First of all I want to say thanks to my best pal Cheryl for giving my blog a new look. The pictures are actual pics from our trip. She's the best!!
So we have 3 days left in Edinburgh, well 2 1/2 days left. Yesterday I went out and took the plunge...I cut my hair!! I got it cut the shortest that I have had it cut in like ten years, which for me is just below my shoulders. I also decided to catch up with the times and get it layered (I actually got it layered before but not as much as this time). I got it 'thinned' to. Very exciting! I must admit that it is a very different look for me, but I really like it!
In other preparations, we've packed up suitcases to ship home. It is hard to leave somewhere for a year and not accumulate some stuff. After a lot of thought and some research we found that the best way to ship things home was actually easier than we thought, and cheaper. We can just send our suitcases home through Mailboxes Etc. for 75 quid! Some shipping companies were going to take 8 weeks (this will only take a week) and they were going to cost like 200! We decided that we didn't want ot drag around our suitcases through Europe, but they are still in good condition so we went out and got real backpacker backpacks, and fortunately we can still send home our suitcases (to use for the next trip).
**Warning, Rant Alert**
Despite sending stuff home, obviously we have a lot more stuff than we can ever consider keeping. To combat this we made the decision to donate our things to a chairty shop, checking that they would pick it up, because we have quite a bit. We decided to donate our things to the PSDA, which is an animal chairty. We went into the store a week ago and arranged for them to come by and pick the stuff up. We were told the driver would call us some time this week to arrange a time for pick up no later than Wednesday, but probably earlier. For those of you who don't know, today is Wednesday, and in my land it is now just after 5pm. When we hadn't heard from them by yesterday we gave them a quick call to check that they were still coming, I hate to wait around all day for nothing. They told me that the driver would call us first thing in the morning to arrange what time he would be here today.
I woke up somewhat early to make sure we wouldn't miss his call and to make sure everything was ready for him to take. When we hadn't heard from him by 10:30 I called the PSDA again to make sure that he was in fact coming today, once again I was told he would be calling me and that he would be in the shop in the next 1/2 hour so I would hear from him than. By 12:00 we still hadn't heard anything. By now I was getting edgy, I just wanted to know whether or not this guy was coming today, because I HATE WAITING AROUND, and ummm, I did think that we were doing them a favour donating our stuff.
So at 12:30 Cheryl calls this time to see if he will be coming today and the woman becomes very curt and tells us that she has no idea and that he will call us. She was so rude it was like they are doing us a favour!!! There is at least 200 pounds worth of stuff, it's not like a couple bags of clothes and a few books. You know if they didn't want it they could have just said no thanks, and we could have arranged to give it to someone else. Now we leave in a few days and I'm not willing to get burned again waiting around for a shop to come and pick it up.
So now it's five o'clock, we haven't heard a word from them and we've got a bunch of stuff that we are going to have too sort through AGAIN, and we are going to carry it to the nearest charity shop, which isn't that near. We don't want it to go in the bin when someone can use the stuff, it would be such a waste, not to mention my wasted day! Argh the rage!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Foo!!!
Last night Cheryl and I went to see a Foo Fighters concert for T on the Fringe. It was awesome!! The Foo are great, I love the Foo, who doesn't love the Foo? This was their biggest outdoor concert and there were sooo many people there!!!We wore bright colours so we wouldn't lose each other in a crowd. Despite being really crappy rainy weather all day (typical Scotland), late afternoon it all turned around and it was a really nice night (not typical Scotland), although we did still have to wear sweaters to keep warm (I know it's August, you don't have to tell me that!).
