Ugh. I'm tired. Luckily, my Wednesday's are free. Have been busy the last few days. Sunday, I finally got my mobile phone and a jacket. Yesterday, I just went with Caragh and Matthew to Russ' chalet to watch some tele. British television - very interesting...

Just got back from the trip to the distillery. Had a good time learning about "Famous Grouse" whiskey, even taking a moment to try a bit. Good stuff.

After that, we made a quick photo stop at Loch Earn, followed by some fish and chips in Callander. We went to Loch Katrine afterwards, and I must say, I'm certainly glad we did. The view was AMAZING. After we left the loch, we went to Aberfoyle for a quick stop at the Scottish Wool Centre. I've never seen a dog herd geese. Quite the sight.

From Monday, 16 September 2002:

Today was a long day. I had to get up early for advising, but that didn't take too long. Afterwards, I found another computer lab and sent some e-mails to home. When I came back, I had the chance to meet the last of the roommates to move in, Caragh, the only actual Scottish person living with us.

Around noon, I went up to the union to get something to eat and find out about where the orientation session was. The orientation session was a bit of a long one, last from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, but the last part was pretty cool in the fact that I learned how to hook my laptop up to the Internet. Now, if I could only get the proper cables to do that...

I came back to the chalet, only to realize that it was time to eat dinner. I headed back up to the Union and had some pizza. I thought I'd use the computer lab at Cottrell, but it was full, so I headed down to Pathfoot again for a little while. While there, I saw that Marius installed a new webcam. VERY cool.

I headed up to ASH around 7:30 PM, determined to call Mom. It took me a bit, but I eventually broke down and used my credit card to reach her. I'm sure I'll be paying dearly for it, but it was worth it to speak to her.

This evening, Matthew, Caragh, Willow and I headed to the Gannochy for a few pints. It also happened to be Kareoke night, so I HAD to do a rousing rendition of "Que Sera, Sera." Needless to say, I brought down the house.

From Sunday, 15 September 2002:

Got a little more situated today. The jet lag added up to a twelve-hour sleep, but I got a little more productive after that. I headed up to Correll to find out who my adviser would be, but then I ended up finding a computer lab. Although I didn't have my laptop with me, I still was able to get online without much of a problem.

Afterwards, there was a brief orientation session in the Logie Lecture Theater. Following was a quick session with the SUSA over at MacRoberts. I ended up meeting another new roommate upon my return called Matthew.

I eventually made it to the supermarket on campus to get something to eat. I would have gone with takeaway, but the place was closed. I ended up with a pizza on a french bread that was much better than should be allowed for frozen food.

At half-nine, Matthew, his friend Rachel and I headed to Gannochy for a pint or two. I had a good time, although it was weird to see American football on the tele. It reminded me that back home, it was only 3:00 PM.

Afterwards, we came back and watched some Ali G. Now, it's time for bed as I have my advising session at 9:30 AM tomorrow...

From Saturday, 14 September 2002:

What can I say about the last two days? In fact, it's hard to even distinguish them as days. I've only had one hour of sleep since I woke up in Florida on Friday the 13th. It was an emotional morning, even if I didn't realize it at the time. Partly because of the big trip to Scotland finally arriving, and partly because it was tough to leave Liz and Mike after having such a great time.

I left for the airport around 1:00PM EST, after saying goodbye to Liz and Mike. I made it to the airport and had the chance to call Mom around 2:45PM EST. We left Tampa around 3:45PM EST and made it to Chicago around 5:30PM CST. I had a bit of a layover, so I took the chance to call Gloria one last time before I boarded. We got a little delayed and weren't able to leave until around 8:00PM CST. The flight was a long one, but we managed to get into Glasgow around 9:00AM GMT on Saturday the 14th.

The act of getting to the University was a long one that I won't go into, but I didn't get here until around 3:00PM GMT. I had enough time to drop my bags of at Pendreich Way before heading up to Alexander Court to meet my new friends Molly and Kevin. We joined up with other folks studying abroad here and headed to town. We ended up spending most of the evening at a restaurant called "The Filling Station." It was okay, but I don't think I'll order the Peppercorn Chicken again.

