when the sun goes down

So, that pretty much covers how we spent the daytime hours, and of course there was also plenty to do when the sun went down. We had some nice meals, on the first night we were there in particular, I had the best seafood ravioli ever. Then there was the night we went for Thai food, and on the last night when Adam got fish and chips for his tea, and I just had a meal when we went to the pub after. After that we hit the pubs, although I couldn't quite keep up with Adam who could've kept going long after the pubs were closing, and complained that I would never be able to handle nights out when he goes to Scarborough with his mates, haha :) but our nights out were fun even if I could only hang in for a few hours. Here's a few of our after hours photos.

Bridlington and Filey

So, we didn't just stay in Scarborough the whole time, since it's easy enough to just hop on a bus or a train and go a few towns over to another coastal spot, we decided to go to Bridlington on Monday and Filey on Tuesday. Bridlington I'd never been to, and there wasn't much special about it, but at least now I can say I've seen it, and Filey of course is one we've been to a few times, and I've always loved the view over the cliffs from Filey Brigg. So these are a few photos from our wanderings.

watching the world wake up

I think the biggest highlight of the last few days was my greatest triumph as an amateur photographer. One of my favorite things to photograph is the sky, cloud formations and the different colors as the sun goes down. But I've never gotten a sunrise, and now having the opportunity to get a perfect view of a sunrise over the sea, even the idea of getting up at 6am to do this didn't put me off. So on the second morning when I woke up and checked the time, and seeing that it was 6am, I made myself get up and go seize the opportunity. As soon as I got outside I knew it was totally worth it. The sky was an inky blue, and just starting to show some pink spots. So I just stood out for the next hour, watching the sky turn colors and taking photos as the sun came up. One of the most amazing experiences ever. But you don't want to hear me talk about it, you want to see the photos, of course. I shot about a couple hundred I think, so obviously I can't post them all here, but these are a handful of the best ones.

the happiest guy on the island

So here I am, back at home after three wonderful days at the seaside. And we did indeed get that Indian summer that was promised, which made for absolutely perfect weather. When we first arrived, it rained lightly for a bit, but after we stopped in a coffee shop for a bit, it had stopped by the time we went back outside, and by the time we made our way down to the sea the sun was coming out. I even kicked off my shoes and went for a paddle, which we called my Karl Pilkington challenge for the day, haha (if you don't know who Karl Pilkington is, go watch An Idiot Abroad, it's a great show)

So, I have lots to tell about it, and even more pictures to share. I won't get it all in one post, so I'm going to split them into different posts. This here was how it began, in the late afternoon on that first day. It just felt so good to be by the sea, enjoying the sunshine and the scenery and the sounds and smells of the seaside. I couldn't have been happier being anywhere else in the world.

Scarborough bound!

So, I've got five days off of work, and today Adam and I are off to Scarborough to spend a few days by the seaside. Scarborough is one of my favorite places, and I've been really looking forward to going. It'll be good to get away from everyday life for a few day and just have fun, somewhere we don't need to spend a lot of money and somewhere we already have some great memories of. Supposedly the UK is supposed to start having an Indian summer this week too, with plenty of sunshine and higher temps than the country has seen at this time of year in many years, so if that's true than this is the perfect time for it.

I really can't wait to be by the seaside again, get some sunshine, hear the seagulls, take photos, eat junk food, laugh at all sorts of silly random things, spend relaxing time with Adam, go out and have fun at night, all the sort of things we used to do when I'd come for visits and we'd go off on trips somewhere. It'll be nice to be reminded of those times. Just a few more hours now and we'll be on our way! :D  

sickened and dishearted

I've had a lot of feelings this morning, after coming online and reading about how Georgia went through with the execution of Troy Davis. The thing is, even before this case I've been against capital punishment. I'm a firm believer that an eye for an eye leaves the world blind. What really happens when we kill someone in revenge for a crime they've committed? Does it bring their victim back to life? What did we really learn from this, besides the barbaric nature of humanity proving itself yet again? Taking a life in my opinion is something that should only be done when necessary, in times when your life or your safety, or the safety of another person is being threatened in that moment, or maybe in special cases when a person is too dangerous to let them live (as in the case of someone like Osama Bin Laden) I do believe that everyone makes their own choices, and all choices have consequences. If you make the choice to harm someone, the consequence is that you have to be stopped. But was Troy Davis hurting anyone from where he was in prison? Was he a danger to society? Was it necessary to execute him? Was any good supposed to come out of this? And can anyone say with 100% conviction that he was even guilty of the crime he was convicted of? Because it sounds to me that the answer to all of those questions was No.

