The last 2 and a half weeks have been quite exciting. During that short amount of time, I have already learned quite a bit about myself, as well as from many of my new colleagues. I hesitate to call them classmates, because while we are all here for school, we are here for a much bigger purpose. Saying classmates, students or anything to the like does not recognize the attitude we are all coming in with, and more importantly, the amount of work and dedication we are going to put into over the next 18 months. I can already tell, these are colleagues I will have for the rest of my life, no matter what industry in what ever part of the world we end up in.
But as promised, here is my last update before school starts! At 9:00 am tomorrow morning, we will all be excitedly heading towards the doors of MBS to get started on our journey! So on to what I have learned so far:
Running is an amazing way to adapt to a new situation. I had been talking about running a marathon for quite some time, but never was able to fully commit. I always said, let me train first, then see how I feel. But then I wouldn't have the discipline to train the way I needed to. I decided that when I got my visa sorted out, I would sign up for the Manchester Marathon in Nov. Everything was to be perfect, plenty of time to train, running the race in a new city. I even got a colleague from Brazil (Andre) interested in the race. Thankfully, though, neither of us signed up for the race. Turns out, it was a great race, had I planned to move to Manchester, NH, USA! Dang, those plans went right out the window. Back to the vortex, wait till I was properly trained, but not training enough!
Right before I was getting ready to leave, I received a message encouraging me to sign up for the Liverpool Marathon with 2 other colleagues (Andre and Maanas, from India.) The time frame was a bit shorter, but I was naive enough to agree to a race less than 10 weeks away! We were even able to convince another from Brazil, Rafael to run with us. Yet I still didn't start training, figuring I would start in Manchester.
My 1st run in Manchester was a short 16 km, and all my hopes and dreams of finishing the race in a decent time were destroyed one overcast sat morning. At that point, It was a matter of holding on for dear life for 42 kms of missery with the hope of finishing the race! But thanks to Rafael's training plan, some other research on training plans, and quite a bit of dedication, I easily cruised through 25 km this weekend, and am back believing in my ability to finish in 4:30. (Note: a great marathoner will finish in less than half that time! But 4:30 averages out to just under 10 mins a mile, for 26 miles, and I'll proudly take that!)
My runs here have been amazing. You can't find much better running weather, it doesn't get too hot, normally a nice breeze to cool you off. The humidity is there, but that is by far from the biggest challenge Manchester runners face (what few there actually are.) While I have enjoyed my exploratory runs - where I can just run about the city looking at everything (with the aid of a gps watch for distance) - trying to dodge the cars that could care less how many kms you have gone and the hoards of business people trying to get home is less than ideal. So far the only true running place I have found, besides parks that back home in CO would have no attention paid to them because they are so small, is a canal running from the south part of the city out west. The only problem is the canal is essentially a single track trail with barely any room to pass other runners, and geese that are less interested in your run than the businessmen are, and more than willing to stand in your way and hiss as you try to tip toe around them. At 1st I was suprised to see no runners, but after a few runs, I can clearly see why, and am thankful for that fact.
Running puts me at amazing piece. I use to run to finish, so focused on where I would end up, and not about the solitude I should have been enjoying. I imagine that is why I got away from running for so long. Even when I wanted to start back up, at several times, injury and lack of enjoyment completely derailed me. If you are at all interested in running, I encourage you to read the book "Born to Run", by Christopher McDougall. It completely reshaped my thoughts on running, and gave me needed advice on how to properly run without injuries! You may find the freedom and love for 2 hours at a time, with nothing but you, your thoughts and your headphones(a runners must for their play list - Eye of the Tiger!)
Running also helps counter affect and unintended consequence if you will of moving to a new city. Being one of the early birds, I had quite a bit of time to get settled down and know the city. I have also had quite a bit of time to get to know the local pubs, bars and clubs of Manchester. You see, with the excitement of moving to a new city, making new friends, the natural thing to do was to get to know each other over drinks. At first, our group was small, we had some from a summer programme that were able to show us new 10 or so folks around. But then the following day a few more showed up, and then a few more. It seemed like every other day there was a new level of excitement, and more people who wanted to go celebrate and get to know each other! One thing is for sure, beer is a common language for the entire world! In the social settings, I have been able to learn about so many of my colleagues, and hopefully likewise to them. The nice (and sometimes dangerous thing) is that the later in the night, the more people are willing to open up! Who would have thought!?!?! But all good things must come to an end, I am quite excited to have a daily purpose with classes, and the beer meetings will be strictly a weekend thing, when I don't have any other projects to be working on (and yes mom and dad, I mean that!)
The last big thing to cover is reflected in my title. Back home I was what you could call a consumer. I was fortunate enough (and did it sometimes when I wasn't) to enjoy some luxuries in life. I could have the upgraded tv package, buy the clothes I wanted, not needed, and go out to dinner whenever I felt like it. I had no problem doing my part to stimulate the local Denver economy. I was set. Until I quit my job. I went from having a steady income stream, not having to worry about a budger to living, not of a budget, but a lump of money to last me for the next 18 months. No longer can I buy what I want (except that whole iPhone thing, but I really really wanted that!- As you can see I am not totally ready to make the switch!)
