Today is Saturday

So yesterday was hardly a productive day. I only managed to do half of my research, which means that tomorrow I have to do the other half and write the essay... that's too much to ask. I can write an essay in an hour, but only if I have the information ready to go. Damn it, I'm getting way too lazy.

Anyway, after the breathtaking footy match between England and Argentina (which England won with two late goes from Owen, in the 87th and 90+2) I went back home to do some "research." I really didn't get much done, as I was all buzzed up from the match. So instead I made myself something to eat and watched some Futurame. Two hours later I went out with my flatmate. We weren't sure where to go, so we just decided to try a new venue, the Radio Metro Arena. That's the huge arena where the gigs take place, but on Saturdays there's rock night, with some metal, lots of rock, and an hour of glam rock (go Queen!). So yeah, we head to the quayside, as we're not really sure how to get there, but we know it's around there. So we walk and walk and walk, go past three bridges, four bridges and still don't see the Radio Metro Arena. Something's wrong, we're about to leave Newcastle (okay, we didn't walk that much, but we did walk for quite a bit) and we still haven't seen it. We decide to turn back, as it's already been an hour of walking and the next bridge sems 20 mins away. Then, whilst walking back, I see this small narrow street, and I suggest we go there as the Radio Metro Arena isn't exactly ON the quayside, just close. So we go though that street and as soon as we're clear of the trees we see this huge lit up sign indicating it's the Radio Metro Arena. So we found it! But we also see a sea of people (loads and loads of people... it was incredible) coming out. We figure a gig has just taken place, so we have to go back home or find another club that won't charge us double for entereing after 11. But we have to wait around 15 minutes to let the shitload of people out. So we make our way back to the city centre, and as we're heading back home, we decide to check Legends out (Legends was originally ruled out because the drinks there are very expensive (more expensive than any other rock club, anyway)). So it's only £2 to get in, so we go in and stay there until 2 when we're booted out. It wasn't bad, I just wish I could've gone to Bulletproof instead (the place where I got to dance with the bunch of girls last weekend).

But well, I did see that really hot girl from the KISS concert, to our surprises (we had just been talking about her before today)... she's still hot, but her face could do some work. It's still a 9.5/10, though... perfect body. And the ugly girl wasn't with her. I was too tired to bother doing something, so that just meant that I stared at her for the whole night (and saw at least 12 guys come and go...).

Today is Friday

So today I went to a rugby match. That's right, a professional rugby match where the Newcastle Falcons played the London Irish.

The first thing I want to ask is: how the hell do those guys go out there and play with those ridiculously small shorts? We were all freezing in the stands (and by freezing I mean I couldn't move my fingers (I was holding a pint of beer and once I was done with it I couldn't restore the position on my fingers to normal) and the guys seemed to go about their business as if nothing. Okay, so I'll give it to you, playing does warm you up, but the wind was very strong (it really wasn't that cold, it was more the wind factor than anything else). Ahh, crazy bastards.

Anyway, Newcastle managed to lose 20-23. Out of the 20 points they scored, 15 were from Wilkinson (surprise surprise (and for all of you who don't know who it is (I guess that's all of you) he's the guy that won the World Cup for England in 2003 (with about 90% of the overall points they scored in the tournament... much like here!))). All in all it was a great experience, and it was only £10 so it was at a good price too. Now my next sporting event will be a match at St. James' Park... sometime before my three years here in Newcastle are up... hopefully.

In lectures today, though, it was really messed up. The Dutch Guy gave us a lecture on hardware (the only one he'd give us on hardware, he said. The reasoning? He chose it that way...). As it turns out, he chose it that way because he knows fuck all about hardware. The guy's a genius when it comes to software and algorithms, but when it comes to hardware the guy's useless. We figured out that that he had no clue what he was talking about when he displayed a photograph of a motherboard and pointed at the front side bus and told us that was the CPU. I was confused when he said that, but well, perhaps everything I ever knew was wrong. Then he pointed at the PCI ports and told us that those were the memory slots. That's where we kicked in and taught him a bit about the hardware of computers. "This is embarassing" he said at the end... damn right it was, but we enjoyed every second of it.

Welcome back, entertainment!

So how do you know you're going to have a good day? When you look at your timetable and see that you've got a lecture with the Dutch Guy. That's right, he's back! Finally, after three weeks of wait, he's here to entertain us. And he started off very well.

The planned lecture on Tuesday was put off (as were all other lectures on Tuesday for the rest of November) because of unknown reasons. So he chose to tell us that via the NewsGroups. I personally don't read them, so I found out right before the lecture because a mate told me. So this morning the Dutch Guy asks "I hope you all read the NewsGroups... did anybody show up for the lecture on Tuesday?" and two people raise their hands. "Ahh, stupid" he says. LOL. So blunt.

So later on he's showing us the punch card system (well, a photograph of it, anyway) and he actually starts to get into the whole US elections of 2000 (things which only I knew, apparently...) but anyway, the point was that he was stressing that the punch card system was used in the 60's for batching computers (as interactive systems hadn't been invented yet) and then he says "this is an example of a punch card. Say of example, if you were buying... uhm... what did people buy in the 60's...?" and we all cracked up. He's making the people of the 60's look as if they're not human. A foolproof option for something like that would be food, or clothes; the essentials. Ah, Dutch Guy, we're all so glad you're back.

