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 This
is our online journal of documenting our great escape to Scotland.
Friday, May 31, 2002.
Ok, so we've got a new blog for our latest happenings! Come have a look at it - Life In La La Land!
posted by Mel 1:17:03 AM
Wednesday, May 29, 2002.
I wrote this post the night before we left. Yes, I'm bitter about the move, so if you are one of the persons who made my life this exciting, trust me, kharma is NOT your friend.
Here we are gearing up to leave our home. I've really been dreading the final goodbye. Moving for me, has always been so exciting! You get to go to a new place and see new things and meet new people. Not this time. This is the worst, most unhappy move I've ever had to make. I know that it's for the best and I've begun to see some positive things about moving back to the states. I've missed both of our families. I've missed seeing the little girls growing up. I've missed taking Bear to movies and golfing. I've missed my sister!
What am I going to be missing here? Hmmm. That's a difficult question. I'm going to miss my corner shop - welp - we have more than one. I'm going to miss having the shop keeper let us bring him a couple pence later. I'm going to miss goofy tv shows and commercials. I'm going to miss the way the trees blossom so quickly. I'm going to miss how, when the sun shines, it really shines and it almost sings. Even though I've been driven crazy with the rain and the crazy weather, I'm going to miss looking out my window and laughing about it. I'm going to miss the ruins, the archaeological remains, and the castles. I'm going to miss riding my bike to work in the morning along Princes St. and then down Leith Walk. I'm going to miss riding my bike home along the Waters of Leith even more. Did I mention how cool it is to live in a town with a castle in the center?
Most of all, I'm going to miss my friends.
Rhiannon - you were one of my first friends. I will really miss the comfortable conversations we have had and your easy laugh.
Maria - you are such a great person to be around. You make me laugh and make me think. Kiss Bren for me (and thank him for having all those yummy sweeties on that grocery list).
Al - Thanks for the Creature! I'm not expecting that to end! I enjoyed our chats.
Heleen - You, I'll miss for your ability to make even the most difficult thing seem simple! I can't wait to see your finished house (and that top floor when we come back for our many visits - hehe).
Bex - well Bex - I'll just miss you! I've enjoyed the times we've gone to the gym (and not gone to the gym). The shopping, the yoga, the sushi, the cocktails. I cannot wait for the wedding!
All-Hotels - well - I'm not really going to miss most of that. I'll miss the people who made my life a bit easier (and really still want to slap the people that made it utter hell).
Heather - You are really fun to talk to and I've loved hearing your travel stories.
Margaret - You are someone I really admire! You are strong and caring. Thanks!
Louise - I enjoyed our lunches and I'm looking forward to our sweet potato queen escapades!
Woody - You're a great guy and I appreciate that you ate the chili and the scones and didn't say anything (well - until later).
George - The Poker Pack! Do It!!!
Dave - Bling bling!
Simon - Goodness, you have got to be the slowest eater on the planet!
Andrew McIntosh - You snarky brat. hehe. Thanks for the music.
Iain - You should have done something and you didn't.
Jano - You are my husband, my lover, my partner, my friend. You make me laugh and cry. You make me feel silly, smart and beautiful. You make me feel strong.
This is my last entry. I just don't see any reason to continue updating something about Scotland when I'm not going to be in Scotland. I'll be doing something new for our newest travels. My life in Scotland has been sweeter than any life I've known, but I also know that I can make my life sweet anywhere in the world! Email me if you would like to be notified when we have the new one up.
posted by Mel 11:06:15 PM
Saturday, May 25, 2002.
Well, Jano and I had a very nice last night in Edinburgh. Rhiannon, Jeremy, Charlie, Chanel, Bex, Huw and Sean came by to wish us good luck! It was nice, even if it kept us from doing our work on the flat. We didn't get to bed until after 2:30! For a wakeup of 7:00! arghghg! We got up and finished all the things around the flat we needed to, dressed and got down to our driver by 7:45. The driver was so nice. He just chatted away on the ride.