One of my big issues with the new apartment was a lack of TV. I have never in my life lived without a TV close to watch when ever I wanted to. So simply, I was just going to buy one, then a license on top of that. But thankfully I didn't, and the last week with no TV shockingly hasn't been bad at all! I am reading more, getting prepared for my studies, and getting out of the house. When the MBA starts, I'll have even less time! There is hope for me yet!
I have also taken to liking the local store brand - Asda - for many of my groceries. Back home I had a mental road block that I would never do such a thing. I think it even effected my taste buds when I was brave enough to try! But living on a pile of money, and needing to make it last, I have found amazing deals and cheap meals, and quite tasty to boot. It is funny how in one country I was too good for something, and now, can't seem to get enough. I have to remind myself only to buy enough food for just the week, so I don't let much go to waste. And thankfully, the cost of food here is actually a little less than Denver, so that should be a big big help too!
Well as always, I hope that gives you a little insight to what is going on here in Manchester. I am excited for school to start tomorrow, and more excited for the next 18 months of my life. As many of the 2012 MBAs have relayed on to us, we will work harder than most ever have in their life, sleep less, yet still have one of the best times of our life. And I am looking forward to it!
On a side note, if you made it this far, once again, thank you! I know I said my 1st one was my only long post, but turns out I can ramble a little bit. Who knew? I love you all and thank you for letting me share my thoughts and experience with you!
Monday, 29 August 2011
Friday, 26 August 2011
The difficulties of starting anew
Now that I have been in Manchester, my new home, for over 2 weeks, I figure it only appropriate for an update of how things have gone so far. Aside from the emotional side of things, which like everything, tend to get better, or more so put into proper perspective, with time, starting a new life is fucking hard! We were warned about many things that would take time to get ready, but when you are full of anxiety, the difficulties seem about 1000 times greater than you would have expected. But looking back, within two weeks, I have all but fully settled. Manchester is my home now, and I couldn't have made a better choice. The only thing left is to start classes, which for the 1st time in my life, I am counting down the days in excitement! (Next tues, for those keeping score.)
Finding a flat was relatively easy for me. My flatmate is a guy called Alex, from Russia. We had been able to talk a bit before arriving through the wonders of facebook, and it turns out, he, like me had already considered me as someone he can, in the best case, become close friends, and worstly, put up with for the next year. In all seriousness, he is a great guy, and I am honored to be able to share my journey with him in such close proximity. He actually had set up 2 places for us to look at the week I arrived. After walking about 15 mins from campus to the 1st one, although I liked the set up, I quickly reanalyzed my minimum walking distance from class! If I am going to do this everyday, no more than 10 min tops! (I am sure that extra sleep will come in handy, and I'll be thankful during the winter months!) The 2nd place seemed more promising based on location, but all I new was it was 5 minutes from campus. Oh please let me like it! Please let this work out!
We walked in the place, the current tenats were getting ready to move out, but they were kind enough to give us a look around. The landlord use to live here, and wants to move back next summer, but she is working in Brussels for now. This wasn't your normal student flat. I knew instantly, this was the place I wanted to live.
Finding a flat in Manchester can be quite difficult. We were all told stories of people finding one, only to have another tenant snatch it out from underneath there grasp. Quickly, we called the landlord, and told her we were ready to move in. Since she plans to move back to the place next year, she obviously wanted to meet us 1st(She had already had her trip home planned.) She was kind enough to meet on Sat, and within about 5 mins, approved us as her new renters! As it turns out, because the current tenants were on vacation, no one was able to even see the flat before us, and there were another 10 booked to look at it the following week. I hope their house hunting turned for the better! Pretty standard in terms of 2 bedrooms, one bath, nice kitchen, living room, and washer (but no drier, I guess you can't win them all!) And just like that, my biggest concern, where the hell am I going to live, was resolved.
The lack of drier concerned me at 1st. I mean, I have had one in every place I have lived as long as I have known. I guess I would learn how the other side did laundry. Alex for one, hasn't used a drier in many years. And I'll tell you, it's not all that bad. Clothes take a little bit to dry, but not a life inconvenience. It is easy enough to do, so I should be all right!
I waited a couple of nights to move in, solely because I did not have internet set up. The plan was to get a phone, and use the unlimited phone for my internet, something that doesn't seem like it has been allowed in the US, although would be incredibly popular! But to get a phone, I needed a bank account set up. That takes a week. Not to set up,that took a day, but to get the debit card to access any of your money. So after, hopefully nicely, bugging the front desk every morning with the mail delivery, I finally got my debit card. On a side note, from my experiences, and from talking to some of the brits, England is not a very service oriented country. I would ask if I had mail, and would be told it isn't sorted yet. Well how long, couple of hours. Then a friend would have the same conversation with the same couple of hour timeline, a couple of hours later. Thankfully, they were helpful enough when I asked if I could just look through the mail, since this was really important.
So with a bank card, I was off to get my phone. 3 years ago, I jumped on a Verizon contract, and since they didn't have an iPhone available, I chose Blackberry's answer, the storm. It was going to be great, until it wasn't. You see, RIM made the huge mistake of not letting third parties develop apps for them, so the exciting new appstore turned out over priced and under stocked. After 1 year, no problem, get an iPhone on my 2 year upgrade, since they were becoming available. But then I went off and got accepted to school, so that pushed back any sort of phone upgrade. For 2 years, I wanted an iPhone. And now I could get one. Or so I thought.