Now what really gets me about this case is how they could even think of going through with the execution when there was any doubt of the man's guilt. Chances are more than likely that the state of Georgia has just executed an innocent man, and how they think they can justify that just amazes and sickens me. This is just one more reason why the death penalty needs to be abolished. At least if they'd just kept him in prison and later on proved that he wasn't guilty, they could release him, but now there's no going back from what they just did. And in my opinion, the people who let him die are no better than the person who committed this crime in the first place.

day at the park

So, Adam and I had a day off today, and we decided to wander over to Roundhay park and Tropical World, despite the weather calling for passing rainshowers in the afternoon. I could describe our day by telling you about it, but wouldn't you rather see pictures? Here you go:

new phone :)

So, I got my new phone yesterday, and it's absolutely brilliant. Really, it's like a little hand-held computer, I can see why they call them smart phones because they seem to do everything. I've always had a preference for Apple, but I think I'm getting to know this HTC alright so far and get the hang of navigating with it. Nearly all the apps I have on my iPod and my old phone, I've got on here now, and some new stuff too. It's great to just sit and play with, there's so much to do with it. And I love how when I'm not in a WiFi spot, I can just turn on the 3G to use the internet. If I did that with my old pay-as-you-go phone, I'd run through my money faster than I could blink. But now I'll be able to use the 3G when I'm out somewhere, on the bus or on my break at work. And I have unlimited texting (within the UK) which is convenient since I text more than I ring people anyways.

I think it's really great, the way technology constantly evolves so much. In a way it's frustrating, when you buy a new device and then a few months later there's something even newer coming out, but then when you look at it, everytime there's a new model, the older ones will get a little more affordable, or another company will make one and the price will go down from having more competition from other products. So all these devices that are too expensive when they're first made will eventually become more affordable in time, and more commonly used amongst more people. I mean, if you think about things like digital cameras, iPods, and camera phones, how expensive were they when they were first made, and now everyone has one and you can easily get a good price for one. We're seeing it more now with things like eReaders and smart phones (hence my new HTC phone, which was free with a 2-year contract, and comes with a very reasonable monthly bill) and I think we'll be seeing it very soon with tablet computers as well, since so many new devices are competing now with the iPad. So if there's a new gadget that you have your eye on but is still out of your price range, just wait a bit and eventually it'll drop in price, and likely also come better made and without the bugs that you usually find in something that's just had it's first product release.

And Android, I apologize for all the times I put you down and said how you're inferior to Apple. I still wish you'd get your own version of the Momento app, but otherwise I change my mind and I think you may be pretty awesome after all :)

annoyances

Uggh, it's been a long week. I felt so out of step yesterday at work, just like I was a bit sluggish and making little mistakes or just moving too slowly and miscommunicating with everyone. I don't think it's anything to do with me still being a bit new and making newbie mistakes, I think it was just me having an off-day, but still, it frustrated me. I'd try to shake it off and get back into rhythm, and then something else would happen. Hopefully today will be a better day, and then at least I have a much easier week this week, just working again on Thurs. and Sun. and have the rest of the week off.

Also, while I was at work yesterday, Adam had a visit from the building manager, and apparently our shower is leaking down into the flat below us. So they're sending a plumber out this week, but they're talking about just replacing the whole shower/bathtub, and that certainly doesn't sound like something they can do all in one day. So there's a possibility we could be temporarily displaced while our bathroom is being redone, which would be an inconvenience to have to leave our flat in the meantime. Although the end result would be a brand new shower/bathtub that's not on our dime since we don't own the flat, which would be nice once it's all done. But I guess we'll see what they want to do, maybe it'll be a quicker and easier fix.

Then there's my crappy phone, which keeps crashing when I try to do simple things like check my voicemail. The screen blanks out, and won't come back on no matter what buttons I push or try to turn the phone off, and I end up having to open it up and take out the battery just to get it to stop what it's doing and reset it. Stupid thing. I thought a new phone with a contract would be expensive, but when Adam told me what he's paying each month for his HTC phone, it was a lot less than I thought, and when we looked online he found a plan that's only slightly more than that each month for a new HTC Desire S, and the phone would be free with a two-year contract. I didn't get approved from the credit check though, just because I haven't established any credit for myself here yet, but Adam's going to try to get it for me in his name, so hopefully I'll still get it anyways. It would be nice to have a sweet new phone, and one that I could use the 3G internet on when I'm not in a WiFi spot, without running through all of my money on a pay-as-you-go plan as I would with the phone I have now.

Anyways, here it is Monday, the start of a new week, and also a day that feels more like Friday for me, since I've worked for five days and have the next two days off. So hopefully today will be the start of a new and better week, and I can also look forward to a day off tomorrow with Adam as well :)