why not today?

Hall of Lame

2007-09-02T23:58:00.000-05:00

I've been chastised for my lack of blogging, so I suppose I'll rant for a moment about our recent trip to Ohio. While going to visit the football hall of fame we, of course, made a unanimous decision to pay a visit to the Rock and Roll HoF too while in the area. What could be more awesome than a giant building devoted to all things rock, right?
Well, after visiting, our impressions of the place were also unanimous. We weren't sure what we were expecting to see, but that definitely was not it. It would take talent to arrange the coolest stuff in the world in less dynamic, less interesting, less rockin fashion. Sigh. So, I revert to my previous state... that is, keeping the haven of rock as a place in my imagination rather than a sparse museum designed by, apparently, the man.

I've also been tagged for the random game, and I'll spare my few fellow bloggers from the tag, though I feel compelled to answer. So here are my random facts:

1. Even more than the lovely road trip with my friends, the most fun I had last week was having to buy over 100 bucks worth of colorful pencils.

2. My fourth grade teacher used to tease me for not wearing socks. Maybe that's why I still don't like grammar...

3. I recently discovered that I'm a much more horrible person than I previously suspected.

4. I'll eat just about anything with peanut butter in it.

5. The sound the TV makes when it's on mute drives me crazy.

6. I'm pretty sure fall is my favorite season. Leaves changing, cool weather, my birthday, Halloween-- I could go on and on.

7. I really like the words rhythm, orange, and occipital.

8. And, I have too many shoes. Seriously.

Best of Brits

2007-06-12T13:41:00.000-05:00

The summer swelter seems to be evaporating the few lingering bits of culture whatever... which means I can now look at my pictures and whatnot without being overly sad. It's awesome! I loved Dundee so much, and now I can enjoy my memories without being bogged down by them.
So in celebration I present to you, my sparse readership, my favorite musical finds while in Scotland.

Gnarls Barkley - Pretty much awesome, and is one of those things that only gets better the more you listen.

Jamie Cullum - A promising young jazzie, and ambitious. You've gotta admit, anybody who'll cover Gershwin, Radiohead, and Hendrix on the same album has style.

KT Tunstall - Smokey-voiced Scot from St. Andrews, a mere 20 minute drive from where I lived. City and singer, both great.

The Kooks - just cool.

The Feeling - Like my pal Julie pointed out, there's gotta be something wrong when every song is about love, and she's probably right... but it's just so dern catchy you can't help but like it.

I'll also give an honourable mention to Muse, the Kaiser Chiefs, and McFly.... yeah, I know that's dorky, but seriously, they're not bad.

Ok ok, so while you might not find all these bands on the same mix tape, any well-rounded music collection is not complete without these little gems. And luckily, all can now be found in stores stateside. Enjoy!

April showers

2007-04-25T13:33:00.000-05:00

Wow, I just realized that my last post was before I started my job, which seems like ages ago! I will resist the urge to say that makes me feel old.
What's even crazier is that I've past the 6 month mark since leaving Scotland. Now THAT makes me feel old! Working has been, as is often suggested, the best cure for missing a place. I enjoy my job, and it consumes enough of my time to distract me from the fact that I would rather be eating my lunch beside a castle. Ironically, the logo for our office is a little castle.

I'm actually writing to share with you about my wonderful friend who's been keeping me company during the work day. Some guys created the 'music genome project' to map similar artists and styles, from which they created Pandora. You can create internet radio stations with music you like, and it will suggest similar things. For free! I totally sound like a commercial, but I don't care... it really makes me that happy.
Give it a visit at http://www.pandora.com

A few thoughts for the year's end

2006-12-28T16:21:00.000-06:00

I've been a bit lax in keeping in touch with people over the last couple of months. Although I didn't mail a single Christmas card (gasp!!), I was thinking about you my friends and how much I've appreciated the various encouragements that you've given me this year.
It's been a long, exciting, heart breaking, and wonderful year-- and to be honest, I have more thoughts about it than you would probably care to read. So again I say thank you, and I pray that you are each enjoying the marvelous and mysterious ways that your lives are playing out.

something to consider during the warm-up to your '07 revelries...
the BCS v. the Electoral College

* It's a well known fact that both are organized by a secret society of the five wealthiest people in the world, known as The Pentavirate, who run everything in the world, and meet tri-annually at a secret country mansion in Colorado, known as The Meadows.

