The courses
As an official Associate of Queen Mary, I will be attending four modules from the Medical Engineering undergraduate programme, part of the Science and Engineering Department. These modules contain both lectures and more practical projects. The modules I will be attending are:

• Biomechanics
• Functional Materials in Medical Engineering
• Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
• Computer Aided Engineering for Solids and Fluids

They sound pretty awesome, don't you think? I only don't know the level: it might be harder than Eindhoven, but it might also prove to be a bit easier after all. To be honest, I don't mind an intellectual challenge, so I actually hope the modules will be quite advanced. I already paid a visit to the campus, and it looks awesome.
 
The campus
The Mile End campus, with the Queen's Building (main building) and the People's Palace (lecture theatre, great hall) is just huge, and situated in the heart of east London. Naturally, it was quite abandoned due to the summer holiday, but it had that aura of a peaceful academic environment, located directly next to Mile End Park. This eastern area of London is a mixed area: people living here originate from various countries, although the majority has Indian/Bangladeshi roots. The famous Brick Lane is also know as the UK's Curry Capital.

London, as seen from the air

The accomodation
Naturally, one needs a house to live in. After the private secttor presented itself as a mission impossible, I decided to go for homestay. A homestay agency supplied me with some options, and a few ldays later everything was arranged. The next few months I will stay at the Ms. Parker's and Mr. Straupmanis' place. Jules will also be staying there, so that is quite awesome. The family further consists of three sons (resp. 17, 18 and 19) and no less than five cats. The house is located south of the river Thames, in a district with the rather Dursleyan name East Dullwich. I am confident my stay with them will be a nice and cosy one.

Live at Last is the title of His last live tour. At this very moment, the NPS its registration. Yes, Stevie is one of the world's very best artists indeed: that man breathes music. I was one of those folks who were lucky enough to see him last year in Rotterdam. Awesome. Visiting concerts always gives me such a burst of inspiration. Not only for making my own music: it initiates a whole chain of music-inspired events.

Live at last may also refer to our own comeback in the music scene. After a two-month sabbatical, we played at the Verkadehuis, a nice and cosy jazz/pop cafe in Roosendaal. It was cool. We were supposed to play an hour, but we played an additional thirty minutes. The place was loaded with people, who really went through the roof and kept asking for more. So more they got! Playing for an incredibly enthusiastic crowd really adds an extra dimension to making live music. We spontaneously added a great many of improvisations and solos in and between our songs. Standing for audiences like those makes you think you can do anything. It's like an extremely powerful drug.


That musical drug not only gives you one hell of a night, but also has some longer lasting effects. Studying for four quite difficult exams is a lot easier, for instance. Just like a few months ago, I put a lot of work in it, and I think it will pay out again. I think I passed Continuum Analysis, Molecular Cell Biology and Calculus. Especially the last one is of a very great importance, since it is the last subject I have to pass in order to receive my Propedeuse. Unfortunately, I failed Materials Science. Well, I'll retry that one next term. Anyway, whether I passed those exams or not, I have a great time at the Eindhoven University of Technology. A really, really, interesting and challenging study, awesome friends and a nice city. I'm planning to go and live there when thi

This week, I'm going to regain some energy, as I have a one-week holiday, because I passed all last terms subjects, hence no second exams for those. Monday, I'm going to the movie, with Nouk and Kirsten, which is nice. Furthermore, I'm going to design some logos and websites for the band. What do you think of the name Zazuu? 

Have a very merry Christmas and hapy 2010 pals! I'm sending this message from the Austrian mountains, on a ski holiday. We've had perfect ski conditions the first few days, except yesterday. Today, we went uphill again, but were blown away by a blizzard only a few hours later, which meant the end of our skiing adventures. What's left is a nice Christmas dinner, before we head for the way back tomorrow morning. See you soon!

Alongside the end of the very first exams of the present term, a sudden burst of inspiration came. Is it in the end of those four crappy exams? Or the beautiful autumn colours? Both? I sincerely don't know why, but I had that awkward, exciting, feeling: I just had to write a song. Thus happened.


What do you think? There's no melody line yet, but that'll come tomorrow, I think. The key is a bit tough to sing for me, but changing it would ruine the dimension of the current chords. I wanted it become kinda funky, and it is. At least, that's how I think about it.

For the musicians amongst you: I started with a Em7 chord, and from that base chord, I figured out the other chords, principally the second chord: the Am7 (yeah, lots of seven chords, I love them!). These two chords, who form the very basis of the song, are varied with some sus additions. Naturally, a song with just two chords on the same rhythm becomes boring. So I came up with two follow-ups: succesively F#m and G, also with some sus variations.

Last friday, I  travelled to and fro Zwolle. Why the hell would I undertake a 5.5-hour train journey? Easy: to buy myself a new guitar. And not just a guitar; a real Fender Telecaster Thinline! I bought it third-hand from a guy, who kept it in perfect state: neither scratch or blow was to be seen, and the sound was awesome. I'm sorry for not being able to let you folks hear the sound of it (you really should come to an upcoming gig!) but I hope pictures will do. I took some pictures from my gear.