Call Me The Breeze

Hello again. My boyfriend has just got a PS3 and is getting stuck into Call Of fucking Duty so I thought I'd take this opportunity to write on here.

Have discovered and re-discovered some excellent music lately, and listening to the same artists obsessively. They are...
- J. J. Cale
- Tony Joe White
- The Allman Brother Band
- John Mayer
- Eric Clapton
- Lynrd Skynyrd
- John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers

I am particularly enjoying the laid-back blues exemplified by the first two artists at the moment; that 'swamp blues' kind of thing. So simple and brilliant. As for The Allman Brothers Band, well, I don't think I will ever get tired of them. I am a sucker for that slide guitar. It's the Southern vibe that is in all three, I can't describe it very well, but it's a certain mellowness that apparently it seems you can only achieve if you've lived in a wooden shack in the middle of nowhere, wearing dungarees and going around barefoot in the sunshine for a significant part of your life.

I am going to see John Mayer in January, which will be awesome. I really hope he plays the bluesy stuff instead of the cheesy stuff (don't get me wrong, I love that too)- it's just that the friends I am going with mostly just like the blues era stuff, and are hoping for him to re-enact Where The Light Is, and if they aren't happy I won't be either. His new album has been leaked, but I haven't heard it yet. He does a cover of Crossroads on it, and it is with Pino Palladino and Steve Jordan, which sounds promising.

I have been trying to learn to play lead guitar lately. I have never really ventured into soloing, I have always just played fingerpicking to best suit accompanying myself. However, when I started playing with the band, I realised how shit I sound when I'm just playing chords as rhythm guitar. So I have been picking up a few licks and really need to sit down and work at some of the studies in Guitar Techniques; I have a subscription but haven't looked at it nearly enough yet. Every time I'm on my own in my room for an extended period of time I always find other things that need doing (unpacking from university. I did move out in July...). Anyway, it has been really rewarding, and enjoyable. I can't wait to play with Tom and Dan again and crack out some sweet solos. Actually, I'm seeing them on Friday for a weekend of good old music and chilling, so I had better learn some new bits this week.

Which brings me to some excellent news, Tom is moving to London in January. And in my previous post I was writing about being worried he would move abroad.. How awesome is that? He's moving to Willesden, about 40 minutes from me on the tube, so an hour and twenty in total from my house. University is an hour and 15; and that feels like nothing. I am so happy, the three of us will be able to hang out all the time, I have really missed the two of them since I moved back from university. It has really sucked being separated from my two best mates. I have seen Dan more often though (although not as often as we should have done, seeing as he works about five minutes walk from university, and it really isn't a big deal to met up in London, even if I am coming from home). It doesn't matter what we do, I always enjoy their company, and have missed that group dynamic (if that doesn't sound too pretentious). So roll on Friday, and roll on January.

Uni is going pretty well, I got a piece of work back this week where I got an A, and 'excellent' on very point of assessment, I was so pleased with myself. I have been struggling with one module though; it's called Scientific Computing for Enviromental Investigation and is basically learning how to write basic programming with the aim of building climate models and things like that. I was seriously behind and hating it, but after speaking to my tutor I am going to switch to the 'policy pathway' instead of the 'science pathway', which has a different compulsory module than Scientific Computing, which doesn't start till next term, and I'll still be getting an MSc, not MA, so I am pretty pleased about that. I handed in my first proper essay this week, which I probably didn't do as well in as I could have, because I started it about 8pm on the night before it was due in. Some things never change.

I went to see Alice (and Chloe) and the weekend which was awesome, I love Brighton, I always have a fantastic time going to see them. It makes me wish I had done medicine though, almost all of their group do, and I am jealous. I do really enjoy Geography though so I shouldn't complain.

Going shopping with Ciaran tomorrow. I want to get a pair of Blowfish boots I have seen, but I fear that cycling has given me too big calves to fit into them. We will see. I might even start a bit of Christmas shopping, who knows.

OKAY BAI