Sorry if this post is kind of choppy. I’m trying to get over strep throat, but I just really needed to get this up on the blog. So here’s the Scotland update…
Two weeks ago, I went to Edinburgh to work for a couple of days. I took that Friday off so I could stick around and see the sites. My friend Chris met up with me Thursday night and took me to Stirling where he goes to university. We went out with some of his friends Thursday and Friday night and I had a blast. Saturday morning I met up with a few new friends I met on Friday night to go to Stirling Castle. Good times.
Stirling and Stirling Castle:
Saturday afternoon I went back to Edinburgh with one of the guys I walked Stirling Castle with, ’cause he lived there and I needed a place in Edinburgh to stay. Sunday was filled with a tour of Edinburgh Castle and playing snooker with my host. Thanks to Kajetan and your girlfriend for offering your spare bedroom!
The phone that my office gave me to use while I’m over here in the UK is awful. Well, maybe not awful…but certainly not as good as the one I already have. Plus, the predictive text works different and I can’t message as fast. Thanks to the wonderful folks over at cellphoneforums.net, however, I am now using the company SIM card on MY phone. They gave detailed instructions on how to unlock my phone to use another network’s SIM card. Woo-Hoo!!
I’m going to get in shape over here. Well, I’ll shrink a couple of inches off my waist anyway - and that’s good enough for me. Check out the stairs I have to climb everyday on my 20 minute walk to and from work:
I got to attend my first English Premier League game on Saturday. Derby is only a 25 minute train ride from Nottingham, so I figured I’d check it out. Sure, the ticket wasn’t cheap and it Derby are the worst team in the league, but still…it’s a Premiership game! The best part is they were playing Fulham. Fulham has 5 Americans on their squad: Kasey Keller, Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey, Brian McBride, and Eddie Johnson. Derby has 2 Americans: Benny Fielharber and Eddie Lewis. I only got to see 4 of them play (Keller, McBride, Johnson, and Lewis), but it was still a blast.
The train was a breeze. The Nottingham station is a 5-10 minute walk from my apartment, and the Derby station is a 10-15 minute walk from the stadium. All I had to do was follow the crowd once I got to Derby.
That’s my apartment flat number here in Nottingham. Initially I was just going to describe the apartment, then I figured I could post some pictures. Instead, have a video tour (it sounds like I’m complaining, but really it’s pretty cool
…that’s how many frequent-flyer miles I got flying business class to the UK.
Harlan picked me up on Thursday morning and took me to the airport. Thanks Harlan! Checking in, I found out that both of my checked bags were overweight. They charge $50 per bag that is overweight, which I think is ridiculous. Fortunately, I just slammed it on my American Express corporate card which I’ll get reimbursed for. Still, it kinda sucks.
Trust me when I say it’s not on purpose. I hadn’t been feeling very well over the weekend, and I was just too busy today. Now I’m feeling extremely narcosleepy, so I’m going to hit the sack. I promise…I WILL post an update to bring you all up to speed very soon.
I’ll be leaving for the UK soon. By the time I get there, my blog should look very different and the existing posts will be archived. Stay tuned - I’ll be keeping this up to date with pictures and stories of my travels.
