Mike Staton's Blog

A Short and Sweet Good Bye

2009-09-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

Well, Blogspot finally irritated me enough to cause me to seek elsewhere to host my blog. I'm proud to announce that I've moved over to WordPress. You can find my new blog here. It picks up right where I left off here, and will continue to host my journal. I hope to see any and all of my readers follow me over there. Best of luck to you all! You're why I keep writing!

Another link to my new blog.

My Trip to and Through England: Inverness, self proclaimed capital of the Scottish Highlands

2009-09-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

Another week another journal entry. This one chronicles the absolute low point of my trip and contains some harsh language as I was incredibly frustrated with how things were going. Don't say I didn't warn you if you're sensitive to some f-bombs.

Friday, June 19^th 5:14 (Inverness)

Didn’t sleep well. Fucking noisy last night. My roommates were quiet, but I’m fairly sure that there was a party of some sort going on upstairs. It also doesn’t help that roommate 6 mostly closed the window and opened the blinds. I had trouble getting to sleep and the damned “pocket bedsheet” (think sleeping bag in sheet form that attached to the mattress) provided kept catching and waking me up slightly. Then there is the sun. the fucking sun rose at like 3am. I know it was fully up by 4, and so was I. I feel tired and don’t look forward to my next two nights here. Then there are the showers. I have never been comfortable with public showers, and these are communal. I disregarded the sign saying “Please shower only between 7am and 11pm as others are sleeping.” Given the racket last night, I doubt anyone was sleeping at 11pm and most were likely too dead to the world to notice my shower (in relative privacy) at 4:30. I did my best to get my things out quietly and not disturb my roommates.(okay, so showering at 4:30 was a little inconsiderate of me, but no one else seemed to mind) Which is why I’m writing this entry from “the quiet room” (I actually spent more time in "the quiet room" than in my sleeping room. I should have taken a picture. You'll have to settle for a brief description: it was like a little study with a couple comfy couches and two bookshelves [one with English books the other with foreign language books], and a table. Quite enjoyable a place to sit and relax.) downstairs. Within a day, my trip has become a burden, starting with the slight breaking of my camera (as I use it more, the worse it gets, as predicted) and ending with an uncomfortable night’s rest. I hope things perk back up. I know I will be springing for a private room from now on. The ability of one person to so drastically affect my sleep is not something I want to go through again.

6:33 (Inverness)

I just took a 20 or so minute cat nap. Dreamt of Jenn. In my dream she mentioned “Our Wedding,” but there was no context of which who the ‘our’ was, whether it were she and I, or she and Jonathon. Stupid dreams.

15:35 (Inverness)

I’m leaving tomorrow. My budget is too tight to get transportation out of Inverness, and losing sleep because I’m in uncomfortable conditions isn’t worth it. Maybe I’ll get reimbursed for the extra night, probably I won’t. I have been disappointed with Inverness itself, though Ness Park to the southwest was a nice walk. (There really wasn't that much to do in Inverness. Just outside of Inverness [5-10 miles], however, was a different story. Unfortunately, I didn't have a vehicle and a 10-20 mile hike for a sight that might not [though I have my doubts] interest me wasn't something I was too terribly keen on doing. I'd love to go back and use Inverness as a base to explore the highlands from.) I took plenty of pictures of the forest. It was peaceful, though the constant threat of rain worried me. I made it back to the Youth Hostel (after visiting the library to check my email and update my facebook status). Outside I was accosted by a group of hooligans who thought it would be funny to take my hat. The ringleader, Lewis (I think), has no idea how close he came to being broken. I am a patient man, but the thrill of traveling is wearing off and I am getting tired of doing this alone. I keep wishing Jenn were here with me to temper my feelings and see the things I’ve seen. I know she’d love it, and know she should be here to see it. I so wish I’d beaten the fuck out of Lewis. It would have exorcised some of my inner turmoil, even if the teacher breaking things up early was for the best. He wouldn’t have thrown the first physical punch and that’s where the problem would’ve originated. When did the trip turn into a chore? Maybe my mid-trip stop in Whitchurch to meet Elaine will reset things for me.

The following pictures are from around Inverness and in Ness Park.

17:40 (Inverness)

I’ve had time to cool off now, and even finished rereading Ender’s Game. A part of me still wishes I had beaten Lewis to within an inch of his life, but it is a small manageable part of me. I find it interesting that I’ve now read a book that used isolation so much as a core theme for developing the main character, and here I am, traveling alone. (Maybe Ender's Game wasn't that grand of a choice to read on this trip after all.) It might be better if I were more interested in the nightlife and visiting pubs and getting drinks, but, I’m not. I’m much more a private individual. It’s part of why I feel so devastated to have lost Jenn, especially when I did. I’m not a social creature, the profession I chose to study should reveal that much. I can hold a conversation well enough, especially when the other is interesting in doing most of the talking. But I don’t know how to seek out people who would want to have conversations in a mass crowd. I even ponder, sometimes, how I managed to land my current group of friends back home, and realize it was initially through the college network (that I used to find a RP group) that I met them. This prospect terrifies me. I don’t have that network anymore. The place I would most readily find someone new to take the place of Jenn is gone. I shouldn’t be having thoughts like these on a trip that I should be living it up on. I should be having the time of my life, since this will likely be the only trip like this I will ever take. But I also know (and knew before even booking the plane tickets) that this isn’t the type of trip for me. The trip for me is one with close friends that I share the experience with, not a hundred nameless friends I pass along the way while ultimately traveling alone. I hate being alone. This was really the low point of my trip. Just about everything from this point on is uphill, but in a good way. While I still fear a lot of the stuff I wrote here, I trust in myself to be able to persevere and get on with things.

My Trip to and Through England: Edinburgh, Capital of Scotland and my first day in Inverness

2009-08-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

This week's entries conclude my travels in Edinburgh and the beginning of them in Inverness. I don't have much extraneous to say right here right now, so... On with the journal entries!

Wednesday, June 17^th 8:58 (Edinburgh)

Didn’t sleep well last night. Very noisy outside and the sun didn’t fully set ‘til 22:00 or 23:00. Kept being woken up by things. Left me feeling rather shitty this morning. A bad case of allergies didn’t help at all. A long, hot, steamy shower helped and would have only been better if I weren’t suffering allergies and/or I had someone to share it with. I’m feeling a little better, time to finish drying, grab breakfast and find out where to do laundry.

9:37 (Edinburgh)

I’ve located the laundry center & discovered that my roommate is an older woman. Time to do laundry!

Aforementioned laundry room.

11:50 (Edinburgh)

Laundry was a relatively painless endeavor, with only having to redry my clothes once. I now have clean clothes for my further travels. Off to visit Waverly Station and jot down train times to Inverness. The next stage of my journey begins tomorrow. Hooray. I finished(ish) writing what I want to accomplish over the course of 9 books with Perdita. Maybe I’ll start outlining next or writing up the history of the school. Time to go!

13:52 (Edinburgh)

I’m back. Not for all day, I don’t think. I didn’t manage to find the easy internetcafé. I did find a BOOTS (for those of you who don't know, which I'd image is most of my audience, BOOTS is a chain of convenience stores) though. I grabbed condoms (never know, I might get lucky I think this is the most optimistic I've been in a long time... unfortunately I didn't get lucky [sorry for the spoiler] and the optimism didn't last) and Sudafed for my allergies. Yes, they were getting that bad. I’m going to repack my bag now, and possibly grab tea at the “birthplace of Harry Potter.” Hey, if the spot was inspirational once, why not again?

14:30 (Edinburgh)

All packed up! My shirts compact nicely… my jeans do not. I also took a moment to glance through my previous entries. While doing this, I realized I forgot to mention earlier that I found Hunter Square. No Natalie & company either time I passed through it though. Maybe tomorrow there will be. It’s a mighty convenient way to get to Waverly Station to catch my 11:35 train to Inverness.

18:20 (Edinburgh)

Well, I took a doze for nearly an hour and a half. I got up and went to “The Elephant House” that proclaims to be the birth place of Harry Potter. I’ll visit their website (www.theelephanthouse.biz) to delve more into their claim. I looked it up and turns out that it really was. I don’t remember enough Harry Potter lore to readily recall where Rowling first sat down and started writing the story. On a side note, I am fairly certain that if Hogwarts were a real place, it'd be up somewhere in northern Scotland. I do know that they serve a might nice cup of hot chocolate. After hot chocolate I wandered up to the Royal Mile and back down to the Holyrood Palace and the Scottish house of Parliament. I snapped a photo of the Queen’s Gallery and the palace, then wandered around back, taking a small detour that landed me more dizzying heights and some photo opportunities. Shortly thereafter I returned to my hostel room, ready to call it an early night and cease my wandering of Edinburgh until my second trip here. Time to read and put more words to paper.

18:54 (Edinburgh)

Mystery Caller Revealed!

