A quick look at the last three days

[fenchurch]

Saturday:
Burly men in muscle shirts and kilts tossing really big logs.

Also known as the Scottish Games! taradaktyl and I headed down to Enumclaw on Saturday (it always amazes me that King County extends that far south), which was a really lovely cool and overcast day. Perfect conditions for walking around the booths and watching the Massing of the Pipes and Drums (and was THAT ever impressive -- it made me really regret not being able to continue my bagpipe lessons (I have chronic asthma, it just didn't work)). I had a meat pie for lunch (and why haven't they caught on more in the US?) and later Taradaktyl and I split a blooming onion, in honor of Spike (well, that and they smelled reaaallllly good).

We managed to get some good seats for one of the performances by The Wicked Tinkers who were absolutely fantastic! Wonderfully lively music and the guys really know how to put on a good show... I'd pay to just go see them in concert, which I may end up doing at some point, since they play at various venues in the area from time to time. Just go take a peek at their website, the picture on the main page really says it all about their style... they've also got some video of their appearance on The Late Late Show that's worth watching. I'm thinking of picking up some of the their CDs, but while I do like their music, half the fun is in the performance.

For about 30 minutes, during the Wicket Tinkers performance, the clouds rolled back and the sun peeked through. Neither of us thought much of it, but it came back to bite us later (more on that below). We hit a few of the clan tents after that... Clan Cameron usually has a big presence at these sorts of things, and I always feel obligated to stop by and say hi, especially now that my grandfather isn't making the rounds to the Games as much as he used to. My ancestors on that side of the family have been in America since the 1700s... but, oddly, managed to stay almost entirely Scottish (and within the same two clans) until the 1900s when my great-grandparents moved away from Tennessee (which is probably why it shouldn't surprise me that most of my ancestors from there are either Camerons or McNabs, it's not like there was anyone else around to marry!).

We did spend a bit of time over watching the caber toss, because it seems like a mandatory type of thing to do at the Scottish Games... plus, hey! Burly men in muscle shirts and kilts tossing really big logs!

I was very surprised, that night, to find that I was really achy and I had to struggle to stay awake until even 10:30pm. After all, it's not like we'd done that much walking... certainly nothing to rival what I'd done the week before at Comic-Con. I woke up the next day with a light dusting up pink across my nose (pretty much the closest I ever get to a sunburn) and still feeling achy and exhausted. Sheesh. I was out walking in the sun repeatedly down in San Diego with nary a sign of pinkishness. The sun was out at the Games for all of 30 minutes and I apparently got just a bit of heat exhaustion. Lovely. And it wasn't just me... Taradaktyl ended up getting sunburned, as well.

Sunday:
The day ended up being a total lazy-fest... Church and then home for a nap, followed by an evening of playing my latest addiction: Babel Deluxe from Gamehouse Games. Yet another in a loooong line of the game subgenre known as Time Wasters. I may do a review of it later.

Monday:
Today I finally reserved a hotel for the six nights we're going to be in London in October. After much searching and hemming and hawing, we decided to go with the Holiday Inn at Brent Cross for our London stay. Yeah, I know... boring. But it had everything we wanted: en suite bathroom, a queen size bed, high speed internet access, a free hotel shuttle to and from the nearby Underground station, a good location (or so says rackham's co-worker who used to work near there), and a decent price. There's also free parking, so if we pick up the rental car before we check out, we'll have a place to stash it. The plan, though, is to do NO driving in London if we can at all avoid it.

I've sent off an email to the B&B that curiouswombat recommended on the Isle of Man to check on availability for the nights we're planning to be there... and Rackham got the contact info from his dad for the folks at Whalley Abbey to see about staying there one night. It all seems to be coming together! Yay!!

We just got done watching tonight's "Treasure Hunters" -- can I just say how utterly happy I am to not have to listen to Kayte whining every week! Wow, what a difference!

I felt really bad for Team Miss USA tonight, because they were so close... and if the other teams hadn't essentially skipped a step, I think they would have been fine.

I kept having to remind myself that we weren't being shown everything that was going on... because I was starting to get really annoyed with two of the guys from Team Genuis and how they were treating Sam. It looked like they were just ignoring his misgivings, badgering him to keep going and not helping him out. I don't think that's actually what was happening though... like I've said before, the way things are edited really does tend to skew appearances. I was happy Sam was able to make it and started thinking that, even if they got eliminated, he was going to take something good away from the experience (which is one of the things I've liked about this show, in general). Charles continues to remind me of Warren from BtVS (though not in a sleazy way or anything... I think it's just the sideburns and the voice/accent).

I found it really funny that Team Genius, the Southie Boys AND the ex-CIA teams led themselves on a wild goosechase by over-analyzing clues again, while Team Miss USA practically went straight to it.

Not much else to say except that I'm going to miss Team Miss USA... they continually surprised me and ended up being one of my favorite teams. Quite a switch from the first episode where they didn't impress me at all. Once again, I have to wonder how much of that is in the editing.

Comments

[tomte.livejournal.com]

the way things are edited really does tend to skew appearances.

It's only a matter of time before "reality TV" shows come with a disclaimer like the ones on the old pan-and-scan VHS tapes: "This reality has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit our narrative."

[rosiewook.livejournal.com]

Once again, I have to wonder how much of that is in the editing.
Oh. It's ALL in the editing! I know how much was changed on the Star Wars "Trading Spouses." Reality shows are far from real.

The sun was out at the Games for all of 30 minutes and I apparently got just a bit of heat exhaustion. Lovely. And it wasn't just me... Taradaktyl ended up getting sunburned, as well.
This is why the recommendation is that you put on sunscreen and stay hydrated, no matter if it's sunny or cloudy. The UVA and UVB rays come through just fine on a cloudy day, as well.

So ends your public service announcement for the day. :)

[allthatjazmyne.livejournal.com]

Shhhh! I'm not allowed to know about more fun word games. Other than a load of dishes, the only thing I did yesterday was play computer games. I tried to tell myself that exercising my mind like that will keep me from developing Alzheimer's when I'm 83, but the little voice in my head keeps saying "Yes, but you still have to wash the windows and do the laundry."

[ljs-lj.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I'm so jealous! We missed the Games in Portland a few weeks back. And Enumclaw?! Amazing - someone else who actually knows where that is! My grandfather grew up in Enumclaw and Buckley.

[taradaktyl.livejournal.com]

Feel free to 'try out' my Wicked Tinker CDs before buying any. They are OK fun - but you're right: the big appeal is the live performance.