6/1/09 :: Jazz and Liverpool

Tonight, we went to The Jazz Bar-- a really lovely jazz place that I've been wanting to go to since February but just had never gotten around to it.  It was supposed to be a large group thing, but it turned out to be only the girls, Scott and Richy, and Tom McWilliam.  

I'm sure Tom must've wanted to punch himself in the face for being stuck with us for the night, but I really enjoyed his company.  He's going home for work placement on the tenth, and I probably won't be seeing him again.  It meant a lot to me that he came out.  Every time I hang out with him, I want to tell him that I wish I had gotten a chance to know him better.  But perhaps it won't be the last time I see him... so I shouldn't say things like that.

After some drinks and my first taste of Guinness (thanks Tom!), Dan and Claire showed up, and we decided to make a break for Cab Vol before it closed.  Not so surprisingly, the club was empty.  Dan spotted a guy in goofy glasses and plaid... and so I danced with him (obviously).  He asked me to go outside for a smoke, and I was surprised to find he was actually really lovely.

His name was Andy, and he was from Liverpool.  Andy and I decided to make a break for it and had the most smashing drunken walk home, perhaps in all of history.  I brought him back to my flat only to find my roommates had spotted Andy and I and had filmed us the whole way home. 

PUNK'D.

Anyway, Andy and I spent a really lovely night together, and I was truly sad when he left in the morning.    We smoked cigarettes as the sun came up and talked a lot about our families and music.  He made me laugh so, so much, and I felt really comfortable around him.  That's pretty rare-- at least for me.

I gave him my number, but he never called.  I'd like to think it's just because he's going back to Liverpool on Saturday, but it probably was a true diss.  Typical behavior from a not-so-typical guy.

5/28/09:: Dan's Birthday

Tonight we celebrated Dan Buxton's 21st birthday!  Dan has been one of my greatest friends here, so it was fun to have this night out with him.  We met up with him at The Hawke and Hunter, which turned out to be one of the most expensive adventures of my life.  It was a very cool, posh place with a garden on the first floor that was lit up and smoker-friendly.  Lovely.

I had made Dan an extremely atrocious pop-up birthday card, which of course, I lost before I saw him.  Someone in that super posh bar found it and probably peed their pants laughing at it.  I'm gutted that I never found it.

Afterward, Claire, Dan, the girls, and I ventured to Po Na Na's for cheaper drinks.  We had a good few twirls on the dance floor, knocked back a few more vodka lemonades, and then called it a night.  

I spent more money on drinks this night than I truly ever care to do again.

5/23/9 :: Worst Day

[picture coming soon!]

Today was the worst day of my life.  Hands down.

It was my first day of work for the temp agency-- which I thought meant pushing pints at the Heineken cup with Shannon and Tom.  (The Heineken Cup is sort of liiike... The Superbowl of rugby).  I had a feeling, however, that it was too good to be true.  I was right.  Instead, Tom got put on the bar, and Shannon and I were sent off to work at Finest Cheeseburgers, a burger van on the other corner of the stadium.  It was hot, disgusting, and unsanitary-- hundreds of people crowded up for food with drunken faces.  There were no registers, so we were stuck doing all the math in our heads.  I worked 8 or 9 hours without a break-- no bathroom, no food, no cigarettes, nothing.  We even had to stay late to clean up the mingin van with some lady who I'm pretty sure had the swine flu.  I could write all day about how awful it was, but you'd never get the true picture unless you were there.

After we got off work (sometime around 9:30), Shannon and I made the long trek home... our feet swollen to the size of tanks.  We sang Disney tunes and limped the whole way back from Murrayfield.  

When I got home, I got a ring from Jack-- as it was our night to meet up.  I rushed into the shower and out to vodka rev, where I was due to meet him around midnight.  My feet were unbelievably sore, and my tights smelled like burgers, but I tried to make myself presentable.  When he finally showed up, I felt loads better.  I couldn't believe someone so beautiful was there to see me!  I finished my drink, and Jack and I headed off to Potterrow to go dancing together.

