To job or not to job?

I'm not liking the disappearing bank account balance.  Especially with the shipping price for animals about to hit the wallet.  I'm thinking about getting an extremely part time job.  I'm talking 10 hours a week or something.

I have a module in Dundee tomorrow for my personal license.  I need one to conduct my research.  Which means hopefully I will be conducting  research soon. Gah.

Halloween weekend was a success.  The only exception was that I missed my hike with the Break Away Society.  They go on trips all around Scotland.  Easy way to see the country.

Chad is coming up to spend Christmas in Scotland.  Edinburgh is rumoured to have an amazing Christmas festival or market. So we will spend a few days in Edinburgh and tooting around ol' St. Andrews.  On the 28th, we are going back to London.  Ahhhhh I'm so excited! Favourite city, for an memory making New Year's! woo hoo!  I may be traveling to Dresden, Germany the week before that too.  Ep! I love it here!

Cheers and Love!

This is Halloween, This is Halloween

This week has been really fun.

Last Thursday, a friend Carolin, and I went to a talk on Jack the Ripper.  We both expected more dicussion on the actual man and story, but it was put on my the Film School and was heavy on the filmography of him as an icon instead.  Afterwards we went to see what the "Canoe Club" was all about.  It looks really fun, people were practicing kayaking in a pool.  They go out into the North Sea every Wednesday to "surf."  While it sounds bitterly cold, I think it should be fun. 

The next day, I went to the infamous psych lecture with wine reception following.  While probably inappropriate, but highly entertaining, Justiss and I got a bit tipsy and decided to go out.  Carolin met up with us at Aikmans (my favorite pub thus far) and we ran into Richard.  We decided to change venues and headed to a place called Ma Bells.  I was uber excited because its nearly just next door to my flat.  Turns out I hated it. Boooo, expensive and MTV was on the TVs.  

Justiss and I braved a car trip to Dundee.  Which is only twenty minutes away, but when you don't have a car feels so out of reach.  Dundee is a bigger more  modern/industrial city.  So they have a mall. Whoo hoo.  Lots of good deals. H and M is the best store bar none.  

That was all last weekend.  I just haven't updated.  This week consisted of staring at my computer screen,  literature reviews (only to seem productive) and committing myself to computer programming.  Some of you out there scoff and think so what, that's easy.  WELL YOU ARE WRONG!  Haha I find it terribly confusing, especially since I am to teach myself.  Ugh

Went to a pub quiz with some people I know through the psych department.  Majorly fun.  I don't know what it is about them but I love it.  I am not a competitive person, but man its exciting when you get a question right.

Twice in one week I have been reminded just how loud I am.  Oopsy.

With Halloween being on a Monday, tomorrow is Halloween going out night.  A friend, Lizzie, and I are piecing together costumes.  I am hopefully going to be a skeleton of some sort and she is literally a modge podge.  We shall call her the "Spirit of Halloween."

Its beginning to sound a lot like Christmas

I just passed a street musician playing a Christmas song on a flute.  This was directly after his version of "Memories" from "The Way we Were."

I offically heart St Andrews.

Fun Fact: St. Andrews doesn't have an apostrophe in the name because the town is older than the use of apostrophes. Boom

Miss this guy:

The question does the carpet match the drapes was originated in my flat

I just left the office. I had a late start today too.  I can actually sleep late at my new place because there aren't five girls stomping around all morning. I wasn't very productive today.  That's not all that different from most days.  I returned a billion emails and read a few chapter on MS DOS.  Yes, DOS.  My experiment's computer program is in DOS format because it can actually track an accurate time.  Apparently in regular computer programming the computer knows what time it is because it resets itself or something.

Anyhow, so here I sit, in front of my laptop, in my new flat with a cup of coffee.  In the town centre there is only a small version of a store called Tesco.  Tesco is a grocery store, and yet surprising it is really hard to find ground coffee.  Tea: check! Chocolate drink mixture: check! Coffee "granules:" check! Only two choices of ground coffee: boooo.  I also picked up my "coffee whitener."  That would be coffee-mate. I have been complaining about the strength of coffee over here.  There isn't a whole lot of caffeine.  And considering I'm a coffeine addict, I end up buying a thousand cups of coffee a day.  Bye Bye bank account.  I picked up one bag for home and one bag for the office. 
Justiss and I took her car to the store the other night. She only just got approved to drive over here. She did really well; I do not think I can drive over here.  Roundabouts are so confusing.  Especially in this town.  St. Andrews is so small, yet there are so  many cars spinning around those things.