In other news, my Irish flatmate asked me yesterday where Venezuela was. When I told him it was in northern South America he asked if close to Mexico. I told him it was more or less around there, and then he asks the classic question: "So do you speak Mexican or Venezuelan there?" I didn't even have to say anything, the rest of my flatmates started to make fun of him for that stupidity. The worst part was that I don't think he was even drunk...

Drinking with the Greeks

So what could be possibly the most messed up thing to have happened in an educational environment? Surely I've experienced it, me and only me (and well, the couple of hundred people that were in the lecture).

So I'm sitting there, bored to death in my marketing lecture. We're talking about elasticity and inelasticity (things which I learnt in Economics... it was useful!) and then the professor grabs five students from the "audience" for a mini-experiment. So he goes ahead with it and all, and I'm semi-paying attention coz, well, I was thinking about other things. So there comes a time when he says "and price is important because it psychologically indicates quality to the consumer... take for example, vodka. If I said you could get a bottle for £15, would you get it? Would you please try it?" And then I wander off again... but I noticed that he actually has a bottle of vodka with him and that the ten people are actually drinking the vodka... so shocking! El colmo de los colmos. I wonder if for the next mini-experiment he'll ask us to try different sexual positions and tell him which one we like the best... having said that, I think I'll sit in the first from row from now on...

Anyway, yesterday I also went to the International Society social... and it was alright. I'm going to Edinburgh next weekend, so that should be nice. I hope I can go to the zoo and see the penguins!!! Anyway, after the social ended at 11 I got persuaded by one of the Greek guys to go to this "famous" club (famous because the Greeks and the Spaniards seem to be in there every freaking night) so well, what the hell. It tuns out that it's the Latin/Spanish club in Newcastle where they play all the music they play back in Venezuela. You won't believe how out of place I felt, ironically. However, after a while I got used to it and went with the flow... and it turns out that it was a really fun night out. Highlight? Singing Clavado en un Bar off the top of my lungs (Punta Cana!!!). We finally left when we were kicked out at 3am, and we headed to the "best kebab shop in Newcastle" and as it turns out it is very very good... but it might've been because 1.) I was starving and 2.) because it was free. Yep, free food in England. How? The Greeks have connections. So how's that, now I know powerful people here in Newcastle... not only a fun night, but also a productive one. I'm friends with the Greek Squad (aka Greek Mafia).

Hell

So I've got news for you all. You should all be careful, because as it turns out Hell does exist. I know it does, I'm 100% sure. How? I've seen it, with my bare eyes.

You probably think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not, I swear that Hell is real. So now you've got to be afraid; be really afraid. However, it might not be what you think it is. As I was walking to my lectures some time ago, I happened to look to my right and saw this black door labled "Hell" under the stairs that lead to one of the uni buildings. I was intrigued, and I thought about asking someone about it, but up to this day I've forgotten to. I'm afraid of what they might say.

So I guess if you're bad, you'll be locked up in that room where you'll freeze to death... well, it's not that cold so you'll probably just be tortured slowly by the cold. My only thought is: you probably wouldn't be too cold, because with all the bad people going to Hell then that means that the room must be well overcrowded, leading to a lot of body heat being transmitted and therefore the cold not kicking in. It's either a motherfucking big room or people are having their own private parties in Hell. I've got to check that out... but then, I will eventually.

Sunday: the day of the lazy

So well, you know what day it was yesterday... yes, the dreaded Sunday. Nothing to do but work. But, I managed to not do that, even if I do have two essays due within 7 days.

I woke up at around 1-2 (I don't remember) after that night, so I really didn't have the morning to kill... which I guess was good. But what was different about this day? There was a Super Sunday Football match (so gay name...). That's right, Man Utd played Chelski at 4pm, so that's "what I was looking forward to." I was sure Man Utd were gonna get hammered by the Anglo-Russians, but as it turns out they actually managed to scrape a victory. Ehhh!!! That wasn't the best part, though. The best part was that I was just there, drinking my beer, when my flatmate came in the pub... yep the Chelski supporter. So we watched it together and he was so pissed off... it was hilarious. Of course, I know better than to rub it in an Englishman's face when he's had a few drinks, but that's what the blog's for!

Aside from that nothing really... my mate's back from Manchester, so we had a crack at the PS2 (ah, good old times lol) and we discovered Grand Theft Auto, and as there's a multiplayer feature in that version, we thought we'd give it a try. We had a good time beating up hookers with baseball bats until 2am. Not that I'd ever do that in real life... I'd probably use an escoba or something like that to poke them instead.

Talking about weird

So I went out yesterday to what was presumably my one proper night out of the week... with the exception that I had already properly gone out this week and that I didn't get drunk. But it was loads of fun. It was one of my most bizarre experiences, though.

