Manchester, England England
Today was such a great day. It was absolutely amazing. So much stuff happened that I will have to write it in chapters.
I had long decided to use this day to check out the Manga exhibition at the Urbis museum in Manchester. So I set off with a camera in my pocket and a smile on my lips.
The first adventure already happened on my way to the train station. Suddenly, as I was passing a random guy on the street, he said hi to me. I looked at him in surprise, only to find out that he was really, really cute. He smiled at me. I think I smiled back to be polite, but as soon as he was gone, I thought: "Who the heck was that? Do I know him?"
I could think of four different scenarios:
1. I am acquainted with this really, really cute guy, but don't remember.
2. A really, really cute guy said hi to me on the street because he thinks I'm really, really cute.
3. A really, really cute guy who is also a fellow comrade was admiring my communist head gear.
4. A really, really cute guy mistook me for someone he knew.
I decided to go with number two, because it's good for the self-esteem. :3
I had purchased a map to Manchester a few days earlier, so I had no trouble finding my way. Still, at some point I must have not been paying attention to where I was going, so I missed the road I was going to turn into and took a slightly longer way.
This, however, was a stroke of luck. I ended up walking down a street that had some of the coolest shops in the world. I took pictures of some of them to convince you to come visit me some time. (It's this one and the next five.)
Apart from the shops in the pictures, there were also several record stores. And when I say record stores, I mean vinyl records.
Unfortunately my credit card seemed to be out of money, and I hadn't brought that much cash, so I couldn't do much shopping until I was on my way back after I had stopped at an ATM. Muahahahaha!
Further down the road I came across this little girl. I had to run across a red light to take those pictures, so you'd better appreciate them. :P
The Urbis wasn't hard to find once I got to the right place. Entrance was free, so I didn't have to worry about that. Then there was the exhibition. It was... wow!
I didn't want to be snapping away like a stupid tourist, so I didn't take pictures of absolutely everything. Still, I think the pictures tell a better story than I do, so here's the introduction.
Art section.
Action section.
Adult section.
Corporate section.
Cute section.
Manga Lounge.
Some stuff in display cases.
(Almost all sections have more than one picture, so click next and next and next to see them.)
My absolute favourite was the Manga Bible. I totally would have bought one if they hadn't been sold out at the souvenir shop. Later, as I was browsing through the comics in Forbidden Planet, I heard a kid shout out something about a Manga Bible and, sure enough, there it was on the shelf. However, it was a deluxe edition with the first part being the manga and the second being the actual biblical text. Since I already have a nice, not too heavy Bible, I didn't quite want to spend 15 quid on it, and they didn't have any books with only the manga part. Too bad. I mean, what could possibly be cooler than showing up at church with a Manga Bible?
I did buy a Death Note jigsaw puzzle, though. Yay!
I went to have a bite to eat in the museum cafeteria. The outside walls were just windows, so while I was waiting for my food, I looked out at the people passing by. Many of them were young people in interesting clothes. Like, one boy had bleached, spiky hair and the girl he was with was made up to look Asian. I tried to get pictures of the best outfits, but it took my camera too long to load and by then most people had already gone by. I did catch a few pictures, though.
After the meal, I ran outside with my camera and tried to take pictures inconspicuously. This didn't really work. People were wondering why I was taking pictures of them, but most of them were flattered and willing to pose when I told them it was because I liked their outfits.
Click here for these pictures. :)
As mentioned earlier, I looked into some of the cool shops on my way back to the train station. Among other things I bought Munchkin Chtulhu and Munchkin Cthulhu 2: Call of Cowthulhu. The other stuff I bought was present-related, so hush-hush.
I was in a really good mood all the way home, even though my feet hurt like hell and I didn't get a seat in the train. When I got home, I couldn't rest quite yet, because I had laundry to do and I had to do it quickly, because I was invited to a dinner - with a murder. Dun dun DUN!
