Perspective

Written October 14

Today I feel a little better than I did yesterday. It’s amazing what a phone call home to my mom can do! I realized that I don’t need to put so much pressure on myself and I don’t need to be taking this quite as seriously as I was. Well, obviously getting a job is serious, but my mom reminded me that I need to find a job to help support our life here - not to get rich or have a fabulous career, and I'm not replacing Coast Paper. There’s no reason why I can’t apply for positions that will be fun and interesting and low stress. So, with this fresh perspective, there is a bookstore not far from our flat that looks interesting and I actually want to shop in, so I will probably go ask if they need help. And I might actually go see if there are any jobs at the Castle or at Holyrood that I could apply for. There are museums all over and though I know nothing about art, there are galleries too. I think I just need to let my head catch up with the fact that we’re moved in now and actually living in Edinburgh. I’ll get there, I just need another day or two. Thanks Mom!

In other very, very good news, we get cable and internet hooked up on Tuesday! This internet café is cheap, but too far a walk to check emails as many times a day as I’d like to. I have many photos to post and many emails to write so I can’t wait.

Resume

Written October 13

I’m having trouble today. I don’t know why it should be so hard to wrap my head around the fact that I need to look for jobs and apply for them. Why should this suddenly be such a source of terror for me? Last night and this morning we worked on getting Brandon’s resume all in order and all I could think about was how I’m just not ready for this. That’s not fair and I know it. I need to be employed as soon as possible too and start bringing in money too. And yet when Brandon suggested I come along with him to the internet café and start a job search online while he gets his resumes printed, I nearly flipped out and sat here on the couch crying. I know that part of this is because my job at Coast Paper lasted eight and a half years. I can remember years ago thinking that quite possibly the worst thing in the world that could happen would be for me to be laid off and have to find a new job. I like security. I like knowing exactly what’s going to happen every day and how to do everything that will be asked of me. I hate being “new” and as much as I say I like to be challenged, I’d much rather have a predictable and scheduled day. I knew this was part of the deal when I signed on for this Scottish adventure, but I honestly did not expect the reaction I’m having today.

I’ve been carrying around a stack of resumes with me that I printed on my favourite paper from back at Coast. I even designed the file on A4 paper since that’s the standard here. I have reference sheets to match and I had envelopes to put them in. But suddenly this morning I decided they’re not good enough. How I’ve managed to get them here without wrinkling and creasing is a mystery. But this version is very much suited to working for a paper or a printing company. And at this point, versatility is much more important than proving I know how to make a perfect bound mock up, or that I know the difference between linen and laid. So while Brandon is out today, dressed in a shirt and tie, knocking on hotel kitchen doors, I’m here in unwashed hair, the comfiest clothes I have and bare feet pushing myself to re-write a resume. It looks pretty good so far, but I can’t seem to get things to sound like I want them to. I need an objective that doesn’t make me sound over confident or too cute. And I need a program other than Word to make it look good.

I’ll get through this and I will find a job. But I am just so, so scared.

I'm on a boat!

Written October 12

Catching up again! All this pressure to keep up to date! Just kidding. We’ve been busy and I just haven’t had the energy to write in the evening.

So to begin, last Saturday we took a long, somewhat damp stroll to the Leith Docks where the Royal Yacht Britannia is docked. By accident we found out how to go in as we stopped at the shopping mall there to eat first. This was a great thing to see. It’s huge! And thankfully we were allowed to take pictures everywhere. The best parts were seeing the Queen’s bedroom (Prince Phillip sleeps down the hall!), the dining room and then in rather stark contrast, the quarters for all the Royal Navy and “Yotties”, as the crew were called, on board. The royal apartments were beautiful, but not nearly as fancy as I thought they might be. Everything still looked very old fashioned – or well, kind of Seventies fashioned. It was very interesting though to see photos everywhere of the royal family having fun and dressed more casual. The yacht was a real vacation for them even though they were still served as they would be at home. The audio guide said that the front deck was often home for an inflatable pool that the family could swim in while sailing! I also really enjoyed seeing the various messes on lower decks where the crew could unwind. They very much reminded me of the messes in the armouries back home.

