Scotland and Super Bowl

Although I've been back from Scotland since Sunday night, I haven't been able to get to one of NYU's precious computers, on account of the fact that 100 other kids hadn't checked their e-mail since Thursday as well.

So all apologies.

Scotland was aggressively windy and rainy, and aggressively beautiful. Edinburgh is probably one of the most gorgeous cities I've ever seen. It's bounded by the North Sea on one side, and by huge green crags on the other, with castles and gothic churches all in between. Glasgow is pretty as well, but a lot more, er, gentrified/globalized/commercialized...what you will. Anyway, there's a lot of Gap stores there, is what I'm saying. And that's not a bad thing. It just feels like any modern Western city. Edinburgh doesn't let you forget where you are. It's militantly Scottish.

It's a surpringly long way from London to Glasgow. Maybe it's surprising because my sense of British geography is woefully lacking, but during the ride up we watched Bridget Jones' Diary, Braveheart and The Full Monty and took two long breaks. We didn't get in until five in the morning.

I tried haggis. Wasn't that bad, actually. I was actually a bit disappointed it wasn't worse, as I was expecting my ingestion of sheep innards and oats to be more melodramatic. It tastes a bit like corned beef hash.

So, in summation, any country that gives me four rainbows and a lot of sheep to look at while driving through it in one day is worthy of my admiration.

I hope you all enjoyed the Super Bowl, as I was too tired to haul myself down to a pub at Leicester Square at eleven at night after being on a bus for over 10 hours. Jeffrey was kind enough to tape the "E-Trade Super Bowl Halftime Yankee Doodle Expo-Fest-A-Rama Extravaganza Show Featuring Irish Supergroup U2 in Technicolor" (or whatever they're calling halftime these days), so I'll have something to look forward to when I get home.

Robyn

Massive Dork

No class today for me, thanks to my keen scheduling skills that provide me with a four day weekend whilst taking a full credit load.

"Whilst" is a fine word, by the by.

So now I find myself all to my lonesome in the computer lab, watching planes take off from Heathrow and fly over the Senate House library as I read about Enron, Moby, and economic summits and listen to the Joshua Tree over and over. Life is good.

Today is a little oasis of peace and quiet in an otherwise hectic week. Hectic is good, it keeps me busy and provides endless opportunity for sensual and intellectual stimulation. But peace, quiet, and the New York Times are good too, once in a while.

I went to the re-built Globe Theatre yesterday, and tonight I board a bus and will spend the weekend touring about Scotland. We're promised a lot of free time there. So does anyone know something cool to do there? I'll probably pick up a guide book upon my departure from the computer lab. I love guide books. I'm a massive dork.

Have a nice weekend.

Robyn

Raining Like a Mofo

A word on the differences between London rain and New York / Northeastern U.S. rain.

When it rains in New York, it tends to do so at intervals, but intervals in which the rain comes down in a mighty downpour. In London, it isn't a downpour so much as it is a constant, aggressive mist that lasts three days at a time and is exacerbated by mighty big wind gusts that render umbrellas and hats useless and hairdos unruly.

I'm not quite sure which type of rain I prefer.

It was on one of these lovely days that we went to see Stonehenge and the town of Salisbury last Friday. Stonehenge, I have to say, was a bit of a disappointment. It is indeed a cluster of rocks. And it's located on one of the most windswept and cold plains that I've ever had the opportunity to frolic on. The sheep don't seem to mind though.

Salisbury was lovely and medieval with more swans on the River Avon than you could shake a stick at. It's one of those towns, like Brugges, that although may be pretty in the sunlight, does not suffer aesthetically from a gloomy day. The gray skies and the wet cobblestones give it a nice atmosphere. Gloomy weather also makes a lunch of fish and chips at a cozylocal pub all the more enjoyable.

Robyn

Tintinnabulous!

Studying intensely yields many benefits, true. But one of the finer ones is the discovery of some truly kick-ass words in the English language.

Case in point: tintinnabulous.

Or it's equally delicious derivation: tintinnabulation.

It's one of those rare words which commands attention on the page, and is a gas to say. Go ahead. Don't you feel better?

Incidentally, it means the ringing of bells, or like the ringing of bells, but that hardly matters.

So, thank you, Thomas De Quincey, and your drug habit, for introducing tintinnabulous to my life in your Confessions of an English Opium-Eater. A good time was had by all.

Robyn

Social Creatures

Friday night was one of those nights when you feel like the biggest loser in the world and you're incapable of experiencing joy and you're going to die alone and afraid surrounded by seventy-two cats.

You know what I'm talking about.

But I'm happy to report that things are faring much better on the social front. My best friend from high school has been living in London for a couple months now, and was only too happy to show us around, take us to the theatre, and introduce us to her groovy Dutch roommate. Christine and I are now relatively comfortable with our small circle of friends.

And the navigation thang is slowly going better as well. We took a coach tour of London's Greatest Hits yesterday, so at least we know where most of the districts and landmarks lie with respect to our humble flat.

And I must be going because there is an ever constant line of NYU-L'ers who are lurking in the doorway coveting my computer. I must yield it unto them.

Robyn

Convoluted Urban Planning (or England: What the Hell?)

New Yorkers are spoiled.

This applies to many aspects, but I speak mainly of the luxury that is afforded in living in a city with an idiot-proof layout complete with right angles and numbered streets.

No such convenience here. Christine and I got spectacularly lost last night after a fleeing an uber-trendy bar (which very much rattled our Jeopardy!-lovin' sensibilities). Streets and passages thrown helter-skelter, streets that turn into other streets for no discernibly good reason, and a complete disregard for simple cardinal directions had us mighty confused.

Although considering we haven't been here for too very long, I suppose we shouldn't despair yet. We'll get the hang of it eventually.

Robyn

Back from Texas

No updates for awhile because I was in Texas for the New Year sans computer. Sure feels nice to come back to a mailbox full of 10 days worth of unsolicited pornographic e-mail, I can tell you.

I spent the New Year with the honey at his grandparent's home in Arlington. I ate massive amounts of chicken fried steak and spent a low-key New Year's Eve drinking sparkling grape juice. I also had the opportunity to explore Ft. Worth on my own while Jeffrey went to work at City Hall. I wouldn't reccommend (recommend? reccomend? reccccommmennnd?) it as a lifestyle, but killing an entire day, sun-up to sundown, by oneself can be immensely satisfying. I shopped, trekked, and saw a movie all on my own. Quite novel. It was probably made all the more pleasant because I knew I had a Jeffrey to go back to at 5:00 after my day of solitude, but I guess there's no harm in taking a little personal time.

I also discovered that a lot of Ft. Worthians respond to 29-degree temperatures and flurries as though they were the harbingers of the apocalypse; and regard any who dare to venture forth into these conditions as stalwart and noble-hearted meteorlogical warriors.

But then, they never had to stand outside of the Ed Sullivan Theater on 53rd and Broadway in subzero temperatures in nothing more than an ugly page uniform, pretending to be chipper, cheerful and welcoming all the while.

I eat 29-degree termperatures for breakfast, is what I'm trying to say.

All in all a lovely visit, and a nice send-off from the Jeffrey, who I shan't see for at least two months ::sniffle::

Robyn