Once we got to the airport, it all went pear shaped. We checked in 2 hours early and were the best customers anyone could ask for. They told us the flight was delayed for 1/2 hour and did we mind? Heck no! We had some breakfast and tea and if I hadn't checked the flight screen, we would have been screwed! Our flight was delayed until 13:00 and our connection in Heathrow was at 15:00! Eeeek! We did what good passengers should do and went back to the desk. What a nightmare. Everyone else was throwing fits and being upset! What can that do for you right? How about a night in London, lunch, dinner, breakfast, a new flight the next morning, AND a roundtrip wherever BA flies! So Jano and I were patient, kind, helpful, made suggestions, etc. What did that do for us? hmmmm. A switch to a different flight and if we missed that, we would have been flown to Vancouver and then to LA. Can you believe it? Oh well. We ended up on New Zealand Air instead of Virgin, so no cool movies, comedy programs, video games, lots of food and drink. We got a flight with a bunch of seriously drunk kiwi's, screaming babies and a video shown on the front wall of the plane. :( i cried all day long over leaving, and this travel goofup didn't help. Oh well, after about 18 hours of travel hustle and bustle, we finally got into LA.
It was great seein the family again! Bear was our driver for the evening. Barb was the freaked out backseat passenger! We were shown to our room and they have set it up for us and readied it for us as if we are going to stay for a few years. hehe.
So, what do we do now? Jano and I are effectively homeless, no jobs, no car, no money.
posted by Mel 10:56:41 PM
Friday, May 24, 2002.
ARGHGHGHGHHGHGH! ANOTHER BLOODY AWFUL DAY FOR WEATHER! Geez, the weather is almost worst now than when it was winter! You can't plan for a sunny day or a rainy day! You can only plan for this weird in between day, and then when you do that? It storms like crazy! It's absolutely miserable outside right now!
Oh well. Enough about the silly weather. Last night, we joined Bex and Huw for a night out. We started out at Olorosa. What a nice place that is. It's in a lovely location on the top floor right off George St. It's got a lovely view and we sat with our posh martinis, the sunset, and good friends! The decor is really lovely and the martinis are just to die for! Practically. We sat and laughed and talked and joked around! We are really going to miss those two. Afterwards, we wandered over to the bar at The Scotsman. It's a truly amazing place architecturally, but really, how can anyone honestly charge 10 pounds for a martini?
This afternoon, we met up with Rhiannon for lunch. I really will miss Rhiannon. She was one of my first friends here in Edinburgh and I've really valued the time we have spent together. She is so genuine and so easy to laugh. :( She's already planning her big trip to the states! Yeah! See you soon Rhiannon!
Just got a message from one of our friends: "I hope you have had good experiences in Scotland. I know you have made lots of friends.
I am glad I have met you pair." That's really really nice. Thanks John!
posted by Mel 5:06:33 PM
Wednesday, May 22, 2002.
Geez Louise! It's a weird day with the weather! One minute it's hot and sunny, next it's sunny and pouring, next it's windy and sprinkling, next it's hot and sunny again, and now it looks all black and ominous!
Jano and I took the day off from cleaning and went down town. It was a lovely lovely day for us!
posted by Mel 3:54:29 PM
Tuesday, May 21, 2002.
Sunday night Jano and I had dinner with Maria and Bren. We had such a great time! The took us to their fave curry joint the masala pot over in Meadowbank. The food was so killer! The aren't licensed or something, so we brought our own beers. That was funny asking for an opener and seeing everyone else bringing 6-packs with them. Maria and Bren are so easy to talk to! We are going to miss them. We might be going to a ceilidh with Maria this weekend. Either that or Caledonia Soul in Glasgow.
Now that we are into the last week, we are busy with the cleaning and final packing. ugh!
Went to see the Episode II. Eh. The effects were cool and the story line was interesting, but the new Anikin! Man he is BORING! Whenever Ani and Amidala came on the screen, Jano and I just went to sleep. The dumbest part was when Amidala got scratched and surprise! Her outfit became a midriff bearing outfit! That was just silly. We like the new queen. She looked cool. Too bad they didn't give her much screen time. Jar Jar - well at least he's only got about 3 lines. It was pretty cool meeting the people who end up raising Luke and stuff.
While we were at the theatre, they offered to let us go to a surprise showing for free, so we said sure. We arrived and were seated with these guys and we all were saying "I hope it's Spiderman!" and "Just let it be Spiderman!" but no. It was the Monster's Ball. Ugh. What a heavy handed slow movie! I don't know if you all liked it (if you've seen it), but I didn't like it at all. It was too obvious, and far too preachy. I'm sorry, but just because your son commits suicide within the first 5 minutes, doesn't all of a sudden stop you from being a racist pig. I think it was just a way to get someone to actually say the "N" word without worries from the censors. Should Halle Berry have gotten the Oscar? Well, I guess if Gwyneth Paltrow can beat out Cate Blanchett, then sure.
