9/10 - Bournemouth and Poole are wet. And soggy. And today there's been thunder and lightning and more driving sheets of rain to go along with wind. I think there's been more rain today than I've seen my whole time in Porterville. I have a feeling football practice tomorrow night will be cold, wet and miserable.
The library on campus is great. I could get lost in there. Sure, it's nothing compared to the University of Nevada, Reno library, but it's still fun to stay a while looking at stuff about sports, cooking and languages. It's an added plus my student ID doubles as a library card. I think we can take libraries for granted; I sure did at UNR. But I'll use this one to my advantage.
I'm cooking food for myself every night. It's way cheaper than going out and I'll start learning how to cook different things. Like cooking rice in vegetable stock and mixing it with tuna, olives, cucumber and beans. Yum.
I ran into Spencer again today and he remembers inviting me to a Crystal Palace game the other night. So I guess I can just look up which game I'd like to go to and tell him, just as long as it's not a game where a big club comes to visit, like Chelsea, Arsenal or the Manchester clubs because tickets skyrocket for those games.
10/10 - Today I played football with pads and a helmet for the first time. Sure, they weren't my equipment (the helmet was pressing on my temples) and I was only involved in one play (which I was lost on), but they were on. But there's a lot of work I need to do in terms of correct blocking form and getting comfortable with everything in the playbook.
But Bournemouth is an awesome town. It's a big city, and today I saw it for the first time during the daytime, and it's thriving. I went to the beach and could see white cliffs to the east. I don't think they were Dover, however. I found an enclosure in the city center that houses birds, like a zoo. They were mostly finches and love birds but it was still interesting.
There's one thing that's odd about this country. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a publicly funded entity. So because of that people here have to pay a television tax. That means if you have a TV, you pay a tax on it every year. I found out because me and a couple flatmates got some notices warning about a potential fine if we keep watching TV shows and not pay the tax. Kate said nothing can happen to if you don't actually have a box. You're fine if you only have a laptop like I do.
11/10 - My left pinkie joint and right knee are sore from practice. I remember bumping knees with someone but have no idea why my pinkie is sore. There are several bruises on my arms as well. But I have absolutely no issues with that. I like football. But I gotta get rough and way more crazy. What I need to do is let loose.
I walked along High Street with Kate today and had lunch by the docks. Weather here is so weird. It was sunny when we left, but a giant dark cloud moved in quickly with sounds of thunder. It began to rain heavily as we were eating in the pub, but it only lasted 10 minutes at the most. When we finished and left, the sky was completely clear, and right now it's beautiful. That's the thing about the coast; there's hardly any smog that builds up because it's almost always windy or raining. Plus, it smells fantastic here.
On the way back through High Street, we stopped at a kiosk to pick up a wine bottle of freshly juiced apples. They were just giving them away because so many people around the kiosk were peeling or juicing apples. It was like drinking a liquefied sour apple.
The rest of the day I just hung out in the dorm with Kate, Jess, Tim, Naomi and some of the other Chinese people on the floor. And speaking of Jess, that girl can box. She started boxing with Stephen last night when we were playing cards, and it was totally unexpected. Her form is perfect in that she bounces from front to back foot and delivers quick and powerful jabs. To complete the image she tsks for every punch.
12/10 - Football is a vicious, savage game. It's definitely not the same watching on TV as it is playing. I used someone else's pads and helmet for practice today and they actually fit great. I again spent most of my time playing as the slot receiver during the scrimmage.
There was one play where I lined up on the right hand side of the quarterback. It was supposed to be a reverse where I get the handoff while running to the left and then I hand it off again to the receiver running the opposite way. Only, it didn't happen that way. I got the ball but never had the chance to hand it off again because a guy on the defensive line named Nick broke through the line and blew me up in the backfield. I never saw him until he hit me.
Yes, it hurts when a guy tackles you and lands on top, driving your side into the ground. But if I'm honest with myself, the masochist in me has absolutely no problem with that. It's the same with getting pelted with a paintball; that little sting makes me feel like I'm really participating and getting everything possible I can from it. The same goes for football (and when dad and I crashed after running into that wire fence at full speed on bicycles): It makes me feel so alive!
I also played a couple snaps in the right guard spot on the offensive line. Talk about a rough position. Put your hand in the dirt, and when the ball is snapped, just hit the guy opposite you as hard as you can. If anyone does that shit on the street, it's assault. If you're not foaming at the mouth, you'll get beat.
Yep, I sound insane.
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