Back at university

Another blog post, another gig. A spontaneous last minute decision to go watching Andrew WK at the Academy really paid off. For those of you who don’t know him, he’s basically a crazy American guy with a rock band who used to hang around with the guys from Jackass. That pretty much sums up his show, just an hour and a half of jumping around like a sweaty idiot, so much fun. It was one last splurge before university started again after the Easter break, followed by a weekend of hard work and then the inevitable Monday morning blues. Everyone was pretty pleased to see each other again but the early morning combined with the miserable Manchester weather (yes, the rumours are true, it rains a lot) didn’t put many people in a good mood. The rain continues but so does the work so we all soon stopped whining about the weather and started worrying about getting it all done. Some of the work is quite fun though. For example, we are working in groups to write a detective story in Italian and then we have to mark another group’s work. The possibilities are endless and there have been some pretty interesting variations; murder and disguises galore. Also, for the oral class we have been given role-playing scenarios and my group’s is about two girls who go on holiday and have all their belongings stolen so I have to play a distressed young girl; not sure how well I’ll cope with that one.

As usual, it’s not all work though. I had a visit from a few friends at the weekend so I showed them the sights and shops of Manchester. They raided Afflecks Palace of practically everything that it has to offer, including Vanilla Coke which we paid the extortionate price of £1.35 for. The shopkeeper was a 9 year old boy however, so the novelty value went through the roof. For those who have never been to Manchester, Afflecks is a weird and wonderful place full of everything from posters, tattoos, piercings, clothes (of every colour and design you could ever think of) and of course, Vanilla Coke. It’s a student landmark in Manchester. I then showed my friends the nightlife and, considering they live in the tiny town of Ormskirk which has one club, they enjoyed being able to go to more than one place in a night.
That’s all for now, I’ll write again when I’m in the midst of the deadlines with the exams looming, hopefully not going too crazy from all the stress. Bye for now.

Easter break

So the Easter holidays (or break, as the tutors would prefer us to call it) are upon us. We had a bit of work to hand in in the last week of term; an essay on either a book or a poem and, wisely, most people chose the 14 lines poem as opposed to the 120 page novel. It was only a 1000-word essay, but with it being poetry, we get to use lots of complex fancy words. With that handed in and a small class test done, we can start to unwind and enjoy a bit of time off. Most people seem to want to rush home from Manchester to see their families and so on, but with me not living too far away I’m not in such a rush. Instead, I’m working as much as possible, trying to build up the bank balance after the recent spending sprees. It’s not all work and no play, though. My friend from college came to stay for a couple of days so a few of us had our first barbecue of the year and then we went to watch Korn, an absolutely unbelievable show, such a strange mix of people in the crowd but everyone was mesmerised, one of the best gigs I’ve been to. It seems that most of these posts contain something to do with a gig of some sort, but that’s what I love about Manchester, there’s music everywhere you go, whether it’s my friend’s new band at the pub around the corner or someone as globally famous as Korn at the Academy. We loitered around the bar next to the gig, Big Hands, hoping for the band to show up like so many others have before, but we felt a little bit desperate so soon moved on.

Korn at the Academy

I’m not staying in Manchester for the whole of Easter, though. I decided to grace my parents with my company for a week or so, 3 meals a day prepared for me, a nice clean house for a change, a nice pleasant week. I did abandon them for a day or so, though, to see my friend again, who has a lot of piercings and she’s slowly influencing me and so I ended up getting my nipple pierced! I’d never known nerves like it when I was in the waiting room, but it wasn’t too bad actually. Obviously a needle hurts but it was over pretty quickly and I managed not to faint, which is always a bonus. It feels a bit weird but I’m glad I’ve had it done.
About half way through the Easter break now, it’s time to start concentrating more on getting my work done. I’ve been doing little bits as I’ve been going along, but now I’ll have to knuckle down and get my assignments done and also prepare a 12 minute oral presentation in Italian. 12 minutes of me, on my own, talking and hopefully keeping people interested. A daunting prospect but I get to choose the topic so I should be able to cope. So that’s all for now, Happy Easter everyone and enjoy all your chocolate!

