Heh

Well the high ropes course was fun but a bit nerve racking. Despite the safety ropes it is still disconcerting to have to jump into air to grap a swinging rope. Still I managed to do most of it, but after my hands started bleeding (I know, gloves would have been an idea) I cut it short. Stace did pretty well, she handled the first two stations and then the zip line at the end. I am afraid the few pics there are are on Stace's camera and I do not have them.





That said I do have a special one for you, I know this is a short post but I somehow feel that this pic makes it worth it :)

...camouflage :)

A B

Right, I deleted that crap post and will provide a real one here.

First off, the football match was excellent. It was really quite strange to watch in fact as something felt so unfamilar about it. I finally figured out what it was, commercialization. Seriously. There was no stoppage of play for an ad break to go out on telly, there was no person in a giant dog suit coaxing someone on to shoot the puck in the net for a new telephone. No mascot at all really, it was like I was being allowed for the first time to stay up late and watch an adult sport having only been allowed the kiddie ones up till now. Needless to say I am a firm football fan now.

Also, seeing a match live has been on my must do list for some time. Having tried a deep fried mars bar as well, the list is shrinking. And about a week after the match I crossed another one off, a pub quiz! After watching the rematch of Newc United and AZ (Which Newc lost, unlike the one we went to), Fisher and I stayed in the Lonny for their pub quiz. Now most teams had at least four people and were trying to be sober. We brought out the secret weapon, just two people, buzzed, one of whom did not grow up in the country and had no idea what half the question were referring to. BUT on the beer question (Closet answer wins 8 bottles) which was something like How high did sinead o'conners 3rd album with her first group reach on the charts (Or something) we won :) 52nd apparently and our 43rd guess got it for us. Fisher went up to the bar to get our brews, typical selection, Smirnoff Ices, Corona, Belgian wife beater (Stella). And after debating the letter of the law with the bar staff (8 bottles in the fridge, could be any bottles) he comes back with 8 pint size Bulmars, just about the nicest cider there is. All told, for our 2 pound buy in we got 23 quids worth of cider :)

Oh, and I had a colonic irrigation. Curiously that was not on the to do list. Cannot imagine why. Though I would reccomend it to everyone at least once a year, like a dentist's appointment (I lost five pounds my first time).

Right now I am currently at the Canyon Ranch Spa in Lennox Mass. It is quite nice here though my mother keeps referring to the Tuscon one as better. I have had loads of exercise and found I rather enjoy jogging. Also loads of treatments, including some quite interesting ones, like the Red Flower Hammam, where my body was wrapped in clay and I was basically baked. But the strangest was the Bindi-Shiradara, a 5000 year old Indian massage where at the end, warm oil is dribbled onto your forehead for ten minutes. I have a gentleman's body treatment tonight and tomorrow I end with a simple ayurvedic pedicure (Though there has been some pressure to get my toenails painted with the MaCleod Tartan, we shall see). We saw Alec Baldwin in the dining room the other night and my mother commented that the girl he was with was far too young for him :) I have got to go as I have to change for a high ropes challange (We have had snow the last couple of days).

Full of mistakes I know, meh,

I think I turned the comments back on for registered members, no more of this anonymous BS.

May not be an update for a couple of weeks, as I am flying alot in the next few days and have work to do.

A B

Curious State of Affairs

It is interesting how you only start believing in fate when it turns cruel...

As some of you know, my flatmates have come across my blog and expressed displeasure with what I had posted. Now, I have apoligized and can appreciate how it can appear offensive. I tried to explain that what I write on my blogs is always twinged with a sarcastic note. But my apology has been refused/denied/ignored, what have you. I now find myself being offered nowt but a cold shoulder.

meh...

I honestly cannot be bothered to find myself in anyway frustrated. Not only has it been misunderstood, some of the flatmates who I have never had an ill thought off have taken it all on themselves. It is all pointlessly ironic in the end. But I suppose that if they can vent all their ire at me, then it might at least stop them from loosing it at one another, silver lining and all that.