We waited in the long queue and chatted each other up.  I had lost Lindsey and Sara multiple times in the night already, so I tried to prepare myself for a night alone with Jack.  I was nervous because he was just so lovely-- I started to think maybe I had finally met someone in Europe that would last longer than a second.  When we got inside, we bought drinks and danced together.  It seemed like everything was going great-- we were kissing and talking a lot.  I could tell something was off though-- he wasn't being totally himself.  

After a bit, I suggested we step into the hall, so I could text the girls.  I wanted to find them to take some of the pressure away from Jack and me.  It was then that he dropped the bomb on me.  When we got outside the dance floor, he said, "Good, now we can talk."  We had been talking almost all night, so I knew this was no ordinary talk.  He began, "Promise not to get mad at me..."   Before he even finished his sentence, I knew what was coming-- "I have a girlfriend."  Then why text me?  Why meet up with me?  Why KISS me?  I was completely humiliated.  He made it worse by telling me he was using me to make her jealous.  I see this stuff in the teen movies all the time, but I just never expected it to happen to me.  I guess I just assume that everyone is decent, when really, I should have my guard up.  WAY up.  I was heart-broken.  I had been looking forward to this night for weeks.  

I went outside on my own and sat down on the wall.  I began frantically texting Lindsey and Sara.  I was ready to go home, and I was just trying desperately not to cry.  No answer from either of them, so I tried to catch a taxi.  My feet were swollen, and I was scared I was going to start crying-- but no taxi would drive me since I lived so close.  I walked home alone and just made it in the door before I started bawling my eyes out.  Thankfully, Josh was online to talk to me, but I'm sure I was barely making sense between the weeping and heaves.  I sent Jack a message telling him what he did was terrible, and he better not do that to anyone else.  If I could rewind time, I would've been a lot meaner.  He deserved to really be told off.  

Worst day ever.

5/21/9 :: Revisiting The One Below

What I thought for sure was going to be a bust turned out to be a great night.  I opted not to follow Lindsey and Sara to Cav, so I organized something of my own.  I invited friends over for some drinks at mine, and it was great to spend some time with graphics people-- as always.  We piled together on my bed in my room and enjoyed each other's company until about 2am.  Around that time, we spilled onto the streets and hiked to The One Below on the corner of Princes Street.  The One Below was one of the first places I went with graphics people when I got to Edinburgh, so it was nice to go back there.  Dan Porter and Tom Carlile both bought me drinks, which was lovely.  

I've really been aware of how limited my time is here, so every time I get to have one of these kinds of nights, it's like a band aid on a wound.  I am going to miss every one so much when I go.  It almost makes me sick to think about it.

5/19/9 :: PWOLF and Biddys

Guess who is going to see Patrick Wolf in Glasgow!!! (mememememememememe!)

I went with Linds and Sar to get my ticket today, followed by pints somewhere around George Street.  In the evening, we got saucy at Biddy Mulligan's with a few American tourists.  

Highlights (and lowlights):

hearing wonderwall at biddy's (traumatizing)

proposing to lindsey

giving away my tequila shot

ginger minger + 22

5/16/9 :: Yankee Fuck

Tonight was a great night out.  It began by Chinese take-out and Eurovision at Joe and Shonagh's flat.  I must say that Eurovision was really quite an experience-- I had no idea such balls-to-the-wall cheese still happened in this world.  

After the winner was announced, we played a few drinking games and went out to a few bars off of George Street.  The entire night was full of good people and good laughs.  

Also, on another high note, I got a text from Jack out of nowhere (though I admit I've thought his name was Zach this whole time, haha).  We are supposed to be meeting up this week, and I'm really kind of giddy about it.  

Yusssssss.

5/11/9 :: Khushi's

Tonight was the end-of-assessment celebration.  I wasn't really feeling healthy enough for it, but I figured it could possibly be one of the last times my whole class is together.  I didn't want to miss it.  We all met at Khushi's, an Indian restaurant right across the street from where I got my tattoo done.  The place is BYOB, so I think we must've had about 22 bottles of wine on the table.  I drank Tennents because I'm a real class act.

The meal was amazing-- chicken jalfrezi to die for!  Afterward, we all walked over to the student housing to meet up with all the second years (sophomores).  Everyone was sitting around in the common room, drinking and enjoying themselves.  I could feel my body getting heavy and my face stuffing up.  I tried to stick it out though and kept sipping on beer.  By the time the group had made the decision to go to Bar Salsa and then The Hive, I was barely functioning.  I walked through the grassmarket to the first pub, but only lasted there for about five minutes before I made the hike home.

