Souvenirs

I have most of my souvenir shopping done. I've tried my best to buy consumable things, because most people won't know what to do with a kilt-decoration for Scotch bottles or a Holyrood Palace snow globe.

I think, the best souvenir I bought for myself is the twenty Edinburgh Fringe shows I saw. Second behind that is two amber necklaces, dark chocolate KitKat bars (Mmmm), and I've yet to buy a houndstooth paperboy hat...

The Impossible

They found my keys! On the last possible day I could possibly return my work keys...someone turned them in to my building's receptionist.

That was the start to what is turning out to be a wonderful last day of working at Heriot-Watt.

Missing Edinburgh

I woke up this morning and went out the door. As usual, what I least want to be affronted with at nine in the morning is the smell of hops and barley, but that's Edinburgh for ya. In the morning, in the evening, in the middle of the night, you will get the occasional overpowering scent of one of the two breweries in the city.

It's not so bad, really. I'm going to miss it.

I'm also going to miss walking into one of the several used bookstores around the corner from me. All Edinburgh bookstores are made up of half newer books which means I can buy Catch-22 for £2.50. The other half of the shop is made up of leather-bound Victorian books with gold-lettering and etched illustrations on the inside. Children's books, poetry compilations, novels, they are gorgeous.

I'm going to miss live music in the pubs. There's nothing like sitting in a very Scottish pub, listening to renditions of "Tequila" or bagpipe music pumped with a bellows.

I'm going to miss ambling back to my flat at two in the morning, passing the castle, St. Giles' Cathedral, Greyfriar's Bobby, and assorted wonderfully historic sites. I am so jaded.

And being stared at in pubs, for knitting! This past evening, our normal location was closed so we went to the Oz Bar, where people photographed us, but at least the bartender was really nice.

I'm going to miss Americans standing on Grassmarket, with their gaze set on the fireworks above the castle emitting very loud "Oooohs" and "Ahhhhs".

I'll miss kilt shops. I've never been in one, but their existence is slightly amusing.

Then there's the double-decker buses, with their greenhouse-like upper level, peering down at people boarding the bus. The way the bus inflates and deflates itself with air.

I'll miss calling things "lochs" instead of lakes, "wee" instead of little, "aye" instead of yes, "crisps" instead of chips, ordering my beers in pints and half-pints, thinking in Celsius, Roast Chicken flavored crisps, A4-sized paper, dual monitors at work, wearing three coats in the middle of August...

And this is what we talk about at goodbye dinners.

Cheers!

Glasgow

I had a busy day today.

Thomas and I arrived in Glasgow (pronounced "glesca", the faster you say, the less people will notice you're pronouncing it incorrectly) at 10:30am by train, and then proceeded to walk about Glasgow. It didn't take long before we realized it really isn't a town for tourists, but instead, a town for shoppers.


We took Lonely Planet's recommended walking tour, that just took us past a bunch of historical buildings that have now been turned into bars, luxury flats, factories, etc. We saw a Scottish funeral, visited the cathedral, wandered through the necropolis, etc. etc.


I was lazy, and let Thomas do the navigating so I really had no idea where we were at any given point during the day. But when we ran out of places to see, I suggested the Willow Tearooms, which were designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (an Art-Nouveau architect/designer from the early 1900s), and we followed that up with a visit to the Lighthouse, another design by Mackintosh.

The view of Glasgow from the Lighthouse's former watertower.

The way down.

We headed back to Edinburgh and saw Hallam Foe at Cineworld (the place where popcorn costs £4! Only 30p less than a student ticket!). The movie was almost entirely filmed in Edinburgh, so it was cool to be able to identify all the buildings. We ended that night at the Whiski pub which was open surprisingly late. It was entertaining to watch the Hen Party behind us cause all sorts of drama with the management and bar staff.

Monday Review

Stewart Lee - 41st Best Standup Ever! Apparently "March of the Penguins" (a documentary about penguins showing how they make monogamous pairings and each couple carefull raises the young) was jumped upon by Born-Agains as evidence that God wants us to be good, because the penguins are. Stewart Lee wanted to call his show "March of the Mallards", since they're the only animal that reproduces by "gang rape", and are also the only animal to have been caught on tape by scientists performing acts of homosexual necrophilia. Clearly, evidence that God wants us to be evil.

The rest of his show was less entertaining and more repetitive. Typical stand-up.

Sarah Kendall Alternative comedy. A story about how the main performer was almost kidnapped by the Backpacker Murderers in the Belangalo State Forest. It was pretty funny.

