For people who read this as a Note on Facebook: There are a number of videos embeded in this post and will not be transferred over to FB, so go to View Original Post (at my blog URL) to get the full entry as intended. They really need to fix that. Anyway, on to the post…
Something I’ve become quite aware of as I’ve gotten older is that one of the primary characteristics I possess is that I’m passionate. This has the unfortunate side effect that I can get wrapped into things that are occasionally by nature temporary. I sometimes have looked for the eternal in that which is inherently fleeting in nature. However, and thankfully, this isn’t the case with all of my passions. One of these is music and I’m convinced that music is one of the vehicles by which God moves, communicates, and envelopes us. Having said that, I’ve seen myself go through a number of stages in my musical trajectory and I know that today is one step towards tomorrow. We’re always in motion.
With all this as preface, I share with you a recent realization. I had been thinking how the music of English folk singer Nick Drake has totally wrapped around my heart in recent months. I came late to the party and only started listening to him this spring and I’ve been kicking myself for not getting into his stuff sooner, however I hadn’t been able to place my finger on to what about his music has created this connection, and then it came to me.
One of the first things you’ll notice about his songs is that he’s literate, complicated (lyrically and musically), and that he has A LOT of things to share from beauty, vignettes of life, various contemplations, and all told with a passion of love but fought with loss and unfilled potential. For the uninitiated, here’s a quick re-cap. Nick released three albums between 1969-72, none of which sold more than 5,000 copies, during this time everyone around him told him he was a genius yet had NO commercial success at all and was unwilling to do any real promotion and was incredibly (painfully so) shy and introverted, this in turn caused (or probably more accentuated) him to go into a deep depression, and in 1974 (at the age of 26) he died from an overdose of medication he was on for depression. His death was ruled a suicide, although there’s be rampant speculation as to if this really was the case or if he simply took too many pills in an effort to sleep (he was a noted insomniac). Regardless, he was a troubled guy and tried his best to express this through his music.
I’ll say this. I get it. I understand having a wealth of untapped potential swimming throughout your soul and not being able to aptly express it. With Nick, he was pouring himself into these songs and nobody was listening. That must have been brutal. I know, and I mean *know*, what it’s like to realize that you’re supposed to do something and no matter what you do, it comes to no avail. This comes across in his songs as there’s an intense longing to be appreciated, loved, and to let the beauty from within come out. In related, by all accounts he only had two women who approached anything resembling a girlfriend (although neither “official” as it were) and he almost assuredly died a virgin. I bring this up as when you listen to his music you know he has a real romantic and poetic side and then you find out it was never fully reciprocated it’s something that I’ve related to. It’s been the exact same thing I’ve struggled with almost my entire life. I too, have had to live with the knowledge that I possess a serious passion for love and I’ve known all too well what it’s like to not have a genuine outlet for that passion. The stifling nature almost makes one crazy. To know you care so much but to have a series of dead ends is enough to make anyone depressed and, in an aside, if it wouldn’t have been for my faith who knows if I would be here now. And it’s because of God using music that has probably saved me as I know even if I don’t have love, there *is* some kind of reality that can be transmitted through heartfelt music, and it’s seen me through thus far.
Okay, *now* I’m getting off the rails. The point is that I suddenly came to the realization that this is someone just like me, who was passionate, who cared more than he should have, and suffered the ill effects of unrequited appreciation, love, and who knows what else he was looking for. Anyway, for me not only have I found another artist to give voice for that which has sometimes gone lacking in my life but, in an odd way, someone who’s work has shown true durability as he’s now considered one of the finest English songwriters of the past 50 years. Too bad it took so long.
Anyway, here are some of the songs I’ve related to pretty strongly in the past few months.
“Time Has Told Me” A song about longing (“Someday our ocean will find its shore”) told from someone too young to know any better. Or you would think.
“Day is Done” A contemplative piece on the work you’ve done and what it might mean.
“’Cello Song” It’s a song about death. Kinda. It’s about moving on, transition really, where we can forget this cruel world and look forward to something greater.
“Man In a Shed” Perhaps the most apt musical of story of how *I* feel in my journey of love. Sheds sometimes *are* nicer than you thought…
“Saturday Sun” Sometimes life is about the little moments and slices of life…like the sun coming out of nowhere on a Saturday. Although it’s followed up with rain on Sunday and you come to the understanding that he’s looking for Saturday sun and only getting Sunday rain. He is experiencing the sun he wants second hand, but that that’s as close as he might come.
“One of These Things First” Life has many possibilities. Which one will come first?
“Fly” Recently I was hit with the opening lines of this song, “Please give me a second grace, Please give me a second face” Sometimes I think we all need a second chance at grace with another face.
“Northern Sky” Yes, I know I just had a post of this song, and that post was actually the genesis for all of this…anyway should I be graced with another woman in my life I’d like to have this be our first dance. Holy nuts I’m a sap.
“Which Will” So much of life is about the choices we make and the effects of them. Seemingly random acts of happenstance can mean so much in the grand scheme of things.
“From The Morning” I love the potential of possibilities presented each day as we rise. This can be the fount of from which all things beautifully escape and begin to sway from a latent state to the soft embrace of grace.
“Clothes of Sand” Many claim this is primarily about his use of LSD, and there are certainly allusions to drug use which I think make up a part of this tune, but the heart of the song seems to lie in the chorus:
“Clothes of sand have covered your face
Give you meaning taken my place
So make your way down to the sea
Something has taken you far from me”
It’s about how time and circumstance change people.
Wow, didn’t mean to end the video portion with a downer. Maybe it’s not. Change isn’t always a bad thing.