Sorry I missed out on what I've heard was an amazingly crazy night out, but the meal was lovely.  So glad I went.

ps. photo courtesy of shannon

5/8/9 :: Kirsten's Bday

Last night we were celebrating Kirsten's (center) 20th birthday.  She is a lovely Scottish gal who is flatmates with Shonagh and Joe (also pictured above).  There was a flat party at theirs followed by a night out at Lulu's.  I never made it to Lulu's though-- opted for a pub with Dan, Claire, Allan, and Luke.  Got off my face, as usual.  

I ended up passing out in front of everyone on Claire's couch.  Classy broad.

5/7/9 :: Rainy Pints

Biddy Mulligans was my night this night.  I went there with Sara and Lindsey-- as moral support for Sara, who undoubtedly needed it in the face of her ex and his family who had come for a visit in Edinburgh.  We did some shots before we left for the pub-- only to be followed by round after round of pints and shots that were purchased in the span of the 5 hours at Biddy's.

It was fine at first, but as we all got drunker, the tension just became too much.  Her ex and his family left abruptly without saying goodbye, and eventually the three of us stumbled out into the rain to walk home.  What a mess.

I got back to my room sometime after midnight, and I could barely see my laptop with the room spinning so violently.  I shared music with Joe before going to sleep though, and he gave me the band Why?.   The Hollows and These Few Presidents put my drunken, stressed out head right at ease.

3/23/9 :: Lucky Strikes and Charles Trenet

A bit of vodka, and suddenly, I'm a foreign diplomat.  It was a wonderful, wonderful night.  Finally.

3/17/9 :: St. Patty's

So, St. Patty's day went down, and I don't know what to say about it other than I wish I would get more comfortable with my camera in public.  Sara, Lindsey, and I had dinner together at Monster Mash followed by jello shots back at Lindsey's.  Afterward, we went to a few irish pubs around Edinburgh, the best and last being Dropkick Murphy's on Merchant Street.  This is where I wish I had been more brave and taken photos.  Unfortunately, my only photos from the night are from jello shots at Linds' beforehand.

Anyway, the pub was good for the first few hours.  I had too many pints of cider though, and not so surprisingly, I was feeling way too intimidated to talk to any guys.  I ended up stumbling home around midnight.  It was an alright night.  Nothin to write home about though.

3/4/9 :: Unappealing

"Sweet Dreams" from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo.

I had another good dance class today, but I'm going to be hurting for it tomorrow.

I also had a not-so-good night out. I don't want to say much beyond that.

But this video is nice.

2/28/9 :: Crafty

I woke up around 10 and began the journey to find a sewing shop in Edinburgh.  I ended up walking all down Lothian, up Princes Street, and finally across South Bridge to St. Patrick's Square.  Finally found Edinburgh Fabrics.  Ghetto part of town, but the selection was decent.

I bought 16 pounds worth of material and ribbon and beads.  I've been sewing cupcakes all evening, listening to Martha Wainwright and Bright Eyes.  

Boredom is a tremendous thing.  

Going to someone's birthday party tonight at City Cafe?  I suppose so.

2/23/9 :: Best Day In London

This day was my absolute favorite day in London, and perhaps my favorite day in the entire UK so far.  It started out by going to the 4 Designers Lecture Series (the reason we went to London).  The speakers were quite good-- first a German modernist speaker named Matt from Projektt Triangle and the second speaker was named Frances from D&AD.  Afterward, we broke into smaller groups and went on a studio visit.  Our studio was called Brand Environment-- a small firm that deals solely with branding.  The studio was great, but their work was a bit drab.  Afterward, we all stopped for a coffee at a lovely cafe and chatted.

Once we split ways with the studio group, I walked around with Dan Buxton for a long time-- we got to know each other a lot more on this trip, and I am so glad.  He is honestly just the most lovely person.  One of my favorite moments from all of London was when he and I had a pint on a balcony in Covent Square Garden, overlooking a market and listening to a street performer who had a thing for Bob Dylan. 