Here a few snaps of my VERY orange living room. Orange walls to match the orange carpet. Orange drapes to match it all. I guess there isn't HGTV over here. 

The living room is on the same side of the flat as the kitchen so the same parking lot is in view.  But I snapped another one while the sun was going down.  I like it because it shows the chimneys.
I was told that the sun will start setting around 2:30 pm come November.  It is interesting that Scotland is basically on the same level of Alaska, so things like mostly night time occurs, yet we hardly get any snow.                                                                      
                                                           

This post is photo happy, but the only room I have yet to capture is my bedroom (disaster area).  If my only problem in this house is how to fill all the drawers I'll claim it as a victory.  So for now here is the very blue bathroom.

In the bottom photo of the bathroom, you can see a glass divider.  It is supposed to act as a shower curtain/wall/stupidest invention ever made.  It reaches less than half way down the tub and water splashing off my head goes all over the floor.  I always hate purchasing things in a rental that should already be there, but I am on the hunt for an 'L' shaped shower rod.

New Flat!

While I only just moved into student housing, the opportunity for a flat in town once the school year starts is slim to none.  I scooped up the first flat in the town centre that opened up and I love it.  Its huge(ish).  And its only me!!!!

These first pictures are of my new kitchen.  I am taking over the lease for a girl in my department.  Lets just say she left in a hurry and I spent all day scrubbing the kitchen down.
Yes, the washing machine and dryer are in the kitchen, which is normal here.  I bought myself a nice plant.... to kill in a month....
My view is into a parking lot, but I love that lot haha.

My front door is kind of strange:  three glass panels. Unfortunately it is smack dab in the middle of my flat, so no forgetting my robe from one side to the other.

Yes my hall in purple.  So now I have a purple office and a purple hallway.  Yippie!

The rest of the place is still a disaster area, so I will post the rest tomorrow!
It has been a full week since Ive posted and that is mostly because I haven't done anything but sit in my office all day and pretend to be a doctoral student.

Two weeks.

Yesterday marked two weeks of living abroad.  It has been far tougher than I was anticipating.  I need never to be given 6 months time to await an exciting event.  I build an image up in my head.  Then small things start to unravel that image.  Nothing devasting, but that bubble does burst.

A few things I have learned in general in these two weeks:

1. Take your sunglasses off to really appreciate scenery.
2. America is a melting pot and yet people still think they know how you will act.
3. I should have learned another language.
4. Not everyone knows where Houston is located.
5. My hair does not like the rain. (This one I knew, and thankfully people seem to like my chaotic nest of hair here.)
6. It really sucks that heels and cobble stones dont mix.

A few things I am still looking forward to about living in Scotland:

1. You can see Aurora Borealis here.
2. Lock Ness.
3. Christmas in this town.  (It just has to be adorable, right?)
4. Taking a golfing lesson.
5. Hiking through the highlands.

Sometimes I equate living in this town to living in Nacogdoches, but I timed my walk from one end of town to the other last night and it took 30 minutes. WALKING! ha Much smaller.  Oh and explaining what the hell Nacogdoches is to people over and over is fun. ;)

Random thoughts:

I have been extremely tired lately. To the point of just wanting to go home and go to bed.  I think I will join a gym class tomorrow.  Maybe get some vitamins. 

I am hoping to get that flat for a Monday move in.  Oh...to walk around in complete silence after a long day. AND have bath tub. AND a queen size bed.  Hmmm.

I feel like the oldest person in this town.  The predominant age seems to be 23-24. 