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And that's the end of the Fringe! Walking around on Monday night, the streets were empty. It was like nothing had ever happened. Temporary cafes being disassembled, large video screens being taken down, and posters falling off their surfaces. It's kind of sad. My vacation is coming to an end...Now all that's left is fireworks on the 2nd.

Weekend Review 2

Sunday

A History of Scotland (in 60 minutes or less) A good children's show. Didn't really introduce me to any Scottish history I didn't already know, but it was entertaining.
Yamato Chanbara - The Legend of the Sword A Japaense sword-play story interspersed with peace signs and lots of cheesy faces. Nonetheless, it was kinda fun to watch the actors time their sword movements to the pre-recorded sound effects.
Ca$h in Christ Inspired by many Evangelical Churches (mainly the Hillsong Church). I think its major point was to make people afraid of Americans and Evangelicals. Did you know a large chunk of the population in the 'States believe that Jesus will return in the next 50 years?

Saturday

I caught the Saturday-night fireworks again. There should be really big ones on the 2nd of September.
Will Adamsdale: The Human Computer Alternative comedy. Just kind of crazy. The man turns himself into a human computer by using cardboard props and pretending to be the running applications. Not really recommended.
Nina Conti: Complete and Utter Conti More alternative comedy. This one being a ventriloquist. It was really funny.

Friday

We went to the half-price hut and snatched two tickets for half their normal cost. It was pretty sweet.
The Florists Mediocre play.
Potato: A Show That Will Save the World A man with a...9pm shadow dressed in a women's silk nighty walks on to the stage, "Let me tell you about manners. When someone sneezes, like, 'Atch. Oo.' you do nothing. You pretend it didn't happen. Like so. Atch. Ooo. *blank face*." And then, Osama Bin Laden is carried onto the floor by a wheelbarrow, giving a Johnny Walker promotion. Incredibly random humor, but very good. What you expect from the Fringe.

To Do

I'm beginning to feel stretched a bit thinly. I only have two weeks left, and in the meantime, I must finish/clean up work, see more Fringe shows, write an extended abstract for OurCS, organize the trip to OurCS for WiCS, begin pondering the startup of a Drexel ACM-W branch, see Edinburgh Castle, Visit Holyrood Palace, and go souvenir shopping. Too. Much. Stuff. To. Do.

Ceilidh

I was invited to a Ceilidh (KAY-lee) organized by the English tutors at Heriot-Watt.

One of the girls at pub-knitting told me that there's two kinds of Ceilidhs: One, the tame fundraiser-type Ceilidhs, and the other, drunken Ceilidhs. This one was mostly the first type, but with some random confusion thrown in for good measure.

It was a lot of fun, and now I'm exhausted.

Can I briefly talk to you about the point of life?

I saw Mark Watson: Can I briefly talk to you about the point of life? last night at 11pm (it was a bonus show). Between it being his 4th gig of the day, the late hour, his collapsed lung, and a terrible bout of hiccups...he looked like death. He has really good reviews, I expected better, but as I said, he didn't look too healthy. That could be an excuse.

He looked familiar. I believe I've seen him on TV on Mock the Week. [edit: I know I've seen him on "Mock the Week"]

Weekend Review

Friday

Adam Hills: Joymonger Standup comedian from Australia. The best show I've seen so far.

Saturday

Hotel World A play about the death of a hotel worker and how it affects everyone else around her. It's performed by a group of six 14-18 year olds from London. It was good.
Auto Auto Two Germans beat a Vauxhall Astra Mk2 to pieces, shattering the windows turning the roof into a singing saw, etc. They use hammers and their fists to pound beats against the cars as they sing songs from just about everywhere. Entertaining.
Astronomy for Insects Weird as hell, and definitely freaky. It lasted twice as long as it should have, but if it were 45 minutes long instead of 1.15, it would have been excellent, but funky. I definitely didn't catch a transition between the "passageways to other universes" and Santa Claus. But that's what you get from Russian physical theatre.

Sunday

Escaping Hamlet I read a review that described it as "camp", and that's the truest description I can come up with. Hamlet wants to become an actor...some random actress jumped on the laps of the people in the front row. I really don't know why. And the stage and costumes seemed to emit some sort of bad funk.
Andrew Maxwell - Waxin' A fairly popular Irish stand up comedian. He was decent.

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The Udderbelly venue is a giant purple tent that looks like an upside down cow.