Well since my last post things have been happening, or at least one thing has happened. I went to look at two different flats on Thursday. One was a little cheaper in regards to rent & was a pretty nice place. I asked the guy who showed me through the house when he was hoping to make his decision & he said “Well I am showing someone else on the weekend, so I am thinking probably by Sunday”.
Mic’s house mates get back next Wednesday, so waiting to see if I may or may not get a house on Sunday is a big risk, especially when you consider that I have been turned down three times that way! I went to see a second place down closer to the main street. It was about 40 quid a month dearer. It turns out the place is very nice and light and airy (as far as a Scottish apartment can be). Being on the top floor (4th), and with nice bigish windows, it gets lots of light. Dana, the Kiwi who currently lives there showed me around & when I asked the magic question of when she was making a decision, she told me that as soon as someone showed interest, if she liked them they were in.
For the sake of creating a little dramatic tension in this post, I will refrain from confirming the fairly obvious decision that I made for at least another paragraph, while I confirm the pros & cons.
If I take this place, I get a cleaner & newer room, it is a nice house, from October there will even be a big TV and an X-box in the house. I am nice and near to the center of the city, basically as close to Mic’s house as I would be at the other place & I am close to all of the major bus lines. Most importantly I am a block and a half away from the huge McEwan’s Brewery!!!
The cons. It would be living with just one girl. Dana appears pretty cool & Mic is all fine about it, but I wouldn’t want to give anyone the wrong idea. The first place would save me 40 quid a month which works out to about $15,000 Australian (Ok, maybe my currency conversion is a little off. More like $120), and it also had a pretty cool reading chair that would be in my room if I were there. Also, the first house is closer to a big park & stuff which is nice. The Con of the first place being that it would be Sunday before I knew that I was in.
I cracked, after being turned down from two places I really liked, I just couldn’t be turned down a third time, so I said yes to Dana. A decision that I felt good about cause she really does appear to be a nice girl, we had a good chat while I was there & it is a nice place.
That night I went to work, happy with myself that I had made the right decision. I went to bed at 2 or 3am (not finishing work till 1ish) then got a phone call at 9am. It was the guy from the first flat who had come to an early decision & wanted to offer me the place. I guess I wish I never knew that I could have either place, but I am happy with my decision. As all who read this site would have noticed from my pics. Who could turn down the chance to live by a brewery?

OK, I am mainly doing this because Michaela said she would be interested to see what my songs would be.
Opening song: “Grounded” The Orange County Supertones
Waking up: “Days like these” The Cat Empire
First date: … They don’t seem to have a song about a girl who tasted a bit like peanut butter…
First kiss: �1812 Overture” Tchaikovsky
Falling in love: “”Colour you in” Jake Amerding
Seeing an old love: �Harpoon” Jebediah
Heartbreak: �Heavy Heart” You am I.
Driving fast: �Bring Tha Noise” Public Enemy and Anthrax
Getting ready to go out: �Black Betty” Spiderbait
Partying with friends: “Rockin Rocks” Powderfinger
Dancing at a club: �”Do you love your hardcore” Ultrasonic
Flirting: �Knock me a kiss” Louis Jordan
Feeling sexy: �I’m too sexy” Right said Fred.
Walking alone in the rain: �Hard time killing floor blues” John Hartford
Missing someone: �she’ll come back to me” Cake
Playing in the ocean: �Caught inside” Orange County Supertones
Summer vacation: �Mas Que Nada” Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66
Fighting with someone: �Chop Suey” System of a Down
Acting goofy with friends: �Jumpin East of Java” Brian Setzer & the Brian Setzer Orchestra
Thinking back: �Masters feet” Eli
Feeling depressed: �Friend is a four letter word” Cake
Christmas time: �Baby it’s cold outside” Brian Setzer & Ann Margaret
Falling asleep: �Sleepwalking” Exceptions
Closing song: � The Shepherd is the lamb” Orange County Supertones
Well there you go. I look forward to reading anyone else’s if they blog them, or even if you email them to me. Always in interesting insight into someones character.

