Becky's Big Trip

august

2007-08-19T16:06:00.000Z

The weather is definitely starting to turn.... only two of the last 10 days have been miserable... blue sky's and sunshine abounds :) Bring on summer.

It was Nigel's 40th Birthday on Friday. Happy Birthday Nigel! Hope you had a good one.

Went to Alice's jewelry exhibition the other night, and saw Jaan play with Cookie Baker tonight, gee they're a creative couple. What else have I been upto? Communist Party at Chris's house a little while back... some pretty interesting costumes there; I never knew Danish people or Santa Claus were commies.

Once the weather has become a little nicer we're gonna have a bit of a house party... in the meantime I've got to work on my ping pong and foosball skills so i can kick everyone's arse. Have started decorating my room, need to take some more photos to stick up on the wall.

Life's been pretty good of late. It's amazing how much surroundings effect state of mind. Have been spending more time at home than I ever could have imagined...it's a great place to not spend money which suits me well, and it's also just fantastic to chill, which also suits me well.

Went to Flinders Uni the other day to find out more on the Grad Dip Psychology. It sounds great and I would most likely get in with no problems...only thing is it's a full fee-paying course. Have so far avoided finding out exactly how much these fees are, but probably should very soon! I'm also planning to find out if I can take part in a research program on Early Intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders... its probably best I mention it on here and people can chase me up on it in case I never get around to it :)

That's enough from me for now. Very bland and unemotional post, but it's 2.30am and i'm tired and grumpy with a cold so you'll just have to put up with it.

What I'm listening to at the moment: Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks.
He's a strange, strange man. Amazing poet. Genius? I dunno...

fresh faces

2007-08-05T12:40:00.000Z

Well I've moved house again. I'm starting to wonder if I have house commitment problems as this is my eighth house in 3 years! That said I know this one will be different... I looked hard for a house that I could afford, had friendly and stable housemates, was in a great location and was clean and stylish. The result: my new house in North Adelaide! The housemates are great...relaxed and friendly... that's them above... (left to right) George, Eric, Claire and Damien. They house is great... big old bluestone cottage looking onto the Parklands, massive 'family area', foosball table, ping pong, darts and a backyard that I think will be fantastic for BBQs once it gets a little warmer.

What I'm listening to at the moment: Real Love by Regina Spektor, for the Amnesty Internation CD 'Make Some Noise; Save Darfur'.

new starts

2007-06-24T17:18:00.001Z

I start my new job today! Well it's the same job but in a different department. It'll be much more independant work and I'll get a company car to drive around... yay!

I saw Adelle off at the airport a few days ago... she's on her way to live in London town... I'm trying to deal with my jealousy, but mainly I'm pretty darn excited for her because I know she is going to have an absolute blast over there, and the city will absolutely love her.

Have been bad and haven't gone to swing much lately. It's so hard to follow any routine with such random shifts all the time... plus it's so cold that I just want to huddle up in front of the heater every night and retain my fat storage. There was however a lovely ball on the other night at the Estonian Hall which I went along to with Kyra... was great to get out there and dance like a crazy person for a bit! Reminder to self: actually go to swing classes so I don't feel like such an idiot at socials.

it's been a while

2007-06-11T06:03:00.000Z

OK what have I been up to in the last few months?

I've changed jobs and direction quite a lot in the last few months. Have finished my job at UniSA and started a casual position at Minda, an organisation in Adelaide that supports people with intellectual disabilities in various different ways. I'm loving it so far, SO pleased to be away from a desk and out working with people. Am starting to look at various uni degrees to see how I'd like to specialise... the thought of going back to uni is dreadful but I'm really keen to take up a challenge and get some skills that can really help people with disabilities. At the moment I'm considering behavioural science (psychology) and maybe specialising in early intervention. Who knows though! I'm so knew to the industry...

This new job and studying at TAFE have taken up most of my time lately, so I haven't done much. I went away to Innes National Park FINALLY last month... I've been dreaming of hanging out there since I was in the UK. We stayed in the Engineers Lodge which was lovely, and drank too much mulled wine made by my crazy french housemates.

The other thing I did since the last post (which was a long time ago) was go to the Great Escape Festival over the easter long weekend. I helped out at the Australian Orangutan Project tent with my friend Lucky and his girlfriend Sophie and sister Ruwandi. I had a fantastic time camping there for 5 days... it rained the whole time but our spirit stayed (reasonably) high, and I think we ended up making an OK amount of money. I managed to get a high-five from the Magic Numbers which was pretty exciting... well actually Scarlett the orangutan got the high five, I just got their attention. Besides the Magic Numbers I discovered a fantastic Sydney band called The Bird, a funky band called Blue King Brown, and of course biggies like Wolfmother, Gomez and Ben Kweller.

Here's a lovely pic taken by Ruwandi of Soph, Me and Lucky hanging out with Scarlett and Jaxon the orangutans at the AOP tent. You can find some fantastic photos by Lucky the photographer on his mullotgod.org page.

I don't really have any more news right now. A lot of people are heading off to the UK in the next few months and I'm starting to get itchy feet again, but I need to be in Australia for at least another year so I'm trying to calm the itch!

If anyone's still reading this blog thanks for coming by!

More updates once I've done something!

xx

surf & sun

2007-04-04T11:46:00.000Z

This is a surfer I was watching at Sawtell, a beach near Coffs Harbour in central New South Wales.

I'm on the way back to Sydney tomorrow morning, am catching up with Lucky & co, will be running the Australian Orangutan Project stall at the The Great Escape festival.

Will write about it when I get back...

where life is at

2007-03-22T23:06:00.000Z

I've been back in Adelaide for several months now, life's been surprisingly good! Moved out, now live with 1 aussie guy, 1 french guy, 1 french girl and 1 british guy in a sharehouse in Thebarton, a suburb right next to the city. I have a massive 'studio' above the garage all to myself! :)

I've had the same job since I got back, working at a university in town, trying to estsablish connections between a particular school and industry. At times it can be interesting but as a whole I'm very keen to get out of the office!!!

Have signed up with TAFE (Technical & Further Education college) doing Disability Studies, and will soon be leaving my job... woo hoo!

I'm at Dad's house at Coff's Harbour (between Brisbane & Sydney) for a bit of a catch up and mini-holiday.

This is a really quick post but we're about to canoe up a river, so I'd better run.

Thoughts for my studies - utilising specialist communication skills - obsessive compulsive disorder - maybe I should interview someone? See how it affects their lives & others, and how professionals recommend victims and loved ones should deal with it. How much should it take over people's lives? Should it be controlled?

think we missed spring...

2006-10-13T12:57:00.000Z

For those of you in Edinburgh who thought we had a hot summer... you should try our spring!

Check this out:

What I'm listening to (excessively) at the moment: Beck, The Information

dancing pirates look strange

2006-10-01T15:37:00.000Z

Went out to a random house party last night, it was full of pirates and wenches. I attempted to make myself look like jack sparrow but only succeeded in scaring everyone with my greasy hair and black eyeliner. We discovered that pirates look very strange dancing...they don't look scary, they just look silly!

I have my first good 'ol Aussie BBQ (since I got back) tomorrow at Lauren's house...been looking forward to this for ages : ) I have been saying that once I got back to Australia I might start eating meat again since it's so yummy over here, however it looks like this isn't going to happen. I still don't crave meat and the thought of it makes me feel a little bit ill...who would have ever thought this would happen???

A little annoyed as my Dad's been in Edinburgh this week...I'm very jealous. Although there is quite a sad reason for him being there so I should probably not be so infantile.

I need to do a little bit of blog house-keeping - since I'm not on my 'big trip' anymore...should my blog still be called Becky's Big Trip? I plan on traveling again but not for a little while yet...besides, I don't think it's the coolest name for a blog...has anyone got a better suggestion?

What I'm listening to at the moment: Regina Spektor, Fidelity

cry baby cry

2006-09-27T12:25:00.001Z

I'm pretty sure a lot of people reading this would have already seen one or more of Jill Greenberg's 'End Times' photographs. If not, you can see more of them and what they're about here.

This exhibition has hit the news big time recently. Jill Greenberg used photographs of crying and distraught children to illustrate her point of view on the current political and social climate in the US - 'As a parent I have to reckon with the knowledge that our children will suffer for the mistakes our government is making. Their pain is a precursor of what is to come.'

When I first saw the photographs and read this I came to an instant conclusion: cool idea and excellent photographs. Children cry all the time and the fact that lollypops were taken away from them in order to make them cry meant nothing to me because obviously it's not going to harm them at all. Crying is just a tool that babies and young toddlers use to get what they want or need...it's pretty instinctual and almost meaningless a lot of the time, and anyone that's witnessed little kids having toys taken away from them in a shop can see that.

After doing a fair amount of reading on the subject and thinking deep down I've come to the conclusion that it's just not that simple. Jill Greenberg sat these children down and photographed them in a very intimate, and a little bit distressing situation. My problem isn't children crying, or the nakedness. It's just the fact that the photographer and parent stuck them in front of the camera and made them stay there, even if they didn't want to. There's just something a little bit wrong in that...like creating child beauty queens and all that sort of stuff. It makes me feel queasy like Anne Geddes does. Anyway, I've found this debate fascinating.