Exams and festival plans

So the exam results are in! A massive relief all round I think. Whether people have done as well as they had hoped or not, it’s just good to know. I’m personally pleased but also know that I made a couple of silly mistakes so I could have done even better, but I’ll live and learn and pay more attention next time. It’s time for another change at university for me, too. I was taking a Russian language module but it wasn’t exactly going too well, so thankfully I’ve managed to change to a new module. I now do Reading Renaissance & Medieval Culture, bit of a mouthful, I know. It sounds fancy and it actually is. We spent the class last week working, and inevitably playing, on iPads on an app about Dante and his many, many extensive works (and believe me there are a lot). I do have quite a bit of catching up to do after missing the first couple of weeks but as long as I put the effort in I’ll be fine. All the other modules are going well, too. A couple of small assessments have been handed in and have gone well, so that adds 3-4% here and there to my overall grade, which is nice, taking the pressure off the summer exams a little bit. The longer, more important assessments are coming up soon, too, but we’re given plenty of warning and information about what we have to do so they should go quite smoothly, I hope.
I delayed writing this entry by a day so I include the drama and excitement of the Leeds Festival announcements. Arguably more tense than the football transfer deadline day, I’m sure many of you have spent the night infuriated at the crashing websites and painfully slow internet signal. After seeing a line-up that includes some of my favourite bands (and the number one favourite, Foo Fighters), I spent the next hour or so just staring at the payment screen, convincing myself that I wanted to pay a grand total of £211.50, once all the fees and delivery costs are added on, to sleep in a field for 4 days. In the end, the choice was clear, so I’d better get my wellies ready. My bank balance didn’t take too kindly to the costs, especially not when I want to go to another festival, too. But the next instalment of the student loans is due just after Easter so that can ease the blow somewhat. Oh, to be a student!

Second semester starts

So the second semester is back in full swing, but I’m still kind of in holiday mode. As I’ve mentioned before, I went to Budapest on the first weekend back after exams. It was possibly the coldest holiday in human history, barely reaching -8˚ during the day and getting unbearably cold at night time. But thankfully it didn’t rain much and actually ended up snowing, which made a beautiful city even nicer. It’s hardly an action-packed city, but there’s a lot to see and if the outdoors get too much, the cheap beer in the bars is always a relief. So in summary, beautiful but cold and well worth a trip, perhaps better in summertime though.

St Stephens Basilica in Budapest

Slowly but surely at the start of the semester the January results start creeping in. I’ve had half of my exam and essays results back and so far I can say I’m pretty pleased. I’ve got pretty much what I expected so here’s hoping that the rest follow the same pattern! It’s such a relief to know that if I carry working and performing like I have been then I’ll get my reward at the end of the year. The workload is still pretty light for now, plenty to do in class and at home, but no essays just yet. With that in mind, it’s time for another holiday…
So my friend was browsing the internet for a cheap holiday to go on, and stumbled across a great ferry deals to Amsterdam. Just £36 for two nights on the ferry and coach transfer from Rotterdam to Amsterdam, bargain! So we quickly booked it, hopped on the train to Hull and set sail. We only actually got to spend a day in Amsterdam (we could have stayed longer but didn’t fancy paying for a hostel etc.) but it’s plenty of time to see all the dubious delights that the city has to offer. It’s also more than enough when every visitor to the city at that time is from Manchester. Man United were playing against Ajax of Amsterdam so the city was swarming with drunken football fans that live around the corner from me! They were amusing, but kind of take the shine off going on holiday.
So after I’d finished gallivanting around Europe, it was back to work; at university and actually earning money. I’ve applied to be supervisor at work (so the boss wasn’t too pleased when I wanted 2 weekends off) but there isn’t too much change to what I have to do yet. I could start earning an extra 13p an hour though! And it of course looks better on a CV. With university, there’s been a delay with receiving some results so the tension is building quite a bit, but the problems are meant to be resolved pretty soon and we’re being kept updated with the progress so it’s not too bad. I’m settling back into the swing of things now, no more trips away planned just yet so it’s time to knuckle down and get some work done. A pronto!

Buon Capo d’Anno – Happy New Year!

