Learning to live with disappointment.

[zotz]

Somewhat hacked-off, generally.

It's Monday. I'm still trying to get prices for lightbulbs. No other real work to do. My folks have decided to arrange dinner to celebrate my dad's birthday this coming weekend, which neatly wipes out most of the weekend of cloning films at the Filmhouse, The Crimea at Cabaret Voltaire and Sharon's leaving thing at Bitch. Clearly my mother has been putting in long hours at the bowling hall.

No word from the job I applied for the other week, which probably means they laughed derisively and then used my CV as toilet paper. Obviously I need to make further applications. Might be time to give up on science as a lost cause.

Thursday I didn't go to KJ's because I was tired. On Friday I went for a drink with my brother. On Saturday morning I went down to get mugged at Richer Sounds, and now have speakers in the kitchen so I can listen to stuff there and a nice new little phono pre-amp. The afternoon was at Saunderses gaming, and then to the Maltings ( . . . ), where, as it was Keiron's birthday, there was cake.

On Sunday I went to the botanic gardens at Dawick with L&S&Rlex, who took loads of photos, especially of a couple of spectacularly red maples. There are also lots of giant redwoods and Douglas firs, and at this time of year many many mushrooms, in almost as many different varieties. It's great. Really. You must all go there. We stopped at a place called the Hub on the way back, and then I failed to make the big postmortem due to food crisis. Neon was OK. I had too much to drink and the PA sounded awful. Just before I went out I got a phone call saying that my cousin's in a coma and isn't really expected to survive. Just the sort of thing to encourage one to have a balanced evening.

The car's back. It works. I have a separate door-key now, but the old lock's knocking around so I can put it in the new door if I get annoyed enough with it.

I also accidentally did The Bad Thing, and western civilisation is at risk. I don't know how good it is yet, because I've only listened to it once.

Apparently only 6 women have climbed K2.

Five of them are dead.

Three of them didn't even make it down the hill again.

General tone of today : cheery.



If anyone in Edinburgh is at a loose end this evening, they could maybe try this. Counting House, 5 quid, Orkestra del Sol, Beltane Winter Drummers, other music and performances.

Comments

[reddragdiva]

"Clearly my mother has been putting in long hours at the bowling hall."

??

[zotz]

Managing to knock over so many of my plans with one ball.

[taoist-goth.livejournal.com]

You win the Obscure Allusion Award.

[zotz]

Thank you. I will treasure it always.

[skullculture.livejournal.com]

Actually I got the bowling metaphor straight away and I genuinely thought to myself, what a vivid and imaginative way to express the concept.

[zoo-music-girl.livejournal.com]

There's a spectacular fungal growth on the tree at the entrance to my front garden. No idea what it is. Sort of growing upwards and outwards in a vaguely fan shape. Beige.

I'm sorry about your cousin.

[zotz]

I think there are lots of sorts of bracket fungus. You could, of course, always take a picture of it . . .

Thank you. He's been quite ill for a while, but seemed to have been improving.

[zoo-music-girl.livejournal.com]

Missed my window to do that. I don't have time in the morning and I'm never home at weekends, rest of the time it's dark or raining. I guess I'll have to remain curious.

[zotz]

It doesn't really make a great deal of difference unless you're planning on eating it, I suppose.

That one in your mum's flowerbed - the false morel - is apparently a delicacy in Finland, and Mari here knows how to cook them. I haven't found any, though.

[cream-tea.livejournal.com]

I love those gardens.

[zotz]

I'd not been before. Apparently the Edinburgh Botanics have branches as far as Dunoon.

[cream-tea.livejournal.com]

Is Dunoon the place you pronounce the same as Doone? (If so, why?) I've only been to Dawick once whilst house-hunting down that way.

[zotz]

Dunoon's pronounced exactly as it's written, I think.

[cream-tea.livejournal.com]

Logical!

[chillies.livejournal.com]

There's one near Stranraer as well.

[zotz]

True. I remembered there was another, but I couldn't remember where.

[nevboo.livejournal.com]

I am sorry about your cousin.

I am sorry about the science job.I think I might be giving up science soon too. It is all very well people advertising that they want more people in science but then they find themselves unable to fund research.

regards mounaineers, I was reading about Alison Hargreaves and her climbing career. It's sad that it nded the way it did. What got you reading about women and K2? Just cos I am noisy.

Also thanks for the Red Expendibles tracks!

[zotz]

Thanks, and you're welcome.

I think I might be giving up science soon too.

I can't really find much I feel qualified to do, and I suspect the people choosing won't agree with me that I am on those ones. After this job turning out so far below expectations, I'm not feeling optimistic.

What got you reading about women and K2?

I was playing with Google Earth, looking at mountains from low angles to see what shape they are. I looked up K2 on the Wikipedia to find its latitude and longitude.

[nevboo.livejournal.com]

Ah! I was thinking you might be a closet climber.

[zotz]

Not really, no. For a start, I don't have a closet big enough to be challenging.

[nevboo.livejournal.com]

I set 'em up, you knock 'em down

[funkyplaid.livejournal.com]

Holy mackerel, you've had quite the weekend. My condolences regarding the darker side of the past few days.

Isn't Dawyck lovely? I expect Flickr to explode in the next couple of days from the Camera Couple if what you're saying about the red maples is true. Something about red...

Matter of fact, this 'shroom was from the very selfsame place.

[zotz]

Thanks.

You're probably right about the pictures, and I think we saw one of them too.

[luckylove.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about your cousin.
Was good to see you at Neon.

[zotz]

Thanks. yes, it was good. An odd evening, though.

[luckylove.livejournal.com]

All mother's have this wonderful talent for screwing up their adult children's plans. If there were awards for this my Mum would be in the top 10.

[dark-claw.livejournal.com]

sorry to hear about your cousin.
Thanks for putting me on to The Crimea I am enjoying it alot and have joined the list of things I have to get hold of when I am gainfully employed

[zotz]

So do you want the ticket, then?

[technotom.livejournal.com]

I love Douglas Firs. I went up tae Scotlan' a couple of months back for a holiday and can fully appreciate why you moved back there, it's a lovely part of the world. Wonderful mental asylums too.

[zotz]

Excellent. Where's that one?

[technotom.livejournal.com]

It's Gartloch, East of Glasgow. It was halfway into a conversion to luxury flats - 'Gartloch Village' - when I drove past it though (that's an old picture above). Dig the twin water towers.. seems to be the feature of choice on Scottish asylums.

Good to know the developers are keeping much of the original architecture (for reasons I don't pretend to fully grasp, it's more economically viable to knock a building down and build another one than it is to convert an existing one), but unfortunately the lovely grounds are being bulldosed.