I decided to go for a walk for a couple of hours & darn it, I wasn’t even going to let the possibility off rain stop me. I felt like I was a real trooper, fighting through the elements to achieve the ultimate goal.Livingston, Scott, Hillary, and Goldsmith, the great explorers of the world.
When I made it to the Salisbury crags I went up the steep way. It was a real effort, sliding all over the place like a bowling ball on a well oiled lane, but I did it. I got to the top (and almost had a coronary) and the marvelous view was before me. Then came the wind, soon followed by a few drops of water, which was in turn replace by a downpour, which eventually settled down to a light but consistant rain. This was what it was all about.
I was disturbed from my pleasant little reverie by a passing jogger and his dog. Another brave explorer, like so many sledders through the arctic he was battling on. As I made it to the other side of the crags, to the foothills of Arthur’s Seat, I passed a couple of old ladies happily walking in the rain with their pets too… Um, embattled old missionary women, steeling themselves against the elements mayby? Then came the family. Husband and wife laughing and smiling, the two pre-teen kids running along and powering up the mountain. OK, no explorer comparisons for them.
The Scots are a hardy people. Summer is summer to them & it appears that a rainy day doesn’t get in the way of that. During my walk home I passed people practicing their golf on what looked more like a pond than a putting green, there were groups playing ultimate frisbee, soccer and tip football. There were people everywhere! Here I am battling the elements, pioneering a path through the Scottish wilderness, and i was overtaken by a 9 and a 6 year old!
As I continued my walk home, I could no longer maintain the lie. How was I supposed to inspire myself amongst such robust people. Then it came to me. I stopped by at a nice looking pub and sat down to a pint or two of beer. Here I was, the grizzled traveller, getting out of the elements & getting into a guiness. Scottish men, blue collar workers & suits alike, huddled around the bar, preparing themselves for the precipitous passage home.
I’d done it, I’d found my little illusion again, and it involved beer. Inspiration indeed!

Oz bar

Blue Bowl

Scotland by night

I’m not a nuts & seeds person, so one might wonder why I could consent to work at a place called “Parrots”. Well let me assure you. This litte avian has a VERY broad diet. Lets just say that the menu at this restaurant is so impressive that they even have an index at the beginning!
Of course, this does mean that it is a lot of work for Tim to learn, but I am sucking it all up slowly. Every dish has a code & that is what we have to write down, so it works the brain out but that is all good. I may as well cover the few bad points while I am at it. Scottish people appear to be significantly smaller than Australians, or at least they were when they made this building. The hall space is only as wide as me, and the equipment racks are cunningly placed above my eye line, but below the top of my head to ensure maximum connection with my noggin when entering or exiting the kitchen area.
One the whole though, I am enjoying the work. The people there are all fun & it is great to be working for a guy who is openly & evangelically Christian & who uses his restaurant as a tool for the gospel (not in what I would consider an offensive way. It means tracts in the bathrooms, free books in a corner & a Christian ethos to service). The best bit about the work though is that Tim gets dinners at cost price. so far I have been taking a walk down the spice trail with “Lamb Koftas” and “Chicken Tikka Massala”. Some later planned forays include a stop in Greece for a “Lamb Mousakka”, and then a tour of Briton with “Three mustard beef” then maybe a quick stop in Thailand for a “Thai green curry”. Oh the life I live!
Well it is almost 3am again, so instead of more ramblings, you will have to just live with a couple of more pics. I need some sleep. After all, tomorrow is Tri Nations!!! at 2pm Australia takes on South Africa. Truly an exciting time!
Click the pic for a bigger version.

Handprints on the bus window

You know what. I think I might just give up explaining pics!