However despite my opinion or any others on the topic of children crying, I find it disappointing that the desired meaning of the photographs is being lost. If you look at these photos individually without thinking about how they were made, they are very effective in their message. Unfortunately the meaning of the photographs is completely overwhelmed by the controversy of this 'child abuse' debate. The Paul Kopeikin Gallery says that 'She utilizes this uncomfortable image as a way to break through to the pop mainstream and begin a national dialogue.' But surely Jill Greenberg must have been aware of what controversy this would cause, surely she would have been aware that her methods would overtake the meaning her project? She certainly has begun a national and international dialogue; however the dialogue is about a completely different issue. Maybe she could have achieved this without such controversial methods...but then would they have been so successful?

Wow...very very eerie - I just noticed that I'm listening to 'Cry Baby Cry' by The Beatles. Apt.

Now, to end my Jill Greenberg rant, I do think something very positive has come out of all of this in the end - relatively apathetic people are now discussing photography, art and politics more passionately than I've ever seen.

And now, in other news....I finally got a bloody job!

The last two weeks for me have consisted of signing up with temp agency after temp agency and waiting by the telephone. After quite a lot of screwing around and a tiny bit of self pity I was finally offered a reasonable position this afternoon. I'm set to start next week in an Events/Marketing role for the University of South Australia, helping to organise an Expo coming up in a few months. Should be fun hopefully... but basically I'm just so happy to be working in a role in town with decent pay!

Went out for (one of my oldest friends from school) Adelle's birthday last week. A whole bunch of us had Chinese food then went to The Gov to see a local funk band called New White Sneakers. After much funky dancing we also checked out a little bar on Waymouth Street called the Lizard Lounge. I'm still very much realising that there's a little bit more to Adelaide than I thought... there are still a lot of places I have never visited and people that I haven't met!

What else have I been up to?

I attended my first Balboa class last week. It's a partnered dance from around the same era as Lindyhop, but it's much more closed in and formal than the type of dancing you'd know as swing. It's almost like dancing to swing music with mamba(?) steps. (Please correct me if that is a terrible description). At first I didn't want to learn Balboa but I realised that it's pretty important as it quite often gets incorporated into normal swing dancing...and once I tried it I found out it's also a lot of fun! Plus, I can wear heels! Woo hoo! If anyone's reading this and is not getting sick of my excessive enthusiasm for links in this post, you can check out the site for my swing dance classes here.

I visited my buddy Jaan who has cystic fibrosis yesterday. He's in hospital after a nasty operation on his nasal system. He looked fantastic; as healthy as I've seen him in the last year and that's 4 days after a huge operation. I'm hoping to go the the annual 65 Roses cystic fibrosis Ball at the end of this month but finances may stop me unfortunately :(

I think I'm out of things to discuss for now. I hope to have some photos of my trip through North America developed soon... it will have to wait for my first paycheque however, so we'll see how that goes.

Thank you for reading : )

Becky

What I'm listening to at the moment: Beck, Seachange
Really cool documentary I saw last night that you should 'czech' out: Czech Dream

i'm home!

2006-09-18T01:10:00.000Z

I've been home in Adelaide for a week now but didn't post on here because I was planning on surprising old friends by arriving early.

I came home early as I was a little too poor to stick around...North America was a lot more expensive than I thought it would be! Plus by the time I got to Montreal I realised that I was on my way home and just wanted to hurry up and get here. I had a nightmare series of flights on the way home...I think I missed around 3 flight connections and had 6 different flight numbers...I eventually got home after around 30 hours in planes and airports.

It was cool to see my Mum and Nigel of course, but it was especially nice to see my doggy Scottie and some friends that I haven't seen for a year and a half. Scottie's getting older so he's not quite as much of a pain in the behind as he used to be. That's him down there. Isn't he cute??
So...as everyone already told me, not much has changed in Adelaide in the year and a half that I've been gone. There is now a Starbucks in Rundell Mall and the new police headquarters is finally finished...my Mum & Nigel have torn down half of the house and put a very nice & sunny extension on the back of the house. These are pretty much the most drastic changes I've noted. One thing's for sure though...I've realised how high our standard of living is in Australia and especially in Adelaide. We have fresh air, beautiful gum trees, fine foods, clean streets, huge houses and back yards, a relaxing lifestyle and pretty darn good weather. The biggest bad point is that the price of everything has risen dramatically while I've been gone. I need a job fast!

I'd been pretty worried that on arriving back in Adelaide I would want to leave again. I wasn't the happiest 18 month ago and I was worried I would fall into the old habits and let my old demons take over now that I'm back. That feeling did hit me a little bit along with the jetlag...but I think I've handled it pretty well so far. I figure I am going to have to be here for at least 6 months so I'd better make the most of it. Even though I think I know everyone and everything about Adelaide, I don't, and I'm going to tackle it head on just like I did when I arrived in London and Edinburgh. I actually feel a bit like a guest here anyway so it should be fun getting to know Adelaide from a new angle.

I'm going to call up all the temp agencies today so I can jump back into the working world (yay!). I'm catching up with some old friends from Adelaide Uni for lunch which will be fantastic. I've been into uni to see about taking up my Landscape Architecture degree again...good news is I won't have to repeat anything so I'd only have a year and a half of study left...bad news is I wouldn't be able to start until July next year. I've found a job that I'd love to try out until then though- it's as a intellectual disability support worker within an outdoor adventure program...at the moment I'm questioning if I would rather do this than design. I've looked up Adelaide swing dance and it seems I have 3 nights of classes to choose from which is excellent...also 'Church City Blues' is a dance weekend coming up here in October which I'm looking forward to. Shell will be here from Edinburgh and it'll be cool to catch up as I miss her already!

For now though I'd better get off this blog and get ready for job interviews. Hope everyone's well who's reading this from the other side of the world!

Becky xxx

What I'm listening to at the moment: Kraftwerk, Computer Love

back in the big apple

2006-09-08T23:52:00.000Z

I've been back in New York since Wednesday. I'm currently staying with friends of Rose's, Tracey and Ben. They have an amazing apartment in Queens, only around 20 minute's tube ride from Manhattan. This area of Queens is really nice, if I moved to NYC I would definitely consider Astoria.

At the moment my feet are killing me cos I've spent the last two days walking Manhattan...and I've only covered around a fifth of it! Yesterday I saw Tiffany's & Co and lots of other shops on 5th Ave, the Seagram Building, the beautiful Crystler Building, Grand Central Station, Trump Tower, the city library, and the original GE Building. I'm sure I've missed something there but don't know what. I also went into the UN Building and even saw a little of a meeting. To top the day off I went the hole hog and went up the Empire State Building where I hung out for a couple of hours photographing the sunset (not so brilliant) and then saw a full orange moon rise over Brooklyn (pretty cool).

Today Krista and I went on an adventure through the lower east side of Manhattan, and since our plan was to not have a plan, we pretty quickly lost in the general area of Greenwich Village. We saw the Flat Iron Building on Broadway and came across a pretty cool street market on the edge of a park. We had a picnic next to the river in a very dodgy park, walked through Chinatown trying to find comfortable footware, then headed over to Brooklyn Bridge for a well earned beer and some nice photos. By this time we'd been wandering the streets of Manhattan for over 4 hours were desperate to find the subway, which we caught back up to the upper east side. Here we saw the Guggenheim Museum in a state you don't often see (photos to come) and then walked across Central Park to the Dakota Building where John Lennon used to live and was sadly shot, and finally to Strawberry Fields, a slightly dodgy part of the park that is now dedicated to him. Sorry Mum - I didn't see Yoko Ono but I did take a photo for you.

Tomorrow I think I might go down to the World Trade Centre site?

spencer, me, krista and riley

2006-09-06T00:31:00.000Z

Photo taken by Mrs Asadorian : )

new jersey

2006-09-05T02:50:00.000Z

I'm safe and sound staying with Krista's all American family in her all American house on her all American street in Washington Township, New Jersey. You would not believe this place...it really really is like the movies. Huge two story houses on giant lawns with no fences, American flags in every single front yard and 4 cars in every driveway. Krista's town is around half an hour's drive from Manhattan, deep in the suburbs. Her family have been so so nice to me...had a delicious dinner last night and they've been so kind to me, looking after me lots and even picking me up from Manhattan!

