Man, it's hot. Plus, I miss Josh.
As a sign of how acclimatized I've become to the weather in Edinburgh, it reached 61 degrees Fahrenheit today and it was sweltering. I've opened the front and back windows of the flat in the hopes of getting a breeze in and am reconsidering my previous choice of dinner (TexMex: fajitas, refried beans, rice, pico de gallo). Perhaps to be replaced with a cool bath and a glass of fruit juice.
I have a headache. I'm not sure if it's from the heat, but that's what I'm blaming right now.
Suzy's coming by later; we're going to eat fajitas and play Scrabble. Maybe drink a bottle of wine. Oddly, my wine closet is exclusively Australian Cabernet-Shiraz.
On another note, I got an email from Josh today; you'll remember from his blog that he's headed off to Iraq, now later rather than sooner.
For those who don't know, I served in the United States Marine Corps, alongside Josh, Chris and Ange, amongst others. Yes, Ange was a Marine. And she's very, very dangerous. Handle with care. Do not taunt Happy Fun Ange. Some pieces sold separately. Known in the State of California to impair driving.
Josh was my roommate for three of those years.
He's a good man and a good friend, both in better shape and considerably wiser than I am.
There was a time, not even that long ago, when I used to think that one day, I would move back to the U.S., somewhere near Chris and Josh - and B.J. and Gregg and James - and we'd have our families and work near each other or with each other, buy homes, send our children off to day care and then school, join the local bowling league, laugh at ourselves and each other, enjoy life, grow old, pretend to be deaf and ignore each other in the rest home.
That doesn't feel likely to happen and that makes me feel sad.
One of the opportunity costs of that dream is that I can't live in Edinburgh.
Now, I've ranted and raved considerably about how much I love Edinburgh - and it is a lovely town, mind you - but it's not just the city for which I stay.
First, there's my daily commute to work. I've written about this in comments on my friend Merseydotes' Blog. I have one of the best daily commutes in the world. I walk about fifteen minutes through Edinburgh's New Town, on cobbled roads amongst Georgian stone buildings that date to the 1750s, across a stunning private park, along Jamaica St. mews, which dates to when Scots colonized Jamaica (hint: a very long time ago). I love every moment of it. Sometimes, I'll listen to a podcast; usually Dan Henage reading Bruce Schneier's CryptoGram, my favourite security newsletter.
Second, the weather is lovely. I know that some of you who have been over in, say, November or December might want to argue with this point, and I'll grant that the days are pretty short in winter, but it rarely gets below freezing and in summer it never really gets above 70. I like that. In summer, there's also days that are nearly 20 hours of sunshine - and that's nice, too.
Third, the pay is better than in the U.S. The longer the dollar continues to drop, the more this is true.
Fourth, I've got a great job. Money aside, I love what I do.
Finally, I've got a great group of friends here. I miss Josh, Chris, BJ, James, Gregg, Karl, Ange, my family - but if I went back to the States, I'd miss Ingrida, Lena, Suzy, Owen, Keith, Ailsa, Marc, David, Dave, Ewan, Gus, Cat and Dan.
I don't know if I'll stay here for good, but it's a good adventure.
P.S. Big thank you to Merseydotes for telling about a good real estate agent; much appreciated!
Comments
Nate, I miss you too. I realized something recently (although now I'm not as sure if it's true). When it comes to people and their friends, there seem to be two types. Those who have few friends, but are very close to those few. And those who have many friends, but are close to few if any of those. You could call it introvert and extrovert, or whatever you want, but I always knew I was the former. I have had only a couple of really close friends my whole life and I doubt now I will find many more. Kris Hurley, with whom I hope to go into business shortly, is one of them. Nate is another. The others I haven't seen since junior high.
The part I realized recently was Nate was probably one of the ones that had many friends, but few close ones. He makes friends everywhere he goes. He had friends all over Camp Lejeune, all over D.C, and now all over Scotland. And I just figured Nate didn't think of me as the close life-long friend I regarded him, but as just another friend among many.