Anyway, my clothes got washed, but the dryer didn't do a proper job, so once again, I had to hang them up on various places in my room. My feet got some nice rest while I was waiting for the dryer and reading Great Expectations.
Just as I had finished hanging up my clothes and had put on a dress that made me feel pretty-oh-so-pretty, John called to tell me that he was outside, ready to pick me up for muuuuuurder.
Yes, it was a murder mystery larp at Chris and Jenny's house. Everybody wore great costumes, especially Amy with her long red gloves, but my camera's batteries had already died and gone to heaven at that point, so you won't be seeing them now. I played Lady Faddington, a glamorous actress who had succumbed to alcolohism (during Prohibition times, notably - naughty, naughty). Some of the other characters had hilarious names, like the police offer Bobby Cuffs, the detective Dick Lacy and the *coughs* petshop owner Al Gabone. The bloke who played Al Gabone faked this great mafia accent for the role, making one of the other guys ask after he introduced himself: "And you have an offer I can't refuse?" :D
The game was bought from a gameshop and worked in a way that nobody knew who the murderer was before it started and you found out more about your own character as the game went along. It's hard to explain.
Anyway, Amy, who is now almost five months pregnant, chuckled when she read the first page in her character booklet. As the game unfolded, her character sometimes talked about having moodswings lately and things like that. The rest of us joked about it, saying that it was because she was pregnant. Then it turned out her character was, in fact, pregnant. :D She was carrying the dead guy's child. Dun dun DUN!
After the last round everyone could make an accusation. Most people accused Jenny's character, because she had been blackmailed by the deceased with naughty pictures of her. But it turned out that it was none other than Amy in a fit of jealousy. Nobody suspected her.
It was a great game. :)
The food was good too. Even though there was a fountain of molten chocolate to dip bits of fruit in, I managed to keep my dress mostly clean. Go me!
We also sang a birthday song for Jenny and me.
Now I shall go to sleep. My room is a pigsty and I have two days to clear it out. But this awesome day was so worth it. :)
I had long decided to use this day to check out the Manga exhibition at the Urbis museum in Manchester. So I set off with a camera in my pocket and a smile on my lips.
The first adventure already happened on my way to the train station. Suddenly, as I was passing a random guy on the street, he said hi to me. I looked at him in surprise, only to find out that he was really, really cute. He smiled at me. I think I smiled back to be polite, but as soon as he was gone, I thought: "Who the heck was that? Do I know him?"
I could think of four different scenarios:
1. I am acquainted with this really, really cute guy, but don't remember.
2. A really, really cute guy said hi to me on the street because he thinks I'm really, really cute.
3. A really, really cute guy who is also a fellow comrade was admiring my communist head gear.
4. A really, really cute guy mistook me for someone he knew.
I decided to go with number two, because it's good for the self-esteem. :3
I had purchased a map to Manchester a few days earlier, so I had no trouble finding my way. Still, at some point I must have not been paying attention to where I was going, so I missed the road I was going to turn into and took a slightly longer way.
This, however, was a stroke of luck. I ended up walking down a street that had some of the coolest shops in the world. I took pictures of some of them to convince you to come visit me some time. (It's this one and the next five.)
Apart from the shops in the pictures, there were also several record stores. And when I say record stores, I mean vinyl records.
Unfortunately my credit card seemed to be out of money, and I hadn't brought that much cash, so I couldn't do much shopping until I was on my way back after I had stopped at an ATM. Muahahahaha!
Further down the road I came across this little girl. I had to run across a red light to take those pictures, so you'd better appreciate them. :P
The Urbis wasn't hard to find once I got to the right place. Entrance was free, so I didn't have to worry about that. Then there was the exhibition. It was... wow!
I didn't want to be snapping away like a stupid tourist, so I didn't take pictures of absolutely everything. Still, I think the pictures tell a better story than I do, so here's the introduction.
Art section.