So obviously I did get in touch with Krista after much screwing around trying to find an ATM, then coins for the public phone...which turns out had to be quarters which of course no one would give me. Once that was sorted I wasn't going to be meeting Krista for several hours and there are no lockers at all in the city of New York so I wandered around with all of my belongings on my shoulders for a few hours. Worked out that Central Park was only 10 blocks north so I wandered up there, on the way stumbling on Time Square and Broadway. Found the park after a few stops and for around the 10th day in a row settled down for a read followed by a snooze in the sun. On the way back to meet Krista I stumbled on a street market celebrating Brazil that didn't seem to be selling Brazilian stuff at all. When Krista's parents (the Asadorians) picked me up they took me on a tour of the New Jersey coast looking over Manhattan which was fantastic! Oh yeah I forgot to mention, the Asadorians don't have an American flag hanging in their front yard because there's a flag with one black and one white scottish dog on it! Why??? Because they have a West Higland White Terrior (same as my dog Scottie) called Spencer, and a black Scottish Terrior called Riley. They actually own the same dogs as on the Black & White whisky bottles! So yeah, I've been spending a lot of time hugging Spencer cos he reminds me of Scottie. Krista and I made the whole family dinner tonight and I made my first pavlova ever...and it worked! It's so nice to be staying in an actual real family house...I haven't been in one for around a year and a half.

What I am listening to at the moment: Nothing. But I do have 'New York New York' in my head a lot.

new york, new york

2006-09-03T12:45:00.000Z

OH MY GOSH I'm in New York! Wow! Bus ride was pretty comfy as it was pretty empty, but I didn't sleep very well after my run in with the immigration officer at the border...I was SO CLOSE to not getting in...he called me a 'risk taker' and seemed to think it strange and quite criminal to go through a country without everything planned and hotels booked. He thought I was a danger to American society because I stay at people's houses when I can and don't spend a lot of money. He ooozed the sort of arrogant authority that I severly dislike about the United States. Man this country is friggin paranoid. What the hell am I gonna do...damage their reputation by sleeping on a bench if I can't get accomodation...? I'm pretty sure there are so many bums in this city that one more wouldn't hurt. I wish I could have had a go at this guy but that was exacly what he wanted...he was just waiting for me to say something stupid or angry and then I would have been kicked out back into Canada with a very bad mark on my immigration record...but mum you would be proud, I stuck up for myself well and kept complete composure...quite proud of myself :)

Well anyway, I was the first person from the bus to go through immigration and the last to get out...they could have left me at the border but thank goodness they waited. The view coming through New Jersey towards Manhattan was stunning...one of those 'wow' life moments that all the immigrants must have experienced as they saw the buildings rising up out of the water and looked forward to their new lives. Now I'm on 42nd Street in a Burger King trying to think of what the heck I'm gonna do with myself. There are real New York yellow cabs outside! And everyone has such an obvious accent! Will try to call Krista in an hour or so...wasn't able to get hold of her from Montreal. Here's hoping the immigration officer wasn't correct and my ignorance of the United States of America and it's customs doesn't make me a risk to society.

leaving quebec

2006-09-02T21:48:00.000Z

I`ve been in Montreal for over a week and have met some cool people but I`ve really keen to check out New York. I`m catching a bus tonight...getting very excited about seeing Manhattan but am dreading the bus ride, especially since I`m hung over : (

Went to a bar in the Latin Quarter last night and saw a live blues/rock n roll band which was fantastic. Stayed at a friend`s house as I`m getting sick of hostels...i`ve been to 3 of them in Montreal.

Anyway that`s my quick update. If anyone has any suggestions of things to see & do in New York please let me know!

........

2006-08-30T21:43:00.000Z

Getting a bit too broke, feeling pretty stupid for not checking the value of the canadian dollar... not doing anything, don't feel like doing much. Blugh.

Looking forward to getting home.

visit to the biodome and botanical garden

2006-08-29T21:41:00.000Z

Went out to the Montreal Olympic Stadium yesterday and checked out the biodome. The biodome was pretty horrible cos it was full of screaming kids and tortured animals, but I did get to watch a beaver making his den and saw lots of cute little puffins which was excellent...I'd been hoping to see puffins in Scotland but never got a chance. I also went to the insectorium in the botanic gardens and saw lots and lots of bugs then checked out the gardens which were pretty nice. When I was checking out the First Nations (aboriginal people's) gardens I saw a little tiny animal I'd never seen before sitting on a rock and humming. He was soooo cute...a happy & curious little rodent, he came up to me and tried to sneak food from me. Then someone came along and told he was a chipmunk! Soooo so cute. I got some photos but don't know if they worked, will have to wait till they get developed in Australia. Also had some adventures with a couple of very enthusiastic ducks and a seagull who also wanted my food.

Went with some guys from the hostel down to Rue Sainte Catherine last night to watch a free movie on the steps of the art centre as part of the Montreal World Film Festival. We watched a German film in French subtitles and our one German friend wasn't there. Luckily it was Goodbye Lennon which I've seen so we had a pretty good idea of what was happening most of the time. That was fun.

Today, trying to organise what I'm going to do in the next week or so.

rain rain go away

2006-08-28T15:02:00.000Z

Decided i'm going to try to write small things on here every day as I tend to dread writing big posts. Not sure if this will make it more or less boring for potential readers.

The other day in the park I met a very disabled gentleman in a park, I think he had cerebal palsy? Made friends with him and helped him out a bit. He couldn't really talk and we struggled to communicate but this made it really satisfying when we were able to get through to each other. Will always remember this guy. My first experience of being a carer, and I really really liked it.

I'd been really looking forward to the drumming and stuff in the Mont Royal park on sunday but it rained all day. Ended up reading and watching movies all day in our hostel.

in montreal

2006-08-27T18:17:00.000Z

This time last week I was rushing around Edinburgh pushing past all the irritatingly slow-moving tourists (or 'fatties' as Michelle calls them) as they wander along staring up at old buildings and people doing strange things...and now, whaddayaknow...? I've become one of those people!

Montreal has been great so far... so much is happening here and I've stumbled across a lot of unadvertised stuff as well. Things on include the Montreal World Film Festival and the Flora Montreal garden/landscape festival, there's a car racing thingy on an island somewhere around here...plus there's just a huge variety of markets and festivities on The Plateau where I'm staying. Montreal is unusual in that the architecture of the victorian era suburbs is more destinctive and beautiful (in my opinion) than the city buildings, which are an ecclectic mix of every modern style of the last century. I've done a lot of walking and seen plenty of the local parks, met a lot of strange and nice local people and some cool travellers.

Although there is so much happening here I still can't help but miss Edinburgh a lot. I feel a little undecided about how to feel about Edinburgh; if I should try to forget it and get on with life elsewhere, or if I should hold onto it and get my bum into gear so I can save money and move back ASAP. I think the later may be the way things go.

Not sure where I'm going this week or what I'm going to do...I've got at least another 2 nights in Montreal and will fill you in on what I'm upto.

What I'm listening to at the moment: Beck, Quero.

leaving lovely edinburgh

2006-08-20T17:39:00.000Z

It's hard for me to believe it but my time in the UK is almost over. I'm catching a bus down to London on Tuesday and flying out of Heathrow (wish me luck on that one) on Thursday. I'll have 3 and a bit weeks of traveling in Canada and the US before arriving home around 9am Septemeber 20. Edinburgh is a gorgeous city and I have a feeling I'll be back but am very sad cos it'll probably be a while before I do. I'm going to miss my street (below) and all the people I've met...if you ever want to meet lots of amazing new people really quickly go to Edinburgh!

I've been pretty busy with the Edinburgh Festivals going on at the moment...it's been fantastic but I have to say I think the Fringe Festival is getting a bit too big for it's boots. I've seen heaps of amazing cabaret, music, comedy, mime and film... saw Jimoin for free in the meadows...lots of swing dancing at the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival (photo below thanks to Sholybonoly)...there was an excellent Scottish standup/artist called Simon Monnery who has a song about Adelaide...a Russian clown family who had a very violent pillow fight with the audience...the caberet that I normally go to was hosted by Michaelangelo and the Black Sea Horsemen from Australia and they did us proud with their questionable eastern european accents and amazing polka songs with the giant Ochestra del Sol. What else have I seen? A Belgian film called Iceberg about a woman who gets locked in an industrial freezer over night and when she gets out has an incredible desire to find a magical Iceberg somehwere up in the North Sea...oh yeah and how could I forget Boxwars, a night of punk/metal music in which young men and women of Edinburgh made armour out of cardboard boxes and then proceeded to smash the crap out of each other while my flatmate's excellent band TheVery played. (I think you can find video of this on YouTube, maybe through a link on their webpage, above right)

Oh yeah, I never wrote about my Highlands travels with Mum and Nigel but I don't really have much to say that the photos don't already do...you can check them out on my photostream through the link above on the right. There are also some pics I took around Edinburgh the other day when Michelle very kindly lent me her digital camera...and if you still want more pics you can alwasy check out my contacts who often post photos of us running around doing silly things.

Well I'd better head off now and continue packing my stuff...those who know me will be aware the I am the biggest hoarder ever and a procrastinator when it comes to packing so we'll see how this goes...

My Itinerary over the next few weeks:

24 Aug : Heathrow - Montreal
(making my way to New York by bus at some point)
13 Sept: New York JFK - Los Angeles LAX
18 Sept - 20 Sept: LAX - Melbourne - Adelaide

See y'all soon! xxx

PS Congrats to Lauren who is now officially a cop, she was dux of her class in the academy!

What I'm listening to at the moment: The Big Chill soundtrack

the festivals are coming!

