I still haven't gotten to go into Brighton or even to the supermarket, which means that I have been eating only things I can get from the corner store, like beans, bread, cheese, peanut butter, etc.
On Monday, everyone in the program had orientation in the morning, and then Shannon and I took a campus tour and saw all of the important parts of campus. It started raining like crazy, so we decided against going on the trip where they show you around Brighton because we'd be outside the entire time and we were entirely soaked through. We got a few things from the corner store and also went to the bookstore, where I got a few of the British versions of the Harry Potter books (they were having a sale). I also got a good pen, a notebook, and some other stuff for class.
After that, we went to the Union Shop where I got a sweatshirt that says "Sussex University" on it and a t-shirt, because I was very cold.
After that, I had to go watch a movie for my class, which turned out to be "Almost Famous". It was pretty good and I'm glad I finally got to see it. It seems that the teacher isn't there when we watch the movies, he is just there for seminars. They have a student helper type person stay with us while we watch the movie.
Tuesday I had my first actual class, which seems like its going to be pretty cool. The teacher used to work at Creation Records and was the PR person for Oasis, which is pretty darn impressive. He still works in music PR. He seems really nice, partially because he's shy and quiet and seems really enthusiastic about what hes teaching.
Wednesday, the plan was for me to do some reading for class until Shannon got out of class at noon, and then we'd go into Brighton until it was time for me to come back for the movie in my class at 6. I had gone to the bookstore in the morning, but they didn't have many of the books I needed. Shannon didn't come back at noon, so I went looking for her and found her in the computer lab. She told me that her group from class had to get together at 3, and that she wouldn't be able to go into Brighton after all. I was already feeling really separated from everything and annoyed because of the internet being down, and this didn't help at all. I wasn't sure what to do because I didn't want to go into Brighton by myself the first time because I didn't know where I was going or anything and I wouldn't feel safe/comfortable going alone. I decided to go to the library while I thought about what to do, and found a couple more books I needed. I ended up checking my email there as well. By the time I got out, I didn't have that much time to go into Brighton, and I still didn't feel up to going into Brighton by myself, so I decided to go back to my room and read, assuming Shannon would contact me if her plans changed. Reading made me tired, so I ended up taking a fairly long nap. It turns out the movie for the night was "A Hard Days Night," which of course was fun for me because I love the Beatles. After that I came back to my room and then Shannon came over after managing to call over to me from her kitchen window (it is diagonally across from my room window). She informed me that her group meeting took all of 5 minutes, and that she then went grocery shopping with Grace, even though she knew I needed groceries and that we were planning to go together. She said that she didn't know how to contact me and that she was really sorry. I told her that I was annoyed, but that in a way I understand that its not totally her fault because it is practically impossible to contact people.
After that and my dinner of beans on toast, I got fed up with being in my room and we went to the East Slope Bar (on campus) for about an hour until it closed at 11. I got a drink called a Grasshopper, which is Creme de Menthe, Chocolate Liquer and Milk. It was delicious, and it tasted like those chocolate mints they put on your pillows in hotels.
Today the plan was for me to do some reading for class and then after my class Shannon and I would go into Brighton for the night, as we don't have class tomorrow to get up for. Originally, we had tickets to go see the musical Spamalot in London on one of the school-sponsored trips. However, it turns out it conflicted with my class, so we decided to sell them. This is annoying in itself, as on the ticket request form they ask you to list your classes so that they wont sell you tickets for something if your classes interfere with it. Shannon decided she didn't really want to go alone, so we decided to try to sell them both. We got lots of offers, but every one we pursued kept falling through. Finally, we got a guy who said he wanted to buy both, and emailed Shannon last night saying that he would meet up with us today to exchange money for the tickets. When we finally hunted him down (this was harder than it should have been,) he said that he'd changed his mind and only wanted one, and that he had to go to the ATM to get money for the other. We managed to sell my ticket to a girl in Shannon's building, but then when the guy met back up with us, he said he didn't have the money. This was about an hour and a half before the trip left, and I had to go to class.
Shannon tried to find someone else to buy it, but ended up going on the trip because she didn't want to lose the 70 dollars. Of course, since I was in class, I didn't find this out until I got back to my room and checked my email, and I STILL haven't gotten to go into Brighton, as Shannon went to Spamalot instead.
Class was good today. The teacher clarified what some of the assignments were, like making a press plan/press release for a fictional group/band and the short presentation we have to do in a little over a week. I think I spoke up in class more than everyone else today, which is a bit of a change for me, but I'm really interested in the material and I figure it can't hurt to have someone that high up in the industry thinking good things about me.
I came back to my room, did some reading for class, and took a short nap (I think I'm still a little bit jetlagged). Then I updated Quicken, checked my email, and started working on this blog entry. I've gotten some work done on my presentation for class, and I think once I finish writing this entry I will work on my course journal, which is summarizing what you learned in class...shouldn't be too hard.
We were planning to go into London tomorrow, but I think I might veto that plan and go into Brighton instead, as Shannon sorta owes me, and we have several days off next week during which we could go to London.
Saturday is the trip to Stonehenge and Bath, which leaves at 8:30 in the morning (another reason why I don't want to go so far away tomorrow). Sunday, there are trips to Brighton Pier/Marina and Brighton Pavillion which we will probably go on. Monday I have a movie at 6, but I don't think Shannon has class, so we could do something then. I don't have class on Tuesday or Thursday, so I could do something then, possibly, even if Shannon has class for part of the morning. Wednesday is pretty much entirely going to be taken up by class. I have seminar and a movie, and then we are travelling to Portsmouth (which is about London's distance away along the coast) on a fieldtrip to go see The Hold Steady, who are an American band. Friday is the trip to Brussels, which should be amazing.
I guess thats about it for now, here are some pictures:
Food type items
My "decorations"
Documentation of my internet problems
The outside of my building
Some views of campus:
