OK, so I should probably update this thing before I leave.



There's a taste of some new Flickr-age.

The weather has been phenomenally good since we came to Scotland. The locals call it a bit of a heat wave, but I seriously doubt the temperature has gone over 90 degrees Fahrenheit since we arrived. Glorious sunny days that don't make you sweaty and hot.

My dad is working with the Reformed Presbyterian church here in Airdrie, and Pastor Quigley kindly gave him the first few weeks off to do household business and do a bit of sightseeing.

My folks and I have been in Scotland for five weeks now, and have settled in quite nicely. More than ever, I have immensely enjoyed just hanging around the house doing nothing at all, eating whenever and sleeping late most mornings. Wouldn't want it forever, but this summer certainly isn't.



We stayed fairly busy the first couple of weeks, moving things, setting up beds and phone lines, and then going to see castles or something when we had to get out of the house. Airdrie itself isn't much to see, but it is ideally situated in the middle of Scotland.

Stirling Castle is lovely and just 40 minutes to our north. It's been restored to a Reformation-era style and overlooks the plain of Bannockburn where William Wallace scored his greatest victory against the English.

They have a monument in a garden there to a man in the 1500s who angered his compatriot and was unfortunately thrown out a second-story window to his death.

I tried watching Braveheart, since it is the quintessential William Wallace/Scotland type movie and wow, I was really not impressed. I don't know; something just struck me wrong. Probably a lot of it has to do with Mel Gibson's hair.

But also I thought it just dragged too slowly. I dig long movies when they're good, but this was too much.

A few weeks ago we also went to Loch Ness. It's a very long, thin and deep lake.

The Scots often snub the English, and proudly relate that the loch contains more volume of water than all the rivers and lakes of England. Of course, more water doesn't mean better, as far as I know, and the Scots could no more fill the lake than they could win a war against the English... OK, so that was harsh. ;)

Urquhart Castle is this really beautiful and old medieval castle right on the shore of Loch Ness and we walked all over it. It has this really interesting history and changed hands a number of times between the English, Scottish and some clans through several significant sieges. Sausages sizzling savorily in sunlight. In the summer.

Just last week, Candace, Amy, Ben and I took our own trip into Glasgow, which is a 30-minute train ride away. Traffic and parking in the city is terrible but it is easy to take a train almost anywhere in the city we need to go.

We hung out at Starbucks (our first in Scotland), walked around, looked at shops, ate, and generally flowed "with the wind." It's a fun city to walk about and doesn't completely swallow you like a bigger place.

Come to think of it, I still don't know my grades from Korea. Now there's a scary thought.


So I am definitely ready to be back in Texas for a while. I am taking 18 hours this fall and I am looking forward to each class in its own way. I still need overrides for three of those classes. :D

As for after grad, I have some options there but nothing firm yet.

I still cringe thinking about what a kid I was just three falls ago, and that process isn't over by any means. But I am thankful to LETU and all the people there that have taught me so much.

But we musn't end the post all mushy like, so I will now tell you the *real* subtitle of Lady In The Water, which I just watched.

"Adrien Brody with Dreadlocks: The Grass Dog Gets Owned By The Three Monkeys of Justice!"

If any of that seems unlikely, well then you just watch the movie!