The Big Finish 2010

 Another trip down memory lane, continuing with the summer of 2010.

After seeing Macca with Paige, I just hung around her wee Alva flat after she left for America for a bit.  It was, again, a good place to do some focussed work and not be distracted by much of anything.  Except the Famous Alva Highland Games, which I already posted about ages ago.  You can read that again here, if you forgot.  The World Cup (football) was going on at the same time, and whereas in January I didn't turn on the tv except to see the New Year's Doctor Who episode (*sob*), this time I had a the matches on (even though I didn't pay that much attention to many of them).  I can't help myself-- I just love national sports.  Club sports, not so much.  Maybe that's why I'm not such a fan of the NFL?  Go figure.

Anyway.  I was quite lucky to get to be in Alva to work, and I worked hard to get ready to submit by the end of the month.  After being robbed (which you can read about here, if you've want to hear the story again), I wasn't sure what I was going to do about finishing-- I had lost my computer, Lynch's loaned computer, and my thumb drive.  Even worse, I'd lost the past three weeks' work, a lot of which was fixing footnotes and other busy work.  Luckily, however, I managed to get a laptop on loan from the university for a couple of weeks.  Generally they hadn't been very helpful with things like offices and information, but this time I lucked out-- they had a laptop that had been returned by a faculty and had not yet been reassigned.  They didn't need it for another three weeks, and I was only going to be gone for just over two.  Yay!  It was a university miracle.  It was an older model and not all that great, but it had wireless internet and Microsoft Office, which were really all I needed.  I gratefully borrowed it, and gratefully returned it.

I got home to Aberdeen and Kenny told me there was good news and bad news, regarding the break-in.  I asked for the bad news first, and found out that the insurance folks weren't going to cover any of my stuff, because they said I was a lodger and should have had my own renter's insurance (even though they had ages before said I wasn't considered a lodger because I wasn't on an official contract...).  That meant I would have to buy a new computer, for which I did not have the funds.  Yikes.  I was not happy.  Luckily, the good news was that Kenny is awesome (which I already knew) and that because the insurance company made him angry by that, he just claimed for his stolen laptop and then gave me the new one.  He had recently bought himself a new one, and the stolen one was the old one, anyway.  So it arrived just a few days after, and I got to finish my thesis on my shiny new Samsung!  Have I mentioned that Kenny is the best?  Because he totally is, and not just for this.  This is only one small example of why he is awesome. 

I had intended to submit before Harry Potter's birthday, but due to the loss of work and having to redo so much annoyingly time-consuming stuff, I ended up finishing in time to submit the first of August.  Or rather, the second, because the first was a Sunday.  But since I was, for all intents and purposes, done, and because I just wanted to, dang it, I had a Harry Potter party!  It was 31 July, his birthday, and in celebration of me being done-- because it was the whole HP controversy that got me started down this thesis road to begin with.  Lynch, RitaB and Aleithia came, and we had fun.  It was a small celebration, but a much-needed one with some of my closest friends.  We had custard cremes (and everyone managed to avoid the canary cremes!), cockroach clusters, chocolate frogs, Gryffindor-coloured cupcakes and rice krispy treats and deviled eggs, and Butterbeer!  Plus some general party food, like cheeses and other goodies.  Basically, we just sat around and ate, but that makes for quite a good party in my book.  And that celebration meant that I was officially done with the major part of the thesis.  Woot. 

You can see all the photos from the month's activities here. 

Mostly Macca

I've been trying to figure out where I left off in 2010 with my story-telling here, and it seems like it was sometime around June.  Some of the events I know I talked about, like the Famous Alva Highland Games, but at least one very big event I somehow missed.  Maybe I needed more time to calm down from it before I wrote about it?  I'm not sure.  Either way, this is where I'll start:  Paul McCartney in Glasgow, with Paige.  You can see the photos here, under the 'Pictures and Videos' tab, in the albums labelled 'June' and 'Macca'. 