2006-07-31T17:31:00.000Z

Well, the famous Spiegeltent is up, the tourists are arriving and the sun is still shining (through the rain) in Edinburgh... this is what brought me to Edinburgh and I'm really happy it's finally happening!

First up for me is The Jazz & Blues Festival... it started on Friday but Sunday was the highlight. Princes Street Gardens was packed out for Jazz on a Summer's Day where a whole variety of bands entertained all afternoon. The dancefloor was packed and it was my first chance to swing dance in quite a while and really invigorating to dance to a live band out in the sunshine. Lots of fun!

As far as the other festivals I'm struggling to prioritise - I'm currently in the progress of sifting through the programs, highlighting shows and compiling it all into one big calendar. My flatmate Robin's band will be playing at the Box Wars in a couple of weeks so I'll definitely be there...and my friend Rose's photography exhibition opens this week so that's another definite. It's all just so exciting...so much is jammed into such a small city in so little time. There's the Edinburgh Festival, the Fringe, the Film Festival (including interviews with Kevin Smith and Sean Connery), the Book Festival, the Art Festival plus much much more.

Must getting going now...Still waiting on photos to be developed of the Scottish Highlands so haven't written about that. Haven't bought a new digital camera yet so my SLR is getting a good workout these days.

By the way if you're reading this blog please leave me a comment...hope everyone's still alive and well out there!

P.S. I'm starting to look for a house share back in Adelaide, I arrive home September 20. Please let me know if you have any contacts!

final adventures in europe

2006-07-27T17:03:00.000Z

Well who would think that time would fly so fast since my last proper blog entry... Mum and her partner Nigel have come and gone... I've experienced my final taste of Europe for quite a while... the sun is bathing Edinburgh in a lovely little heatwave and I have two months of leisure and travel ahead before I head home.

Last week I finished at the local council where I was doing temporary admin work in the Social Work dept...that was a sad day as everyone there was so so generous and friendly and even the clients were more often than not nice to me. We had a coffee morning on my last day for which I'd promised to make some sort of Australian sweet...of course in true Becky style I didn't think about this until 10pm the night before when I realised that I didn't have a recipe for an Australian sweet let alone the ingredients...in the end I settled on honey crackles which were only really Australian because I called them that and not the British name of honey joys. Getting back onto the point, I really enjoyed working with the Social Work team...I've since realised this is probably because it's the first office I've come across with out any huge hierarchy segregating the office...I could talk to the big manager in the same way I could talk to my peers...and that was a very nice :)

Around the time that I left work my Mum and Nigel finally arrived in Scotland which was really really exciting. It had been so long since I'd seen Mum that I was a little nervous going to see her at the train station but that went away after a couple of minutes. We went to Paris very early the next day which was probably a bit silly...Mum and Nigel had been travelling non stop for a while and we were all pretty exhausted when we finally reached the hotel near the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile. Paris is so so hot!! The first day we woke up to tanks rolling past our hotel and fighter jets flying over...turns out it was Bastille Day and we didn't even realise! It was quite bizarre watching all the tanks driving through the city...they're such violent looking machines but children and women were climbing all over them and getting their photographs. We wandered through the stifling heat along the Champs Elysées, stopping at the Tuileries Gardens (above) for lunch before tackling the queue for the Louvre Museum.

On the way we ran into a protest by the local 'feral leftie' socialists that was sort of against Bastille Day...I spoke to a few of the people participating that were dressed as clowns and they weren't able to agree on exactly what it was about, but basically I took it to be against war. It was pretty cool to have my first experience of being a war photographer when the 'pink love' clowns went into battle against the powder blue bumble bees! (pics on my photostream)

Anyway for the rest of that day we wandered around the monstrosity that is the Lourve, seeing of course the Mona Lisa and some works by one of my favourite painters Caravaggio. We had dinner at a Parisian Thai restaurant (yum yum) then proceeded to the Eiffel Tower, where we stumbled upon a huge crowd that had gathered for fireworks. That was a pretty cool experience because we not only got to see a spectacular sight, but we also got to watch a large gathering of French people doing what they do.

The next day we went out to the La defence district where we saw the incredibly ginormous Grande Arch which was designed by the fantastically named Johann Otto von Spreckelsen. We also went to Montmartre which is a gorgeous area of Paris set on a hill with amazing views. It 's the really romantic and bohemian part of Paris that we all know from movies...the Moulin Rouge is there and I recognised quite a lot from the movie Amelie. If I lived in Paris of course I'd love to live there but unless I win the lottery this is not very likely!

After Montmartre went back to the Eiffel Tower so we could go up and check out the view without the fireworks...it was a gorgeous night and probably one of the busiest nights of the year for the Tower...the crowds were horrible but we got up and down the tower without being crushed in a stampede so I guess that's pretty good!

On our last day in Paris we went to Notre Dame. Since it was Sunday there was a traditional service on which was pretty cool. After that we checked out the Centre Georges Pompidou quickly then jumped on the hottest train I've ever been on to the CDG Airport. I swear this train was hotter inside than a sauna. Anyway, that's all I'm gonna say about Paris...it was great to finally see such an important city, but essentially it wasn't a favourite for any of us. Paris is not the friendliest city and that's not because of the people (who were actually pretty nice)...it's very ostentatious and formal and in such extreme heat it was pretty unpleasant. Everywhere you look there's white concrete, gravel or stone, there are few trees and the little grass you see you're not allowed to sit on. I'm certainly not an expert on the city but I will say one thing - don't ever go there in July!

Next installment in my travel diaries: the Scottish Highlands

Au revoir!

gay paris...

2006-07-26T14:38:00.000Z

eiffel tower
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

I've been travelling a fair bit...have a bit to talk about...but I'm somehow still struggling for time/energy to update this thing. Isn't the blog world funny? Who actually owns the blog? The person who likes to write about themselves for pages at a time, or the people that get something out of reading it? Just who am I letting down more...? Hmmm....

la la laaaa

2006-06-24T14:45:00.000Z

OK so Jaan is whinging about me not posting enough.

Sorry I'm feeling a bit post-lazy lately :(

What have I done lately? Moved house at the beginning of the month - I now live in a box room with no skylight or window but it has a pretty cool raised bed and the views from the kitchen and roof certainly make up for a lack of views from my room. We had two parties when we moved - when we got closed down by the council at our old flat we moved on to our new one which was fun.

Went down to London a couple of weekends ago for a birthday and to catch up with old friends. It was excellent to see everyone again but I pretty quickly decided that I very much prefer Edinburgh. London is great after living there for around a year...once you get to know the places & people well enough. Trouble is it's just to much hard work...the tube is an amazing transport system but when there are delays it is hell. All your friends live so far away, you need to plan hours ahead... where you're going to meet and how on earth to get there. In contrast Edinburgh is so small...everything's contained within 20 minutes walk and so much is always happening. I realised yesterday that I know someone in every block of tenant housing in our suburb. I can't step out of my door without running into someone I know. We all shop at the same grocers and hang out in the same parkland on sunny afternoons. This probably sounds like it's too small and lacking in privacy but at the moment I love it. I haven't found a better place to meet new friends than Edinburgh.

Mum arrives in the UK in just over a week. Better get planning our tours of Paris and Scotland!

Ciao for now!

What I'm listening to: Sufjan Stevens, Illinois

the redcoats are coming

2006-06-24T14:25:00.000Z

the redcoats are coming
Originally uploaded by doublebug.

Another photo taken by Tim and from his photostream. This is Michelle and I on the way to Vaudville Caberet.

chimneys

2006-06-24T14:22:00.000Z

chimneys
Originally uploaded by doublebug.

This photo is taken by Tim and borrowed from his photostream. (Thanks Tim!)

This is one of the views from our new roof, looking up the hill over Marchmont. The roof of my old house is in the somewhere. Will post a pic of the view from the other side of my roof when I get my own camera.

thinking about home

2006-05-27T17:56:00.000Z

I just opened the BBC news site and saw what has happened...Yogyakarta, the city where my very good friend Adelle currently lives was hit by a severe earthquake last night, over 3000 people killed. Adelle's dad has kindly put a message on her blog to say she's OK, her area wasn't hit as badly as others. All my thoughts go out to the people in Yogyakarta. It's funny how we can watch the news and see such devestation without feeling very much...it's not until you know people who are there that you realise just how devestating things can be.

Also thoughts going out to Jaanie who's in hospital again... keep on fighting and I'm sure you'll be out and feeling better soon!

Love Becky.

to eat, or not to eat (meat)

2006-05-21T16:26:00.000Z

Yes Jaan, I am aware of the contradiction in my 43 things. I've actually been meaning to change the haggis one to vegetarian haggis.

Yes, believe it or not, I've decided to try to not eat meat. I never ever thought I would do this, I love meat almost as much as Jaan, my family knows me as quite a defiant carnivorous...but the thing is, the lambs that I saw on the Isle of Arran were just so cute...and then I saw them taken away for slaughter and I thought 'do I actually HAVE to eat meat?' This is something I thought of by myself, it was not an emotional reaction and I haven't been influenced by anyone...