Anyway, so that’s Josh & Nick. Music can be incredibly cathartic, changing, empowering, and a reminder that we’re not alone in this life. All things to His glory and purposes, right? Who musically touches your soul?
Monday, July 19, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Northern Sky
I got into a Nick mood tonight and Northern Sky came on causing me to get all sentimental and poetical. I tend to be that way. Here’s to the future, wherever she may be.
Someday again
I don’t know when
I can’t tell who
But I hope it’s soon
Maybe it’s you?
Northern Sky – Nick Drake
I never felt magic crazy as this
I never saw moons knew the meaning of the sea
I never held emotion in the palm of my hand
Or felt sweet breezes in the top of a tree
But now you're here
Brighten my northern sky.
It's been a long time that I'm waiting
Been a long time that I'm blown
been a long time that I've wandered
Through the people I have known
Oh, if you would and you could
Straighten my new mind's eye.
Would you love me for my money
Would you love me for my head
Would you love me through the winter
Would you love me 'til I'm dead
Oh, if you would and you could
Come blow your horn on high.
I never felt magic crazy as this
I never saw moons knew the meaning of the sea
I never held emotion in the palm of my hand
Or felt sweet breezes in the top of a tree
But now you're here
Brighten my northern sky.
Someday again
I don’t know when
I can’t tell who
But I hope it’s soon
Maybe it’s you?
Northern Sky – Nick Drake
I never felt magic crazy as this
I never saw moons knew the meaning of the sea
I never held emotion in the palm of my hand
Or felt sweet breezes in the top of a tree
But now you're here
Brighten my northern sky.
It's been a long time that I'm waiting
Been a long time that I'm blown
been a long time that I've wandered
Through the people I have known
Oh, if you would and you could
Straighten my new mind's eye.
Would you love me for my money
Would you love me for my head
Would you love me through the winter
Would you love me 'til I'm dead
Oh, if you would and you could
Come blow your horn on high.
I never felt magic crazy as this
I never saw moons knew the meaning of the sea
I never held emotion in the palm of my hand
Or felt sweet breezes in the top of a tree
But now you're here
Brighten my northern sky.
2010 Southwest Road Trip Spectacular
Most of you know that I’m now pursuing a couple business opportunities right now that has me working at home. It’s kind of been an odd place and I’m still trying to get a feel for this new life. Anyway, since I was (and still am) waiting for some paperwork to clear on one of the business ventures before I can get really into things, I have a little more free time on my hands than I initially had thought when I left my old job. Now you know what that means, right? ROAD TRIP!!!
So two weeks ago I took off with one of my best friends for a five day roadie throughout the Southwest. Now I was born in Arizona, but hadn’t really traveled through the area as an adult so this seemed to be a good time to do it. Going into planning we knew we wanted to go to Carlsbad Caverns but beyond that we were up for however things might go. My initial thought was that I have family in Phoenix so we might be able to stay with someone out there. Thankfully my cousin Jen said we could stay at their place so we had Monday night set. We then made skeletal plans to be in Albuquerque Tuesday and Wednesday, drive to Laughlin on Thursday, and come home by Friday night. With that laid out, here’s how things played out…
Anyone who knows me is aware that I’m a guy who enjoys his sleep so when the ala…wait when I just *naturally woke up* (seriously, what’s my problem?) just after 4:00 I was feeling a little surreal, but okay. So I updated my Facebook status (I do *not* have issues) threw my stuff in my car and went to pick Henry up. After arriving we threw some essentials in the car including a huge bottle of water and a container of chocolate covered almonds (gotta be prepared, you know?) and went our way. I drove the first leg…wait, I drove the whole trip. Hold on. sidebar. So we found out that one of my super powers is that I have the capacity to drive amazingly long distances without getting tired…provided I have a fully charged iPod. Apparently I run on music. I also want to take this time to thank the cities of Napa, Sacramento, and Paso Robles for the many trips I have taken to them that helped build my stamina. Also navigating the zany L.A. traffic for years has undoubtedly helped.
And we’re back. So we stopped off in Barstow and I had second breakfast at a McDonald’s (waaaaaay too much fast food on this trip. Sorry, body.) and we got some water bottles and chips. Our next stop proved to be an unexpected adventure. We stopped off at a Carl’s Jr. in Kingman, Arizona for a drink, I walked up to the counter to order and before I could say a word to place my order, the girl behind the counter asked, “Hey, has anyone told you that you look like the lead from the film version of Rent?” (this guy. Actor Anthony Rapp. What do you think?) Obviously I was not expecting this question but we proceeded to talk about this possibility for a spell and I even got my drink order in at some point. She gave me my cup and in classic nervous fashion immediately forgot the situation and told me my order would be up in a minute. I kindly reminded her that she already gave me my drink so my order already arrived but thanks and I got my drink. We walked back to my car and Henry, after telling me that she was totally hitting on me (I’m…ummmmm…a little oblivious to these things. It’s probably another reason why I’m still single. Josh and signals sometimes get lost), concocted a plan for me to have an excuse to go back. So we decided we *really* needed some ice. So I walked in to get a cup for ice aaaaaand…no girl. There was a nice more-than-middle-aged woman who gave me requested cup for ice. Oh well. Back on the road.