The first band to come on were called Silver Sun Pickups. Now I'm not a huge concert goer so I'm really not the best concert critic but this is my blog so I'm going to do it anyway. The thing that I enjoy about concerts is being able to sing and dance (yes I dance, not well but I do it anyway) to the songs. I find my biggest problem with bands or songs that I'm not familiar with is that because of the sound quality that you get at a concert you don't really know what they are saying, and the song is lacking that (I can't believe I'm about to say this...) polished quality that I hate to love. I think this makes me incapable of commenting on their songs, except to say that I am willing to seek them out and give them a chance. That has to do with the part that I feel I can more fairly comment on, the character of the show that they put on. The band was made up f 4 members, lead singer on a guitar, drummer, girl on guitar, and finally a guy on a key board. The lead singer was really good with the crowd, interactive, and funny. He seemed excited and thrilled to be there. The drummer was good, but all I can really say about him is that he seemed liked he was possessed while playing the drums. I have no real handle on what a drummer should look like but I'll admit I found it oddly creepy, but he wasn't horrible to look at so he gets a point. The guy on the keyboard was really really into the music. I can't quite think of anything else to say about him, he was sort of just there, off to the side. Now last but no least the girl on the guitar. In the words of my pal, Cheryl, she seemed to have gotten lost on her way to Lilith Fair. While the rest of her band was rocking out she was sort of swaying to the music. To be fair it was a big concert and it could have been nerves because a few songs in she started to take a few steps around the stage but it was still an awkward fit. She did add a little something different to their sound though.
Nine Inch Nails came up next. Ah hem, now previous to this show I considered myself a NIN fan, not a huge fan, but I enjoyed their music. I'm not going to say that after this show I don't, but keeping in mind that these guys are veterans, I expected a better show. Despite all the flash and lights they had, I found it bland and well I'll be honest I was bored and a little annoyed. For the first few songs they all had like laptops in lieu of instruments and they were pushing buttons and swaying to the 'music'. I could go on but like them (seemingly), I don't care enough.
Now on to the Foo!! They're great, have I mentioned how great they are? They put on an awesome show. A show for the audience, if you know what I mean. And they genuinely look like they are enjoying themselves. Even though their music would be enough the light show they put on was pretty awesome too. And Dave Grohl, well we all know that he is just awesome! I must admit we are finishing off this year quite nicely.
Before I finish I have to comment on the portion of the night I like to call leaving the stadium and heading home. It was golden, I just can't leave it out, it's not my style. So as the concert was nearing an end I did a scan of the facilities to see which would be the best exit strategy. After careful consideration I decided that most people would exit from the centre so our best bet was to go out the furthest side to avoid a mad rush of people heading for the exit. Now you have to give credit to Meadowbank Stadium for being brave enough to hire the mentally challenged to man the exits and handle crowd control. I'm sorry that was uncalled for and unfair to all mentally challenged people in the world, even the ones with goo brains. Someone in their absolute idiocy decided that the best way to get one of the largest crowds that the stadiums has ever seen to leave was by bottlenecking the crowd so that thousands upon thousands of us had to leave out of ONE exit. Now at first they let people leave through all the exits but suddenly decided to have a little fun with the rest of us. The worst of it was, they seemed to close off an exit just as a group of us came from the other one that had just been closed. Third one in I wasn't having it anymore, and we started yelling, "just go through him", referring to the poor scrawny guy they had standing at that exit. Next we started to 'gently' pushing the people in front of us so they had to option but to push through him and when he had to give a bunch of us scurried through to freedom!! I was sad it had to come to that, but trust me, it had to be done.
Not over yet, this is just a show of the luck that I possess. Standing at the bus stop we quickly realized that they had closed off the road and heard that the buses wouldn't start running down the street for another half hour at least. We decided, since we don't leave all that far we would just walk home, because of a curfew concerts have to end by 10 o'clock, so it was still early. We started walking up the street and were chatting about this and that when I looked up the street which the traffic had been diverted to and lo and behold there was our bus sitting in traffic. After a little mad dash through the crowded sidewalks to get to the bus stop we made it just as it pulled up and got home in record time!! I know you don't care, but stuff like that happens so rarely I need to mark the occasion.