On my walk home last night I overheard an American guy, seemingly young twenties, rambling on about himself.  He and his American female friend had just ran out of a bar laughing.  She coyly said, "You're so mean. You never say hi to me."  (Which first of all, he must have said SOMETHING to you at some point because you are hanging out now.)  His response was to explain what a prick he was.  "I'm not a nice guy, I'm such an asshole, I'm plain and simply not a nice person. Seriously ask anyone."  Now whether or not this guy is an asshole, I couldn't help but think: "Is this girl so into him, she is going to hope he is kidding? Or is this girl so into him that it doesn't matter if he is mean to her tomorrow?"  Kinda made me sad.  I am glad I'm no longer in undergrad.

This town is completely dead after dark.  With a minimum number of pubs open on weekdays, the streets are practically deserted.  Its eerie.

I feel more comfortable here, which is too be expected.  But man I can not wait for Presley to get here. LOL

Americans really are lazy ;)

I have come to discover that the stereotype that Americans are overweight developed by the fact that Americans are overweight. Haha.  I'm not sure if it is because this town is composed of mostly twenty something students.  However, I only rarely see an overweight middle aged adult either.  But then again, I haven't gotten to visit any other areas yet, so perhaps it's because Scottish food isn't that appetizing and people stay hungry all day. 

I went to the Friday seminar again this week.  Justiss and I went to the wine reception that followed, where we met a few perception psychology students.  We tagged along to dinner with the lot of them too.  One of the girls, Carmen, ordered a noodle dish, that when brought out was actively moving.  The top was covered in what appeared to be ginger, however, it was fluttering around like a dish of butterflies.  So bizarre.

We went out to Aikmans/Cellar bar afterwards.  The bartenders are quite rude.  I will give them the benefit of the doubt.  They have to serve 18+ year olds.  That is understandably annoying.  I also understand that I look a lot younger than I am, so some bartenders may or not assume I am an annoying young person. HOWEVER, just because i am an American DOES NOT mean I am incapable of drinking.  I have been active in the art of drinking for 10+ years now, I know how it works. haha.  The point of that rant is the bartender at Cellar poured me a Japanese beer and told me to be careful because there is more yeast or something in the beer.  She looked straight at the British guy I was with and told him to watch me.  Seriously??? Bartenders do not work for tips here, so I guess they can be as abrasive as they like.  I was telling Ross (the guy whom was to "look after me") that I was not yet used to bartenders that did not squeeze their breasts together in an effort to get more tips.  He equated it to Coyote Ugly. Ugh the stereotypes perpetuated by bad American movies. 

Today I made my way through town to go read at the beach.  Along my way I took pictures so here they are:

 

The first couple are a few snaps of a garden I pass through sometimes on my trek back to  my housing. I have noticed how nice the flowers look. They are always so bright. Its amazing what a little rain does for plants. Poor Houston.































I just really liked this wall.  Some pop art poster and a fake Banksy doodle.
































This is Market Street.  It runs parallel betwen the two main streets of North and South.  Difficult to remember, eh?  I really like the way the roads are here.  The cobbles, and old chimmneies.  So quaint.
Even with all the old and dreary weather and colors, the doors always brighten
my day.

A view of the countryside from up by the ruins

I have more pictures to post.Ill post them when I get back from the pub! (Ill also hopefully learn how to post them correctly. I dont know why they end up so wonky) :)

Few Days News

On Monday I went to pub quiz night with some blokes I met through Justiss.  We lost, badly.  But it was amazing fun. Richard and I decided that the prizes being given out had to come from someone jilted at the alter.  They were supposed to be prizes for your "dorms," but they were prizes like a chocolate fountain.  Afterwards, everyone went back to Richard's room.  Which turned out to be a freaking studio apartment all to himself.  How is it that every body's housing is freakin' awesome and I'm stuck in my shithole????  I had one of my famous forceful best friends talks with Richard. I claimed a UK best friend whether he liked it or not ;)

Yesterday, Trevor had the amazing idea to book a room in the reception area of our housing for a screening of Footloose.  If you haven't watched this movie in a while, you should! Soooo hilarious.  I'm quite fond of this new group of people I've been spending time with.  Most of them paint a very vivid picture when they tell a story.  (Again, most are writers or poets.)  Rylee has a way of telling you a story that makes you feel like you are there. 

