Update - (for all those interested)

[ghoti7271]

So I've been in Birmingham for two weeks now and I must say its excellent. The general perception of Birmingham is that its 'rubbish', but thats entirely not true. Yes, its big and industrial, and somewhat aesthetically challenged, but the city center is absolutely magnificent. It is home to one of the best symphony halls in the world, with a world class orchestra occupying it. It has beautiful canals that run throughout the city and provide nice walking promenades. It has the largest shopping district in the UK, and a huge pub/bar/club scene. Not to mention its central proximity to everything and major train station with direct routes everywhere. I can hosestly say that I grossly underestimated this city.
The Conservatoire is equally exciting. Its much like Crane, only more performance-based. It has approx. 500 students, a nice sized concert hall, personable faculty, etc.

The serious things aside, I would like to conclude this entry with a list of positives and negatives about the things in Birmingham:

Loads of Bars and Clubs-
Good for Colin.
Bad for the wallet.

The American Dollar = .5 Brittish pounds-
Good for Brittain
Bad for Colin

An abundance of Scotch Whisky-
Good for Colin
Bad for liver

Late night, take-away fish and chips-
Good for drunk tummy
Reasonable on the wallet
Bad for belly, heart, and toilet

No such thing as homework-
Good for Colin
Good for pub owners
Bad for the wallet and liver