I'll look at a place in the city centre for one.

Ideally, I hope my mother has one. I don't particularly want to waste valuable time packing on searching for one more box. I don't have that much more stuff but it's enough to need another place it pack it in.

Just say no to Nazis

As a result of the recent neo-Nazi protect in Virginia, there have been people saying that perhaps Nazis need to be reasoned with, talked to...given a platform to present their views so that they can be debated and refuted. Treated with respect!

Just one...no, two...problems with that - we already know what Nazi views are and they've already been refuted. Need proof? Look up World War II and Nazi Germany; for anyone who wants to hear Nazis "give their side of the story", those two subjects will provide all the information needed.

Gardening then packing

I spent the day at my grandparents' house to complete another batch of garden work for them; the next time I do any work for them, however, won't be until the week after next, for this next week I shall be packing up my belongings in my accommodation in preparation for my temporary move to my mother and brother's house.

Since I left my parents' house in August 2014, this stretch from September 2016 - August 2017 has been longest time living in one place, given that I've not been travelling anywhere during the breaks.

Holme Pierrepont August 2017

For the first time in years - likely the first time since I wrote this post - I visited the water sports centre at Holme Pierrepont. I recently learnt that the 11 bus travels through West Bridgford to a stop a short walk from the centre and the 11C travels directly to the centre, albeit only on Sundays and bank holiday Mondays.

This became my strangest visit to Holme Pierrepont. In the past, I went with family - the last time I went with my grandfather but another common person I went there with was Dad. Evidently, Dad is no longer around to go to Holme Pierrepont with but not only that but there were hardly any people about; it felt quite lonely being without company and with few other people around.

Bakewell August 2017

I visited Bakewell for the first time since July of last year except that on this occasion, a friend came with me. I invited said friend to come with me after he'd been fascinated by my first Bakewell trip when I told him about it.

In Bakewell, we walked around, walked to some of the surrounding paths, climbed one of the small mountains and walked by the river for several hours before returning to Derby and then no Nottingham. This was a much better trip to Bakewell compared to my one last year, where I only spent an hour there, of which half of spent finding a toilet and the other half finding how to return to Derby.

"Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee"

Some nineteen or twenty years ago, Dad downloaded the demo for Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (full version released in September 1997). While Dad's reasons for downloading the game are unknown, it nevertheless became a popular game within the family and with some of our friends. The plot of Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee involved a worker (Abe) saving his people from the corporation at which they worked, as it was going to turn them into food:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=249vWCD2neQ

We soon bought the full version of the game as well as its sequel, Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus. While there have been more sequels and also a remake of Oddysee, called Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty!, we never pursued any of them because they went back to gaming consoles and we used the PC. Still, the two Oddworld games we have have provided countless hours of fun and run on our modern computers.

Festival of Learning certificate

A few months ago, I was nominated for a Festival of Learning award, in the category for mature students. A few weeks ago, I was informed that I had not won the award but would be receiving a certificate of achievement instead and that it would be sent to Central.

This afternoon, I paid a short visit to Central (actually, it's now officially the Maid Marian Way campus of Nottingham College) to pick up this certificate. I had a short conversation with one of the receptionists - the one I've known since when she worked at the West Bridgford campus - and then I left.

I expect this to be the last of my accreditations from the Access era. That was academic year 2015-16 and now we're headed for 2017-18; I think I was fortunate to have even have been nominated for Central's internal award over a year ago - to still be receiving any sort of certificate at all this late is staggering.

"The Love I Lost (Moulton Remix)" - Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes

A song I've been listening to quite a bit recently has been this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGWNc1dkOgY

It's the Moulton Remix of "The Love I Lost" by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. I remember the original version that was briefly played in the film The Last Days of Disco as well as was listening to the 1990s version by Sybil.

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes released the original "The Lost I Lost" in 1973, from their second studio album, Black & Blue.

Back from Cambridge

My bus back from Cambridge was via National Express, which set off from there at 1:15 this morning. The return to Nottingham took two and a half hours and once I arrived here, I walked back to Clifton. I walked back via a well-lit route, which was mostly deserted; until I made it to Clifton, much of the traffic consisted of taxis.

What an amazing 48 hours it was, from when I left on Friday to when I returned this morning. It was an honour to attend my friend's wedding and I wish her and her new husband all the best.

Married friend

My friend is a married woman! The ceremony took place between 2:00 and 3:00pm, followed by a brief interlude before the main meal. After that, the day has been spent partying and talking to various new people.

Other than a rainstorm this morning, the day has been a gigantic success and I wish the happy new couple all the best.

At the hotel in Cambridge

I'm here, I'm in Cambridge, in my hotel and checked in. I arrived here awhile ago and will now be doing some exploring; I need to find the venue for my friend's wedding tomorrow, as well as the bus stops for when I return to Nottingham. After that, I'll have to look for a Tesco or someplace similar to purchase something for my dinner tonight; I didn't bother with a hotel meal because it was expensive.

To Cambridge

Tomorrow, for the first time in many years, I'll be in Cambridge. I'll be down there to attend on Saturday the wedding of the friend of mine with whom I went to the Carrie Underwood concerts. She invited me last year and finally, the day is nearly here.

I'll be travelling down on the 19 bus from Nottingham to Peterborough and then a bus from Peterborough to Cambridge. From what I can tell, this will involve five hours of bus riding, which will be easy enough. I'll be staying in a hotel on Friday, be active all day Saturday and then travelling back via National Express on a bus that leaves Cambridge at 1:15am on Sunday.

