Exams, an Edinburgh Christmas, and 20/20

Sorry, it's been awhile! Things have been busy busy busy, as usual!

To update you on the last post, the snow led to an entire week of no classes, which was amazing. Especially because it gave us more time to study for the exam! Results haven't come out yet, but they will soon. Cross your fingers for me!

So after the exam we had Christmas Break. I decided this year to stay in Edinburgh, since my family had come here for Thanksgiving. It was very different from my typical Christmas, but I enjoyed it a lot! We got up around 9, packed the kitty up and went to Andrew's parents house for coffee and presents, then had a delicious Christmas lunch made by Andrew's mother. Christmas lunch in the UK is a very similar meal to the Thanksgiving meal, only they usually have brussel sprouts as a vegetable. Oddly enough, this previously hated vegetable has grown on me, and I really enjoyed the entire meal!

Not to focus on things I got for Christmas, because it's not about that, but a few of my favourites were awesome slipper-socks and a headphone cord tidy from Andrew's parents, earrings and a necklace from my dad and Anna Marie, a good book and a funny pair of earrings from Andrew, and a funky necklace from Andrew's mum. I enjoyed giving gifts to everyone as well. I got a warm fairisle sweater for Andrew (which he knew he was getting because he almost bought the same thing when we went shopping, and I had to tell him to put it back), and a giant tub of Haribo. For Andrew's dad I got an iPhone case for his new iPhone, and for his mum I got a cute cat knick-knack (and normally I try to avoid knick-knacks, but it was too cute I couldn't pass it up - also I'm horrible at finding gifts for parents).

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My little mini-tree. Cute, but I decided I needed a real one this year...

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My wonky tree

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Once we spruced (ha) it up with some trimmings and presents, it looked quite nice!

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Andrew opens a long tube of Jaffa Cakes from his parents

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Andrew's mum and dad

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The cat was a little thrown off by all the wrapping paper and sparkly things (also Andrew trying to cuddle her)

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The Christmas table with all the yummy foods.

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Even Tsuki got to enjoy some yummy turkey!

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Andrew shows off some confetti and a crown from his cracker.

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After all of the lunching and presents, we played board games for the afternoon. It was really fun and relaxing to just chat. Definitely a lot less crazy than Christmas with my family! :P

For New Year's, Andrew and I went to Andrew's friends new house for a get-together. It was a sort of pot-luck thing, and so we got a whole variety of different food to try. It was very good! At midnight we all walked down the street to a little park by a church, where a bagpiper led us in Auld Lang Syne as the clock struck midnight (or, close to it anyway, everyone's clocks were different!)

The rest of Christmas break was just relaxing and studying for the exam we had this morning, epidemiology. Now, I'm sure this subject is relevant to some people, but I am not particularly interested in statistics. So I found this exam to be a bit challenging. I just don't see the point of memorizing formulae.

Anyway, so my most exciting news, is that after the exam this afternoon, I got LASIK! Because of my high prescription, I also had to get IntraLase and CustomVue Wavefront, all of which are variations on the typical LASIK procedure. To be honest though, both of those variations make the procedure more effective and safer, so it was fine by me!

I was really nervous after the exam. I knew it would feel a bit uncomfortable, and I guess because I really didn't know what it would feel like I was pretty anxious. The surgeon checked my eyes over one last time, gave me the last option to back out, but I figured I'd already come this far, so I might as well keep going.

First, they put two different drops in my eye. One was an anaesthetic, which made my eyes feel really strange, very numb and sticky-like. A second drop was put on, and I'm not quite sure what it did, but it must have enhanced the anaesthetic, because my eyes got even more numb.

Then came the squeamish part. (Seriously if you have issues with people touching your eyes, you may want to get over it before considering this procedure). A suction cup was applied to my eye while the initial flap was created(which doesn't hurt, it just feels like a lot of pressure, and your sight kind of cuts out). That was the part I'd been dreading. I don't know why but the idea of my sight suddenly blacking out terrified me. But actually it wasn't so bad, just a bit uncomfortable. The nurse kept having to remind me to breathe during this whole thing, so I must have been nervous, haha!