* Both have maps with pretty colored states on them!

* Both claim to be college organizations, but actually have suspiciously little to do with learning, and are more about (drinking) parties.

* Both "give the people something to talk about."

Just food for thought.

Skye and Schiehallion

2006-11-10T16:56:00.000-06:00

At last! I've been trying to get these pictures loaded for some time now... Quite a lot has happened in the short month and a bit since these were taken, but they're worth going back for.
The first three are from a weekend trip Ben, Kevin, Hayley and I took to the Isle of Skye just before my departure. The last one is from a hillwalk up Schiehallion, a mountain which was used for the first measurement of the earth's mass. Manly sounding ehh? Too bad it actually means the hill of the fairies.

drum roll....

2006-09-19T09:46:00.000-05:00

Well, it's official- I've passed.
You may now call me master Cail. or jedi master Cail.

To wait, rather than exclude

2006-09-09T06:55:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned before that I've had an occasion or two this year to take advantage of the nationalized health service in operation here. Since then, I've found this to be the most thought provoking difference between the UK and the US. It's been great for me... even being a temporary resident and a non-taxpayer (well, until this week, but that's another story), I'm entitled to free, that's right, FREE health care. As far as I can tell, all necessary medications, operations, and doctor visits are included under the NHS. That's freaking amazing! My mother shattered her elbow while on vacation here a few years ago (hi mom!) and was given excellent care free of charge. It's hard for me to convey to my friends here how much we pay for such things, and that even families with insurance have been known to suffer great financial losses from an unexpected medical incident. And the people without insurance? You don't even want to know.
This is not to say that their system is perfect, or that I'm necessarily advocating a NHS system for the US. There are some things that aren't covered, and for non-emergency procedures they can be on a waiting list for some time. There are several reasons I suspect that it wouldn't work for us, including our pharmaceutical industry, a large number of illegal aliens, and a long tradition of own bootstrap pulling... But most importantly, it wouldn't work because we would never stand for someone telling us that we couldn't have what we wanted when we wanted it. Do we deserve to have excellent healthcare? Absolutely. Should we expect to visit the doctor for a runny nose an hour after calling for an appointment when a good portion of the population can't go to the doctor at all?

As a side note, I've noticed that we increasingly view doctors as magicians. They do lots of good work (particularly in the case of my brother and sister, if I do say so myself) in keeping us as well as possible and disarming some things that would have been fatal even a few short decades ago. However, we are not meant to live forever. Nevertheless we fight death to every expense, including the resources of others and our own dignity. We become angry and assume that a doctor has made a mistake when a loved one dies. I have never lost a parent or a sibling and cannot speak for how I would feel if one of them were gravely ill, so I beg patience from those of you who have. That said, I suppose my view has become that doctors should improve our quality of life, but that quantity is less important.

Hmm, what to do with myself....

2006-08-30T10:25:00.000-05:00

I usually think that blogs outlining the contents of a person's day can be quite boring, but today, I think I'll indulge myself. Here goes...

7:30 - wake up, tie up loose ends

12:30 - turn in thesis

12:35 - eat magnum

12:45 - go shopping

I've been writing a lot lately, so I'll leave it at that. Good day to you!

Long awaited Germany photos

2006-08-13T16:13:00.000-05:00

And some family pics

2006-08-13T16:00:00.000-05:00

Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!

Mom and Dad at Sterling Castle

Lost in the maze, good thing we had muffins.

Time and space

2006-08-05T11:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday marked the end of camp tayside 2006. I was just thinking today that it's interesting how much more attached I am to it than I ever was to the camp I attended while growing up. Perhaps it's being in the countryside rather than a college campus, being older and having a fuller understanding of what it all means, or the old paradox of teaching being the ultimate learning experience. Whatever the reason, it's been a great week and I'm thankful for the opportunity to have shared in a bit of it.