I just got off the phone with Roy, TJ’s Uncle. He was the one who called me this morning and afternoon. It would seem I might have a place to stay when I return to London. What a joyous occasion!

Picture time... the first one is a 'map for the blind' of Edinburgh. I thought it was rather neat. The others are of around Edinburgh.

Thursday, June 18^th, 12:00 (Train to Inverness)

Morning was uneventful, and took forever to get on the train. I did something to my camera, as now it clacks and clicks as it opens and closes. Just now, when I turned it off, it told me “lens error, restart camera.” I have my doubts it’ll last another week, much less the rest of my trip. I hope I’m wrong. I was entirely wrong and said camera still works today. I’m sure I’ll want to take a ton more pictures and my purchase of a second SD card won’t be wasted.

15:46 (Inverness)

I’ve arrived in Inverness and am situated in a youth hostel room. I’ve got one roommate at the moment named Ingal from Norway. Ingal was a good guy. He was also able to keep up with me when eating a subway sandwich. He’s staying for three nights as well, touring Wales next, and then off to France. The room isn’t bad, but I’ve stayed in better. I’m also unsure of just how comfortable I’ll be with as many as five others in the same room. We’ll see.

19:10 (Inverness)

Walked around Inverness and grabbed a bit to eat at Subway. Stopped in at a digital camera shop, but no luck with getting my camera repaired. Maybe I’ll have better luck in Glasgow. I’ll avoid taking pictures over long periods of time where I need to turn the Camera on and off. Wandered out to the harbor with Ingal and promptly got lost. Good thing out interal compasses were accurate, as before long (an hour or so) we’d made it back to town center. I wonder, slightly, what I’ll end up doing for 3 days. Most likely finding the museums and starting there. Maybe I’ll take a cruise down to Loch Ness and see what I can see. Who knows, maybe, I’ll just take it easy. I have as many as three other roommates. The two I’ve met, and seem nice enough, are Duncan and Scott. I wonder who the other is. I never did meet my other roommate.

The following pictures are from my trip on the train, or around Inverness, or my hostel room. I'll leave it to you to figure out which one's which!

My Trip to and Through England: Edinburgh, Capital of Scotland

2009-08-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

I apologize in advance if you were hoping for another 1500 word long blog post about my trials and tribulations in England... This one is just over 500 words and primarily pictures. I am a firm believer that a picture is worth a thousand words, and as I still don't think I can express the majesty of some of the sights I saw at this point in my trip in words, I've posted a ton of pictures to go with this post. Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 16^th 9:18 (Edinburgh)

I’m off to storm the castle!

17:04 (Edinburgh)

I was very tempted to let this entry be told sole by the 134 pictures I took today at Edinburgh Castle. I was there for something close to six hours. It was a wonderful experience, wandering through the castle and looking at the exhibits. The highlights of the experience: the initial tour guide, he was a hoot, informative, and entertaining, the Scottish Crown Jewels, and the sights of the city and surrounding countryside. I don’t think I can get enough sights like those. But the day has exhausted me. There were very few places to sit and rest my feet in the castle, and when I left (after walking the entire at least twice and all the exhibits once) I walked down “The Mound,” which is a very steep street that leads to the Street Gardens and the National Gallery. The National Gallery holds some very interesting and lovely paintings and sculptures. I, in part, really wish they allowed photos to be taken. Alas, they don’t so I am left with memories instead. My trip back to the hostel took me a ways up Princes Street (lots of construction), and back down Rose Street in search of @easyInternet café. The trip did yield cash for the next week, a second SD card (as the first is 2/3^rd full w/ 787 photos) and lithium batteries that will, hopefully, last a wee bit longer than my previous sets. But no café was found =(. I grabbed SubWay on the way back and debated writing this entry while eating. As you can read, the desire to record my trip overcame my exhaustion. Now that this entry is drawing to a close, I’ll debate the pro’s and cons of going out versus resting.

20:51 (Edinburgh)

Wow. I’m beat, but in an incredibly good way. As mentioned in my previous entry, I debated with myself about going back out. (I almost chose not to. Holy crap am I glad I didn't) I decided to and settled on a quick stroll through Holyrood Park. What started as a quick walk down the street turned into a 20 minute search for Holyrood Park. Once I found it, I wondered however I managed to have difficulty getting there in the first place. Holyrood Park gives a taste of the Scottish outdoors in a grad way. The 30 some pictures I took won’t come close to doing it any kind of justice. Any, unfortunately, my abilities as a writer feel sorely lacking for the monumental job it is to describe the utter majesty of the landscape. To say the hills were magical is an understatement. I am so glad I opted to explore up there. It makes me wonder what glorious views I’ll see up in Inverness. I must be honest, however, I couldn’t help but think how much Jenn would have loved to see it all, and sorely wished she were here. (...) Coming back, I left at 19:45, and I got pretty lost by taking a different path back. The biggest lesson to be learned when lost is not to panic. I, just like yesterday, kept calm and navigated to a high point to orient myself on a landmark I knew, Greyfriars Cathedral, and worked my way toward it until I hit streets I knew. 5 minutes later, I was back in my room munching on chocolate (Ritter sport raisins & Hazelnut) (For some reason or another I felt it important to record the exact kind of chocolate bar I got while out and about. It was also a little reward I gave myself for successfully getting 'unlost.') and writing about my experience. What a wonderful way to close out evening 3 of my time in Edinburgh.

The following pictures are of Edinburgh Castle (inside and looking out) and Holyrood Park. I really wish I had had more time to just wander through Holyrood Park, it really was magnificent.

My Trip to and Through England: Edinburgh, Capital of Scotland

2009-08-14T12:35:00.001-07:00

Another week another post, another singular day from my trip to England. This one, however, starts out a little different. Rather than an entry halfway through the day about what I had done so far, I wrote about a dream I had. I do hope you enjoy it nonetheless, and I've included pictures of Edinburgh Castle, though they don't really do it much justice. The pictures next week will, likely, be mostly of the castle as I actually went inside on Sunday. Anyways, enjoy!

Saturday, June 15^th 8:56 (Edinburgh)

Wow! What a wild dream. It was incredibly vivid and real! It started out ordinarily enough, I had gone back to Houston to work for Sterling McCall again. I worked in the file room and can remember going to a wedding in the dream (a memory in the dream, not going to a wedding while dreaming) of a long time friend, Coraline (Coraline must have been a dream stand in for Erica Erica's a friend and co-worker from Sterling McCall). The wedding was broken up by a bunch of people in big, black, flashy suits. The relevance of this is that one of these guys showed up at Sterling McCall with a huge foam Mace. He attacked me. I dipped out of the way of the blow, disarmed him, and drove the mace back against his head. I’m not sure what happened next (as the dream gets blurry there), but I went through the rest of my day on fast forward. At some point I lost my pants and Robert (my boss) asked me about it and I had a witty retort. The end of the day came and I couldn’t clock out for some reason. Maria (my supervisor) suggested that I go talk with payroll about getting my password established. I agreed and set off.

When I got outside, nothing was as I remember it being. There was a massive courtyard with a large tree with Coraline standing next to it. She was garbed in a black bridal gown and beckoned to me from a fighter’s stance. She wanted a battle. So I ran at her. I distinctly remember having black karate pants and a black belt tied around my waist. I don’t remember my upper garments other than that they left my forearms bare. Coraline sprung up to a vine or rope suspended from the tree and I obligingly followed. There we had a fight as we danced along the tree trunk. I remember using only one hand the entire battle, as the other always held my support. I remember Coraline fighting with both hands and both feet. I had difficulty fending her off for a time.

Then Jeremy (one of my many friends from here in Oklahoma) arrived. Coraline dropped from the tree and drew two swords. Jeremy drew a katana and a wakizashi and the pair went to fighting. Jeremy’s weapons were real, battle ready steel. A coordinator or GM (Game Master. At this point in the dream, I'm fairly certain it was some sort of really elaborate LARP, live action role play) of some sort came out and stopped the fight. Jeremy was penalized and he gave me a strangely shaped foam sword.

I put the sword into my belt and when I drew it out, my belt came with it. I entered battle with Coraline, beating aside her weapons to nick her while dodging or parrying blows from her. I eventually dodge a swipe that left her wide open and countered by bringing my blade up to the left side of her neck. Figuring I’d won, I stopped there and started to turn away. She remained frozen for but a moment before lashing out with a sword that struck across my left forearm. The GM stepped out after I grumbled about it.

“I’m undead for the scene,” Coraline said.

The GM shrugged. “He knocked off your fire then. What level wound do you inflict?”