After the flap is created, which sort of feels like a puff of air in your eye almost, they do the other eye in the same way. They use a little mini squeegee thing to move the flap back. Then they put an eye speculum to keep your eyelids open, and move you underneath the laser machine. This part was a bit uncomfortable as well. Not painful, but because you're underneath a really bright light and half your cornea's been moved, it's REALLY bright, so the whole time my eyelids were fighting against the speculum to close my eyes. Fortunately I did my research, so I knew that the laser doesn't fire if your eye's not in the right position, so although I was trying to keep my eyes still, I wasn't freaking out about it. Plus, the whole time the surgeon was telling me how well I was doing. The laser clicks away and you can see a blurry light flashing above you, but you can't feel anything at all. You can, however, smell the laser burning your eye, which is kind of neat (yeah I know, I'm weird).

Anyway, after that they put a bunch of drops in your eye and put the flap back in place with the squeegie and smooth it all out. Again, this didn't hurt, but it didn't feel particularly good either. The surgeon asked me if I wanted to continue with the other eye, and obviously I said yes.

Finally they moved the machines out of the way and let me sit up. It was SOOOOO weird. I could see! It was a bit hazy and everything was sort of indistinct, but it was mostly clear! Far away things are still a bit fuzzy around the edges, but supposedly that resolves in a few days/weeks.

For the first 1/2 hour after the procedure, they put you in a darkened room, and I was still revelling in my new eyesight, and my eyes felt pretty good, although a bit gritty. As soon as I got out into the light however (they light up the upper floor of the Princes St. Optical Express like the surface of the freaking sun), and the anaesthetic wore off, it was another story. My eyes started stinging and watering, and it was painful, and I pretty much had to keep my eyes closed the entire way home. Not everyone has this reaction, so don't let this dissuade you, but this is why they tell you to go to sleep right when you get home. Sadly I had a 40 minute car ride home. Once I got home, I took some ibuprofen and took a 3 hour nap.

When I woke up at dinner time to take my first round of eyedrops, I felt sooo much better. My eyes are still really sensitive to light, but I've been keeping my room dark, and the computer on the dimmest setting, and every few minutes it gets better and better.

I have a whole bunch of drops (Antibiotics, Steroids, and lubricating drops) for my eyes that I can apply for the next week, and I have to wear sunglasses in bright light, and I also have to wear a really snazzy pair of goggles while I'm sleeping so I don't accidentally rub my eyes. They are amazing.

Trust me.

Don't believe me?

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My sexy goggles.

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I'm not quite sure why this feels so life-changing, when I have the same results with contacts, but something about it is amazing. It is just so nice to see! No more fumbling about with glasses in the morning to read my alarm clock, no more worrying about forgetting glasses/contacts when I go on trips, no more spending oodles of money on glasses and contacts and contact solution. Awesome.

I am a very happy bunny :D

Snow!

I've had another busy few weeks. Sadly now I have to become a hermit until our exam, but first I will recount my last few weeks!

A few weekends ago, Andrew and I went to a rugby match - Scotland vs. New Zealand. If you don't know, the New Zealand team, the All-Blacks, is one of the best in the world, and before every match they do the Haka, which is a sort of pre-game ritual in the style of New Zealand natives. While it was very difficult to hear from way up in the stands, we could see them well enough, and could see them on the screens. It was very neat!

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Murrayfield Stadium

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During that week, we had the day off classes on Wednesday, so we went to Agriscot, which is sort of a convention for farm people. It was quite interesting to see all of the different farm businesses and we got lots of free stuff from the pharmaceutical companies and got some information on drugs and feeds and things for farm animals.

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Then last weekend I had a small birthday get together with my friends, at an awesome restaurant on George St. called Hawke & Hunter, which was amazing. The food was delicious, but even better the drinks were absolutely fabulous. I didn't take many pictures, but trust me, it was a really nice place. I had a 'Deep Purple' cocktail, which had lilac syrup in it (delicious!), and a Pear & Honey bitters, which, as it sounds, had pear and honey in it. It was so good (which was fortunate, given that they were £7 a pop!)! They had so many creative drinks on the menu, that I really need to go back there to try them all.

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The Deep Purple!

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After dinner we went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 1, which was, as expected, amazing. Some weird bits and a bit of artistic license taken here and there, but on the whole it was awesome. I look forward to the 2nd part!

