Wednesday, June 24

first festival of the year: (祭)


'moff to Glastonbury tomorrow, which should be awesome despite the forecasted torrential thunderstorms and lack of wellington boots! The clashfinder supports this hypothesis; at first glance there are no bothersome clashes!

I'm all packed as well; I've got a tent, a sleeping bag, changes of clothes, toiletries, a tea towel, shot glasses, a cocktail mixer, an umbrella, a multitool thing, my ticket, my wallet, my cards and my keys. Just gotta go to bed for 6 hours and 10 minutes, then it'll be time!

Nighty night.

Thursday, June 18

hey, what do you think? (考)


I was asked a rather ambiguous question today; "Hey, what do you think?", to which the possible replies were "in the front" or "in the back". Being of my persuasion, I went with "in the front", to which the reply was "NO! Putting it in the back is more effective!". Effective I thought? That's one adjective I'd rarely (if ever) heard used in this context...

Apparently placing the engine in the back is much more effective, as it provides more power and balances the weight, but I bet you were thinking the same thing I was reading that right? I now share Jacob's beliefs; that "most engineers are weird..."

Wednesday, June 17

things are falling into place (降)


Just as the title says, it really does feel like things are falling into place the last couple of days. I was talking to David on Monday night about how much I want to play Red Faction and Blood Omen 2 again, but wasn't sure where to get them cheap. On our 'jurb' hunt we had a brief look in Game and there they both were, in the 3 for £5 bucket! Great condition as well!

Also, I've needed some new shoes for a while, but wasn't sure which ones to get (or where). We went in Burton shortly before Game, and they had 2 pairs for £55; me and David both found a pair we like, and with student discount we only paid £25 each!

Now I just need one more thing to fall into place (no, that isn't a euphemism.); I need a job (and the money said job will bring)!!!


Also, after seeing it on Jay's blog, I chose my Facebook url: facebook.com/funkyhomme

Sunday, June 14

(half) a day at the Southbank (日)


I got up at 8, which felt a bit criminal on a Sunday morning, and walked into Welling. On the way an old man said "good morning"; a greeting which I reciprocated and felt lift my spirits.

Most of the Southeastern train network was broken for some reason, so we met at the station as planned, then walked back to the high street to catch a rail replacement bus. It took quite a while but it was probably quicker than walking. In Lewisham we hopped on a train to London Bridge, which was fairly uneventful, then alighted at London Bridge and asked the man at the information desk for directions to the Tate Modern.

After a couple of false alarms and a lot of walking we found the Tate's back entrance, where we were ushered to the front by a chubby, Italian accented worker. We went in and all ignored the recommended donation of £3, and chose to replace it with a combined donation of 11 pence. Oops.

The adult playground installation (Bodyspacemotionthings by Robert Morris), our intended destination, was awesome. There were several slides, climbing walls, balancing blocks, tubes and balls to interact with, all of which were inventive and fun (and swarmed with little kids). Naturally we went on everything, in order to get our full money's worth.

We left the exhibit after about an hour to cool down, then found our way outside (harder than a sounds) for a well deserved sit down. We threw bread at pigeons and watched them moronically eating it, then walked further down the Southbank. One of my favourite things about London is the weirdos you see there; on our walk we saw a man building sand sofas, drunks on giant grass sofas, a street magician, several guitarists, a pavement artist, two 8 year old buskers, and several freerunning teenagers doing dangerous gymnastics.

At about 2 o'clock, after a cheap and cheerful lunch from Sainsbury's, me and Mark headed home (Em and Mike stayed in London for a bit longer). Our combined intelligence saved us the walk back to London Bridge (about 25 minutes (we got the train home from Waterloo)). I had to get off in Lewisham and get the aforementioned replacement bus, which was dull, but on the bus I managed to give a European girl directions to where she was going. Another good deed for the day :)

Friday, June 12

I started a trend! (勢)


Yep, it's official:

I found a lump of blu-tack in the Union a few days ago, and with my highly artistic talent (despite what my previous post said), I turned a ladies toilet sign into a work of art. I returned a few days later to find that someone had followed my lead and transformed the disabled toilet sign into a similar (but less remarkable) artwork. Thinking that would be the end of it, and with a sense of inner-smugness, I stopped looking for artworks inspired by my creativity. But as they say, it is when you stop looking for something that it appears to you. During my recent stay in Leeds, I saw another enhanced sign.This time however the quality surpassed that of my original creation, which is why I posted this claim to the original trendsetting masterpiece.

two days in Leeds (リーズ)


Aaron and I went to Leeds from Tuesday to Thursday of this week, primarily to see Jay and David but also to attend Jay's 'hot and steamy' flat party. The 'hot and steamy' part is only a name by the way, not a description.

