So I feel like I've been neglecting all of you this week. No updates. Sorry about that.
Monday we went to Meadowhall (giant mall slightly outside of Sheffield) so I could take my laptop to the Apple store since it had been freezing and doing that weird screen freaking out thing again. First time I turned it on there, it (of course) didn't do it. Restarted it, and ta-daa! Crazy screen thing. The guy there figured that it was probably the video card, so he ordered me a new one, and is supposed to call when it gets in.
Now, the really weird thing, is that it hasn't done the weird screen thing since Monday, and it's only (hah, only...as if I've resigned myself to living with it freezing) froze once so far. It's like the video card is saying, no! Don't replace me! I'll be good!
But I'm going to go ahead and get it replaced. Shouldn't do any harm, and it'll probably keep it alive longer. And then if it freezes and does the weird thing again, I just go back and make them figure out what it is. Hooray 3 year extended warranty!!
Other that that, haven't gone anywhere exciting this week. We've mostly been working on homework/essays. I had 2 presentations today and chem hw due tomorrow. Then I've got an essay due next week and another the week after.
Saturday we're going to York for the day, people keep saying we should go there. Then it's back to essays. Meh.
That's it for now.
:)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Castle Pictures!!
Castle pictures are up. They're pretty awesome. Go look!
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| Newcastle upon Tyne / Tynemouth |
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Newcastle upon Tyne / Tynemouth Trip
So we got back from the Newcastle trip about.... 6 hours ago. It was another trip done through the International Office.
At first, Jake and I didn't really think they had that much going for them, and then I found out that in Tynemouth, they have this awesome castle on a cliff with a beach next door. So we decided that we would definately go there, as it was a 30 minute train ride, for 3.80 pounds roundtrip. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We got dropped off in a spot that was different than where they had originally told us we'd be dropped off (they give us packets about the cities when we pay that tell us places we could go and where we'll be dropped off, etc.). So that changed the route we had planned on taking, but not by much.
We started off by going toward the wall. There's a wall that used to go around Newcastle as a defense. Part of it was still there, so we found it and walked along the length of it (it wasn't that big). Conveniently, the wall dead-ended at Chinatown. This Chinatown had an Imperial arch, just like the one in Liverpool, excepts this one was smaller. Then we turned around a bit to go to Blackfriars, which used to be a Friary full of Dominican monks (I think). They wore black robes and shoes. Crazy guys. Anyway, the wall had gotten built through their little village, and because their garden was on the other side of it, they got a key to be able to go through and take care of their vegetables. Of course, you can't build a wall around a garden. Psh.
Anyway, after that, we went in search of the Earl Grey monument. We got lost along the way, but then we found a handy dandy sign pointing behind us. The signs in Newcastle are awesome. Know how in movies/cartoons there'll be a stick with 384957893475 arrows pointing in different directions? That's what they had. It was awesome. Anyway, Earl Grey had some musicians down by the base of his pedestal. They were pretty awesome.
From there we got on the Metro, aka train to Tynemouth. It's pretty much exactally like MARTA in Atlanta, except the trains are probably older. Speaking of trains, the girl in charge of the bus we were on said that the first train was tested in Newcastle. Don't know if that's true or not. Anyway, we get to Tynemouth, get off the train, and realize we don't have a map (reoccuring theme I think). But- their train station is pretty cool- they have a local market there every weekend, and there was a guy playing an accordian. So we walk out of the trainstation, and they have a sign with arrows! One of which says, go this way to get to the castle. So we went that way, and ta-daa! Castle. It was AWESOME.
Seriously. AWESOME. In capitals. We probably spent like an hour wandering around it and taking pictures of it. It's mostly fallen down, but the little chapel was still together, so we could go in there, and then part of the main building (I guess...) was still together and you could go up two/three levels sort of. The kitchen was still in one piece! But yeah, it was cool.
Then we went to the beach that was right next door. Literally, it was just down a little hill. We wandered around and took pictures and almost got stranded on some rocks when the tide started coming in. Heh. But we escaped! Jake's toe got wet and I stuck a finger in the ocean. So we have been in the super North Atlantic. Yay for us. Then since it was Valentine's day, Jake found a stick and made a heart with Amanda + Jake in it. Awwww. Then we ran away from the ocean before it swallowed us whole and went back to the trainstation to go back to Newcastle.