This then brings us to big site #1 on the trip: The Grand Canyon. As the way these things usually go, I really won’t be daft and try to *explain* the Grand Canyon. Here are some pics:
Panorama from the South Rim:
Another shot from the rim
We also…ummmmm…walked down and found a great spot to take some shots…at a ledge. Here you go:
Henry
Josh
So after Grand Canyon fun, we drove down to Sedona to see the red rocks. Here are a few of those:
We spent a little time walking down the main street but knew we needed to get back on the road stat if we wanted to get into the Phoenix area at a respectable time. On the way down I had a chance to see a highway sign pointing to Cottonwood (my city of birth) and we also got directions to a local buffet as we were feeling one. This is where horrible “Road Trip Logic” comes in as we saw that at that time we were 104 miles from the buffet and 102 miles from Jen’s house. Perfect they’re right next to each other. Because, you know, there’s *no way* they could be those distances in *different directions* from each other. Of course not. Okay well it wasn’t *that bad* but before stepping out of the car to grab dinner we checked the distance to Jen’s and it was about 43 miles. Whatever. Where’s the orange chicken?
So we made it to Jen’s around 9:30 so not too late for our very nice and accommodating hostess. We made the requisite Facebook check-ins and hit the hay.
Tuesday started off well enough. Had a good breakfast, filled up the car, started looking for the freeway and then…wait, what? I’m being asked to pull over by Mr. Police officer? Oh, these cones represent a construction zone? I was going 39 you say? Right. So what construction has been done here? Oh, none. I see. Where are the construction workers? Not right here but in the area. Okay. So it’s just you and a bunch of cones set up so you can write speeding tickets all day? Got it. Thank you for giving a speeding ticket to an unemployed person who has to save as much money as possible right now. Greeeaaaat…
So yeah. The second time I’ve ever been pulled over and my first speeding ticket. And I’m the guy who almost always goes no more than 5 mph over the speed limit and is as straight as an arrow in life. Lord. Oh and did I mention I was in Surpise, Arizona? Quite the surprise. Let’s get OUT OF HERE.
So we start our way to Albuquerque and only *then* start noticing that it appears that there is either a camera or a police car in wait on the freeway like every 50 feet in Arizona. GO THE SPEED LIMIT. GO THE SPEED LIMIT. GO THE SPEED LIMIT. GO THE SPEED LIMIT. GO THE SPEED LIMIT. As went my primary thoughts throughout the duration of my drive on Arizona freeways. Talk about scaring a poor boy straight. Oh and my mind also turned the big traffic cones into mini versions of Daleks (Dr. Who, anyone?) but sans the turret cannon bit. Both are pure evil. Let’s move on…
So we’re making good time and then see freeway signs for Meteor Crater and made a snap road trip decision to go see it. I mean, when’s the next time we’re going to be there? So without further ado, here’s Meteor Crater:
I got this total almost surrealist shot overlooking the desert:
“I present to you, Meteor Crater”
King of the Crater
So back on the road we went. Arrival in Albuquerque was around 8:30 and after checking in, we did the sensible thing which was to have a giant dinner at awesome seafood establishment, Pappadeaux.
Wednesday was an early wake-up call of around 5:30 as we wanted to get to Carlsbad Caverns no later than lunch-ish time. The trip down and back was probably the most interesting of the trip. The main freeway heading south had almost nobody at all on it, halfway down the sky opened up and I had to navigate these crazy torrential downpours which produced some flash flooding, we went through a town that *had* to have been used as the setting on a horror film, and *then* we got to Roswell.
We stopped off at the local Wal Mart for an early lunch which we ate in the parking lot. This *was* a strange day, wasn’t it? And I got these shots, being my *only* pictures in the town:
Right. So down to Carlsbad Caverns we went. We did get there around 12:30 but only really had time to take the main tour being we had a drive of 5-6 hours back so here’s a few shots from the tour:
The entrance cave:
After crossing over:
A little further down:
Hanging out:
Well look at that:
And that:
The Three Giants or some such:
Me being artistic, or so I think:
Anyway, by the time we got to the bottom of the main cave, we had walked down about 750 feet. The only think is that there is some level of the Law of Diminishing Returns as I think we both starting thinking, “Yeah…another stalactite…or stalagmite. Yay…” However we were glad to have gone and it well worth the time as it’s just one of places people should try to get out to once in their life. Okay so that was Wednesday.
Thursday was highlighted by a mostly non-eventful trip to Laughlin. After about 1:00 I started getting hungry for a little lunchy lunch and Henry mentioned that there was an In-N-Out in Flagstaff. Now those of you that know me are aware that I can, ummmmm, get singularly focused and once I had In-N-Out on the brain, it became my mission. So we get to Flagstaff and…no In-N-Out off the freeway. We kept on looking at each exit and nopers. Okay. Everything will be fine. We’ll just find something along to way and nothing nothing nothing and before you know it we saw a Jack In The Box and that was going to have to be good enough. We stopped off…and 20-30 minutes later we got our food. Not fast food, btw. Alright well whatever, we got something to eat. Back to the freeway and I kid you not…the next exit had an In-N-Out and then the following exit was the Carl’s Jr. from earlier in our story. Figures. *Josh slaps forehead with palm*
So get got in around 5:30, checked in, and started walking around and about the first thing I said to Henry was, “I think they eat young people” as Laughlin is, errrrr, the “older crowd” shall we say. It was like I was in a Twilight Zone episode or something. After coming to terms with Bizarro Las Vegas we hit a buffet, strolled along the river walk, gambled a bit, and went to bed…as we’d done almost everything one could do in Laughlin. This is how excited I was to be there:
Friday was extraordinarily humdrum as we just drove back. No random girls hitting on me, or getting speeding tickets, or looking at giant holes in the Earth.
Anyway, that’s the long and short of it and now I’m looking forward to my next road trip. I’m eyeing the Pacific Northwest, actually. We’ll see when that happens.
