Career Speed Dating

I've been to a number of Society of Young Publishers (SYP) events over the course of this year, but their career speed dating event was definitely one of the best in terms of really highlighting what I needed to do to get into the area of publishing that I am most interested in, namely production. 

Laura, Lindsey, and I went to Lovecrumbs before the event for a cup of tea and a slice of cake (I can't quite remember why, but I think we had had a rough week... at any rate, we felt we deserved some cake :P). Lovecrumbs is this really adorable cafe on West Port that is usually packed, but luckily it wasn't too crowded, so we got to enjoy a relaxed cuppa before heading off to the SYP.

The event was held in the upstairs area of this really posh little bar I'd never been to before. We were randomly divided into groups based on the colour of our name tags, and then in those groups we rotated around the room. Similar to actual speed dating, we only had a limited time at each table, but unlike traditional speed dating, we went around in groups, meeting with groups of professionals. There were tables of production people, editorial people, sales people, agents, etc. So in our groups, we got to ask them whatever questions we had. I was with two incredibly quiet girls (it took until the fourth table before I was able to make out what the girl sitting next to me was saying when she introduced herself) and a woman who was far more concerned with the book she wanted to write than being a part of the publishing process (I didn't mind so much at the sales etc. tables but when we got to the production table and she immediately asked them a question about getting her book published, I was really annoyed – that was my table goddammit). But afterwards we were able to mingle, so I went back to the production table to ask some more questions. Most significantly, I learned that I 100% absolutely needed to learn Photoshop, so it was after this event that I started teaching it to myself. 

It was quite funny – both Alix and I separately brought up Hashtag to the people at the production table, so that was proactive of us. One of the woman at the table also went and had a look at it, and said it looked good, so that was nice as well.

A very good evening, both fun and full of professional advice.

23rd Birthday!

On the 21st of June, we had a massive joint birthday party, as Eve, Laura, and myself all had our birthday on the 22nd, while Keira and Harriet had theirs on the 23rd. We went to the Red Squirrel, which was quite a cute pub, for drinks, but after a while a bunch of us decided we wanted to go dancing, so we headed out into the night, trying to find somewhere with no cover. We eventually found a place just outside of Grassmarket, which was like four floors high with a bunch of different dance floors – we had an awesome time dancing there, even though it was absolutely packed downstairs. Though we slowly lost people to sleepiness and hunger, Kate, her roommate Lindsey, and myself closed the club out at 3am. 

A great night out with friends, and a really lovely birthday!

Pride

I went to Pride for the first time last summer in Calgary...

Memories...

Which was super fun (I think Connie is still jealous I got to meet Nenshi). So when Jordan mentioned to me that her and Maya were heading to Pride that weekend, I was super excited (I had no idea it was happening - I'm not super good at finding out stuff like this).

We met for Starbucks before heading up to the Royal Mile to wait for the parade. Scotland's first Pride was organized in 1994, and thereafter has alternated between being hosted in Edinburgh and Glasgow.  

It was definitely very different from Calgary Pride. Calgary's parade isn't even that big, certainly when compared to Toronto or Vancouver, but it was still a lot bigger than Edinburgh's. While Calgary pride contained a lot of floats and organizations, Edinburgh's had a lot more people on feet, as well as just a lot more random people walking down the street. While Caitlyn and I had to get downtown early to get a good view for Calgary Pride, the majority of the people watching  Edinburgh's parade pass seemed to be confused/delighted tourists.

However, even though it was smaller and less fancy, it was still good fun. The parade went up to the cathedral across from city hall where there was a bunch of (largely unintelligible) speeches by various politicians etc.

After that, the parade kept walking down to Edinburgh University, where there was a stage, various performers inside the student bar building, and food vendors. Again, smaller than Calgary's final Pride grounds, but still fun. 

More under the cut.

BBQ

While Vicki was off in London seeing the sights and visiting some friends, Leanne had Becky, Mel, Alix, and I over for a barbeque. 

Unfortunately, neither Leanne nor anyone else had any experience with a charcoal BBQ - those of us who did know how to BBQ (Mel and myself) had never used charcoal before (we use gas BBQs like normal people).

It made lighting and heating the BBQ a bit of an adventure.

Happily, it was a lovely day, Leanne has a very nice backyard, and we had lots of snacks to keep us going until the real food was done. I had some very tasty cheese and veggie skewers, while the others ate ALL the meat (I don't know how they thought they were going to eat all that meat - they had burgers, chicken wings, lamb kebabs, and I'm pretty sure they also bought sausages, though they didn't end up cooking those... even getting through the lamb was a struggle). 

However, for all the complaining about the charcoal BBQ and its various inefficiencies, I have to admit, it was very cute looking. 

Adorable. 

More under the cut.

Arthur's Seat (For Real This Time)

The highest point in the middle there? That is Arthur's Seat.

After the failed attempt to climb Arthur's Seat with Sarah, Vicki and I set out on one of the nicest days we had all summer, at midday, to have lunch on the top of Arthur's Seat. There may have been some sunburns as a consequence. 

