Episode 39: Quantum Of Solace

Just got back from Tesco, where I bought quite a lot of stuff. It's a good thing Westwood's so nearby! I think I've enough food to last me for at least the first half of Reading Week. Am so glad that I'm finally going to get a break because I really need to catch up on my reading. Borrowed a nice stack of poetry collections from the Library today after my EN121 seminar, which I basically dozed my way through. First time I've ever been so tired! Spent the entire night agonising over my EN122 essay, so I didn't actually get any sleep. Once I got past 3 am, I pretty much figured I wasn't going to be under the covers at all. This really must not be repeated for the EN123 essay or the EN124 portfolio! Will be a good boy and do my work in a timely fashion. Caught the new Bond movie in Coventry with Chloe, Jerrick, Michelle and Yee Hung. I thought it was okay, although it was quite tame, I felt, for a Bond movie. I mean, only one sex scene? No romantic entanglements? Without that, what's there to set a Bond flick apart from the rest of Hollywood's output?

Episode 38: I Hate You, Allen Ginsberg

Was supposed to go to a Bible study with Chernise, but I had to back out because otherwise I'd never finish my essay by tomorrow, 3 pm. Felt a bit silly today, as I discovered that I actually didn't need to finish writing that French essay I spent a few hours on yesterday. It was actually meant to be this week's homework. Oh well. C'est la vie. I'm currently a quarter of the way through my 'Howl' essay, judging by word count, and I keep encountering mental roadblocks. I think it's because I'm trying too hard to get everything right, when the first unassessed essay is really the perfect time to make mistakes. Quite a few of my coursemates are also agonising over either their commentary for EN121 or their essay for EN122, so that makes me feel less alone. Anyway, the experience of writing this essay has made me realise that I actually don't like 'Howl' very much. It's okay the first few times that you read it, and I've been picking out some stuff that is definitely good close reading, but I find it very tedious to make my impressions of the poem cohere! So yeah, I hate Allen Ginsberg now. I don't think I'll be getting any sleep tonight at this rate...

Episode 37: I'm Actually Doing Work!

Have managed to finish both the French essay and the EN121 commentary. I'm not entirely sure if the latter's actually what I'm supposed to be producing, but I figure I can't have screwed up too badly. When you take into consideration that I haven't even read Sir Gawain And The Green Knight, that's saying a lot. Completely forgot that I was supposed to go research literary magazines for today's session for The Warwick Review, so I ended up sitting in the room and keeping my mouth shut the entire time. Well, until the very end when we got to read some submissions and talk about them. I didn't really like most of the poems in my lot! Too much telling is what I would say about them. Had our last EN124 seminar for poetry, so now it's time to start thinking about producing that portfolio for after Reading Week. I'm a bit perplexed by what to do about the commentary portion though. Comment on the process of writing these poems? Not really something I consciously reflect on very often, I'll admit. I did get to read out one of my poems today, and decided to chop off the last two lines on the spur of the moment, which proved to be a wise decision. I don't think it's the best thing I've ever written, as that label still goes to 'Another Night On The Patio' for its ability to sound effortless when a lot of it is rather quite contrived, as well as having the most kickass opening lines I've ever penned. This poem I read out isn't too shabby though. I think I do sarcasm passably well, even in my poetry. Haha...

Episode 36: Snow In October?!

Was ridiculously late for my language class today. I was going to head to The Learning Grid to print out my translation, then realised that I'd left my wallet back in my room, just as I reached University House. So I had to walk all the way back. Then I realised that I'd forgotten to e-mail the translation to myself, so I had to go to class empty-handed. This was possibly the worst morning of my university life so far. The horrid morning, however, was redeemed by an amazing lecture delivered by Amanda on Fitt 4 of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight. Definitely the best lecture of the four I've had on this poem, and the only one that actually made me want to read the damn thing. Am now rushing French homework so that I don't have to skip the class on Thursday. Then I'm going to start on either my 'Howl' essay or the commentary on the Fitt 2 passage. Probably the former, as my brain isn't functioning well enough to tackle Middle English. By the way, it snowed in the afternoon today. Yeah, like real snow. In October. Freakish weather, but it was pretty awesome. Well, it was more awesome in an abstract sort of way, since walking back from my seminar in the falling snow was much less exciting than it sounds. Try freezing cold! I need to get a pair of gloves soon...