Upon returning to Newcastle we went across the Millenium Bridge, and then across a red one, and then we got to a castle in Newcastle, which is all whole and in one piece (I assume). However, we got there at 4:45 and the last admission is at 4:15, so we didn't get to go in, just walked around. But we might go back to Newcastle at some point in the future. Then we just kind of worked our way back to where the bus dropped us off at.
Soo.. plans for the future:
We both have essays due soon, so we're going to use tomorrow (Sunday) and next weekend to work on those. Weekend after that we're going to York on our own to look around.
After that, there's a chance we might meet up with one of Jake's friends from high-school who is in Florence and go somewhere with him.
Other than that, we're currently working on plans for Easter/spring break, which is a month long.
Pictures will go up sometime this week, I'll try and make it before Friday, but Friday really is the easiest day for me to put them up. Maybe Tuesday. We'll see.
At first, Jake and I didn't really think they had that much going for them, and then I found out that in Tynemouth, they have this awesome castle on a cliff with a beach next door. So we decided that we would definately go there, as it was a 30 minute train ride, for 3.80 pounds roundtrip. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We got dropped off in a spot that was different than where they had originally told us we'd be dropped off (they give us packets about the cities when we pay that tell us places we could go and where we'll be dropped off, etc.). So that changed the route we had planned on taking, but not by much.
We started off by going toward the wall. There's a wall that used to go around Newcastle as a defense. Part of it was still there, so we found it and walked along the length of it (it wasn't that big). Conveniently, the wall dead-ended at Chinatown. This Chinatown had an Imperial arch, just like the one in Liverpool, excepts this one was smaller. Then we turned around a bit to go to Blackfriars, which used to be a Friary full of Dominican monks (I think). They wore black robes and shoes. Crazy guys. Anyway, the wall had gotten built through their little village, and because their garden was on the other side of it, they got a key to be able to go through and take care of their vegetables. Of course, you can't build a wall around a garden. Psh.
Anyway, after that, we went in search of the Earl Grey monument. We got lost along the way, but then we found a handy dandy sign pointing behind us. The signs in Newcastle are awesome. Know how in movies/cartoons there'll be a stick with 384957893475 arrows pointing in different directions? That's what they had. It was awesome. Anyway, Earl Grey had some musicians down by the base of his pedestal. They were pretty awesome.
From there we got on the Metro, aka train to Tynemouth. It's pretty much exactally like MARTA in Atlanta, except the trains are probably older. Speaking of trains, the girl in charge of the bus we were on said that the first train was tested in Newcastle. Don't know if that's true or not. Anyway, we get to Tynemouth, get off the train, and realize we don't have a map (reoccuring theme I think). But- their train station is pretty cool- they have a local market there every weekend, and there was a guy playing an accordian. So we walk out of the trainstation, and they have a sign with arrows! One of which says, go this way to get to the castle. So we went that way, and ta-daa! Castle. It was AWESOME.
Seriously. AWESOME. In capitals. We probably spent like an hour wandering around it and taking pictures of it. It's mostly fallen down, but the little chapel was still together, so we could go in there, and then part of the main building (I guess...) was still together and you could go up two/three levels sort of. The kitchen was still in one piece! But yeah, it was cool.
Then we went to the beach that was right next door. Literally, it was just down a little hill. We wandered around and took pictures and almost got stranded on some rocks when the tide started coming in. Heh. But we escaped! Jake's toe got wet and I stuck a finger in the ocean. So we have been in the super North Atlantic. Yay for us. Then since it was Valentine's day, Jake found a stick and made a heart with Amanda + Jake in it. Awwww. Then we ran away from the ocean before it swallowed us whole and went back to the trainstation to go back to Newcastle.
Upon returning to Newcastle we went across the Millenium Bridge, and then across a red one, and then we got to a castle in Newcastle, which is all whole and in one piece (I assume). However, we got there at 4:45 and the last admission is at 4:15, so we didn't get to go in, just walked around. But we might go back to Newcastle at some point in the future. Then we just kind of worked our way back to where the bus dropped us off at.
Soo.. plans for the future:
We both have essays due soon, so we're going to use tomorrow (Sunday) and next weekend to work on those. Weekend after that we're going to York on our own to look around.
After that, there's a chance we might meet up with one of Jake's friends from high-school who is in Florence and go somewhere with him.
