Walking on Sunshine

After days and days and days of chilly and rainy and gross, today was glorious!  I didn't have anything I needed to do, but I couldn't stand to stay inside.  So I heated up my lunch and hiked up Broad Hill, then wandered into toon and just kept walking in the sunshine-- except for the brief time I was in Starbucks with Lynch. 

I love gorgeous autumn days like this. 

Messy

The weather has mostly been horrible lately, with winds and rain and fog and mess.  It's keeping me inside, which makes me glad that I don't have to be out in it these days. 

I tried to catch the rain, but it just ends up looking messy.  And boy, was it that! 

Strange Fruit

I bought these bananas at Morrisons, in the same pack. 

How is it that some of them are regular yellow and ripening nicely, and the others are grey and weird?  At least they taste okay. 

Finishing Gift!

Pagie bought me a great gift for finishing my PhD, and I love it!! 

Red is my colour, and these are the university's 'colours', as much as they do that kind of thing here.  Thanks, Paige.  I love it!  And it'll get a lot of use for the rest of the year.  ;)

Baking Party

When Paige comes up, we cook.  Last time, it was a meal and delicious Pioneer Woman chocolate sheet cake... this time it was Pioneer Woman mocha brownies and chocolate mint chip cookies.  We made decaf coffee, but the only kind I had was Starbucks Christmas blend... so we drank Christmas coffee, listened to Christmas music, and baked yummy treats.  I love cooking, and it's even better to bake with a friend.  =) 

Designing Women

Paige is up for the weekend, to celebrate with me.  Part of that celebration includes designing my next tattoo!  Paige is an artist, and she knows me and Scotland, so I'm excited to be having friends helping design my gift to myself for finshing my PhD. 

It's not settled yet, but we're getting there.  Thanks, Paige!  =)

Because I'm The Doctor

Lynch had a girlie night at her hoose tonight, because her flatmate was out of toon.  I was required to bring deviled eggs and Apples to Apple, and I complied with the request.  In return, I was granted special status:

I'm saying it's congratulatory, not because I drink a lot.  Of course. 

Glittery

Today has been a lazy, lazy day.  I just couldn't be bothered with anything.  So I took photos of the glittery flowers in my arrangement from mom.  That's the best I could do today. 

It's a Sign!!

For my dessert, I had two chocolate-covered banana-cicles.  I put them on a plate to thaw a little so I could bite into them.  When I finished, I tossed the sticks back onto the plate.  When I got up to collect the rest of my dinner dishes, along with the dessert plate, I noticed them:

It's obviously a sign I should stay.  =D

Flowers for AmieVaughan

Hahahahaha... see what I did there?  Made a play on a short story title, but with my name?  Cos the flowers are for me?  D'ya get it?  Huh?? 

They are from my mum.  So I started to do 'Flowers from EdnaVaughan', but decided I liked it better keeping it 'for', just like the story. 

No, I'm not a literature nerd.  Why do you ask? 

And thanks for the flowers, mom. 

Oh. My. Life.

Yeah, I can look happy now.  This morning I suffered through two of the most intense hours of my life thus far... and I'm so glad that's over! 

The story of the viva will be saved for another time and place.  The emotions will be chronicled here, briefly. 

Beforehand: stage fright. 
During: intimidation, nerves, near-tears twice, some thankfulness.
After: relief (I cried.  From relief.  Brian laughed at me, but not in a mean way.)
Home after: happy happy joy joy! 
Later: disbelief. 
At the party: relief (again), thankfulness (mostly for friends to celebrate with me), giddiness (champagne).
After the party: exhaustion, disbelief, oh-sh*t-what-now, adrenaline crash let-down. 
Bedtime: nervous (again), and the mood swings start... I wonder how long this will last? 

Whatever.  I'm done.  For now, that's got to be enough.  =D

The Scot Signal

Like the Bat Signal, but better-- because it's Scottish, obviously. 

Help is on the way!  I only wish there was help on the way to me... I think I might be sick.  Nerves? Me?  Never. 

Yeah, I'm a liar.  =S

The Necessary Evil

Oh my life.  Re-reading my thesis is horrible!  It's like hell on computer screen.  Ugh. 

But I need to make sure I remember what exactly I said, and be prepared for whatever critiques I'll get.  And fix any typos I notice now (there are more than I care to admit right now... I blame, uh, the OpenOffice program.  Obviously it changes things when I'm not looking.) so I have that much less to do later. 

Dear Lord, please don't ever make me have to do this again....

Bunnies!

I had a meeting with Brian at 1 to prep for Monday.  I was expecting more of a practice thing with questions and all, but instead it was more of a 'what to expect when you're expecting... your PhD viva' and what the process is like and all that.  So it was helpful.  I'll tell you all about it another time. 

