Pictures from the Pentlands

Today I went for a walk in the Pentlands. I didn't really have any other purpose besides the desire to climb to the top of Caerketton Hill (~460m) and once I had accomplished that, I was happy to just meander around. It was a lovely day here in Edinburgh - sunny and warm. I even managed to get a bit of a sunburn on my face! What follows is a pictorial description of my hike:

Map of the Park

View towards city center. Arthur's Seat is to the right

and to the left you can see the Salisbury Craigs.

Caerketton Hill from below

Cairn - do you think they made it to look like Arthur's Seat on purpose? (the real Arthur's seat is in the back left)

Taking a well deserved break

Back on the path

Hmmmm - I think I would like to go over that way

Oh - another cairn!

Pretty view of the valley after "Windy Door Nick"

Heather on the hill

I walked through some fields of sheep
(This pic is for Keri!)

Looking back over the end of the trail

Homesickness

I just had a lovely phone conversation with my best friend from home. It was so nice to hear from her and to catch up on everyone's news. It also made me miss home a bit and wish that I could be there to see everyone. I miss all my friends and going out for meals and impromptue nights out. No, this isn't foreshadowing - I will not suddenly decide to return home, but I figure I am allowed a moment or two of homesickness every now and then.

I don't suppose anyone wants to move over here instead?

Well, it was worth a try!

Gotta Love Jon Stewart

See this video for Jon's take on the US's view of the Russian-Georgian conflict.

Admin Wars II

Part One: The current job

I found out a couple of days ago that the company I currently work for is making much less money than expected and so they are having to cut shifts from people to save money. I have lost one shift a week, which put me into a little bit of a panic as I am still trying to get myself organized financially here (something that I anticipate will take a long time) and losing out on one day a week will certainly hurt. But then I remembered my new job and that I should be starting that pretty soon so everything will hopefully be okay. Right?

Wrong. (see below)

Part Two: The new job

Before I can begin at my new job I first must obtain a background check (from Disclosure Scotland). I submitted it three and a half weeks ago, but as of yet have heard nothing. I called the Disclosure Scotland people the day after I found out that I was losing a shift a week at my current job to check in. They told me that they had never received a request for a Disclosure check and I should contact my new place of employment to make sure they sent it. Ummmm, gulp? I can't begin work at my new place until I get this check done, so effectively I am stuck! I have called my new job twice, but both times the gentleman I need to speak to has been out and although I have left messages he has not yet returned my calls. So at the moment I am in limbo and wishing people in admin were a lot better trained!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Admin Wars

Everywhere I go I end up working for a company that cannot seem to get their admin right. I was paid for the first time since coming back to my old job last week and the amount was much less than I expected. This catastrophe was, admittedly, partly my fault, as I had miscalculated the cut off date for that pay cheque by an entire week. However, my company still managed to short change me an entire day's pay as well as some hours for night time work, which we get paid extra for. I was told that I would get a cheque in the post for the missing amount shortly. And sure enough, two business days later I received a cheque from my company. As I opened the envelope I thought to myself that receiving the cheque so soon was remarkably efficient for my company and sure enough I was right. As it turned out I was too right. This sudden increase in speed resulted in a sharp decrease in accuracy.

You see, they sent me a cheque for just over £300. Hmmmmm, I thought to myself, that is remarkably generous for a day's pay. Too good to be true? You better believe it. My eyes then flicked over to the name on the cheque. It was a K Duncan, but unfortunately not a Kathleen Duncan. So, I had to go back to my manager again and explain that I had received what looked to be someone else's cheque. I was assured that another CORRECT cheque would be sent out in the mail. A couple of days later I received one. This time the cheque was made out to the right person, but they short changed me again, this time by 50 pence. Sigh. I guess you just can't win them all can you?

A time for change

This morning I decided to do something that was perhaps a bit risky. I decided to give myself my first fringe (for north americans: bangs) in about 10-15 years. I had originally wanted to go to a professional to do it, due to how long it's been since I had fringe, but I simply cannot afford it at the moment. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. All I needed was a pair of scissors . . . unfortunately, the only ones I could find belonged to my first aid kit. Not to worry, I thought - if it looks horrible, I am sure I can just pin them back or something.

I started to cut my hair. I ended up taking a good 3 inches off and partway through I thought to myself that I just may be making a terrible mistake! But, after I dried my hair I think it turned out pretty well. And, I've been getting compliments on it all day, which must be a good sign! Well, almost everything I heard was a compliment. My friend Andy took one look at me and said "Did someone do something to your hair?" and he followed that question swiftly with another one "Do you want me to get them for you?" :)

I can drive again!

This week, in the post, I finally received my UK driver's licence. It has taken forever and much hassle due to people who work for the DVLA giving me the wrong advice. But it's finally been straightened out, although I received no apology from the people that be. As a Canadian you can actually exchange your Canadian licence for a british one (as long as you do so within a year of entering the UK) for a grand total of £50. However, you are then only able to drive automatics unless you can prove that you took your test using a standard/manual. If you can't prove that then you need to take a test to prove that you can drive a standard (which costs more money) and I don't really know the full details of that yet. I am currently only able to drive automatics, which suits me at the moment as I have never learned to drive a standard. But I will need to learn soon because almost all the cars over here are standards!

I am just happy because I can officially go on the road again which I am most looking forward to. I love to drive and being without a licence since March has been most restrictive. I don't have a car here yet or anything, but there have been times when I would have liked to rent a car and go for a drive and not been able to.

I have visited the future

At least I felt like I did. I recently visited my local library here in Edinburgh and I have to say that they have the most futuristic way of taking out books that I have ever seen. Now, you may think that I am being overly dramatic here, but I contend that I am not. I see myself as a rather savy person when it comes to technology and new gadgets, but this machine has baffled even myself. My library has a self-serve check out, which I had never tried before so I thought it would be an adventure (rather like the self-serve checkouts at supermarkets like Tesco) and I wasn't to be let down. I set my books on top of the desk and the computer asked me to scan my library card which I easily accomplished using the scanner on the desk. Next, I was asked to enter my library pin, which again was easy to do. What happened next is what surprised me. Suddenly the titles and authors of the three books I had just happened to set on the desk appeared on the computer screen! I did not scan them or touch them in any way, and there was no obvious way of detecting them that I could see. How did the computer know what books I wanted? If I hadn't set them on the desk by accident, could the computer have still detected them? The whole process was most impressive and slightly overwhelming all at the same time! I look forward to my next trip to the library as I try to discover the secret to the all-knowing computer!