Just been to Niagara Falls for much of the day. It was immense. American Falls is impressive enough as a waterfall, but it is the Canadian Horseshoe Falls that really takes the biscuit.

I took the train to get there; on one side of the tracks there were loads of vineyards and orchards that reminded me of southern Europe; on the other side, the land reminded me of the UK. Intriguing...

I had to throw out any idea of visiting the Toronto Islands this year since some of the city's community workers are on strike, which means the ferries and amusement park rides are off. What's more, I've noticed that the litter bins have overflown. If the workers want extra pay, they should probably try not to undermine their case by letting the litter get out of hand. The public will have some degree of sympathy at first, but soon regard it as a menace after a while, so the sooner some agreements can be reached the better I say.

That said, the trams and hippo tours (kind of like Boston's duck tours) were on, so I splashed out nearly 40 bucks to literally splash into Lake Ontario on an amphibious bus whilst getting a comprehensive tour of downtown Toronto and the nearby university. Afterwards I ventured several miles east of the city centre into the Woodbine Beach area.

A couple of my American pals say that Canada is just like the USA, only further north. It isn't. For a start, they sell chocolate bars that I am familiar with in the UK! =P But what is also apparent is that Toronto seems to be Europe and America mixed together; half the people I walked past spoke French, and some of the new 'condominiums' getting built look more like Mediterranean than American, which I am not so sure about. There are high rise blocks of flats further away into the residential parts that remind me of Glasgow and some cities in England, all mixed in with American style architecture in the main streets. And Toronto's tall buildings look great, especially at night - I really wish Dundee had some buildings like that instead of the crap we've got; the tallest commercial tower we have is ugly as sin (and marked for demolition), and the newer buildings are only four storeys high and nowhere near as captivating. When I see Toronto's downtown buildings, I can't help but think "Goodness, we need some of those". Albeit not quite as tall!

This is the penultimate leg of my holiday in North America this year; I've never been to Canada before and I must say it is great to see food and that which I'm used to seeing back home! Must be something to do with the Commonwealth. Today, after arriving from AC in Pittsburgh (and coincidentally sitting next to another fur who went to AC who was from New Brunswick) I visited the Eaton Centre, which is certainly more impressive than Dundee's Welgate Centre. Later I went to the Hockey Hall Of Fame because I love hockey, and got to see some great memorabilia, including old jerseys and the original Stanley Cup (plus a lot of coverage of my fave NHL team, the current Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins). This evening I went to the CN Tower, with it's famous glass floor (which a lot of people were on) and the Sky pod. Seeing Toronto and Southern Ontario from such a height (447m!) is impressive enough by day, but I waited for night to fall, and I must say that at night it is a lot more captivating; you can even see lights from New York state in the distance on the other side of Lake Ontario!

Here's some pictures;

Anthrocon's been pretty good so far, this being the last day before I go to Canada. The Artist Alley was quite rewarding; I recouped the money that I spent on cabs back in Washington DC. I did an insane amount of drawing this weekend, but sold some of the new pictures and that put a smile on my face! Plus with some of the money I made, I bought some art myself! :) Here's a photo of me sitting in the Artists Alley today.

Current Mood: blah

My second and last full day in D.C. was even more of a test for my physical endurance than the day before! My feet hurt and my legs are a little stiff, but considerng what I went and saw all in one day, and with a little assistance from the Metro system, I can honestly say I am both astonished and pleased with what I've accomplished. I may be shattered, but it's not all been for nothing because I saw;

The White House
Museum Of Natural History
Museum Of American History
Smithsonian Castle
Washington Monument
World War II Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial
Jefferson Memorial
Arlington Cemetary (including JFK's grave)

And owing to the lack of Metro stations in The Mall area, I had to walk several miles today in order to get everything I wanted to see done. I guess being a slave driver on myself proved to be productive, for once! Here's a few more photos;

The closest I'll probably get to being with President Obama.


I didn't actually get to go inside and up to the top because all the tickets had been sold! Yah boo sucks!

Current Mood: drained

My first day in D.C. I decided I would visit some of the more Easterly tourist sights on the Mall and Capitol Hill, which were all well within walking distance of my hotel. The only things that annoyed me were lack of good places to find food and drink (and reminding me of how much I HATED eating fast food so often last time I was in the States) and the unpredictability of the weather.

