I'm frantically writing. All research and no writing makes Jyll a very bad girl indeed.

If only research weren't so darn fascinating.

Today was the Kirking of the Trades at King's. They have a mace that could take the university's mace in a fight. Though, if the university mace and the student association mace were both up against the Incorporated Trades mace, then I'd give even odds.

There are seven trades traditionally represented. Their coat of arms shows one arm extending into the shield holding six arrows and another arm extending holding just one which is broken. I'm wondering if the broken arrow represents the non-fighting clergy? *ponders*

We sang Maurice Greene's 'Lord, Let Me Know Mine End' for the anthem and the 'Sanctus' from Missa XVIII for the introit. The Greene came out...interesting. Enough said.

After, there were sandwiches in the Linklater rooms (free food, ftw!) which they served to us on Royal Doulton china emblazoned with the university shield. They've done this before, but I'd not noticed that it was Royal Doulton until today. Boy, wouldn't that be exPENsive.

Now, I'm wondering what the heck possessed me to buy decaffinated coffee to keep in my office. I mean really, doesn't being a student mean caffiene toxicosis? It's my own fault for waiting until after the Hub closed. Bah.

In an hour an a half there's the Catholic service (Passion Sunday, but I don't think the liturgy will be any different than the rest of Lent).

Then, homewards for a wee cheeky curry since I don't feel like cooking.

I have to say that I'm happier to review this place more than any other so far.

Corona Express
Mexican Grill
44 Bridge Street
Aberdeen AB11 6JN

01224 211266

I found this place completely by accident. I imagine I'd have found it eventually, but never you mind.

I was walking along Union Street and stepped on a flyer. I thought it said 'Mexican' on it, so I doubled back and picked it up.

Indeed it was.

I have to take a moment to go on a tangent.
In the US, good Mexican food comes from places that are staffed by Mexicans. In North Carolina, which has a high volume of immigration, it isn't difficult to find such a thing.
So, there are subtle clues to let you know that the place will be good.*

1. Misspellings in the menu.
Stuffed spelled with three 'f's...American spelled without an 'i'...Corona with three 'o's.
This is not a hard and fast rule, however. Thus, there are more guidelines.

2. Inexplicable logos.
Is the logo seemingly a German girl in dirndl holding a kitten dresses at Mr. T? You're in business. The odder, the better.

3. Speed of food delivery.
Estimated time seem impossible? The food will be ambrosia.

This said, I really like Mexican food of all varieties, west coast...east coast...central...hot...mild...full of beans...full of corn...bring it on.

Back to Corona Express.
I was delighted to see that the first item on the menu was misspelled.

ybunny and I headed down to check it out on Saturday night.

I was definitely not disappointed. I had a bean burrito and a cheese quesadilla. Both were fantastic. Not too hot to start out with, but not unflavourful. There was hot sauce for free and pico available for an extra 80p.

I've been twice in a week. I don't want them to think I'm a weird stalker, so more people need to go. Go, go!

---

* Void in CA, NV, AZ, TX, FL. Guidelines require proof of purchase in HI, MI, IL, NY, MA, MD, VA, SC, and GA. So there.

More at my Flickr site.


There liv'd in the North in the days of yore
a laird deep skilled in majic lore,
In ae nicht's frost, by an oath he swore
He would drive o'er the Loch of Skene.

He ca'd out his coach ere the grey daylicht;
The horses were yoked & harness made ticht;
And the driver was ready to swarff wi' fright
When they stopped at the Loch of Skene.

On locks an' snecks fowks fingers stuck
if they outside should crawl
An' they who shivered in the neuk
wad cry 'preserve it's caul'.

His hair stood up and his knees did knock
When the Laird ahint him to someone spoke
And was answered again by a raven's croak
Which shook a' the Loch of Skene.

The place where he cross'd is weel kent yet;
Though you search wi' a gun or drag wi'a net
The fient a fowl or a fish you'll get
In the track o' the Laird of Skene.

When the winter nichts grow lang and cauld,
Strange tales are till the day bout him told
And the halflin or hero, be they ever so bauld
Grow airgh when they hear o' Skene.

written by one of the Cluny Gordons in the early 1800s about Alexander, Laird Skene

There is also a broadside ballad about the nearest town.

Round Eleventy-million of the 5 question meme.
These via fireyirishangel


1. Where do you see yourself in 15 years?
If you'd said 5, I might know. 15 is very much 'might/could' sort of situation...or 'hope'.
I think that we'll still be living in the UK. We may have had a sojourn back to the US (I'd like to have an actual job eventually) but I'd be sad to not call Aberdeen home in the end.
We might have kids, it's very 50/50 at this point.
I'm going to hope that we'll have convinced some of my family to move here by then.

2. What are you most looking forward to in regards to your quickly-approaching wedding and marriage?
To the planning and worrying being over. :)
I'm not worried about the day so much...it's more along the lines of 'what if one of the flights people are on from the US is delayed?'
As far as marriage, I'm looking forward to more of the same. ybunny couldn't be a better match for me if he tried and I'm grateful everyday for him. < /smoopiness >

3. If you could witness one day in history, what day would you choose? Why?
Tough, tough choice. I think I'd choose the day that Moses first went in to see Pharaoh.
It would make a good section for my thesis. Heh.
Seriously though, I would like to have some personal knowledge of Moses. Writing about someone whose real self is largely lost to history really piques my curiosity.