I have snapped tendons in my finger before during a rugby game. It didn’t even see me leave the field. When I dislocated my shoulder in a game of American football, it certainly hurt. It took three hours to get the shoulder back into the joint. Of course, I am well known for having gone to do a summer camp in the USA & breaking my leg in four places on the first day, requiring a plate and 14 screws in my fibula to put it back together.
All of these experiences, which hurt in very different & powerful ways, pale in comparrison with watching this american girl absolutely bomb at the Underbelly club’s “The Late Show”. Mic’s good friend Marian managed to score us some free tickets from her pseudo-boyfriend Dave to the show. Each night they have three of the top flight comedians from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival come out and perform. The first & the third guys really were funny, but the girl who came out in the middle sucked in ways previously unimaginable.
Like a pork ribs restaurant in Israel, each joke found itself without an audience. It was funny the first time, frustrating the fifth time & just freaky the fourtieth time! After 5 minutes it felt more like watching a road accident than stand up. Every joke, story or observation lay around her wounded and dieing, but she kept on creating new casualties.
I can only figure that she got paid if she filled her full 15 minute slot, because in the end, she spent the last 5 minutes looking for a heckler. A couple of guys had a go, which was helpful because we got to have our first laughs in quarter of an hour. Having suffered some zingers from the crowd, the girl bravely limped off (the polite UK crowd still managing to give her a clap, more of simpathy than appreciation) and the next act came & redeemed the night.
Well I have spent the last 5 minutes trying to think of some amusing way to finish of this post, but finally I have decided that in honour of the brave girl from Saturday night, I will just let it peter away into painful silence…
In other news, here are a couple of pics. Click for bigger versions.

Tim’s new watch

An Aussie street juggler.

Mic & Marian walking into the Underbelly Club

Light fixture in a pub.

Well I have been a bit of a slacker with the posting over the last week. I was going to do something the other night, but I wanted to put up some pictures & I had no way of getting them from my computer to Michaela’s one (I don’t have internet access here yet). I bought some CD’s this morning, so it is all good.
No real order to the pics, just some visions of the fun stuff that I have done over the last little while.
I am playing around with Moveable type at the moment, so all of the pictures are pop-ups. Click to see a larger image.

Suspension bridge in “Turkey Run National Park” Indiana.

Canoeing on Sugar Creek. (Can anyone say “Coqui ripoff?”)

Reflective artwork in Chicago.

Trying out my new macro lens on a lovely flower in downtown Chicago.

Vinnie, one of Scott & Jenni’s two pooches.

Michaela, Heather, Jenni & Scott @ the “Route 66” bar in St Louis.
In other news, Edinburgh has been very… Scottish to me. Day one, lovely sunshine, warm weather, I felt like I was still in Sydney. That night, rain, and that is how it has been ever since. Mind you, I am not complaining. Sleep is better when it is done to rain, the air is cooler & afternoons spent reading are more comfortable.
I continue to look for a flat & some part time work. I have a bit of casual work lined up with Mic & My favourite Restaurant “Parrots” and I have my first shift on Friday night, but I would love to have about 20 hours a week of other stuff, to keep the bills payed.
Looking for a house is also coming along. There is an awesome place that looks onto the Bruntsfield links, but I have to wait till Friday to find out whether or not I have got that place. In the mean time, I have a room at Michaela’s flat.
Time to get back to work. I have a hectic schedule of sleep and reading to maintain today!