Today marks laundry day.

Tomorrow marks two months remaining of my time in Scotland. I do look forward to seeing my family and friends again, but I find it difficult to think about the coming year. It holds a great number of uncertainties, and at times I downright dread being back at square one in figuring out what to do with myself! But I suppose, as they say, 'whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.' So, time to get on with it.

My dissertation (that is, thesis for the yanks) is due in about 3 weeks, so I apologize if I fall into a black hole for a wee while, but I will try to get some pictures from camp and my family's recent visit posted soon!

Living echoes

2006-07-02T17:57:00.000-05:00

Lord speak to me that I may speak in living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou has sought, so let me seek Thine erring children, lost and lone.

O strengthen me, that while I stand firm on the Rock and strong in Thee,
I may stretch out a loving hand to wrestlers with the troubled sea.

O teach me, Lord, that I may teach the precious things Thou dost impart;
And wing my words that they may reach the hidden depths of many a heart.

O fill me with Thy fullness, Lord, until my very heart o'erflow;
In kindling tho't and glowing word, Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.

Ahh, such poetry in some of the old hymns!
I was thinking of this one today and thought I might share it. There's so many good ones...

Choosing your battles

2006-06-28T07:30:00.000-05:00

That is perhaps one of the most valuable lessons to be had in life. Whatever the case- anything from relationships to adapting to a new social system- some things are worth following up, and some you just have to let go.
I've discovered several informal rules (and even a few formal ones) that are quite ridiculous and haven't earned my adherence. However, when my visa says I need to exit the county periodically? Done. I'm certain I've ignored rules more important than that... but I LIKE that one.
All that to say, I recently got to visit some friends of mine living in Germany. My pal Dani and I flew over for about a week and packed in as much visiting, adventuring, and ice cream eating as possible. We saw Prague, the Chemnitz folk and the campaign group visiting them, a few small towns around Saxony, and the church in Dresden- including one of my old roommates who was our guide for the week (thanks again Amy). To summarize my thoughts on the visit- I'm again amazed by the strength of bonds between people working for the same purpose, even when very far apart!

On a side note-- Yes, Germany was totally overrun with football. And the US actually had a chance to make it to the second round! They didn't, but I was happy that they'd even came close. Scotland isn't in, so most people aren't super interested, except in wanting England to lose.

Busy busy!

2006-06-10T17:53:00.000-05:00

May was a wonderful month, and June promises to be just as interesting. I have not the time nor the reader interest that would be required to fully relay all that's been going on in the last wee while... so I'll leave it to a few pictures.
The first few are of our hillwalk up Ben Vorlicht, and then a couple from the Harding group that visited for a couple of weeks.

Mom, consider not reading this one

2006-05-08T06:21:00.000-05:00

You can visit a place and take in the sights. You can live in a place and absorb some of the culture. Sometimes however, you find yourself discovering an aspect of the culture that, although immensely powerful, you had previously missed, or at least misunderstood.

Dundee is an interesting place-- it has a few modest castles, on its worst day is greener than oklahoma has ever been, and sits along the edge of the water where the Tay meets the sea. I love living here, but it's not without its problems. For one, I've heard Dundee called the teen pregnancy capital of the world. Not that unreasonable of a claim, as europe supposedly has the highest of the continents, the UK the highest in europe, and Dundee the highest in the UK. Impressive, ehh? But I didn't need the statistics to believe it.

Yesterday while walking from Kevin's flat to pick up some groceries, Hayley and I were forced to detour around a police barricade just in front of the store we were bound for. As we made our way around, a cop informed us of the problem- a man beaten to death the night before- and took our names and addresses before letting us in to get our vegetables and chocolate. Inappropriate as always, we got some pretty good jokes out of the incident, but watching them comb the streets did stir my mind.

The previous day we had watched a movie that had put a name to some of the things that I sensed here, but couldn't quite put my finger on. Called Green Street, it documents one of the many firms that terrorize each other under the guise of football support. (I have no idea if it's come out in the states, though I have a feeling it wouldn't have been well received there.) I had heard stories about the casuals, but assumed that they were pretty rare and not as much of a problem as in the last couple of decades. Apparently, this is not the case. After mentioning that we saw it and how unbelievably nasty it was, my housemate told me a bit about the firms in Scotland and that, sadly, the portrayal is not far from the truth.

