congratulations to justin. he and jennifer have a new member to the family. i'll probably meet jeffrey michael before caleb michael.

for all you coffee drinkers out there. but really, can there be a fair trial in the italian capital of coffee?

12.5 hour days at a nonprofit, getting paid what i'm getting paid, is not worth it. esp when i spend half of it doing similar work to what i was doing in high school. today i am not happy. so i am going to bed.

friday night marcie and logi stopped here in pittsburgh on their way from ny to colorado. it was nice to see them, even if they only stayed for about 12 hrs. i'll post a pick when i get a chance.

i looked at apartments this weekend. i found one i want, i just need to get my roommate to want this one too. shouldnt be too hard, it's in our price range and is in a decent neighborhood with adaquate parking.

morning commute. fog laden city early morning eye headlight floating by halo beams shining. damp chill pulsing breath marks coffee scented wafts street spinning tires yellow bus flahing light trails red of dotted brakes.

we've created a 'book club' at work. today i borrowed casey's, my team member's, carnegie library card to get out the book for this fortnight. the smell of old books is such a comforting smell, and as i walked through the stacks of printed words, i had both a feeling overcome me that was somewhere between nostalgia and a fondness for the simplicity, wonder, and thought that can come from a good novel. there is something about the lineage of literature.

last night i saw a northern chorus in pittsburgh at the rex theater in the south side. all four bands were all pretty good, but i liked a northern chorus the best. all you who didn't show up missed a good show. it was cool to catch up with sam too. might meet up with those guys again to see broken social scene, another canadian indie band that is on tour.

and in other news i started looking for an apartment in pittsburgh. rents seem so cheap compared to what i am used to paying. i have a roommate, too, so we're looking for 2 bedroom places. she was an art student at CMU and is the type of creative person i want to be around. plus it should be a way into the artistic community in pgh, something i'll need if i'm around all year.

a few blog corrections.
sam's band is still touring, but they just had to take down the website for legal reasons. the rex theater in pgh tomorrow night. be there all you pgh peeps.

and please note that ryan instills fear in small children and feels and gives no love towards me. and he's single, go figure.

it looks as if the band sam was touring with decided to cut it short. i went to double check the time and venue, and it has been changed.

it's amazing how little time i am finding to read and write. i really havent written anything since i've been back. at least i have read about a quarter of a novel in the past week (about 10Xs slower than what i was at).

but i have spent lots of time with my mum. she is taking me to work in the mornings and picks me up after, each way between 45 to 75 mins. plus i've helped or made dinner the past couple nights. however, there is something significant lacking in this lifestyle. which reminds me, i need to go make my lunch for tomorrow.

people make you feel loved when you get back from being abroad for a year. thanks for the phone calls and emails megan, ryan, elan, haleema, emily, dave, mom, dad, heather...and those are just the ones off the top of my head.

after having lived in the UK for a year, i have the tendency to want to add extra U's to words.

culture shock. welcome back--no usable public transit, no fresh bakeries, nothing but chain restaurants and prepackaged food. no silence, no resting, no sense of enjoying life now, enjoying the present.

i know what i want. but its not going to be easy to get there.

[ignore this post if you did not know why i would be in LA]
got back from LA tonight. still haven't heard what i want to hear, and i don't like being put into the situation that they're going to end up leaving me in. i should get a final answer by next week. if not, i'll give them mine.

on the personal side of things, it was cool to see ryan for a few hours. he bought me dinner at a great sushi place--boy do i miss good sushi. then we just chilled at his place until i passed out from exhaustion.

speaking of passing out, goodnight.

updated pictures.
check out more highland pictures and a few more from edinburgh.

please let me know if you find any missing pictures or broken links. this is another minor redesign (you can now link directly to a picture and they have thumbnails).

back in pittsburgh. flights went well. on time and all. my luggage fared less well. one MIA, another DOA--the suitcase zipper broken...luckily not to the point where anything fell out. then i had it all taped shut in detroit customs. well, i'm approaching 24 hrs of awakeness. goodnight.

goodbye edinburgh. i will miss you.

having had several outings with people to say goodbye over the past few days, today i packed and then said my goodbye to edinburgh. we spent most of the day alone, enjoying one of those beautiful sunny days when it's warm when the sun is out and quite cool when it hides behind a cloud. i am sad to go, but take with me so many great memories and new friendships; much anticipation lies for what is just around the corner.

done. printed and bound. after more runaround this morning, including walking all the way to kings buildings, the final work is complete. i had an extra copy printed to lend to those that actually are interested in reading it. let me know and i'll put you on the waiting list.

last night was the last big night out. and it was everything that i could have hoped for. it started with the creative writing course last get together. then i walk over to new town with steve to wish ian a happy birthday. finally heading back to, where else, Medina, to meet back up with some of the tried and true creative writers as well as niki and the irish girls. niki elaine and i called it a night/morning after unsuccessfully looking for breakfast at 7:30 this morning. seems somewhat appropriate that i saw one more sunrise in edinburgh before i leave.

went to the scotland vs ireland rugby game today w/ erin and steve. it was my frist rugby game. i don't know all the rules, but it was pretty fun to watch. you have to respect guys that are willing to run full speed at each other and try to tackle. ireland won 29-10.

tonight is the last get together with the creative writing class. one last pint with the aspiring authors.

this week's photos are good.

murphy's law. i get up early, shower, and head to the lab to print out my portfolio and take it to the copier to have it printed and bound. of course, it couldn't be that simple. first i had to add money to my printing account, and the change machine was off, there goes about a half hour just trying to find the person in the library to get me change from the machine. then i forget to turn off double sided printing. then when i take it to the printer, he says that when it's reduced and bound that the left margin will not be big enough. ok, back to the computer lab, reformat, reprint (after adding more money to my account), go back to the printer. sorry, the machine just broke, come back in a few hours or maybe monday. i'll let you know when i have the final copies in my hands.

last night was steve's birthday celebration. some of us went to 'outsider' for dinner. my roasted duck breast has to rank as one of the best meals out i've had in the last year. after that, we went to 'the doctors' for a couple pints; when that closed we went to medina; when that closed we came back here. a good time was had by all.

i seem to have pulled or strained a muscle in my back which is annoying and distracting. never-the-less, i almost have a complete draft, laid out and ready for printing, with title page and all. hopefully everything will be done by the end of the week, and i can take to it printing monday and have a couple days in case something goes wrong before i leave.

my email inbox levels are finally back to normal (~70 outstanding messages), down from the 130 or so that were there when i got back from my trip.

quick plug for the canadian indie band my (ex)flatmate from edinburgh is touring with this month. don't miss sam 'singing like a girl'.

I rejoice that there are owls. Let them do the idiotic and maniacal hooting for men…. They represent the stark twilight and unsatisfied thoughts which all have. --Henry David Thoreau