I'm a horrible blogger!

I'm never going to be internet famous! I am gonna try to keep up. Since the 14th of February... lets see. I don't have a lot of pictures so I am gonna be typing a lot. I'll try to keep it fun with pictures, though!

So last time, I mentioned the botanic gardens. SO PRETTY! A lot of indoor stuff, very humid. It was fun because they had different zones, and you could feel the different climate as you walked through each door.


I really like this plant. I don't know what it is.

Since then I have been to three amazing shows. THREE!

First, 14th of February, Linda and I went to see Asobi Seksu at ABC2. I'm a really big fan of Asobi Seksu, and I missed them when they came through Denver because it was a 21+ show. They were really good, but it was hard to tell, because the sound was horrible. I knew a few people there, but they went to see Winter Sleep, which is a Canadian band. I was pretty impressed with them too. It was a nice venue, holds about 350 people, upstairs from ABC1, which holds a lot more people. I think.

Show number 2: Parts & Labor at Captain's Rest on February 16th. Best show I have seen in a long time. Probably the last really good show I saw was Parts & Labor at the Hi Dive in Denver. What made this show better was that there were a lot of people there, and they were really into it. Even the people who didn't know the band. I went by myself, so I had to walk there and back alone, and stand in the crowd alone, but it was so worth it. The song I heard when we first drove into Glasgow was their song "Fractured Skies" and they played that as their last song, and my head pretty much exploded from all the sound and the awesomeness. They are wonderful live. WOOOO!

Third show, two nights ago, February 26th, Vetiver at Stereo, with Linda and Kate. Cool place, looks like good food, nice venue. I was not very familiar with Vetiver, but I am really glad we went! I liked them a lot. I can't really describe the music very well (maybe Linda can help me out?) Last.fm says indie-folk, but that does not help. Anyway, it was awesome. A lot of the reason I came to Glasgow was the culture and music scene it was reputed to have. I have been happily satisfied thus far. I would rather spend all of my money on going to shows than hopping all over Europe. Maybe that's weird, but it makes me feel like I am really in Glasgow.

Shows I am looking forward to: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Andrew Bird. Hopefully more pop up!

Back to the 21st! The week in between I am pretty sure I just did a lot of studying..... I can't find any other pictures so I'm guessing it was all hangouts and reading. WOO!

Alright, on the 21st I went to Blair Castle, Pitlochry, and Dewars Whiskey Distillery.



Nice little stream near the Castle.



The forested type area around the Castle.


The Castle itself! NO PICTURES INSIDE! It was a lot of fun to see. I believe it was started around the 13th Century, but most of it is 16th century, and additions all the way up until the 19th! I really liked all the historical aspects of it, especially seeing a lot of Jacobite items. It fit really well with what I have learned in my Scottish History class. I was really excited to be able to put my class into context, and the Castle into the context of my class. Very academic trip.


This is more of the grounds. I saw peacocks and highland cows walking around, but didn't take a picture for some reason.





This is the whiskey place. It smelled really weird in the distillery. The tour thing was cool because they had stuff about the development of whisky and what makes it Scotch (has to chill in an old barrel in Scotland for 3+ years.) They also had the table that Robert Burns wrote at in a pub somewhere. Sweet. Poetry. We got to sample some whiskey, and though I will not likely take up sipping whiskey at any point, it was pretty good, and I can see why people would enjoy it. I actually could tell the difference, and one of them tasted very nice. I can't do like I can with coffee and describe it but it got a 5 of 5, would drink again. In whiskey points, that is.

Alright. To my birthday.

I spent a good chunk of the day just wandering around, because everybody was busy. This is a really pretty view of the school I had not yet seen. I could have been sad about the loneliness, but I actually had a lot of fun walking around with the headphones on and checking out the city.

Later I met up with Kate and Linda for a greasy-delicious dinner of fish and chips. They have pictures, but I don't for some reason. We then went to Curlers for a pint with Alyssa and Grace and Brady. It was fun! A very mellow 21st, only one pint. Haha.

Then I found out Linda made me a cake (awwww) and not just any cake! THIS CAKE!



SO BEAUTIFUL! (also check out my super cool colorado shirt.) Even better..... it had MARS BAR in the middle. WHAT!?!?!?!?! Mars bar is similar to milky way. Holy crap, so good. Linda is the best.

A few days later I get a GIANT package in the mail..... what could it be?





BIRTHDAY STUFF! Look at all those cards! Thanks to everyone for sending me these awesome cards (Mom Dad Sting Grey and the Holders and Newmans!) I dunno if you can tell but I got a lot of good stuff. Not pictured there is my travel coffee cup from Crowfoot, some chocolates (that I cannot stop eating) and two pairs of SLIPPERS. Oh man, I love me some slippers.

And the coup de grace:




Check out those boots.