What I have found interesting is the idea of the apology. Does anyone ever really accept it? It has no social value from what I can see. It is the only personalized thing someone can offer (Beyond a kidney) to be forgiven. And I am honestly curious, does anyone ever accept an apology (Your parents do not count) or moreover, feel sated be it? I am easily as culpable, as I am sure I have refused or been upset with an apology.

Well, can I just say that I have learned my lesson in that at least I will in the future accept a given apology at its face value and think no more of it.

I am obviously going to stop writing about my flatmates as they have basically expressed that wish with their reaction. I was considering ending this blog altogether by all the remorse I had felt earlier in the week. Now when thinking about it though, I am not going to allow myself to be censored by those who cannot see the difference between the pot and the kettle.

Back again next Sunday? Highly probable...

A B

Benvenuto!

Right, I just want to start this post addressing a comment on a previous post.

"All i can say gillis is that you seem like a completely self-absorbed idiot who not only thinks he is god's gift to planet earth but seems to have serious issues, mainly that of loneliness...try being nicer and you might find that that feeling goes away!!!"

Right... :) You have a faulty preconception of me. First off, you obviously are not a close friend, as if you were you would realize that I love my solitude. I enjoy nothing more than wandering a midnight city-lit moor with just my ipod mixes as company. If I am mistaken, and you are a good friend then you should already know that, in which case, well, you are a sh#$ty friend (And my detective powers deduce that the commenter is also male). Secondly, your notion that I am self-absorbed is totally correct. Why are you stating the obvious (Unless you hope in some vain (Hypocrite) way you hope to insult me)? What you fail to understand (I smell Christian values) is that my self-absorbtion is my means of faith. Rather than placing my faith in some obscure diety or flawed government system, I choose to believe in myself (Self-absorbtion...self-confidence, two sides of the same coin). The notion that I seek to improve the world through whatever means I have at my disposal is commendable. And it works. I can say for a fact that there have been fewer deaths since I have been on this planet than there has been prior to my birth (Well done me!). Neo-Capitalism, Marxism, Republicanism, Facist Theocracies (I am looking at you Catholic Church!) have all been predicated on violence and death. But faith in Alanism...has not caused injury yet :)

So lets end this by saying what? That people who read AND respond to my blog at 12:34 AM! lack any semblance of intelligence or personal life? meh...no, merely that they should convert to my way of thinking. Go on, be a prim, proper Alan, it's the shiznat.

well, yes, so, hello, I am back from Rome. I have in fact been back for a few days but have been trying to negotiate with a rather offensive cold. It seems to be on the ropes now, but I have aggravated it with a smokey night out in the pub last night. I was not going to go but it was a social gathering of my dissertation class including my advisor. Stace said that if I was going to get a reference from her I had to put in an appearance. It was good craic with a number of lecturers showing up and filling in the students on academic level gossip. Still, there was a price to be had and it appears that I am going to lose my voice.

meh...

In other big news I am going to my first ever football match at St. Jame's Park, with Newcastle United in a UEFA match. But what all this boils down to is that I was told that I have to procur a Newc United jersey. My first ever football jersey. I am hesitant though. You see, I only accepted Newc United as my club due to proximity. But what if there is a greater club out there, just beyond the horizon, an Aston Villa, a Real Zaragoza, or, dare I dream it, a Sunderland...sniff. Hopefully I will get somes pics of the match (If I sneak in a camera) to post next week. But nevermind that, here are the Rome pics! (And there are a fair few of them)

A few blocks up from our hotel were the...

uhhh....well in the next pic... Well, you will see in the next... Right, well thanks alot Stace, it seems you ruined all the pics.

I ask my readers to appreciate that at the moment that my mother is reading this she is saying out loud "Oh Stacy, so childish." You know, I agree mom.