Episode 35: Back In Warwick, Trying To Work

Got approached by a lady from the Anglo-Iranian Youth Association, asking me to contribute to their cause. As much as I believe in the work she's doing, I couldn't bring myself to commit as heavily as making monthly contributions, but I didn't want to totally brush her off either. Ended up giving £10 as a token sum. I know, insane, and she could have been out to con me. Well, I don't know, but for me, that isn't such a big issue? I guess I'm still a bit naïve and I like to think that the world still has good people in it. She almost made me late for my coach though! There was a pretty scary guy who got on the coach just before we set off. I think he wanted a window seat, but they were all taken by then. So he just stood there for a while, cursing and swearing under his breath. It was quite disturbing! Spent most of the journey listening to my iPod because I couldn't be bothered to reach into my bag to fish out a book to read, although I really should have tried to finish Syncopations. Guess I'll read it during Reading Week? Have tried to start on my work, but it's just not happening. Looks like I'll be burning the midnight oil on Thursday, except this time, it's two essays at once, so unless I finish one of them by Wednesday, I have no bloody idea how I'll pull it off. Wish me luck!

Episode 34: Matins At Westminster Abbey

Convinced my dad to go to the matins at Westminster Abbey instead of going to All Souls Church, partly because the former's nearer and this way, we got to see the inside without paying the entrance fee like the other tourists. Seems like there were quite a few people who had the same idea as us. The service was interesting. Very liturgical. The lay choir came in, and most of the singing was done by them, except for a congregational hymn towards the end. The sermon was incredibly short and sharp. Altogether a rather inspiring experience! It's a very different feeling from what you get when attending a contemporary worship service. More solemn and stately is the best way that I can think to describe it. I mean, the moment I stepped into the building, I felt like I just had to keep quiet, and if I absolutely had to say anything, to whisper. It's a psychological association, I think, which a lot of people share where old buildings are concerned. Anyway, the building's really magnificent, and I think stained glass is really beautiful and more churches should incorporate it into their architecture.

Headed back to the hotel to check out, and then took a cab down to the French Connection store to get my belts exchanged. (They were one size too large for me, even though they're labelled as size 32. Maybe I really am smaller than a size 32 now?) That worked out okay, and I picked up a few more basic tees too, so it's time to try out some new layered outfits when I get back to Warwick. Cabbed once again (because it was raining and my bags were heavy) to meet Shou Jie to leave my stuff at his place, where I'm crashing on the floor for one night. Then I decided to save my dad some money, so we took the Tube to Covent Garden. Got fish and chips at some restaurant, which was okay, although it had quite a few bones in it. We walked around Covent Garden Market for a while, but didn't buy anything. I made sure he knew how to get on the right train to Heathrow, then I went off to meet Eugene across the Thames. He brought me to Le Pain Quotidien, which supposedly has wireless Internet, but it wasn't working today, so I wound up working on my poems for Wednesday. Don't think they're that good, but oh well...

Hung around at Le Pain Quotidien until it was time to meet the MOE people for dinner. Quite a few showed up, thanks Jared for organising! We had dinner at Garfunkel's, which Eugene said serves good drinks, but we all thought that the food and service sucked. I had an omelette made with four eggs, which tasted okay, but certainly was nowhere near being worth the money I paid for it. Maybe if I'd ordered dessert, I'd have been more satisfied because the desserts looked pretty good, on paper anyway. Caught up with the MOE people, and they seem to be having fun in London. I walked around for a bit after dinner, from Leicester Square to Big Ben, and then took the Tube back to Charing Cross after I got a text from Shou Jie. So I headed back to his room, where I'm now sitting and reading more of Syncopations. It's interesting stuff, although I think it isn't going to be very useful for the purpose that I borrowed it for, which was to help with my 'Howl' essay. Thankfully, I've found quite a few journal articles through Google Scholar that should be of great help. I've also planned out an essay outline! Incredible. I've never even done that for anything in JC!