So for two weeks now I've eaten almost no meat, which really isn't hard while living in the UK, I actually wasn't eating it much anyway (it's really expensive and really crap). I unfortunately wasn't strong enough and ate meat on Wednesday night...and guess what it was....lamb! I do however have a pretty darn good excuse...My Icelandic friends Solla and Gulli invited me over to their house under the castle for a night of opera, singalongs and dinner before they go back to Reykjavik for the summer. Gulli cooked us lamb that Solla's grandmother brought over to Edinburgh from Iceland...smuggled frozen in a suitcase! It was soooo delicious and a very fun night. But alas, now I'm back to not eating meat (hate the term 'being vegetarian' but think I'm going to have to start using it) which means my aim of eating proper Scottish haggis before I leave will not come true...but hey, I didn't really want to eat it anyway.

spring is here again...

2006-05-20T15:40:00.000Z

So spring's been here for a while and apparently summer is on it's way...the Meadows are lined with gorgeous trees in full pink bloom, the lambs are out and about being very cute (in the countryside, not in Edinburgh) and the sun has been shining quite consistantly for a few weeks.

I've been trying to save money and plan for the summer, still want to do a fair bit of travelling before I head back to Australia. The plan at the moment is to backpack through more of Europe in early july, meet up with Mum and Nigel in Paris and then make our way up to Scotland for a bit of a road trip. The Edinburgh Festival starts as they leave and continues right through to the beginnaing of September. By this time though I'll be making my way from Montreal to New York, probably via Toronto and Niagra etc.

I'm going to miss Edinburgh... people here are so polite on the bus, the castle is there every day looking gorgeous, dogs sit outside of internet cafes barking like mad.

I can't take this barking. Will write again soon.

set the date

2006-05-15T17:18:00.000Z

After a fair few phone calls I got my round the world ticket updated...I'm now leaving London on August 24 and arriving in Adelaide September 20...1 year, 6 months and 1 day after I left. I'm really exciting about travelling through the US and Canada, and of course I'm excited at the prospect of seeing my family and friends... however the idea of being in Adelaide for a long time again does not appeal...

arran

2006-05-14T18:00:00.000Z

help
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Last weekend I went away with some lovely girls to Arran, an island of the west coast of Scotland, just over an hour from Glasgow.

This photo is on top of the biggest hill/mountain on Arran, called Goatfell. We spent the first day climbing this then the rest of the weekend frollicking with sheep & relaxing. It was the best weekend I've had in ages...I love Edinburgh but needed to get out of town after being there for so long. We stopped off at Glasgow on the way home for some shopping which was excellent - it's much more metropolitan than Edinburgh and made me miss London a tiny little bit. Definitely going to try to get to Glasgow more often.

This photo shows from left-right me, Diane, Lauren & Gill. Thanks to Michelle who took this pic on my SLR.

lauren & michelle lindyhop on top of goatfell

2006-05-14T17:43:00.000Z

This is a favourite of all the pics that I've taken... I used Michelle's camera and the photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/sholybonoly/. Michelle has some classics from our weekend at Arran on this site, many more than on my photostream so make sure you check them out!

me on the bus rollercoaster

2006-05-14T17:36:00.000Z

Becky on the bus rollercoaster
Originally uploaded by Sholybonoly.

Taken by Michelle

I love this pic...we had fun on the long coastal bus loop of the Isle of Arran...lots of beautiful hills and plenty of lambs to go 'awwwww...' at!

album cover

2006-05-14T17:24:00.000Z

Adam, Dammo and me. Taken by Claire

adam & claire visit me

2006-05-14T17:16:00.000Z

Adam Claire Arthur Seat 2
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Thanks to Adam & Claire for these photos and letting me play with their camera for a little while... I think people are starting to learn not to give me their digital camera as there is a risk of not getting it back.

This is the gorgeous view from Arthur's Seat looking over Edinburgh. Had an excellent weekend with them. Very happy to finally climb Arthur's seat...i'd been saying I was going to do it every weekend since I got here. Funny thing is, it wasn't even very hard.

my week

2006-05-01T19:32:00.000Z

I'm not copying Adelle, I just really don't want to take longer than 5 minutes on this blog entry - need to go home, eat dinner and get some sleep!

Sunday - Saw Tarnation & Grizzly Man (both v. v. good)

Monday - My first two swing lessons. Learnt the Charleston and the Shim Sham

Tuesday - Quiz night

Wednesday - Found out Ben & Sarah's baby Thomas was born

Thursday - Found out we're getting kicked out of the flat at the end of the month

Friday - Realised I forgot to go to the Mogwai concert on Thursday

Saturday - Toured Edinburgh with Adam & Claire

Sunday - More touring, more pubs, finally climbed Arthur's Seat, went to the Beltane Fire Festival

Today - Back to work. Yay!

forth road bridge

2006-04-25T18:05:00.000Z

highland bulls

2006-04-25T18:04:00.000Z

highland bulls
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Was very excited to finally see these cows...they're soooooo cute!

forth rail bridge

2006-04-25T18:03:00.000Z

forth rail bridge
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

I like this pic even though I managed to get it out of focus somehow. There are two bridges that go from Queensferry on the edge of Edinburgh across the Forth River to the north side(where the bird flu is...)This bridge was a 'masterpiece of engineering' in Victorian times. I think around 9 people died making it. One last fact...one of Alfred Hitchcock's earliest films had a scene where someone got out of a train and did fancy stunts while it was crossing this bridge. We walked 10 miles west of here a couple of weekends ago.

congratulations ben!

2006-04-25T17:50:00.000Z

A big congratulations to my cousin Ben who became a father yesterday...can't wait to get home and see little Thomas!

I don't have much more to say besides that. Woo hoo!

what have I been upto?

2006-04-18T17:35:00.000Z

This last weekend was Easter (obviously) and I was a little worried about being homesick like last year as it's so much more of a friend/family orientate thing in Australia than the UK, and both of my flatmates were out of town.

No need to worry though, I was lucky enough to be working both Friday and Monday, the later of these being my last day and handover at Barco just to keep me busy.

I also had the pleasant surprise of a visit from my London friend Jess. She came up on Thursday with around 24 hours notice and kept me company throughout the weekend. It turned out to be a very relaxing weekend - bumming around doing girlie stuff, shopping, going to the pub and out to a cool Turkish restaurant with friends. Jess left on Sunday and I went out for a walk with Tom from work and a couple of his friends. We walked 10 miles along the coast west of Edinburgh, starting at Queensferry and finishing at Bo'ness. We stopped at an Earl's house and a castle, and enjoyed the unpredictability of the weather in the region. Every day in the last two weeks I swear there has been four seasons in one day. We were in the castle for half an hour and I think we went through 3 of them.

Anyway as I mentioned, yesterday was my last day at Barco (the medical imaging software engineering company where I've been the last 2 months.)Today I started a job with a council east of Edinburgh in the community care / social worker's department. I'm really enjoying it so far - I spent all of today taking calls from clients of the social workers and occupational therapists. It looks like the work will be challenging but possibly very interesting. It's on a week-by-week basis which suits me well at the moment. Oh yeah and I almost forgot - one of the Occupational therapists that I met today was from Australia...I asked where she went to uni as her name and hometown sounded familiar...and what do you know...she went to uni with my cousin Cherry. Considering these are pretty much the only 2 OTs I've ever known, this was quite bizarre. An example of 'oh you two are from Australia - you must know each other' being close to correct.

Other news...I'm going on a girl's weekend to the Isle of Arran shortly with my friend Michelle - very much looking forward to going away after such a long time working!

That's pretty much it from me. Going of to the weekly pub quiz now. Have a good one!

Becky

P.S. I forbid Adelle to post on my blog until she stops being a hypocrite and emails me :p

the bird flu is coming!!!!

2006-04-08T13:57:00.000Z

Well guys, I have very troubling news...the very much worried about deadly strain of bird flu is finally in the UK. And where has it decided to land? Just a few kilometres out across the gulf from Edinburgh : )

So if this is my last post, you'll know what's happened to me. I love you all.

In other news my old flatmate Stacey has sent me a link to some photos from my leaving do in London, including some nice pics of Pete & Trudy and my other old flatmates... (don't worry, that's only salt on the carpet...Jane couldn't afford the real stuff) See Stacey's Photos.

What I'm about to be listening to at the moment: Death Cab for Cutie, Plans.

australia

2006-04-03T16:59:00.000Z

OK I'm going to get controversial and mention a topic no one really wants to talk about.

Australia. Multiculturalism. Racism.

I am very interested to know everyone’s opinion of what my country is like compared to other countries, what the real big issues are and if you think Australia needs to work on anything.

Since I’ve been away from home I’ve found that my views of Australia have changed a little. It’s interesting to see your country from a different context, and compared to everyone else. While travelling and meeting other Australians I have repeatedly had conversations that you would hardly ever come across at home, almost always because someone from a different country asks us our opinion. I’ve found the travelling Australian’s opinion on our social and racial issues tends to vary dramatically between two very different attitudes. There seems to be more of a divide than I was aware of while in Australia, and people from the same country often have completely different opinions on the existence and/or prevalence of multiculturalism and racism in Australia.

