Hello My Dears,
The Scottish experiment has come to a close. The results of the experiment may not, at first, be apparent. In the first place, it turns out that the job that was supposed to go permanent in February, was only a holiday cover after all. They told me on the 4th of January. In true American style, and on the advice of my mama, I went to the Cheque Centre and very politely told them off.
In the second place, I have met some amazing people that I am going to miss and a couple that made the last few days in Edinburgh very difficult indeed. I think the difference between random Internet persons (RIPs) and In Real Life (IRL) people is just too, too difficult. In the last two days, I seem to have gone from being someone to be friends with to someone to avoid. And I do get it, I really do. It isn't the same when a friend leaves to go far away. The friendship very fundamentally changes. Instead of telling each other the minutia of life, you have stilted, "I-don't-know-you-anymore"conversations. Given these conditions, is it any wonder that the friendships change into something that is no longer fun? Also, the two people that I speak of may be just a wee bit mental because the things that they have said to me are a) not true and b) plain crazy. However, the incident has turned into some very fine writing. I seem to attract lots of broken toys. Dude, do I look like Geppetto? I am at last ready to come back to the States. Of course, that is not to say that I won't try to come back to the UK again. And, I did get a nice leaving party.
Before I left Edinburgh, I went on a haunted tour that was given by my friend Sharyn's husband, Jared. The haunted tour took us beneath South Bridge into the vaults. For a short time I thought I was going crazy. In the "Double Height Room" (read: really high ceilinged vault), I saw a woman wearing a 1920's frock and it was no costume. She was a bit see through though. I like to think that someone was using interesting technology to make that happen. But when I asked Jared he said that there was no such equipment down there. I also felt cold spots where there shouldn't have been any. But that was in the bar, at the end of the tour. I wasn't drunk though, honest.
On Saturday, January 21, I went to Oxford to visit my friend Miriam. Ah, Oxford, dreaming spires, indeed. I wondered around that beautiful town, full of envy. I was also very happy to spend time with someone who is a joy to be with and super fun. Also, she is a very talented artist and has the best greeting cards ever. We went to a photography exhibit where a friend of hers had some of his work. I also found another super bookshop that I was drooling over. It is called the Albion Beatnik Bookshop. And I want it. Sigh. But...a concept has been born. I would like to see a place that has books for sale, but not a bookshop, with food and drink, including a bar, but not just a restaurant. To that end, I am working on a business plan. Different from Kramer's or Politics and Prose. We will see what comes of that. Perhaps the start of another blog. Course, I could just apply to Oxford as a Mature Student for a Master's in Creative Writing.
I got back to London on the 23rd (Monday) in the evening. On the 24th (Tuesday), I wandered to the British Museum. While there, I figured out the principles of time travel. It is only possible if you do the exhibits backwards. To that end, in Antiquity and the Classical Period, I went from Rome to Greece to Egypt. One gains an interesting perspective doing things backwards. In the evening, I got a tour of the Houses of Parliament. Sorry, but Parliament is way cooler than the US Capitol. First, it is much older. Henry VIII played tennis in the Great Hall. There are lots of warrens and passages. I got to climb one of the towers of Westminster all the way to the top. Imagine, if you will, a rickety iron stairway, that while it isn't to heaven, comes pretty damn close. I got some pictures, which, if they come out, promise to be amazing. I think that Westminster would be a great setting for a mystery. Must think on that.
On Wednesday 25 January, I took myself to the British Library and went to see a Medieval Manuscript exhibit. The craft that was needed to make these beautiful books is inspiring. It is a shame that the art does not really exist any longer. The only drawback to the Exhibition was that I was the youngest person there. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't trolling for people my own age. It's just that it was really hard going through the exhibit as everyone blocked my view, and I have become too polite. No more shoving little old ladies aside. Too bad, really.
On Thursday, I went to the Soane Museum, the residence of Sir John Soane. He was a 19th Century architect and Royal Academician who decided that his son wasn't worthy of inheriting his house. So he turned it into a museum for the enjoyment of all. This forward-thinking gentleman had that done via an act of Parliament, so it has been a free museum for the last 200 years or so. Remind me never to piss off my parents. Sir John designed a gallery that holds 100 paintings in a very small space through a system of false walls. Definitely worth a visit for those of you coming to London for Brighitta's wedding.
On Friday, I wandered around London rather aimlessly. I went to a lovely, though very expensive cafe with Ana, Stephen's brother's girlfriend, who is my current flat mate. We sat there for most of the day working. What work could I possibly have, you ask? It seems that Mercy Corps Scotland wants to interview me for the post of International Finance Officer . I don't remember when I applied for the role but I got an email on Thursday asking me to do a telephone interview on the 30th. I was writing the "Thanks but no thanks" email when my mama called and told me not to burn the bridge and do the interview. After all, there is nothing to lose and it is my dream job.
On Saturday, I met up with my friend, Joanna. We met a few months ago in Edinburgh through my friend, Giselle. We went for a meal and wandered around Covent Garden, which kind of reminds me of Georgetown. I spent Sunday at the Wellcome Trust with Ana, preparing for Monday's interview.
Monday's interview went well, though it is a bit of a long shot. I do not like phone interviews much and that might have come across. The last two days in London I spent with Colin and Caroline Hampden-White, regaling them with stories of my time there.