I happened to go alone to the club because my mate's back in Manchester visiting his family and isn't back until today. Two other flatmates have also gone home for the weekend, so that leaves the Irish guy (who's brother came to visit, so they're all around Newcastle shagging as much as they can with their accents) and the Londoner... well, we don't get along very well so it's almost as if he's not around (aka he doesn't count... plus he's a Chelski fan, but that's not why we don't get along).

Anyway, I get there 30 mins before the doors open (there's usually a massive queue, so I figured I might just go early and get somewhere close to beginning, but as it turns out I was the second person there) and there's this guy waiting. So we start talking (it's a bit hard to understand him as he's a Geordie, but it's managable... the more we talked the better I understood) and then his mates come along. He introduces me to all of them, and they're nice people. They ask me if I'm from Australia (presumably the accent) and I say I'm not, which leads them into thinking I'm from South Africa. When I tell them I'm from Venezuela they all start to go nuts and they get all happy that I travelled all the way to their home city. Then this Italian guy arrives, and they get even happier, because they're starting to feel "multicultural." So what do they do? They buy us drinks once we're inside because we decided to come to Newcastle.

The entry was "cheap" for me. It's usually £4 to get in, but since I had my Rock Society membership card I got in for only £2, which means I can watch the match today and have a few drinks. Anyway, that's not the point, the point is that once we're inside one of them (the one that I met up with first outside) offers me some cocaine... so there it is, my first offering. I was quite shocked, although not too much as that explained why he was so... uhm, out there. I politely declined and then he asked me again and again. I finally managed to shrug him off (yay! didn't give in to peer pressure! lol). and he then went to the Italian guy with presumably the same proposal. He also declined.

Anyway, I ended up dancing with these guys I didn't know (and their girls) coz well... they invited me in. It was a combination of commercial pop-rock and techo, so it was very easy and fun to dance (and it was a welcome break from all the hardcore heavy metal you listen to in the rock clubs). Anyway, other people's girlfriends seemed to be attracted to me. And they were bloody hot! One of them was the girlfriend (I guess it was... they were dancing together and were always together... not to mention he looked pissed when she came over to me) of this unknown bloke, and she kept on moving closer to me and at one point when I took my shoe off to swing it in the air (yeah, we were crazy...) she took it from my hand and started to do it herself. Whatever that meant I have no clue, but it was something new. And she wasn't blonde, but she was very hot. The bloke, of course, took it from her hand and threw it back at me. I didn't make a move on her because, well, I would've been beat up to say the least (although the guys had told me they had my back in case of any problems, but well... no need to start a fight).

Then there was the girlfriend of the stoned guy (who was blonde and hooot!). She'd dance so close to me that I'd almost get a hard on! And she'd look for me and everything. Ahhh... so good woman. But yeah, she was the bloke's girlfriend and he was a very nice guy, so I didn't want to do anything. Plus, he was stoned, so I didn't want to risk anything (and if anything happened between him and I, his mates would back him up, so yeah... no way there). So I got loads of time of touching and dry humping and all... but he was the one that ended up shagging her. Unfair.

I had my way a few times, yelling off the top of my lungs The Who (My Generation (and I happened to be wearing my Who shirt)), Guns N' Roses (Sweet Child O'Mine), Killers (there were three... but you know which three) and Kaiser Chiefs (the two most comercial songs). But at the end of the night (that would be 3) there was this noticeable group missing: the mighty AC/DC. I was gonna start a riot if AC/DC wasn't played in a rock club (well, again, it was a special day with techno incorporated, but it's still a rock club.. plus, everyone has to play AC/DC because their lead singer is from here, so he's a legend and so is the group... the people demand it!) so I'm at the front of the stage (might explain why my ears are still ringing) and I have to find a way to tell the DJ to put AC/DC on... I'm thinking of writing it on a poster, rolling it up and throwing it at him, but that would surely get me kicked out (although they were closing in a few minutes, so what difference would it make?) and then I see this girl wearing an AC/DC shirt, and just as I'm about to grab her to show her to the DJ Back in Black starts. I howler for the full 3 odd minutes and then the music stops. You can't have a better closer than that.

On the way back, I took the lonely way back (I sort of got lost... more like wasn 't paying attention where I was going) so I missed the right way. So I'm walking, and then this guy comes up to me and asks me if I know "Mickey" or something like that. I ask him to repeat himself because I'm not sure if I heard correctly (my ears are ringing at this point) and he shows me what he meant: heroin. I'm like "no, mate, haven't got any of that, sorry" and I took off. So, before yesterday I hadn't seen any drug use in Newcastle, and suddenly in one day I've been asked to take cocaine and been confused for a heroin drug dealer. And where's the pot? Who knows...

So what did this teach me? That I don't have to get drunk in order to have a great night out... which is really good news because that would make my outings much cheaper (although not too much... I usually drink at home before going out... to expensive to buy drinks in clubs). Last night I only had four pints (over 6 hours) which almost-technically means I didn't have any effects of alcohol. Yet it was awesome... one of the wildest nights. And so many freaking hot girls. Oh, I think I saw some celebrities... I think I saw Liam Gallagher (Oasis lead singer), but probably not, maybe some guy with the same hair style). I also think I saw Jessica Simpson, but it wasn't her because she only had big boobs (not huge). But then, that was probably the exhaustion...