Since the phone is expensive, it amounts to a loan from the phone company, which you pay back a little each month on your contract (about 10 gbp over service when you don't have to buy a phone.) And since I had only lived in England for 10 days at this point, I didn't have much credit to rely on. This was the 1st time, and hopefully last, I didn't pass a credit check. So my options, buy the phone outright, or get another contract on another phone that doesn't cost as much. And I was about to do this. But then I remembered it was a 24 month contract (240 pounds), plus 70 more for the phone. And also, I might not live here next year, or might take an internship someplace else. And the iPhone comes unlocked, so I could use it in the US. And I really wanted an iPhone. So now I have an iPhone!
We have become so dependent on technology these days. For the 1st week, I had what amounts to a "burner" phone, cheap, pay as you go, holds me over. No internet, no email, no nothing except calling and texting. This wasn't enough to make me feel like I belonged here, lived here, and am starting the next stage of my life here. It is a little sad and superficial that an iPhone (or any smart phone, depending on what you like) can help bridge that gap. And with our forget about the consumer, you can only use the phone you pay 200 bucks for on our network, US cell phone services, it would not have been possible to use my old smart phone, which I hated anyways. (Everyone else, from India, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Russia, etc. were able to just plop in a new sim, oh the Joys of an unlocked phone!!) Way to go phone companies, continue to find ways to trap your customers, instead of providing a level of service where they wouldn't want to leave.
It retrospect, in under 2 weeks, I found an flat, set up a bank account, got the phone I wanted, and am well off on the next stage of my life. As I sit here and type this, looking back, It was quite easy to get established in a new country. But going through the emotions and stress while you are doing it, that never seemed the case!
Other than that, life has been really good. I have settled down greatly on the emotional side, with the help from my new friend here, and my friends back home. Everyone has been amazing, thanks for all those that have taken the time to read this and drop a line to me. You all are the best.
I will write more this weekend on what I have been doing, how running is an amazing (and sometimes scary!) thing for me, and how beer brings the world together. In the mean time (and this will probably happen more than once cuz she is so amazing!) a special shout out and congrats goes to Kathryn. Not only has she put up with me, encouraged me to go on this adventure, but just got an amazing new job! That girl is quickly on her way to impressing the world!
Love you all, and as always, thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts and join me on my journey!
Finding a flat was relatively easy for me. My flatmate is a guy called Alex, from Russia. We had been able to talk a bit before arriving through the wonders of facebook, and it turns out, he, like me had already considered me as someone he can, in the best case, become close friends, and worstly, put up with for the next year. In all seriousness, he is a great guy, and I am honored to be able to share my journey with him in such close proximity. He actually had set up 2 places for us to look at the week I arrived. After walking about 15 mins from campus to the 1st one, although I liked the set up, I quickly reanalyzed my minimum walking distance from class! If I am going to do this everyday, no more than 10 min tops! (I am sure that extra sleep will come in handy, and I'll be thankful during the winter months!) The 2nd place seemed more promising based on location, but all I new was it was 5 minutes from campus. Oh please let me like it! Please let this work out!
We walked in the place, the current tenats were getting ready to move out, but they were kind enough to give us a look around. The landlord use to live here, and wants to move back next summer, but she is working in Brussels for now. This wasn't your normal student flat. I knew instantly, this was the place I wanted to live.
Finding a flat in Manchester can be quite difficult. We were all told stories of people finding one, only to have another tenant snatch it out from underneath there grasp. Quickly, we called the landlord, and told her we were ready to move in. Since she plans to move back to the place next year, she obviously wanted to meet us 1st(She had already had her trip home planned.) She was kind enough to meet on Sat, and within about 5 mins, approved us as her new renters! As it turns out, because the current tenants were on vacation, no one was able to even see the flat before us, and there were another 10 booked to look at it the following week. I hope their house hunting turned for the better! Pretty standard in terms of 2 bedrooms, one bath, nice kitchen, living room, and washer (but no drier, I guess you can't win them all!) And just like that, my biggest concern, where the hell am I going to live, was resolved.
The lack of drier concerned me at 1st. I mean, I have had one in every place I have lived as long as I have known. I guess I would learn how the other side did laundry. Alex for one, hasn't used a drier in many years. And I'll tell you, it's not all that bad. Clothes take a little bit to dry, but not a life inconvenience. It is easy enough to do, so I should be all right!
I waited a couple of nights to move in, solely because I did not have internet set up. The plan was to get a phone, and use the unlimited phone for my internet, something that doesn't seem like it has been allowed in the US, although would be incredibly popular! But to get a phone, I needed a bank account set up. That takes a week. Not to set up,that took a day, but to get the debit card to access any of your money. So after, hopefully nicely, bugging the front desk every morning with the mail delivery, I finally got my debit card. On a side note, from my experiences, and from talking to some of the brits, England is not a very service oriented country. I would ask if I had mail, and would be told it isn't sorted yet. Well how long, couple of hours. Then a friend would have the same conversation with the same couple of hour timeline, a couple of hours later. Thankfully, they were helpful enough when I asked if I could just look through the mail, since this was really important.
