I’ve been busy, hence the lack of posts. Really, it’s not just laziness this time. Here’s a bit of a catch up post to fill in the gap. So, what have I been doing? Well, I’ve been …
Playing Poker. Last time I mentioned The Nuts Poker League I was just a player. Now, somehow, I’m organising a game. Every Tuesday night I run a poker night in the Persevere. It’s a bit more difficult than I expected but I think I’m on top of it now. Come along if you’re in Edinburgh on a Tuesday night — it’s a fun night out. Most of the time.
Going to the Cinema. I’ve seen a couple of films. Die Hard 4.0 is lots of fun if you don’t take it too seriously. McClane takes enough punishment to kill a normal person within the first twenty minutes of the movie, but by the time he’s destroyed his first helicopter you stop caring. They stretch it a bit towards the end (you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it) but I liked the final few minutes a lot, it contrasted nicely with all the over the top stuff that proceeded it. Go see it.
I liked Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix less, the last half an hour are great but the rest of the film seemed a bit rushed and disjointed. It seems like they were just going through ticking off the important plot points in order to get to the end. It it was always going to be a difficult book to turn into a film and my view appears to the minority, so maybe it caught me on a bad day. Worth seeing anyway, but I’d wait for the DVD if you haven’t seen it already.
Going to the Zoo. Eh, not much to say. I went to Edinburgh Zoo. It’s a zoo, and it’s quite difficult to shake the “animals in concrete cages” vibe even though they’re trying very hard to be a more modern attraction. Still an interesting place to go and visit, well worth a day trip. But I preferred the Highland Wildlife Park which is run by the same people and has a much less zoo-y feel to it.
Sorting out the Festival. Less than two weeks until the start of all the various Edinburgh festivals. I’ve picked up tickets to a few things but I’m mostly going with my traditional plan of sitting around one of the big venues drinking and picking shows at, more-or-less, random.
Booking a Holiday. I’ve still got around four weeks worth of holidays to take from work so I should find something to do. Last year it was Russia on a train. This year it’s pretty much Mexico on a bus. I’m going to a wedding in Mexico City at the beginning of November so I’ve booked to a little tour of Central America and I’ve sorted a return flight out to Los Angeles. I think I’ll dot around the big cities on the western side of the USA before and after the Mexico part. It’s vague plan but it’s still a plan. Yay. The only problem is it’s still three months away.
And that’s what I’ve done. With more birthdays, weddings, movies, poker and festival stuff, to come I’m going to continue being busy for the next few weeks.
So today I’m going to relax, lie on the couch, drink beer, watch the Grand Prix and then read some more of the new Harry Potter book.
Not a bad plan for a Sunday.