Coraline held up five fingers and my arm suddenly felt like it was on fire. I fell back vaguely aware that I was caught by Jesee and that Jeremy had entered the fight with Coraline again. Jesse lowered me to the ground and Shay (Jesse and Shay are friends from here in Oklahoma) started to heal me, setting up an elaborate diagram of green and yellow gemstones that abated my pain. The dream got fuzzy again and became clear once more at the last splitting session. There were 6 people there, myself, Jeremy, Jesse, Shay, and a couple I didn’t recognize. The apparent leader asked for names: Jeremy: Dante, Jesse: Charles, Shay: Unknown, guy: Unnamed. I said as of yet unnamed.

The loot was divided and I got the second largest plot as I had extinguished the fire that protected Coraline while the rest did less important things. I remember Coraline walking over to me, but I woke before she arrived.

Weird dream. Showertime!

10:22 (Edinburgh)

The shower isn’t bad. (I think I critique every shower I use throughout my trip.) Not superb, and not as good as the one at the Travel Lodge, but better than at The Clearlake Hotel. I might have roommates (2). 2 people were in the apartment when I got out of the shower. Not sure if they’re occupants or employees. Time will likely tell. Time did tell, and these folks were employees. I did get roommates, but I didn't see very much of them.

14:53 (Edinburgh)

Lovely rain. I spent a ton of time in the National Museum of Scotland and took pictures, a lot of pictures, of almost everything… on the first couple floors. My batteries then died and I merely enjoyed viewing the exhibits that were there. They were wonderfully crafted and put together. The real treat, however, was the terrace garden and rooftop view. While I was in constant fear of losing my hat, the sights of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Castle, and the countryside more than make up for it. I managed to coax a little more life from my batteries to take a couple photos. On the way down from the terrace, it began raining. Raining hard. I picked up a couple postcards for Trish from the museum shop and made a dash back to the hostel. I’m not waiting for my shirt, shoes, and pants to dry. Oh and the rain to stop so I can go out again. Mostly I am concerned with getting my shoes too wet. If they get too wet, it’ll take forever to dry them out again.

The following pictures are from the National Museum of Scotland. Just look at those storm clouds, they really opened up when I left the museum. It's no wonder I got soaked on the way home. Also, a note about the big sword, the guy standing behind it was about 6 feet away and a little shorter than I am. Just to give you a size reference of the sword. It was massive!

20:53 (Edinburgh)

Wow, exactly six hours since my last entry. How interesting. Well I walked up to Edinburgh Castle, saw another Cathedral (even took pictures inside this one), made a new friend (Natalie) and got lost. A lot to be done in six hours. Well, I did it all in three and a half!

Let’s start at the beginning: Dinner. I had a triple decker at the Filler Station. A little overpriced, but good food and lovely scenery (there were three brunettes in the booth across from me). Before that I visited St. Giles Cathedral and almost got caught in the rain. Speaking of which, I love the rain, but am regretting not having water resistant clothing.

The following pictures are of Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh Castle, St. Gile's. The photos of the castle and Arthur's Seat were taken from atop the National Museum of Scotland.

Anyways, after dinner, I walked up to Edinburgh Castle and confirmed opening times (09:30 am) and took to wandering north of the castle. My journey took me by the National Gallery (a place I intend to go tomorrow) and down to West Princes Street Gardens. I am suddenly wondering where the term “hostel” originated. Something to look up later. (I did look it up... and honestly, I still don't know where the term came from other than 'hospice' which is the same place the term 'hotel' came from... so... if you figure it out, lemme know!) I wandered by the Scott Monument and resisted the temptation to go up into it. I took note of where the bus tours start, and I might book one of those. I then turned west and wandered down through the garden/park area. I took a couple photos of the castle. It really has a very imposing cliff face. It was in the gardens that Natalie called out to me. She started off with a request for my shirt. I politely declined. She sat with 4 other people. Each had a different suggestion for what I should see and do while in Edinburgh. 2 were clearly high (they stank of weed and were passing a joint) and I think Natalie was just being friendly. She even requested a hug, which I obliged her. It was then I realized just how small she was. After a short conversation that involved where to visit, emos, and graveyards, I bid them good bye and went off on my way. I did agree to take a stroll through Hunter’s Square… if I can find it. My wandering took me down and around the castle. I resisted the temptation to climb a footpath up to the cliff and castle wall. My journey then took me down to Greyfriars. I walked through the graveyard and back out. I then turned in the opposite direction of my hostel and got myself lost, but in a good way. I ended up in a park of some sort and enjoyed the view. On the way back I grabbed some chocolate (double decker and twirl) and Dr. Pepper at Sainsbury’s. I then started on the way back. I soon realized I had made a wrong turn somewhere and didn’t recognize where I was (the auto-map feature of my brain only works for places I’ve been before and usually needs 2 passes). Instead of panicking, I calmly resigned myself to the fact I’d need to ask for directions and possibly bribe someone with my newly acquired chocolate. Thankfully, all I needed to do was get to a vantage point where I could make out the castle and make my way toward it. 15 minutes later and I’ve made my way from being thoroughly lost to a square I consciously chose not to cross in my earlier wanderings. I crossed it and let my mental map guide me ‘home.’ I really look forward to repeating the experience tomorrow.

The following pictures are of the Castle Edinburgh, the Scott Monument, Arthur's Seat (in Holyrood Park), the West Princes Street Gardens, and Greyfriar's cemetery.

My Trip to and Through England: Edinburgh, Capital of Scotland

2009-08-07T08:02:00.001-07:00

Another week has passed and it's time for another post. I'd like to take a moment, before delving into it, to thank you all who read this. It's passed down the grapevine that I do infact have readers and it made me so terribly joyful. As much as I enjoy looking back on my trip as I write up my journal for all to see, I ultimately do it for my readers. Thank you!

Friday, June 14^th 10:02 (Birmingham New Street Station)

I’m now on a train waiting to start my journey to Edinburgh. I’m ever so slightly regretting not eating. I’m going on 24 hours without food. I think somehow I’ll manage though. On the way here I got the opportunity to witness the filming of something. At first I thought a party had gotten out of hand and left trash strewn all over the street. I wondered about the efficiency of the Birmingham street cleaners (assuming there are such a thing). (If Birmingham is like Oxford, and I assume it is to some extent, then they have nightly street sweeper truck thingies. I saw them a couple times in Oxford.) But after passing a sizable crowd I saw a camera truck roll by taking a rolling shot of the street I had just walked down! (This was one of the neater moments in Birmingham. I really wish I'd had the time to just watch, it was really neat.) It was really pretty cool and I wish I had enough time to inquire what they were shooting for and to simply stand and watch. Oh well. I had a train to catch. We’re underway now. I’m a little nervous about my upcoming stay at a hostel, but it is part of the adventure. Hopefully it won’t be too difficult to find. For the record: with a couple of women chatting up ahead, this has become the “noisiest” train trip yet.

12:24 (Train to Edinburgh)

The views from the train have been stunning and breathtaking, though not as breathtaking as my current bout with allergies. Sneezing and a runny nose certainly don’t make for pleasant traveling. Stoopid allergies! Even as I write this post they afflict me!

The following pictures were taken from the train from Birmingham to Edinburgh and showcase some of the lovely countryside I saw. I apologize for not having more pictures, but, it's difficult to snap a good photo from a moving train.

13:31 (Train to Edinburgh)

We’ve been traveling toward thickening clouds for 45-60 minutes now, and just passed through a patch of rain. I guess the weather reports here are slightly more reliable than those in Oklahoma. I can honestly say that I think that weather reports are more reliable everywhere that isn't Oklahoma. Ask anyone who's live here for any period of time longer than two weeks. Go ahead, I dare you!

15:13 (Edinburgh)

I’ve arrived in Edinburgh safe and sound! I even managed to navigate to Euro-Hostel, the place I’ll be staying for the next four days. Just setting foot in the city was breathtaking. Edinburgh Castle dominates the cityscape and can be easily seen from everywhere I’ve been so far. I arrived just in the nick of time too! The rain started as soon as I sat down to write this entry. I must confess, though, hunger is quickly overtaking my mind. I will put off writing more for after I have fed myself.

7:10 (Edinburgh)

I meandered around a small portion of Edinburgh and had a 12” margarita (cheese) pizza. It didn’t take long to prepare and was very fresh and tasty. I should be full until tomorrow. I then went down to the National Museum of Scotland. While it closed an hour after I arrived, it did give me enough of a taste to know that I want to go back tomorrow and have a better look around. I’ve already begun plotting my adventures in Edinburgh: tomorrow will be the museum and possibly the castle (I may spend all day in the museum) and the day after that, going about and getting myself lost. After that, I think I will seek suggestions and possibly hop on a tour bus I’ve seen rolling by. I wonder if I will get roommates between now and when I leave. Part of me hopes so, while part hopes not. Either way, I think it is time to go and explore the dorm a little. And maybe do some RP (roleplay) writing.

