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