Sushi In Leith

Image: Leith.org

I’m under a wee bit of pressure at work this week. There’s a deadline that runs out on the 11th of this month and I’m trying to squeeze in about ten days of work into five to make it happen. It’s on a knife edge and I’m probably fretting too much over the outcome should it not happen. I need to find an inner peace from somewhere. I need to learn to let go somehow.

I wrote out the first draft of a post I’ve been asked to do for a different blog next week. I had a think about it overnight; the shape, form and content of it, then let it burst forth and it all came out at once. I was very pleased with it so hopefully it’s what the editor is looking for. I’ll return it later today once it’s settled and been polished.

I came across an App on my new iPhone yesterday called iBook. Yes, you guessed it, it’s an e-book service. I thought I’d try it out along side the reading of my “normal” books just to see how it went, figuring I could read a book at the same time as my others while travelling to and from work. With that in mind, I downloaded SCAREDY CAT by Mark Billingham, the first in his DI Thorne detective series novels, of which I’ve already read two. I’ll let you know how the experience goes.

There was a huge ongoing debate at the book festival about e-books—the pros and cons on either side were strong and emotive—and personally I’m still split 70/30 towards books. I love real books; love being in a book shop and buying them, taking them home, smelling them and then reading what’s inside. But well before I bought my first ever e-book I’d been published in the format, so how can I possibly speak out against them? You see my dilemma.

Another delightful wee App I found thanks to Devon Ellington, is Naturespace. It’s an ambience sound system that provides all kinds of nature-related sounds, such as the ocean, water, rivers, birds, etc. The difference with this over other ambience “music” is that it’s the equivalent of HD but for audio. It operates on 3 axes, providing a quite remarkable experience when you close your eyes with headphones on. I love it.

The people of Leith were getting excited yesterday over their new street sign welcoming people to the town. Half way down Leith Walk is a new sign that says “I ♥ Leith” in nautical flags (see image at top of post). The idea was sparked after someone sarcastically erected a sign indicating Leith had been twinned with Rio de Janeiro a few years ago. More details in The Scotsman.

After work I headed into Leith, and to Ocean Terminal to meet my wee sister, Binny. She was working in Edinburgh for the day so we got together for some coffee before going into the cinema to see Grown Ups with Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Chris Rock. Before going in we bought some food: popcorn for my sister, sushi for me. The place reeked but it was a nice dish.

It wasn’t a film for analysing acting skills or the hidden qualities of the plot, but it was incredibly funny. Kevin James, in particular, had me in stitches several times throughout. Before the film there was a trailer for Jackass 3D—I know it’s sad but that one is a no-brainer for me and I have to see it. I nearly choked myself on vomit from laughing so hard at the previous ones.

Back home and I had no time for any writing, as my main focus for the hour I had left went on helping my wife sort out some PC requests needed for her latest wedding client. Then my sister rang, back home and safely through to Glasgow—the Fun Lovin’ Criminals gig this Saturday in Edinburgh has been postponed. Bummer and now all my weekend plans are up in the air. What to do, what to do…

Peace out!