As usually happens when spending time with Aaron, Jay and Dave, several things that would normally appear unfunny took on a whole new hilarious persona, this time they included Chinese food, bakery signs, post-it notes, Windows XP log-on screens, mobile phone contacts and bus bells. Pictures clarifying what I mean here.

Upon arrival in Leeds, just after 12am on Wednesday 10th, me and Aaron got a cab to Jay's residence at the cost of £6.40. We were greeted by a slightly inebriated Jay and escorted back to his corridor, which was crammed full of slightly inebriated students. We then found and greeted David, said hello, got drinks, and stood around waiting to be introduced to people (as you do).

Throughout the course of the party, I spoke to two Canadians (one of which offered to show me around Toronto, which is greatly appreciated!), several of Jay's friends, and an unusually high amount of oriental people (not a bad thing, of course). Me and Dave also got takeaway, which unfortunately turned out to be the worst kebab I've ever had. Pah.

Everyone buggered off by about 2am, then me, Jay, Aaron, Dave and Simon sat in Jay's room talking 'til the wee hours. Dave fell asleep on Jay's bed, so I had to share it with him (clothed and above the covers) while Aaron slept on the floor. Nice!

Wednesday was 'all you can eat Chinese buffet day'! Aaron didn't want any Chinese food with chemicals in it, so we took Jay's friend's advice over Jay's, and went to a restaurant that wasn't as good as the one Jay recommended. Aaron then went on to eat only chips, rice and watermelon... Despite this however, me, Jay and David still managed to get our monies worth. I think I had 1 soup, 3 or 4 starters, 2 or 3 mains and 4 or 5 deserts. It was awesome! We wandered around Leeds for a bit as well, then played some pool in the union while Aaron 'worked' in the library.

In the evening we played Ring of Fire with some home made punch, and ordered pizza. By the end of it it wasn't Jay, Chris, Dave, Aaron and Simon playing anymore, it was Poo Bucket, Funky Homme, The Grand Ol' Duke of York, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and Lord Wellington... In the pants.

Thursday didn't amount to much, as we accidentally overslept by several hours. We spent what time we did have trying to find a coffee shop with wifi so we could book our holiday. By the time we found one suitable, we'd ran out of time and so we had to depart for the coach station, say our goodbyes, and head home.

Despite it's shortness, it was a great couple of days =)

two more observations... (測)


to go with the ones in a previous post:

  • When you're in a moving vehicle it looks like outside is moving while the vehicle is still, while the opposite is true.

  • Sometimes when I go "pffft" to blow my hair out of my eyes it sounds as if I'm shrugging off what someone has said, or laughing at a passer-by. I wonder if other people think that as well?

Tuesday, June 9

fuck you, Pepsi (ペプシ)


17 cans of Pepsi (and their ringpulls) down, and still no £10,000 in my bank account...

I give up.

Sunday, June 7

last day in the bubble (泡)


In the early hours of Sunday June 7th, after eating my last takeaway of first year University, I started packing the majority of the stuff in my room whilst intermittently dancing to 'Superman' by Black Lace with Charlotte, Simon and Tom.

I then went to bed shortly after 3am after saying bye to Dave, and Dan apologising to Charlotte for the inconvenience he'd caused the previous week. Going to bed so late ruined the plan of getting up at 9 and finishing off packing; instead I got up just after 1pm and had to hurriedly pack with Charlotte, meaning my stuff was a lot less neat than desired, and also a lot less efficiently packed. Mum arrived and we took a couple of bags to the car, then went to take back library books, pick up my yearbook, and get lunch at the Sneyd Arms.

Lunch was nice, I had the meal I'd decided against every previous time I'd been in there previously; a spicy cajun chicken burger with Jalapeños and cheese. It was delicious. After lunch we drove back to Horwood, and Charlotte, Simon, Tom and Gerry helped me take all the stuff to the car, while Mum crammed it in.

We left shortly after 4, following (fairly) emotional goodbyes. Luckily we remembered to take the key back just after leaving campus, rather than half way home. The journey back was fairly uneventful. We went on a toll road where the signs said "tender exact fare" - a slightly confusing way of wording it I thought. We also stopped in some services for the loo and a quick snack.

I can't believe how short a time it seems since we did the same journey the other way (I.E when I started at Keele last September)... We got back to London just after 8.

Friday, June 5

two observations: (測)

  • I always feel a sense of emptiness after eating a nice meal, which is ironic considering I usually feel full up as well...

  • Seeing (and subsequently peeing on) a penny in a urinal a few days ago made me think about the state most currency in circulation must be in; it's probably best not to think too much about it right?

Thursday, June 4

Woodstoke 2 (二)


Yesterday the KUSU (Keele University Students Union) building put on it's most impressive event yet; Woodstoke 2.