Here are the sights I have been in, or at least had close proximity to them today;
Union Station
Supreme Court
Library Of Congress
United States Capitol
Botanical Gardens
National Air And Space Museum (I liked that one!)
National Gallery of Art
National Museum of the American Indian

Tomorrow I think I'll take the Metro to see the more further away destinations. It's hopefully not going to be as expensive as it would if I were to take the open top bus tours.

Here is four of the 150 or so photos I took as well, just for the record.




Oddly enough, I seem to have dressed up a bit like I imagine my dad would for holidays like this... except I have the Madchester-esque bucket hat and longer hair =P

Current Mood: blah

Well last night I am pleased to inform you all that I safely arrived in Washington, D.C. after eight tedious hours in the air. However, the flight was more bearable because I was upgraded to World Traveller Class (that's between Business and Economy classes) and the person I sat next to was a friendly American guy roughly my age who was coming back home from a college trip to the Balkans. Customs and immigration were surprisingly easy as well.

But the day was also dogged by some scary coincidences as well. My suitcase weighed nearly 19 kilos. The train to Edinburgh arrived at platform 19. My airline's gate at Edinburgh was number 19 and I was in the 19th row of the plane. Later, after my upgrade at Heathrow Terminal 5, I was put in the 19th row of the next plane! Get the idea what's happening? And then, at Passport and Border Control, I saw some booths numbered 1 to 20something. Please, don't let me get number 19, that's too creepy! I got booth number 19.

I am a bit superstitious about such circumstances, worried it could be a bad omen. In reality though, it was all just a freakish coincidence. But I had a near disaster outside my hotel when I nearly left my laptop bag (with my PASSPORT IN IT!) in the taxi and had to stop it driving off! But the trend did finally break; I got room number 433!

And yeah, travelling abroad in any jet set lifestyle makes me feel jaded no matter what. Hopefully it won't make my days in Washington D.C. too difficult. I'll keep you updated ;)

Current Mood: drained

I haven't seen this advert since my early childhood! And now they're using it again, but they've changed the words slightly... here's the original version. I wonder how many people remember it.

Current Mood: drained

The North Sea oil rig Galaxy II arrived in Dundee last month (while I was at Confuzzled!) for up to 10 weeks of maintenance work. It was built in 1987/1988. Because oil rigs fascinate me and because they add some character to the docks, I thought I'd take a few pictures. My favourite one is this; Problem is, some residents nearby have had TV reception problems with past visits from oil rigs =P Maybe not this time.

Current Mood: drained

The Pittsburgh Penguins (my fave ice hockey team) have won this year's Stanley Cup, after beating defending champions Detroit Red Wings 2-1 at Detroit's home ice! Perhaps when I'm at AC I might pay a visit to the Mellon Arena when the Penguins play... I probably should since it is to be demolished within the next few years...

Current Mood: productive

Just heard on the news that Millvina Dean, the last living survivor of the Titanic disaster, has died at her care home aged 97. She was only a couple of months old when the ship went under and as such did not remember the sinking.

In short, it rocked!

Current Mood: drained

I can't help but think my dad just doesn't seem to care so much about me as a driver so much, especially since my younger brother passed his test.

Last night I accidentally bruised my head with the boot lid, and in retaliation I kicked it lightly. And it dented slightly. What are the odds of that happening? I may as well have attacked it with a sledgehammer and I would have got the same reaction. In reflection, I think it was a silly way for me to respond, but I will not have my parents constantly rubbing every little knock that car gets right into my face like I am the world's most careless motorist. THIS TIME it is someone else in my family who is making a mountain out of a molehill.

I did scrape the kerbs occasionally, and I did knock the alignment out of place after skidding on black ice last winter. And of course my old man is now bringing the fact I only occasionally wash the car and vacuum the inside is another sign I don't care about my set of wheels. Well, I would wash it more often if I had the time to fit it in. Every time I do I either get sidetracked, or it rains.

What really gets my gun though is this; my dad is moaning at how the dent in the bootlid will bring the car's value down even more so. The car is NINE BLOODY YEARS OLD. I hate to say so but it is probably worth less than my most expensive guitar. Considering that my dad never sprung to fix the back bumper which had been dented years before I first drove a car, I can't help but wonder what else could depreciate it's price further.

