Summer (mis)Fun

Well, I have gotten quite a few e-mails about my references to my summer mishaps and I figured I better get another blog in the works before it got out of hand :-) We'll go right to the good stuff then - my run in with a truck!

Walking through the meadows (the park I have to walk through everyday to get into town) I had to walk around a truck that was backed up over the sidewalk and partially in the road. I couldn't go behind him on the grass because they were pouring concrete, so I had to go around him in the street. Well traffic was pretty heavy so I was standing directly up against the front of the truck waiting to go around him (mind you the truck's front window isn't that tall, so my head could be clearly seen by the driver) when the driver decided he wanted to pull out and I was in his way, so he just started going forwarded trying to move me out of the way using the TRUCK!! He didn't yell anything out the window or ask me politely to move, he just decided to push me out of the way. Crazy, I know.

The fiasco in my kitchen wasn't my fault at all. One afternoon I was walking into the kitchen when I heard an odd noise coming from within. Upon entering, my eyes are immediately drawn to the new waterfall of running water coming from the ceiling above the counter. It proceeded to keep going like this until the ceiling partially came down from the weight of the water! The running water only lasted about an hour, but in that time, my flatmates and I, were frantically dumping buckets of water and replacing them with empty ones. The washing machine in the flat above ours was leaking and I guess over time the water built up until it finally came crashing through the ceiling. Thankfully, we are not responsible, but it still hasn't been fixed... Good ole insurance companies, they are the same no matter what country you are in! :-)

This past week was the last week of the Fringe festival and I decided that I probably wouldn't have another opportunity like this to take advantage of all the "culture" so I had better see something to say I had participated (I've been avoiding it because of all the tourists, I hate crowds). Well, there was quite a lot going on this week that I really enjoyed. I went and saw the play, "Emma" (which I thought more resembled the quality of a high school play then a 9.50 pound fringe worthy event) I also went and saw and Irish Step Dancing Spectacular. The dancers were fantastic, the dances themselves were a bit more modern than I would have liked, but there was still a lot of the traditional step dancing to keep me entertained.

I also went on a Murder and Mystery Graveyard tour of old Edinburgh. It was a lot of fun (although VERY cold) and I learned quite a bit about the more nefarious history of Edinburgh. Like the true inspiration for Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, what happened to Mary, Queen of Scots, murdered secretary, and Burke and Hare, Scotland's first pair of serial killers! After my graveyard adventures, I went to a late night classical music event at Old Saint Paul's Church. It was a great way to end my night. Picture sitting in an old stone church at 10 o'clock at night, with only candles lighting the inside, a warm mug of hot coco in your hands as the gentle caress of Mozart fills your ears, played by an accomplished viola, violin and cello player. Very tranquil.

This week I also got to go to my first Rugby game!! This is something I have been looking forward to ever since I started planning my trip, and thankfully the beginning of the season has just begun! My trusty rugby teacher, Stuart, explained all the weird rules and names they have for the game. I love the fact that the teams can pick up their own players so that they can catch the ball when it is thrown in, and then unceremoniously drop them on the ground in a pile. Rugby players are brutes! They are HUGE! and tough. These guys would just bash each other to get the ball. I love Rugby! You can keep American football, Rugby is a real man's sport!

In my next blog I'll start recounting some of my adventures when my two friends from Florida came to visit. Edinburgh, London, Roslyn Chapel, Linlithgow, Fireworks, lots of good stories to recount. See you all later!