We got back to the hotel and after a bit of a nap for me, we got ready to go out for dinner with Jesse and Katie Third. We met them at an Italian place just off of Princes Street and had a great meal. I’d never officially met Jesse, the day he brought his kit back to the armouries was the only time I’d ever seen him at Highlanders practice. But he and his wife Katie are great people and I’m so, so glad to have met them. We laughed a lot and told stories and shared bottles of wine. Afterwards, they took us to two pubs – one close by and the other in the Grassmarket area in the Old Town. On the way to that one, we wandered through Greyfriars Kirkyard. It felt rather odd to be strolling through a graveyard at night while Katie told us stories of the area. It’s built up rather higher than the streets around it because as they ran out of room for graves, they just added more dirt and started digging more. Because of this, the  ground is very soft and it’s not uncommon to find bones from time to time sticking up out of the earth. There were lots of people around though and it really didn’t feel as creepy as you might think it would. This place also gave us an awesome view of the back of the castle all lit up from below.

We sat in the pub for a while and listened to a little band play. There was a guy playing a whistle, a girl on fiddle, two guitars and an old man playing double bass. He was quite the character! He engaged us in conversation and eventually ended up inviting us to come outside and share some of what he was rolling into his cigarette with him. We all politely declined. It was a really great night.

Sunday we got a late start and actually missed breakfast at the hotel. Turns out being at sea-level does not allow me to drink more before I get drunk. But it’s not entirely my fault for needing to sleep a little extra – the people in the room above us were engaging in some rather…ummm…squeeky physical activity in their bed and I couldn’t stop giggling. In spite of our late night and late start, we got some more sightseeing in on Sunday. We had lunch at a French café on Leith Walk and got lattes to drink while we meandered our way up to the Royal Mile. Thankfully St. Giles Cathedral wasn’t closed for the day so we toured ourselves through. It’s a very old, very nice place with amazing carvings and masonry work. I think Brandon said there’s been some sort of church on that site for more than 900 years. The highlight for me was the Thistle Chapel though. That’s where the Order of the Thistle, the highest order of Scottish chivalry, meets. The ceiling, the seats, the alter and just about every surface is carved from wood or stone and it’s stunning. The best part is the angel playing bagpipes. We bought a little replica from the shop.

After touring the church we found our way back to Greyfriar’s Kirkyard again to check out some of the monuments. They’re so, so old. Most of them date from the 17 and 1800’s. A lot of them you can’t read anymore and the sandstone is worn away causing breakage. Brandon kept looking for bones but only found sticks. Maybe next time! There’s a large section that is locked up behind an iron gate that we couldn’t go into. I’m not sure why exactly, but it’s the section reserved for the Covenentors. I don’t have all the information on that particular movement in Scottish history so I won’t comment on that just yet. I would like to take an official tour of the cemetery though so we could go into that section as well.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the mall and bought the fourth season of The Big Bang Theory on DVD. And that’s how we spent our evening – eating Pizza Hut delivery and watching tv in bed. It was pretty awesome! I’m having some trouble with my knee being stiff and a little sore from all this walking I’m not used to doing. So a night off to veg out was totally fine by me.

Monday morning we got up early and headed over to the letting agent’s office. We read through so much paperwork but finally got our lease signed and handed over six-month-worth of rent. It felt great to have that done and secured. After that there wasn’t much to do for the day. Brandon had a lesson back in Glasgow at 4 so around 1, I walked with him up to Leith Walk, picked up some lunch at Tesco (a great grocery store with loads of pre-done lunch stuff), and then saw him off to the train station. Then I spent most of the afternoon catching up with photos, cleaning the room and packing my backpack. We had Chinese food to celebrate Thanksgiving, packed Brandon’s backpack, sent the last emails we needed to before we lost the internet for a while, and hit the sack.

