Since I read two books yesterday (Maximum Ride 2&3 by James Patterson, very so-so), I didn't feellike cracking another tome. So instead, I hit some favorite spots to see what was what:
Slate Magazine. What can I say, I love the Slate:
Blogs Yeah, there are a few I'm always checking:
I know, hardly deep, not so meaningful, but that's what's what ...
So, uh, happy New Year, and all that.
I haven't exactly been verbose since returning from sabbatical (yes, yes, I know ... it was 18 months ago ... but I started a new job, and it got busy, and then it had been so long htat I didn't know what to say), but I thought that instead of making a resolution for the new year, and give the blogging thing a try again.
So,what to blog about? The oodles of mashed sweet potatoes I just cooked up and put in the fridge for future eating pleasure (mmm. sweet potatoes.)? My unfortunate realization that I (*gasp*) have too many shoes? That I just discovered that some kind soul uploaded the entire Christmas Episode of Doctor Who (Voyage of the Damned) to YouTube and I got my fix while waiting for the Torchwood premiere (Jan 28, baby).
All interesting, but, well, meh.
But one of the things I've always wondered is how much I actually read in a day/week/month/year. I have a bit of a reputation, and pretty much am always reading, so, I thought, why not track it? It gets me back in the habit of writing pretty frequently (that is, writing non-work-email). So, that's the idea ... maybe I'll learn something about how I spend my free time ... or not :)
I'm still a little "meh" on the whole Slate redesign - I really liked it the way it was before, and the new logo is kinda ugly.
BUT, this is totally awesome: The Middle East Buddy List is exactly what I need to keep score of who plays well with others (since, apparently, we can't all just get along) - my History of the Middle East Class didn't really get past the creation of Israel, and, to be honest, I get confused.
I got to Orkney on Friday night, and left Sunday, which only gave me a day and a half to explore the island. But I soon discovered that Neolithic Orkney is a World Heritage Site, and with good reason. I had a fantastic time, and really wished I could have stayed there longer.
Friday, June 30
The ferry to Stromness got me in at 8:30. I'd already eaten dinner, so, since it was so light out, I decided to go for a drive after checking into my hotel. When I saw the signs for the Standing Stones of Stenness, I decided to see if they were still accessible.
Standing Stones of Stenness
They were! The stones are in the middle of a farmer's land, and there were actually sheep grazing around the stones.
The light was fantastic, and as the sun began to set, the sky had fantastic colors. I'm sure the short daylight hours in the winter are pretty harsh, but the long summer evenings should make up for it in spades!
...my five (ish) wonderful readers. I have a lot of stuff to put up about the rest of the Scotland portion of my trip (and some pretty good pictures, if I say so myself).
But with all this writing, something really wierd happened. As the sign says (btw, isn't that the best sign ever? Found it in a village outside Eilean Doonan castle. I think I want to get it blown up really big and framed), my priorities have sorta shifted. A bit.
As I wrote before, the big goal of this sabbatical was to focus on writing, and see if I could stick it through and write my novel. Well, it's been going super well, with the side effect that I've become a wee bit obsessed. As in, I'm not reading any other fiction at all. Yeah. The Crow came out on July 3. I picked up my copy at Waterstone's as soon as I could. And I haven't read it. Haven't even opened it up. Which is really wierd for me, especially for books that I've been craving for months. I track book releases like some movie releases.
As my three readers can attest (have I mentioned how much you guys rock yet? Cuz you do!), this book has taken over my life. But it's a good thing, and it's just what I wanted.
So I have updates and pictures and stuff that will be coming soon. I promise. I have to work on my pitch for the PNWA Conference today, but hope to get some of my other updates out of my head and onto the site.
I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on opening night in Edinburgh. I've been looking forward to this movie for ages and was so so so excited. And it was fun (even though, in true British cinema style, I had to sit through 30 minutes of obnoxious commercials after the supposed "start time." The previews were good, though). It had good fight scenes, plenty of funny bits, and I thought the plot was interesting. A few of the stunts were a little over the top, but that's really just a quibble.
But here's the thing, when you see it, don't expect it to have a proper ending. It's really more like a tv season-end cliffhanger. You know, like when Picard was captured and had just introduced himself as Locutus of Borg. Riker looks at the screen and says "Mr. Worf, fire," and then we get the music and the cruel cruel cruel "To be continued" appears on the screen. And now you had to spend the entire summer waiting to find out how what happens. That's how Pirates 2 ends.