So in the aim of getting more of an idea of the Australian identity and attitudes I am proposing that people tell me what they think. I hope you can feel free to be honest - you can write anonymously, this may help in your honesty. Also if you're not from Australia I would still very much like to hear your thoughts.

Some things you can write about:

what our strengths are
what our weaknesses are
what we can do about them

There is a serious dilemma for me in what I’m asking because I would really like everyone to have free speech, however if I deem anything to be too offensive I can and will sensor it. This may be the most stupid thing I’ve ever done, but here goes!

P.S. On a much lighter note, what I’m listening to at the moment – Mogwai, Mr Beast / Sigur Ros, Takk / Beta Band, The 3 EPs (AGAIN AND REALLY LOUD)

jobs, prints, tickets and cigarettes

2006-04-01T18:41:00.000Z

Footprints in the snow (not sand) ... 4th March 06.

Thanks everyone for such lovely comments, good to here from you all!

I don't really have any more news since last week. Actually I guess I do - the office I work at finally has permission for a permanent role so I will be leaving there in around 2 weeks. I'm going to start looking for new positions this weekend...maybe I'll make use of the marketing contacts for arts & performance organisations that I've had on hand for a while.

In other news I bought a ticket to a Glaswegian band Mogwai play here in Edinburgh which should be cool. On the creative side, I've collected a very large print of the photo below to go on display in our lounge room, and bought a b&w film to take more pics. I'm going to try to find the best place in Edinburgh where I can sit and watch people and hopefully get some good candid shots.

I went to the community arts cafe that I mentioned last week, but for a party not to use the darkroom yet - there were lots of 'smoking' parties last saturday night so people could suck as many cancer sticks as possible before the ban on smoking in public places commenced on Sunday. There has been a lot of debate about how well the smoking ban will go. There was actually quite a bizarre story in the paper this week about a man who is blaming his father's death on the smoking ban...he said if his father hadn't been forced to get up and go outside for a cigarette then he wouldn't have fallen and hit his head on the bar and died. He made a call for the ban to be taken away for old and disabled people in public places to curb such dangers of having to walk through the premises and outside. What is this world coming to???

in blue

2006-03-25T17:32:00.000Z

So this is me in my new room in my flat. As expected it sort of 'just fell into place' for me as usual with the move to Edinburgh. As I mentioned in my earlier posts, I've met lots of people, got a reasonable job and beautiful city to wander and photograph. It sounds silly but things have been so sickeningly happy for me that I am almost bored with it... Don't get me wrong, I completely appreciate how lucky I have it. A week or so ago I woke up on a Sunday to find huge snowflakes floating around outside my window...when strolling through the park to go to my local cinema's Sunday double-bill I was surprised to find a gorgeous winter wonderland in the middle of the city. The mini golf course in the meadows had kids sledging down the slopes, families were making families of snowman and a couple was throwing snowballs and laughing uncontrolably as they chased each other through the elms. It was another one of those moments that I'm sure all travellers know well - the 'Wow.......this is why I'm here' moment.

Despite all these pleasures, this weekend I am starting to get slightly itchy feet. I don't think that it's a problem with Edinburgh at all...more that I'm not sure what I'm doing with myself right now. Working a 9-to-5 job takes a lot out of you and stops you doing things, but I don't think that's the problem. I am starting to think more about the future because I have to...my flight back to Aus in September is going to come up very quick and I'm very aware of that. The trouble is that I know I'm not ready to settle back into life in Australia, but I'm also not sure what I want out of life elsewhere. Now that I have found an excellent city to live in and I don't have any travel coming up immediately I am able to sit and think more about what I really want. I know I want to be more actively creative but I just don't know how. Being around very creative people increases my desire to do something but at the same time stiffles me... is my need to please other people still there stopping me? I don't think so...I think it's a serious lack of direction that's stopping me. So my task in the next few months is to be active in searching out what I want to do with myself...but where to start? I'm going to start by using the darkroom at the local community arts/cafe/studio that my housemates are involved in. Wish me luck...

Outside of my very personal and self-involved dribble I have other news...Adam, Claire and I are flying my Mum over to the UK in July! Since she is the best mother you could possibly wish for Adam thought she deserved to make a trip over and we decided to make it before I go home to Aus. Mum and Nigel will be staying with Adam & Claire in London and then in Edinburgh with me...we'll see if we can fit a weekend trip to Paris and a driving holiday of Scotland into their experience as well. It's safe to say Mum is a very happy lady!

That's it from me for now...

flatmates

2006-03-25T17:25:00.001Z

flatmates
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Chris and Robin in our lovely yellow kitchen. No, in case you're wondering Robin does not always have silver eyebrows. You can find Robin's band on http://www.thevery.com/ - I don't think Chris has anything to publicise at the moment but I'll let you know if/when he does.

boxing day

2006-03-25T16:55:00.000Z

boxing day
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

My first snowfall ever. This photo should have gone with my post from 3 months ago...

new workmates, friends, beer, film and my OWN ROOM!!!

2006-03-05T21:28:00.000Z

I hate to say it (don't want to jinx it) but things are going remarkably well with my move to Edinburgh. I've been at my job for over two weeks now and have settled in pretty well, although it's a temp job so it probably won't last too long. As I mentioned earlier I'm HR Assistant / Receptionist, apparently 30% of me is reception (my right arm picks up the phone and my head speaks) and the other 70% is HR...hmm...we'll see how that goes.

Thanks everyone for the lovely messages for my birthday, it was excellent to get texts and emails from across the world. I was a bit lazy this year when it came to my birthday - I moved into my new flat on Wednesday night and my birthday was Thursday, and I'd only just settled in at work so I didn't tell anyone it was my birthday. Of course not surprisingly even though I was determined to have a non-birthday I did get in a bit of a crappy mood when work was horribly busy and I didn't get any gifts and stuff...so I ended up going out with a girl from work for a slap-dash birthday drink. We met up with a lovely Canadian/Scottish girl that I used to work with in London and ended up meeting a lot of new people and having an excellent time. Everyone I met gave me hints on how to get work during the Festival so I'm really excited about that.

Anyway it turns out my crazy supervisor Val found out it was a special day for me and decided I was needing a bit of a celebration on Friday! She announced on the public noticeboard at work that we were all going out to the pub afterwork and half of the office came out which was really excellent. The average age of staff at my work is around 25 - the company develops medical imaging software so it mainly employs software engineers etc. Anyway as anyone who's been to uni would know - engineers like to drink. So it's a very social/fun atmosphere at work which is great since I'm so new and don't know many people! (Oh yeah and Jaan you'll be amused to know that one of the engineers here is an alpha member) Friday was also excellent because it snowed! Edinburgh hasn't been that cold up until late last week, then on friday morning it snowed and snowed and made this gorgeous white carpet all over everything - I threw my first snowball and slipped and slided, and of course since I paid no attention to the weather broadcast I was wearing very unsuitable shoes and froze my poor toes walking home.

I've just realised this post is a little bit messy and rambling- sorry I must be tired.

Second section - my house - OK so yeah I'm living on Marchmont Road which is exactly where I wanted to be, and yes I'm right next to the gothic church, in fact I'm across the road from it right now! Haven't seen Tamara around yet though. Marchmont is really cool, right next to the meadows/parklands, 5 minutes walk from the old town, and there are little fruit shops, art & craft shops and fantastic restaurants all around my house. Stright across the road is Alphabet Video(!), supposedly one of the better video stores in Edinburgh. I don't have a membership there yet but I have met and got along really well with it's manager at a party so I'm hoping I may be able to force a bit of part-time work out of him!

I have hardly been home the last few days so I can't say a huge amount about my housemates yet, but I can happily say that after a year of sharing I've finally got my own room!!!!! It's gorgeous, got old floorboards, edwardian furniture and a huge window with a view of the communal garden and a queen size bed all for myself! I've taken photos with my SLR so I'll try to get them onto disk and put them on my blog some time soon. The house is excellent, very large and very messy, the kitchen is sunny and cosy and the housemates are chilled. My first night in the house the boys and I played a board game together which I thought was a pretty cool thing - I now haven't watched TV for around a month and it's great! But yeah I'm just happy to get out of the hostel after 2 weeks.

Have to go now cos the internet cafe is closing...lots of love to everyone.

xxx

happy birthday JAANIE!!!!

2006-02-22T19:41:00.000Z

OK so do you think having his name in the title will make up for the terrible fact that I'm two days (3 Australian time) late??

News:

I've been working a few days now and am quite enjoying it, my office is very young so it should be a fun place to be!

I finally found a flat the other night - I said I was keen without even knowing the details and they asked me to move in 2 seconds after I had walked out the door - i have a feeling it's going to be a very fun place to live! It's just outside the the Old town on the edge of the meadows...exactly where I wanted to live. I'll be sharing the very cosy flat with two very cool guys - both half scottish, one half german and one half english.

Will update when something else interesting happens.