Tuesday was moving day! We got a taxi from the hotel to our new flat even though it really wasn’t that far of a walk. But we had accumulated so much laundry that it needed a bag of its own and there was just too much to carry. The letting agent finally arrived with our keys, we did a quick walk through and got some instruction on the boiler and electric-heated shower and the place was ours! It felt wonderful to walk around with so much space and to put our backpacks down, knowing we won’t have to be packing them nearly so heavy for some time. We did a quick little inventory of what was in the cupboards and wrote a list of the necessities, then headed out to shop. We stopped in at what we hoped would give us everything we needed, but they were seriously lacking in selection and a little higher than we had in mind for price. So, into a cab and out to Ikea! It was great. We got almost everything we needed in one trip for under 200 Pounds. Good thing those little black taxis aren’t so little inside! We got back home, unloaded and then went out again for groceries. Our cab driver told us how to get to the closest Sainsbury’s, a large grocery chain here in the UK. And it was great. It’s the biggest grocery store we’ve seen here and we’re so thankful that we know where it is now. It’s within walking distance as long as you don’t buy as much as we did and everything we bought filled up our kitchen rather nicely.

And today, Wednesday, we had another productive day. We bought two small tables from a second hand charity shop for the living room that will be delivered tomorrow, we bought a TV from the cash converters store, Brandon got us signed up for TV and internet and I found us a coffee maker and a few other things we forgot to put on the list yesterday. It’s starting to feel like home and in spite of the fact that we don’t quite know how to make the heat and hot water work properly, and that the laundry takes forever to dry on our tiny drying rack, and that there can only be one person in the kitchen at one time, we are loving our home. It’s great to be able to cook in our own kitchen and do as many loads of laundry as I want one right after the other. It’s wonderful to walk around barefoot and to leave things out on the table without worrying that someone will take them. It’s fabulous to unpack the toiletry bag into the bathroom and not have to worry about taking up too much space or that you can’t leave your shampoo bottles in the shower. Finally, Scotland is feeling like home.

A little break

Tomorrow morning we move into our new flat! We're both so, so excited and can't wait to live out of drawers instead of backpacks. And to cook. Oh man are we looking forward to cooking in our own kitchen with stuff spread out as much as we like! We meet the letting agent there tomorrow at 10am to do a walk through and get the keys and then we're going shopping for bedding and such. There's an Ikea here in the city somewhere...hope the cab drivers know where!

Though this is fabulous news, unfortunately it also means that unless we have some awesome neighbours with unsecured wi-fi, we'll be without internet for a little while until we get our own account set up. I will promise though that I will have a rather large post for you with details on our visit to the Royal Yacht, St. Giles Cathedral and the Grayfriars Kirkyard as soon as we're back up and running.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We celebrated with take out Chinese food eaten on our hotel bed with plastic forks. Not quite as good as turkey dinner, but we're thankful all the same!

Great news!

Great news!

Today was a most excellent day. It started yesterday. We got up early to have breakfast and it was a welcome change from the cold cereal and toast that we were getting so used to in Glasgow. Cold meat, fruit, cereals, breads, rolls and pastries…so good. Then, armed with a map and addresses of where we needed to be later in the day for viewing appointments, we left for the Palace of Holyrood House.

It was by far one of our favourite places so far. Because it’s a working royal palace it’s kept in perfect condition and the two floors that are open to the public are beautiful. You walk in and are taken first through the dining room which is used for both fancy dinners and every day dining when the royals are in house. There were pieces of silver on the table that are part of a three-thousand piece serving set. Crazy! The table seats as many as thirty and the Queen sits in the centre to be best able to visit with all of her guests.