Aw well, I will just have to go on the net ;) and find some pics to post. I will start with what turned out to be my favourite place in Rome. It had a number of titles on various maps, but basically it is a cat sanctuary. We actually went there everyday, whether we intended it or not. It is an area that is about ten feet below the road and contains three temple sites. And quite a few cats. They are all vaccinated, spayed and recieve food from their carers (This did not stop Stace from thieving from my antipasto plates the night before finely cured prosciutto to give to them). There are quite a few cats, in excess of thirty I would estimate, though some in our group attempted an accurate count (And never completed it).huh...moving on, we then went to the Forum. I am not going to delve into all the history of the place, merely that there were some exceptional pieces of construction still standing after what? 2000+ years?And there were some not so exceptional bits...Stace and I ask for a classical pose and this is what we get.From there we went on to the one place I was most excited to see, the Colosseum. It is quite an exceptional place and if you ever go, I recommend getting a guided tour, it has some fantastic history. We also wandered up to Vatican City. I even took my passport with me (Hey it is a separate nation, there may have been some sort of customs!). Now this was on Saturday. And there was a horrendus line up to get into St. Petes (OOOHHH am I going to be attacked for that one). So we thought, let us return on the next day...SUNDAY. Well needless to say the line was worse then (No idea why...), so we thought we would go and see the Vatican Museum, which has the most expensive art collection in the world (Interesting, glad to see the tithes working out so well). We were chuffed as the last Sunday of every month also means free admission (It is not always free...how surprising, are they short on cash?). So we went around to the outside enternance and found...Yes...well, we decided to move on. This just means that there is one more reason to come back to Rome, to see inside St. Petes (Among many other sites we never got too). After this were retired to our favourite afternoon activity...mmm....yes (And look Mom, Andrew is wearing the Gillis of Bellisle Fleece you abhor!). Well, I have in fact many more pics, of Castel Sant'Amgelo, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, but this blog has gone on quite long enough. Can I just say thanks once again to my parents for the great B-day present!

Enough for now, a new post the Sunday after next.

A B

Stonewalled

Another uneventful week, another uneventful blog which oh so many of you will read right to the very end. Shame on you. I mean really, there are so many more beneficial things you could be doing. Reading something well written, reading something grammatically correct. Heck, you could even be doing something not too beneficial, but at least more entertaining. Watching an excellent drama like Eastenders, watching a crap drama like Lost (Oh, I imagine I will be lambasted for that statement).

To make matters worse, I have nothing of any interest to post.

That is right, the twits are being quiet, the dissertation is proceeding, my mental health is stable.

You know, I had just written out a long explanation of Alanism, my political philosophy for the apathetic young voters among us (And means towards my immortality!), but I have now deleted it. I think it either presents me as an absolute nutter, or might instigate the revolution too soon.

I am off to Rome this Thursday so I will ideally have a few pics to post next week, though I will likely not post till mid-week sometime (I told you, nothing at all say). Next week will be sensational to make up for this garbage.

A B

Bon Soir

Yes, good evening to you all...

Now I must state that it is half twelve and I have had five to six Budvar as I am crafting this post. So please forgive me any grammatical errors or, more importantly, my complete lack of inhibition. You will never find me more honest then when I have enjoyed a night out...

I must say that this post will contain no pics, merely my thoughts...

tsk, I know, shoddy bloody site...

Can I first say what a fine evening I have had? I went out with my adopted friends of B to a Jazz club and wow...I totally loved it. You see, I have always had this notion that I wanted to attend to 1920s era club, with the band sitting on their stage, the singer for the evening and everyone dressed to the nines...I have always imagined that there must still be somewhere like that in LA which I will find someday, I promise...who wants to go with me? But the Jazz cafe tonight was really great, I just pictured myself in a film noir and drifted away...Casablanca obviously being the stereotype (Though we gamers actually have many games to picture ourselves in...) I mean the music was grand, the company was great, I do not know, just a ripping good time (And I know that I am the only person who still says ripping in England...)

