So here I am back to lunch at my desk. It is a sad turn of events that marks farewell to my favorite American friend(OK, my only American friend at the mo), Emily. I am trying to put a positive spin on it though - have decided I will spend two daysa week at my desk, blogging and the such during my lunch. Will spend the other three days taking a hlaf hour walk thus avoiding the restaurant temptations and getting some much needed exercise and sunshine.

Before I go any further, I absolutely must apologise to my immediate family for the lack of phone calls and emails since April. A combination of holidaying, busy life and, mostly, abysmal spending fund, has lead to this state of affairs. I promise to be better in the future with emails, however phone calls will be kept to a minimum.

OK - so on to the current state of affairs in Edinburgh.

What's Been Going Down as of Late

As mnentioned above, life has been pretty crazy lately. With the sun shining and light in the sky until 11 o'clock at night, one has much more interest in going out and doing things (like drinking and jogging - a healthy combination).

Hostel Canon Street has also been super busy since the latter partof May, with Megan & Scott staying over for five nights, and then two fo Lindsay's friends couch surfing for the following four days. After their departure it was the MacPhail duos turn to test out the comfort of our IKEA couches - lucky them, they also got to enjoy the company of our resident mouse (I have christened him Mickey) . Jen is still with us (yeah!!!) , trying to sort out a job for the summer.

I *may* also be seeing an Irish guy (I know, I know!). In an unusual twist, this one is actually very nice and honest and funny. He is ex-army (ahem, ahem), but to his credit he now spend shis days taking care of old people and claims to love it. He has also had the wisdom to discover and feed my candy addiction....always a plus! I won't say much more than that - let's just say he is not at all like some of his fellow countrymen and that is extremely refreshing and promising.

This weekend past I went to ALnwick with Emily for a day trip. It is a wee town in Northern England, but it has a massive castle where HARRY POTTER was filmed, plus scenes from ROBIN HOOD. We were pracitally celebrities just by association with the location! EMily & I did the unthinkable - we hitchhiked. OMG - how dangerous! But what would have been mnore dangerous was walking on the road from the train station to Alnwick - bloody three miles of twists and turns and no shoulder. A lad who did not look old enough to be driving picked us up and drove us right to the castle..it was great! I now want to go out for a day of hitchiking - don't care where I end up, just want to see how fun it can be!

The castle was amazing, I have pictures to prove it. We also learned that the Queen's last name is Windsor and Prince Harry & William's last names are Wales. Really, it's true. Emily & I then proceeded to check out the town. WE ate a lovely dinner outside a wee cafe and I had Yorkshire Pudding - interesting. I also had strawberries & cream - delectable. A wander into one of the largest secondhand bookstores in BRitain was also on the itinerary - man, that place was too big for me!

We got the bus back ot the train station (i kind of wanted to hitchike, but time was getting on). At the bus station I wasn't sure I had enough money for the fare and confirmed that when I asked one of the locals waiting, He seemd to think EMily & I could get on as 'halfs' by telling the driver we were 14. He guesstimated we were 18 - I promised myself I would reappraise my make-up application and wardrobe choices for future outings. Anyway, teh guy ended up collecting change from the other people at the bus stop for us. How embarrassig! But also nice to know people are willing to help out. ..even in England!

Saturday night we headed to a party at Grand, Scott & Steve's. It was soo Canadian, with Moosehead and nachos and Crown Royal being served up. PLus teh Canadian accents kind of outnumbred very other accent there.

I have more on the updates, but have to go now..lunch is over..here are a few rants I wrote earlier

Random Rants

Well, front page news over this side of the Atlantic is that Jacko has been cleared of all charges. Let the reinvention begin. I wil speak no more of this ridiculaous circus, it is highly disturbing that the world seems to care so much about the outcome of this one trial, while willingly remaining ignorant about much more significant atrocities such as the crimes committed one's own government.

Oh, yes, I am ranting and reading yet again. After a rather long hiatus from reading anything too political, I picked up Michael Moore's latest publication, Will They Ever Trust Us Again?, which is actually a collection of letters/emails written to him from soliders, veterans and their families. I have to say that, as of late, I had become a bit less impressed with Mr Moore -namely because his ever-growing ego was rather aggravating and he was simplifying things that needed to be dissected carefully in order for people to accept them. Basically I thought he was doing his cause of fighitng for the little guy a disservice. It appears, howver, from the perspective of the solider, that he has spoken for those who can't. And I have to say, letters directly from the source are pretty difficult to dispute.

Next time I will talk about the G8 Summit - lots going on over here in preparation- does anyone over there in North America know or care?? I wil fill you in next time

Hey Hey! OK, so I am back to desk lunch today as EMily has bogged off to Amsterdam leaving me to my own devices (never a good idea) . She's also abducted my flatmates which could lead to a lonely weekend save for the fact that Jen MacPhail is back in town!!!!!!yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's been a month since we left together for Spain and wow has it flown by! So much has happened in the short span of one month we call May. Let's see - Shannon has holidayed in Spain & Ireland, had her heart fully repaired from, what seemed, irreprable damage. She's had a horrible haircut and recovered thanks to the highlighting skill of Miss Smith. Keri Shields has abondoned Europe for the big metropolis of Prince Edward Island. Shannon has welcomed a new flatmate and is now, officially, the worst eater in the house. Other things have been done/accomplished,. said and planned. People have been and possiblities for the future have multiplied.