The following picture is of my room in the dorm at Euro-Hostel in Edinburgh. I have a whole slew of pictures of the rest of the apartment like dorm, but they all came out blurry for some reason, so I've decided to give a basic rundown here. The hostel was set up in student lodging in small apartment style dorms. Four individual bedrooms to an apartment that shared a common bathroom and toilet as well as a common room/living room/kitchen area that overlooked the courtyard of the hostel itself. All-in-all, not a bad place to stay, and for the price of 19 pounds a night, I'd say it was one of the better places.

20:55 (Edinburgh)

I would like to thank FPS (First Person Shooter) games like DOOM (My father pointed out that DOOM came with an automap, and I learned more from Aliens Versus Predator on the Atari Jaguar... semantics) and L4D (Left 4 Dead) for helping me build the skill of making a mental map just by wandering an area enough times. It has come in handy. I would also like to thank OU for helping me develop my sense of my cardinal directions. I like knowing generally which way is north without a compass. I’ve also decided I love the Scottish accent some women have. So sexy. In other news, I’ve put to paper the very basics of the majority of my Perdita Bayo series. I also mostly have 1 of something like 5 adventures hooks fleshed out. Tomorrow, if it’s not raining, I might go wandering and seeing what I see after hours. Most nights so far I’ve been off the street by 7. Maybe it’s time to live a little more, especially since I’ve caught up on my sleep. Besides, there’s more to

Britain

than museums and daywalks. I hope I have roommates tomorrow to go out with

The following picture is the view down the street from my accommodations in Edinburgh.

My Trip to and Through England: A Day in Birmingham

2009-07-31T11:09:00.000-07:00

Another week, another blog post from my journal. This week I disclose the rest (almost) of my journey in Birmingham. The place was fun, and I certainly would like to go back and spend at least another day there (possibly two as I explore the surrounding countryside). When looking back on my trip, I realize now that at this time, the fact I was out and about and traveling alone hadn't really entirely sunk in. I was still astonished by the little things and excited just to be out and about. What glorious fun. Anyways, without further adieu, my journal entry about Birmingham, England.

The following pictures are of my accommodation in Birmingham.

Saturday, June 13^th 15:32 (Birmingham)

Long day out and about in City Central. I’m glad I went by the RBSA yesterday and stumbled on the Heritage Society brochure. After breakfast (lackluster, but filling) and a short conversation with the Welsh girls (still don’t know the third’s name, and I didn’t go out with them last night) I started my self guided tour. I picked the closest landmark I knew (St. Paul’s Church) and started navigating the best I could by the meager map provided in the brochure.

I went by St. Chad’s Cathedral first. There was some sort of procession or mass or prayer going on, so I deemed it best to return later. My course of travel then took me down through City Central and back up through a shopping center. My next significant destination was St. Phillip’s Cathedral. I went inside this magnificent building, but more on that later. I need to go out and will record more of my journey later.

The following pictures are of St. Phillip's Cathedral.

17:03 (Birmingham)

From the hotel, it is a 20 minute walk to the New Street Station. This is important as my trip to Edinburgh begins there. I did this particular walk to make sure I would make it to the train in time. If I had missed it I would have had to wait something like two hours before the next one, and it would have thrown my trip off slightly. Very important thing to know...

But enough of that and back to my wanderings through Birmingham. I got to St. Phillip’s Cathedral and took a brief look inside. The experience was awe inspiring. Inside was definitely larger than the outside. The ceiling seemed to stretch up beyond the walls outside, but the truly breathtaking spectacles were the stained glass windows. The depicted several things, of which are better described in the handout I received from the curator of the building. I left St. Phillips and wandered down through the shopping district and back out at the Victoria Square. I took a gander at the courthouse and a memorial to a mayor who got the gas and water on and even went into the central library. I ended up looking through a couple guidebooks on Edinburgh and wishing I had brought something to write on. Oh well, live and learn. From there I walked across the square to the BMAG (Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery). It turned out to be more art gallery than museum, but I didn’t mind. There was quite a lot of spectacular stuff to see. I even took a couple pictures. After wandering through there I headed further west and went through a war memorial called ‘The Hall of Memory.’ As I write this, at 17:32, I’ve been suddenly overcome by a sleepy spell. It would mess with my sleep schedule, I won’t give into it. I’ll get my second wind soon. After finishing this entry, I’ll head downstairs and use the computer to research hostels. I think I know where I’ll be staying in Edinburgh, but I’d like to confirm and get their address and contact info. Back to my wanderings!

After visiting the war memorial, I snapped a couple photos and wandered back to St. Phillips, for the priest had recommended returning later to see the west stained glass window in its glory. So, I did. While waiting for the sun to come out from hiding I sat on a bench in the churchyard and was approached by an elderly man who started out conversation with: “Nice water you have there,” referring to the 2L bottle of water I had purchased earlier. The man wasn’t all there and I think he just wanted for someone to listen to him. I indulged him and after he finished his tea, which he said was the best gift but would be forgotten, he bid me good bye and walked off. I went into the cathedral and enjoyed the sun coming through the stained glass window. I then decided it was time to head back to the hotel. I stopped by St. Chad’s on the way. Now, St. Chad’s is dwarfed by skyscrapers all around, but I can almost guarantee that inside it is a different matter. Imagine, if you will, my description of St. Phillip’s and triple it. The interior was enormous and grand. The stained glass windows were magnificent and I was awestruck by it all. I have little doubt why people can feel God (or whatever) in buildings like this. The architecture is designed to shock and awe people and leave them with such an astonishing feeling it would be difficult to deny feeling something. After that, I came back and started writing about my journey today. I didn’t go to everywhere on the brochure, and I almost regret not planning to spend another day in Birmingham, but Scotland calls, and I think there is only enough stuff to occupy a partial day without a car or very in depth searching. Anyways, that wraps up my day so far. Time to go clock some computer time.

The following pictures are of: The War Memorial, a fashion fabric exhibit in the museum (I thought it looked creepy and awesome), Victoria Square, Yours Truly, and the outside of St. Chad's Cathedral.

My Trip to and Through England: London and Birmingham

2009-07-24T09:35:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 11^th 8:19 (London)

Bloody Allergies

The allergies followed me, and as I write this I am sniffling. I am hoping they go away before I meet up with Ivan for breakfast/lunch. The water was finicky this morning and I had difficulty keeping it comfortable. A very hot trickle still burns. <-- This, unfortunately, was a problem I had a couple more times down the road. I think I have identified the rumbling I hear almost constantly. My theory is that it is the water pipes. The more I look around the more I wonder about the quality of this place, and it makes me worry about other, cheaper establishments further down the line. Que sera, sera. What happens, will happen. I worry that even though I got a full night’s sleep (on top of the nap) I still suffer from jet lag. I still feel slightly tired. Maybe that will pass with breakfast and simply getting up and about. I’ll report later. I was exhausted at this point and surprised, even now, at how vivid my memory of those first few days in London were.

11:26 (London)

I met with Ivan and he confirmed that I am still suffering jet lag. I might even suffer it tomorrow. Breakfast was nice and he recommended a route through London to see things. I might follow it, I might not. While I write, my new phone is charging. I intend to head out in an hour, if I don’t succumb to the temptation of a nap. I will hit the museum and the V&A (I didn't make it to the Victoria and Albert Museum my first time through London) then the bookstore, followed by a walk in the park. The Park in question would be Hyde Park along High Street Kensington.

21:02 (London)

Trip Planning

The Natural History Museum was a blast. A lot of neat things to be seen there, and I took a ton of pictures and looked at a lot of awesome sights including one particular brunette haired girl. She was petite, had angular features, a small bust, long legs and was shorter than I. Maybe next time I run across a girl I repeatedly bump into and find attractive, I’ll actually have the stones to say something. Turns out, the woman mentioned here had someone else anyways. I saw her meet up with him after wandering the Natural History Museum. We’ll see. It would have been nice to have dinner with someone as opposed to alone. I hope to meet dining partners from now on. Wish me luck. Good Luck Mike. Though eating alone wasn’t all that bad. It was a milestone. I am going to repack my bag tonight. I need to figure out a good way to keep dirty clothes from the clean. Inspiration will strike, I have no doubt. My plan for tomorrow: meet with Ivan for breakfast or coffee (I hope food is involved) at 8:30 and head out to Marybole Station to catch a train to Birmingham. I kind of wish I had more time here in London to do more exploring, but it will have to wait. (On my way back through I won’t even be jet lagged!) In other notes, I am slightly surprises at the amount of dogs I have seen being walked on the street; and the amount of motorcycles/scooters around as well. I am not surprised at the lack of trucks I have seen. I expect trucks are more of an American thing. Probably better for it too. Oh! And the weather was perfect! Maybe not entirely perfect, too much sunshine, but it was really cool and most of the time there was a nice breeze. Sunny and cool. Though the wind did try to take my hat away a couple times. Time to go read. In my room, not the part, though I could spend hours upon hours out there.