So with a bank card, I was off to get my phone. 3 years ago, I jumped on a Verizon contract, and since they didn't have an iPhone available, I chose Blackberry's answer, the storm. It was going to be great, until it wasn't. You see, RIM made the huge mistake of not letting third parties develop apps for them, so the exciting new appstore turned out over priced and under stocked. After 1 year, no problem, get an iPhone on my 2 year upgrade, since they were becoming available. But then I went off and got accepted to school, so that pushed back any sort of phone upgrade. For 2 years, I wanted an iPhone. And now I could get one. Or so I thought.
Since the phone is expensive, it amounts to a loan from the phone company, which you pay back a little each month on your contract (about 10 gbp over service when you don't have to buy a phone.) And since I had only lived in England for 10 days at this point, I didn't have much credit to rely on. This was the 1st time, and hopefully last, I didn't pass a credit check. So my options, buy the phone outright, or get another contract on another phone that doesn't cost as much. And I was about to do this. But then I remembered it was a 24 month contract (240 pounds), plus 70 more for the phone. And also, I might not live here next year, or might take an internship someplace else. And the iPhone comes unlocked, so I could use it in the US. And I really wanted an iPhone. So now I have an iPhone!
We have become so dependent on technology these days. For the 1st week, I had what amounts to a "burner" phone, cheap, pay as you go, holds me over. No internet, no email, no nothing except calling and texting. This wasn't enough to make me feel like I belonged here, lived here, and am starting the next stage of my life here. It is a little sad and superficial that an iPhone (or any smart phone, depending on what you like) can help bridge that gap. And with our forget about the consumer, you can only use the phone you pay 200 bucks for on our network, US cell phone services, it would not have been possible to use my old smart phone, which I hated anyways. (Everyone else, from India, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Russia, etc. were able to just plop in a new sim, oh the Joys of an unlocked phone!!) Way to go phone companies, continue to find ways to trap your customers, instead of providing a level of service where they wouldn't want to leave.
It retrospect, in under 2 weeks, I found an flat, set up a bank account, got the phone I wanted, and am well off on the next stage of my life. As I sit here and type this, looking back, It was quite easy to get established in a new country. But going through the emotions and stress while you are doing it, that never seemed the case!
Other than that, life has been really good. I have settled down greatly on the emotional side, with the help from my new friend here, and my friends back home. Everyone has been amazing, thanks for all those that have taken the time to read this and drop a line to me. You all are the best.
I will write more this weekend on what I have been doing, how running is an amazing (and sometimes scary!) thing for me, and how beer brings the world together. In the mean time (and this will probably happen more than once cuz she is so amazing!) a special shout out and congrats goes to Kathryn. Not only has she put up with me, encouraged me to go on this adventure, but just got an amazing new job! That girl is quickly on her way to impressing the world!
Love you all, and as always, thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts and join me on my journey!
Friday, 19 August 2011
My trip to the land of Yobs
Now that you know why I am here and writing, it only seems appropriate that I tell about my experiences so far! This could be broken down into several different blogs, but I am not going to do that. There have been plenty of things I have wanted to write about, and at this time, it just seems like a waste to break them up and not get caught up to speed right away. So hang in there this one time, because I fully plan to write more often when I have something to say, and not let a group of things pile up to tell at once. I hope you are brave enough to make it all the way through!
-----Warning, sappy areas ahead----------
So I guess the most logical place to start is the end of the last chapter. After working at Jackson for 4.5 years, it was time to say goodbye. I thought I would sneak out the side doors a couple of hours early (Sorry boss-men!) and think nothing of it. I would go about my life, and my former coworkers theirs. Turns out that was no where near the case! I feel awful for the people I would have loved to say goodbye to and was not able to, but after 4 hours of walking around, I was getting emotionally tired! I never realized how much people at work meant to me, and and thankful that they were nice enough to entertain me for a couple of minutes so I felt like I meant something too! There are too many people to throw special thank yous out to, but pretty much, I am so fortunate for the start of my career. It is said, you never want to leave a job to get away, but move to a new opportunity for the future. And that was completely the case! And all of this is for all partners down in FL as well! I have become many of your facebook friends (if not, look me up), or you got this through e-mail, and as cliche as it is to say, I do hope we can keep in touch! I am more than happy to assist in any way I can in the future (which of course, for a lot of you with more experience, that seems very unlikely!)
So after finally leaving the building for the last time, I was off for a week of packing, then unpacking and repacking (5 times!) I got some last rounds of golf in, shipped my clubs, and finally settled on 2 bags to carry over. Everything seemed to be falling in place, and the excitement was mounting. My flight left Denver last Tues, Aug 9th. And just as I am getting ready to leave, I notice the news reports. Awesome, the riots in London have somehow spread 200 miles away to Manchester! WHAT THE HELL HAVE I GOT MYSELF INTO?!?!?! From the sounds of the coverage, I would be lucky if there was still a city standing when I arrived the following day! Things were about to get real interesting - more on this later.