So two weeks ago I took off with one of my best friends for a five day roadie throughout the Southwest. Now I was born in Arizona, but hadn’t really traveled through the area as an adult so this seemed to be a good time to do it. Going into planning we knew we wanted to go to Carlsbad Caverns but beyond that we were up for however things might go. My initial thought was that I have family in Phoenix so we might be able to stay with someone out there. Thankfully my cousin Jen said we could stay at their place so we had Monday night set. We then made skeletal plans to be in Albuquerque Tuesday and Wednesday, drive to Laughlin on Thursday, and come home by Friday night. With that laid out, here’s how things played out…
Anyone who knows me is aware that I’m a guy who enjoys his sleep so when the ala…wait when I just *naturally woke up* (seriously, what’s my problem?) just after 4:00 I was feeling a little surreal, but okay. So I updated my Facebook status (I do *not* have issues) threw my stuff in my car and went to pick Henry up. After arriving we threw some essentials in the car including a huge bottle of water and a container of chocolate covered almonds (gotta be prepared, you know?) and went our way. I drove the first leg…wait, I drove the whole trip. Hold on. sidebar. So we found out that one of my super powers is that I have the capacity to drive amazingly long distances without getting tired…provided I have a fully charged iPod. Apparently I run on music. I also want to take this time to thank the cities of Napa, Sacramento, and Paso Robles for the many trips I have taken to them that helped build my stamina. Also navigating the zany L.A. traffic for years has undoubtedly helped.
And we’re back. So we stopped off in Barstow and I had second breakfast at a McDonald’s (waaaaaay too much fast food on this trip. Sorry, body.) and we got some water bottles and chips. Our next stop proved to be an unexpected adventure. We stopped off at a Carl’s Jr. in Kingman, Arizona for a drink, I walked up to the counter to order and before I could say a word to place my order, the girl behind the counter asked, “Hey, has anyone told you that you look like the lead from the film version of Rent?” (this guy. Actor Anthony Rapp. What do you think?) Obviously I was not expecting this question but we proceeded to talk about this possibility for a spell and I even got my drink order in at some point. She gave me my cup and in classic nervous fashion immediately forgot the situation and told me my order would be up in a minute. I kindly reminded her that she already gave me my drink so my order already arrived but thanks and I got my drink. We walked back to my car and Henry, after telling me that she was totally hitting on me (I’m…ummmmm…a little oblivious to these things. It’s probably another reason why I’m still single. Josh and signals sometimes get lost), concocted a plan for me to have an excuse to go back. So we decided we *really* needed some ice. So I walked in to get a cup for ice aaaaaand…no girl. There was a nice more-than-middle-aged woman who gave me requested cup for ice. Oh well. Back on the road.
This then brings us to big site #1 on the trip: The Grand Canyon. As the way these things usually go, I really won’t be daft and try to *explain* the Grand Canyon. Here are some pics:
Panorama from the South Rim:
Another shot from the rim
We also…ummmmm…walked down and found a great spot to take some shots…at a ledge. Here you go:
Henry
Josh
So after Grand Canyon fun, we drove down to Sedona to see the red rocks. Here are a few of those:
We spent a little time walking down the main street but knew we needed to get back on the road stat if we wanted to get into the Phoenix area at a respectable time. On the way down I had a chance to see a highway sign pointing to Cottonwood (my city of birth) and we also got directions to a local buffet as we were feeling one. This is where horrible “Road Trip Logic” comes in as we saw that at that time we were 104 miles from the buffet and 102 miles from Jen’s house. Perfect they’re right next to each other. Because, you know, there’s *no way* they could be those distances in *different directions* from each other. Of course not. Okay well it wasn’t *that bad* but before stepping out of the car to grab dinner we checked the distance to Jen’s and it was about 43 miles. Whatever. Where’s the orange chicken?
So we made it to Jen’s around 9:30 so not too late for our very nice and accommodating hostess. We made the requisite Facebook check-ins and hit the hay.
Tuesday started off well enough. Had a good breakfast, filled up the car, started looking for the freeway and then…wait, what? I’m being asked to pull over by Mr. Police officer? Oh, these cones represent a construction zone? I was going 39 you say? Right. So what construction has been done here? Oh, none. I see. Where are the construction workers? Not right here but in the area. Okay. So it’s just you and a bunch of cones set up so you can write speeding tickets all day? Got it. Thank you for giving a speeding ticket to an unemployed person who has to save as much money as possible right now. Greeeaaaat…
So yeah. The second time I’ve ever been pulled over and my first speeding ticket. And I’m the guy who almost always goes no more than 5 mph over the speed limit and is as straight as an arrow in life. Lord. Oh and did I mention I was in Surpise, Arizona? Quite the surprise. Let’s get OUT OF HERE.
So we start our way to Albuquerque and only *then* start noticing that it appears that there is either a camera or a police car in wait on the freeway like every 50 feet in Arizona. GO THE SPEED LIMIT. GO THE SPEED LIMIT. GO THE SPEED LIMIT. GO THE SPEED LIMIT. GO THE SPEED LIMIT. As went my primary thoughts throughout the duration of my drive on Arizona freeways. Talk about scaring a poor boy straight. Oh and my mind also turned the big traffic cones into mini versions of Daleks (Dr. Who, anyone?) but sans the turret cannon bit. Both are pure evil. Let’s move on…
So we’re making good time and then see freeway signs for Meteor Crater and made a snap road trip decision to go see it. I mean, when’s the next time we’re going to be there? So without further ado, here’s Meteor Crater:
I got this total almost surrealist shot overlooking the desert:
“I present to you, Meteor Crater”
King of the Crater
So back on the road we went. Arrival in Albuquerque was around 8:30 and after checking in, we did the sensible thing which was to have a giant dinner at awesome seafood establishment, Pappadeaux.