Now, the night before watching all that, a few of us went to the park to play around. Eventually some of the drunken mobs wandered by on the other side of the fence, talking big, and apparently cornering a kid from another crew. He got bottled over the head and slashed up a bit before making it back to his pals. Some more boys came along and were speaking with us- actually pretty friendly, just sloshed- but as the group grew and started to become agitated, we took our leave. This was more of an annoyance than anything else, though if these events had occurred in the order I've written them, it might have been a bit more disturbing to me.

As far as I can tell, Dundee doesn't have an organized firm- just the ordinary type of gangish troublemakers found in any city of reasonable size. So maybe the scarier gangs that carry axes and chains are in other cities (much to my mother's relief). Does that make the violence here less sad? No.
I'm thankful that my life was so very sheltered from that as I grew up. I'm awed by the few I've met here who were deeply involved with that life and were able to get away. And I pray for those who are still in it.

Just your average day in Dundee

2006-04-18T09:26:00.000-05:00

As I've mentioned before, Scots are pretty tough people. This is particularly true of the kids, which is great because we can play games with them which at home would spell a certain lawsuit. Particularly, one of my favorites is played by holding hands in a circle around a chair and then eliminating people by flinging them on to it. Electric chair has had its share of injuries, but who can resist such fun??

Well, as you might have guessed, it was my turn to bear the obligatory injury. Though it was a relatively minor one-- a toe no longer pointing north... more like NW-- it was deemed hospital worthy.
Since there's no real point in x-raying a toe, the doctor (who was really cute) decided to just give me a good dose of gas and correct it by hand. I've had gas on multiple other occasions, but let me tell ya, that was some pretty special stuff. I suppose it was just more highly concentrated, because although I'm usually slow to react to such druggery, I was giggling and ready to go in about 5 puffs. In the 20 or 30 seconds that it took him, I was totally gone and heard a most beautiful symphony of hospital sounds. Then, I let the mask drop away, and was fully coherent again after another 4 or 5 breaths. Remarkable! Brick loves lamp, I love gas. There was also a drunk and flirtatious stab-wound patient across the curtain, as if that experience needed to be any more surreal.

Anyway, that being my first time with any kind of doctor here, I was expecting a hassle with registration, complication about payment, etc, etc. Happily, even for aliens, living under the NHS means that you don't pay for stuff like that. At all. Though the workers assured me I was free to go free of charge, I felt very much like I was getting away with shoplifting as I hobbled to the car.
I have more thoughts on the NHS, but that's a much longer discussion than a blog entry would do justice to. Hmm, that reminds me... I won't be under my parents' insurance when I get home. Yikes.

Springtime

2006-04-11T07:43:00.000-05:00

At long last, spring has sprung in Dundee. The crocus and daffodils are in full force, and though it still spits snow occasionally, the neds (Non-Educated DelinquentS) have shed their coats and are back to their usual tom-foolery. Actually, I just saw them duct taping some kid to a tree in the city centre... but I digress. Spring also means it's time for my project to get more seriously underway, and though it's coming along a bit slower than I had hoped, there is progress. I'll update you more on that after I give my presentation *gulp* at the end of the month.
I've learned a lot of interesting things in the last few weeks. For instance, Scottish milk evidently spoils faster than American milk. Much teasing ensued, but again, I digress. I learned that daylight savings time is not the same all over the world, so there was a week when we were 7 hours ahead instead of 6. I also played my first game of netball, which for those of you not familiar with it, think basketball without dribbling or a backboard. It was a little strange at first, but surprisingly good fun... and I could probably use the exercise to counteract the plethora of teacakes. Schools here also enjoy a 3 week Easter break rather than a one week spring break, which reminds me that I haven't posted pictures from the Lipscomb campaign that visited us recently. Thanks for spending your one week with us! Here's a few from their day off at Dunnottar castle.