Episode 33: Walking Around London (Is Very Tiring Indeed)

Am currently slaving over my Fitt 4 passages for translation. I spent most of the day doing a walking tour of central London with my dad. We left the hotel after breakfast and headed towards Buckingham Palace. Didn't get to see the actual changing of the guards, just a few of them relieving a few others. Took lots of pictures of the area though. Then we took a stroll through St James's Park, where I tried taking pictures of the squirrels, with varying degrees of success. Damn things scurry about too quickly! We saw Big Ben too, and snapped countless shots of it. Reason? It's well nigh impossible to take a good shot of Big Ben, by which I mean a photograph that captures the correct colours. Despite it being a relatively sunny day, the camera just couldn't seem to capture enough light to make the picture turn out right. I swear it's a ploy to get tourists to buy postcards of Big Ben. Then we made our way past Westminster Abbey. Didn't pay to look around the inside though. After all this sightseeing, I've come to the conclusion that while London has much architecture and landscaped greenery to admire, the problem is that it's juxtaposed with too much grit and grime. That and there's just too many other people playing tourist for you to actually enjoy the sights! We also sat on the London Eye, which was okay. The view's good, but the palette it draws from is a little too drab for my liking.

Had lunch at some roadside cafe, which wasn't that nice. Afternoon tea in the hotel was much better! I had a traditional English tea, so it was like three platters of awesomeness. Have I mentioned how I love meringues? I'm not so enamoured of scones, although the cream they were served with certainly met with my dad's approval. The tea I had was chocolate tea, which is made by dissolving white chocolate in black tea. The result actually does have a hint of chocolate to it, and is very aromatic too. Definitely something worth trying to make on your own. We went down to Harrod's, which was a depressing experience for me because I couldn't afford anything in there, other than a few tins of biscuits. It's insane. One jacket there is worth more than one month of my allowance. Granted, I was looking at Zegna. Ended up buying some biscuits to bring back to Warwick, and then I headed down the road to Zara. Saw some stuff that would have been okay to buy since my dad was paying, but I decided to walk further down to French Connection instead. Good move there, as I picked up a really nice jacket! Flattering cut, unlike what was sold at Gap, and suited for winter too. Happiness, at the moment anyway, is embodied by my French Connection jacket.

Episode 32: I'm In London!

Crap. Didn't manage to use up all of my SMSes from the Vodaphone text pack that I bought last month. What a waste! Over the last few days, I actually took to texting people for the lamest reasons, but still had more than 100 left as of last night. Oh well. Managed to sort out my OMR problem, which had been causing me much concern since yesterday. The fiasco basically ends with me not getting my refund, as the department won't let me take five modules after all. Part of me thinks I should have taken LL208 for credit and audited EN123, since the workload would definitely be easier to handle that way. I figured MOE wouldn't be too pleased with that though, so I decided to be an overachieving Singaporean and stick with the heavier workload. Sigh. I hope I don't regret it by the end of the year! I'm seriously considering skipping next week's lesson for LL208, if I can't finish my essays for EN121 and EN122, since that would mean I won't have time to do my French homework anyway. We'll see how it goes, I guess.

Anyway, the coach ride to London was uneventful. I started reading James Campbell's Syncopations, and I also didn't get lost after getting off the coach! Was mildly perplexed by the ticketing system for the trains, but that's all good now. Hadn't realised how much I missed taking the MRT! The London Underground is grittier, and more prone to interruptions in its services, but at least when things are running smoothly, the trains arrive at greater frequencies than in Singapore, which is pretty much the only complaint Singaporeans seem to have about it anyway. The zoning system is also quite sensible, and Singapore should definitely consider incorporating that in some form into the MRT network's pricing scheme. Met up with Shou Jie, who gave me a quick walking tour of the parts of central London around where he lives. They were showing a silent film in Trafalgar Square, with live musical accompaniment. Shou Jie and I found it a little hard to imagine that people from a bygone era were actually entertained by silent films though. I suppose the novelty of moving images on a screen was enough for a more innocent age?

