Domestic Danger

Well, its been about a month since our return to Aberdeen. Kyle has finally entered his groove with writing his dissertation, and I have found my routine with walking or cycling to the grocery store. Daily tasks like washing clothes and dishes are just done in a different manner here, so its taken me a while to find my groove. All that said, we are happy to be back and we are enjoying life. I was feeling so settled yesterday, that I thought I'd do some baking. Check out how much butter the recipe called for...

They were good...probably not good for me...


Today I thought I'd do some ironing. Now, you must realize I never properly learned how to iron, so I often have issues. And of course I burned myself. I met Kyle for coffee at the University and he said, "Wow, your scar is out today!" And I said "Oh, no...its a new one." (The old scar is very faint in the picture...just above the new one, its from a fence that bit me last year while I was on a run). So, I don't think I'll be getting the iron out again any time soon!
We have guests arriving tomorrow, so stay tuned for our adventures with Kel and Brad!

The North Sea

Night Golf

So I got a call around 8P.M. the other night from my friend and neighbor Kent. The conversation went pretty much like this: Kent - "Hey man, how you feeling?" Kyle - "Good man." Kent - "You up for some golf?" Kyle - "I think I am."

So, at 8 o'clock at night, we made the stroll down the block to the golf course. We only had Kent's clubs, so we shared carrying the bag.

Here's a picture of Kent, with the lovely Aberdeen high rises in the background. Notice how, unlike courses in the states, there isn't actually a tree on this golf course. There wasn't any water either. Instead of such so called "hazards", golf courses here have jungle like rough, bunker like...well, bunkers, and the slowest greens known to man.


Here is a pic I took across one of the holes. I felt like a better golfer for not hitting any trees, but then like a worse one when I could never find my ball.

And for those of you who don't know how to play golf, I thought I would show you a thing of beauty - my swing. A swing my friend Dave Cook once called the most "awkward swing ever." Notice that the club is moving so fast that in dim light without a flash our camera slightly blurred the club head. Breathtaking.

Dad would be proud

With the tools out, classical music playing in the background, and a cup of coffee by my side, I spent the afternoon working on our bikes. Kyle and I have made an unofficial goal to cycle to Stonehaven before we leave Aberdeen...we'll see if it happens!

After 30, it all goes downhill...

So, as most of you know, I turned 30 last week. I honestly didn't really think much about it (although verdict is out whether or not that was caused by the jetlag). In any case, I guess when you turn 30 everything begins to fall apart...or at least that is what it has felt like.

Moving back to Aberdeen brings with it many things that remind me that I am not as young as I once was. The 30 minute walk into town leaves me looking as though I just tried to run a marathon. Actually, what is really sad, is that one walk into town and back leaves me looking worse than when Kelli actually did run a marathon!

In any case, I am feeling the affects of 30 years on this earth. I have seen a lot in 30 years, and have read a lot in the last 10. This could be the reason why...






wait for it...





my vision is finally beginning to wane.



Yes, that's right, I bought my first pair of glasses today after going to get my eyes checked.



I wasn't quite prepared for the odd feeling of being able to see in sharp contrasts again, nor was I ready for the feeling like someone strapped a pair of binoculars to my face as I walked around our mall after getting the glasses. But, needless to say, I am in the world of the seeing again. Fortunately for me, I kind of like the emo wanna be rockstar look to go along with my tweed-and-elbow-patched wardrobe.

The beginning of a bad habit...

Fish and chips, twice in one week...not a good habit to start.

Moving in

So, we are back in Aberdeen and we were able to move right into our new place. It was a bit weird going straight from the airport into our new apartment, but was really nice as well. The very next day our shipment of books and a suitcase we sent came in the mail - so we had the opportunity to get moving on moving in!


We decided to do a bit of rearranging in our living room (and I decided to do a bit of reading!).
As you might be able to tell, this picture was taken prior to our shipment of books. Once that came, things got a bit more nuts. But then, our friends brought over the stuff we had been storing, and now the place is a disaster. Kelli stayed up to 1 am just to make it livable, and so now we are slowly moving towards feeling settled.

We'll have more pictures up soon, but as we settle here, I also have to get settled in my office, which isn't an easy task either. We will try to keep you all updated though. We have started putting pictures on the wall, so I think we'll be here for a while!

Thank you fake bomber guy

So, Kelli and I decided to head back to Scotland on Wed. the 2nd of July. It so happened that on that same fateful day, some sweet and awesome dude ran up to a policeman at LAX airport and told him he was a terrorist and had a bomb on him. For the next 3 hours the airport was on lockdown. Kelli and I showed up about an hour after that.

This picture doesn't really do justice to the total chaos of this situation. We got to the airport at 2, and we finally checked our bags in around 6:30. Everything was delayed for 2-3 hours, and everyone who had a layover after their first flight needed to get re-routed.



So Kelli and I (with our luggage) had to wait around for about 4 hours, most of which was in line, trying to get our luggage checked in and make sure we were on the right flight. Afterwards, when we thought that everything was fine, they sent us to the bowels of LAX, in a section I had never been before, which smelled like they let 100 freshman guys live down there for a year (and not let them shower). We got to the farthest possible gate only to find that they put us in a gate designed for a small private plane and had the passengers for a sold out 747 showing up (mostly disgruntled I might add).

All in all, it was a special experience. But I do want to thank the fake bomber guy. In all of the chaos, they let us go without having to pay for our extra luggage or the fact that we were way over weight on our luggage. They guy saved us a bundle!