In short- it's been a (mostly) magnificent month of May!

In answer to Rana's query - you should know me better than that Rana! Stay on PEI? Nada chanca. Don't get me wrong, love the Island, miss my family and the few friends who remain, but too many adventures and opportunities to consider that are not possible to fulfill on PEI. As a rough guideline - i plan to stay on PEI until Christmas , giving me time to save some money, enjoy family & friends and research opportunities for the future - then I will be off!

K, lunch is way over - adios amigos..expect more frequent post in the near future..one EMily bogs her way back to the States.

11 Days! It's been 11 whole days since I last posted. Schnapple, I think that's a record! Beilev me, it has not been for lack of things to blog about,. quite the contrary I suppose. Life has been *rather* hectic as of late and what with my growing popularity as a lunchtime companion at work (yeah, Emily and I go every day now!), I've hardly had a chance to get on the Internet at all. Between flex-time, over-time, ceilidhs and dates, as well as general exhaustion, I've been kind of tied up.

Right, so this morning I woke up all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to tackle some long overdue errands via the Internet - namely paying my credit card bills and seeing just how much of my Canadian funds had disappeared into the Student Loan Money Pit since I last checked. Alas, CIBC online was out of service. Blast it! So I decided I'd best check my emails, since last tiem I did manage to get on the ent I sent out a large number of emails in hopes that I would recieve some replies. Again, the forces that be were against me - Hotmail simply won't cmoeup for some reason.

So, here I am..a last resort - I will entertain myself by writnig a blog post and convince myself that maybe one or two other people may read it..and be amused or, at the very least, well informed.

So..what has been going on?

Well, last weekend saw a monumental event occur - Miss Keri Shields returned to PEI 'only for four months' she claims! In any case, she was given a proper goodbye weekend that spanned Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Thursday we went to the Walk About because they had a cheap drinks special on. I was still bitter about being denied entry the week previous becasue I was wearing a hat. This time I was there with my hair for all to see (emily save me from further despair over my hair by putting highlights here and there...I'm sorry that was a rhyme I couldn't resist).

In any case, a good time was had at the Aussie bar and i made sure to request a song for Keri-Beri - it was between 'Is this the way to Amarillo?' and 'I hope you had teh time of your lie'. The latter being the final choice. For those of you who don't know the song 'Is this the way to Amarillo?' - lucky you. It's a remake of a song originally done in the 70's by Tony Christie (I think), but ahs beenm revived by a well-known comedian over here in aid of charity. It's a frustratingly catchy tue and you find yourself doing an on-the-spot dance that would put your own parents to shame. Best it stay on this side of the ocean - we wouldnt' want any Canadians bringing such contraban bac....

Right, well Friday night was the biggie in terms of Keri's leaving do. It started with dinner, continued with copious amountso fwine (and I speak only for myself, miss Sields was having a rare day of 'taking it easy on the liquor) and ended at a club where leather, spikes and men in mascara were the norm. That's the last you'll see of that for awhile Keri...unless you start a trend in PEI that takes over the current t-shirt, jeans and men in baseball caps trend...

Suffice to say, afer a hard night of wine-drinking and extensive chat with Megan & Scott's single, male, IRISH flatmate, I was much in favour of a low-key Saturday. So, after preparing a three-course meal for Keri's 'last supper in Edinburgh', I chilled out and watched a moive on my own while the rest of the gals got to put it in their own words 'the sh*t scared out of them' on a tour of Edinburgh's underground, haunted vaults. Kelly & Lindsay slept together.

Sunday was another relaxing day (see a trend here). Eventually I made my way into town, only to run into an Irish bloke I had met via Ailbhe (my Irish friend) the week before. I anticipated a five minute - hey, how are ya? conversation. Two hours, two pints and a sore stomach (from laughing so much) later, we headed back to the flat where I introduced the funniest guy I have met as of yet, to Kelly & Lindsay. A riot.

Monday = nothing exciting

Tuesday = drinks with Ailbhe

Wednesday = Desperate Housewives

Thursday = date with Irish bloke (Megan & Scott's flatmate, not the 'most hilarious one', but definitely a contender for second place)

Friday = ceilidh with the girls! Return to Filthy McNasty's, where I am happyt o report that Don still remembered me and unhappy to report that all the hot bartenders aer gone and only the ass named Ruarie remains.

Today = I am here. Woohoo.

In other news - I am booking a flight home for Sept 11th. I am probably not coming back to Scotland after that...unless circumstances change. We have a load of people staying with us over the next week. Hostel Canon Street is re-opening for business after prolonged lack of business.