The following pictures are of the Natural History Museum and some of its exhibits. I'll be putting all of my pictures into a picasa digital album, if people are interested in seeing all of them (good and bad).

Friday, June 12^th 6:11 (London)

I’ve been up for about half an hour now. I am still amazed at how early the sun seems to rise. Half an hour ago it seemed to have been up for several hours already. I didn’t sleep well last night. Tossed and turned and my usual relaxation technique for getting to sleep didn’t work. It didn’t help that Elaine called almost at midnight. As a result I feel tired out right now. I am running on approximately 2-3 good hours of sleep. I hope that this problem doesn’t persist throughout my entire trip. In other news: the shower was consistent and had 3 temperatures, hot, cooling, and cold. Stupid inconsistent shower! It made cleaning myself annoyingly painful and overly difficult. I hope that it is the only time I have this problem. I’m going to grab Advil or Ibuprofen while I’m out today. I also have little intention to take a nap today, as I suspect that is part of why I had trouble getting to sleep last night. Time to read (almost done with Ender’s Game) and rest before going to meet with Ivan.

7:16 (London)

I have just finished Ender’s Game and now have spent ‘free’ time thinking rather than reading. I find myself wishing I had a companion to travel with, but alas it isn’t so. I am sure that in time my thoughts will turn to the Halflings game and my future novels. At least Jenn hasn’t directly invaded my thoughts of late. I actually ended up rereading Ender's Game while in England, along with writing out a ton of material.

10:19 (On the train to Birmingham)

Well I survived the trip via the tube from Kensington High Street to Marleybone Station (Yes, I misspelled it the first time) meaning I will likely be able to do it all over again come three weeks or so from now. I look forward to my trip back to London and hope to meet up with Ivan again, even though he will likely be abroad. I will miss his company (and the free meals). My first goal when I get to Birmingham will be to find lodging. My second will be to find food. Depending on the timeframe then, I may do some exploring. We’ll see. For now, I will put aside the journal and watch the landscape roll by. The tube was interesting, and hot, and sticky, and I stood up the entire way. Not a bad way to travel, but I was glad to ride around on it without my bags my second trip through London. The train out to Birmingham was really quiet. Not as quiet as the one from Gatwick to Victoria Station, but quiet nonetheless. Not all the trains were as such, but... these early ones were.

11:49 (On the train to Birmingham)

I’ve been on the train for an hour and a half but it doesn’t feel like it. I have decided I like traveling by train. It is peaceful and I don’t think I will soon tire of watching the English countryside roll by. It really is a green beauty and truly lovely. It makes me really look forward to my trip to and through Scotland.

The following pictures are of some of the English countryside I saw from the train. I wish I had more shots, but it was difficult to get good ones without a tree popping up at just the wrong moment.

13:41 (Birmingham)

I spent about an hour wandering around before I was able to find a place to stay tonight. At 50₤ a night, I think I won’t be staying very long. I need to wait ‘til 15:00 to go secure a room though, as otherwise it’ll be 60₤ and I have decided that 50₤ is the limit that I am willing to spend. We’ll see if that holds up when I am particularly desperate. I will set and plot out my train trip to Edinburgh tonight. Hopefully I won’t hit any snags.

In other news, I have been inside a very lovely church and even have a brochure of its history …. The walk through was quiet and awing. I’m not sure there is a “God,” but whatever higher being that does exist certainly calls that place home, at least part of the time. I also walked down by the canal. It was an interesting 10 or so minutes. I could easily see lots of WOD stuff going on down there. Vampires might have it rough with almost no sundown time during the summer. In hindsight, Vampires probably would just migrate to somewhere more temperate and with less extreme sun patterns. I think I might be slightly dehydrated. My spittle is thick and my lips dry. I’ll consume more water from now on. The weather has been lovely today: cool with a mostly cloudy sky. My kind of weather. Based on that alone, I think I could really enjoy living here. I’d have to find the right place though. I don’t think Birmingham would be the place for me; at least, not in the city proper. I think somewhere out in the country would suit me better. I think it is time to put this down once more and enjoy the park-ish area I’m in near the church.

15:09 (Birmingham)

I’m checked into my room for tonight. I intend to see if I can secure cheaper lodging for tomorrow here in a few minutes. I’ll head downstairs and see if reception can offer directions to an internet café.

17:39 (Birmingham)

Took a walk on the Welsh Side

I went out and used the computer downstairs to tidy up my email and even send a couple out to my Dad and Jesse. I then went out and visited a couple art galleries (the Royal Birmingham S-something of Artists and the St. Paul’s Gallery of Artistic Album Covers) and wandered back to the hotel. I ordered a pizza (pepperoni) and originally intended to take it up to my room, however, I ended up eating it at the bar. This, however, didn’t end up being a bad thing as, toward the end of my pizza, I was pulled into a conversation with a trio of girls. They’re from Wales, and named Sam and Stacy (I know not the third girl’s name). I had a short conversation with them, learned that they are here until Sunday celebrating Sam’s cousin’s 18^th birthday. I revealed I was traveling alone and am from America. Wales wasn’t on my travel plans, but I am considering putting it there. Sam asked me to join them on their night out and I am considering going, possibly despite my better judgment. I wasn’t able to get a time out of her, so that will make it a little difficult to meet them. I did give, in passing, that I’m in room 321, so they may end up at my door. If that happens, I will certainly reward their efforts by joining their expedition.

18:14 (Birmingham)

Going to go down to the lobby at 21:00 or so. If the girls haven’t already come to find me first. Have a lengthy walk plotted out for tomorrow and it should be interesting. Another interesting thing to make note of is that the lights require the door card to be inserted into a slot to be turned on. It’s a nice way to save power when the occupant is out of the hotel.

As tempting as it might be to comment on these last two entries and reveal something... I think they make for a nice cliffhanger as to just what happened that night. You'll have to wait until next week and the next group of journal entries to find out.

The First Few Days of my Trip

2009-07-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

I would like to take a moment and apologize for not getting this up yesterday. I forgot my journal in my trip down to Houston which means I didn't have anything to write over from... But here's the first few days of my trip! Enjoy.

Monday, June 8^th (Norman)

The Day Before Departure

Packing took about an hour and I have chosen to leave toiletries for tomorrow morning. I have to say this: I’m scared, but not as scared as I expected to be at this point. I’ve accepted that I haven’t secured lodging and/or transportation from the airport. It is a problem I will deal with when I get there. I’ll write more when I go to bed. I didn't end up writing more... namely because I was engaged in several phone conversations, one of which was with Ivan. Ivan is a British gentleman I know through my Father and Gwen. He set up a place for me to stay and gave me directions for when I got there.

Tuesday, June 9^th 11:09 a.m. (OKC)

Waiting

Got to the airport nearly an hour ago. Check-in was amazingly easy, traveling might not be so bad. As I sit here in the OKC concourse, I wonder about flight. I wonder if it’ll terrify me. I wonder if there will be a cute girl on the plane beside me. I kind of hope there is. Maybe she’ll hold my hand. Wow was I optimistic at this point. Then again I might have just been dealing with a fear that hadn't fully manifested yet. Heh. Story ideas are creeping into my mind and I think I’ll put this aside for now and outline. The outlining turned into 9 book goals. I know what I want to do with my Perdita book series because of this trip.

2:19 p.m. (Between OKC and Atlanta)

Somewhere up there in the Air

Sure, the first moments of air travel (30 minutes or so) were terrifying. The butterflies I expected arrived during the taxi to the take-off runway. They’re back now as we make our final descent into Atlanta. I will readily admit that the center of the flight was smooth and mostly enjoyable. The clouds way up high make me wonder if heaven is like that. I'm not sure if I believe in a heaven/hell, but if there is... I have a strong leaning that the fluffy white clouds are probably a nice place to call the entrance to whatever every person's personal heaven is. The beauty of it leave no doubt for me as to why it is portrayed as such in the artistic renditions. Back to the beginning: the craft was smaller, and more cramped than I expected, almost enough so to give me a vague feeling of claustrophobia. Watching the land drop away was the scary part though and I am uncertain if I will watch out the window when my flight to London takes off. I will have my journal out to record it, rather than waiting for the end of the flight. I actually ended up writing during take-off.

4:36 p.m. (Atlanta)

The Wait

All the seats are taken as I wait for my flight. I’ve exchanged $50 for ₤22. In truth, it was more like $44 that I exchanged. I can say I was slightly surprised to get coins for the singles. Wow does this make me sound so very, terribly, naïve. A different world I will be flyi

ng into in approx. 9 hours. At least the plane looks larger, if the one sitting outside is indeed the one I’m to board. I hope it is a smoother flight with a more approachable person to sit next to. That’s right, no luck on the connecting flight. But there is always room for hope. A note about airport food: don’t bother getting something on the way back. Food is highway robbery. I really should have eaten more before going to the airport to begin with. A mistake I didn't replicate on the return trip. Second note: the airport is huge and the train between concourses reminded me of the tram at the beginning of Half-Life. I will write more after boarding unless there is someone to chat with.