It was the second annual summer concert spectacular for Paige and I.  We'd seen U2 in Dublin the year before, as you might remember (it's not like talked about it very much, ha).  I can't remember why, but I hadn't bought tickets for Macca early-- it might have been something to do with finishing my thesis and all that being up in the air, but I'm not sure now.  Anyway, as it drew nearer, and as Paige was still in town, I decided I couldn't live without trying to go see him for the third time.  So I asked Paige if she'd be interested (and really, why wouldn't she be?) and she said YES!  Because everyone should see a Beatle live if they get a chance.  And we had a chance, because I found some nice tickets on eBay, and got 'em.  So. Excited! 

I got all packed up and headed to meet Paige in Alva for the first night.  It was the first trip for my wee traveling companion, Amoose Bouche.  I was going to be staying in Alva after Paige left for America, in order to do all those other things I wrote about earlier, so it was nice to drop my bags off first.   Things were off to a good start, and we got a good start the next day.  We caught the train to Glasgow, where we were going to be staying with my friend Liam, who was a fellow PhD.  It was very kind of him and his flatmate to put us up (put up with us?) for the night so we didn't have to pay for accomodation.  Finding the right train and then the right building to arrive at the right flat to leave all our stuff took longer than we expected, but luckily Liam came to our rescue and found us at the station, walking us back to his place.  I hadn't seen him in a while, since he'd moved to Glasgow, and Paige had heard about but never met him.  Sadly, we had to drop our stuff and dash in order to get to Hampden Park on time.  So we visitied briefly, dropped our stuff and dashed, making sure we had their numbers so we could get back to the right place later that night. 

There were loads of people streaming into Hampden, as one would expect for a Macca concert.  Our seats were on the floor, off to the right.  They weren't U2 good, but they weren't bad at all.  We were a little late, so we missed most of the opening act-- I honestly can't even remember who it was.  A girl.  Honestly, I couldn't be bothered.  I was just glad to be there in time.  We were on the end of a row, which was nice.  There were loads of different types of people around-- people our age, people our parents' age, people with wee ones.  It was quite an atmosphere;  the older couple across the aisle just in front of us had been drinking (a lot) and were quite enjoying themselves-- singing and dancing and having a ball.  It was hilarious, yet endearing.  I watched them a good bit during the evening, partly because they were in my line of sight and partly because they were so entertaining in themselves. 

The show itself was amazing.  Of course it was.  Sir Paul is an entertainer;  it's just who he is.  Everyone sang along, on pretty much every song.  I don't think we sat down hardly at all.  We laughed and swayed and just soaked it all up.  Somehow he makes you feel like it's just a small friendly gathering, sitting around the campfire kind of vibe.  There are the showy elements, of course, with the pyrotechnics and videos and such, but Macca himself just seems to have so darn much fun that everyone else does, too.  I think he loves us being there as much as we do.  It was my third time to see him (April 2002 in DC, October 2002 in New Orleans, and June 2010 in Glasgow-- a nice combination), and I do hope I get to add more to that.  As long as he keeps touring, I'll keep going to see him.  Even though he does most of the same songs, they're the songs everyone wants to hear.  And he has a big enough body of work to switch things up some, so it's never exactly the same.  But people go because they love the music, and that's what he gives us-- great music. 

After the show, we left with the thousands of other people to catch the trains back into the city centre so we could get home.  They were running special ones, I think, to accomadate our numbers, and we finally got on.  We got one stop down, however, and everything shut down.  The train just went dark, and we had no announcements to tell us when or if we might be moving again.  It was packed in there, too-- so many people, all of whom had just come from the show.  That might be a recipe for short tempers and annoyance, except that it didn't work out that way.  From somewhere behind me, someone started singing (rather drunkenly, but not at all badly) Hey Jude, I think it was.  You could see people glancing at each other, not sure what to do.  Some were giggling, some were confused, some were just waiting to see what happened next. 