Other than that, we're currently working on plans for Easter/spring break, which is a month long.
Pictures will go up sometime this week, I'll try and make it before Friday, but Friday really is the easiest day for me to put them up. Maybe Tuesday. We'll see.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Pictures!
Ok, due to complaints from parents about a lack of my and Jake's faces, I have gone back and added pictures to Liverpool that have us in them. Scroll down a bit to see the link to the Liverpool album, then just look through it real quick to find us if you want.
I have also added pictures from earlier this week- snowmen and the trip to the Royal Armouries.
I have also added pictures from earlier this week- snowmen and the trip to the Royal Armouries.
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| Snow in Leeds/ Royal Armouries Trip 1 |
Monday, February 9, 2009
What actually happened in Liverpool
Now, I'm sure that someone out there looked at the pictures of Liverpool, and was like, well sure, these captions are great, but what went on at these places?
Well, those people are in luck!
Why, you ask?
Because I am about to tell you about where we went and what those places are and why they're important and all that jazz! Well, maybe. I'll try.
The first picture or so is the countryside on the way to Liverpool. There were a lot of sheep. Sheep are pretty cool. There were also a bunch of old walls laying around which were pretty cool. It'd be fun to get out and wander around and hug the sheep and walk on the walls, but I don't think that'll be happening any time soon.
Anyway, upon our arrival in Liverpool, we were dropped of at Albert Docks. We got off the bus thinking that it'd be in the 40s, because that's what the internet told us it would be. The internet neglected to inform us of the wind, which made it like 20 degrees colder. Before we got there we had plotted out a vaguely circular route through the city with all the places we wanted to go in/past.
We started off by going to the big fancy buildings by the waterside: the Royal Liver Building, and the one next to it. After that, we went on a search for the Superlambanana. The Superlambanana repressents Liverpool's trading in sheep and bananas or something like that. Google it, the website tells you more about where it came from. But, I'd have to say, the Superlambanana is pretty damn awesome.
After the Superlambanana we were getting pretty cold, so we headed toward the museum and library. We had wanted to go past and look at the architecture anyway, but because of the cold and the free admission, we ended up going in anyway. The museum was actually pretty cool. Then we went in the art gallery/museum next door and looked around in there for a little bit. After that, we went back outside, and took some pictures of the statues across the street. Then around the corner to the big building that had Victoria and Albert on horses in front of it; the name escapes me at the moment.
Our next stop was going to be the Anglican Cathedral, but we got a little distracted and ended up going through the shopping district, and found some mini-Superlambananas. Eventually we got to Chinatown (nothing like Chinatown in NYC) and saw the arch. On the way there we had gone past the bombed out church that was closed due to the ridiculous winds. It's been sort of converted into a concert hall, and it was supposed to be open to walk around in.
After that we got to the Anglican Cathedral just in time to get to go up to the top.
Apparently I'm slightly afraid of heights, something I forget until I'm somewhere high and then I get a little shaky. Oops.
Anyway, it was pretty cool up there. You could see the whole city pretty much (go look at the pictures). It was also really really windy. More windy than it was on the ground. But, the most surprising thing was how big it was. It's really huge and on top of a hill, so you can't see it until you come around a corner because shorter buildings are blocking your line of sight. But once you come around the corner to the driveway, it's just like *jaw drop* woah. I was really not expecting it to be that big. The inside was shiny (for those of you who are not familiar with Firefly, shiny is a synonym for cool, awesome, neat, etc.). Again, see the pictures.
After that, it was just about time to get back on the bus, so we headed back to Albert Docks.
So, the week after the trip to Liverpool (31st) I had all those problems with my dongle, but my laptop seems to be ok now. So that's good. This week has been pretty uneventful, just classes, although on Tuesday we went to the Royal Armouries after class since we had the time. Then Sunday we made a snowman family since it snowed again.
Royal Armouries pictures will go up tomorrow along with snowman pictures.
This Saturday we're going to Newcastle upon Tyne, so that should be pretty cool.
Not sure where we're going to next weekend, because the weather is pretty crappy. Apparently the south has a ton of snow, and we'd kind of like to go somewhere warmish. So we'll probably figure that out soon, or might just stay in Leeds again and go to some places here we've been wanting to see. Or might work on essays and stuff since those are going to be due soon.
Anyway, that's it for now really.
I'll try and put up Newcastle pictures Monday or Tuesday, and then do an entry about where we went there.