I still hope we can live near each other again. We have a lot up on which to catch.
Posted by: Josh | May 19, 2007 11:13 PM
Nae, this is a hardship of traveling the world. On the other hand, you've got people to visit in many places!
I could totally live in Edinburgh. I think we had a day last week when the weather got up to 80F. I found myself thinking, "I'm done. Portland here I come." I am SO over warm weather.
Posted by: Mara | May 19, 2007 11:35 PM
The dream was (is) to pool our talents and someday change the world... for the good, and maybe just a little bit. I think we boiled that down after countless latenight walks along the Mentor/Kirkland border.
We needn't be in the same place to see that through.
That said, I miss seeing you regularly too. I second Josh's comments on friends. We are rapidly approaching thirty (30!) years having known each other. While we talk far less frequently than I would like, I know when we do talk, things pick up right where we left off.
I have no doubt that will hold true for the next thirty years, whatever godforsaken place we each call home.
Posted by: B.J. | May 20, 2007 2:50 AM
BJ, you're right - in principle. But in order for us to go into business or some other venture together, Nathan would actually have to return emails, and not just the ones to which he feels like responding. He's not exactly what I would call "reliable" or "responsible." Every time I think about going into business with Nate, I think back to the time when he and I were roommates, and I would walk in to find him in his underwear eating a ham and mayo sandwich, completely unaware that both the mayo jar and the fridge were still open.
Then there's the fact that I have a three-year old son Nate's never met. How many times has he seen your daughter?
Posted by: Josh | May 20, 2007 5:47 PM
It's true, I haven't met Zack. And I really want to. And it's more likely to occur if I live in the States.
I've only met Claudia a few times, mostly in passing. She likes Little Mermaid. A lot. And she's got, um, a strong sense of self. :)
I'm definitely a different person in the U.K. than I am in the U.S. It's odd. Over here, I'm successful - properly successful. I feel successful. In the States, there are a lot of people who remember me as a bit insecure and irresponsible - wearing my underwear, eating a ham sandwich, leaving the refrigerator door open, that sort of thing.
It's not that I want to forget that kind of thing, but I need to put that kind of behaviour behind me to succeed. And I can do it if I'm not reminded of it.
I don't know if that makes sense. The U.K. gave me a chance to reinvent myself and I took it with both hands. It's done well by me.
That having been said, B.J. is right. I want to make the world a better place. It's my raison d'etre. When I talk about what I do, I talk about making the world a better place. And we all do that - and that matters. It's important to make the world a better place.
And I need to meet Zack.
Are you guys moving to Pennsylvania soon?
Posted by: Nathan Dornbrook | May 20, 2007 10:00 PM
We are in the process of packing and getting the house ready to put on the market. We're going up to Lancaster this coming weekend to look at the B&B again, and we'll probably put an offer on it soon after. So we're thinking of moving sometime this summer.
It'll be nice once we move up there. Zack will have his grandparents and his uncle. Kris, Heather, DJ, and Kadence are there. Steph's family is only 2 hours away.
Yeah, I remember you as eccentric, perhaps a little irresponsible. But I also remember you as brilliant, articulate, and super-competent at everything you did. Well, maybe not the PFT, but still. We've all grown up since we were PFCs. And I'll take being reminded of how stupid I was as a Lance Criminal every once in a while if it means I have someone with whom I can remember the good ol' days.
Posted by: Josh | May 20, 2007 11:53 PM
And I bet you thought I wouldn't be reading this.....well friend, I can't argue with you, I am dangerous, very dangerous :)
I miss you too - and yes, I thought you'd be coming back to the US at some point. I can't say I blame you for staying in the UK, especially in Edinburgh! I am thankful that we have kept in touch, even if it is sparse at times.
Don't give yourself such the rep here in the States - I too remember you in my own special way - for all those absolutely wonderful things that make you Nathan!
Posted by: Ange | June 11, 2007 9:50 PM
Hey Nate,
Just bored as hell here at work. Thought I would say hello.
Hello!
Posted by: The Okie Monster | December 10, 2007 3:17 PM