Up the grand staircase you enter into the royal apartments as they were in the 18^th century. There is plaster work and paintings and tapestries everywhere that demonstrate the opulence that the royalty came to enjoy. Once you finish on the king’s side of the castle you move through the great hall and on to the queen’s side. Here we saw Mary Queen of Scots bed – or well, the bed that has been there on display in her bedchamber since she was living there in the palace. Her real bed was up a spiral staircase in a much more private room. We learned so much inside the palace and really enjoyed how historically accurate all the furnishings and decoration is.

We went outside then to the remains of Holyrood Abbey and that was a wonderful place. I got some beautiful photos of the huge windows and walls. Thankfully at this point of the day it was sunny and clear not raining and foggy like it was earlier. We also wandered through the gardens a bit where the Queen holds her party every June. How great would it be to be one of the 3000 people invited?

From here we had lunch in a great little place just up the Royal Mile. And after that we started back towards our first flat viewing of the day. It was a sweet little place and we both liked the building, the street and the flat itself. We went back to the b&b for a while and rested our feet before we left for viewing number two. This one was not so great. It’s amazing how fast a single street changes from trendy and bustling to sketchy and rather dingy. So from here we made our way over to Leith Walk (the near-by main street) for a pint before going to our last flat of the day. And as we sat there, we got a call that someone else had already taken the place. Disappointed, we got Chinese takeout and went back to the b&b.

So now for today. After tossing and turning much of the night due to nervousness, we got up, went to eat breakfast, and then called the letting agency office. I told the lady that we wanted to take the first place we’d seen that day and thankfully, it was still available. But she told me she’d have to first talk to the agent who showed us the flat to make sure he thought we were suitable tenants. Now, because we don’t yet have bank accounts or jobs here, we have no way to guarantee that we will pay our rent. So, we have to put the whole six-months-worth of rent up front. The lady told me she’d put all of this info to the landlord and get back to me.

So we waited. And waited some more. We wandered up Leith Walk a bit and looked into a couple of second hand charity shops at furniture and such. (I bought a set of really pretty crystal glasses. Gorgeous.) And we gave the agency a call back just before noon.

Finally, the good news…we have a home! The landlord accepted our six-months rent, the agent thought we’d be good people and the flat is ours! We’re no longer homeless and we get to move in on Tuesday. I can’t wait to have our own space and our own kitchen. And best of all, they’re having a brand new mattress delivered before we move in. As soon as I can I will post photos.

They don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here, but I think we have plenty to be thankful for this weekend!

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I should add what we did after we got our good news. We walked up to the Royal Mile with intentions of visiting St. Giles Cathedral. But we took our time and just kind of wandered around and window shopped a bit. There were a bunch of stalls on the side of the street with art and knitting and all sorts of neat things. Then we stopped to watch a street performer who was hilarious. He juggled and did whip tricks and all sorts of things.

We decided to check out what tours were available from the company that we toured the vaults with. The one that was next up in the evening was called Sin in the City and it was a lot of fun. We learned a whole lot about some rather questionable characters from Edinburgh’s past.   One guy in particular was hilarious. He had as many as three or four ladies of very good standing as long term mistresses at any one time and frequented 60 or more prostitutes as well. The guide also told us about how the brand new Presbyterian Church dealt with all this debauchery and sexual sin. Our guide was about 65 years old, fabulously dressed and super funny.

When this tour ended we walked back about a block to a spot we’d passed on the tour.  It’s called Mary King’s Close and we actually took a tour there too! This one goes down under the street level to a close that was closed up and built over in the 18^th century. Rather than tear whole buildings down, they decided to use the lower levels of the existing tenement buildings as foundation for the brand new merchant exchange building which today is the City Chambers. So much is preserved down there including a 400 year old house that still has plaster on the walls with visible wood block paint. They discouraged us from touching the walls however because that plaster is actually made from water, horse hair and human cremation ashes. Yep, they burned the dead from the plagues and used the ash in plaster. Lovely! The best part of this tour for me was walking up the close that used to be open to the air but is now completely closed over. It’s dark and stale and the air feels heavy. It’s very haunted of course and like the vaults under the bridge, you can spend Halloween night locked in down there. No thank you!