If anyone has any questions about stuff, leave a comment.
Same goes for recommendations for places to go/ things to see.
Well, those people are in luck!
Why, you ask?
Because I am about to tell you about where we went and what those places are and why they're important and all that jazz! Well, maybe. I'll try.
The first picture or so is the countryside on the way to Liverpool. There were a lot of sheep. Sheep are pretty cool. There were also a bunch of old walls laying around which were pretty cool. It'd be fun to get out and wander around and hug the sheep and walk on the walls, but I don't think that'll be happening any time soon.
Anyway, upon our arrival in Liverpool, we were dropped of at Albert Docks. We got off the bus thinking that it'd be in the 40s, because that's what the internet told us it would be. The internet neglected to inform us of the wind, which made it like 20 degrees colder. Before we got there we had plotted out a vaguely circular route through the city with all the places we wanted to go in/past.
We started off by going to the big fancy buildings by the waterside: the Royal Liver Building, and the one next to it. After that, we went on a search for the Superlambanana. The Superlambanana repressents Liverpool's trading in sheep and bananas or something like that. Google it, the website tells you more about where it came from. But, I'd have to say, the Superlambanana is pretty damn awesome.
After the Superlambanana we were getting pretty cold, so we headed toward the museum and library. We had wanted to go past and look at the architecture anyway, but because of the cold and the free admission, we ended up going in anyway. The museum was actually pretty cool. Then we went in the art gallery/museum next door and looked around in there for a little bit. After that, we went back outside, and took some pictures of the statues across the street. Then around the corner to the big building that had Victoria and Albert on horses in front of it; the name escapes me at the moment.
Our next stop was going to be the Anglican Cathedral, but we got a little distracted and ended up going through the shopping district, and found some mini-Superlambananas. Eventually we got to Chinatown (nothing like Chinatown in NYC) and saw the arch. On the way there we had gone past the bombed out church that was closed due to the ridiculous winds. It's been sort of converted into a concert hall, and it was supposed to be open to walk around in.
After that we got to the Anglican Cathedral just in time to get to go up to the top.
Apparently I'm slightly afraid of heights, something I forget until I'm somewhere high and then I get a little shaky. Oops.
Anyway, it was pretty cool up there. You could see the whole city pretty much (go look at the pictures). It was also really really windy. More windy than it was on the ground. But, the most surprising thing was how big it was. It's really huge and on top of a hill, so you can't see it until you come around a corner because shorter buildings are blocking your line of sight. But once you come around the corner to the driveway, it's just like *jaw drop* woah. I was really not expecting it to be that big. The inside was shiny (for those of you who are not familiar with Firefly, shiny is a synonym for cool, awesome, neat, etc.). Again, see the pictures.
After that, it was just about time to get back on the bus, so we headed back to Albert Docks.
So, the week after the trip to Liverpool (31st) I had all those problems with my dongle, but my laptop seems to be ok now. So that's good. This week has been pretty uneventful, just classes, although on Tuesday we went to the Royal Armouries after class since we had the time. Then Sunday we made a snowman family since it snowed again.
Royal Armouries pictures will go up tomorrow along with snowman pictures.
This Saturday we're going to Newcastle upon Tyne, so that should be pretty cool.
Not sure where we're going to next weekend, because the weather is pretty crappy. Apparently the south has a ton of snow, and we'd kind of like to go somewhere warmish. So we'll probably figure that out soon, or might just stay in Leeds again and go to some places here we've been wanting to see. Or might work on essays and stuff since those are going to be due soon.
Anyway, that's it for now really.
I'll try and put up Newcastle pictures Monday or Tuesday, and then do an entry about where we went there.
If anyone has any questions about stuff, leave a comment.
Same goes for recommendations for places to go/ things to see.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Zombie Laptop FTW....hopefully.
Well Jake messed around with my laptop for a bit last night, he says he didn't do anything, but he somehow got it to start up without freezing, I moved the files that weren't backed up yet onto my external hard-drive... and it was still working.
As of right now, we've just traded dongles, and that seems to be working pretty good for both of us so far.
However, I am sick, and so I'm not going to bother going to campus today since I don't have any classes, so pictures will go up either tomorrow or Friday. Probably Friday.