Wednesday was an early wake-up call of around 5:30 as we wanted to get to Carlsbad Caverns no later than lunch-ish time. The trip down and back was probably the most interesting of the trip. The main freeway heading south had almost nobody at all on it, halfway down the sky opened up and I had to navigate these crazy torrential downpours which produced some flash flooding, we went through a town that *had* to have been used as the setting on a horror film, and *then* we got to Roswell.
We stopped off at the local Wal Mart for an early lunch which we ate in the parking lot. This *was* a strange day, wasn’t it? And I got these shots, being my *only* pictures in the town:
Right. So down to Carlsbad Caverns we went. We did get there around 12:30 but only really had time to take the main tour being we had a drive of 5-6 hours back so here’s a few shots from the tour:
The entrance cave:
After crossing over:
A little further down:
Hanging out:
Well look at that:
And that:
The Three Giants or some such:
Me being artistic, or so I think:
Anyway, by the time we got to the bottom of the main cave, we had walked down about 750 feet. The only think is that there is some level of the Law of Diminishing Returns as I think we both starting thinking, “Yeah…another stalactite…or stalagmite. Yay…” However we were glad to have gone and it well worth the time as it’s just one of places people should try to get out to once in their life. Okay so that was Wednesday.
Thursday was highlighted by a mostly non-eventful trip to Laughlin. After about 1:00 I started getting hungry for a little lunchy lunch and Henry mentioned that there was an In-N-Out in Flagstaff. Now those of you that know me are aware that I can, ummmmm, get singularly focused and once I had In-N-Out on the brain, it became my mission. So we get to Flagstaff and…no In-N-Out off the freeway. We kept on looking at each exit and nopers. Okay. Everything will be fine. We’ll just find something along to way and nothing nothing nothing and before you know it we saw a Jack In The Box and that was going to have to be good enough. We stopped off…and 20-30 minutes later we got our food. Not fast food, btw. Alright well whatever, we got something to eat. Back to the freeway and I kid you not…the next exit had an In-N-Out and then the following exit was the Carl’s Jr. from earlier in our story. Figures. *Josh slaps forehead with palm*
So get got in around 5:30, checked in, and started walking around and about the first thing I said to Henry was, “I think they eat young people” as Laughlin is, errrrr, the “older crowd” shall we say. It was like I was in a Twilight Zone episode or something. After coming to terms with Bizarro Las Vegas we hit a buffet, strolled along the river walk, gambled a bit, and went to bed…as we’d done almost everything one could do in Laughlin. This is how excited I was to be there:
Friday was extraordinarily humdrum as we just drove back. No random girls hitting on me, or getting speeding tickets, or looking at giant holes in the Earth.
Anyway, that’s the long and short of it and now I’m looking forward to my next road trip. I’m eyeing the Pacific Northwest, actually. We’ll see when that happens.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
All Things Scotland Trip
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Wait…hold on…give me a second. Someone just told me that it took almost two months for me to finish my little blog about my trip to Scotland in April. What? That’s REAL? Wow…what’s *my* deal? Anyway, I wanted to finally finish this and get it posted even though I’ve talked to most of you about the trip but I have some family who read my blog that might still think I’m there because I haven’t posted about the trip ; ) Oh and I’m also taking a road trip to the Southwest for most of next week and I figured I might as well get this up before it gets *really* ridiculous. Here you go…
So I don’t know if any of you heard that I went to Scotland for vacation recently (Obviously I started writing in May)…*wink wink* Okay but seriously, I’ve really needed to get on a post for the trip and given my history of taking “awhile” to post on things, I should get cracking before the month passes me by (wow, *that’s* a funny sentence come the end of June). Although we’ll see. Okay so I had the chance (and vacation time) to make my way out to Edinburgh as I have a few friends currently attending The University of Edinburgh (Mae and Sophia) so I had people to see and an awesome place to do the seeing in so it was a perfect storm.
My travel day out was…quite the adventure. My friend Philbert from small group drove me out to LAX and we had breakfast at the most dangerous Jack In-The-Box in the world. There was Plexiglas dividing customer from worker and one of those door to door jobs so that food could be passed. Good times!! Anyway, smrt guy here booked a flight that wasn’t set to leave until the early afternoon here and was to arrive in Edinburgh in the midmorning…meaning even though my body wanted to sleep as soon as I got in, I had to stay up an extra 12 hours. No sweat. What could happen? I mean what could happen other than “see” a disembodied head on the plane in Heathrow next to me while on the tarmac and an elephant standing in someone’s yard while taking the bus to Mae’s flat? *Ahem* Anyway, day 1½ consisted of trying to stay tied to reality while in a tired stupor, hit up The Olive, make my first Tesco run, get hooked on Dr. Who and was able to have the awesome picture below taken. All in all a good day.
Sunday morning was spent at Mae’s church for services and then we had a “new members’ lunch” with the pastor. I decided not to join. Sunday night was a planning night where we were able to largely get the week straightened out. I also apparently said, "like what the EFF, panda bears?!?" at one point for reasons that has seeped into the mist of time.
A good portion of Monday was spent hiking around Holyrood Park and up to Arthur’s Seat (the main peak) with Mae, Sophia and new friend Crystal. Since it’s seems odd to write out a narrative on a hike, I thought it better to simply pluck out a few shots from the afternoon. Here goes:
Just starting out:
St. Anthony’s Chapel:
A lake on the way:
A view from the top:
Tuesday was spent with Sophia as we made the trek up to Stirling, and Stirling Castle which has played a pivotal role in Scottish history, including being where Mary Queen of Scots was crowned…among other things. In random information, we were told that on a clear day (which happens…when? Sorry.) you can see across the entirety of Scotland in every direction you look. Hopefully I remembered that right. Anyway, here are a few pics:
Robert The Bruce statue
Tree on the castle grounds
Looking out to the Wallace Monument
In addition to the regular tour, we also had fun bumping around the regimental museum, walking the castle walls, seeing exciting looming in action so good times.