Citizen Cail

2006-03-27T09:48:00.000-06:00

Well, this will be the end of a very busy month indeed. We have had 3 visits in as many weeks by people from the States- including one of Kevin's brothers, my parents, and a campaign group from Lipscomb. These were each special for their own reason, and, of course, brought a good excuse to do some sightseeing.
Although such visits are always enjoyable and refreshing, they tend to disturb the delicate balance of culture that I keep. This naturally brings my attention back (and sometimes more sharply than I would like) to the fact that I do not belong here. It's been a long and somewhat uncomfortable adjustment into another culture, and now that I'm feeling more relaxed and effective, half of my time is already gone. In not too many more months, it'll be time to adjust back to being an oklahoman again. Being bicultural is great, but once you've seen outside your own fences, you will never fully return to your former self. This isn't a bad thing, but it can be a little saddening. But, that's not what I'm talking about.
Cultural adjustment is hard because we don't really belong in any culture. This is not the end we were created for, and maybe only when my cultural identity is in flux can I really appreciate what it means to place our citizenship in heaven.

Snow retreat

2006-03-06T16:31:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we visited the Douglaswood camp as a retreat to prepare for our sessions this summer. And, after 6 months of winter, it snowed at last!
Camp counselors + snow + makeshift sleds and skis

Livin it up

2006-02-21T10:32:00.000-06:00

Wow, where to start... In the last week or so several big events have occurred, and I can't think of any way to tie them together so a brief synopsis will have to do. First, Dundee gets a subway. Then, Kevin gets a car. Quite noteworthy are both of these, but I'll leave that to Kevin's blog.
Also, I turned in the first big milestone of my project, which is the literature review. As you can imagine, I was pretty excited about that, but to top it off, that was the same day as the Nickel Creek concert in Aberdeen. Since bluegrass isn't exactly the thing here, we almost had them to ourselves in a sweet little venue. Well, to be honest there were probably about 250 people, but you get the idea. The awesomeness of that show cannot well be described here, but I'll tell you that it might be rated as my all-time favorite show (and for those who know me, that's a pretty stout claim). Later, that weekend we also had a fun youth night and a young adults get together. You might say it's been a good week. Also, congrats to Gemma for making it into the police!

youth night chariots

gotcha

the boys breaking in Kevin's new car, literally

Hooray for duvets!

2006-02-08T10:55:00.000-06:00

It's the simple pleasures in life that make it what it is, and I think you've guessed what mine happens to be this week.
I don't really mind doing housework, hey, there's immediate gratification in most forms of cleaning. However, I think everyone has a least favorite chore, and usually mine is making the bed. But there's something so great about nice smooth sheets... what's a girl to do?

My first duvet experience was in a hostel in Budapest, where we were each given 1 blanket, 1 sheet, and 1 GIANT pillowcase. We've got no clue, so picture Jen, Erin, and I trying to fit our mattresses into this thing. Luckily, we were soon righted.
My love affair with duvets has accompanied me though many a lovely time, from country farmhouses in Germany, to numerous shady hostels, to castles in Scotland. What more could you want- easy to clean, cozy to sleep on, and no wrinkly mess. Just a flip of the wrist and your bed is made!

So let's hear it for whoever invented this brilliant bit of bedding. Hip hip....

Movin on up

2006-02-01T09:40:00.000-06:00

Well I've done it! One of the more important realizations that I came to while at home over break (and there were quite a few) was that, for several reasons, I needed to live inside Dundee proper. And now, I can happily report that I'm moved and settled into a room that I'm renting from one of the church members. I'm now just a short distance from my school, the city centre, and Kevin's flat. Little tasks like going to the library or getting groceries no longer require a 45 minute bus ride. Also, the nights are getting shorter again *halleluah*, I can see my friends more often, and my new window overlooks a park with a swan filled pond. It's amazing how much easier life is!

Being in town also means that I can help out with the youth nights more often-- and just in time. Last week we held a Burns supper for the kids, which seemed to go over brilliantly. Kilts were donned, poetry was read, games were played, and haggis was eaten. Actually, the kids easily ate an entire 4 lb. haggis. --I know you're all interested, so just give a shout if you need the recipe. Much like hot dogs, haggis is really quite tasty if you don't give much thought to what's inside.

