Coolness

Figures, first a week of utter boredom, and then this! Loads and Loads have happened in the past couple of days. I will elaborate further, however; bear with me because there was an after show houseparty last night and suffice it to say, I arrived home at 9 o' clock. 9 am that is...am not the freshest, brightest person on the planet this afternoon.

So, it all started this Monday. Usually on Mondays, me and a couple of friends hold a poetry club in a cafe called Mello Mello. This Monday there was an organised Poetry Reading/Open Mic night at the Egg cafe, another fabulous gem in Liverpool. As you might know, I follow a Creative Writing course in poetry this semester, and my fellow student-poet Paddy read in the Egg last month. This time the Poetry club and some of the Creative writing gang decided to come to the reading. And I decided, to use a Dutchism, to 'put on my naughty shoes' and read a few of my poems too! It was dead exciting, to stand in front of a pretty large audience in the spotlight and read two of my poems among other poets who had clearly been writing a lot more professional than I have been. It went really well and I loved it.

Now this little performance was partly because I wanted to see how my writing connected with a 'real' audience, but partly too because on Tuesday the next day I was set to preform with 5 other guys in the Drama society's interpretation of 'Whose line is it anyway'. By reading my poems I figured to could cross that stage fright barrier, which, I found out, I don't actually have. We did a 45 minute stand up/improv thing in front of the members of Drama and it went quite well. It was proper scary and I had the shivers for the first couple of minutes, but it was also so a lot of fun.

Then, to top it all off and cherry-up the cake, I received an email from the Merseyside International Society stating that I'd won a prize for my little bit of writing I sent in a week earlier! I was shortlisted for a 100 pounds in cash for an essay on what Liverpool was like trough the eyes of an International Student. I won second prize, £25 to spend in Waterstone's and a really cool plaque. The setting was amazing though, the prize ceremony was held in the Athanaeum in town. A posh club like the ones in the olden days where gentlemen would sit, smoke, read and drink to avoid their wives. Only in 1996 was it decided to let ladies join up too. They showed us around the building. They've got their own library, dinner rooms gigantic staircase etc. It was wicked.

see for yourself at http://www.theathenaeum.org.uk/intro.htm

Well, live goes on for a celebrated poet, famous stand up comedian and prizewinning author *cough*right*cough* and I've been doing rehearsals for the Drama Showcase on Tuesday where we'll showcase (obviously) some short skits and other stuff. Also still writing my essays and preparing for everyone to leave for home! Yes, many of my international friends are leaving for good. I'm pretty sad about that.

Also went to see The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus yesterday, the last of the Drama plays this semester. It was very very well done and fantastic performances all around.

Some pictures of me in fancy surroundings (makes a change for that squalor I usually spend my days in) and with other 2nd prize winner Anne from Denmark.