After looking around the cast, we walked the streets of the city and saw several interesting adverts for a local church, including this one:
Anyway, once back to Edinburgh we went to the famous Grayfriar’s Bobby pub I tried haggis for the first time (mine was stuffed in chicken), and we participated in a pub quiz. I knew I would get trivia night in…actually I had no idea but hey, good thing for happy coincidence. So that was Tuesday.
Wednesday started off with Mae and I hitting up The Georgian House which is a preserved house dating back to the late 18th century. And since I’m a man who loves his old houses…anyway, it was a nice slice into early 19th century life so enjoyment was had.
After lunch we made our way to the Royal Botanic garden, and here are a few select shots:
One Wednesday night we had a night in and watched Mitchell , the Rifftrax version of the 3rd Harry Potter and Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii...although I could be mixing up my programs and days…oh and since we're here we also took in Magical Mystery Tour at some point. It’s June, after all. I can't keep this stuff straight..Anyway, I hadn't seen it before. Don't judge.
So Thursday was my big day trip with Sophia to the Highlands and Loch Ness…and it almost didn’t happen. Soph was very good to book the night before and I got directions from Mae the night before, as we were to meet at this café on the Royal Mile (the main street that runs from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace). Now by the time Thursday came around I felt decent about getting to major spots although I hit a snag as soon as I left…ummmmmm…I realized I had no change for the bus and since it was before 7:00 almost no places were open for me to make change so I took some crazy walk in search of a convenient store (not convenient, btw). It took a minute (or more) but I finally bought an orange juice and had proper change. Right. So I hopped on the bus, made my way to the café aaaaaand…no Sophia. What’s more I had no phone or phone numbers of anyone (I didn’t think this through) so I couldn’t think what to do other than stand there waiting. That didn’t work so I asked the person working the café where the tours left and she told me that would be around the corner. This worked well as shortly after turning said corner I saw Sophia running towards me. Okay so crisis averted….Anyway, once getting inside the tour office she let me know she bought me a ticket for the cruise…the only weird bit being I was the *only* person slated to go on the cruise and they announced that because of this “one person” everyone would have to stay in Loch Ness extra time. No worries as that prompted everyone else (for the most part) and including Soph to buy a ticket. You’re welcome, Haggis Adventures.
Anyway, the trip itself was a rolling good time as our tour guide, Joe, would talk endlessly about almost anything. He was fascinating. I enjoyed that his initial spiel seem to have been based on how the Scots have invented everything that has ever mattered. It was awesome. Truly spectacular. I also enjoyed the Scottish music played while in-between his talks as there’s just something to hearing Travis in Scotland.
Okay so when we weren’t in transit and either listening to Joe or talking, we had a few stops along the way. Stop #1 had us see this guy:
We then hopped back on the bus and I proceeded to take endless shots while on the bus such as…
…and the “Three Sisters”
and so on…
Oh and before I forget, here’s Joe:
Anyway I did get the requisite, “I’m a tourist in front of some mountain holding a Scottish flag” shot:
Anyway, the highlight of the trip was seeing Loch Ness (lord, how stereotypical) so here’s a few from the good loch.
Me seeing what could be Nessie:
Oh and I wanted to let you all know I opened up a restaurant while there, too. Surprise!!
Okay…so we then took our trek down south stopped off at a waterfall of sorts)…
…became a moose…
…and also had the presence of mind to take one normal looking picture together:
Anyway, so that was the meat and potatoes from our day trip.
On Friday, I hit up Edinburgh Castle in the morning and here are a few shots from that excursion:
The castle proper:
A view from the top:
Making my “Serious Face” from the top:
Inside St. Margaret’s Chapel (the oldest standing structure on the grounds):
The castle is also where the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Scone are kept. The silly people working the castle wouldn’t let me take pictures of them. Just go online (well I suppose you already are) and go to Google images and you should be good.
Okay so then the other highlight of Friday was going to play Skittles, in which I received nothing but blank stares from the people I told I was going to go before I left. The festivities took place at the Sheep Heid Inn, which dates back to 1360 and is considered the oldest pub in Scotland…so there you go. For the uninitiated it’s not just a tasty candy, but also the precursor to bowling. It’s largely a pub game, the scoring is about the same as bowling, however it’s up to you (or someone on your team) to manually put the pins back up, there are two sizes of balls (one “regular” bowling size and then one about the size of a shot put) but no finger holes. Did I forget anything? Having said that, here are a few shots from Skittles night.
Here’s the game in action:
Here you can see the two different size balls as well as the pins being set up:
Oh and here’s a quick video I found of people playing at the Sheep Heid…just in case still images weren’t doing it for you.
We played in two teams with the Americans versus the World. The World won.
After Skittles I had some tea with a few of the local students I met through Mae and Sophia and they introduced me to Jaffa Cakes, we watched several videos about a talking vacuum cleaner or some such, had some good conversation time and then I turned in.
Saturday, several of us went to the Farmer’s market, I picked up some local strawberry sparkling wine and got this cool shot:
Mae and I then had lunch with the worst service I’ve ever experienced although I think one of the reasons may have been that I made the very American mistake of ordering ice tea in a cold weather country that has no idea to such ridiculous notions. Yikes…Anyway, I then spent the afternoon at Holyrood Palace which is the Queen’s official residency in Scotland. All tours of the audio variety and no pictures of the inside were allowed…so here’s some of the outside:
The front of the Palace:
Fountain in front of the Palace:
Creepy fiddler statue I swear was about to move. Freaked me out a little bit:
Holyrood Abbey:
Holyrood Abbey:
So those were the highlights of Saturday.