So I get on the 1st leg, flying from Denver to Newark. Should be a simple 4 hour flight, everything scheduled to be on time. But when they started boarding us, I noticed something different. Now I have flown a fair bit in my life, and know how long it takes to board a plane. I also try to avoid sitting towards the back of the plane, but in this case, it was the only aisle seat available when I booked. So boarding the plane was miserable. I have never seen a group of such inconsiderate people in my life! Now, I don't think they woke up in the morning thinking, I want to try to make the plane as late as possible by being completely clueless on etiquett about how to get on a plane, quickly and properly store my bags, and get in my seat so I don't hold up the other 200 passengers trying to get someplace. This forshadowed the events to follow. I understand people have to use the bathroom on a long flight. I do too. But what I don't understand is how you think it is appropriate to line up in the narrow ass rows, 4 people deep, hovering over a group of passengers who paid just as much money for a ticket as you did. I can't tell you how many, but for nearly 3 hours, I had someones elbow, hand or ass brushing my shoulder and invading my personal space. At one point the fasten seat belt sign came on. My excitement from a break of rando's watching my movie (Kings Speech - even with the distractions - still a really good movie) over my shoulder while you wait to use the bathroom a 2nd time was quickly turned into more of the same. Apparently, people are more important than the fasten seatbelt sign these days too!
And that brings me to my 1st bit of social commentary. What the hell happened to us?!?!??! Remember a time when people actually respected and attempted to be aware of their common wo/man? Once again, I don't think it was anything done to intentionally upset me or any of the other passengers stuck in the back of the plane, but I was just absolutely astonished about peoples lack of consideration and respect for fellow passengers what to me, seems like basic plane etiquette! How can we expect congress, our states, our business, our relationships to continue to grow when we can't think about how our actions affect someone trying to watch a movie while traveling! Something has to change!
So Newark was an easy change over, after making sure I went to the bathroom twice (no waiting in the aisle for me) and a 2 hour delay, I was on the plane to Manchester, with a little bit of faith restored in humanity. This flight seemed much better, people helping each other store their luggage, smiles on faces. Good to know not everyone has gone down hill! An easy flight later, I was finally in Manchester.
After getting settled, well as much as you can into my temporary accommodation, I was able to meet up with another American who had arrived a few hours earlier, and from there our numbers just started growing. Each day, more and more students are arriving, soon to be 116 total! It is fun being on the early side, because we have been able to meet people over a time period, instead a group of 20 all at once. (Can you imagine trying to remember 115 names all at once!)
The city of Manchester is BEAUTIFUL! I really like it a lot. Thankfully, a few, as the newspapers calls them, Yobs, did not ruin the city for the rest of us. It is a unique mix of old and new. Lots of history and architecture. Lots of new glass buildings. All right next to each other, as you can see! (editors note, i don't know how to work this, so I hope it comes out the way intended. For all of my pictures, please visit http://joshnewell.shutterfly.com)
The city is almost in an identity crisis. Does it want to keep its old, Northern England small town charm, or grow up into a larger metropolitan and modern city. A lot like Denver in a lot of ways, just with more history. The people are all amazing (except for those Yobs), most of which I have been in interact were generally embarrassed about what had happened just a few nights before. The one sad area, is the fact it is very dirty. A lot of trash on the grounds, and its not getting better so I don't think it is because of the riots. There are no trash cans any where in public - maybe a correlation? And don't worry - Manchester has a ....
FERRIS WHEEL!!!
While I was not suprised riots happened (I'm looking at you CSU students, 2003,2004,2005 ect..) I was astonished on several things about them. 1st, the riots in Manchester had NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING other than kids, young adults and fake adults (you know, people of age that still act like jackasses) wanting to loot and pillage. Maybe a little entitlement showing it's ugly face? Number 2, at least in Manchester, it wasn't that bad. Once again, it's all about perspective. But a few smashed up windows, some stolen goods, sounds like a NBA Championship/World Series/Super Bowl/5 v 5 community basketball title celebration. I mean, as Americans, we riot for anything. Maybe they wanted theirs too? Number 3 - if you do something bad, you are called a Yob, and everyone will know about it. I wasn't able to get a picture, but they had a billboard driving around town (back of a truck, not an actual billboard driving) with people's faces. And not like Boulder 420 fest, where cops reward you for ratting your friends. Nope, parents took their kids to the police, friends turned in their roommates, if you were guilty, you weren't safe. Every day, the newspaper has what can best be described as a scoreboard recap. Name, age, what yobbish thing you did, and your sentence. Finally, the justice here is swift and severe. 2 guys posted a meet up place on facebook to go riot. For that - they each got 4 years. A mom, who took a pair of stolen shorts from her roommate. She did not participate, just received one single pair of shorts - well she will be spending the next 6 months away from her kid. Stole a pack of gum? 8 months. 2 bottles of Booze? That'll cost you the next 1.5 years (while these aren't the exact sentences, they are not very far from what the punishments actually are). In the US, this would NEVER fly. It is quite interesting to think about, caught with a unlicensed firearm Plaxico Buress? Welp you will never see the light of day again. Could severe punishment serve as a deterrent? For the record, I don't think it would work, but interesting to see how different cultures deal with social issues. Just food for thought...
