Short stories
Yesterday I went down Lothian road to the only Mexican food shop in town (and possibly in all of Scotland) to get pumpkin pie mix for a friend's Canadian Thanksgiving party this coming Sunday. Please forgive me for my cultural ignorance but I didn't know that Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving at all, much less in October. The street that this shop is on is not very far away from the West End of Princes St, which I go to all the time. But I haven't been down Lothian road in months. Jordan and I used to go to all the charity shops on this street quite often and I find it funny that in my current routine I never go there anymore. It's just strange that you get so used to your routine that a familiar place can become foreign again.
Paul and I took a day trip to a town that is only about 40 minutes away called North Berwick. It's on the sea and has all these cute little narrow streets and seaside shops. It was very windy so we tried to fly a kite that we own. It's one of these stunt kites so it's a bit difficult to fly. Paul of course mastered it in minutes but when it was my turn I couldn't make it fly for long. Paul kept giving me instructions that seemed to contradict each other ("no, don't bring your hands together, just bring them together...turn it topwise, topwise!") So I got bored and gave up. Then we walked along the beach to this rocky area where the waves were crashing up against the rocks. We could see a storm coming up over the sea but it never got to shore. It was amazing to watch the dark clouds pass right in front of us but never rain on us. The town made me want to be a weathered sea capitain. I love the ocean.
Paul's best friend Bob has split up from his ex-wife. They were married, had a kid, she went crazy and they got divorced. It was one of those marriages that never should have happened. Then they got back together last summer and had another kid, got each other's names tatooed on their bodies and planned on getting remarried. She went crazy again and they've split up for a second time. Hopefully, for good. When they were together Bob acted very different. He is a very funny, very madcap kind of person but when he was with her he was so subdued. Not in a now-I'm-married-with-kids-and-have-settled-down kind of way, but in a I-have-to-behave-or-she'll-beat-me kind of way. It was just sad. Now that he's split up with her, Bob has been up the last two weekends and he and Paul are like two long-lost brothers. I'm really happy for Paul because he was really bummed about losing his friend to a psycho bitch. However, I'm slightly jealous because I miss having my best friends around. It's not like I don't get to see Paul because he's with his friend and I'm the odd-man-out. In fact, Bob's become a sort of weekend pet. I like him a lot. I just miss having my folks who have known me for ten+ years.
Now there's a Portland crew and a NYC crew. I like that our group of friends is now bi-coastal. However, I would like it even more if someone wanted to join my UK satellite. It's a bit lonely out here. I love having Sarah around, though. Admittedly, we don't see each other much due to work and school committments, but I like that she is here. I like that she is having some of the same experiences I had coming here for the first time and I'd love it if she could find a way to stay. School or marriage seems to be the best options.
I saw Children of Men last weekend and found it terrifying. That shit is very close to home. I have to admit, I've had my head under the sand for quite a bit when it comes to world politics. Every time I watch the news it's more about division between religious communities, global warming, sharp rises in obesity/anorexia in children, somebody blowing up somebody else, etc. It really makes me wonder if I want to have children at all to bring them into this world that just seems to be getting worse all the time, and at a faster rate. Not that I'm planning on having kids anytime soon (y'all bastards, making bets on it), but the thought of 90% of teenagers who have cell phones just frightens me. Makes me want to live in a cave or something.
I had a dream the other night that Paul had recruited all of our wedding guests to be in an army that he led. He was battling with this corporation that had somehow screwed him over and he wanted to declare war on the place. We all went to this old factory that had been built in the fields next to my parents' home in LG. For some reason, Paul camped us behind a building where we could barely shoot at the offending factory but were more likely to shoot all the shanty houses around it. My parents' home was still there but in a dilapidated state. Paul ordered me to shoot at it but I told him I wouldn't because our pets were still in there. He ordered me to get the pets out and commence shooting but I realized we would only kill the people around the factory who hadn't done anything wrong. Then I decided I didn't want to shoot anyone at all and at that point I woke up. Very weird.
Paul and I took a day trip to a town that is only about 40 minutes away called North Berwick. It's on the sea and has all these cute little narrow streets and seaside shops. It was very windy so we tried to fly a kite that we own. It's one of these stunt kites so it's a bit difficult to fly. Paul of course mastered it in minutes but when it was my turn I couldn't make it fly for long. Paul kept giving me instructions that seemed to contradict each other ("no, don't bring your hands together, just bring them together...turn it topwise, topwise!") So I got bored and gave up. Then we walked along the beach to this rocky area where the waves were crashing up against the rocks. We could see a storm coming up over the sea but it never got to shore. It was amazing to watch the dark clouds pass right in front of us but never rain on us. The town made me want to be a weathered sea capitain. I love the ocean.
Paul's best friend Bob has split up from his ex-wife. They were married, had a kid, she went crazy and they got divorced. It was one of those marriages that never should have happened. Then they got back together last summer and had another kid, got each other's names tatooed on their bodies and planned on getting remarried. She went crazy again and they've split up for a second time. Hopefully, for good. When they were together Bob acted very different. He is a very funny, very madcap kind of person but when he was with her he was so subdued. Not in a now-I'm-married-with-kids-and-have-settled-down kind of way, but in a I-have-to-behave-or-she'll-beat-me kind of way. It was just sad. Now that he's split up with her, Bob has been up the last two weekends and he and Paul are like two long-lost brothers. I'm really happy for Paul because he was really bummed about losing his friend to a psycho bitch. However, I'm slightly jealous because I miss having my best friends around. It's not like I don't get to see Paul because he's with his friend and I'm the odd-man-out. In fact, Bob's become a sort of weekend pet. I like him a lot. I just miss having my folks who have known me for ten+ years.
Now there's a Portland crew and a NYC crew. I like that our group of friends is now bi-coastal. However, I would like it even more if someone wanted to join my UK satellite. It's a bit lonely out here. I love having Sarah around, though. Admittedly, we don't see each other much due to work and school committments, but I like that she is here. I like that she is having some of the same experiences I had coming here for the first time and I'd love it if she could find a way to stay. School or marriage seems to be the best options.
I saw Children of Men last weekend and found it terrifying. That shit is very close to home. I have to admit, I've had my head under the sand for quite a bit when it comes to world politics. Every time I watch the news it's more about division between religious communities, global warming, sharp rises in obesity/anorexia in children, somebody blowing up somebody else, etc. It really makes me wonder if I want to have children at all to bring them into this world that just seems to be getting worse all the time, and at a faster rate. Not that I'm planning on having kids anytime soon (y'all bastards, making bets on it), but the thought of 90% of teenagers who have cell phones just frightens me. Makes me want to live in a cave or something.
I had a dream the other night that Paul had recruited all of our wedding guests to be in an army that he led. He was battling with this corporation that had somehow screwed him over and he wanted to declare war on the place. We all went to this old factory that had been built in the fields next to my parents' home in LG. For some reason, Paul camped us behind a building where we could barely shoot at the offending factory but were more likely to shoot all the shanty houses around it. My parents' home was still there but in a dilapidated state. Paul ordered me to shoot at it but I told him I wouldn't because our pets were still in there. He ordered me to get the pets out and commence shooting but I realized we would only kill the people around the factory who hadn't done anything wrong. Then I decided I didn't want to shoot anyone at all and at that point I woke up. Very weird.