After all that, I find myself at a loss for words. I am not sure what is next, but I am ready for the next adventure. Perhaps, the best way to close this blog, like this chapter of my life, is simply to say
Farewell and Haste ye back,
Tina
The Scottish experiment has come to a close. The results of the experiment may not, at first, be apparent. In the first place, it turns out that the job that was supposed to go permanent in February, was only a holiday cover after all. They told me on the 4th of January. In true American style, and on the advice of my mama, I went to the Cheque Centre and very politely told them off.
In the second place, I have met some amazing people that I am going to miss and a couple that made the last few days in Edinburgh very difficult indeed. I think the difference between random Internet persons (RIPs) and In Real Life (IRL) people is just too, too difficult. In the last two days, I seem to have gone from being someone to be friends with to someone to avoid. And I do get it, I really do. It isn't the same when a friend leaves to go far away. The friendship very fundamentally changes. Instead of telling each other the minutia of life, you have stilted, "I-don't-know-you-anymore"conversations. Given these conditions, is it any wonder that the friendships change into something that is no longer fun? Also, the two people that I speak of may be just a wee bit mental because the things that they have said to me are a) not true and b) plain crazy. However, the incident has turned into some very fine writing. I seem to attract lots of broken toys. Dude, do I look like Geppetto? I am at last ready to come back to the States. Of course, that is not to say that I won't try to come back to the UK again. And, I did get a nice leaving party.
Before I left Edinburgh, I went on a haunted tour that was given by my friend Sharyn's husband, Jared. The haunted tour took us beneath South Bridge into the vaults. For a short time I thought I was going crazy. In the "Double Height Room" (read: really high ceilinged vault), I saw a woman wearing a 1920's frock and it was no costume. She was a bit see through though. I like to think that someone was using interesting technology to make that happen. But when I asked Jared he said that there was no such equipment down there. I also felt cold spots where there shouldn't have been any. But that was in the bar, at the end of the tour. I wasn't drunk though, honest.
On Saturday, January 21, I went to Oxford to visit my friend Miriam. Ah, Oxford, dreaming spires, indeed. I wondered around that beautiful town, full of envy. I was also very happy to spend time with someone who is a joy to be with and super fun. Also, she is a very talented artist and has the best greeting cards ever. We went to a photography exhibit where a friend of hers had some of his work. I also found another super bookshop that I was drooling over. It is called the Albion Beatnik Bookshop. And I want it. Sigh. But...a concept has been born. I would like to see a place that has books for sale, but not a bookshop, with food and drink, including a bar, but not just a restaurant. To that end, I am working on a business plan. Different from Kramer's or Politics and Prose. We will see what comes of that. Perhaps the start of another blog. Course, I could just apply to Oxford as a Mature Student for a Master's in Creative Writing.
I got back to London on the 23rd (Monday) in the evening. On the 24th (Tuesday), I wandered to the British Museum. While there, I figured out the principles of time travel. It is only possible if you do the exhibits backwards. To that end, in Antiquity and the Classical Period, I went from Rome to Greece to Egypt. One gains an interesting perspective doing things backwards. In the evening, I got a tour of the Houses of Parliament. Sorry, but Parliament is way cooler than the US Capitol. First, it is much older. Henry VIII played tennis in the Great Hall. There are lots of warrens and passages. I got to climb one of the towers of Westminster all the way to the top. Imagine, if you will, a rickety iron stairway, that while it isn't to heaven, comes pretty damn close. I got some pictures, which, if they come out, promise to be amazing. I think that Westminster would be a great setting for a mystery. Must think on that.
On Wednesday 25 January, I took myself to the British Library and went to see a Medieval Manuscript exhibit. The craft that was needed to make these beautiful books is inspiring. It is a shame that the art does not really exist any longer. The only drawback to the Exhibition was that I was the youngest person there. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't trolling for people my own age. It's just that it was really hard going through the exhibit as everyone blocked my view, and I have become too polite. No more shoving little old ladies aside. Too bad, really.
On Thursday, I went to the Soane Museum, the residence of Sir John Soane. He was a 19th Century architect and Royal Academician who decided that his son wasn't worthy of inheriting his house. So he turned it into a museum for the enjoyment of all. This forward-thinking gentleman had that done via an act of Parliament, so it has been a free museum for the last 200 years or so. Remind me never to piss off my parents. Sir John designed a gallery that holds 100 paintings in a very small space through a system of false walls. Definitely worth a visit for those of you coming to London for Brighitta's wedding.
On Friday, I wandered around London rather aimlessly. I went to a lovely, though very expensive cafe with Ana, Stephen's brother's girlfriend, who is my current flat mate. We sat there for most of the day working. What work could I possibly have, you ask? It seems that Mercy Corps Scotland wants to interview me for the post of International Finance Officer . I don't remember when I applied for the role but I got an email on Thursday asking me to do a telephone interview on the 30th. I was writing the "Thanks but no thanks" email when my mama called and told me not to burn the bridge and do the interview. After all, there is nothing to lose and it is my dream job.
On Saturday, I met up with my friend, Joanna. We met a few months ago in Edinburgh through my friend, Giselle. We went for a meal and wandered around Covent Garden, which kind of reminds me of Georgetown. I spent Sunday at the Wellcome Trust with Ana, preparing for Monday's interview.
Monday's interview went well, though it is a bit of a long shot. I do not like phone interviews much and that might have come across. The last two days in London I spent with Colin and Caroline Hampden-White, regaling them with stories of my time there.
After all that, I find myself at a loss for words. I am not sure what is next, but I am ready for the next adventure. Perhaps, the best way to close this blog, like this chapter of my life, is simply to say
Farewell and Haste ye back,
Tina
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