My dad and Anna Marie came to visit the next morning, and it was really great to see them in Edinburgh. We went out to dinner on my birthday with Anik and Andrew and his family, at a restaurant called Wedgewood. It was very nice.

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Andrew provided the balloon, obviously. :P

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I got to explore the city with my dad, which was nice. I finally made it to the castle (only took 2 1/2 years!).

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Beautiful Edinburgh Castle!

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View of Edinburgh from the castle

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Thursday was of course, Thanksgiving, and so Wednesday afternoon I set about making preparations for Thursday's dinner. We made Pumpkin Pie, Pecan pie, Sweet Potato Casserole, Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans, Stuffing, Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, and Cornbread. It was absolutely delicious!

Thursday after a full day of classes (thanks Edinburgh uni, the Americans appreciated that), we arrived at Andrew's parents house to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. It was so great to have everyone together for Thanksgiving, and even better because it was the first Thanksgiving I'd organised myself, although Anik helped immensely with cooking and everything.

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Cranberry Apple Pecan Stuffing!

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The lovely table!

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Buffet style deliciousness!

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The following Friday I went to the Christmas market with my dad and Anna Marie, then met Andrew for dinner at a little pub on Rose St. It was really nice, and a good end to the week.

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Christmas market/fair in the Princes St. Gardens

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View of the Castle from Princes St.

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Saturday morning we got up bright and early to drop my dad and Anna Marie off at the airport, and then stuck around for a cup of coffee with Andrew's parents at the Gyle shopping centre, and then we headed up to St. Andrews for Thanksgiving with Beth, one of Andrew's friends from uni.

First we explored St. Andrews, and I took some pictures of the pretty sunset. Then we headed back to Beth's for her dinner, which was, as always, delicious.

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A light dusting of snow on the old course

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West Sands at St. Andrews

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It was good I took pictures that afternoon, because the next morning we woke up to about 6 inches of snow!

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Andrew and I are dorks :P

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Anyway, so after the crazy busy week and weekend, we prepared for the busy week ahead, and then on Monday morning I woke up to even more snow! As we couldn't dig out the car, Anik and I decided to take a snow day. Classes ended up being canceled anyway, so that's good as it mean we wont miss the lectures.

We took a bit of time this morning to frolic in the snow. :)

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Snow at 8am!

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Kitten explores the snow!

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Kitten did not like the snow as much as we'd hoped, so we took her back in right after this.

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A very short slide :P

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Pretty winter pinecones

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Snow angels!

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Snowy Penicuik!

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We found a duck pond that we didn't know existed!

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Quack!

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Is this really the UK in November?!

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We enjoyed playing in the snow and exploring the paths of Penicuik, but as it was very cold, we headed back inside to enjoy the warmth. Now we're just chilling out and studying. Also, I'd like to point out, that it is still snowing heavily outside! The snow already on the ground has melted a bit cause it's getting warmer, but it is still coming down. It's great! I wonder whether we'll have lectures tomorrow?

Anyway, now back to studying :)

An ACTUAL holiday!

After finally finishing EMS, I have been enjoying some well-deserved rest, relaxation, and r... all right I've still been revising for my resit, but I've been having fun in the in-between times.

My first big adventure began when I headed off to Northern Ireland, to visit my friend for a few days. It was quite fun! We explored the town of Omagh, and visited some interesting places like the Ulster American Folk Park, which documents the Irish emmigration to America during the famine, and the Belfast Zoo. I also got to see a sneak preview of Paddy's newly formed band, and then watched Paddy perform in his pub, Bogans. It was definitely an enjoyable trip.

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Irish replica street. Most of the shopfronts were actually taken from the original shops, which is kind of neat.
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Replica of a boat that would have taken the emmigrants. After passing through this boat, the rest of the park was set in "America," which was pretty clever.
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Downtown Omagh, outside Bogan's Bar
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Paddy singing away. For a video of him singing, check out here!
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Me at the Zoo!
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An awesome lemur. He likes to move it move it.
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Giraffes!
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The Belfast City Hall, and the Belfast Wheel, which we did not go on, but someday I will.
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After getting back from Ireland, I took a day to just relax and chill out, and then Anik and I began to set out during the day to enjoy the Fringe.