The first band to come on were called Silver Sun Pickups. Now I'm not a huge concert goer so I'm really not the best concert critic but this is my blog so I'm going to do it anyway. The thing that I enjoy about concerts is being able to sing and dance (yes I dance, not well but I do it anyway) to the songs. I find my biggest problem with bands or songs that I'm not familiar with is that because of the sound quality that you get at a concert you don't really know what they are saying, and the song is lacking that (I can't believe I'm about to say this...) polished quality that I hate to love. I think this makes me incapable of commenting on their songs, except to say that I am willing to seek them out and give them a chance. That has to do with the part that I feel I can more fairly comment on, the character of the show that they put on. The band was made up f 4 members, lead singer on a guitar, drummer, girl on guitar, and finally a guy on a key board. The lead singer was really good with the crowd, interactive, and funny. He seemed excited and thrilled to be there. The drummer was good, but all I can really say about him is that he seemed liked he was possessed while playing the drums. I have no real handle on what a drummer should look like but I'll admit I found it oddly creepy, but he wasn't horrible to look at so he gets a point. The guy on the keyboard was really really into the music. I can't quite think of anything else to say about him, he was sort of just there, off to the side. Now last but no least the girl on the guitar. In the words of my pal, Cheryl, she seemed to have gotten lost on her way to Lilith Fair. While the rest of her band was rocking out she was sort of swaying to the music. To be fair it was a big concert and it could have been nerves because a few songs in she started to take a few steps around the stage but it was still an awkward fit. She did add a little something different to their sound though.
Nine Inch Nails came up next. Ah hem, now previous to this show I considered myself a NIN fan, not a huge fan, but I enjoyed their music. I'm not going to say that after this show I don't, but keeping in mind that these guys are veterans, I expected a better show. Despite all the flash and lights they had, I found it bland and well I'll be honest I was bored and a little annoyed. For the first few songs they all had like laptops in lieu of instruments and they were pushing buttons and swaying to the 'music'. I could go on but like them (seemingly), I don't care enough.
Now on to the Foo!! They're great, have I mentioned how great they are? They put on an awesome show. A show for the audience, if you know what I mean. And they genuinely look like they are enjoying themselves. Even though their music would be enough the light show they put on was pretty awesome too. And Dave Grohl, well we all know that he is just awesome! I must admit we are finishing off this year quite nicely.
Before I finish I have to comment on the portion of the night I like to call leaving the stadium and heading home. It was golden, I just can't leave it out, it's not my style. So as the concert was nearing an end I did a scan of the facilities to see which would be the best exit strategy. After careful consideration I decided that most people would exit from the centre so our best bet was to go out the furthest side to avoid a mad rush of people heading for the exit. Now you have to give credit to Meadowbank Stadium for being brave enough to hire the mentally challenged to man the exits and handle crowd control. I'm sorry that was uncalled for and unfair to all mentally challenged people in the world, even the ones with goo brains. Someone in their absolute idiocy decided that the best way to get one of the largest crowds that the stadiums has ever seen to leave was by bottlenecking the crowd so that thousands upon thousands of us had to leave out of ONE exit. Now at first they let people leave through all the exits but suddenly decided to have a little fun with the rest of us. The worst of it was, they seemed to close off an exit just as a group of us came from the other one that had just been closed. Third one in I wasn't having it anymore, and we started yelling, "just go through him", referring to the poor scrawny guy they had standing at that exit. Next we started to 'gently' pushing the people in front of us so they had to option but to push through him and when he had to give a bunch of us scurried through to freedom!! I was sad it had to come to that, but trust me, it had to be done.
Not over yet, this is just a show of the luck that I possess. Standing at the bus stop we quickly realized that they had closed off the road and heard that the buses wouldn't start running down the street for another half hour at least. We decided, since we don't leave all that far we would just walk home, because of a curfew concerts have to end by 10 o'clock, so it was still early. We started walking up the street and were chatting about this and that when I looked up the street which the traffic had been diverted to and lo and behold there was our bus sitting in traffic. After a little mad dash through the crowded sidewalks to get to the bus stop we made it just as it pulled up and got home in record time!! I know you don't care, but stuff like that happens so rarely I need to mark the occasion.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Edinburgh Fringe Festival-- Part One
I have now been to see 9 plays, 6 good and 3 bad. Not too bad if you ask me, considering we've only payed full price for one show, and it ended up being good, and in a really good location!!
