embra

one of the nice things about being in edinburgh is the contrasting scenery on offer. the view from the office windows ranges from hills to water, and all i have to do see them (aside from looking outside, smartasses) is walk across the corridor. it's perhaps the best stress reliever you could ever hope for.

the town where i live is about 10 miles from the city, and is nestled in the foot of hills known as the pentlands. this makes the drive home a hell of a lot more bearable than just staring at motorway signs or grey buildings for 30 minutes. take today for example, biting cold, pelting snow, and the roads clogged with drivers who can't drive all of a sudden. all of which conspire to make one miserable driver. yet 10 minutes of having snow capped hills passing by, and i'm happy as larry.

it's weird. i've got quite an ambivalent attitude towards my home city. on the one hand it's too small & insular, it's turning into chavville, the sports teams are pathetic, and the transport links are laughable at best. yet in terms of the view, i'm at a loss to think of anywhere else that can offer anything like competition. where else has a castle on top of a extinct volcano for crying out loud? genius.