Claudia invited the two of us over for dinner, three courses. The paella was nice, but the dessert was incredible. Dates in a coffee sauce, served with yoghurt on the side. Scrumptious stuff, and according to Claudia, really easy to make. Maybe when I start cooking, I should work backwards from dessert. Haha! It's always nice to catch up with people, so hopefully, I'll be able to meet some of the MOE people over the weekend too. Sat in her kitchen and chatted for a few hours, until my dad got worried and started texting me to check that I was fine. I'll admit, taking the Tube so late at night was a bit unnerving, but it was trying to find The Rubens that was the tough part. Well, it'd have been easier if I'd bothered to check a map before coming over from Warwick, but oh well, everything's worked out fine in the end. The hotel's fantastic by the way, very posh furnishing. I would so stay here every time I visit London, except the price is too prohibitive. I don't like the idea of having to crash someone's room each time though, so maybe I'll have to look up some cheaper options before I come down again.

Episode 31: Wing Wah

Just got back from a buffet-cum-karaoke session at Wing Wah in Coventry with some of the Singapore Society people. I definitely overate (or ate more than my money's worth, depending on your point of view), but it was also definitely awesome to have some Chinese food that tasted authentic. They even had goreng pisang, which was a nice surprise indeed. I think I went to the buffet line six times in total, and I probably could have made room for one more plate had I not eaten too much of the noodles. (I miss noodles more than I miss rice!) The desserts were pretty and yummy too, though I didn't have as much of them as I would have liked. I particularly loved the meringues mixed with some sort of berry compote. The meringues were chewy though, whereas I'm sure meringues are meant to be crisp. It was admittedly an interesting texture. Did a little research on Wikipedia, and that dessert seems like a bastardised version of an Eton mess. The freshers lasted longer at the table than the seniors, although technically the seniors did get to the restaurant earlier than us, but we finally all ended up in the karaoke room. I'm not a very big fan of karaoke, since it's rare to find people who can actually sing well, but I was proven wrong tonight. On a side note, the weather was abysmal. Keegan, of course, was manfully bearing the brunt of the cold in less clothing than one would have thought humanly possible for someone coming from the balmy shores of Singapore.

Episode 30: Hands Shaking, Teeth Chattering

EN124 seminar was awesome as usual. Stared at a projection of the universe and wrote stuff that I'm supposed to turn over the course of the week into the best thing I've ever written. The kind of thing, as David Morley put it, which you'll read when accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature. Anyway, it's rather cold tonight. My hands were shaking from the moment I stepped out to head to the Social Studies building for the AGM. I'm back now, trying to stay warm in my room. Have finished my acquisition spree of Christian music for now. Something's wrong with the syncing with my iPod though, as the album artwork is all wrong, so now I'm retransferring everything. It's rather annoying! Just got back from printing out the e-ticket for my trip to London. I'm a bit upset with myself for delaying my booking until today, as it cost me an extra £8. Sigh. Before that, I was in the Music Centre with a bunch of the Singaporean freshers. Wayne and Sarah were playing the piano, while the rest of us were just marvelling. Oh, and Yong Long, Stephanie and Claire Yow were snapping pictures. There's quite a good one of Vanessa doing one of those modelling poses. Before all this, we were having our AGM for the Singapore Society. Yummy chicken drumsticks and wings there. Congratulations to Louisa and Oliver for being elected as Freshers' Representatives! Now I absolutely have to finish up my French homework for tomorrow. Am now rather glad that I started on translating the Fitt 4 passages yesterday. Who knows, I might even finish it over the weekend in London, if I'm feeling industrious. I do foresee myself panicking over the 'Howl' essay in about a week's time though...