I have not attended a proper wedding for 21 years, unless the reception party I attended last month is counted. For this wedding, however, I'll be there from start until the finish.

Preparing for a temporary move out

I now have less than a month left on my accommodation's contract. As such, I am in the process of packing my belongings for a temporary move to my mother and brother's house, where I'll be for under a month before moving back into my university accommodation again.

It will be a weird "move" since it will be so short but it's necessary since I can't stay in the accommodation for a whole year at a time. Maybe for Year 3 I will look elsewhere, depending on my circumstances at the time.

Liveland History: 1st August 2014

Three years ago, I helped my oldest younger cousin move from one accommodation in Lincoln to another:

http://airnicetolivelands.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/lincoln-moving.html

That was her second of three residences in Lincoln and took place before her second year began. I met some of her then-housemates but only briefly.

This took place during the week of my first visit to Central College Nottingham's Maid Marian Way campus, where I'd be for the subsequent two years; I was interviewed about which Pre-Access course I wanted and I met a future classmate in the session.

Wollaton Park July 2017

My closest college friend and I visited Wollaton Park this afternoon. We arranged to visit there today since the weather forecast predicted a cloudy but otherwise dry day. Ha ha - no.

We were sat on a bench talking when a massive rainstorm was unleashed upon us; the two of us had to hide under a tree to prevent ourselves from being soaked, as I didn't have a raincoat on me and my friend's was barely enough to shield her from the water. It took about fifteen minutes for the rain to pass.

After that, we walked around the pond section of the park before heading to the village area, where we had to hide from a second rainstorm that materialised. We had a longer wait but it wasn't so bad since there was proper shelter rather than a tree, which dripped on us the wetter it became.

This is the first time since 2013 that I've had company while visiting Wollaton Park.

Continued garden work

I've been working in my grandparents' garden for part of most weeks this summer. Doing so has been good for losing weight and easy money; I'm progressing well with weight loss while also earning back the money I'll be spending when travelling down to a wedding next weekend.

Today was one of those days when I went to my grandparents' to work; next week I won't be as I'll be busy all week but I'll be back at theirs the week after. It's fun work!

"Breaking the Habit" - Linkin Park

After "Numb/Encore" and "Numb", amongst the first Linkin Park songs I heard were "In the End" and this one, "Breaking the Habit":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H4l9RpkwM

"Breaking the Habit" is the fifth and final single from Meteora, Linkin Park's second studio album. I cannot remember if I heard this track or "In the End" first but in either case, I would have heard them in 2005, sometime after "Numb/Encore".

The move outs redux

After today's move outs, there are only three people I know of still living in my student village: A housemate, someone in a house next door and me. There might be one or two others living around here but I'd be surprised if there are, as I've seen no evidence of anyone else.

My housemate and I have contracts that last until the end of August but the person next door leaves in two weeks.

The move outs

One of my housemates left over a month ago and another left today; tomorrow, another one will leave. Then, it will only be one housemate and me in my house and one other person in my student village, maybe two. Those who didn't extend their contracts are required to leave by tomorrow's end, as it's the end of the accommodation contract.

I'll be in the house for another month and I'm the only person I know who has extended for a whole month more. Then, I'll be at my mother's and brother's house before returning to the student village in mid-September.

Transgenders in the military

He's at it again, now going after trans-people who serve in the United States military:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40729996

Oh, what can I say - those of us who were paying attention knew that the current president isn't pro-LGBT and it's doubtful that many of his supporters would have backed him for his pro-LGBT stances. The excuse for barring transgender people - that they cost too much - is utter nonsense; scaling back involvement in conflicts abroad would reduce the military budget far more than kicking out transgender people.

If any of the people cheering this ban were to find themselves in the position of needing help from a member of the military, they'd still take the help even if said member were transgender.

The Cotgrave and the Keyworth

I recently wrote about how the Rushcliffe Villager 2 bus route has now been discontinued. The RV2 is not the only Rushcliffe-based bus that has received some major changes; the Rushcliffe Villager 1 has been shortened, in that it now travels directly into Bingham after the villages rather than around the housing estate. In addition, in Radcliffe on Trent, there were a small handful of stops that the bus went past but now doesn't; the result is that these stops are no longer serviced.

The Cotgrave Connection and Keyworth Connection are the other two. Unlike RV1 and 2, they haven't received any sort of cut; rather, both routes have been equipped with new buses and have been renamed to The Cotgrave and The Keyworth, respectively. Both routes now appear to have the same class of bus as Indigo does but rather than the buses being indigo, they are aqua (The Cotgrave) and pink (The Keyworth).

The Rushcliffe Mainline is also supposed to be receiving new buses; both the RM and the RV1/2 routes inherited the buses from the now-defunct Rushcliffe Greens line. I'd be surprised if RV1 receives any new buses, however; I expect any used from RV2 will be transferred to it.

Accommodation extension

Under the normal contract, I would be leaving my accommodation before the end of the week; however, since I paid for an extension and have the receipt for it, I won't be leaving until the end of August instead. I'll then be moving to my mother's and brother's house for about a month before I return to my accommodation in mid-September.

As for Year 3, at this point I haven't decided whether I'll be in university accommodation or a house somewhere in Clifton. That decision won't come around until next year.