There and back again

2006-01-14T10:10:00.000-06:00

It's 06, and the time has come to buckle down and get to business in the new year.

However, if like me you're having some trouble settling down for work again, I highly recommend Bun-o-vision. Yes, we've all been waiting for movie re-enactments by bunnies... plus these are short, and so won't distract you for an inordinate amount of time.
My personal favorites are It's a Wonderful Life, Star Wars, Jaws, and the Highlander.

I'm safely back in Forfar and will begin class again next Wednesday. Happily, there's only one class to accompany the research program this term- however, it's stats. Graduate stats. Actually, I'm not too worried about it, I just didn't want any complaining that I only have 1 class now.

While at home I was reminded what fantastic people I have for my friends and family! I look forward to hearing how you're all getting on this year.
Time to write a paper, so farewell for now!

Real peace at Christmas

2005-12-24T16:55:00.000-06:00

In celebration of being back in Oklahoma for Christmas, I would like to share with you (whoever it is that actually reads this) some of the best things about being home:

Football games. Lots of em.
Going to the grocery store and knowing what everything is and what it's for.
Having snow on the ground one day, and going out comfortably without a coat the next.
Friends who I love very very much.
And of course, my family- who genuinely get along.
Anyway I'm happy to be home, and I wish all of you my friends a nice time as well- wherever in the world you are.

I know that many of you are mourning the departure of Dr. Herndon from his Edmond practice, but there's good news. My very own sister Dr. Mindy Cail will be taking his place starting in January. So as she always says- an apple a day keeps the doctor away... but if the doctor's cute, forget the fruit!

Foreign schools are a trip

2005-12-09T05:04:00.000-06:00

What do you do when school is out and you have money in the bank? Why, you go to Paris of course! I had a really nice time visiting my cousin and seeing the sights, and will post some pictures from that sometime soon.

It's recently been brought to my attention that I've written very little about my program at school. That's partly because talking about anyone but yourself in a public forum can get pretty sketchy, and also that it's a very slow process and not terribly exciting. However, as the semester has now drawn to a close, I'll give you a quick overview.
I participated in two course modules including our research methods foundation class, and qualitative research methods. In the first, we had a different professor almost every week (and let me tell you, there were some interesting characters!) who would give us a snippet of their expertise and advise about constructing our own project. The second was given by one prof and totally devoted to qualitative (that is, just about every that's not quantitative) research methods. Since our entire program is focused on the completion of a well run project, there are no tests. Yep, no tests.
Hmm, I'm not too proud to make a shameless plug here.... My project is over the culture shock and adjustment process in American expatriates- and more specifically, in missionaries. I require quite a large sample set for the results to have a valuable application, and hopefully with sufficient data collection this could be quite a useful study. So please, if you know of american missionaries still in the field or who I could contact to find such people, leave a comment or shoot me an email.

... Lochnagar

2005-11-25T04:45:00.000-06:00

I'm thankful for a family who, when I'm absent from a holiday, will call every 30 minutes until they get to talk to me. I'm thankful for being granted dear, sweet friends who I love and trust despite long distances between us. And now, I'm thankful that after 2 and 1/2 months of wrestling with numerous agencies and banks, money finally arrived in my account on Thanksgiving day! Coincidence? I think not.
In celebration of both, before church I cooked a glorious dinner feast -and by glorious I mean edible- for a few members of my surrogate family (the Dundee church, that is) including my roommate, her parents, and our friend Hayley. Except for an unfortunate Jello salad, I'd say it was pretty fair for my first solo attempt. Yesterday also brought our first snow of the season-- what a lovely day!
So my friends, wherever you are, and in whatever circumstances- be thankful! There are many special things that we forget to appreciate because of their frequency in our experiences, but this should not be so! In case you need some inspiration, this set of pictures comes from a gorgeous drive to, well, the middle of nowhere. Enjoy, and happy Thanksgiving!