Well, my time at Michaela’s house was all about bingeing. Late nights, late sleeps, loads of food and lots of drinks. Well the purge has come at Scott & Jenni’s, and boy has it been fun.
It started three days ago now. I thought the afternoon would be spent lazing around the house & eating the fudge that we had bought in St Louis. Instead, I found myself perched precariously on top of a racing bike (the last time I found myself astride one of these terrors was at age 14! Mountain bikes are far less scary)circumnavigating the twin towns of Normal/Bloomington, with no brakes & a habit of looking in the wrong direction when checking for oncoming traffic.
On day two the stakes were raised. The plan, lazing in some tubes as we float down a waterway called “Sugar creek”. The eventuality, hiring a canoe and a kayak which needed a fair bit of paddle power to push it down the river. The result, another smash hit! I loved getting out & powering through the water. Finding things like a 5 meter jump-off into the water & a bunch of great things to photograph just sweetened the deal. The bonus, once we had finished at 6, we had two hours to trek in “Turkey run National Park”. We followed a track which led through a bunch of amazing little canyons, maybe 15 meters deep and going from 15 meters wide to a couple of feet! The temperature was about 10 degrees cooler in the canyons & the rock, the trees & the fog was just amazing!
This leads us to today. Having only managed to get about 3 hours sleep last night (for reasons that remain a mystery to me… just couldn’t sleep), I was greeted by a 7:19am phone call from Briana confirming that she could pick me up this evening after dinner in Chicago. A two hour drive with Scott & Jenni became a 3 hour one thanks to road works. The light at the end of that tunnel was a cheap “North Face” polar fleece at REI. Scottish weather here I come!
Having parked in the city, we did about 5 hours walking as we made our way across the city, through some gardens, into an art gallery and along the lake shores. It wasn’t all purging though. Lunch saw us at the famous “Ed Debevicks”, where the waiters are about as polite as a smack in the face with a wet cod!
That evening I found myself at another great food icon “Giordano’s” famous for an amazing deep dish, stuffed pizza. My appetite wasn’t there though & I put in a dismal effort, not even finishing a single piece. That was not my only disappointment that evening though, cause Briana had succumbed to get lag (having just got back from Denmark) and was unable to make it, so Scott & Jenni graciously let me stay at their house for another couple of nights. The only thing between me and bed, another 2 hour drive….. wait, make that another 3 hours. Stupid night works!
Be it through exercise or needlessly long driving trips, I feel I have paid my penance for my fast food excess.
Though Jenni says there is a great Oreo sundae that I HAVE to try tomorrow. When will the vicious cycle end?

I sit here infront of Scott & Jenni’s computer. The screen is bathed in the red glow of my face. Santa has put my nose on standby incase Rudolph calls in sick and the only way I will be sleeping will be if I am standing, cause none of the rest of my body wants to come into contact with anything. Even air!
This would have been the case, were I out on a speedboat for the afternoon, tube riding in Australia. Not so in the USA. It appears there continues to be this fabulous thing called “Ozone” above the US, since all the cloroflurocarbons that the Americans created decided that they prefered the more tropical climate found in the antipodes.A good four hours worth of sitting on a boat, or skimming on the tube added up to nothing more than fairly brown arms & just the faintest bit of pink on my face!
Big props to Jenni’s Grandpa, who was an awesome host. Also to Scott and Jenni themselves who prove to be excellent hosts. They have also added two of my favourite restaurants to my US tour (I have decided to stop referring to it as “fast food” and work on the more accurate name “burger joints”), being Steak’n’Shake and “Culvers”, where at the later I was introduced to the wonder that is frozen custard.
I could tell hurried stories about police rushing me away from Michaela when we were saying goodbye yesterday, or fudge-making singers yelling insults, but that may just have to wait for some other time. A little chocolate, a light piece of reading (Coqui would be glad to hear that I am half way through reading the Narnia series again) and a long sleep are my next points of order.

There is so much to say and so little time to say it. Michaela has said so much, so well, that I needn’t bother for the most.
I will tell you a couple of interesting facts I learned today.
1: Budweiser is the NO.1 selling beer in the world (according to Budweiser)
2: Bud Light is the No.2 selling beer in the world (according to budweiser)
3: There are two things that taste better than beer. One is free beer, and the second is free beer which is scored on a free tour of a brewery!
4: Americans, and especially the people at Bud, have no business making stout.
5: It is amazing the amount of help you will get from hotel staff when you walk in with an Australian accent & they just suppose that you are staying at the hotel. Printing out directions, giving advice…. it is awesome!
6: If there is a point where eating hamburgers ceases to be an attractive option for at least one meal every day, I don’t know where that point is! (Of course, variety is the spice of life! I am spoiled for choice here. Today I enjoyed the delights of a “Flamethrower” burger that had Jalapeno bacon, tabasco sauce, and spicy chipotle mayo!)
7: Even Brussel Sprouts can taste good if they have enough bacon surrounding them!
Well, not the kind of wisdom that sees you bestowed with honorary doctorates, nor enough to win you a game of trivial pursuit, but if you’ve learned at least one thing, then the day isn’t wasted!
In other news, in 48 hours I will be drinking Bundaberg Rum, and playing “Settlers of Catan” with Scott & Jenni! I have had an awesome time over the last two weeks here, but I am also pretty psyched about cathing up with these two.