Anik and I, bored one day, decided to head up to the Royal Mile to blend in with the tourists. At first, I found this difficult, because I am not a fan of tourists. I know that sounds harsh, but I cannot stand trying to weave my way through people who are paying no attention to the direction they are going, and who have practically no respect for the city they are visiting. As much as I enjoy the festive atmosphere, I do not like it when people stop suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk to look at something, having to queue in a line going out the door at my favorite cafe, looking at trash everywhere that people think it's okay to throw wherever. And I find it disappointing that the most obnoxious of these tourists are American, and it bothers me when I am assumed to be a tourist because of my accent. I know it sounds rather harsh and certainly not all American tourists are awful, but Americans need to work on their reputation abroad.

Anyway, so during our exploration, we decided on a whim to take an Auld Reekie Tour of Niddry Wynd (also known as the South Bridge Vaults), which is a network of vaults built into the hillside of edinburgh. Inhabited first by merchants, and then later by the homeless and criminal, these vaults are said to be one of the most haunted places in the world. Our tour guide told us tales of gruesome murders, torture, and of a great fire (the Great Conflagration) that sealed hundreds of people within the vaults to be cooked in what became a giant brick oven. The tour ended with a free shot of whiskey and a shortbread cookie. I don't like whiskey, but I took it just for the experience of it and cause it was free, but the shortbread was delicious!

Within the vaults are two interesting things. The first is a modern, working Wiccan temple, which is still used by a modern coven of witches. The Wiccans were allowed to choose any vault they wanted for their temple, and at first they chose a room at one end of the corridor. During one ceremony they inadvertently let in a dark prescence of such destructive force that they vowed never to return again, and moved their temple to the furthest end of the corridor from that vault. To this day they don't even cross over the stairway to that half of the vaults. All that remains is a stone circle which was created to contain the evil prescence. Our tour guide told us that people who stood in the circle would either pass out, be sick, or emerge with scratches or bruises. I, being a sceptic was one of only 2 people to set foot in the circle. I recall feeling slightly uncomfortable and a bit shaky, but other than that, I did not experience anything. Boo. When I did get home later there was a red mark on my leg that sort of very slightly resembled a small handprint (maybe the ghost of a little boy who lost his mother, and reportedly reaches out to blonde women?), but that could also have been many things, like the heat from my laptop, or the mark left after leaning an elbow on my leg.

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The entrance, which supposedly used to be a student flat, and discovered when either a drunk student was thrown against the wall, or a studious student threw a book at a wall, and heard a hollow noise behind it. And, being students, they took a sledgehammer to it and discovered this amazing place.
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The torture museum at the entrance holds many authentic artefacts used for ancient torture. This was the "Rats Nest," which was placed on a person, and attached to a box containing a rat, open only on the side that faced the person's chest. The box was heated, and the frantic rat clawed and chewed its way out the only way it could. Yuck!
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Anik and I enjoying the gruesome torture tools!
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The Wiccan's Temple
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Me in the Stone Circle
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Anik captured on her camera what appears to be the ghost of a Spanish merchant, who slit the throat of a red-haired woman down in the vault we were in. Creepy!
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We enjoyed the tour so much that Anik and I dragged Anik's cousin Lucie down with us for the 10:30 tour. This tour went much the same, except this time I was the only person to step in the circle, and the tour ended in a free drink in a pub that's cellar is connected to the vaults. Huzzah!

In fact, I loved the experience so much, that when this afternoon I applied for a part-time job as one of these tour guides. Not only would I love to learn more about this fascinating place and its history, but I think it would be really fun to be the one giving the tour and scaring the bejeezes at of tourists! :) I know I said up above that I dislike tourists, but let me clarify that tourists going on a tour are usually a different breed. Usually these tour-goers are interested in the history and culture of the city a bit more than the average tourist. Plus, as a guide I wouldn't be weaving through the tourists, I'd be leading them.. Mwuhahaha!

I'm not sure I'll get it, as typically you have to have a drama background for these things, but hopefully it'll work out! Can you imagine getting paid to do something so sweet!? Plus it would be a nice release to go once or twice a week to have a bit of fun, and usually the busier I am the easier I find it to study, as boredom does not promote good studying habits!

Tomorrow Anik and I have scheduled a tour of Mary King's Close, which is another similar underground city, so keep an eye out for an update on our adventures! :)