Ok, of to some more cleaning.
posted by Mel 5:13:06 PM
Saturday, May 18, 2002.
It smells like the ocean. It's been raining and misty all day long! It's a perfect recovery day. :) I'm pretty tearful today.
The party last night was a great success! We had so much dang sangria. When all was said and done, we had over 10 liters of sangria! Jeremy was the first to show up and he helped with the sushi and although it was veggie sushi, he said it was great! In fact, I think he ate the majority of it. Maria and Bren came along soon after and then the whole crowd showed up within 5 minutes! Man, it was crazy greeting everyong! There was Bex and Huw (of course), Andrew McIntosh, George, Woody, Margaret, David and Heather from my old workplace. Heleen and Grant showed up (Heleen looked completely stunning - she's just so tall and looks so great in her clothes!). Chanel and Dave came along and that was nice of them because Dave was very under the weather! Alison and her new man Cameron showed up a bit later. Jano's friend Rita showed up with her mate Gillian too. Finally, John and Wilkie showed up. John ended up taking the bamboo plants with him for his wee bairns. Yeah! Heleen came up[ with a great idea for us to get our deposit back! It's nice having friends. Alison, Cameron, Woody, Andrew and Bex spent quite of bit of time making up nasty sentences for the fridge and David proceeded to try his hardest to finish up that bottle he brought with him (I hope he's not feeling too tender headed today).
The sangria is all gone, the food has been eaten, the flat isn't quite as messy as I expected, and outside it smells like the ocean.
posted by Mel 7:24:04 PM
Friday, May 17, 2002.
Welp the packing is finally done! Woooo! We are sitting here waiting for the movers to come and pick it all up. It's kinda sad when you can see all of your life packed away in 14 boxes. :( phooey.
Tonight is the big party. We got all sorts of snacks (mmmm snacks) and we'll be making a bunch of sushi! yeah! The sangria is all over the place! I've got it coming out of my ears! I hope it goes over well.
posted by Mel 9:42:52 AM
Tuesday, May 14, 2002.
The packing! The packing! Will someone please come and do the packing for us? :) Well, actually we are almost finished with packing. Jano has taken the lead on this task and I'll be handling the flat inventory after the movers come. Jano is such a great packer. He really uses up all the space! hehe.
So, Friday night is our very last party here at the old Ranch du Baird. Man, I think we've invited all of Edinburgh and a bit of Glasgow too. We are going to be busy Friday cooking up yummy snacks and mixing up a punch or sangria. I'm really looking forward to it.
Talked to my nephew via ICQ yesterday and he happily told me that it was 95 degrees in L.A. right now. That's just *&%#ing great! arghghgh!
posted by Mel 7:41:27 PM
Monday, May 13, 2002.
Gary Numan. Oh how I love Gary Numan. :)
posted by Mel 11:39:55 PM
Saturday, May 11, 2002.
So Jano and I went to Bex and Huws' house for a cocktail party last night. Oh my goodness! The drinks being mixed up by mixologists Raf and Huw would made an alcoholic cry! They were yummy though. Yvonne had cut the heck out of her hand earlier and it was a good thing 2 of the guests were med students who had a quick look and wrapped it up tight.
Today, Bex and I found the perfect wedding gown! It was lovely! We had so much fun!
posted by Mel 10:40:28 PM
Wednesday, May 08, 2002.
Man's greatest actions are performed in minor struggles. Life, misfortune, isolation, abandonment and poverty are battlefields which have their heroes - obscure heroes who are at times greater than illustrious heroes. - Victor Hugo
I just liked this quote. I think it's fitting for a lot of us.
So, last Friday I had my night out with my old mates from work. It was so nice! We started out at the old standby after work, the Waterline in Leith. A whole group was waiting for me - Woody, Bex, Margaret, Lesley-Anne, Heather, David, Louise, Murdo, and Andrew McIntosh. That was so neat! They gave me two goodies bags! Full of salt and vinegar crisps (because I'm worried I won't get them back home), rune sticks, a mini Scottish cookbook, and this lovely silver mini box (there were other things, but of course, I can't remember them all right now). I loved everything. Afterwards, we went to Wok Wok (of course, it's my favourite remember?). We all sat and had drinks and had a lovely meal, together. That's what I like to do, have a meal with friends. After dinner, we headed on over to Yo Below for more drinks. I was chatting with Woody today, and he said he hadn't been there before. Then he said what would he do now that I'm leaving - he won't be going to these different places (he'd only been to Wok Wok once before because I took him and a couple of workmates). hehe. Wasn't that sweet? I'm really gonna miss these guys. Louise had a train to catch and I'd been good and not tearful until she said her goodbyes. I have to admit to getting a bit tearful and after she left, I had to go to the toilets to cry. We finally ended up at the Wash and then at Bex and Huw's house. It was a really really great night when all is said and done.
