Back to the city

Monday, October 18, 2010


Well, Scotland was fun. It was very good to relax. And sleep. The countryside there is so beautiful. Everywhere you look there are miles of green grass, sheep eating the grass, and old stone walls which were built hundreds of years ago. It's interesting to go from a place where you could drive for miles and not see another person to a place where you can't help but bump into them on the street. While I love New York, I really enjoyed the tranquility of the countryside. Many of the trees had just begun to turn and there were many shades of yellow and orange and red...all the reasons I love fall!

I really think one of my favorite parts of the trip was going to the highlands, mostly because we stayed in this unpronounceable bed and breakfast called the Tigh Na Bruach. The woman who runs it, Catherine, is as sweet as she can be and everything was perfect. She even had sherry and chocolates in each room....major plus for me! We stayed there for two nights and from there went on the Harry Potter train. Very cool! It was exactly like the Hogwarts Express. It's too bad my sister wasn't there; she loves Harry Potter. Above is a picture we took while going over the viaduct which is used for filming in the second film.

It's nice to retire to the country...but I couldn't help but notice the extreme differences between Scotland and the city. Many of the stores, for example, are only open for a few hours day. It felt like every time I went downtown to buy something specific....there was a closed sign, even though it was 1pm. Hm. In New York you can buy anything at anytime. In fact, you can have anything delivered at anytime. What's even more strange are the people. Everything is no. No, no, NO!

My parents and I walked into a really cute tea house for afternoon tea. The host said he could seat us but, "had no soup" as if implying we wouldn't want to go there if there because of that. Another time, my mom asked the bartender what a certain beer was like....as in an ale or a lager, and he looked at her like she was stupid and responded, "it's like beer." Asshole. I didn't even want to ask him what the menu meant when it said a "round" of sandwiches (turns out...its just a sandwich that's been cut).

Speaking of the bars....what the heck is up with Smirnoff? Everywhere you go that's the ONLY vodka they have. In the states it's considered to be the lowest you can get....besides PopOv that is. I mean I just look at a Smirnoff bottle and years of college binge drinking hangovers come to mind. That's enough to make me sick right there. So while I'm not a big fan of beer, I drank water when my parents went out for their pint. Sorry Smirnoff, but you're not on my good list.

I met a 20 year old kid who was working as a bartender in a worn-down pub. He had chosen not to go to college but was very excited because he was going to begin work with his father laying pipes. And that's him for the rest of his life. It's really interesting how different people of the same age can turn out isn't it?

I arrived back to the city yesterday. I'm very happy to be back. After I got home, I went for a little walk through my neighborhood and did some people watching. Certainly very different from the people of Scotland, that's for sure. It's like a new start all over again. I'm editing a Bar Mitzvah video for a friend's friend at work...but except for that....I really don't have anything going on. I spent some time this afternoon sending in applications to temp companies and head hunting firms. Hopefully I'll be able to at least interview with some of these companies...maybe get some advice. It's difficult to know where to turn next, but I guess I'll just have to keep trying. I'll start looking for another serving job I suppose, but I am NOT going back to Cafe Lalo. That reminds me, I still need to call the labor department about him.

Alright. I'm off. Just finishing my Starbucks green tea at 81st and Broadway. After this I suppose I'll go home, I am jet-lagged after all.

A California Girl in Scotland

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

So at the request of my cousin, I'm giving you all an update on my life. Allow me to recap....

It was all brilliant news when I learned a few weeks ago that I had been hired by the department I interned for to do some temporary production assistant work on a short project. Hell ya! I was pumped. I worked on the project consistently for two weeks. I was told that I would be able to work through October- not a permanent position but enough to get my feet in the door.

This position had me terribly excited also because I knew I would have to quit Cafe Lalo (in order to work full time at the company). I marched down the steps into the office and told my manager at Lalo that I was not going to be able to work anymore (yay!!!) I was leaving for Scotland on the 27th with my parents. I had managed to find a week to take off. I really needed the break and was looking forward to having a brief vacation and coming back to a job....even a temporary one.

As luck would have it, I was on my way to the airport when I decided to check my phone and found that the company wasn't unable to budget the project which I was to work on and that I can't really continue coming into the office unpaid.

I went to the airport.
I checked my bag.
I headed for the gate.
I found the nearest wine bar and proceeded to drink a glass and try a round of pinot's (on the house of course).

It has been a little over a week and I've come to terms with the fact that where I had two jobs a few weeks ago....I now have none. After a few deep breaths (and a few more glasses of wine, I'll add) I think that this is just a hiccup in the job search and hopefully I'll be able to find something. Soon. Right?

When I get back to the city, I've decided to go the route of temp agencies and head hunters. As my friend has said to me many times, "no one said this would be easy." It's definitely proving not to be. Not at all.

Onto Scotland. While I was originally supposed to be here for just a week, my stay has now been extended to three....it's not like I have a job to go back to. We've been staying in the quint town of Moffat, a very lively town of 2,000 friendly and outgoing residents. Sense the sarcasm.

It's cold and rainy, but there have been a few good days; we've even managed to see some sun! My parents were generous enough to take me shopping for winter clothes, which I'll need in New York, and it's been awesome catching up on sleep, though I have been sick every day thus far.

Currently, we're staying in Keswick, a little town in "the lake district" of England. It's really beautiful here. Scenery is fantastic and there are sheep everywhere! Black sheep and white sheep, black sheep with whote faces and white sheep with black faces. Really cute! The hotel we're staying in really reminds me of the house where the film Atonemnet was shot. Really beautiful. And huge!

Tomorrow it's back to Moffat and onto more pubs, and....well, making fun of the Scottish!