Today, Justiss and I sat through lab together.  We walked over to a supposedly "world famous" ice cream shop.  Although it was around 57 degrees, even while eating ice cream it didn't seem that cold.  We also walked down to the beach. This beach is just on the other side of the cathedral ruins.  I AGAIN forget my camera.  But Ill take some pictures of it soon. We both miss our dogs a lot, so when we saw a woman walking her lab we both immediately wanted to pet her.  The woman told us that she can always tell which students are American because Brits don't get excited about petting stranger's dogs.  Americans are apparently dog crazy.  Silly.

A few observations: 

1. Diesel fuel smells.
2. There are bathrooms here, not restrooms.
3. I have not been in one elevator since I moved here.
4. There are pub computer games  like in the states, only these spit money out if you "win."
5. Tennats beer is the Lonestar of Texas.
6. American hipsters simply dress as Europeans. (Losers.)

My boat actually contains another

I met up with Justiss before we went to unofficially audit a stats course.  The class of pretty basic today but I feel ahead of the curve.  I may or may not see if its as basic next week. 

However, before class Justiss and I went to Starbucks and grabbed a coffee.  We ran into Rachel, a classmate of Justiss' from Emory, and went off to find her a coffee as well.  We went into Costa Coffee.  Justiss and I tried to grab a seat and nonchalantly drink of Starbucks.  David, the most delightful barista I have ever encountered, came up to us with a warning about being kicked out next time if we come in with outside drinks.  We pointed out our friend was ordering a drink and it of course would never happen again.  David came back up to us to convince us that Costa was better than Starbucks and left.  He reappeared to tell us he just had to give us a sample of Costa's coffee to win us over, asked what we had ordered and ran off.  He came back with a full size coffee for each of us.  How awesome is that!?  He REALLY wants us to like Costa.  Rachel came back from the coffee cue to discover our luck and joking complained she had to purchase her coffee, while we received it for free for breaking the rules.  She really was joking with him, but he came back with a refund for the coffee she had purchased!  That is seriously the way to get customers to come back.  I'll definitely go to Costa from now on.   Thanks David if you're out there!

Also I got called out for saying y'all.  Well it wasn't a call out so much.  In mid-conversation Rachel asked where I was from because I had said y'all. :) I like how different language is even in different parts of the states. Hee yaw Houstonians!!

I attempting to add in local words and phrases into my conversational skills.  If you noticed I use cue above instead of line.  At the bar the other night, I accidentally said aye, instead of yes and was complemented on it!  Oh and someone told me my dress of fetching, which I intend on using often.

We three girls were talking about our advisors and projects (all of us are in psychology/neuroscience).  Rachel is having a hard time with her advisor.  She also lives in what is called DRA (dorms).  They are directed next to my accommodation.  She was saying how with having a living arrangement our of the town centre and with such a terrible advisor etc. she finds it hard to be positive about her experience here.  She actively has to remind herself how great it all is.  I really feel/felt the same way.  My first few days here were rough.  I did remind myself where I was, how great  my department is etc.  I told her that having people to actually talk to in the middle of the day seriously changed my mind.  We are going to try and arrange a get together out on our side of campus.

Speaking of dorm arrangements, I cant get a refund on my accommodation.  I think I will still actively look for a flat for before Decemeber anyhow.  Its so loud in this house.  Grrr

Having fun though!!!!

I took this on my walk to the town centre.  Its a cute house, but I was trying to capture the gray Scottish sky. Didnt work

**I miss shorts, but I dont miss 103 degrees.**

First Saturday in St. Andrews

I will have a cell tomorrow.  Banks are closed on the weekends and I couldn't cash my travelers cheques.  I am going to attempt to text using google voice.  That way its free for everyone.  Yay!

So I got my first taste of Scottish weather.  It was gray and raining all day yesterday and this morning as a matter of fact.  I am enjoying it though. Its cold and not humid.