What happened next was that someone else joined in, then someone else, and then someone else.  When the song ended, another was started.  And before we knew it, our whole train carriage was giggling and singing along to whatever Beatles or Macca song someone was brave enough to pipe up with in the lulls.  It was, actually, quite breath-taking;  in an odd way, it was a taste of the Kingdom of Heaven for me.  Not that there is anything inherently religious about Beatles songs, and as much as I love Sir Paul he is not deserving of worship-- but to have a bunch of people, from all different ages, races, backgrounds, all joining together, raising our voices and sharing this profound moment of togetherness, simply due to the fact that we had in common one thing: the concert we'd just experienced... it was amazing.  It made me wonder how much better the world would be, and our lives in generally, if Christians could share more moments of such togetherness... but that's another issue to explore in another post.  Still, it was a profound and moving moment for me, and a great conclusion to the concert. 

It wasn't the end of our adventure, however.  When we finally got back to Liam's, he and his flatmate (Adam, I think) were still up and waiting for us.  They knew we hadn't had time to have dinner before the show, so they cooked up some goodies for us-- salads and quiches and bread and cheese and wine.  It was a feast!  They stayed up with us for a long while, chatting and making sure we felt at home.  They were amazing hosts, for certain!  And it didn't end there-- the next morning, they made us breakfast, and we stayed around the table, talking about life and religion and music and culture and art and all kinds of deep things, for hours!  It was one of those times when the conversation just flows, where everyone both listens and shares, and where you enjoy each other so much, even if you don't always agree.  It was incredible, actually.  We had intended to head back to Alva much earlier, but we probably would have stayed longer if Paige hadn't been set to leave for America imminently.  So, wishing we could stay longer but knowing we had deadlines to keep, we gathered our things, thanked our friendly hosts profusely, and headed back to Alva. 

It was, simply put, an all-around amazing adventure. 

Alva Thesis Retreat, Take Two

Study, study, study.  In Alva.  Thank you, Paige, for the loan of your flat while you were away! 

It worked well for me in January to be away for a few weeks, and to just work somewhere different.  I hoped it would work that way again, especially after being so frustrated with the whole robbery and losing my work fiasco.  I debated about not going, but I'd already bought my train tickets before the theft, and I couldn't see wasting the money (they were, of course, non-refundable cheap tickets).  So off I poddled to Alva for two weeks. 

I didn't get completely done, but I did get a lot accomplished.  It's funny how just a change of scene can work wonders on motivation and focus, sometimes.  The weather wasn't great, as it was rainy and cloudy most of the time... but there is a great park just a couple of blocks down that I took my books and notebooks to when the sun came out.  The university even loaned me a netbook to use for two weeks.  Granted, I made them feel bad enough about having kicked me out of my office right at the end of my time when I needed a place to work the most, and laid it on thick about then having my laptop stolen in the break-in... they couldn't really do anything but loan me one that was sitting around unused, could they? 

Anyway.  I worked a lot.  I drank coffee and ate snacks and sat in the window and watched the World Cup and read in the times when I wasn't working.  It was productive, and it was refreshing to be somewhere other than the 'Deen for a bit.  Thanks, Paige!  I owe ya.  =) 

Where are the photos?  They're here. 

A Haiku

Sunny hillfoot walk

like poetry in motion

inspires this 'hi, coo!'

I wrote this haiku for Paige.  Because she said I should.  When we were walking along the path at the base of the Hillfoots from Alva to Menstrie, to see the Highland Coos.  I mean, cows.  It was our last day in Alva for the Eurovision trip, and we were enjoying the nice nearly-summer weather and the middle-of-nowhere nature.  I took quite a few photos, which you can find here.  It was a great way to round off our weekend out of Aberdeen.  It's always hard to come back to the Granite City for this. 

Pleasure Princesses

While at Paige's place, there are far more touristy places we can get to than from Aberdeen.  Since we all four have Historic Scotland memberships, we decided to take advantage of that fact, and we headed out to spend the day at Linlithgow, formerly the royal pleasure palace.

It was fabulous.