Hope you had a great day Jaan, lots of love!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

settling in

2006-02-18T12:43:00.000Z

I had the handover for my first Edinburgh temp job yesterday - turns out I'm not just a HR Administrator but also the receptionist - I'm replacing 2 temps! Should be good though, the team seems really fun and hopefully it won't be too crazy.

I'm of two minds about what to do about accommodation - I haven't found the 'perfect flat' yet, which isn't really surprising since I haven't even been here a week. The thing is I'm getting quite comfy in my hostel and they do good long-term rates, and if I help out a bit each day accommodation becomes much much cheaper - this is really tempting because it may allow me to stay here longer as I won't have to work as much...it'll be a really different lifestyle to the one I've had so far in the UK - not so many luxuries and no personal space - but it may be the most sensible thing for me to do - not to mention the fact that the hostel is a really social place to be!

Anyway I've been having an excellent time here so far, met some pretty cool people, seen lots of bands and have spent almost all my spare money at various pubs all over the Old Town. Hmmm maybe this hostel lifestyle isn't so cheap after all??

bonnie scotland

2006-02-13T10:16:00.000Z

So far this year has been unusually crazy for me - I've spent the last month 'preparing' to go to Edinburgh - of course this consisted of going out a lot and meeting a whole bunch of fantastic Londoners, just to make life difficult for me! I somehow managed to get around 5 leaving parties out of friends and workmates and by the end of my time in London I'm left feeling very much a Londoner and a little unsure that I'll feel the same way about Edinburgh.

So I finally got to Edinburgh yesterday; I got a train up along the coast, found my hostel, wandered around a bit then met Damian for dinner. It is such a GORGEOUS city and my hostel is so fantastic - I'm staying at a place called Castle Rock Hostel just under the castle. I'm itching to start working and get a house though because at the moment I just feel like a tourist and that's not what I want from this town.

So now on to finding a job - wish me luck!

no more photos : (

2006-01-27T09:23:00.000Z

Well while at work yesterday some rude bugger broke into our house and stole Susie's laptop, her camera and Aus$600 from her room, and my digital camera. They were nice enough to inspect my SLR camera and ipod and leave them both - SLRs are obviously too old fashioned for theives to work out. Anyway that's my crappy news, I'm not that worried about it though cos I'll hopefully get another camera on travel insurance - but nothing will replace my old one that dad gave me!

reichstag 2

2006-01-23T21:08:00.000Z

reichstag 2
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

I love it even more now looking at the photos...

reichstag 1

2006-01-23T21:07:00.000Z

reichstag 1
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

jewish museum

2006-01-23T21:06:00.001Z

jewish museum
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Finally seen it in the flesh! It was just as stunning as expected on the outside but the museum really was disappointing I'm sorry to say.

ich bin eine terroristin

2006-01-23T21:06:00.000Z

ich bin eine terroristin
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

some art in the city

stairwell

2006-01-23T21:05:00.000Z

Inside the Jewish Museum -

stairwell
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

pretty bloody cool hey??

brandenburg gate

2006-01-23T21:04:00.000Z

brandenburg gate
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

very important stuff. you should see photos of this in the war - EVERYTHING around it was destoyed.

blocks

2006-01-23T21:03:00.001Z

blocks
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

arty farty

memorial to the murdered jews

2006-01-23T21:03:00.000Z

memorial to the murdered jews
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Amazing memorial - by Peter Eisenman. Went here every day.

i'm being slack

2006-01-23T20:42:00.000Z

Well it's over 2 weeks since I've been back from Berlin and I'm thinking that I'm probably not going to be doing my big write-up on Berlin. I don't know why but I always seem to be too busy at work and too tired before or after...I've suddenly caught a bad case of the sleep-ins so I never get to work on time anymore. The stress of trying to find a housemate to replace me has sort of made me a bit slack with everything, including actually finding a new housemate! I think this week is the 4th week that I've been looking. I may be in luck though - Stacey's good friend Anya has just arrived in London from Auckland and she's keen to take the room as long as she gets a job! And the freaky thing is - she's looking for work as a Marketing Assistant so I'm going to put her name forward for my job! Creepy stuff...next she'll be adopting my friends and family - single white female!

Anyway so the next step as soon as I've filled my room is booking my train ticket to edinburgh, booking my going away party and putting my resume out there! I'll probably stay with my good friend Danii for a week and on the well-used lounge at our house for a little while in an attempt to get some savings up, then I'm off! The plan had been for me to be in Edinburgh now (Damian has already been there for 2 weeks) but it obviously just wasn't meant to be and I've become OK with that - I think I will miss London more than I expected - the last few weeks have been great and I've met a lot of new people, but my time in the UK is rapidly running out so I need to experience Edinburgh before it's too late. Aww I'm becoming sad thinking of leaving London : (

So back to Berlin - it is such an amazing and unique city. At first I thought it was strange and quite horrible but by the end I'd fallen in love with it. It's not as big as I expected and it is so barren - huge blocks of land are still left empty in the centre of town - but it's strating to be developed quite a lot.

The reichstag was definitely my favourite building - the dome is so so beautiful. The night scene is fantastic ... thumping bars in stripped out old East Berlin buildings ... communist propoganda themed bars with young German guys rapping up on stag ... and a huge super-classy club up on the 12th floor of an office building in the centre of town. Will definitely not forget it for a long time! The Jewish mueum was the thing that I had highest expectations of so of course it let me down - not as big and the exibition was so dislocated from the building. I would still recommend it anyway though.

almost out of time...love to everyone!

berlin!

2006-01-18T18:10:00.000Z

berlin!
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

We were at the airport railway station for around an hour...I was very lazy and didn't organise directions for the whole weekend - it was fantastic! The bad side to letting someone else lead me around in a new city though is that I now have no idea how the city is laid out, so the map in my mind is a little bit dodgy!

berlin

2006-01-18T18:08:00.000Z

berlin
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Probably the prettiest view of Berlin...it's certainly not all like this!

the wall

2006-01-11T17:36:00.000Z

the wall
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Look solemn in front of the wall. It’s strange, only now while uploading this photo have I thought ‘wow that’s the famous, horrible, historic Berlin wall’. I didn’t seem to get the significance of it at the time. We did a huge walking tour which was fantastic, this was part of it. The tour guide pointed out that it's funny that a wall that kept so many people trapped for so long now needs it's own fence to protect it.

church & tower

2006-01-11T17:32:00.001Z

church & tower
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Loved the tower! Note the ice everywhere.

evil eyes!

2006-01-11T17:32:00.000Z

evil eyes!
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Claire, Toby, KC, Chris/Swede, Susie and me. Coldest I have ever been in my life!

still in berlin!!

2006-01-09T10:18:00.000Z

Having a fantastic time, did the best tour yesterday and heard cool stories about the wall etc. Saw Hitler's resting place - well, where he died. It's a run down parking lot where dogs go and crap every morning ... it's great! Jewish museum today.

Berlin!!!

2006-01-07T15:43:00.000Z

I'm in Berlin! Had no sleep getting here last night - we had a horrible trip to the dreaded Stansted airport because our flight left at some ungodly hour of the morning. Oh well the tickets only cost me 1penny each way! (before taxes of course)

In Berlin for Cassie's farewell...spent today just wandering around, haven't seen much so far and our hostel is out in the far eastern suburbs, all the surrounding buildings are gigantic housing estates with their windows missing...eerie!

Having a pretty big night tonight then tomorrow we've got a full walking tour of berlin, then maybe a jazz club tomorrow night, and I'm leaving monday completely free so I can spend all day at the jewish museum!

Will post when I get back...Oh yeah there was snow all over the airport when we landed this morning! woo hoo!

snow snow snow!!!!

2005-12-28T09:29:00.000Z

Yesterday morning Susie woke me up with the words I have been waiting to hear all month - "Becky it's snowing!!" Woo hoo!!!! I ran to the window and saw big fat chunks of ice floating up down and around in the wind, seeming to joyfully defy the rules of gravity. It was beautiful! Of course being in London it didn't last very long, but enough did settle for me to walk down the road in my brand new boots (thanks dad!) and create really cool footprints. I felt like I was in a murder mystery! Of course I was the only person outside; everyone else in the neighbourhood had seen snow before and had the sense to go back to bed... so I had it all to myself. So there you go - one more 'achievement' on my travel list done! (finally!)

There are only three working days this week in the UK so the company I work at is pretty much closed and I had to find myself another job for this week. Last Friday and this week I am 'holding the fort' for a small company connected to Macquarie Bank that specialises in some part of investment or real estate and business at a level that I have no hope of understanding, so I probably won't even try. Basically I am only here to answer the phone if it rings- and that's not very often, and otherwise I'm just reading, surfing the net and looking out at the amazing view of London that I have from the 35th (top floor) of the very cool Macquarie building in the middle of the city. I have almost the entire floor to myself!!!! How do I always get these jobs in such amazing locations? They just keep on getting better and better... Expect more dribbling posts as the week goes on as I have a feeling there's only so much time I can spend staring out at the city from so high up that I can't see much movement.