Away, ye gay landscapes, ye gardens o' roses

In you let the minions of luxury rove

And restore me the rocks where the snowflake reposes

If still they are sacred to freedom and love.

Yet Caledonia, dear are thy mountains

Round their white summits tho' elements war

Tho' cataracts foam 'stead of smooth-flowing fountains,

I sigh for the valley o' dark Lochnagar!

- Lord Byron

... Dunkeld

2005-11-16T03:43:00.000-06:00

This edition comes from Dunkeld in Perthshire, about 30 minutes or so from where I live. It's my brother's favorite place in the world, though one of the girls in my program is from here and doesn't find it all that exciting. Come on, they're masters of thrillology!!

On being away from home

2005-11-04T04:02:00.000-06:00

Yes, this is a lovely place indeed. Do I feel at home here? No. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever feel at home anywhere again, even after safely returned to my family and friends in Oklahoma. Nevertheless, God is good, and is so obviously taking care of me. I got a job yesterday (finally!), at a lovely little coffee shop about 100 yards from my front door, thanks to Alan from church. Today I'm off to Edinburgh to meet Trey and Lily-- and in fact, should be getting on the road soon, so I leave you with this. Hope you all have a nice weekend!

The Christian doctrine of suffering explains, I believe, a very curious fact about the world we live in. The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment, He has scattered broadcast. We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy. It is not hard to see why. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and oppose an obstacle to our return to God: a few moments of happy love, a landscape, a symphony, a merry meeting with our friends, a bathe or a football match, have no such tendency. Our father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.
- from The Problem of Pain

... London

2005-10-30T16:01:00.000-06:00

My sister recently came across for a visit, and the first of our several short adventures was a weekend in London. Not Scotland I know, but lovely and refreshing all the same!

From the top: Mindy and I, Big Ben, St. James park, and St. Paul's cathedral

The view from...

2005-10-20T08:23:00.000-05:00

Apparently Oklahoma has been setting new record high temperatures this week, reaching up into the 90's. Well, I'll tell you that's certainly not the case here. So for those of you who find yourself hungering for the sights and sounds that make the Scottish countryside what it is, the next few posts are for you. Enjoy!

We begin with a few from a quick jaunt to St. Andrews that Kevin, Hayley, and I took with the visitors from Vienna last weekend.

lunch below the castle

the old course

the coast

Fun for the Weekend

2005-10-14T06:39:00.000-05:00

Feeling a little discouraged about all the junk on the internet?
Well here's a few gems I found this week that will renew your faith in random web surfing. Enjoy!

Guess the Dictator or TV Sitcom Character - thanks to Kelly and Mark's blog for this one. it's my new favorite!

Facebook faces the facts

Bodacious LC

eDisharmony

Glamour or the gutter

2005-10-05T18:00:00.000-05:00

Spending time in the city can bring a festival of new and interesting experiences. For instance, a chance to meet any number of fascinating people, access to lots of great cutting edge fashion, or riding home on the same bus as a puking drunk guy. European cities are a weird mix of fabulous and filthy aren't they?

On a more serious note, along my path to school there's a man who begs for money. With one of my loan checks MIA, I've been having a fairly critical funding problem of my own and was in no mood to be handing out money like handshakes. But today I was feeling particularly brave, and when asked if I would spare some change, I offered a bite to eat instead. I actually expected him to say no (perhaps he was wanting the money to buy something else, ehh?), but he agreed, and I sat next to him and chatted as we ate. We finished, and I was off to catch the bus home. Right, well done me. Then of course my mind began the battle with itself over a good deed done vs. the self righteousness that too often follows.
Not two minutes later, a girl about my age (who, in my opinion, was an blatant faker) approached me for bus money- to get to the hospital for her mum who'd just had a heart attack. So, that's the oldest trick in the book, and not the first time I've heard it. Since I had spent my precious little extra time with Angus on the corner, walking her to the bus to buy the ticket was not an option. So, I gave her the fare, and then kicked myself the rest of the way to the station for it.
So, which was right, and which wrong?
After much deliberation, I'm going to stick with the 'wise as serpents, gentle as doves' bit for now and leave ruling on motives for someone else. As a side note, once in a dire situation I was reduced to asking a stranger for bus fare, and she probably thought I was lying too.