I've heard the name 'Woodstoke' was taken from a past event hosted by students independent to KUSU, but I'm not really sure. Wherever the name came from however, the whole event followed a festival theme with such witty venue names as the Glastonbudget Stage, T in the Dark, and Keelefields.

A £20 ticket (what's left of mine is shown below) entitled you to a nifty wristband (also shown below) allowing unlimited access to all venues between 4pm on the 3rd June and 4am on the 4th. That works out at just over £1.60 an hour (bargain!).



I got my ticket only a couple of hours before the event, after a last-attempt-ticket-getting-mission paid off (someone told me it had sold out the day before). We headed in at about 4.30 to check out the area, then headed back home for some predrinks until the good stuff kicked off at about 6.30.

The aforementioned good stuff included:

  • Immense amounts of meat surrounded by a bun for £2!

  • Fruit dipped in sherbet for £1.50!

  • Facepainting!

  • Rides!



  • Foam party!

  • Fully clothed shower to get foam out of clothes!

  • More facepainting!

  • A skirmish between security and drunken party goers!

  • A fucking TOP HAT!

  • Stone Roses and Oasis tribute bands (both of which were the same people, cunningly wearing slightly different 90s indie fashion)!

The combination of those 'good stuffs' and hanging out with a bunch of cool people made last night (and ergo this morning) one of the best at Keele so far! There was also a rave in the woods apparently, but I didn't go.

Kudos KUSU.

Monday, June 1

the last few days... (数日)


have been amazing, if not fairly unproductive from an academic standpoint. A previous post of mine detailed the rise in outdoor (drink-fuelled) activity, and most of the events recorded in this post follow suit.

On Tuesday it hit me that in nearly 8 months of living here, I have been in the woods only once (and even then it was almost pitch black). This realisation inspired a twilight walk with friends through the grounds of Keele hall, across a privately owned field, and into the University-owned woods:





Hopefully the poorly shot photographs do some justice to the grounds, which are surprisingly beautiful. The grass in the field was knee height, and so was quite interesting to walk through (and jump in). The woods were fairly standard in most respects, apart from one thickly overgrown area on the side of a stagnant lake which looked as if it should be inhabited by trolls. Walking back was a bit odd due to the contrast of the aforementioned grounds on one side, and the M6 on the other.

On the way back we decided to have another fire in the woods next Tuesday, which I'll probably write about at some point. This time however we've got a spot in mind (shown above) at the far side of the field, complete with a fallen tree bench and previously built fire which just needs to be rekindled. We might buy a keg of beer as well; 20 pints for £18, fresh from the brewery!

Wednesday led to a lunchtime Philosophy discussion with a friend at the KPA Clubhouse, one of our newest haunts. I've been reading The God Delusion and he recommended me some 'proper philosophy' in the form of Descartes Meditations, along with telling me the story of Descartes' death.

Thursday evening was the first of what I imagine will be many poker evenings. The kitchen table was finally put to some other purpose than a graveyard of abandoned kitchenware, as four of us sat down for a £5 in winner takes all game of Texas Hold 'Em. The most proficient poker player amongst us went out first, opening up the game a bit for the underdogs (me). I was playing well until a couple of silly errors cost me most of my chip stack, shortly after which I went out. Tom went onto win the game after a 50/50 all in by Gerry.

Friday night was probably my best night at Keele so far; it started with a few beers and pizza on the grass outside Horwood F, moved into Rich's room for more predrinks, then through 3 campus bars and into the woods in the wee hours. The atmosphere was great as well due to the amount of people milling around between the two main events (usual Union night and 'Boycott'). After a couple of drinks at the Pig, another couple at the Union (and dancing!), we made our way to the fabled rave in the woods. It was about 4am by the time we arrived, and me and Char didn't stay for long, but it was an amazing experience! Walking through the woods towards a faint beat, seeing the fire through the trees as the music gets louder, and seeing four or five separate bonfires burning with groups of people sitting around each was surreal. Everyone one was peaceful and chilled out (I wonder why), and it felt a shame leaving, even though I didn't want to stay at the same time...

The weekend consisted mainly of recovering from Friday night, attempting to revise, and chilling at Keele hall with some combination of; friends, a football, alcohol, food and music. Here's a couple of pictures (I like the weird perspective in the first one):



"amazingly... the pigeons can do this!" (鳩)


"VI 30s deliver twice the reinforcement rate of VI 60s, and the animal pecks the VI 30s twice as often as the VI 60s"

it feels like I'm in an 80's movie (映画)


Today I woke up feeling stressed about a few things, to the point that while me and Charlotte walked to the shop all I spoke about was revision, exams, money and dirty clothes.

It seems strangely fitting (and oddly reminiscent of a low budget 80's film) then, that as soon as we walk into the shop, the opening of D:Ream's 'Things Can Only Get Better' comes on.

It also seems strangely disturbing things do feel slightly better...