ah, enough of that, let me tell you something of my wonderful Xmas in Ireland,

First, understand that I was completly apprehensive of my visit, as I was basically intruding upon others holidays. B will attest that everytime I spoke with her, even up till the point where she picked me up at the airport (THE GEORGE BEST AIRPORT...LOL, very few of you will be able to laugh at that), I was still asking whether I was intruding...But I recieved such a great welcome, and, can I say that I have now had the Full English, Scottish and Irish Breakfasts, and my favorite?...Irish, it may have been the company, but food never tasted so excellent. B's parents were such nice people I really enjoyed their company. Her sister was great too, I just hope that I helped her with her ipod and did not ruin it...I admit that my first comment on Belfast was 'Am I in Stalingrad?' Give me a break now, I just saw many businesses closed and came across these old harbor buoys (Which reminded me of the statue park in Russia) that needed a coat of paint, so I just blurted it out. But it is an easily navigated city in the end I think. I mean B's parents had a house still very much in the city center and I was there during the holidays, but it still seemed an accesible place (That said there were bars that you should never walk into...). But the holiday was just wonderful. I really enjoyed the conversations I had with B's family, talking about everything from failed socialism in Ireland (I still feel bad for Roddy Connolly) to the quality of Canadian French Imersion systems. And, I can say this as I doubt they will ever read it, her parents are obviously still so much in love. You see I come from a family like that, where my parents are still so happy with each other. B's parents would join each other in song, her dad on the guitar and her mom singing. Now I realize that it is the celtic blood in me that fell for this but it was so fantastic...

My problem is that this is the exact kind of relationship I want with my wife. Not necassirly the singing, but that you never grow tired of the person you are with. You are always interested in what they have to say, even if it was just about their day. If you already have that, cherish it I say...

crumbs, I have just clued into my alchohol laden writings, I will post this before I sober up and try to erase what are in fact my honest feelings...so forgive any spelling errors, chalk them up to the Budvar..

A B

Finishing up Scotland

I was going to 'claim' that I had posted a blog last week and that the 'internet' must have 'lost' it. meh, I cannot even be arsed to lie in digital format. I am a lazy sod, certain?

Scottyland

We went to the isle of Iona (Again, I am not your history teacher, but it all rhymes with Cirst Fristian Bettlement in Sritain (And rhymes quite badly as well)). I have pics of the abbey there but as it is half covered with reconstruction works, I will skip them. There is a golf course that covers the whole of the rather small island with cow patties and the like as natural hazards (How is it that the most important Christian shrine in Britain has a golf course throughout it?).

What a lazy git you are calling me right now, could he not have commented on these pics. Well, there was not so much to say, except that how clever we thought we were climbing where there was no path to the top of hills on the isle...and then find that there was no way down...except through marshy water. Sure, it looks green and pastural but haha, take rubber boots with you (The clue is that you see all the islanders wearing them).

Oh, and it was horribly windy.

Now I include this picture not as it has specific relevance to something we saw, more as a reminder. Now, I am not sure whether to break my silence on this subjet or not, well, who am I kidding, I have already uploaded the pic. You see, as we were driving down a sinlge lane road on Mull towards Iona, there was an incident. A calamity if you will. For my father was drving the SUV which came into contact with a seagull. Now there are a number of points to raise about this issue. Firstly, if anyone recalls, my 'friend' Bowles (Sounds made up, probably does not exist) sent out a list of possilbe traffic infractions that I may have been involved in. And I have hit my fair share of animals (It is Canada after all, deer and rabbit at this point). But come on, a bird? That is cruel (and difficult) on so many levels, can I just say that I am sure this must have been only one of MANY infractions on my fathers part over the years...like father, like son. Now at the time, I claimed that I saw it get up and fly away out the sideview mirror (uhhh...no, not bloody likely) to cease my sister's demands that we turn around and stop...we were on the side of a mountain on one lane with a car behind us (Which more than likely finished the bird off). Which sister you ask? This one...

mmmhhmmmm, strong Strong Scottish blood in the Gilliseseseses.

Right, I could update on the Twits, but I have got to compose an Xmas email. I will try and update next weekend, before I leave to join the Red Hand.

Bon soir,

A B