After that, I had two hours until my (possibly last) counselling session with the university counsellor I've been seeing for more than a year now.  It wasn't worth going home and coming back, so I headed to the Hub to enjoy the last Fresher-free day and get some Subway.  I got a seat by the window, and was distracted for quite a while by this little guy:

He was having quite a time.  It was so windy that he kept getting his ears blown all around.  But he must have been hungry, cos he stuck at it for ages.  I felt bad for him out there in the cold wind, but I enjoyed spying on him. 

Reflections

I spent a good bit of today at the cinema, trying to redeem yesterday's mishap.  First I saw The Last Exorcism, which went a long way to restoring my faith in so-bad-they're-fun horror films.  It was Blair Witch style, and creepy enough-- but totally over the top, which is what I love.  So I enjoyed it.  But I wouldn't recommend it to most people.  I have odd taste in films. 

While I was waiting for my next film, which was pretty much back-to-back (about twenty minutes in between), I noticed the carpet reflected in the pole.  It looked like confetti.  I think the carpet is cool for a cinema, anyway.  Cheesy, but I like cheese.  So I tried to capture the effect.  It kind of worked.

The film I saw next was Dinner for Schmucks, and I wasn't expecting much because so many of the reviews I'd read about it didn't like it.  It's stupid, they said.  You'd be a schmuck to pay for this, they said.  Way below the usual standard from Rudd and Carrell, they said.  So I was prepared to just be so-so'd.

I didn't expect to love it.  But I did.  I really loved it, and I read the reviews in a completely different light now.  People are jerks, and that's that. 

Which is kind of the point of the film.  There are jerks, and there are idiots, and there are the 'rest of us' somewhere in the middle.  If you haven't seen it, I don't want to give too much away... and I highly recommend it.  It had some hilarious moments, some painfully awkward moments, some very touching moments.  I saw myself in it, and was convicted.  If you have seen it, or if you do see it, I would love to talk with you about it.  It's a remake of a French film from 1989, I think, and now I want to see that.  People complained that the original was a satire, and that this one wasn't funny enough.  But they missed the point completely, in my opinion, and it makes me really sad for our Western culture.  And sad to be a part of it-- I want even more now to be a part of transforming it, or at least transforming the people in it. 

Watch it.  Let me know what you think.  It's my second favourite film of the year, I think. 

Killin' Time

I wandered in to toon to see Lynch at work, and then I wandered my way down to see if anything was showing shortly.  The nearest time was in an hour, for Piranha 3-D.  Plenty of gore and killin' in that one-- and a total waste of my time.  Even me, who loves cheesy horror flicks.  This one wasn't 'so bad it's funny'-- it was just really bad.  I hated it. 

But to kill time before the film, I took myself down to Starbucks to drink an iced americano with some syrup or other (yes, in my hot cup.  They looked at me weird, too, but it was what I had with me.  And it's 25p off with your own cup.) and wrote on a letter for a while.  Much better time than the hour and a half following it...

My Current Favourite Song

I've been wanting to do this for a couple of weeks now, and see if anyone can guess what random song this is in reference to:

This song just makes me smile.  I love this artist, and have since I heard his first single back in 2002 (thanks, Beka!).  This song also has one of the lines I'm trying to hold on to right now as a sort of promise... 'open up your eyes and see like me; open up your plans and, damn, you're free; look into your heart and you'll find love, love, love, love...'  It's the middle bit that I'm clinging to, in hope that giving up being able to plan anything right now will indeed free up God to do whatever it is God wants to do in my situation. 

Here is one more hint to what this song is...


Know the song now?  Anyone?  If you don't, you should.  It's great.  

Puddin'-Shame

Puddin'-tame, that's my name.
Ask me again and I'll tell ya the same.

I remember that wee rhyme from my childhood, and it came to mind when I went to dish me up some puddin'.  French vanilla.  Yummy.  Except... something's not right here:

It is truly a puddin' shame.  =(

C'mon, Now...

Why is it that I have so much random trouble with technology? 

Grace has been giving me a wee bit of trouble today.  My taskbar keeps disappearing.  For no reason that I can tell.  It's locked, so it shouldn't go away.  It's not set to hide automatically. And when it disappears, there is absolutely no way I have found to get it back, short of restarting.  Which is annoying. 

At least I have a computer, I guess.  Bah. 

Another Send-Off

Tonight, Liz and Aleithia and I got together at mine for fish 'n chips from the Bluebird, just 'round the corner.  We also had wine, Oreos, and other goodies.  We hung out, laughed, chatted... basically, just had a good time. 

The bad part is this is the last time we'll hang out with Aleithia here in Aberdeen.  She leaves on Monday to go back to the States, her Masters completed.  Job well done and all, but our numbers here are dwindling very swiftly.  Sad times for me and Liz. 