Chatting with Woody today, he said at least I can say I've met some odd people in "Scatch Land." Hehe. Very very true, but I've also met some really really great and fun people in Scotland too. I'm going to miss everyone. Well, almost everyone.
Jano and I have just sorta been wandering around, doing not a lot lately. We didn't end up at Spider's Web Saturday, but that was probably the best, because I've been super teary and silly. We've been packing and doing lots of bbq'ing. We joined Bex and Huw Sunday for a bbq. What fun! Gosh we had so much food!
This is definitely the hardest move I've ever had to make.
posted by Mel 10:09:40 PM
Thursday, May 02, 2002.
Well, Jano summed it all up in one sentence "This is going to be a rough month!" It sure is. For some reason, I'm ridiculously tearful today. When I finished talking to the movers about more boxes, I cried. When I worked out our leaving date on the flat, I cried. Man, this IS going to be a rough month.
We'll be pretty busy over the next couple of days. Today, we've got lunch with one of the expats, Amy, and her hubby Brendan. It's a shame Narnia couldn't come through from Glasgow today, but her hubby, Aidan has been hit with the redundancies too and so they are completely skint. I can relate. After lunch, Jano and I are going to try to squeeze in a bike ride (the weather is pretty nice today - for now) before I go to dinner with my mates, Heleen and Alison. Rhiannon and Maria can't make it. :( After dinner, we are gonna hit the Jazz Beat Basement for some jazz. Tomorrow night, I've got my leaving do from the evil place. hehe. It'll be nice to see everyone though. Dinner at Wok Wok is always good. Saturday night is our last Northern Do at the Spiders Web (cue the tears again).
I'm so sad. :(
posted by Mel 11:52:04 AM
Wednesday, May 01, 2002.
So, Jano and I have been quite busy with trips hither and thither, mostly around Edinburgh because of the lovely predictable Scottish weather (insert sarcasm). Here's what we've been up to:
Last Thursday, Jano and I headed on down to Roslin to check out the Rosslyn Chapel. This is a simple 1/2 hour drive (if that long) south of Edinburgh. The Rosslyn Chapel has some amazing carvings and even more amazing mystic connections. Turns out that along with various pagan carvings throughout the church, carvings from the new world before it was discovered (or after it was discovered by a Scotsman), the Holy Grail, the Knights Templar, and UFO's, the chapel has a wide and varied past. We were able to explore the insides which were truly amazing! The carvings are just so numerous! A person could practically live in this chapel for a week and still not be able to find everything! It's just truly a feast for the eyes. They still have services here too, which I thought would be nice for our church going readers. There is a tombstone of a Knights Templar which was pretty cool. They have a scaffolding up and around the roof so that you can climb up there and get an up close and personal view of the ornate work there. The views from the scaffolding were pretty breathtaking. The chapel gift shop was another story! Ok, remember I said this is still a real, working day to day church right? Well, then, why, in their bookstore, do they have numerous books about UFO's, the Knights Templar (ok, these might not be that unusual - but for a church?), but they have these displayed alongside books which purport to prove that Christ married and had children, and that he didn't die on the cross. That does seem unusual doesn't it? Why would they want to make money on books that go against their own teachings? hmmm - organized religion - you gotta love it.
Well, Friday, we went to Deep Sea World. This is a neat little half day trip across the Forth Road Bridge to the local aquariam. It was built into an old quarry and it had the obligatory fish and frogs and things. We enjoyed it. I really enjoyed the tide pools and touching pools. I got to pet a skate, which I've always wanted to do. It really seemed to enjoy it - it kept coming up to Jano and I and just relaxing. It was cool. The sharks were big and scary. That's about it. Oh yeah - and the eels. Eels are cool looking and icky at the same time.
Saturday, I went shopping with Bex for her wedding dress. That was so fun, and I'm sure I was really annoying with my requests like "oh Bex, you HAVE to try a dress that makes you look like a big merengue (sp?)" and "ok, before we leave, you HAVE to try this big ugly dress on!" hehe.