5:00 p.m. (Atlanta)

More Waiting

At least it is a larger plane. Here is hoping that larger = smoother. The jury is still out for my flight partner(s). One seems friendly enough, but is situated slightly behind me, making conversation a little awkward. We’ll see what the person beside me is like. The boarding (going on 15 or so minutes now) is slow going. I hope we get off the ground on time.

I think refueling just finished as there was a significant mechanical adjustment just now and we’re not moving. Maybe it was the luggage compartments closing. The excitement is growing within me and I can feel the butterflies tickling the edges of my stomach. Such kind people on the flight. It makes me smile. I hope the rest of the people I bump into are as nice.

Damn. Cute girls sitting across the aisle. Cute blonde. Taken.

5:25 p.m. (Atlanta)

The seat belt around my waist feels slightly inadequate. I predict a quiet 6 or so hours. I won’t be disappointed. Maybe I’ll even sleep some. A couple hours would like go a long way to helping with jet lag in the U.K. This prediction was both accurate and inaccurate. I did get a quiet flight (and a smooth flight at that) as the couple beside me were married and more interested in their movie or eachother than making a new friend. I didn't end up sleeping a wink, but on the bright side, I did watch Taken and watching Liam Neeson kick some serious ass was well worth it. I don't recall what other movies I watched.

5:39 p.m. (Atlanta)

Departure

We’ve backed away from the gate and are now taxiing to the runway. The plane is warm, but I wonder if that’s just because I’m a little nervous. We’ve backed away from the gate, but, to my knowledge, haven’t got far enough from the building to get to the runway.

6:00 p.m. (Atlanta)

Flight!

Take-off was certainly faster and

louder but not entirely smoother, certainly smoother and a faster ascent. I can remember thinking that the plane was very steep for a very long time.

Wednesday, June 10^th 8:39 a.m. (London)

The Train

Allergies set in about an hour before we landed in London (Gatwick). Talk about sinus headaches due to pressure. Right before the descent into Gatwick, my allergies kicked in and my nose exploded into a fountain. It made me rather miserable. The rest of the journey was quite enjoyable though. I survived and made it through customs. I’m no on a train going to Victoria Station in Central London. I worry, slightly, that the fellow who validated my flexipass did so for the wrong days. An unnecessary worry. I didn't have any trouble. The train is almost abnormally quiet. No one is talking, with the exception of one woman on a cell phone. I wonder if everyone is merely tired from a long flight or similar journey. At least the country-side is pretty. I’ll go back to admiring it.

10:08a.m. (London)

The Hotel

Check-in has been stalled fro the mom

ent. The receptionist’s not due back for another 20 minutes. Fellow here is not to terribly friendly, but slightly helpful. Still, it is nice to get off my feet. The man wasn't pleasant at all. The bulldog, however, wa

s. I can't say that, other than location, the hotel was worth what I paid to stay there.

The view from my hotel.

13:11 (London)

After my First Walkabout

Met with Ivan at 11:00. Just got back from walking and tea. Exhausted. Rest needed. Photo above is of some royal family member out for a ride.

18:47 (London)

Rested

I’ve slept for nearly five hours and showered. The first was on a hard bed and the second was under a trickle. Regardless, I think I will remain in this hotel until I leave on Friday. I met with Ivan earlier and he gave me a rather thorough showing around. I will be honest and say I don’t remember a whole lot though. I blame my tiredness. I am still tired and will probably go to bed early to fully refresh my sleep. For now, I will go downstairs, let them know I will be staying a second night and go out to find food and a bank. I believe both are to the left on High Street Kensington.

20:08 (London)

The Quest for a Mobile Continues

I’m feeling better now that I have eaten. I knew I would forget something, and something did I forget. Shaving cream. I touched up without before leaving and decided I would prefer to avoid duplicating the experience. Dinner consisted of a lovely chicken wrap and water. I will try something new tomorrow. Plans for tomorrow: call Maralyel and touch base, maybe I’ll have a traveling partner, get a mobile phone, visit the Natural History Museum, walk the park. HAVE A GOOD TIME. Bright note: the butterflies haven’t returned. I’m start

ing to relax, if nothing else, I think I will go read for awhile. The butterflies that I expected to come back never, unless I am misremembering and it'll come up in my journal if I am, came back to plague me. I also never got in touch with Maralyel and started my journeys the same as I, for the most part, spent the rest of the trip: alone.

21:39 (London)

The sun is taking a long time to set. Even now it’s rays still illuminate the sky slightly. I just got off the phone with Elaine. She’s engaged. A slight surprise, but then again, I haven’t been in super good contact with her. Regardless, I look forward to meeting her in person in a few weeks. Time to finish another chapter in Ender’s Game and call it a night.

These photos are of the place I stayed in my first stint in London. I snapped a few photos of every place I stayed in, so expect to see all my accommodations as they come up!

My Trip to and Through England: An Introduction

2009-07-10T09:43:00.001-07:00

I know that many of my friends knew that I was going to run off to England for four weeks. That being said, it may come as a slight surprise to those of you who are not within my circle of those I call 'friend.' That being said, I think I should explain a little bit about my trip, why I went, and what I intended to get from it. And, of course, the format of the forthcoming blog posts will be explained in this introduction as well.

For starters let's begin with a little bit about me. I'm a writer and recently graduated from The University of Oklahoma with a degree in Journalism, though my specialty was Professional Writing with an emphasis on novels. That sentence, I'll readily admit, was a bit of a mouthful. That being said, the trip itself was a graduation gift from my Father who said something along the lines of 'Go forth and explore the world!' only not quite in those words or the big booming voice that I imagine it in my head. Side note: My Father is an awesome, awesome man and a wonderful dad. I chose England because I am brave enough to wander alone, but not brave enough to wander alone in a country where the primary language isn't something I know fluently.

I think that covers the basics of where I went and how I was able to, but not quite the why. I wanted to visit England to see the sights and hear the sounds of a foreign country. Not to mention the sheer value of practical experience I would get. Experience, if you don't know, is something akin to lifeblood for a writer. To tell a somewhat convincing story they must have experienced something, or had someone else relate an experience to them. This is part of why it is so important for a writer to continue to read and meet new people, etc. So, in part, my trip was to expand on my life experiences. That, and, I was/am still interest in seeing stuff in and around England, Scotland, and Ireland (the latter of which I didn't make it to in my journeys). The why also falls into the 'chance of a lifetime' category. It isn't often that someone gets the opportunity to pack a week and a half worth of clothes, grab a pen and a composition notebook, and run away to backpack through a country for four weeks. It was quite simply too good to pass up.

I will admit, and you'll probably notice this at least once in the coming blog posts, that I would have preferred to go with someone else. Oh well, shit happens, maybe next time. This journey taught me I can exist on my own for, at least, four weeks. :)

Now then, that should cover the basics of my trip and lay a foundation for those who didn't hear me talk about it before I hopped across the pond. I think. If not, I'll answer questions in the commentary. That means... it's time to move onto the format round!

That's right, I'm going to outline the format for these things. I intend them to be informal and reflectional. I kept a fairly extensive journal while I was overseas and the vast majority of these posts will simply be those entries typed up and put on display. But, since I want to reflect and observe how I changed over the course of four weeks (other than dropping 7 pounds), I'll add in my own commentary or observations, or other things I happen to remember, or think I remember, as I type them up. These secondary additions, observations, or memories will be in a different color. Probably the orange I just used, but, you never know. Most of the entries will be unedited and uncut. If I cut something out, I'll use an ellipsis to indicate the removed section and might elaborate if questions come up in the comments section. I expect these parts to be few and far between. I also took close to 3000 pictures (2700ish), which means that each post will be accompanied with pictures as appropriate.

Oh, and I'll be doing these posts on a weekly basis. The first one will, unless something dire happens, appear next Friday.

Until that time, good luck, good health, and I hope I've sparked your interest enough to draw you back in a week's time.

Rough Draft Prologue for my next book [warning: explicit language used]

2009-05-23T12:31:00.000-07:00

Prologue

The rain was soothing and safe. It brought life from a dead land. It eased stress. For Percival, who enjoyed the rain, it meant a short reprieve from the undead. The rain dampened the stench of the rotting corpses and drowned out the ever constant moans of the hungry. It brought a new safety from the zombies.

Percival stared out into the gray haze created by the steady rainfall. He couldn’t see the zombies across the street, but he was certain they were still there. In the four months since the world was turned on its head, and the dead returned to stalk the living, Percival had seen a lot and learned more than his years of schooling. One of those lessons was that the dead never left fresh meat alone.