They have the oldest working fountain in Scotland (or maybe all of Britain, I can't remember for sure), and it's a wedding-cake style with loads of carved figures.  They also have lots and lots of staircases, some of which now lead nowhere.  We definitely got our exercise that day.  The view from the top is worth the climb, though.

We popped into the local kirk, which is also lovely (except for it's bizarre metal spire, that's supposed to represent the crown of thorns but is, in fact, just plain ugly).  Even better, there was a rehearsal going on for the National Youth choir (or something like that... I can't remember their exact name).  It was amazing.  They had a great repertoire-- many of which I knew, which made it great, of course.  =)

We ruled that palace, we four pleasure princesses.

Muppet References Galore!

I can't help but sing when I'm on the move...

'Moving right along, dug-a dun dug-a dun, footloose and fancy-free...'

I was singing this to myself a lot on the way to and from my Edinburgh mini-break.  And then on the way home, it was this one:

'Someday we'll find it, the Rainbow Connection--the lovers, the dreamers and me.'

The photos might not be great, but the views truly were.  Whether it's from bus window or train window, wherever in the country I'm headed, Scotland takes my breath away with its gorgeousness.  The skies, even when cloudy and rainy, are always dramatic.  When the sun comes out, the colours couldn't be more vibrant.  And it's always green.  Always.  I love the beauty of this wee corner of the world.  My pictures of it are here, if you want to see what I'm talking about.

It's Unani-Moose!

The moose has won.  My new companion to me, the soon-to-be Doctor.  Ha ha.  Seriously, though. 

Everyone, please welcome... wait, what's his name? 

That's the question now.  Each of the three of you who voted get a prize, cos I like you.  I'll get with you about what you'd like.  Thanks for your votes and your insights. 

Now, for two weeks, I'll leave open voting for a name for my moose friend.  Voting will close on 3 July at noon est (5pm my time).  He'll remain just moose for the meantime.  Vote in the comments for a name for him, and the winner (based on my own choice alone) will win some kind of fancy-schmancy prize.  Again, we can chat about that when you win. 

Put on your thinking caps and turn on your creativity-- name my moose!  =D

Christmas Girl's Get-Away

The good thing about Paige living in Alva is that we now get to visit her there, and spend time in Stirling, and all the other places roundabouts that are so much easier to get to from central Scotland.

The bad part about Paige living in Alva, of course, is that it means she's not living in Aberdeen.  *sigh*

Anyway.  Liz and RitaB and I headed down in December for a wild and crazy girls Christmas weekend!  We went to see the panto on at Stirling Uni on Friday night, which was Sleeping Beauty.  Liz and I have been to pantos before, so knew what to expect.  I was a little concerned that P and RitaB wouldn't like it... they are quite an experiences.  But they loved it!  At least, they claimed to.  I don't have any photos, and I don't even really know how to explain it.  It's musical comedy theatre with a LOT of audience participation and ad libbing from the dame, who is, of course, in drag.  They are based on fairy tales or other folk tales (the other one I saw, in Cambridge a couple of years ago, was Aladdin.).  They are great for kids and families, but we weren't the only adults there without children.  It was hilarious, and a little sad, but of course had a happy ending.  Ah... a Christmas tradition I'm happy to add!

Other than the panto, we wandered around Stirling on Friday, and indulged in our first try of the Milk Shak eBar.  Oh dang.  I don't have photos of that, either, but it was heaven.  The city was all decked out, and we enjoyed it... what we could see, anyway.  We also were on a quest to find a certain board game... which was elusive, til the very last.  And we played it A LOT over the weekend.  It's better than the original!  You should try it.  =)   Oh, and Liz left us on Saturday, the day in which we pretty much stayed in the flat.  Except for the brief time the sun came out, and the three of us took a walk along the Hillfoots to Menstie and back. 

