So it begins

Working and Planning

Published Date : November 27, 2000

The last week has been quite a good one.  Work is still ridiculously dull, but the money makes it worth it – almost!

It has been great talking to all the other temps – especially the Aussies.  Everyone is doing the same thing in terms of travel so there’s always something to talk about.  Several of them have been to Nepal which is fanning the flames for me.  I still haven’t given up on going on a trek there.

On a different note, a girl from high school emailed the other day and said she was ready to book a flight and come visit for a month.  Luckily her parents vetoed that idea.  We get along well enough in small doses, but she’s not someone I would want to spend a month in close contact with!

I also had an email from Rod, an Australian from my Contiki tour last year.  We’ve kept in touch off and on since then, but I hadn’t heard from him since I came to the UK.  It looks like he’s thinking of coming over on holiday later in the year and wants to meet up if I’m still here.  It would be great to see him again.

Another familiar face

Published Date : November 29, 2000

News of the day:  Chris ran into Shirley from Glenthorne yesterday.  She’s in town for about a month until she heads on to Kenya!  Lucky girl.  It was great to see her again and catch up.  It never ceases to amaze me how often we run into people we know here.

I signed up for a mountaineering course in February.  It’s only £259 including accommodation and meals plus ice axe and crampon hire and 5 days of instruction.  It covers a little bit of everything: avalanche skills, survival, ice axe and crampon technique as well as basic belay and rope work which will be a good review for me.  It’s in Keswick so I’ll be headed back to the Lake District.  Something to look forward to!

I still haven’t gotten around to checking out the local rock climbing gym, but I’m hoping to do that on Sunday.

Seasons Greetings

Published Date : December 12, 2000

The Christmas season is definitely upon us.  Princes Street is decorated and busy with shoppers.  Mom’s parcel arrived last week and apparently Grandma’s is in the mail.  Chris has already guessed what all the presents are.  Christmas cards have been sent out and presents have almost all been bought.

There are no definite plans for Hogmannay yet.  We’ve been informed that the street party isn’t worth the hassle though.  Ian from work is having a huge party so that’s an option.  Also doing the Monopoly Pub Crawl has been mentioned as another possibility.  Rose Street is just outside the official street party zone and apparently has its own party every year as well.  So we have plenty of options.

In other news, I’ve been switched to working night shifts at Royal Mail, so I’m now working 18:00 – 06:00, 6 days a week.  I’m also getting £11.00 per hour.  Sweet!  I was a bit worried how I would adjust to working nights, but they seem to be a natural fit for me.  It’s still a bit novel going to the pub in the morning as everyone else is headed off to work!

My brother and his girlfriend are still fighting constantly.  I’m so close to moving back to the hostel and leaving them to fend for themselves.  The only thing keeping me here is the fact that it’s my name on the lease.  February and a week away can’t come soon enough!

A Scottish Christmas

Published Date : December 25, 2000

Royal Mail backpacker crew

Christmas has come and gone and it has been interesting.  Lots of parties, lots of presents and basically lots of fun.  We had our final party for the Royal Mail crowd as that job came to an end.

Another fun event was a pub crawl with Ken, one of my Aussie Royal Mail colleagues, and several of his friends.  We only made it to 4 of the 26 pubs on our list, but I managed to score a free t-shirt at one of them.

Today was another fun day.  After opening presents at the flat and calling home, I walked across town to the World’s End Pub where I met Mark, Bronwyn and Kenny for a turkey dinner with mulled wine.  My brother and his girlfriend elected to stay home and mope about being away from home rather than come with us.  Too bad because it was a really enjoyable afternoon.

The pub put on two sittings for the Christmas meal, one at midday and the other at supper time.  We had waited too late to reserve so had to take the midday option.  The only downside was being pushed out the door to make room for the next sitting coming in.  The mulled wine and food was very nice, especially for pub fare.  Reasonably priced at £14 a plate as well.  We were all in merry spirits after the meal and we headed to Bronwyn’s flat to carry on the festivities.

Christmas dinner with friends, human and otherwise!

There are plenty of plans in the works for the near future.  A trip to the highlands is on the agenda for the first weekend in January.  Ken is organizing a group to do some exploring and see a bit more of Scotland.

Ken is also looking into booking a ski trip to Austria in February.  We’re thinking 6-10 people going for a week or so would be a fabulous trip.  Seeing as Ken is a man with a plan, I’m sticking to him like glue.  Especially if he keeps doing all the organizing!

The other plan on the agenda is the most important.  New Year’s Eve!  Bronwyn may have a plan to sneak me into the street party, but if that falls through, Ian is still planning a big party at his house.  I’m thinking of going for the street party until midnight, then heading to Ian’s for the aftermath.  It will depend on the buses and taxis though.  We’ll see.

A New Year Begins

Published Date : January 9, 2001

Happy New Year!  Or not…

New Year’s Eve ended up fizzling.  I got into the street party with Bronwyn and Kenny, but it was rainy and a very subdued affair.  The fireworks over the castle were impressive though.

I’ve been feeling a bit down lately.  In part due to my bro and his girlfriend who are still fighting all the time.  It’s hard to be around them without feeling negative.

View along the trail to Arthur’s Seat

A bigger issue is what one of my former co-workers is calling the “Post-Royal Mail Blues.”  It seems many of us are feeling the same way.  It has been hard adjusting to “normal” jobs after the relaxed and social atmosphere at Royal Mail.  Many of the backpackers who we worked with have moved on as well.

My cure is to get out and do things.  I’ve been taking advantage of the recent nice weather to do some more exploring.  I recently took a nice walk up Arthur’s Seat after a snow fall and enjoyed some gorgeous views.

The road trip north with Ken and the others is still a go.  We’re just working out logistics.

In the meantime, I finally made it to Alien Rock, the local climbing gym.  It has only taken me two months to do it!  I was very impressed with their bouldering room and I was also impressed with myself.  I was climbing surprisingly well and still have a decent amount of upper body strength left.  Woohoo!  It felt great to be climbing again.