One line from the recap of last night's Dodger/Giant game caught my eye, and is replicated below:

Bonds was walked seven straight times by the Dodgers before his homer. He drew a walk in his final plate appearance Friday night before receiving five free passes Saturday and another in the first inning Sunday.

Barry Bonds is just a stud, and given his 3 for 7, 2 home run performance in his official at-bats this weekend, I can actually find justifiable reasons for putting him on first SEVEN STRAIGHT TIMES.

That is all.

Since the last post...
we gave new meaning to the term 'go out like rock stars' in Edinburgh
and then re-entered the world of limit-experience flashbacks, being at a limit of sorts that afternoon.
took out my last pound to complete the train/bus connection to St Andrews on Sunday.
checked in and did the low-key evening.
didn't sleep.
slept.
arose, saw the school, and walked the town.
yeah, i could so totally live and work here.
but not yet.

Touched Down

So, shocking all, even and especially myself, I blog on the first day of the trip. En breve, I really hate Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, but after today's brief layover, I think I like Amsterdam's airport as much as I hate Atlanta's. Didn't sleep on first flight but five minutes, watched Jersey Girl and Shrek 2 en route. Liked the first more than I thought I would, and, even if I don't watch it again, I'd go back to it again in the future (referentially speaking). Shrek 2 basically went rapid-fire with two kinds of jokes: the pop culture ones which seemed forced and will seem dated, and the fairy tale character ones, which I really liked, & felt fit the film. Also, the musical and karaoke scenes whomped.

Got an hour of sleep in Amsterdam to Glasgow flight, and spent a bit of time at the airport before taking the bus into the city (with all my luggage, no hangups on the backpack). Walked around and started getting bearings as I took it in, then took the subway up to the West End, where I'm staying tonight in a hostel. Checked in, changed shirts and socks, and dropped weight before heading out again, picking up forgotten supplies, walking a bit, and getting a late lunch in a cafe in the Merchant District (southeast Glasgow). Good meal, good people, but I must say I've had plenty of issues attempting to understand the dialect in the eight hours I've been in Scotland. Walked down to the People's Palace, a sort of populist historical museum which is pretty cool, very un-pretentious. Currently, I sit in a library/learning center writing this and debating whether or not to go for an early evening nap.

...that's it, I'm going for it. No deep thoughts, but thus far, things have been cool, from the big, 'whoa, i'm in Glasgow,' to the small, 'I'm seeing the plus of an efficient subway system firsthand, as well as remembering what wind feels like.' Peace out.
- Mike

flying over the atlantic in sixteen hours, provided the flight isn't cancelled/delayed due to the storms that have been ravaging the east coast over the past two weeks. do i know what i'm getting into? not quite. a professor and a friend met me over lunch last week and asked about the degree of planning for this trip, and my response was, 'about my usual,' signifying a lot of gaps and open holes, one of which became apparent at dinner tonight. dad asked if i was going backpack only...and i was. forgot that airplanes sometimes do lose bags, so now a small bag with change of clothes becomes the carry-on, for bad-case-scenarios.

in the interim..i write the paper, but only after email and blogging. these past two weeks have been good, but i miss pasadena, moreso the people in my life than any firm connection to the area (flat up, i hate the lack of rain and constant heat). atlanta looks better than it did last year, and i'm more in favor of being here than clemson in the future, a direct reversal of the position of two years ago.

interesting how our percolations mirror-image or reflect those of friends in different light...i'd say more, if i didn't have to write the other.

but if this is all before i go...the trip has been good so far, and i look forward to writing from scotland.

you know you've found a good bar when you're equally comfortable going in alone and introducing friends to it without feeling like a total sleaze. hence my fondness for the atlanta:buckhead location of the irish pub fado, where i stopped tuesday night on the out-of-the-way back from dinner.

my sense walking past some of the other joints in the district is that they have one thing on tap: five-dollar sensuality. for my money, i'll have a guinness, and let the relation develop over, not through, the beer. (a moment of clarity which seems to have stuck)

So call me Neo...

M: "This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."

M: "Remember, all I'm offering is the truth, nothing more."
...
N: "I can't go back, can I?"
M: "No, but if you could, would you really want to?"
...
C: "You know, I know whay you're thinking, because right now I'm thinking the same thing. Actually, I've been thinking it ever since I got here. Why, oh why, didn't I take the blue pill?"


...and I took the red pill and can't go back, even if I really wanted to. Several applicable situations, more apparent than ever after the short-term return to the southern states.

Pedro The Lion: Achilles Heel: Foregone Conclusions is one among several tracks which so totally merits several listens.

This is one of those nights where I'd love to be mic-ing and recording multiple conversations...but it seems better not to. Let's just say that people who I enjoy AND respect are hanging, di-a-loguing, and vibing, and Mike's sitting back, intaking, and loving it.