We went to church on Sunday at Stirling Methodist, and everything was all frosty.  Even the spiderwebs.  It was lovely.  From there, we went to Glasgow for the afternoon, because we could.  It cost less than seven pounds, and took just over half an hour.  Brilliant.  You can't get anywhere from Aberdeen for those.  I was going on a mission, that the girls didn't share with me.  We eventually met up at the Kelvingrove Museum, which was where I headed directly from the train station.  I saw an exhibit that I've been dying to see for a year, and just in time before it left in January.  I also heard the Salvation Army band playing in the open middle bit, and visited Jesus.  He's hard to photograph, though.  Silly lights.


Finally from there, we went back to Stirling and climbed up, up, up the slidey mountain to get to the castle.  We had tickets for the caroling.  It was lovely, with all the frost.  A little creepy, too, but I liked that.  The caroling wasn't really what I expected--it was a concert by some group.  Bah.  I expected, from it's name and it's advertising, that it would be an actual caroling eveing, with everyone joining in and singing songs and stuff.  So I was a bit disappointed.  The choir was fine;  it just wasn't what I wanted.  The Great Hall was very festive, though.

From there, RitaB and I caught the train home.  And that, as they say, was that.  

And in the End... Day Twelve

So pretty much it was just to the airport and away... so I'll put some photos as well that didn't really fit anywhere else, but that I like.  They show a bit about what my trip 'felt' like, rather than just what I saw. 

One last long look before leaving...

Good to go!

I have no idea what these are for.  Kristianna, did you ask Alexis?  Are they for gas and electric and stuff?

The door to the flat.

Just before getting on the train to head to the airport to fly away to Scotland.  *sigh*

Oh, and these are in no certain order.  Here John is posing with the Paris Bible.  If you go to Paris, this is the book to get.  It is seriously l'indispensable.  It's how we managed, and found our way around, and it is brilliant.

The kitchen, wherein I made many coffees and other culinary delights, which made me very happy.

The view into the neighbour's kitchen, across from 'our' kitchen.

Oh, the macaroons... *drools*

Why are the door handles in the middle?

Our stop!

No bins, no bombs.  A pretty good plan, if not all that beautiful.

She had camel feet.  Seriously.  Why would you do that?!  It can't be comfortable...

Remember, remember...

Down, down, down the stairs.

Our line to go home.

Luckily, John knew the code to get in.  Kristianna, it seems, didn't. =)

A lot of stuff in a tiny space.

The toucan mural tickled me.

Where I slept, both with Kristianna and on my own.

Hello, gorgeous.  I don't mind that you look funny.  You are divine.

Oh, the cheese...

Sorry, no looking after your children here, please.

I am a wee bit of a dork, and a huge part detail-oriented.

The names just cracked me up.

I'm pretty sure this is Kristianna's street... but I might be mistaken.  It's been a while now.

Ah, Paris.  =D

I really, really can't wait to go back.  Thanks for having me, Kristianna!  And thanks for going, too, Paige and Liz!

Eleven: La Nuit Blanche

So I did more than just White Night in Paris... but I had been looking forward to that for days!  Or a day.  Ever since I'd learned what it was, and that it would be my last night in the City of Lights!  Perfect.

I started out at L'Arc de Triomphe again, and worked my way back into town.  I had to do some shopping for my niece and nephew, and they needed very chic clothes from the most famous shopping street in Europe.

Mainly, though, I just poddled around, soaking up as much of the city as I possibly could.

Another lovely Paris colour scheme.

Enjoying one last gelato... I am not even going to mention how many I enjoyed during my stay.

Kristianna met me at Notre Dame, and we were off into La Nuit Blanche!

We stopped for a wee break on our way to check out the disco ball and festivities in the Luxembourg Gardens.

The line was too darn long.  We'd have waited all night and still not gotten in.  So I don't know what was happening in there... but it was a madhouse out here.

I absolutely have to see this again-- the light show on the Tower.  On the hour, every hour, for ten mintues.  I only caught the last bit of it.  It was so pretty, though!

 the lights of the eiffel tower...


the shadows the boats threw as the drifted along the seine...


and finally, the crazy, crazy crowds

And the beacon shines out, calling me back...