Since it can't get any cooler than that, this blog is done. Erin is here from home, and we are tearing up the town. Updates from that at a later date. Possible London trip in the future. HUZZAH!

Songs to add to the Glasgow playlist:

Parts & Labor- Fractured Skies
Beirut - Postcards from Italy

The Castle finally,

WOOOO LOCHS AND CASTLES! This all took place a full week ago. Sorry I am slow and lazy, but when I am online I like to look at dinosaur comics, not type about stuff.

Anyway



This is Loch Lomand. If it looks early in the morning, that's because it was. It was really pretty and we walked all around. A lot of people turned it into Facebook photoshoot, so I avoided taking pictures of people. Sorry if you wanted to see me by the loch. I was there so I figured that was good enough.



More Loch Lomand.


Pier thing and some ducks at Loch Lomand.




Pretty church by Loch Lomand.


Graveyard around that church.


Graveyard looking out to the loch.


This is Loch Ness. WHOA! I didn't take a ton of pictures because people were running around and throwing snowballs. People didn't seem to enthused by the loch, but I think thats because they were all antsy from being in a bus all day. I don't know. I thought it was breathtaking and majestic.

Loch Ness.

Ok, now Carbisdale! It was full of:

Weird ceilings!

Fancy fireplaces!


Crazy marble statues! ( I can relate to this one. I mean, who hasn't been chained to a rock naked, with a scary chinese dragon puking at you as it climbs toward you. At least she doesn't seem too afraid.)


More marble statues!




The Castle! I apologize for the cars. No other way to take the pictures, really.


The gate!


The library shelves in the sitting room!



Linda!!!!



Overlooking the landscape near the Castle.

More landscape.



Tartan staircases!

Yay pictures!!!

Since then I have had a week of school. On Wednesday I went to the Hunterian Art Gallery on campus and saw some art! They had a giant collection of James Abbot McNeill Whistler, who painted Whistler's Mother. I wouldn't have even known! His other pieces are very graceful, and beautiful. AND he was a printmaker! I loved the etchings. I spent about an hour and a half just looking at the prints. It made me want to go buy some plates and tools and try to print here. That doesn't seem too practical though.

Last night we had a little soiree at Linda's and then went dancing. Today Linda and I went for a chai, and took them on our walk through the botanical gardens! So awesome. I love gardens! In an hour I am going to see Asobi Seksu! WOOOOOO! This week is the Glasgow Film Festival, so hopefully I will be catching some of that.

More stuff soon, hopefully...

Bahdabumbumba

Man, I should really make an effort to keep up with this. I mean jeeeeze.

So since I last updated, we watched the superbowl last Sunday night, and I have studied a lot. I guess I can't really keep up when I'm not doing anything. Superbowl was fun! Woo Steelers! We (I assume everyone knows I mean Kate and Linda and myself) went to a bar that styles itself after American-ness. License plates and Americana everywhere. They had hot dogs at halftime. Yes.

Oh hey look! SNOW!



People went nuts. A lot of the foreign students are Australian so naturally they were pretty stoked to see snow. Really most people did. Playing in the snow and stuff. Snowmen. I want to know how people accomplished snowmen, because that that you see is about as much snow that stuck and didn't melt immediately. Very impressive.

Little kids were having snowball fights. I walked into the midst of one unexpectedly, and one of the little boys handed me a snowball to protect myself. So sweet.

I would have gone out and played in the snow. This is what I did instead. But that is what I do a lot of the time. comfy clothes + music + tea = my life



I need to study more. I felt like I was being lazy all the time, but really I'm just filling in the time that I would normally be working.

Here is more snow.



To me, this seemed like nothing. It did look really pretty falling though.



So here is my project of the past few days. I have noticed recently that my left ear gets SOOOOOO cold, so much quicker than the right. If you haven't seen my new ear decorations check this out.






They are octopus tentacles cast in silver. Woo! That was one of Brace's awesome Christmas gifts to me. They are pretty heavy, and very metally. I looked it up, and I guess its easier to get frostbite on your ears if you have multiple metal piercings in.

So to protect myself from earfreeze I made this!


Pretty rad! I needed something warm, and that won't tangle up with my earrings. I made it with all single crochet, so it just sits on top of the tentacles instead of mixing in with them. I'm actually pretty proud of it. They sell these at Urban Outfitters for a pretty good chunk of cash. It makes my ears snuggly. And it messes my hair up less than a hat would, which is a nice benefit I didn't consider.

Now I must get ready, for tomorrow I am going to the HIGHLANDS! We are going to see Loch Ness and Loch Lomand tomorrow, and then spending the night at Carbisdale Castle. The next day we are going to Inverness and then back to Glasgow.

Expect lots of pictures! I probably won't take them, but just in case I do, I want y'all to be ready!