I still don't have any set dates, housing or jobs set up for Edinburgh - it's too risky to book any of that in until I find my replacement for the flat. Cassie has been trying for almost a month to find someone to replace her so it doesn't look so promising for me and I must have someone in there as I'll need my bond back and can't pay rent once I leave. People have been asking me what my plan is after Edinburgh and I wish I could answer but there are just too many options and not enough money for all of them. I would still love to volunteer somewhere but that would mean saving a lot of money, or I could go back to uni so I can get my degree then maybe get sponsored in a job in the UK, but that would mean probably two years at home first, and I don't think now is the time for me to be home. Or I could always just keep on doing what I'm doing now - I could get a visa in Ireland, or France or Canada and keep on working and traveling until I get bored... All I know for sure is that my working visa here is running out and I have a round-the-world ticket that I need to use before September, which means I'll be home some time in the 3rd quarter of next year for an uncertain amount of time.

Anyway I'm bored with this post, might read my book for a bit...

But first I'm going to copy jaan and tell you what song I'm singing in my head at the moment (no ipod to listen to and I'm going a little bit nuts!) :

'Around the world' - East 17.

ciao

somerset house

2005-12-26T18:04:00.000Z

somerset house
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

I held on to the wall for a few laps but was determined to teach myself to skate... I was never able to roller skate and have only ice skated once in Adelaide. I finally started to get the hang of it and was so proud to make over 4 laps without going to the side...so decided I needed a rest, went to grab the barrier, and did the funniest stack I have ever seen! My feet went up, I hovered in the air for a bit, then smashed onto the ice on bum, my mobile phone in my pocket just to guarantee a big bruise! There is something really really fun about falling over ice skating, maybe it cos you’re free falling for a split second? Hehe anyway I’m talking crap.

Had a great Christmas, not the most innocent or religious of my life but it was good to be around friends while away from family. Still no bloody snow, it’s been 10 degrees and sunny most days, I’m getting a little impatient!! Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, lots of love to you and your families!

skating buddies

2005-12-26T17:55:00.000Z

skating buddies
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

So the last few weeks for me have been choc-a-block full of festive activities, a surprising amount of them have been work related! We've had several christmas parties and lunches at work and been out most nights for christmas drinks. Last Saturday some of my workmates and Susie and I all went Ice skating at the stunning Somerset House where I saw Sigur Ros. It was so magical! That is, until I got on the skating rink!

my work from the tower bridge

2005-12-21T18:20:00.000Z

my work from the tower bridge
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

No explanations needed!

tower place atrium

2005-12-21T18:18:00.000Z

tower place atrium
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Yesterday morning there was a choir in our atrium, which is one of the largest atriums in Europe, and the beautiful echoing sound was something I'll never forget. Our building was designed by Norman Foster, contemporary England's architectural baby (google him - you'll be amazed at how much of his stuff you know) and he did a pretty good job but he obviously didn't put too much thought into shading devises on the 6th floor!

tower moat & tower place

2005-12-21T18:00:00.000Z

tower moat & tower place
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

So this is Christmas...It's hard to be a Scrooge over hear, all of the skating rinks, christmas trees and parties certainly don't allow you to forget it! This is what I walk past every night from work to the Tube station - that is the Tower of London all in green, where so many famous heads have been chopped off, they have set up a rink in the moat and it's gorgeous at night. The building that I work at and in which I am typing right now is the glass one lit up on the right. I can't beleive how lucky I am, being able to work in such amazing environments! Our restaurant where we had our work christmas lunch (and lunch every other day) looks across to the tower and beyond to the incredibally pretty Tower Bridge. We're next to the river and walked down in our lunch break the other day to watch the bridge open up while a tall ship went through.

jesus and the church

2005-12-20T13:37:00.001Z

jesus and the church
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

on the cross

2005-12-20T13:37:00.000Z

on the cross
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

prague at night

2005-12-20T13:36:00.001Z

prague at night
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

The Charles Bridge and Prague Castle

delicious

2005-12-20T13:36:00.000Z

delicious
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

It was sort of savoury but sweet, like nothing I have every had before...

yummy pastry

2005-12-20T13:35:00.000Z

yummy pastry
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Had to wait in a very long line for this but it was oh so worth it...

dancing

2005-12-20T13:34:00.000Z

dancing
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

I've never seen folk dancing be so entertaining...they were having the best time!

gingerbread!

2005-12-20T13:33:00.001Z

gingerbread!
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Yummy yummy gingerbread...hmm I need to go back there!

'smart' police car

2005-12-20T13:33:00.000Z

'smart' police car
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

It's not too hard to escape the cops in Prague...

town square celebrations

2005-12-20T13:31:00.001Z

town square celebrations
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

This is the same square the next day, it was so festive, and surprisingly not as touristy as I expected.

medievil spires

2005-12-20T13:31:00.000Z

medievil spires
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

It was so so so cold and we were drinking mulled wine in the old town square with the yummy smell of a pig being roasted nearby.

mischief

2005-12-20T13:30:00.000Z

mischief
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

some of the last Prague photos before I forget!

from the castle

2005-12-14T17:52:00.000Z

from the castle
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

This is looking back toward where I was standing next to the river in my first Prague photo. All the terracotta tiles and weathered copper roofs, and horses clip-clopping along cobblestones past powerful statues make this part of Prague very beautiful.

in the castle

2005-12-14T17:46:00.000Z

in the castle
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

I have to say the castle was disappointing, I had expected the whole thing to be medievil and it turned out to be relatively modern and very very clean...it looked like a movie set actually, which is pretty much it's main function these days I think! This cathedral was the oldest looking building that I saw. We went inside, it was much like a lot of other cathedrals.

changing of the guards

2005-12-14T17:45:00.000Z

changing of the guards
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

These young men were nowhere near as coordinated as british soldiers in this ceremony, but I thought it was cool anyway - and their hats are nowhere near as stupid as British guards so they looke dcooler anyway!

charles bridge

2005-12-14T13:16:00.000Z

charles bridge
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

so pretty...

60p beer!

2005-12-14T13:15:00.000Z

60p beer!
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

The beer was half the price of water...can anyone please explain how that is possible?

in prague!

2005-12-14T13:14:00.000Z

in prague!
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

That's Charles Bridge on the left and the castle in the background.

in Prague and well

2005-12-11T12:49:00.000Z

Sorry to the people texting me for not answering - I ran out of credit the second I left the country. Finally in Prague!!!!!!!! It's so grorgeous, although the bad service is starting to get me down - all the waiters are even more rude than England. Walked around the castle yesterday, checked out a some of the christmas markets and had 'hot vino' in the old square in front of the most gorgeous church, with christmas lights all over the market huts and a big giant tree, and horses and carts...very romantic and very very friggen freezing! I was expecting snow but no such luck as yet : (
Will be back home on Monday night.

susie & me

2005-12-05T20:19:00.000Z

susie & me
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

not a good one of me, but isn't Susie a hottie?

housemates

2005-12-05T20:14:00.000Z

housemates
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Well this isn't the best picture but I thought it's about time to put up a photo of my housemates, this is Cassie, me, Claire and Susie a few weeks ago dressed up in our lovely lounge room for Susie's birthday. I have a new room mate called Stacey, but don't have a photo of her yet!

airport

2005-12-04T18:00:00.000Z

Airport
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Sorry this is blurry but it's the best it's going to get!

So now Jaan is gone and life is back to normal, I was sick last week so I couldn't go ice-skating in the moat of the Tower of London on Friday as planned, had people around last night for my flatmate Cassie's birthday, and otherwise I'm busy trying to work out how the hell to budget and what I'm going to do in Edinburgh! It's a bit scary going there without any money so the nest couple of months are going to have to be very basic for me, which is going to be hard since I'm going to Prague next weekend, then it's Christmas and new years, and Berlin in January! I'm a little worried about a job in Edinburgh, but since I haven't really looked into anything yet it's a little too early to worry.

Also I just have to say congrats on getting through all the tests Lauren! My mischievous little friend is going to be a police officer before long… can you believe it?? And also don’t forget to check out Adelle’s blog, she’s in Japan and it sounds like she’s having an amazing time – she even saw a real life geisha!

sad times and ugly faces

2005-12-04T17:50:00.000Z

sad times and ugly faces
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

at the airport

on the tube

2005-12-04T17:49:00.000Z

on the tube
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Jaan enjoying his last crush on the Tube in peak traffic, with a huge backpack and suitcase - fun!

taking janka out japanese style

2005-12-04T17:47:00.000Z

taking janka out japanese style
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

So anyway on friday Jaan finally left London, but the Thursday night before he did we met his very cool German friend Janka and had a cool dinner sitting on Japanese mats at my favourite place in Chinatown. Janka speaks English with an English/Irish/Mississippi accent, it's quite a hard one to pick but it definitely wasn't German and the guys found it quite amusing.

proof

2005-12-04T17:41:00.000Z

proof
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

This is for those of you who may be doubting that we were all really in London at the same time...yes, that is Trudy's hair and scarf on the left hand side.

happy trudy

2005-12-04T17:39:00.001Z

happy trudy
Originally uploaded by BeckyKiil.

Trudy just looks so happy in this picture that I had to include it even though you can't see her properly!