As if that wasn't enough I can't help but think that my brother's been the favourite motorist since he passed his driving test earlier this year. HE gets to drive my Dad's car with it's big alloy wheels. Not that I want to drive it; my car is much more practical for my needs and job. Thing is, I never have been trusted with ANY of my parents' larger cars (Just their Mazda 2 for a couple of days). I know Dad doesn't want any of the other cars to smell of pizzas for when I go to work, but I can't help but think that I am being singled out just because of my profession and because the amount of miles I do results in more unintentional minor scrapes being inflicted on my poor car. I know my car deserves better, bu I'm only human after all.

Now my old man is saying he won't help me pay for a new car. I don't think he would have anyway - my record of slight knocks and bumps in the past already saw to that.

Long story short I regret kicking the bootlid out of anger. I feel I should apologise when I'm in the mood. But at the same time, when worse things have happened to this car and I still get the same flak for it anyway, I wonder why I even bother trying to earn the trust of my parents back. I think that since my brother passed his test they've just given up on me. Maybe thats why I don't seem to care so much anymore.

EDIT - I've cooled down a bit now, probably just as well. The real problems in my life are ones that won't go away.

Current Mood: bitchy

Yesteray was the last day of university for my year. To celebrate, some of my student friends went out to the union in the evening. I managed to get out of work early and made it just after 10pm. After a while we went to a night club until closing time near 3am.

It's fun to do these things every so often I think. Problem is, when you are almost always working at a pizza delivery shop on weekends, it can make you almost socially dead.

Still, my company was appreciated, so it was worth my time :)

Current Mood: tired

I wish the headphones I got with my iPod weren't so powerful, and likewise I wish my computer's headphone output wasn't so damn HIGH.

But I am smart enough to know that I can't change that now. It could be months before I get to see a specialist in regards to what my ears have been going through for the past five weeks. The ringing isn't overbearing, but it is perplexingly sporadic and can be bloody irritating. Sometimes my ears ache as well, even at exposure to ordinary noise. But I can't do anything about that at this moment in time, and the doctor can only forward me to a specialist. Fingers crossed that it won't be another dead end.

I'm fed up putting up with it and going on about it, and the sooner this ordeal can pass the better. Complaining about it isn't doing me the world of good, so I guess I have to learn how to not let it get to me.

Current Mood: frustrated

I'm relieved about today's League One football results. Carlisle won, Northampton lost, so that means that my English team is staying up, one place above the relegation zone :)

Dundee United won today as well, against Hibs. We're that much closer to European football :P Just Hearts to catch now.

Current Mood: relieved

There's been some scaremongering in the news lately as a new type of deadly swine flu has occured in Mexico. My first reaction when I heard that some cases had been reported in the United States was that I worried about the safety of my friends and relatives there. Now there are two possible cases in Scotland.

Then again, the media likes scaring the public. Who am I supposed to believe?

Current Mood: drained

Whilst I am pleased to see my favourite football team Dundee United earn a place in the top six of the Scottish Premier League (with a chance of finishing 3rd and thus qualify for Europe), my English team, Carlisle United are 21st out of 24 in the English League One and are two points away from avoiding relegation to League Two.

With only one game left to go of the season, it really is win or bust next week. 'Mon the Cumbrians!

Current Mood: uncomfortable

Last week my tinnitus suddenly got more profound, so I saw a doctor about it. There is some good news, he says my ears are healthy and not infected. So the cause of the ringing is from using headphones too much (which I was last week, to be fair). The ringing isn't constant, as it tends to fluctuate in volume. So to stop the problem getting any worse I've been advised to keep my headphones and computer speakers at more reasonable volumes and used more sparingly and see how I get on. For now I don't need to see a specialist unless the condition persists for a few more weeks.

Tinnitus is irritating. I always was a bit wary of it too. Thank goodness I ALWAYS insist on wearing earplugs at gigs and band practices.

Current Mood: uncomfortable

I'm off to France and Belgium for a week's holiday with the family. I deserve a break since I haven't had much of a holiday since I was in the USA last year.

Whether or not I'll have internet is debatable, but I'll keep myself at work on stuff ;)

Current Mood: tired