Working Wonder

Good Evening My Dears,


Once again, I apologise for the long radio silence, but it was my first full week of work and I was being trained.  Consequently, I was coming home rather exhausted.  The weather in Edinburgh has been gorgeous since last Saturday, which is the last time the Scottish were building the ark.  So of course, I have been waking up as soon as it gets light, which means about 4 am.  The gods of world religion are not up when I rise from my bed.


When last I wrote, I was busy playing host to Jasper, who visited from Amsterdam.  He left last Tuesday, and I started work the next day.  It really was a baptism by fire, as there were tasks that needed to get done so it was really hectic.  I left work last Wednesday, rather unsure as to whether I could do this job.  It got a little easier over the next few days, and this week's training was definitely better, but I am a little stressed about next week, when I will be on my own without the ability to ask questions.  All is not lost, however.  Gary, ( my predecessor) has kindly agreed to come in next Friday, both to see how I am getting on and to do some year end accounting as well.  I am sure that I will have a boatload of questions for him by that point.  The job itself is not that difficult, it is just a matter of figuring out where things go and how to code them.  I won't bore you non-Accounting people with the details.  If the accounting people I know want to talk shop, give a shout, it might be a good exercise.  


In addition to my work life being sorted for the moment, my social life seems to be picking up as well.  Currently, my standing engagements are: my writer's group, dancing, and the gym.  Within these groups I am meeting some super cool people that I am sure will become friends.  In particular, this week, I met two women through my writer's group.  Kerry is American and a practitioner of Rolfing, which Wikipedia defines as  a "holistic system of soft tissue manipulation and movement education that organized the whole body in gravity".  Claims include that clients stand straighter, gain height, and move better through the correction of soft tissue fixations or improper tonus.  However, I will have to gain a better perspective when I see Kerry, as we all know that accuracy of the Wikipedia site.  The other interesting person that I met this week is a young woman who is of Uzbek decent born and raised in Saudi Arabia, who is taking a sabbatical from a PhD in nursing.  Of men I do not speak as there are few to speak of, much less write about.  Although one of the waiters at the cafe where the writing group meets is quite nice looking.  To see if I could get to know him a bit better, I went back to the cafe on Wednesday evening with my friend Taci.  Alas, he was not there.  I was not born under a lucky star, more's the pity.


The South Edinburgh suburb where I live is called Gilmerton.  My neighbourhood is a bit shady.  We seem to have a bit of gang activity here in the hood.  I myself have not seen them, though the local chippy on the corner gets a bit dodgy on Friday evenings.  It is not really worrisome for this DC girl, having grown up in the baddest of all the hoods, DC proper.  However, I think even I may be surprised by this gang as they seem to be quite a force to be reckoned with.  You see, they have multiple streets named after them, which leads me to believe that this gang might be quite civically minded.  In fact, I live on a street named for them.  My street, my dears, is called Gilmerton Dykes Road.  There is also Gilmerton Dykes Street, Gilmerton Dykes Crescent, Gilmerton Dykes View, and Gilmerton Dykes Drive.  One has to wonder: are there any lipstick Lesbians in the Gilmerton Dykes or are they all butch? Also, do they have territorial disputes with the other Lesbian gang in the area, the Mordun Dykes?  I'm just sayin'.


Right, my dears, that's all she wrote.


Next Up: I have a wee wander over to Harrogate to check out English hospitality.


Cheerio for now,


Tina