Drinking on the Company Tab

Just as my work contract has nearly come to an end, my employer gives me my first overnight road trip. I was sent down to the office in Rosyth, a town located just over the Forth Bridge near Edinburgh. Due to the previous employers I have worked for, I have little experience with the "post-work get together paid for by the company" thing. You can therefore appreciate my surprise to find myself consuming smoked salmon and roast duck for dinner and then hitting several pubs from North Queensferry to Rosyth to Dunfermline and not getting back to my hotel bed until 3am after consuming more than my fair share of drink - all without spending a thing. Is this what my fellows with posher jobs than I have been up to for all these years?

After giving Mike’s journal a read, I noticed he has tracked down the site where they have posted the half-marathon results. Now my Mom can have conclusive proof that I ran this thing by clicking here. I also read the news about the imminent reuniting of the Pixies, one of the greatest bands ever. Though I must confess I do have some reservations. When a band was that good, you don’t want the memory of their brilliance and the quality of their catalogue to be sullied by a dubious comeback. That being said, the work produced by each of the band members since the break-up has been solid, and I always thought that the Pixies were more than the sum of their parts anyway. So fingers crossed. Perhaps this also gives hope to a rebirth of other 4AD bands such as Lush and the Cocteau Twins?

Forgot to mention that I had seen Har Mar Superstar work his magic again this past weekend. This time he had three go-go dancers accompany him on stage, and as gimmicky as he is, the man can sing. I don’t imagine that I’ll have any need to see him again, but if you haven’t seen Har Mar perform yet, I strongly recommend it. Ensuring you keep the tongue firmly in cheek, mind you.

I also recently witnessed the reuniting of The Scottish Girls. This was a name given to the five girls from Bonnie Ecosse by other exchangers during our university term abroad in Rouen, France three years ago. I had seen each of them at some point over the last few years (and of course I live with one of them too) but this was the first time that I had seen all of them together since early 2001. Though I couldn’t help but think that the name The Scottish Girls isn’t quite as appropriate here as it was in France. Regardless, a good night was had by all. Turns out we had additional reason to celebrate as Debbie is now engaged to boyfriend Chris and are getting married next summer. How the time flies….