Once we finished our drinks, we went and had a fantastic dinner with Fergus at Zizzi-- a great italian joint.  Shannon met up with us there, as we had planned to go on the London Eye together, a giant ferris wheel by Big Ben.  When we got there, we found it to be closed, so Dan gave me a proper foot tour of London instead.  We walked around for hours and did some site-seeing.  This was so incredibly fun for me.  Didn't mind feeling like a tourist one bit.

Just when we absolutely couldn't walk anymore, we had a sitdown in Picadilly Circus-- an area that reminds me a bit of a timid Times Square.  We got a call that our friends were going out to a bar near the Odeon.  We freshened up at the Hostel and met everyone at a bar called Yates.  We got sloppy drunk, and it was just so enjoyable to be out with my classmates.  Every time we do something like this together, we get a little bit closer and I feel a little bit more at home.  

By the time we left the bars, the underground was closed.  We made a 45 minute walk home, trashed and lost.   Dan had his arm around me the whole way, and I couldn't have been more happy, despite the fact that my feet were swollen to the size of tanks.

Never have I fallen asleep so swiftly.  Absolutely the best day ever.

1/25/9 :: Burn's Day

I slept in today, and then had the most lovely day.  I planned some activities for myself, starting with going to The Royal Museum of Scotland.  I took pictures from the terrace on top of the building, including the one above.  The views from up there are aaaamazing, but unfortunately, they keep you gated so far from the edge that it's hard to get a picture without a load of concrete at the bottom.  Also, it helps if you take notice that you've set your camera on manual focus.  Most of my pictures were blurry-- I'm such a turd.

Today was Burn's day, a holiday in celebration of the Scottish poet, Robert Burns.  It's tradition to read his poetry and eat the national dish, haggis.  I didn't have any haggis today though-- for shame.  The museum was packed because of it, so I didn't stay long.  I bought some postcards for everyone back home, and took myself grocery shopping.  I made myself a proper lunch and just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

In the evening, I joined Joe, Shonagh, Sarah, Kirtsen, and Anna at a gorrrrgeous italian restaurant on George Street called Gusto.  I ordered the most delicious pasta with salmon and lots of cocktails!  Afterward, we went to my favorite pub, The Tron.  I don't think I've ever laughed so much.  I love it here.  I don't think I'm ever going to want to leave.

1/22/9 :: The Exhibition Opening

Tonight was the opening of ECA's third year exhibition, featuring the work of the design majors at the junior level.  All of my classmates have been working on their pieces since before break, so it was fun to finally get to see them in their finished state.  Neeti, the other exchange in my department (from India), and I walked around the exhibition for a bit before I ran into Lindsey.  We chatted about whether or not we wanted to go out later, and I decided to go home and get some work done so I could see our plans through.  The exhibition was a gorgeous set up, but not much of the graphic design work was as graphic as I would've thought it should be.  My favorite piece was done by a classmate named Tom Carlile-- he hand-coded an entire sheet of 24x36 paper in tiny, tiny print, and then silk-screened type over it.  

Later on, I met up with Lindsey, Sara, and Marianna, and we went for drinks at Vodka Rev on Chambers Street.  We ordered large pitchers of cocktails and got 24 shots to split between us.  My favorite of the night was called birthday cake!   It was a great night, but it ended too soon.  I snuck out to the chippy with Chris for 30 minutes, and when I returned, every one was ready to go home.  I pouted the entire walk back.  My first (successful) attempt at shots, and I had nothing to show for it.

Bah!

1/21/9 :: Quid Drinks At The Tron

Tonight was Quid drinks at The Tron, which is one of my favourite pubs here.  For $1.50, a giant pint of Strongbow will do you right.  Above I'm with Phillip (taking a sip, an exchange student from Louisiana), Marcus (flicking you off, a local), and Sara (another exchange student from Canada).  On this night, I tried my damnedest to get myself a man, but to no avail.  It was the drunkest I've ever been in Edinburgh, and I spent a bit of the night being sick once I got home. 

It's fun to order and drink pints, but I don't think I'll be doing it again for a long, long time.   Definitely a fun night though.