The honeymoon of moving to Mancheseter lasted for about a day. And then a funny thing happened. I got sad. Like really really sad. My body was jet lagged, I was, and still am sleeping in a single bed (haven't done that since college), and I just laid in bed late at night. Was this the right decision? I left an amazing job, my family, an amazing girlfriend, great friends, my grandma, and frankly a pretty kick ass life. To just push reset - restart life with a large debt and hope for the best. What the hell was I thinking? I felt isolated, alone and lost. You see, when I was leaving Denver, I never had to confront these issues. I had Manchester to look forward too! An amazing, life changing experience. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but damn, it wasn't suppose to be this hard. Even today, I still feel completely unsettled. Simple things, like having a smart phone, take time to get set up. I have a bank account, and pin numbers for my debit cards, but no debit cards yet. I have a place to live, yet and still in the single bed because I can get online and still have contact with friends back home here. I am still in the transition. So the 1st several nights were hard. The people are great, and we would go for drinks and have a good laugh, only to return at night to the solitude. But thankfully, it is getting better. Kathryn has been amazing in helping me through this. My mom and Mike, as well as everyone I have talked to back home as well. It took me some time to embrace the difficulties of the next 18 months. I told everyone that it was another journey, that anyone could come along with. And evolution, not a reset. But I didn't see that the 1st couple of days. I was alone. I imagine this feeling is a bit natural for all of us moving over here, and have been able to connect with a couple of peers that were going through the same things. But it doesn't make it any bit easier. (That is part of the reason I would love to hear from everyone!!!)
I am so lucky that Kathryn has been, is and will be in my life for a long long time. She helped me adjust to that, and realize, as crazy as this adventure will be, and yes, it will be, that the Manchester MBA is where I am suppose to be. I have already started studying, excited for class to start (bet my parents wished I was like that through school and my undergrad!), and ready to kick every challanges ass on the way to the end. When I look back in a couple of years, and I will have an amazing experience to reflect on, and really, in the grand scheme of things, it's only 18 months (or at least that is what I keep telling myself!) But until then, I will live it the adventure, each and every day. I will share my experiences with anyone wanting to listen. Hopefully this will inspire you, or get you to think about something in a different manner, or even be something you can learn a little from. And that is why, I remembered what I forgot for the 1st couple of days, that this is truly A Shared Journey. I love you all and can't wait to hear from you!
-----Warning, sappy areas ahead----------
So I guess the most logical place to start is the end of the last chapter. After working at Jackson for 4.5 years, it was time to say goodbye. I thought I would sneak out the side doors a couple of hours early (Sorry boss-men!) and think nothing of it. I would go about my life, and my former coworkers theirs. Turns out that was no where near the case! I feel awful for the people I would have loved to say goodbye to and was not able to, but after 4 hours of walking around, I was getting emotionally tired! I never realized how much people at work meant to me, and and thankful that they were nice enough to entertain me for a couple of minutes so I felt like I meant something too! There are too many people to throw special thank yous out to, but pretty much, I am so fortunate for the start of my career. It is said, you never want to leave a job to get away, but move to a new opportunity for the future. And that was completely the case! And all of this is for all partners down in FL as well! I have become many of your facebook friends (if not, look me up), or you got this through e-mail, and as cliche as it is to say, I do hope we can keep in touch! I am more than happy to assist in any way I can in the future (which of course, for a lot of you with more experience, that seems very unlikely!)
So after finally leaving the building for the last time, I was off for a week of packing, then unpacking and repacking (5 times!) I got some last rounds of golf in, shipped my clubs, and finally settled on 2 bags to carry over. Everything seemed to be falling in place, and the excitement was mounting. My flight left Denver last Tues, Aug 9th. And just as I am getting ready to leave, I notice the news reports. Awesome, the riots in London have somehow spread 200 miles away to Manchester! WHAT THE HELL HAVE I GOT MYSELF INTO?!?!?! From the sounds of the coverage, I would be lucky if there was still a city standing when I arrived the following day! Things were about to get real interesting - more on this later.
So I get on the 1st leg, flying from Denver to Newark. Should be a simple 4 hour flight, everything scheduled to be on time. But when they started boarding us, I noticed something different. Now I have flown a fair bit in my life, and know how long it takes to board a plane. I also try to avoid sitting towards the back of the plane, but in this case, it was the only aisle seat available when I booked. So boarding the plane was miserable. I have never seen a group of such inconsiderate people in my life! Now, I don't think they woke up in the morning thinking, I want to try to make the plane as late as possible by being completely clueless on etiquett about how to get on a plane, quickly and properly store my bags, and get in my seat so I don't hold up the other 200 passengers trying to get someplace. This forshadowed the events to follow. I understand people have to use the bathroom on a long flight. I do too. But what I don't understand is how you think it is appropriate to line up in the narrow ass rows, 4 people deep, hovering over a group of passengers who paid just as much money for a ticket as you did. I can't tell you how many, but for nearly 3 hours, I had someones elbow, hand or ass brushing my shoulder and invading my personal space. At one point the fasten seat belt sign came on. My excitement from a break of rando's watching my movie (Kings Speech - even with the distractions - still a really good movie) over my shoulder while you wait to use the bathroom a 2nd time was quickly turned into more of the same. Apparently, people are more important than the fasten seatbelt sign these days too!
And that brings me to my 1st bit of social commentary. What the hell happened to us?!?!??! Remember a time when people actually respected and attempted to be aware of their common wo/man? Once again, I don't think it was anything done to intentionally upset me or any of the other passengers stuck in the back of the plane, but I was just absolutely astonished about peoples lack of consideration and respect for fellow passengers what to me, seems like basic plane etiquette! How can we expect congress, our states, our business, our relationships to continue to grow when we can't think about how our actions affect someone trying to watch a movie while traveling! Something has to change!