First impressions of Scotland: The place is beautiful, if only a little overwhelming. The lack of sleep teamed with the fact that I had no clue where anything was located really frustrated me. I know the public transportation system is great, but right now, I'm mad at the buses. But that was only day one. I'm sure I'll have a good time, but I already miss Mom, seeing as how I haven't seen her for several weeks.

Aye, it's been a crazy few days. Have been busy with orientation sessions and trying to get all the food and supplies I need. Today in about an hour I'll have my first session of class.

I'm am now an ardent Stella Artois fan... Grolsch comes in a close second, but I must say I'm fond of both.

I've been keeping a journal even when I haven't been able to publish it, so in the next few messages, I'll be posting my experiences in Scotland over my first few days...

Just a quick note to say that I'm doing fine in Scotland. Have been making nightly entries that I will upload as soon as I get the laptop ready to hook up to the network at the computer labs. Until, back to the reception for international students. Free wine!

Finally, a clear-headed day. Yesterday was a down day after the fun of Tuesday night. Let's just say we had waaaaay too much fun at the Pro Shop on Tuesday and leave it at that.... :)

Other than that, I've just been taking it easy, getting ready for tomorrow. Before long, I'll be Scotland bound...

If I get a chance, I'll post a few pictures later tonight...

It's been a busy weekend. Yesterday, Liz and I braved the crowds at Busch Gardens. I like rollercoasters, but I'd never seen any like the ones they had there. There's one called the Montu that is one of the biggest inverted coasters around. Needless to say, that helped put an end to the afternoon...

In the evening, Mike got back from Orlando in time to join us for dinner with James and Mike. We went to a place by the beach called Julie's. I tried Mahi Mahi for the first time, and I must say, I really enjoyed it. It was also nice to meet James and Mike.

Today, Mike, Liz and I went to Adventure Island. I haven't been to many water parks, but I normally enjoy them. This wasn't any different, except for the fact that I enjoyed it more. Overall, we had a great time trying to keep cool in the sun.

Just sent this message to Mom:

"You wouldn't believe who I saw today. Liz had to take a book back to Barnes and Nobles, so I went in with her. As I was walking towards the register, I looked up and saw this HUGE guy coming towards me. We were both in each other's way, so I said "excuse me," stepped to the side and nodded. He nodded back at me and kept on walking towards the other register. I was still in total awe. You know you're not in Kansas anymore when you walk into a bookstore and see Hulk Hogan walking around..."

Ah, sun, again. Yesterday we went out to Caladesi Island. We had some fun, but decided to leave before the storm kicked up. Good thing, too, as the remnants of Edouard started in on us just after we made it back home.

In the evening, we went to a restaurant called Sea Sea Riders over in Dunedin. They had some pretty good seafood, I must say. Afterwards, we went to Barnes & Nobles to look around. I couldn't decide between Irvine Welsh or Edmund White, so I just passed on both. Maybe next time...

Managed to catch Holly's match on Smackdown. He never ceases to amaze me. Why that man doesn't have a title is beyond me...

Mike and Liz's neighbors, Sean and Suzanne, opened their pool up to us. We took them up on the offer and just got back. It was a nice swim with some pleasant conversation. I even tried my first Heineken... :)

Yesterday and today have been slow days. Tomorrow we are heading out to Caladesi Island. Should be a good time.

Almost time for bed. Mike, Liz and I went out to Tarpon Springs this afternoon. Their friends Rick and Tom have a boat, and we took it out for a cruise. It took us a bit to actually get it in the water, but once we did, it all went okay. Had a great time "tubing in the bayou."

Tomorrow, we're going to try for Busch Gardens, so I have to get up early...

Spent the afternoon at a party. Had a great time meeting all sorts of new people. That was pretty much it.

What an odd day. The weather couldn't make up it's mind. We ended up going to see Liz's friend Sherry who lives at Indian Rocks Beach. We had a great dinner at a place called The Pub. It was the first time I'd ever had scallops, and I really enjoyed them.

It was the first time I'd ever swam in salt water, and I had a good time. Not many people were out, but that made it all the more interesting.

This evening, we hung out around the house. Later on, Mike and I sat out by the waterfront for a while. A nice, relaxing evening.