Sunday saw me wake up nice and early to get to the airport so I grabbed my stuff and left for the bus stop. I caught a city bus which took me to the flyaway bus for the airport. No worries as to my flight back into London although once there I had like a 4-5 hour layover. I did notice, though, that one of the examples of things you are not to bring on board any flights was a snow globe. Is that a usual problem? Right. So the flight back was crazy as I watched 5 full movies and thought the trip was never going to end. It did and I was back home but things felt different.
So that’s the long and short of it. It’s weird for me when I travel because it always reinforces certain things with me. Sometimes I don’t think enough people know the internal me well enough but I really could just get up and leave and do something seemingly random with my life. I’m really not as tied down as it may appear. I just need opportunities and I’m glad I had this one to remind me of that. Geesh in fact that’s what I’m doing to a degree now. When I got back from Scotland I still was at MI and it was all very status quo. Now I’m going into small business ventures, taking off the cuff trips through the Southwest, and I’m open to whatever. Anyway…I’m glad I went and would love to get back as there are waaaaay too many things I didn’t do (Lake District, I have my eye on you) so more motivation in the future. So thanks to Mae (especially) and Sophia for seeing me through the trip and for the few new friends I picked up along the way. All my best.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Wait…hold on…give me a second. Someone just told me that it took almost two months for me to finish my little blog about my trip to Scotland in April. What? That’s REAL? Wow…what’s *my* deal? Anyway, I wanted to finally finish this and get it posted even though I’ve talked to most of you about the trip but I have some family who read my blog that might still think I’m there because I haven’t posted about the trip ; ) Oh and I’m also taking a road trip to the Southwest for most of next week and I figured I might as well get this up before it gets *really* ridiculous. Here you go…
So I don’t know if any of you heard that I went to Scotland for vacation recently (Obviously I started writing in May)…*wink wink* Okay but seriously, I’ve really needed to get on a post for the trip and given my history of taking “awhile” to post on things, I should get cracking before the month passes me by (wow, *that’s* a funny sentence come the end of June). Although we’ll see. Okay so I had the chance (and vacation time) to make my way out to Edinburgh as I have a few friends currently attending The University of Edinburgh (Mae and Sophia) so I had people to see and an awesome place to do the seeing in so it was a perfect storm.
My travel day out was…quite the adventure. My friend Philbert from small group drove me out to LAX and we had breakfast at the most dangerous Jack In-The-Box in the world. There was Plexiglas dividing customer from worker and one of those door to door jobs so that food could be passed. Good times!! Anyway, smrt guy here booked a flight that wasn’t set to leave until the early afternoon here and was to arrive in Edinburgh in the midmorning…meaning even though my body wanted to sleep as soon as I got in, I had to stay up an extra 12 hours. No sweat. What could happen? I mean what could happen other than “see” a disembodied head on the plane in Heathrow next to me while on the tarmac and an elephant standing in someone’s yard while taking the bus to Mae’s flat? *Ahem* Anyway, day 1½ consisted of trying to stay tied to reality while in a tired stupor, hit up The Olive, make my first Tesco run, get hooked on Dr. Who and was able to have the awesome picture below taken. All in all a good day.
Sunday morning was spent at Mae’s church for services and then we had a “new members’ lunch” with the pastor. I decided not to join. Sunday night was a planning night where we were able to largely get the week straightened out. I also apparently said, "like what the EFF, panda bears?!?" at one point for reasons that has seeped into the mist of time.
A good portion of Monday was spent hiking around Holyrood Park and up to Arthur’s Seat (the main peak) with Mae, Sophia and new friend Crystal. Since it’s seems odd to write out a narrative on a hike, I thought it better to simply pluck out a few shots from the afternoon. Here goes:
Just starting out:
St. Anthony’s Chapel:
A lake on the way:
A view from the top:
Tuesday was spent with Sophia as we made the trek up to Stirling, and Stirling Castle which has played a pivotal role in Scottish history, including being where Mary Queen of Scots was crowned…among other things. In random information, we were told that on a clear day (which happens…when? Sorry.) you can see across the entirety of Scotland in every direction you look. Hopefully I remembered that right. Anyway, here are a few pics:
Robert The Bruce statue
Tree on the castle grounds
Looking out to the Wallace Monument
In addition to the regular tour, we also had fun bumping around the regimental museum, walking the castle walls, seeing exciting looming in action so good times.
After looking around the cast, we walked the streets of the city and saw several interesting adverts for a local church, including this one:
Anyway, once back to Edinburgh we went to the famous Grayfriar’s Bobby pub I tried haggis for the first time (mine was stuffed in chicken), and we participated in a pub quiz. I knew I would get trivia night in…actually I had no idea but hey, good thing for happy coincidence. So that was Tuesday.
Wednesday started off with Mae and I hitting up The Georgian House which is a preserved house dating back to the late 18th century. And since I’m a man who loves his old houses…anyway, it was a nice slice into early 19th century life so enjoyment was had.
After lunch we made our way to the Royal Botanic garden, and here are a few select shots:
One Wednesday night we had a night in and watched Mitchell , the Rifftrax version of the 3rd Harry Potter and Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii...although I could be mixing up my programs and days…oh and since we're here we also took in Magical Mystery Tour at some point. It’s June, after all. I can't keep this stuff straight..Anyway, I hadn't seen it before. Don't judge.