4. Aside from being with your beloved, what is the best thing about living in Scotland?
Oh, so many things.
I love the weather. I'm so fair skinned and hot natured that an area with rain just about everyday and lots of overcast skies make me very happy.
The history is ubiquitous. I love that I can discover some new wynd (alley/side street) occasionally. I've read just about every book on Aberdeen history I can get. It's facinating for me to realize that I'm walking in the same places that people have been living and working for 1500 years, if not more.
I enjoy getting to know people from Aberdeen. Some of the things that are endemic to Scotland culture make me understand my grandmother better. (She's not Scottish, but was raised that way.)
On a practical note, I enjoy being without a car. Such a money saver. Except when the holiday schedule throws off my day.
There's so much beauty here that it takes my breath away. It's almost effortless as well. This city sprouts flowers like other cities sprout weeds. It's amazing.

5. You get a chance for an all-expenses paid honeymoon and have no real-life concerns (school, work). Where do you go?
Probably Thailand and India. We both want to see those places, but we know that we're hopelessly unfamiliar with the logistics of visiting either. We'd either have to pay to go on a tour (which I hate!) or pay lots to stay in places suited to clueless Westerners.
While I can muddle my way through with German, French, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, and Russian, I have no ability to speak/read Thai or any of the Indian languages. I feel that traveling without being able to understand is frustrating even before any other complications come into the picture.
Maybe I'd spend the 'all-expenses' on an intensive language course. :)

I'm so far behind with my blog reading, that I may just have to give up and just read from here on out as though the past never happened.

Ode to a Macaroni Pie


A prime example from Chalmers on George Street

Before 2003, I'd had nothing like you before
I saw your pie self as I came through the baker's door
Picked up by whim on my second trip to the Granite City
Only time for one that day, more's the pity

You're cheesy and salty and fantastically cheap
The price to my health is undoubtedly steep
Full of pasta and pastry and God only knows
You hold together so well when the chilly wind blows

A silly little rhyme for a silly little food
I never would have imagined you would be so good
From Gordon's or Chalmers or the Auld Toon Café
If I ever left Aberdeen's bakeries it would be a sad day

Dear Sir,

I appreciate that your car is being used as an extension of your penis.

The fact that you can drive 80mph down High Street outside my building at university, which is obstensibly a pedestrian zone, doesn't mean you should.

Kindly bugger off.

-the phd student you almost ran over earlier

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In other news, thanks to freckles42, I'm listening to Mika - Grace Kelly from the aptly named album 'Relax, Take it Easy'. It's helping to slow my heartbeat after my adrenaline rush.

I knew I'd have a late start today. I couldn't sleep last night and when I woke up at 7am (after snoozing for about 50 minutes) I was moving very slowly.
I also knew I wouldn't likely get to school until 10am, so I figured I'd have to be in my office until at least 6 if not 7pm.

So, might as well make this a bus day.

I'd forgotten that today is a local holiday in Aberdeen.

What this holiday is celebrating, I don't know...but sure. Holiday.

Which means holiday bus service.

The 1/2 bus service is meant to run every 10 minutes. They are never correct in running time to the printed schedules. This doesn't matter when they are on regular schedule. If you miss one, within at least 15 minutes, you'll be on your way.

On holiday service, they run every half hour.

By a feat of luck, I arrived at the bus stop only 5 minutes before the bus was to arrive.

So, I wait.

And wait.

Aaaaannd...wait.

20 minutes after the printed time for the bus to arrive, finally it pulls up. I'm irritated, but I can deal with it.

The 1/2 bus is the most frequently used bus service in Aberdeen. Even at off hours there are at least 7 people on each bus. (Unlike other services which carry no one at off peak on occasion.)
I know that there are many things that can get the bus off schedule.
1) Traffic.
2) Unexpected large numbers of people getting on/off.
3) Riders with out of the ordinary circumstances (prams, wheelchairs, non-English speaking foreigners, those needing instruction about how to pay or where the bus goes).
4) Bus breakdown.
5) New driver/errors en route.

Now, with the 6 bus, most of those reasons can be ruled out. There isn't a lot of traffic on the 6 service route, there is rarely more than 4 people getting on/off, and it's an out of the way route, so the only out of the ordinary circumstance would be prams/wheelchairs (and some of the buses they use aren't equipped for either on the 6 service, so there's rarely any of that sort of thing).
I've not yet seen the 6 breakdown, though it's possible with lots of the older buses making the route, but I have seen drivers forget where the route should go.

With the 1/2 buses, all can apply. Holburn, Union, and King streets are the busiest in Aberdeen, both for cars and people taking buses. The buses are equipped for prams/wheelchairs and they route is better marked for tourist use, so delays are likely.

Therefore, I get aggravated when the 6 bus is 20 minutes off schedule, but I can live with the 1/2 being that far off. Especially when there are only 2 buses an hour. That increases the delays involved with reasons 2 and 3.

So, when the bus arrived, I'd spent the waiting time reading the library book that needs returned today and wasn't fussed about the delay.

At the Castlegate stop, a man got on the bus and spent 2 minutes (I checked :) ) berating the driver for being late.

You'll never read this, Mr. Man, but realize that it's people like you who make the bus even later. Cut the driver some slack.

Just get on, sit down, and shut up. If you have a complaint, that's what the First office is for. Maybe they'll even think you're funny there.

Or not.