I've had two weekends this week, which has been wonderful. Enjoy!
Scottish word of the week: Ace: adj. great, incredible, brilliant; "Wow, that's ace that you just won the lottery!"
Picture(s) of the week:
See highlight of the week.
What I've been up to - in bullet points
Monday
- Staying up far too late talking to my family (4:30 a.m....)
- Attending my one class of the day, then coming back to the dorm for a nice nap
- Finding classes for next semester at Hope
- Losing to Bruce in Settlers...yet again
- Preparing for my essay due on 10/26
- Enjoying 4 hours of MB3005...straight
- Having a personal tutorial up at Foresterhill with Prof. Gow
- Creating a culinary success to share with friends! Chicken and carbonera sauce on rigate!
- Attending class
- Finding the most wonderful bookshop on the way down to the train station
- Losing my tweed hat at Glasgow Station. (Have no fear, I've got a spare)
- Traveling cross-country to Mallaig
- Taking a beautiful hike around Mallaig
- Admiring the natural beauty of Scotland from Mallaig to Glasgow
- Walking among the shops of Glasgow
- Seeing the Glasgow Necropolis - a cemetry built into a hill overlooking the city
- Listening to my Ipod while working on an assignment for class...for 3.5 hours
- Preparing for my essay
- Enjoying a night with friends
- Suffering an Aberdeen Dons loss in the middle of a rainstorm
- Drinking what may have been the most expensive water of my life - 2.50 pounds for 500 mL...and then getting a second
- Enjoying and trying to interpret the Scottish National Ballet
- Relaxing at the Blue Lamp with friends
- Daylight savings time!!!
- Writing my essay. I've got quite a bit to do.
Self-portrait in the window on the way from Aberdeen-Glasgow. The majority of that ride I read.
Finally arriving in Glasgow.
George Square in Glasgow during Sunset.
My journal, which I wrote in quite a bit on the journey. It's rare that you've got nine-solid hours with nothing to do but think. I'd recommend it.
The harbor in Mallaig.
A photo taken with my camera timer and a 1 pound tripod. I'm sorry about the lighting, but I was too busy running into the field of view of the camera to worry about it. The view of the mountains across the water was beautiful.
Leaving from Mallaig.
The journey from Mallaig-Fort william was astounding. Everything was like this picture - and it was impossible to capture it all. It was the most beautiful ride of my life.
The pathway to the Necropolis in Glasgow.
I didn't take any pictures on the way back, as it was rather uneventful. It was an incredible day and a half!
Random section of the week: thoughts about time from a twenty year old
While at the Blue Lamp yesterday the conversation steered to how fast the time here at Aberdeen has gone. One person said, "It's odd how it feels that we just got here and that we've been here for a long time. I have my bearings around the university, yet it feels like I arrived yesterday". I really agreed with this sentiment - it truly does not seem like I've been in the U.K. for 46 days. And it's odd to think that I've only got 57 days left to be here. Where has all of the time gone?
That statement - "Where has all the time gone?", does not apply only to my time in Aberdeen, it applies to life as well. I said to my friends "Before we know it, we're all going to be 45 and have jobs". (I received a dirty glare or two...) But truly, where has all of the time gone? Has it really been a decade since my last recess? Seven years since sitting in Mrs. Barense's class in 8th grade? Three years since high school? Where has all of the time gone? I'm already over halfway done with my undergraduate education, for Pete's sake!
I received those dirty glares at the Blue Lamp because the fact that time passes (and we age in the process) is something that is disliked, maybe even feared. There is some legitimacy about these fears - the clock truly is ticking. In my mind the fear expressed at the Blue Lamp is composed up of two different fears. The first fear is this: that change does happen. The world today is not the same thing that it was yesterday, and tomorrow will be an entirely new ball game. Anytime that we are faced with change there is uncertainty, which is a cause of fear. The next fear, which is even deeper, is that there is actually an End, and when time passes it becomes closer and closer. Those we love (and ourselves as well) are getting older, and it is inevitable that they will leave us (or we will leave) at some point. It's the nature of life - people die.
When faced with an inevitability like the passage of time or death, we cannot change the fact that it happens; we can only change our attitude to the inevitability. Instead of lamenting that time is passing so quickly, we should celebrate. With the passing of time we gain new experiences and perspectives; with each year we meet new people and see new places; we think new thoughts about life; we meet chanllenges, and even grow. The fact that time goes so quickly means that we shouldn't lament it - we should savor it, sucking the marrow out of each moment. Each day truly is a gift. What we must choose, then, is how we will respond to the gift.
To end my rather reflective essay I thought that I'd share a poem that I wrote.
9/27/09 - Train from Edinburgh to Aberdeen
The train speeds, swiftly going
Ever, ever, ever a'going
Rapidly traveling, ever jolting
In and out of hurried stations
But where is it going, and,
More importantly, why?
Lives are spent, always going,
Unceasingly, endlessly, ever, a'going.
Bustling about, to and fro,
Among numerous and many, different places.
But where do people go, and,
More importantly, why?
When the train -
Stops.
When the moving -
Halts.
And meaningless tasks -
End.
What significance will be revealed
From all of our toil and labors?
What remembrances will remain
Inside our faulty memories?
What sort of reflection
Will greet us in the mirror?
Embrace rest; savor sunshine and flowers;
Love deeply and unreservedly;
Suck the marrow out of life;
Stride boldly forth and truly live.
Anyways, that's all for now.
Cheers!
very DEAR JOHN-YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT LIFE AND YOUR INSIGHTFUL POEM , AS WELL, SHOULD BE PUBLISHED SO COUNTLESS OTHERS CAN ENJOY IT - AND THINK ABOUT IT.--YOUR BLOG AND PICTURES WERE APPRECIATED TOO. --ONE COMMENT ABOUT AGING. EACH TIME OF LIFE REALLY IS REWARDING , TEEMING WITH MEMORIES GOOD AND CHALLENGING . WHEN THE GOLDEN AGE COMES , THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT IN ONE'S HEART HE OR SHE STILL FEELS YOUNG , BUT THE BODY LETS US KNOW THE TIME HAS COME TO TAKE THINGS SLOWLY . --- YOU CERTAINLY WILL HAVE A TERRIFIC LIFE, JOHN, AS YOU DO MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY MOMENT .OH- WE GOT THE ZEELAND CARD AND THE BEACH SAND LOOKED LIKED A HAWAIIAN SHORE. LOTS OF LOVE, G AND G
ReplyDeleteOnce again we enjoy your blog. You have such insight. We look forward to December and Christmas when we can hear first hand all your experiences.
ReplyDeleteLove to you, Uncle Kevin and Anut Lynne
Hello, dear Johnny,
ReplyDeleteGramma has always said that life is at its best during each moment. You are living out that philosophy that she has passed on to all of us. You are savoring each moment. I am so very proud of you.
I also must share that being 47 and having a job is NOT all bad. In fact it is rather wonderful. Aging is all a matter of perspective, and something not to be feared.
It does seem like almost yesterday that you were that smart little whipper snapper in my second grade class. You've grown into a fine young man that all of us are very proud of.
Oh, I was so HAPPY to read that my son beat you in Settlers! I hate to ask what TIME the game was played!!! Better that I not know.
Loved your musings. The poem was excellent. I'm reading the essays of EB White. You will have to borrow the book. You will LOVE it. Your writing reminds me of his. The picture of the water, hills, etc. is breathtaking. Thanks for sharing.
Love you and miss you.
your old aunt patricia