He sighed and rose from the lawn chair he had set up on the roof. He walked to the door and tugged it open. He frowned and pulled the door closed behind him before clicking on a flashlight and descending the stairs. As nice as it was to be holed up in a small department store, it was quickly approaching the time to leave. He had made a promise to the people he left behind in the Student Union, and it was a promise he intended to deliver on. A full month out and he was beginning to worry about their state.

He rounded the corner and pushed open another door. He almost walked right into Roy Joy.
Roy Joy was a big man, with the majority of his mass being fat. He had a small tussle of brown hair that looked more like drenched rodent. He kept himself clean shaven and dressed in a nice suit (which he changed only when he became splattered with blood). And he never seemed to be bothered by the ever present death around them.

Percival wasn’t sure how the man had managed to survive in the wilderness alone. Percival wasn’t about to complain about it either. Every able-bodied man they found who could pull a trigger or swing a bat was welcomed.

“We leave tomorrow morning, Roy Joy,” Percival said. “With any luck the rain will persist through the night.”

“They track by smell and sound,” Roy Joy said.

Percival nodded. “How do you know that?”

“Bob told me,” Roy Joy answered. “Fredward, Joe, and Sally all confirmed it.”

Percival knew very little about Roy Joy. What he did know was that the man was insane. He talked to the living corpses and thought they talked back. Percival shook his head slowly. “I doubt that. Zombies don’t talk.”

“You’re just not listening to the right ones,” Roy Joy answered. “I worked with Bob. He was a good man. I think he makes a better zombie though.”

Percival shrugged. Roy Joy might be certifiably insane, but most of his speculations about zombies had turned out correct in some aspect. Percival guessed that Roy Joy was sharing what he had learned while living, surviving, alone in a fashion that made sense to his broken mind.
“What else?” Percival asked as they walked through a clothing section of the department store.
Like many of the places they had searched for scavenge, this area was looted and ransacked. That hardly meant that everything had been taken, however. Clothes were strewn across the floor and many of the shelves and hangers were empty, but plenty remained for the diligent searcher.

“They want to come in,” Roy Joy said.

“They always want in.”

“They’re willing to compromise. They just want to eat our brains now. They’ll leave our eyeballs alone.”

“Go back to doing whatever you were doing before,” Percival said with a sigh. “I doubt they’ll uphold their end of the bargain if we let them in.”

“You never know. Compromise is the first step to making everyone happy.” Roy Joy walked away, calling over his shoulder as he moved, “We should leave while the rain is still coming down. Would be safer instead of waiting for daybreak. Even with the darkness an’ all.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Percival shouted. Sometimes he really hated being in charge. He knew that the entire group was tired and needed the break. On the other hand, he also knew that Roy Joy was usually right when it came to zombies. As a result Percival took the man’s advice quite seriously; most of his advice at least.

Percival walked to the stairs, illuminating his way with the flashlight. He carefully descended, stepping over discarded items he could only guess were leftover from the initial outbreak. Most of the things were broken or not very useful to begin with and hardly worth the time to examine closely.

He needed to check with Karl and see how their makeshift barricades were holding up. In his short, but extensive, experience, the undead were tenaciously persistent in their attempts to get to fresh meat. Even if that meant bashing until their hands broke or wrists snapped. He’d seen more than one zombie with a hand dangling limp and sharp bones thrust through the skin. Or broken fingers where they had thrashed against something they could fit fingers through.
Those images taught him two things: zombies wouldn’t give up just because glass or wood or steel was between them and their prey and zombies felt no pain. Or they simply didn’t care when they injured themselves.

Percival shook his head. He was pondering the undead more and more lately. His wandering thoughts had put the rest of his body on autopilot. He had crossed the department store and walked to the main entrance to the store. Nadia stood with her back to him.

She was a shapely woman, a little older than his 20 years, and the fall of civilization had done wonders for toning her physique. She had short cropped blonde hair and stood a little shorter than he. She wore tight jeans, most people wore tight clothing now, and a black windbreaker jacket.

Percival stepped up next to her. “Where’s Karl?”

“Off taking a piss,” Nadia answered. She looked over at him, her blue eyes almost sparkling in the light cast by their flashlights. “Is it a bad thing that I almost don’t hear the drumming of them on the other side?”

Percival lifted an eyebrow up. He hadn’t even noticed the drone of dozens of fists against hardened and tempered glass. “I didn’t even notice it until you mentioned it.”

She smirked and looked back to the doors. She lifted her flashlight and swept it across the horde that could be seen over the barricade.

Percival was a little surprised he no longer consciously heard the moan. It might have partially explained why he hadn’t heard anything from roof. He chose to blame the rain. For some reason it felt safer to do so.

“You should be with me. You know,” Nadia said quietly. She’d lowered her flashlight from the mass of dead faces a handful of feet away, and also managed to cast her face into shadows with the same motion.

It made it difficult for Percival to read her. He knew, from a handful of classes on human development and psychology, that women were drawn to men of power, but he had never considered himself as such. Even after he had stepped forward and taken charge of the survivors at Brown College. This wasn’t the first time Nadia had brought the matter up either. He frowned at her. He was dedicated to Sarah, his right-hand woman, and had little intention of moving to someone else.

“We’ve discussed this before.” He turned away.

Nadia opened her mouth to say something, but Percival cut her off. He didn’t have time for this.

“I said no before. End of discussion. When Karl comes back, tell him we’re leaving in four hours. Maybe sooner if the rain lightens.” Percival walked back toward the interior of the department store.

“You’re making a mistake,” Nadia called after him. She didn’t elaborate as to what decision she thought was the mistake.

Percival chose not to dwell on it. He had settled the matter in his head, and as their leader it was his responsibility to make decisions and stick by them.

He walked through a hardware section of the department store and up to the side doors. He waved to Andrina.

Andrina was a teacher before the apocalypse. She taught history and was easily old enough to be Percival’s mother. Her hair was dark with a generous dose of grey streaked through it. She, unlike most of the survivors, chose to wear it longer than her shoulders. It was currently tied neatly into a bun at the back of her head with a pen thrust through the base of the bun. She wore a blue jacket and blue jeans. She glanced toward Percival way as he approached.

“This likely won’t hold through the night,” she said, gesturing at the door. Half a dozen zombies could easily be heard on the other side of the door.

Percival eyed the makeshift brace that held the door. “What makes you say that?”

“Listen closely,” she said and was silent for a long moment.

Percival listened. He heard the eerie moans of the zombies on the other side of the door and the almost rhythmic thumps of hands against the door.

“Do you hear it?” Andrina asked.

Percival shook his head. “I hear the zombies and the pounding on the door.”

“Not the carpenter type. Oh well, Mister Polz.” Andrina stepped back from the door. “If you had a better ear, you might hear the creak of the wood. It means they’ve managed to break the locking mechanism and our little brace is all that’s holding the door closed.”

“Great.” Percival frowned. The news wasn’t entirely unexpected. It took dedicated work to keep barricades maintained. Dedicated work and materials. “Want to hear the good news then?”

Andrina dug her pistol out of her jacket pocket. She checked the ammunition in the magazine. Percival had come to realize that it was a nervous habit of hers.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“The brace only has to hold for four hours. Maybe a little less. We’re not waiting until morning to leave.”

“Is that wise?”

“Weren’t you just telling me about how this door might not hold for too much longer?” Percival asked. He folded his arms over his chest.

“Any siege can be extended and we have material we can stack in front of the door. What’s the process you took to come to this decision after you said we’d have time to rest and recoup here?” Andrina slapped the magazine back into the pistol and slipped it back into her jacket pocket.

“Roy Joy’s advice. I know I said we’d have time to rest and properly search this place, and I apologize for going back on it.” He hated going back on his word, but the situation had changed. The rain would let them move sooner than anticipated.

“The man isn’t all there, you know. We’ve not even had time to properly search the store.” Andrina sounded defeated.

Percival could guess what she was thinking. She had organized the construction of hasty barricades with Nadia, Karl, and Roy Joy and subsequently hadn’t had the opportunity to give the department store a cursory search. Percival had, however. Barricades and sieges were Andrina’s bailiwick. Hell, the woman had written her doctorate thesis on ancient siege warfare.
Percival’s duties as the leader were to assess the situation and surroundings. There wasn’t anything that they could make use of in the department store that didn’t require some sort of repair beforehand. While that meant they should make a note of it for future scavenges, it also meant they didn’t need to stay there longer. Percival guessed Andrina knew him well enough by now to know that he’d not rush away from a building with stuff to loot.

“The useful stuff’s been taken. We’d have to do an in-depth search to turn up anything really useful, and we’re running low on time. The guys back in the Student Union are running low on time.”

“The traveling when it’s dark is dangerous,” Andrina countered.

“It always will be. But traveling anytime is dangerous and at least the rain will help some. Hide us.” Percival hoped he wouldn’t have to have this sort of conversation every time he announced their new plan.