I went out with a group of people last night and had a great time.  Justiss invited me over to her 'dorm' for dinner with a group of students.  I am beyond jealous of this building.  Its directly in front of the cathedral ruins and actually looks a thousand years old.  There are heavy wooden doors, weird stair cases, pianos, and did I mention the ruins outside? sheesh.  The dining room we ate in even had a door that curved into the hallway wall.  So lovely.  Her friends are brilliant.  Very warm and inviting.  One guy, Garrett, is here on the same scholarship as Justiss and is literally taking whatever courses interest him.  No real rhyme or reason.  He is supposed to experience other cultures and subjects and figure out what he wants to do.  Whhhhaaatt? Lucky.  They are even given a car to travel and see different places. FOR FREE.  It sounds wonderful. 

Justiss and I went out to a local pub, The Criterion.  Some guy asked what part of Ireland I was from.  I assumed it was because of my red (auburn ;) ) hair. He said that I sounded like I was from there. Uh yea its this remote Scottish village full of astronauts called Houston. 

We meet up with the people at dinner later on and I had a lot of fun.  And thank god two of the guys lived in the housing right next to mine so I didn't walk all the way home alone.  Its further away than most places.  I realize how shitty its going to be to do that sometimes after going out. 

This town is more international than I would deem plain Scottish.  From the group we met up with there were four Americans.  3 British and I think an Irish girl, but I couldn't get a hold of her accent.  Its really nice to be surrounded by people that love school.  A lot of the people last night were English students.  Writing, poetry, playwrights, what have you.  Its something I cant really contribute to in conversation but LOVE to listen to.

All in all I'm reminded how grateful I am to be here.

Scots like to drink! I think it was fate.

I just got back from the most wonderful time at my advisor house.  I finally met some people from my lab and I love them!! 

Let's start from the beginning shall we??

I spent most of today with Dr. Brown, Verity.  She is literally the nicest person on the entire planet. I told her about my accommodations (one bedroom per 6 women) and she offered for me to stay at her house.  Um.... OK??? I'm going to the student housing office Monday to ask if I'll be refunded or not.  She said I could stay until I sort myself out.  So nice.  I hope I can get a refund. 

I went to a talk today that the school say every Friday at 3:30, with wine served afterwards.  Wine is served after nearly anything that happens here.  I finally felt like I was back in school.  Having no classes to attend makes it hard to feel as if you are accomplishing anything. 

I managed to talk to strangers.  Woosh, that in and of itself is an accomplishment. haha  These students were working with what the school calls "Living Links."  They go out to the Edinburgh zoo and work with the monkeys.  I have to be honest when I heard what everyone else is doing I kinda want to switch my subject.  Work with monkeys.... work with rats.... hmmm which is more tempting.

After the wine reception Dr. Brown and I went out to her house to get ready for a BBQ.  I was excited, I thought maaaayyyyybe BBQ meant BBQ.  No it simply means they cook whatever on a BBQ pit.  What ever it was it was good but certainly not dripping in BBQ sauce.  That's where I meant my other lab members.  Justiss, a girl from Emory, is so nice.  She feels in the same boat as I do in terms of knowing no one.  Alex, who is essentially American, but grew up in London with his parents is starting his last year.  He and Dr. Brown seem close.  Its a nice thing to look forward to.  I do find it fascinating though that even though Alex was surrounded by Brits growing up, because his parents have an American accent so does he. 

I learned that you don't tip anyone, except if you feels the waiter has done an exceptional job.  Which is a nice concept.  I also thought waiters and waitresses should be given a wage and not work off tips.  You definitely don't tip at bars.  Someone said that bartenders here love Americans because we constantly give them extra money.

There is a golf tournament here this weekend.  That means celebrities!!  Supposedly Bill Murray, Hugh Grant, Micheal Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones, are Sean Connery all regular attenders.  Hugh Grant apparently is a disgusting pervert who gets with "freshers (17-18 y.o.)." A girl at dinner, from Swenden, said her friends took pictures of him with these girls once and made money off of it.  Hello school loans!! She also said Bill Murray went to a party, but just did the dishes. haha what?

Justiss and I are supposed to go bellydancing.  I would have to say that I was probably only talked into that because of the wine.  Maybe it will be fun.

Sorry no pictures this time!

Cheers!