So Newark was an easy change over, after making sure I went to the bathroom twice (no waiting in the aisle for me) and a 2 hour delay, I was on the plane to Manchester, with a little bit of faith restored in humanity. This flight seemed much better, people helping each other store their luggage, smiles on faces. Good to know not everyone has gone down hill! An easy flight later, I was finally in Manchester.
After getting settled, well as much as you can into my temporary accommodation, I was able to meet up with another American who had arrived a few hours earlier, and from there our numbers just started growing. Each day, more and more students are arriving, soon to be 116 total! It is fun being on the early side, because we have been able to meet people over a time period, instead a group of 20 all at once. (Can you imagine trying to remember 115 names all at once!)
The city of Manchester is BEAUTIFUL! I really like it a lot. Thankfully, a few, as the newspapers calls them, Yobs, did not ruin the city for the rest of us. It is a unique mix of old and new. Lots of history and architecture. Lots of new glass buildings. All right next to each other, as you can see! (editors note, i don't know how to work this, so I hope it comes out the way intended. For all of my pictures, please visit http://joshnewell.shutterfly.com)
The city is almost in an identity crisis. Does it want to keep its old, Northern England small town charm, or grow up into a larger metropolitan and modern city. A lot like Denver in a lot of ways, just with more history. The people are all amazing (except for those Yobs), most of which I have been in interact were generally embarrassed about what had happened just a few nights before. The one sad area, is the fact it is very dirty. A lot of trash on the grounds, and its not getting better so I don't think it is because of the riots. There are no trash cans any where in public - maybe a correlation? And don't worry - Manchester has a ....
While I was not suprised riots happened (I'm looking at you CSU students, 2003,2004,2005 ect..) I was astonished on several things about them. 1st, the riots in Manchester had NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING other than kids, young adults and fake adults (you know, people of age that still act like jackasses) wanting to loot and pillage. Maybe a little entitlement showing it's ugly face? Number 2, at least in Manchester, it wasn't that bad. Once again, it's all about perspective. But a few smashed up windows, some stolen goods, sounds like a NBA Championship/World Series/Super Bowl/5 v 5 community basketball title celebration. I mean, as Americans, we riot for anything. Maybe they wanted theirs too? Number 3 - if you do something bad, you are called a Yob, and everyone will know about it. I wasn't able to get a picture, but they had a billboard driving around town (back of a truck, not an actual billboard driving) with people's faces. And not like Boulder 420 fest, where cops reward you for ratting your friends. Nope, parents took their kids to the police, friends turned in their roommates, if you were guilty, you weren't safe. Every day, the newspaper has what can best be described as a scoreboard recap. Name, age, what yobbish thing you did, and your sentence. Finally, the justice here is swift and severe. 2 guys posted a meet up place on facebook to go riot. For that - they each got 4 years. A mom, who took a pair of stolen shorts from her roommate. She did not participate, just received one single pair of shorts - well she will be spending the next 6 months away from her kid. Stole a pack of gum? 8 months. 2 bottles of Booze? That'll cost you the next 1.5 years (while these aren't the exact sentences, they are not very far from what the punishments actually are). In the US, this would NEVER fly. It is quite interesting to think about, caught with a unlicensed firearm Plaxico Buress? Welp you will never see the light of day again. Could severe punishment serve as a deterrent? For the record, I don't think it would work, but interesting to see how different cultures deal with social issues. Just food for thought...
The honeymoon of moving to Mancheseter lasted for about a day. And then a funny thing happened. I got sad. Like really really sad. My body was jet lagged, I was, and still am sleeping in a single bed (haven't done that since college), and I just laid in bed late at night. Was this the right decision? I left an amazing job, my family, an amazing girlfriend, great friends, my grandma, and frankly a pretty kick ass life. To just push reset - restart life with a large debt and hope for the best. What the hell was I thinking? I felt isolated, alone and lost. You see, when I was leaving Denver, I never had to confront these issues. I had Manchester to look forward too! An amazing, life changing experience. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but damn, it wasn't suppose to be this hard. Even today, I still feel completely unsettled. Simple things, like having a smart phone, take time to get set up. I have a bank account, and pin numbers for my debit cards, but no debit cards yet. I have a place to live, yet and still in the single bed because I can get online and still have contact with friends back home here. I am still in the transition. So the 1st several nights were hard. The people are great, and we would go for drinks and have a good laugh, only to return at night to the solitude. But thankfully, it is getting better. Kathryn has been amazing in helping me through this. My mom and Mike, as well as everyone I have talked to back home as well. It took me some time to embrace the difficulties of the next 18 months. I told everyone that it was another journey, that anyone could come along with. And evolution, not a reset. But I didn't see that the 1st couple of days. I was alone. I imagine this feeling is a bit natural for all of us moving over here, and have been able to connect with a couple of peers that were going through the same things. But it doesn't make it any bit easier. (That is part of the reason I would love to hear from everyone!!!)