So Thursday was my big day trip with Sophia to the Highlands and Loch Ness…and it almost didn’t happen. Soph was very good to book the night before and I got directions from Mae the night before, as we were to meet at this café on the Royal Mile (the main street that runs from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace). Now by the time Thursday came around I felt decent about getting to major spots although I hit a snag as soon as I left…ummmmmm…I realized I had no change for the bus and since it was before 7:00 almost no places were open for me to make change so I took some crazy walk in search of a convenient store (not convenient, btw). It took a minute (or more) but I finally bought an orange juice and had proper change. Right. So I hopped on the bus, made my way to the café aaaaaand…no Sophia. What’s more I had no phone or phone numbers of anyone (I didn’t think this through) so I couldn’t think what to do other than stand there waiting. That didn’t work so I asked the person working the café where the tours left and she told me that would be around the corner. This worked well as shortly after turning said corner I saw Sophia running towards me. Okay so crisis averted….Anyway, once getting inside the tour office she let me know she bought me a ticket for the cruise…the only weird bit being I was the *only* person slated to go on the cruise and they announced that because of this “one person” everyone would have to stay in Loch Ness extra time. No worries as that prompted everyone else (for the most part) and including Soph to buy a ticket. You’re welcome, Haggis Adventures.
Anyway, the trip itself was a rolling good time as our tour guide, Joe, would talk endlessly about almost anything. He was fascinating. I enjoyed that his initial spiel seem to have been based on how the Scots have invented everything that has ever mattered. It was awesome. Truly spectacular. I also enjoyed the Scottish music played while in-between his talks as there’s just something to hearing Travis in Scotland.
Okay so when we weren’t in transit and either listening to Joe or talking, we had a few stops along the way. Stop #1 had us see this guy:
We then hopped back on the bus and I proceeded to take endless shots while on the bus such as…
…and the “Three Sisters”
and so on…
Oh and before I forget, here’s Joe:
Anyway I did get the requisite, “I’m a tourist in front of some mountain holding a Scottish flag” shot:
Anyway, the highlight of the trip was seeing Loch Ness (lord, how stereotypical) so here’s a few from the good loch.
Me seeing what could be Nessie:
Oh and I wanted to let you all know I opened up a restaurant while there, too. Surprise!!
Okay…so we then took our trek down south stopped off at a waterfall of sorts)…
…became a moose…
…and also had the presence of mind to take one normal looking picture together:
Anyway, so that was the meat and potatoes from our day trip.
On Friday, I hit up Edinburgh Castle in the morning and here are a few shots from that excursion:
The castle proper:
A view from the top:
Making my “Serious Face” from the top:
Inside St. Margaret’s Chapel (the oldest standing structure on the grounds):
The castle is also where the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Scone are kept. The silly people working the castle wouldn’t let me take pictures of them. Just go online (well I suppose you already are) and go to Google images and you should be good.
Okay so then the other highlight of Friday was going to play Skittles, in which I received nothing but blank stares from the people I told I was going to go before I left. The festivities took place at the Sheep Heid Inn, which dates back to 1360 and is considered the oldest pub in Scotland…so there you go. For the uninitiated it’s not just a tasty candy, but also the precursor to bowling. It’s largely a pub game, the scoring is about the same as bowling, however it’s up to you (or someone on your team) to manually put the pins back up, there are two sizes of balls (one “regular” bowling size and then one about the size of a shot put) but no finger holes. Did I forget anything? Having said that, here are a few shots from Skittles night.
Here’s the game in action:
Here you can see the two different size balls as well as the pins being set up:
Oh and here’s a quick video I found of people playing at the Sheep Heid…just in case still images weren’t doing it for you.
We played in two teams with the Americans versus the World. The World won.
After Skittles I had some tea with a few of the local students I met through Mae and Sophia and they introduced me to Jaffa Cakes, we watched several videos about a talking vacuum cleaner or some such, had some good conversation time and then I turned in.
Saturday, several of us went to the Farmer’s market, I picked up some local strawberry sparkling wine and got this cool shot:
Mae and I then had lunch with the worst service I’ve ever experienced although I think one of the reasons may have been that I made the very American mistake of ordering ice tea in a cold weather country that has no idea to such ridiculous notions. Yikes…Anyway, I then spent the afternoon at Holyrood Palace which is the Queen’s official residency in Scotland. All tours of the audio variety and no pictures of the inside were allowed…so here’s some of the outside:
The front of the Palace:
Fountain in front of the Palace:
Creepy fiddler statue I swear was about to move. Freaked me out a little bit:
Holyrood Abbey:
Holyrood Abbey:
So those were the highlights of Saturday.
Sunday saw me wake up nice and early to get to the airport so I grabbed my stuff and left for the bus stop. I caught a city bus which took me to the flyaway bus for the airport. No worries as to my flight back into London although once there I had like a 4-5 hour layover. I did notice, though, that one of the examples of things you are not to bring on board any flights was a snow globe. Is that a usual problem? Right. So the flight back was crazy as I watched 5 full movies and thought the trip was never going to end. It did and I was back home but things felt different.
So that’s the long and short of it. It’s weird for me when I travel because it always reinforces certain things with me. Sometimes I don’t think enough people know the internal me well enough but I really could just get up and leave and do something seemingly random with my life. I’m really not as tied down as it may appear. I just need opportunities and I’m glad I had this one to remind me of that. Geesh in fact that’s what I’m doing to a degree now. When I got back from Scotland I still was at MI and it was all very status quo. Now I’m going into small business ventures, taking off the cuff trips through the Southwest, and I’m open to whatever. Anyway…I’m glad I went and would love to get back as there are waaaaay too many things I didn’t do (Lake District, I have my eye on you) so more motivation in the future. So thanks to Mae (especially) and Sophia for seeing me through the trip and for the few new friends I picked up along the way. All my best.
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