Egg On My Face

OK. So with all the best of intentions it’s still a struggle to get postings on here with the regularity I want. Not that there isn’t plenty to write about, I just haven’t cracked the only 24 hours in a day problem yet. Don’t worry, I’m working on it. Rather than start at the beginning I think I better jump right in with the news. Seems I will be making a trip across the pond this Summer, heading for “The land in the shape of a hand.” That’s right loyal reader’s, yours truly is heading to Michigan. I should be making the trip about the end of June, and staying, regrettably, only for a week or so. The reason? Well, it seems one of my daughters, Autumn is due to get married and Dad wouldn’t miss it for anything. I only just found out a couple of days ago, and no, I haven’t met the young man in question, but I do have it on good authority that he worships the ground she walks on, and that’s about as much as any Father can hope for in a son-in-law. There’s a lot more to him than that, but I’ll let the story unfold over the next few weeks. Oh, by the way, The next play Autumn’s in opens next week in Chicago, at the Sideshow Theatre, here’s a couple links, one to the play, and the other to her most recent bio, on the theatre’s web page. More on all this as things develop. http://www.sideshowtheatre.org/current.html
http://www.sideshowtheatre.org/as.html

A lot more on my daughters, all three of them in soon to be released updates, but I think this will carry me for today.

In more mundane topics.
The Winter here is fading a bit. Most of it has been so much better than last Winter that anything now is endurable. Last year it was three months of rain and mud. This year has been far better, but I think everyone, myself included, is about ready for Spring. I’ve seen the first few Daffies in blossom, and the days are definitely getting warmer. There’s a picture of the four comedians, Katree’s Eriskay ponies coming down from the hills to the fence to plead for some oats. Also, if you haven’t checked it out yet, you really better see what incredible work Katree is doing. Here’s a link to her shop on eBay, as well as one to her page there. She’s selling all round the world, and is delivering a unique and beautiful product. And to think, she married a bloke like me.
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Elvincraft-Homegrown-Yarns
http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/elvincraft/

Has it really been five weeks I’ve been working at the College? Seems like a lot more. I have to say, I’m not at all sold on the work. It's doing housekeeeping, cleaning in other words. I mean, any work that needs doing, and that someone is willing to pay for is good work. Yeah, there’s plenty of things that some people will pay for, and others would say “needs” to be done that is far less than honorable, but let’s not split hairs, you know what I mean. The pay is poor, the work is mind numbing, and it seems less each day to be a stepping stone to something else than a dead end. The good points: I get two hours each week of free instruction in Gaelic, from a professional, right there while I’m on the clock. Also, I've been meeting some people who are both interesting, friendly, and good networking contacts, and in a few cases I hope will become good friends. The people I work with are a mixed bag. The last few weeks I’ve been working in an series of buildings with two other people, one from Poland, holds a Master’s degree in Engineering, the other from England did her graduate work in Parasitology. and there were were, all scrubbing bathrooms together. It does make for some interesting conversations. The College also feeds us our dinner meal, free of charge, and it’s a fairly comfortable place to work. But then on the downside: The pay is very poor, and the hours are not that great. 7 a day, 35 a week, and that’s considered full-time. I guess in a land where it’s likely to become law that you are forbidden to work more than 48 hours a week (thanks very much European Union) I should be feel lucky. Yes, you read that right…. Not that an employer could not REQUIRE you to work more than 48 hours a week, but that you were not allowed to do so even if you want. Anyway, I digress.

So in the face of all that it was not to hard of a decision to make, and a couple days ago I gave my notice, and will be finished there at the end of tis week. Yes, it's back to the restaurant, Creeler's, for yours truly. We re-open on March 2nd with both the restaurant and the cookery school. http://www.skye-seafood-restaurant.co.uk/ I can work a LOT of hours, at better pay, doing something a lot more enjoyable. I can still make a concerted effort to learn Gaelic, keep my contacts open at the college and watch for other things opening up there. The restaurant feeds me too, and I have to tell you, the food is a lot better there than at Sabhal Mor. Don't get me wrong, there's things I'll miss, and I hate to quit at anything, but one does what one must.