Now I'm going to attempt to review as many of the shows as possible. Since I procrastinated, and saw most of them over a week ago, I'm sorry to say that they won't be as detailed as I would have liked. In any case, if you want to know more about the shows I went to see I'm sure a simple Google search will bring something up or you can check out the Fringe website at http://www.edfringe.com/ .
Bigger than Jesus ****
The first show that we saw, my expectations were very low, there are so many shows on the Fringe, they can't all be fabulous, can they (see Xenu is Loose). Because there are so many shows, they really set up venues everywhere, this one was in a church, and ironically we sat in pews. In the first few minutes of the show, you think that you've made a big mistake and this really is going to be a mass, and the ad was an elaborate scheme to draw in those who have 'lost their way'. Thankfully though, it was not only hilarious, but Rick Miller managed to poke fun at religious groups without being too offensive and critical of them. Considering the setting he had to work with it was very well done, my favourite part being his recreation of the last supper with a Jesus action figure, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and a few other recognizable characters. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Tony Blair The Musical ***
Pretty obvious what this one is about. Very well done, especially considering the venue they had to work with, the stage was about the size of a dinner table, and there was no air. Despite being very somewhat sweaty this youthful cast did an excellent job comedically going through Tony Blair's career. Especially entertaining was the depiction of his relationship with Gordon Brown. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Xenu is Loose! Cower puny Humans as the Dark Prince of the Galactic Federation rains Atomic Death once more upon your Pitiful Planet - The Musical!*
You know when your friend is in play so you go see it and pretend it was good so you don't hurt there feelings. Well in the case of Xenu is Loose, not even the nicest friend could muster up something nice to say about it. Sorry that was a lie, the title is cool, and the reason why I gave it one star. Who wouldn't want to see a show with a title like that? This show is about Scientology and is about as confusing and as easy to make fun of as the religion itself. Why most will agree it has the ingredients to be a good show, every aspect of the show needs fixing. From the guys standing on corners of the stage playing their guitars way too loud, looking less than thrilled to be there, to the gun fights resembling ones my brother and I had when we were in diapers. Xenu needs to be locked back up. I give it 1 out of 5 stars.
Women Fully Clothed*****
I've been in Scotland for nearly a year now and my strongest feelings of homesickness came after seeing Women Fully Clothed. I was laughing throughout the entire show. While it was aimed at women from about the 30 to 50 age range I think everyone can relate to the sketches these brilliant women perform. But as a big support of anything Canadian I guess I am somewhat biased. In any case a must see! I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
http://www.womenfullyclothed.com/
Best Laid Marketing Plans
Picture this. After crawling up a dark and dingy st air case you enter a tiny room, a nervous looking man flipping through a notebook mumbles something incoherently to you. "Pardon", you say nervously. Slightly clearer the man replies, "Are you here for the show...tickets are around the corner."Politely you thank him and head around the corner, where a surprised teenager tells you that the other show is still on, but you can have a seat and wait or get a drink at the deserted bar. Kindly you decline the drink and have a seat, where through a window you can see the stage below. It is small and the audiences folding chairs are practically on the stage. About half way back from the stage are two girls, giggling nervously. On the stage a girl is, well how to put this sensitively...lip syncing to very bad songs while shoving a sex toy in her ear. You turn to your friend nervously, than glance around with the sudden realization that if you stay around any longer it will be the two of you sitting along in that little theatre listening to that awkward, nervous mumbling man talk for an hour if you don't get out of there soon. So we left.