And if my laptop dies again, we'll be taking a spontaneous trip to Sheffild this weekend. Otherwise we're going to the Royal Armouries again to actually spend time there and take pictures, and then probably going to this old church/castle thing that I found online that's a couple miles from where we live.
So that's what's going on.
As of right now, we've just traded dongles, and that seems to be working pretty good for both of us so far.
However, I am sick, and so I'm not going to bother going to campus today since I don't have any classes, so pictures will go up either tomorrow or Friday. Probably Friday.
And if my laptop dies again, we'll be taking a spontaneous trip to Sheffild this weekend. Otherwise we're going to the Royal Armouries again to actually spend time there and take pictures, and then probably going to this old church/castle thing that I found online that's a couple miles from where we live.
So that's what's going on.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Grr.
There will be pictures soon as I have a laptop again. Mine is dead, courtesy of 3 mobile broadband. Who, conveniently enough, deny that it's their fault, so tomorrow I'm going to Sheffield so that I can go to the Apple store and hopefully get it fixed.
Monday, February 2, 2009
I lied. Also, 3 sucks.
So I had this nice little entry explaining why I didn't have pictures up as promised, then my wonderful little 3 mobile broadband internet decided it wanted to crash the mac, and I had to restart.
Anyway, stuff happened after class, it was snowy and wet and slushy and ick outside, so we decided to just go home and have dinner and be bums and watch a movie. I will bring my laptop to campus tomorrow to upload pictures. I think y'all can wait a little longer, I doubt any of you are dying of antici.........pation to see the pictures of Liverpool. Anyone who knows what movie that's from gets a cookie. Figure out someway to let me know you know without letting everyone else know and the cookie is yours.
Oh, and for those of you who aren't aware, there's a handy dandy link at the bottom of each entry that lets you leave comments if you want. Anyone should be able to leave one, even if you don't have an account.
That's it.
Anyway, stuff happened after class, it was snowy and wet and slushy and ick outside, so we decided to just go home and have dinner and be bums and watch a movie. I will bring my laptop to campus tomorrow to upload pictures. I think y'all can wait a little longer, I doubt any of you are dying of antici.........pation to see the pictures of Liverpool. Anyone who knows what movie that's from gets a cookie. Figure out someway to let me know you know without letting everyone else know and the cookie is yours.
Oh, and for those of you who aren't aware, there's a handy dandy link at the bottom of each entry that lets you leave comments if you want. Anyone should be able to leave one, even if you don't have an account.
That's it.
3 mobile broadband = crap
As a note to anyone who may decide to come to Leeds/England/ the UK and then ends up in a situation where they need internet for some reason, do not get a 3 mobile broadband dongle. Especially if you have a Mac. Yes, I can use the internet, but every so often, for no apparent reason, the modem will cause my computer to crash. Also, occasionally you'll fall offline and it won't let you know, you'll have to go and disconnect then reconnect yourself.
And the latest development? It blocks all other forms of internet from working. Somehow. I have no idea how. I wanted to come to campus to upload pictures on the wifi here, so that they wouldn't eat up my internet.
I just spent the last half hour or so trying to figure out why I couldn't connect to the wifi. Somehow the 3 modem program that lets you run it managed to take control of the internet ports to the point where whenever I'd try and turn on wireless, it would immediately turn it off. I ended up uninstalling the 3 program, and ta-daa! I had wireless. Unfortunately, I think that all that messing with the internet connection means that I don't have time right now to put pictures up. But that's probably ok, I don't think anyone really checks this at 6:30 in the morning in the US... excepts for Jake's dad. So pictures will probably be up by the time y'all wake up or get home from work, whichever is the case for whoever you are.
And the latest development? It blocks all other forms of internet from working. Somehow. I have no idea how. I wanted to come to campus to upload pictures on the wifi here, so that they wouldn't eat up my internet.
I just spent the last half hour or so trying to figure out why I couldn't connect to the wifi. Somehow the 3 modem program that lets you run it managed to take control of the internet ports to the point where whenever I'd try and turn on wireless, it would immediately turn it off. I ended up uninstalling the 3 program, and ta-daa! I had wireless. Unfortunately, I think that all that messing with the internet connection means that I don't have time right now to put pictures up. But that's probably ok, I don't think anyone really checks this at 6:30 in the morning in the US... excepts for Jake's dad. So pictures will probably be up by the time y'all wake up or get home from work, whichever is the case for whoever you are.