1/17/9 :: Shopping and The One Below

Today was probably my best day in Edinburgh to date. Couldn't possibly just choose one, so I chose two pictures for today:  the bottom picture is me and two of my classmates at the club "The One Below."  Shonagh (left) and Shannon (right).  The top one is of me and Joe, who you've already heard loads about.

During the day, Shonagh took me shopping around Princes Street and George Street.  I got a great dress, a pair of heels, a tank, and a belt.  I'm so glad that Shonagh was with me because they take fashion here seriously, and I haven't got a clue.

Afterward, again, there was another fabulous meal prepared by Joe, getting ready, and then drinks.  Not as many people showed up to go out as we'd expected, but for me, it was just right.  We drank at home because the bar was going to be very expensive.  When we got there, we piled into this little glowing booth, hooked my ipod into the wall, and played my music.  (Haley, that mix you made for me came in especially handy!)  Every one kept complimenting me on my dress, which made me feel great, and Joe gave me encouragement about wearing heels when drunk throughout the night.  I almost made it the whole way home in them, but changed them just before we left the bar.  I'm glad I remembered to stash a pair of flats in my purse. 

After a bit of dancing and many, many photos, I headed back to Joe's flat to pass out on the sofa.  I fell asleep just after the 'Sweet Transvestite' portion of Rocky Horror.  Perfect end to any night.

1/14/9 :: 1st Exchange Party

Today was kind of a bummed-out day.  I got into the studio late, and once I was there, it was kind of obvious I wasn't going to accomplish much.  I left early and headed back home.

In the evening, Lindsey, another exchange student in the illustration department, invited me out for drinks with her and some of the other international students.  I met them at The Last Drop, a pub in the Grassmarket around 9pm.  At first, it was really quite great-- between Sara, Philip, Lindsey, and I-- we had a lot to talk about.  I was wondering why I had been so hesitant to go out with the other exchanges before.  

We moved to The Advocate, another pub just a ways down Cowgate.  There, more people started showing up-- Sara's roommates, other students from ECA, and some girls that I had no idea who they were to be honest.  For a while, I did fine, but after a bit, I was feeling sort of awkward.  I do horribly in large groups of strangers.  I seriously become a ridiculous wallflower.  I can't explain it.  It's like I'm convinced that no one likes me.  Anyway, around 1am, I decided to call it a night just as every one was ready to go dancing.  

I did the drunken walk home along Cowgate-- probably the forth or fifth time since I've been here that I've done this walk.  The length of two cigarettes.  

I can't decide what exactly is causing my moods to move the way they do.  I never know if I'm ecstatic, content, depressed-- whatever.  Being here has been beyond what my hormones can handle apparently.

1/9/9 :: Chippy Sauce

You are looking at probably the most delicious thing I have eaten since my arrival-- fish and chips with chippy sauce!  Chippy sauce is this delightful brown salty sauce that makes everything taste better it seems.

Anyway, today was the critique of all of my classmates' exhibition work.  The critique itself was so timid compared to what we're used to.  They make helpful, polite suggestions, but there doesn't seem to be any harsh criticism about anything.  I was very surprised.  I had some suggestions and ideas for a few of the projects, but I decided it was probably best to keep my mouth shut-- they were personal projects, and I don't know anyone well enough to go telling them what I think of their work.  The work was interesting, but I was having a hard time understanding the concept.  There seemed to be this original idea, but then what form they applied the concept to, in many cases, seemed a bit unrelated?  I can just hear Michael or Sue in my head saying, "but why?"

Yesterday, for many reasons, was sort of a sad day for me.  I was feeling a bit hung over in the morning, and I was missing my friends very much.  Especially after being at one of their critiques, I found myself missing the comforts of CCS.  I've only been here a week, and I think I might die without Josh.  For most of the day, I wanted to rush home and call him, but I know that I can't with my awful phone.  Tomorrow is the party, and I am actually very nervous.  I hope I don't become a wallflower around all of these new people.

In the evening, I went out with Chris, which was nice.  We talked about music, and I got to feel a little bit more like myself.  After a few pubs, we got the infamous fish and chips and chatted on a bench for a while.  He's so very nice, but I feel terrible that he ends up being my tour guide.  I wish I could adjust and just be like a regular friend.  Being new here is novel, but it's not exactly the best feeling.  It makes me feel more out of place than I'd like to be.