Above: not-Arthur's Seat

From Wikipedia:

Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills in Scotland which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design". It is situated in the center of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill itself rises above the city to a height of 250.5 m (822 ft), provides excellent panoramic views of the city, is relatively easy to climb, and is popular for hillwalking. Though it can be climbed from almost any direction, the easiest and simplest ascent is from the east, where a grassy slope rises above Dunsapie Loch.(x)

Arthur's Seat is also often mentioned as one of the possible locations for Camelot.

I don't officially know which route up the hill Vicki and I took, all I know is that there were a lot of stairs, and I (predictably) forgot my inhailer. But it was fine, as it turns out Vicki is a disgrace to the Canadian military and thus, in worse shape than me, so even though I had an asthma attack halfway up the hill, Vicki still needed to stop more than I did. 

(when she flopped down at the top of the hill, I told her my parents would have abandoned her in the mountains as a child)

The stairs themselves were very cold and cool looking, though you definitely had to keep an eye on where your feet were going. 

Below the cut is more photos of the hike up (which included, as promised, some amazing views of the city) and some random fun facts about Arthur's Seat.

Dissertation: Done!

Well folks, it is finally over. This Wednesday I handed in my dissertation, and thus completed the requirements for my MSc Publishing degree.

It was a long and harrowing process...

... fueled by Chai Lattes...

...and awesomely edited by Megan (over 200 comments, she is amazing) and Connie (who was less helpful but nonetheless still appreciated).

I may keep spontaneously bursting into tears for no reason as my body adjusts to the sudden lessening of stress, but I am happy to be done. 

This also means I will be returning to a more regular posting schedule on here. Thank you for my patience while I ignored y'all for the last couple of months. It was crazy, but it is over now!

PS. If you'd like to read my dissertation, let me know and I'll send you the PDF. Be forewarned though, it came out at a cool 16415 words.

Vicki Arrives & A Day in the Park

I had to leave the zoo early after the reception to head to the airport to pick up my friend Vicki, who was arriving that evening from Canada. Her flight was delayed, so I ended up spending some time entertaining myself with a magazine and some tea, but eventually she got there!

Vicki was in Scotland for around a month, and thus did a lot of things on her own, though she stayed with me for most of her visit (aside from a weekend in London and a week in Ireland). The weather was really gorgeous a lot of the time while she was here though, so one of her first days in town (after a little shopping excursion to primark) we went out to the meadows with my friends.

We grabbed some bubble tea first and headed out to soak up some of the sunshine. 

... there may also have been some wine involved. While its not legal to drink in public areas such as the meadows in Scotland in general, it is allowed in Edinburgh (someone told me it was because of the Fringe - the city gets so crazy during the Fringe they couldn't enforce it, so they just stopped enforcing it the rest of the year as well). I don't know how true that is or not, but all summer there is a lot of barbeques and drinking going on in the meadows. 

After we left the meadows, we went to Clerk's bar for some dinner and drinks. Just a really lovely day in Edinburgh :) 

Maya Gets Married

The morning of Maya's wedding I was up bright and early to head over to Maya's flat, as she had asked me to do her makeup (eep!). I was both nervous and excited, and honoured that Maya had asked me to be a part of her big day, and trusted me with something so important. 

Also, walking down the street in a fancy dress all made up at 8am Sunday morning? Yeah, you're gonna get a lot of judgemental looks. 

Maya wore a button up shirt and apron over her dress while we were primping her, so that nothing got on the dress - I kept telling her that she should totally just go like that, but for some reason she decided to ignore that.

After I finished the makeup, I left Maya to finish getting ready while I ran home to grab my heels. Maya offered for me to ride to the zoo, where the wedding and reception were being held, so I came back to watch her getting her hair did before hopping in the cab with her and her mum. Jordan, her maid of honour, was off wrangling the boys and the flower arrangements into another cab.

We got to drive up through the zoo, a privilege of wedding parties.

Credit: Brendan MacNeill Photography

The little manor at the zoo which is available for weddings and other occasions was very beautiful from the outside, and quite posh inside as well. The room where the windows are threatening to be overtaken by ivy on the second floor is where the ceremony was held, with the reception held out on the lawn and in a room on the first floor.

This wedding was small, as Maya and Lee needed to get married soon so the military could register Maya as Lee's spouse, making it easier for her to join him in Italy after graduation, where he is stationed. She is planning on having a larger wedding back in the States at a later date, so the guest list for this ceremony was largely friends met in Scotland, as well as some of Lee's military buddies and Maya's mother.

Credit: Brendan MacNeill Photography

Credit: Brendan MacNeill Photography

Credit: Brendan MacNeill Photography

Credit: Brendan MacNeill Photography

After spending some time downstairs drinking champagne and eating some delicious cupcakes, it was time for our visit to the pandas! The Edinburgh Zoo has two pandas on loan from China at the moment, so we got to go special to see them as part of the wedding.

We also got to see the penguins...

... I love penguins.

All in all, a beautiful day, a beautiful ceremony, and a beautiful couple. I was so delighted to get to be a part of it.

Underneath the cut are more photos of the wedding, the guests, and, of course, the penguins.