Well sorry, I didn't mean to leave this blog as such a downer, but this has occupied a good deal of my thoughts today. I welcome relevant input about interacting with beggars if you've got it.

short and sweet

2005-10-01T17:43:00.000-05:00

Well, nothing much of note to relay just now, so I'll leave you with a bit of Lewis somewhat related to my expatriation experiences.

'The sacrifice of selfish privacy which is daily demanded of us is daily repaid a hundredfold in the true growth of personality which the life of the Body encourages. Those who are members of one another become as diverse as the hand and ear. That is why the worldlings are so monotonously alike compared with the almost fantastic variety of the saints. Obedience is the road to freedom, humility the road to pleasure, unity the road to personality.'
- from "Membership"

oh yeah, and some classic rock

Saturday night's alright for blogging

2005-09-24T17:27:00.000-05:00

You've seen it all now folks, I think pigs are actually flying as we speak. My father, James Cail, actually interacted with a computer! I have proof, and it's available for everyone to see in the comments of my last entry. That's it really.... even if the whole rest of my endeavor here is a wash, it was worth it- just for that.

Classes finally started this week, and my first impression of the department was a good one indeed. The professors all go by their first names, there's only about 6 kids on my course, and a teapot is no more than 10 paces away at any given moment. Though I had forgotten just how difficult it is to start at a new school, everyone I've had dealings with so far were just fine. And I only really have to be there one day a week. Tough, I know. So for now things are peachy--- just let me know if you hear of any part time jobs opening up in forfar. :)

Kiss clarity goodbye

2005-09-20T18:17:00.000-05:00

So many things have happened already in this short time! My sis was offered a dream job, another one of my old roomies is pregnant, Celia passed the CPA, and the Cowboys lost a division game. Really all that's happened here is that we did complete the wardrobe construction-- and, you guessed it, no secret world through the back.

I have, however, entered a strange netherworld of information. My loan checks are still in passage somewhere over the atlantic ocean, I was mistakenly told to attend a session for the psych freshmen- only very narrowly escaping that fate worse than death, and have still yet to meet any of my professors. On the up side, the black hole of information has been having lovely weather! In fact, that's about all people willingly speak of in much depth.
So for now, forget frankness and efficiency, just give me some stovies and a cup of tea and I'll be content.

Out of the frying pan...

2005-09-15T12:04:00.000-05:00

And into the refrigerator!
I arrived safely, spent a lovely -though glassy eyed- day with the Ferries, and then came to my new flat in Forfar yesterday morning. Today's task will probably be to construct my wardrobe, which I'm hoping is the Narnia sort.... though I would eat magnums instead of turkish delight. Anyway, besides the spectacularly boring orientation session I attended this afternoon, all is well and I've hit the ground running.

Luckily, the just-arrived-in-the-country syndrome (that is, the uncontrollable urge to parrot everything someone says in a scottish accent) seems to have passed after only one day this time. Hopefully all remnants of it will be gone by the time I meet with my professors tomorrow.

Today's words of wisdom-- In America, 100 years is a long time. In Britain, 100 miles is a long drive. Maybe there's not much application in that, but it's so true!

Trial and Error

2005-09-01T23:15:00.000-05:00

Well I've given in. It's time to start a blog of my own.
This stuff is really for me to learn how to link things properly, but you can hear a bit about my summer of many scrum-diddly-umptious adventures while I'm at it.
Interesting experiences included friday night live, my first taste of sushi, hookah, and exciting places such as Cordell and Sayre ....and Chicago, Indianapolis, Galveston, and the Grand Canyon. Aaaand my brother married one of my best friends. Indeed, as summers go, not too shabby.
I leave for school on the 12th, so there might be something interesting to read if you check back later. Don't fight the urge to come visit---Scotland wants you too!

2005-09-01T22:57:00.000-05:00

downtown chicago

2005-09-01T22:55:00.000-05:00

morning hike

2005-09-01T22:53:00.000-05:00

FNL