So it’s back to reality now. Christmas was great; I was spoilt as an only child yet again. I get to see the awesome Stone Roses in the summer thanks to some wheeling and dealing by my parents. It’s not all about the presents though, honestly. It was just nice to be home, care free, pampered and fed, and great to see the family. I had a great time wrestling with my 3 year old cousin for hours on Boxing Day. I let him win sometimes of course. And then came New Year, a time I generally don’t enjoy; it’s a bit hyped up for me. But this year I was working, which was actually a relief. We were all suited up, looking rather swanky behind the bar, until it got to midnight and we were soaked in champagne. It tastes much better than it smells the morning after on your stale clothes. So yes, work was basically just a big party with my mates, can’t complain too much. But then as I said, reality soon kicked in. I rejigged my sleeping pattern and then it was time to work. Another deadline loomed, and then the exams. The essay was relatively stress free because I had a while to do it but exams are different. You always feel like you could and probably should do more to prepare but I’m pretty confident about my chances so I try not to worry too much.  Everyone else freaking out actually calms me down to be honest, makes me realise that it could be worse. I only have two exams and an essay compared to some people who have 6 exams and assignments left, right and centre! But that’s the more scientific subjects; we linguists like to keep it a bit more sensible. Many plans follow the exams too, which is always nice. I’ve got a few gigs lined up (The Maccabees and Mastodon for those who care) and nice long weekend in Budapest with my girlfriend. Ah the joys of student loan day! They even send you a text to let you know when you’ll receive your money, which kind of spoils the surprise, but in a nice way. It’s a nice help for when you return to the normality of the university life, which I’m actually looking forward. It’ll be good to see everyone’s happy smiling faces on a rainy Monday morning in February! So ciao for now, happy New Year to you all!

The run-up to Christmas

Manchester Christmas Market

It’s almost Christmas! The decorations are up, gifts have been bought but unfortunately there is very little sight of snow. However, the build-up to Christmas fits in perfectly with the joys of deadlines. All of my coursemates and seemingly everybody I know have an essay or assignment due in in the last week of the semester and the library is in overdrive. Stress levels go through the roof for some, but I like to keep myself calm. The work has to be done regardless so I prefer to just keep calm and take it bit by bit. After handing it in though, it is a huge relief and then you can truly start to enjoy Christmas. With living quite close to Manchester and having a job, I hang around here a bit longer than most, with the majority of people going home as soon as possible. I don’t mind though, it gives me a nice, easy, empty weekend at work, none of my fellow students sorting through their change-filled pockets to pay for a pint. The end of term also means you can meet up with your friends from home who go to other universities. That’s one of the best parts of the holidays, because I get to see my family quite a lot, but my friends are scattered all around the country so it’s nice to have a catch up and an argument about whose city is the best. Manchester wins hands down. Which is why we’re are going for a day at Sinclair’s Oyster Bar, an old fashioned quirky pub with very cheap drinks, just next to the big wheel in the city centre, and not going for a 3 hour train journey to Newcastle or Worcester to sample their delights. So that’s all for now and I wish you all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Our DIY student Christmas tree

Thinking back – my first week as an Italian Studies fresher

My experience of the first week at University was not the usual overload or drinks and tomfoolery. This is actually my third year in Manchester after changing courses from Maths with Spanish to Maths and now to the wonderful world of Italian Studies. So I’m not technically a ‘Fresher’, I am a slightly older, although maybe not wiser, first-year student.

The week did still revolve around being in a bar though; serving on the other side. I have worked at a bar in Fallowfield for over a year now and the first week of the student return to Manchester is chaotic to say the least. Holding down what was practically a full-time job at the time was tough, especially with the crazy times that we have to work. It wasn’t unusual to walk home from a night at work in broad daylight, nipping to McDonalds with a crazily mixed collection of people having pre-work or post-night out snacks at 6:30am. It’s not all doom and gloom though. I do really enjoy my job and the people I work with are some of my best friends in Manchester. The earnings also ease the inevitable student debts and all-too-common mistakes and delays from the admin fairies at Student Finance.

Okay, my slightly cynical rant is over. I did get some free time to enjoy the stress-free joys of student life. The wonders of the big city aren’t new to me, which has its perks. I know which bars and clubs I like, I know which are the cheapest and I know how to get there without the classic drunken conversations with an equally clueless taxi driver. I know what I like and I like what I know. 5^th Avenue and 42s are probably my favourite places to go to. Yes, they’re clichéd, but the indie disco is fun for everyone. For anyone who likes their music and bit heavier, or simply weirder, you can’t beat Satan’s Hollow (the décor matches the name perfectly) or Fab Café, complete with endless geeky comic book references and the ever-popular TARDIS in the corner.

I also had to actually go to university during the first week, mainly just for introductory talks and tours etc. With me changing course however, I also had a lot of paperwork to go through but the course director and admin staff were a great help and got everything sorted in time for the big kick-off. After that, I was ready to go. Starting a new language from scratch was a little daunting but it’s safe to say I’m having a great time. The staff are great, coursemates are great and we fit together like one big happy Italian family, and long may it continue.