Sunday, Jano and I were off to Perth. Perth is just up the way from Edinburgh, but it makes a nice center point for some of the trips we wanted to make and with thanks to LateRooms.com, we were able to get into a great hotel for £20 a night! Geez - that was cheaper than the Youth Hostel. So, we arrived, checked in and headed to Dundee to see Pants at the Dundee Rep. No such luck - it wasn't playing that night, so we ate at Pizza Express and headed back to the hotel. The next day, we headed off to Glamis Castle and Pictavia! Glamis Castle was a neat little day trip. The tour actually had a tour guide, which made me feel like I got my money's worth. The guide was very nice and informative. Once again, we didn't get to see enough of the castle, but oh well. Pictavia on the other hand, was cool, but a bit of a disappointment too. I really love finding the Pictish stones in Scotland, and heck - even have the Pictish Beast on my ankle, so I was all up for a place called Pictavia! But it was just a fairly small museum, and was mostly interesting to the 48 school children there! arghgh! Once again, we headed on in to Dundee to see Pants, only to find out it wasn't on AGAIN! arghgh! Tuesday, I woke up feeling pretty miserable, so rather than continuing on with our travels, we headed home. I'm feeling better now though thank you!
posted by Mel 5:48:18 PM
Wednesday, April 24, 2002.
The Secret Bunker
Hello everybody! I finally got myself around to spending a few minutes to contribute to Mel's Blog that she has so dutifully attended to for the past year and a half. And right from the beginning I messed up (see the previous entry). There should be something to be able to correct stuff like that. Oh well, on to my story.
Monday morning our plans to cycle to Bathgate were foiled by 30 mph winds, and the fact that no matter which direction you are heading it is always headwind when you are on a bike. So instead we decided to head over the Firth of Forth into the Kingdom of Fife to visit the underground Secret Bunker. Built in the early days of the cold war it was designed to be an underground command post for military officials in the event of nuclear attack. Cool stuff eh? So I got myself into cold war mood by doing a little research on the web whilst Mel got showered and ready. Really fascinating stuff. From the top secret military structures erected in that typical 1950's architecture to dark, grainy confidential films documenting secret testing of atomic weaponry and experiments in mind control using human guinea pigs, it all contributes to an eerie if not nightmarish time in history.
With my head now filled with spooky images, we headed out and across the bridge. Fife is a lovely area with rolling hills, lots of agriculture, and a beautiful coastline complete with tiny seaport villages. So even with the failing weather it was a nice drive. We arrived at the bunker, paid at the door and went below. It was really fascinating- the people running it really made an effort to transport the visitor back to the functioning days of the facility. There was rooms full of radar screens, the typical main control room with the obligatory world map painted on a large glass plane where they would grease-pencil in the co-ordinates of the offensive, communications rooms, a whole room for the encoders/decoders of electronic messages. There was even an area where you could wear the original uniforms and sit in front of an electric typewriter the size of a microwave (and probably produced more radiation) for snapshots. I really enjoyed the seeing all the antique electronics- the phones and PBX's, computers, even the gigantic all-chrome overhead projector. Even the 50's stylised water heater in the gents toilet was a source of fascination (or I am VERY easily entertained). In three separate rooms they had period films. One of the films was a pseudo documentary demonstrating what it would be like if a nuclear attack happened in Britain, kind of a British 60's version of Threads. Another was an instructional film demonstrating how to build an bomb shelter in your house, and the third was nuclear bomb test footage. After that we peeked into the chapel and looked at some pictures of a couple that got married there recently. And with that we made our way out to the surface and present day.
My only complaint? Not any cool stuff in the gift shop! This one time I was really looking forward to some cool cold war era trinkets, like some period posters of nuclear safety or even "The Button". But instead all they had were soaps, candles, and semiprecious stones??!! Argh. They did have some model rockets for sale tho.... I shoulda launched my own offensive... hmmm. But, we were getting hungry.
We drove back towards home along the picturesque Fife coastline in search of food, for both us and the car. I was getting a little worried for a while! But we eventually found a fuel station, and your typical tea house for us. And then it was home!
Bye for now, and remember to ignore the next post!
posted by 10:34:45 PM
The Secret Bunker
Tuesday, after our planned bilke ride to bahgate was foiled by high winds, I decided we should go check out the THE SECRET BUNKER" in Fife. It is this underground bunker built in the midst of the cold war to serve as a command point in the event of nuclear attack. Cool I thought! So before leaving I primed myself with some cold war imagerey courtesy of google and the net to get me into the mood. One site in particluar captured some of the eeriness that I myself associate with that time in history.
posted by 12:15:23 PM
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