According to these reviews we made the right choice... http://www.one4review.com/Comedy_/comedy2007/best_l_m_p_.htm
http://www.edfringe.com/reviews/read.html?id=4096
Prints Of Denmark ****
We went to see this on a recommendation. A comedy about the controversial Danish comics depicting the Mohamed. The script was brilliantly written and except for a minor hitch in a few lines the acting was superb. On an awkward stage, with few props these guys did an excellent job. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Tap Ole *****
Tap Dancing and Spanish Guitar. Simple yet brilliant. I went into this show with very little expectations, I was looking for something I could sit back and enjoy without having to think about it. What I got was a performance that was not only colourful, but full of character and enthusiasm. It wasn't just that both the tap dancers and the guitar players were amazing, which they were. It was that they were really happy to be there and were clearly enjoying what they were doing. Fun for all. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
X-Files Improv *
Anyone who has ever seen any improv could have created this improv show. Very formulatic (if that's a word that's what this was). No one seems to have told Dean (aka Langley from the Lone Gunman), that improv isn't getting ideas from the audience and than spend your time making fun of those ideas. It was similar to primary school when the teacher gives you a story and you have to fill in the adjectives. The story is the same every time, but in some the dog is green, not brown. He didn't even have the sense or creativity to end a skit when it was clearly going wrong. He chose a girl from the audience who didn't just seem like she didn't speak English, but told him she didn't speak English in her broken English. You think he would have figured that out when he had to go up to get her when he told he to come to the stage, or when she couldn't figure out to put her arms in a lab coat. Maybe he just thought she was really stupid when he told her to wave and she didn't. The poor girl had to take hand signals from other audience members so she knew what to do. It was more sad than embarrassing. I am giving it 1 out of 5 stars, for a guy in the audience who came on stage and was actually funny.
Potted Potter****
Made for kids, this show is enjoyable for Harry Potter fans of any age. A hilarious run through all 7 books in just one hour. Qudditch included!! Dan and Jeff use their quick wit to keep even a young audience entertained for the whole show. Finale is icing on a already tasty cake, it left me humming days later. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
http://www.seabright.info/pottedpotter.html
Finally An Update!!!
Hiya!
Apologies for the long silence on my end. Life began to get very…routine, very average, and that doesn’t make for good writing. Well I guess it could have but after working all day and the occasional outing, I was way to tired to do anything but pass out on the couch with one of the few movies we have playing in the background. (Don’t judge me, you’ve all been there).
I finsihed working on the trains around March , went on to do 3 weeks of data entry which didn't work out because we didn't it faster than they anticipated, so I found myself at Scottish & Newcastle, a brewery, but not at the brewery, in the HR department, as a recruitment advisor. It was all very fancy!! And stressful, you see they were going through a 'restructure' and basically temps were taking over the permanant workers jobs while they found new work else where because they were being outsourced. Fun (that's sarcasm for those of you who weren't sure). The job was really good experience and most of the people were really nice but....well I'm sure no job is perfect. In any case I ended up making better money than most temp jobs and was able to save enough to take most of the month of August off to enjoy the city during festival season.
Since I have some extra time I decided it was time for a little update. While still working, I did go a few places and see a few things. For Canada Day weekend, we went to St.Andrew’s, known most famously for their golf courses, or for the university that Prince William went to. It was a very lovely little city, and we stayed at the university, just minutes away from the city centre. The city is right on the water, and if they actually had summer here (allegedly they do, but it’s August and I’m wearing a sweater) it would have been really nice. The weekend was nice, in Scottish terms, which means it only rained 50% of the time and hats and mittens were not needed. The fog made for some cool pictures though.
We also made it back to Stirling, where we saw some of the things we never got a chance to see before. We saw the bridge that William Wallace (aka Mel Gibson in Braveheart) fought one of his greatest battles on. We also went up the Wallace monument which gives an exceptional view of the city. Already situated on a hill above the city, the monument is about 300 stairs to the top where you get a worthwhile view. There were also exhibits on each level to break up the climb up the stairs. Unfortunately on the day that we went it was very very windy (when is it not windy in Scotland though). Needless to say, it was a little scary, and we stayed somewhat near the centre and away from the edges.
Scotland is a great city to be on the Harry Potter bandwagon. When the movie came out, we went to the Imax in Glasgow to city, taking advantage of the day trip to do a little shopping in the city I would personally describe as having the best shopping in Scotland. As an added bonus the cinema is near the harbor, and we took the opportunity to walk along the edge of the water.
The book came out a week later, and we queued up for it at the Waterstones bookstore which is directly across from the Bell Manor hotel, where JK Rowling finished writing the seventh book.
