Haaynds Offf Ma Prrey!
Hello, I have a cold and am sleepy lol
This week has gone fast o.O
On top of this ailment I have many more hours at work this week (due to other new trainees collapsing in a pile of similar flu-ness, bwhaha) today was a 9am-6pm shift, tomorrow is the same, as is Friday.
But I think the worst was coming back to Dundee from home on Sunday. I got the train at 12.12, it ran 5mins late and drove so slowly. Got to Dundee at 1.20pm, had work at 2pm, so with all my stuff from home I figured "Get a bus up, it will be quicker"
...
The bus at 1.30pm was over 10mins late ¬¬
This isn't the first time since I started work... No wonder I've never liked buses, and no wonder so many people pollute the atmosphere with their own cars!
-stop rant-
So I was late! Ironically with a cold I can get to work on time, in the early morning, by my own steam :P
Home!
BUT. Home was good :) Albeit a very short stay... didn't really get to see my cat Oscar... but I did see everyone, and my Mum's 60th couldn't have been better!
My Dad paid for a trip to the "Phoenix Falconry" in Braco, there the whole family unit (me, Mum, Dad, both sisters with their attachments) were allowed to fly Birds of Prey!
We got to fly a Harris Hawk, and damn I've forgotten the second bird's name but it was a carrion bird. There was a Kestrel, an Eagle Owl and finally a huge Bald Eagle!
The Bald Eagle was certainly the most fearsome of them all; he was so big you had to keep your arm high and as far away from you as possible. Had such a steely gaze too.
Which, our guide was happy to elaborate on. You did get a real impression that these birds were *not* friendly, and were built to kill and little else; the talon strength alone is enough to easily punch through your hand. Fortunately, none of us did anything stupid!
So with each of them, we would be singled out, with a thick leather gauntlet on our left hand (in ye olden days of course, the left hand was always the useless hand!) holding a bit of meat or, at one point, I had a dead chick which the carrion devoured quickly.
We were introduced to "hoods" which falconry has always used to "tame" birds of prey... I say tame because it is used very loosely here!
Alas, my camera died very early on, so I have to wait for my sister's pictures! It was *really* cold, but picturesque with the setting sun and the snow. That is the Harris Hawk in both pictures, our guide and my sister Isobel.
The Eagle Owl was funny; all the others were steely and precise, almost mechanical in how they behaved (except maybe the Kestrel) but the little owl came trotting out, running alongside our guide lol. He did that funny head dance they do when hearing extremely quiet noises too.
The experience was certainly up there with paintballing and go-karting! Albeit very, very different. Less physical exertion and more intellectual, visual stimulation.
And no, I didn't make any mistakes like dropping one of them :P
So after that it was back home to warm back up and have a huge chinese meal (Falconry was a tad expensive!) Really wished I could have stayed at home a little longer, but no harm done :)
Other things
I've applied to a place with Denki, haven't heard anything back yet :)
Ooohh, and the day I first had my cold, was an awesome day. I check my bank account and was stunned stupid; even though I knew the council were going to reimburse the months I didn't have any housing benefits, but still! MONEY! :D :D
I was so friggin happy; I can finally put most of that money back into my savings!
I say most.... because I really need a new mobile ._. my current one is annoyingly senile...
My cold has stopped all creativity and even gaming (I tried Team Fortress 2 but it just wasn't working, brain wasn't fast enough) which is a shame because I had big plans for my portfolio recently. Hopefully when this passes I can pick it up again.
Ah well.... I actually need to go to sleep now! The only way I'll survive tomorrow really lol
This week has gone fast o.O
On top of this ailment I have many more hours at work this week (due to other new trainees collapsing in a pile of similar flu-ness, bwhaha) today was a 9am-6pm shift, tomorrow is the same, as is Friday.
But I think the worst was coming back to Dundee from home on Sunday. I got the train at 12.12, it ran 5mins late and drove so slowly. Got to Dundee at 1.20pm, had work at 2pm, so with all my stuff from home I figured "Get a bus up, it will be quicker"
...
The bus at 1.30pm was over 10mins late ¬¬
This isn't the first time since I started work... No wonder I've never liked buses, and no wonder so many people pollute the atmosphere with their own cars!
-stop rant-
So I was late! Ironically with a cold I can get to work on time, in the early morning, by my own steam :P
Home!
BUT. Home was good :) Albeit a very short stay... didn't really get to see my cat Oscar... but I did see everyone, and my Mum's 60th couldn't have been better!
My Dad paid for a trip to the "Phoenix Falconry" in Braco, there the whole family unit (me, Mum, Dad, both sisters with their attachments) were allowed to fly Birds of Prey!
We got to fly a Harris Hawk, and damn I've forgotten the second bird's name but it was a carrion bird. There was a Kestrel, an Eagle Owl and finally a huge Bald Eagle!
The Bald Eagle was certainly the most fearsome of them all; he was so big you had to keep your arm high and as far away from you as possible. Had such a steely gaze too.
Which, our guide was happy to elaborate on. You did get a real impression that these birds were *not* friendly, and were built to kill and little else; the talon strength alone is enough to easily punch through your hand. Fortunately, none of us did anything stupid!
So with each of them, we would be singled out, with a thick leather gauntlet on our left hand (in ye olden days of course, the left hand was always the useless hand!) holding a bit of meat or, at one point, I had a dead chick which the carrion devoured quickly.
We were introduced to "hoods" which falconry has always used to "tame" birds of prey... I say tame because it is used very loosely here!
Alas, my camera died very early on, so I have to wait for my sister's pictures! It was *really* cold, but picturesque with the setting sun and the snow. That is the Harris Hawk in both pictures, our guide and my sister Isobel.
The Eagle Owl was funny; all the others were steely and precise, almost mechanical in how they behaved (except maybe the Kestrel) but the little owl came trotting out, running alongside our guide lol. He did that funny head dance they do when hearing extremely quiet noises too.
The experience was certainly up there with paintballing and go-karting! Albeit very, very different. Less physical exertion and more intellectual, visual stimulation.
And no, I didn't make any mistakes like dropping one of them :P
So after that it was back home to warm back up and have a huge chinese meal (Falconry was a tad expensive!) Really wished I could have stayed at home a little longer, but no harm done :)
Other things
I've applied to a place with Denki, haven't heard anything back yet :)
Ooohh, and the day I first had my cold, was an awesome day. I check my bank account and was stunned stupid; even though I knew the council were going to reimburse the months I didn't have any housing benefits, but still! MONEY! :D :D
I was so friggin happy; I can finally put most of that money back into my savings!
I say most.... because I really need a new mobile ._. my current one is annoyingly senile...
My cold has stopped all creativity and even gaming (I tried Team Fortress 2 but it just wasn't working, brain wasn't fast enough) which is a shame because I had big plans for my portfolio recently. Hopefully when this passes I can pick it up again.
Ah well.... I actually need to go to sleep now! The only way I'll survive tomorrow really lol