~ ANNE! ~

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canucks. I�m sad that it�s not a long weekend in Scotland, because I certainly could use it.

Had a pretty good weekend � or at least it managed to seem like it lasted for quite a while, which is a nice change from those weekends that race by in a blur so that you feel like you missed them entirely. Friday night was dedicated to saving money (ie I stayed home!) with the result that I was up early on Saturday and able to get some errands done. I went and got underwear at Marks & Spencer because I have a vague recollection of my dad telling me M&S is the place to go for cheap and sturdy underwear. And he was right! Somewhat more frivolously, I went and got stockings at Jenners (because I like shopping at Jenners) and was rewarded by a free paring knife because they were doing some sort of promotion. I have to say, it amused me greatly that they are handing out free knives in Scotland, where knife crime is at an all-time high. I�d like to see them try that one in Glasgow!

Brandon has a friend from home staying at the moment. He�s called Johnny and he is quite something. He is not the quietest person I�ve ever met but you can�t help but warm to someone who is kind to small animals and children. Besides which, he�s hilarious and he embarasses Brandon, which is always funny. So Brandon, Johnny and I went out on Saturday night and met up with some people from lacrosse, with typically amusing results. Edinburgh didn�t know what hit it.

Sunday was devoted to cooking up a storm, as we put on one heck of a spread for Thanksgiving �dinner� (at 3 pm). In keeping with tradition, there were mounds of food and I should have invited a lot more people to compensate. Our fridge does not hold much by way of leftovers. It was delicious, though! Not exactly turkey (pre-roasted chickens, in fact), but we had all the trimmings.

Could barely walk by the end of that, but we made a grand effort and hauled ourselves to Murrayfield to watch the hockey.

Hello out there, we�re on the air
It�s hockey night tonight
The tension grows, the whistle blows
And the puck goes down the ice�

It was the Edinburgh Capitals up against the Nottingham Panthers. Was SO nice to get out to a hockey game again, although I have to say that it was almost embarassing supporting the Caps. Man, they�re terrible. Any five-year-old from Rocky could teach them a thing or two about passing, and they kept just sort of scattering like chickens every time the Panthers put a bit of pressure on. Oh well, it was fun anyway. I love the smell of the arena and there was a great atmosphere in the crowd � everyone was shouting (alternatively encouragement and abuse). The guy from the Panthers who kept scoring was actually from Ottawa, so that made the boys happy. Think I will try to go to a few more games � especially when they play the Belfast Giants, as Theron Fleury is apparently playing for the Giants now! Weird, eh?

I read an article in the Guardian this weekend about the �happily underemployed� � people who have credentials and skills but aren�t using them. But unlike the actual underemployed (all those Arts graduates stuck working at McDonalds) the happily underemployed are choosing to work at jobs they could do with their eyes shut just to pay the rent � they are spending their time and energy on outside pursuits rather than at work. They had an example of a girl who was working as a PA because she wanted a low-stress job so she could concentrate on the plays she was involved in outside of work. She said having a �real job� made it too hard to get the flexibility she needed for her acting. Working to pay the rent, living to act. Sounds all right to me, actually. And I think it would be pretty fair to say that this is what I�m doing as well. Yeah, I�m underemployed (albeit at a pretty good job, no complaints there) but it�s in an attempt to get some international experience and do some travelling. So there.

That said, I don�t think I can do this forever, so perhaps I don�t fall squarely in the happily underemployed category. Unlikely as it may seem, I do have ambitions in the direction of something more interesting, and I think it would be much better to have a job that stimulates and challenges you as well as hobbies, rather than a job that bores you to tears and hobbies that stimulate and challenge you. Seems to make sense based on the sheer amount of time you have to spend at work. My trouble, unfortunately, is that my ambition is so unfocussed that I will probably never get around to doing anything about it.

Yep, it�s an optimistic Monday.

Speaking of which, Brad just called to play the sound of the waves in my ear, because he is on a beach on the Isle of Wight and I am stuck at work. GRRRRR!!!!

And now some Scot living in Buckinghamshire has just called to book a campsite and tell me it�s 20 degrees and sunny down there. Double GRRRRRR. I give up.

ps. I just realised that wasn't a very thankful post. Oops. I am thankful! But I wish I was down south where it's sunny!