So go, have fun, but know that you'll pause in the middle of the movie, and have to wait until next year to finish the saga. Of course, I don't think this is any worse than the way The Empire Strikes Back ended. At least this time we know when the conclusion will come out.
Drink up, me hearty's. Yo ho!
Found this little poem over on Miss Snark and thought I'd share. Don't worry, it's short.
Though I still firmly believe that true Northwesterners rarely succumb to the lure of the umbrella. We're rugged like that.
Today was the perfect day. Really.
I slept in, and woke up when I was ready. I had a lovely lunch at the Fruitmarket Gallery Cafe (cheap, too), then wandered down to Princes Street.
It was a beautiful day. Clouds rolling through the sky. Warm, but not hot, and with a light breeze. I wandered in a new direction, down George Street. I found an adorable modern jewellry gallery, and got a pair of earrings. And then I found the good Waterstone's.
The Waterstone's on Princes Street was small and didn't have what I was looking for. But this Waterstones, on George Street, had everything. I picked up a big Scotland Road Atlas (for tomorrow's adventure), and found a new Moleskine Large Ruled Reporters Notebook. (Aside on the Moleskine: its the perfect writing notebook. Good quality paper that's thick enough to write on both sides. Because the binding is at the top, my hand doesn't cramp at the edges orf the paper, and no space is wasted. Thick cover, with an elastic band that keeps it from flopping about. Plus, it's small enough to stick in my purse and leave plenty of room for everything else.). This was the fifth store I'd gone in looking for a new notebook, as I'm almost finished with the two I brought with me from home. And this was the first store that had what I needed.
The Good Waterstone's has a cafe inside, where I got what might be the world's largest cappucino. It was a very comfortable cafe, with a good vibe, so I pulled out my notebook and wrote a bit.
When the world's largest cappucino had been drained, I got to do one of my favorite things, wander through a bookstore. The shelves beckoned to me, but I remained relatively restrained. And I had them reserve a copy of The Crow for me, so I wouldn't have to worry about finding it when it comes out on July 3. After the bookstore, I wandered some more, and found a Starbucks with outdoor seating.
And today, Starbucks came through. Like a champ. First, I was finally able to purchase lemonade! For some reason, lemonade appears to be a code word for "Sprite" in Europe. And I love lemonade - not sprite - lemonade. Just lemons, water, and sugar. This lemonade had some lime juice in it as well, but it's as close as I've had in weeks. And it was wonderful. The second way Starbucks came through was that this was my view when I paused in my writing and looked up.
I came home to drop everything off, then headed back to the Grain Store for dinner. When I walked in, they greeted me like an old friend, even though I've only been there once before. I got my "usual" table, and kind of felt like I'd just walked into Cheers. I had a nice leisurely meal, enjoyed the atmosphere of the stone walls, candlelight, and wooden tables, and wrote more. I had soup, and venison (mmm. bambi.), a strawberry ice-cream-like dessert, and coffee. As we were chatting before I left, the owner, Paul, confirmed that Ullapool and Orkney were good choices, which was, of course, a nice confirmation to hear.
This one day was exactly what I'd envisioned when I planned my trip. Relaxed. Writing a lot, but having it flow naturally, and finding that it reads well when I go back through it. Calm. And fun.
So now you know what I was looking for. It was so nice for that ideal to actually come true.
I decided it was time to get out and see a little of the countryside, so last weekend, I went into a planning frenzy. I almost went with one of these tours, but, ultimately, the siren call of the ruins on Orkney (which my dad turned me onto) were too powerful to resist.
I've rented a car, and leave tomorrow for a fun little adventure (yes, manual transmission on the other side of the road does fall into my definition of fun). Here's the plan:
Day One
Edinburgh to Ullapool. Staying at the Ceilidh Place (apparently, it's pronounced "kay-lee." No, really).
Day Two
Hanging in Ullapool and Wester Ross.
Day Three
Ullapool to Scrabster. Ferry to Stromness, Orkney. Staying at the Orca Hotel (pronounced as it looks).
Day Four
Ruins, ruins, ruins and a cathedral on Orkney.
Day Five
Ferry back to Scrabster. Scrabster to Aberdeen. Long drive. Saying at the Thistle Aberdeen Caledonian.
Day Six
Aberdeen to Edinburgh. Stop at Dunnnottar Castle. One good castle ruin is worth 100 ho-hum ones. The pictures remind me a bit of Dunluce Castle.
Should be fun, no?