Aleithia, all the best for whatever is next!  It's been great having you here, and getting to know you for a year.  I look forward to many more years of friendship, wherever we happen to be. 

Seriously.  =D

One of My Five a Day?

I think this should count.  Seriously. It's made from real oranges. 

I have discovered that I like this.  A lot.  I don't usually like things that are orange-flavoured.  I love real oranges, and orange juice, but never orange-flavoured.  However, I've taken to putting this in with some 'American' cream soda, and it's delicious!  I don't like orange soda, but this?  Me likey!  It's also incredibly delicious in fruit punch and other kool-aid flavours, and in hot chocolate.  Versatile. 

If only I could count it towards my 5... =D

Shadow and Light

I went to the cinema again tonight, and since it's getting darker earlier every day, I was coming home in the near-dark.  I don't mind so much, though.  Not yet, anyway. 

As I was cutting past Marks & Spencers, I noticed the shadows that the railings were throwing.  I have always liked the railings, but this was even better. 

Fancy

The only good thing about the days getting chilly from time to time is that I get to wear my awesome Ness coat and my awesome Paris chapeau.  I love them.  They make me feel fancy. 

Today I wore them to the cinema, and then to meet Rich at Pizza Hut to celebrate the fact that, as of yesterday, he is now Dr. Cornell!  It was great to celebrate and catch up, but I missed Lorie being there with us.  Next time, Lorie!  And thanks for making time to see me, and for feeding me, Rich!  Congrats again! 

Ah, Friends

What would I do without y'all, my friends?  I don't know, honestly.

Today, Lynch took me grocery shopping.  I hate that I am in such dire straights that my friends have to buy me food to eat.  I love that my friends love me enough to buy me food to eat.  And I got to cook a real meal to enjoy with a real friend.  I taught her how to make my favourite chicken pot pie, which is sinfully easy and tastes heavenly.  I also made a chocolate pecan pie, because I wanted to and had the ingredients on hand. 

We had cider to go with the pot pie.  Then we had budget bailey's to go with the pie.  And we drank all of it.  Both of them.  Then laughed.  A lot.  =D

Thank you, friends.  For all the things you do for me, and for the blessing you are in my life. 

Hahahahahahaha. Of Course.

We got a new dvr box!  This is good, because we haven't been able to watch tv in months because the old one had major problems.  It's bad because it means they just replaced the old one rather than fixing it, taking all our recorded shows with it.  Sad times.  So much I wanted to see... *sigh*.

The funny thing is, we've only had this one a couple of days.  Like, two days.  And guess what?  The display is broken!  Hahahaha.  We don't know what's going on with it.  It's all scrambled.  So the box works, we can watch things and all, but it's going back.  Because it's brand-spanking new.  There is no way it should already be flippin' out on us. 

I hate Humax.  =P

Sparkly

I don't care a whit about sparkly vampires.  I'd much rather have sparkly other things... granite in the sun, costume jewelery, Christmas lights, even frozen pizza before it's baked. 

I finished reading Breaking Dawn today.  Thank God that's over, and please, dear Lord, do  not let her write any more.  I can't stand it.  Thank you and Amen. 

My Shadow

I seriously can't get rid of him.  No matter how I position myself, he finds a cranny to nestle into.  No matter how many times I push him off, he comes back. 

I don't mind if he's just sleeping or being calm... but he often feels the need to assert himself, or pull himself into a better position, or stretch-- all of which include his claws.  Long, sharp, nasty claws.  And then there's his personal grooming... *shudder*.  I can't stand the sound of his licking and sucking on himself, not to mention his really bad breath.  But he won't stop, and even when I push him off, he comes back.  You'd think he'd learn, but nooooo. 

Right now, though, he's just calm.  And keeping my feet warm.  So I won't complain... yet. 

A Typical Sight

... and yet it cracked me up.  This was spotted from the office of my counsellor, and I couldn't resist.  It's not a great picture, but it sums up the menace:

Those dang birds nest anywhere, and it's really not funny.  They are annoying as heck!  I won't miss them at all. 

A Routine Sight

I love the architecture here.  I love seeing ornate stone buildings rearing against the sky-- in today's case, a clear blue.  I went to pop in at Liz's office, and then I went to the cinema, and I snapped this as I was walking home.  It's something I'll totally miss if I have to leave. 

This one in particular is the Assemblies of God church on the next corner down from me.  

The Bookish Bandit

I think that'll be my robber name, if I ever go rogue. 

Today, though, it was just really cold in here.  I had on a long sleeved t-shirt, the zip-up fleece, long flannel bottoms, socks... and a blanket and hot-water bottle in my lap.  And Dillon, when he was being calm, somewhere on or near me.