Action section.
Adult section.
Corporate section.
Cute section.
Manga Lounge.
Some stuff in display cases.
(Almost all sections have more than one picture, so click next and next and next to see them.)
My absolute favourite was the Manga Bible. I totally would have bought one if they hadn't been sold out at the souvenir shop. Later, as I was browsing through the comics in Forbidden Planet, I heard a kid shout out something about a Manga Bible and, sure enough, there it was on the shelf. However, it was a deluxe edition with the first part being the manga and the second being the actual biblical text. Since I already have a nice, not too heavy Bible, I didn't quite want to spend 15 quid on it, and they didn't have any books with only the manga part. Too bad. I mean, what could possibly be cooler than showing up at church with a Manga Bible?
I did buy a Death Note jigsaw puzzle, though. Yay!
I went to have a bite to eat in the museum cafeteria. The outside walls were just windows, so while I was waiting for my food, I looked out at the people passing by. Many of them were young people in interesting clothes. Like, one boy had bleached, spiky hair and the girl he was with was made up to look Asian. I tried to get pictures of the best outfits, but it took my camera too long to load and by then most people had already gone by. I did catch a few pictures, though.
After the meal, I ran outside with my camera and tried to take pictures inconspicuously. This didn't really work. People were wondering why I was taking pictures of them, but most of them were flattered and willing to pose when I told them it was because I liked their outfits.
Click here for these pictures. :)
As mentioned earlier, I looked into some of the cool shops on my way back to the train station. Among other things I bought Munchkin Chtulhu and Munchkin Cthulhu 2: Call of Cowthulhu. The other stuff I bought was present-related, so hush-hush.
I was in a really good mood all the way home, even though my feet hurt like hell and I didn't get a seat in the train. When I got home, I couldn't rest quite yet, because I had laundry to do and I had to do it quickly, because I was invited to a dinner - with a murder. Dun dun DUN!
Anyway, my clothes got washed, but the dryer didn't do a proper job, so once again, I had to hang them up on various places in my room. My feet got some nice rest while I was waiting for the dryer and reading Great Expectations.
Just as I had finished hanging up my clothes and had put on a dress that made me feel pretty-oh-so-pretty, John called to tell me that he was outside, ready to pick me up for muuuuuurder.
Yes, it was a murder mystery larp at Chris and Jenny's house. Everybody wore great costumes, especially Amy with her long red gloves, but my camera's batteries had already died and gone to heaven at that point, so you won't be seeing them now. I played Lady Faddington, a glamorous actress who had succumbed to alcolohism (during Prohibition times, notably - naughty, naughty). Some of the other characters had hilarious names, like the police offer Bobby Cuffs, the detective Dick Lacy and the *coughs* petshop owner Al Gabone. The bloke who played Al Gabone faked this great mafia accent for the role, making one of the other guys ask after he introduced himself: "And you have an offer I can't refuse?" :D
The game was bought from a gameshop and worked in a way that nobody knew who the murderer was before it started and you found out more about your own character as the game went along. It's hard to explain.
Anyway, Amy, who is now almost five months pregnant, chuckled when she read the first page in her character booklet. As the game unfolded, her character sometimes talked about having moodswings lately and things like that. The rest of us joked about it, saying that it was because she was pregnant. Then it turned out her character was, in fact, pregnant. :D She was carrying the dead guy's child. Dun dun DUN!
After the last round everyone could make an accusation. Most people accused Jenny's character, because she had been blackmailed by the deceased with naughty pictures of her. But it turned out that it was none other than Amy in a fit of jealousy. Nobody suspected her.
It was a great game. :)
The food was good too. Even though there was a fountain of molten chocolate to dip bits of fruit in, I managed to keep my dress mostly clean. Go me!
We also sang a birthday song for Jenny and me.
Now I shall go to sleep. My room is a pigsty and I have two days to clear it out. But this awesome day was so worth it. :)