We got coffee after this tour as it was pretty chilly. As soon as the sun goes down it gets really cold here. And I’m proud to say that this was our first and only visit to Starbuck’s in this adventure! A quick walk back to the b&b and we climbed into bed. Our room is in the basement of this three story house and it’s terribly cold. We even got a space heater from the reception because apparently the radiators aren’t in use or they’re just not working. It’s a pretty cute place though and breakfast is awesome. Tomorrow we’re going to walk the other direction and make our way to the docks to visit the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Catching up

Wow, I need to catch up!

On Monday morning we got up and called the letting agent in Glasgow about the flat we were going to try to secure. We were on our way to the train station to go sign some paperwork when Brandon stopped me and said, “What if we don’t live in Glasgow?” That was a bit of a shock, but one that I was very open to. So we stood there in front of Glasgow Central discussing how we both honestly feel about the city. Glasgow is dirty and rough and rather unfriendly. Even in the piping centre where Brandon was spending lots of time no one really seemed all that interested in talking to him. No one seems to really care all that much about the space around them and there is garbage everywhere. The alleys are gross and smelly, the train stations are disgusting, even the grocery stores are grungy and messy. But more than that, it just doesn’t feel right. I know we’d only been staying downtown and possibly not seeing the very best of the city, but I hadn’t felt comfortable anywhere in the city other than in the cathedral. Can’t live there! On the other hand, in Edinburgh, we both felt good. The other day it just really felt like a much better fit for us. Brandon can play his pipes in the park there and actually be appreciated. There are park spaces and more trees and just a general air of more acceptance.

It had been a week. I think we gave Glasgow a chance and saw what it had to offer. So we decided to follow what our hearts have been telling us.

Glasgow is out and Edinburgh is in. We’re there now in a bed and breakfast that hopefully we’ll only need for a couple of nights. We packed up the backpacks and got on the train this morning. We looked at one flat already today which was not so good but we have three appointments tomorrow. Hopefully one of them is good and we’ll be able to move in right away.

Plus, there are people here we know! Brandon had a pint with Jesse Third this afternoon and he came by the hotel so that he and I could officially meet. He and his wife live on the south end of the city and I can’t wait to meet her too. A friendly face, with a Canadian accent, is a terribly welcome thing.

So. That’s the situation all up to date. In other news, yesterday we went to Stirling. It took about half an hour to get there on the train and when we arrived, we headed off towards the Wallace Monument. After quite the hike through town, we found our way to the bottom of the park. We bought tickets, and hopped on the shuttle to the top of the hill. And then started to climb. Up and up and up – 246 steps all the way to the top! There were galleries with interpretive stuff on three levels so at least there were breaks along the way up. And we learned a whole lot about the life of William Wallace. But up at the top it was so cool. The views were amazing even though the wind was gusting hard enough to almost push us off the edge.

We took the little shuttle van back down the hill and then we took a taxi back into town and up to the castle. This was a really neat castle and there was a whole lot more to see than I thought when we walked in. One building was fixed up like it would’ve been when Mary Queen of Scots and her mother, Mary of Guise, were living there. The grounds were really nice too and there weren’t a lot of people there so it was easy to spend lots of time looking at everything, instead of being pushed around.

When we finished up at the castle we walked into the centre of town and Brandon had a chat with a guy who makes and refurbishes bagpipes. Back to the train and back to Glasgow where we got a quick supper and then started to pack.

Send some good vibes our way please…we need all the help we can get to find a place to live tomorrow!  

Change of plans

Not much time to write just now, today we spent the day in Stirling which was great and I'll catch everyone up on that tomorrow. But right now, we're packing up because tomorrow we're leaving Glasgow. We've decided that Edinburgh is a better fit for us so we're going to look for a flat there. We're booked into a B&B tomorrow night and we have an appointment to see an appartment around 7pm. If it's good, we'll take it. Fingers crossed!