Now that it’s August, the festival has begun in Edinburgh. So far I’ve gone to see 5 shows (it would have been 6 but one of the venues was an absolute dive and we were the only ones there to see it so we bolted, trust me, anyone would have). Of the 5 we have seen, only one was a disappointment (2 if you count the one we bolted on). Not to be biased, but the best 2 that we say just so happened to also be Canadian acts (one of which we didn’t know was Canadian when we got the tickets).
For those of you interested, or who have too much time to know what to do with, here is the link to some of the Fringe stuff. http://www.edfringe.com/
The festival is really cool so far, the streets are packed and full of street performers. Any time of day you can walk down the street and watch a performance. Just the other day I saw an angry man throwing knives! I didn’t stick around for that one…
Well that’s about all for now. I’m looking forward to an exciting next few months. We will be leaving Scotland in September and embarking on our backpacking trip. I’ll try and keep you all updated….
Apologies for the long silence on my end. Life began to get very…routine, very average, and that doesn’t make for good writing. Well I guess it could have but after working all day and the occasional outing, I was way to tired to do anything but pass out on the couch with one of the few movies we have playing in the background. (Don’t judge me, you’ve all been there).
I finsihed working on the trains around March , went on to do 3 weeks of data entry which didn't work out because we didn't it faster than they anticipated, so I found myself at Scottish & Newcastle, a brewery, but not at the brewery, in the HR department, as a recruitment advisor. It was all very fancy!! And stressful, you see they were going through a 'restructure' and basically temps were taking over the permanant workers jobs while they found new work else where because they were being outsourced. Fun (that's sarcasm for those of you who weren't sure). The job was really good experience and most of the people were really nice but....well I'm sure no job is perfect. In any case I ended up making better money than most temp jobs and was able to save enough to take most of the month of August off to enjoy the city during festival season.
Since I have some extra time I decided it was time for a little update. While still working, I did go a few places and see a few things. For Canada Day weekend, we went to St.Andrew’s, known most famously for their golf courses, or for the university that Prince William went to. It was a very lovely little city, and we stayed at the university, just minutes away from the city centre. The city is right on the water, and if they actually had summer here (allegedly they do, but it’s August and I’m wearing a sweater) it would have been really nice. The weekend was nice, in Scottish terms, which means it only rained 50% of the time and hats and mittens were not needed. The fog made for some cool pictures though.
We also made it back to Stirling, where we saw some of the things we never got a chance to see before. We saw the bridge that William Wallace (aka Mel Gibson in Braveheart) fought one of his greatest battles on. We also went up the Wallace monument which gives an exceptional view of the city. Already situated on a hill above the city, the monument is about 300 stairs to the top where you get a worthwhile view. There were also exhibits on each level to break up the climb up the stairs. Unfortunately on the day that we went it was very very windy (when is it not windy in Scotland though). Needless to say, it was a little scary, and we stayed somewhat near the centre and away from the edges.
Scotland is a great city to be on the Harry Potter bandwagon. When the movie came out, we went to the Imax in Glasgow to city, taking advantage of the day trip to do a little shopping in the city I would personally describe as having the best shopping in Scotland. As an added bonus the cinema is near the harbor, and we took the opportunity to walk along the edge of the water.
The book came out a week later, and we queued up for it at the Waterstones bookstore which is directly across from the Bell Manor hotel, where JK Rowling finished writing the seventh book.
Now that it’s August, the festival has begun in Edinburgh. So far I’ve gone to see 5 shows (it would have been 6 but one of the venues was an absolute dive and we were the only ones there to see it so we bolted, trust me, anyone would have). Of the 5 we have seen, only one was a disappointment (2 if you count the one we bolted on). Not to be biased, but the best 2 that we say just so happened to also be Canadian acts (one of which we didn’t know was Canadian when we got the tickets).
For those of you interested, or who have too much time to know what to do with, here is the link to some of the Fringe stuff. http://www.edfringe.com/
The festival is really cool so far, the streets are packed and full of street performers. Any time of day you can walk down the street and watch a performance. Just the other day I saw an angry man throwing knives! I didn’t stick around for that one…
Well that’s about all for now. I’m looking forward to an exciting next few months. We will be leaving Scotland in September and embarking on our backpacking trip. I’ll try and keep you all updated….
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