I am so lucky that Kathryn has been, is and will be in my life for a long long time. She helped me adjust to that, and realize, as crazy as this adventure will be, and yes, it will be, that the Manchester MBA is where I am suppose to be. I have already started studying, excited for class to start (bet my parents wished I was like that through school and my undergrad!), and ready to kick every challanges ass on the way to the end. When I look back in a couple of years, and I will have an amazing experience to reflect on, and really, in the grand scheme of things, it's only 18 months (or at least that is what I keep telling myself!) But until then, I will live it the adventure, each and every day. I will share my experiences with anyone wanting to listen. Hopefully this will inspire you, or get you to think about something in a different manner, or even be something you can learn a little from. And that is why, I remembered what I forgot for the 1st couple of days, that this is truly A Shared Journey. I love you all and can't wait to hear from you!
Thursday, 18 August 2011
The start of the Journey
I have been thinking about starting a blog for quite some time now, but I never did get around to it until now. There was always one question in the back of my mind - would anyone read it? Does anyone care enough about my thoughts and opinions to justify the time it would take? I like to believe what I had to say would have been interesting, but I didn't have a good story to tell with it.
And then I moved to Manchester...
And that is my goal of this blog, is to tell a story around my opinions and experiences over the next 2 years, and beyond. The only promise I will make to anyone reading is that I will always be truthful in what I write. If life is good, then you will hear about that. If say I arrived in a new city and had a bit of a breakdown due to missing everyone back home, you will hear about that(more to come on that later). You may not like some of my views, and I may not like some of yours (I'm looking at you Sarah Palin...), but if I can do my part by trying to explain where I am coming from, and why I believe what I am saying, and how I am changing as a person, hopefully there will be something in there for you to connect with.
I was amazed as I was getting ready to leave Denver the amount of e-mails I was given to keep in touch. The next 2 years are unfortunately going to be entirely to busy to e-mail everyone individually, as much as I would love to. But through the powers of the internet, and popularity of this whole blogging revolution, I will be able to share my journey with you (hence the title of the blog). But I don't want this to be a one way street! Please, whether we hung out all the time, worked together or you happen across this website while procrastinating doing real work, let me know your thoughts on what I have to say. Ideally, I would like to help anyone grow as much as everyone has helped me grow. I would like to hear feedback, but only on one condition. It's got to be honest. If I am saying something stupid, misguided, or something you simply don't agree with (turns out I have a big mouth and strong opinions) - shoot me an e-mail, or leave a comment. If you don't understand what I am saying or what I mean, ask a question. Hopefully, we will both grow out of sharing our own views and learn where the other side is coming from. And if we can learn to do this tactfully, and learn to ask those questions of each other, and ourselves, I have no doubt in my mind everyone will be better off.
So that is my introduction, if you will, to everyone reading. And most importantly, my commitment to being honest, with you, and with myself. I want to make this blog about a lot of things, from opinions and discussions on current world events (what to do on a tues night, riot in Manchester! - idiots) and about my travels through the city, England, Europe, and the world, and my stuggles in class. I want it to be fun, serious, have a point, enjoyable for me to type, and just as importantly, enjoyable for you to read. If you have a particular question, or want my opinion on a topic, please let me know! Instead of posting my life story as my introduction, I think this will do better. I will rely, as I always have, quiet extensively on where I have been and what I have done, and continue to share those stories over the next couple of years. I just hope I continue to be interesting enough for everyone to continue to read.
And then I moved to Manchester...
And that is my goal of this blog, is to tell a story around my opinions and experiences over the next 2 years, and beyond. The only promise I will make to anyone reading is that I will always be truthful in what I write. If life is good, then you will hear about that. If say I arrived in a new city and had a bit of a breakdown due to missing everyone back home, you will hear about that(more to come on that later). You may not like some of my views, and I may not like some of yours (I'm looking at you Sarah Palin...), but if I can do my part by trying to explain where I am coming from, and why I believe what I am saying, and how I am changing as a person, hopefully there will be something in there for you to connect with.
I was amazed as I was getting ready to leave Denver the amount of e-mails I was given to keep in touch. The next 2 years are unfortunately going to be entirely to busy to e-mail everyone individually, as much as I would love to. But through the powers of the internet, and popularity of this whole blogging revolution, I will be able to share my journey with you (hence the title of the blog). But I don't want this to be a one way street! Please, whether we hung out all the time, worked together or you happen across this website while procrastinating doing real work, let me know your thoughts on what I have to say. Ideally, I would like to help anyone grow as much as everyone has helped me grow. I would like to hear feedback, but only on one condition. It's got to be honest. If I am saying something stupid, misguided, or something you simply don't agree with (turns out I have a big mouth and strong opinions) - shoot me an e-mail, or leave a comment. If you don't understand what I am saying or what I mean, ask a question. Hopefully, we will both grow out of sharing our own views and learn where the other side is coming from. And if we can learn to do this tactfully, and learn to ask those questions of each other, and ourselves, I have no doubt in my mind everyone will be better off.
So that is my introduction, if you will, to everyone reading. And most importantly, my commitment to being honest, with you, and with myself. I want to make this blog about a lot of things, from opinions and discussions on current world events (what to do on a tues night, riot in Manchester! - idiots) and about my travels through the city, England, Europe, and the world, and my stuggles in class. I want it to be fun, serious, have a point, enjoyable for me to type, and just as importantly, enjoyable for you to read. If you have a particular question, or want my opinion on a topic, please let me know! Instead of posting my life story as my introduction, I think this will do better. I will rely, as I always have, quiet extensively on where I have been and what I have done, and continue to share those stories over the next couple of years. I just hope I continue to be interesting enough for everyone to continue to read.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)