“I understand and will stand by your decision.” Andrina turned back to watch the door. “We trust you to get us home safely, Mister Polz, or we’d not call you our leader. Keep your confidence up.”

Percival nodded, even though he knew she couldn’t see him with her back turned to him. “Thank you for the vote of confidence. Want me to send someone to watch the door with you?”
“I’ll be fine alone, thank you.”

“I’ll be back when it’s time to go. Unless there’s an emergency, at which point, meet at the roof.” Percival turned away and disappeared into the darkness of the store.

He looked in on Evan and chose to let the young man continue to sleep rather than wake him. It was unusual that any of them actually slept peacefully. Percival figured that he could get Evan up when it was time to go, rather than well before that time.

*

He was searching the second floor for Sarah when she found him.

“Pst…” She beckoned him toward the changing rooms. Only one of the doors actually remained on one of the booths. “Hey, where you been?”

Sarah was a year younger than Percival and far fitter. She had short brunette hair and stunning green eyes. Her face was narrow and slightly angular. She had discarded her jacket somewhere in the department store and shed her heavy over shirt as well. She now wore a blue tank top and tight track pants. Both accentuated her curves and made her more alluring.

“Out looking for you, actually,” Percival answered. “Where’ve you been?”

“Got bored looking over Evan, he’s old ‘nough to sleep by ‘imself you know. So I left him and went searching through the pharmacy.” She grinned at him. Her pearly white teeth gleamed in the light of their flashlights.

Percival sighed and frowned. Most people went searching through the pharmacy looking for narcotics of some sort. He’d reprimanded Sarah once for doing such a thing.

She seemed to be able to read his mind. “I wasn’t looking for anything not over the counter. Come ‘ere. I want to show you something.”

She reached out and tugged him by his jacket to the sole changing room with a door.
“We don’t really have time for this,” Percival said. He moved with her tug anyways though.
Sarah closed the door behind them and directed her flashlight beneath her chin so it cast long and eerie shadows on her face. It made the grin she gave him seemed otherworldly and evil.

“Guess what I found?” she asked. Her grin turned into a smirk.

“Pain-killers?”

Sarah rolled her eyes and swung her flashlight so it pointed at her other hand. Between two fingers she held a blue plastic condom wrapper. It was unopened. “I did find pain-killers, but the couple boxes of these will be more fun.”

Percival leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Later.”

Sarah dropped both her hands to her hips and plunged the small room into almost complete darkness. “Are we in a rush or something?”

“There’re other things we need to get done.”

“Like what? You’re so busy you can’t spare half an hour for me?” Sarah said in a huff. She pocketed the condom and threw open the changing room door with enough force it slammed into its neighbor. “You owe me.”

“We’re leaving earlier than expected.” Percival trailed after her. “Don’t be angry. We all have responsibilities and—“

“Fuck that. You owe me at the next rest stop.” Sarah walked away. “It better be a proper rest too. We’re all getting tired of this two hours here, four hours there shit.”

Percival followed after her. “You do understand why, right?”

“Yeah. I do. It’s why I continue to keep the morale up.” She stopped and turned to face him. “You’re good at making decisions and pointing us in the right direction. I’m good at keeping people happy-ish. You need me and I want you.”

“And I’ll make it up to you. I swear.” Percival had every intention of keeping the promise. In a world gone to hell and back, promises and a man’s good word was all there really was. Percival intended to show he was among the best in said world.

Besides, the simple act of sex helped remind him of the one of the reasons to persevere and continue to survive. In a world populated by the undead, sex reminded him what it was to be alive.

“You better. A little affection wouldn’t kill you, you know?” Sarah said with a sigh.

Percival didn’t think he’d been distant. He reached out and dropped his hand onto her shoulder and turned her to him. He pulled her to him and dipped his head to hers. He gently brought his lips to hers and kissed her. “When have I ever broken a promise?”

She dropped her head to his shoulder. “Never in my knowledge. You just… make me feel alive, you know?”

He smiled and kissed her forehead again. “I know. I can express a similar sentiment. We’re getting gone in a couple hours. Mind doing a little more searching in that time?”

“Alright. I might tack on another favor you owe me though,” Sarah said and accompanied it with a small smirk. “Roof?”

He nodded. “See you there.”

*

Percival lifted the shelf off of small pile of rubble. He was in the hardware section of the department store and had propped his flashlight so it shone on the toppled shelf. He struggled for a moment before getting the momentum to send it careening to the side. He wiped sweat from his brow and looked down at his prize. A sledgehammer rested among the rest of the shelf’s contents.

Percival grinned to himself. Weapons were always useful. Some were more useful than others, and weapons that were also tools were certainly among the most useful. He reached down and hefted the sledgehammer. He ran his fingers over the handle. He guessed it was some aluminum alloy and felt to be somewhere close to five pounds.

He almost dropped the newly acquired weapon at the blasting sound of an air horn. Each member of his team carried an air horn and they were used only in emergencies. Extreme emergencies like a breach in their perimeter.

Percival cursed, snatched up his flashlight and sprinted down the row of shelves in the direction he thought he’d heard the air horn come from. He almost ran full speed into Roy Joy.
“What’s going on?” Percival asked.

Roy Joy shrugged. The man seemed abnormally calm given what the scream of the air horn meant. “Don’t know. I’m not omniscient, and Fredward didn’t give me any sort of warning. Maybe I should start taking my advice from—“

The rest of the statement was cut off by another blast from the air horn. This one was decidedly closer.

“Come on, they’ll need our help.” Percival took off in the direction of the air horn. He hoped everything was under control.

He rounded a corner to the sounds of gunshots. One shattered the plaster next to his head and showering him with particles. “Fuck! Hold your fire!”

Andrina swung the pistol away from him and fired at a corpse as it rushed through the open doorway. Red bloomed from the undead man’s chest in two spots. A third shot punched through his left eye and he dropped like a sack of potatoes. There were four other corpses, each with similar wounds around the open doorway.

“Sorry, Mister Polz,” Andrina said. She sounded exhausted.

“You missed, that’s the important part. Time to leave.” Percival placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle tug.

Another zombie rushed into the doorway. It paused for a moment, stared at them for a moment. For a second, Percival was certain that this man, despite blood splattered clothes and a small chunk of flesh missing from his neck, was alive. He must not have been turned for very long. His eyes hadn’t become so scratched that they looked cloudy and his pallor hadn’t entirely faded to the deathly grey-white of a zombie.

Andrina raised the pistol again and squeezed the trigger. Red blossomed on the man’s chest and he stepped back to keep his balance. The slide of the pistol remained propped open.
“Shit!” Percival uttered.

The walking corpse in the doorway threw back his head and uttered a moan. Loud and unearthly, the moan was louder than the usual zombie groan. Percival knew exactly what it was. The moan called other zombies to the victims the first had found. It would be a matter of moments before the corpses milling around the building flooded to the open door.

“Fuck!” Percival shouted in anger. He hefted the sledgehammer and dashed forward. The corpse met him halfway. Percival swung the sledgehammer around and connected the head with the head of the zombie. He closed his eyes and mouth tight as the hammer crunched through skull and drove the monster down. He felt a slight splatter of matter against his jacket and small droplets of blood struck his face.

He opened his eyes and moved away from the doorway. He frantically wiped away the blood that had splattered his face, before any could drip into his eyes or mouth. He knew that killing a zombie that caused a splatter of blood into a survivor’s eyes or mouth, or, on rarer occasions, nose was a death sentence. He shuddered at the thought.

He backed away from the doorway. The moans of the other zombies already echoed through the doorway and into the department store. Each moan was the loud, unearthly feeding moan that drew in other zombies.

He looked to Andrina, who was still fumbling to reload her pistol.

“That was dangerous, Percival,” Roy Joy said. The man had taken out his pistol and shook his head disapprovingly at Percival. “We should leave. Thomas there was calling the banquet. And I don’t think they’re exactly willing to compromise still.”

Percival stared at Roy Joy for a long moment. The sound of Andrina finally getting the magazine into her pistol and releasing the slide snapped him back to reality.

“Right, we leave. Now.” Percival cradled the sledgehammer in the crook of his arm, carefully avoiding the bloody head, and dug his air horn out. He blasted it in the agreed signal that meant it was time to get to the roof and leave as he led the way to the stairs. Karl and Nadia met them at the stairs.

“What’s going on?” Nadia asked. Both she and Karl had their pistols in one hand and flashlights in the other.

“Breach. Bad one at the side door. We’re leaving,” Percival answered. “They’ll be swarming in here soon, if they aren’t already.”

He led the way up the stairs, blasting the air horn once more at the peak. The air horn was answered by another air horn ahead of them and hungry, fevered moans behind. Percival expected to hear the tramp of footsteps after them at any moment.

He led the group of survivors across the second floor of the department store. Sarah and Evan were waiting for them by the door that led to the stairs to the roof.

“Go! They’re already inside,” Percival ordered. He gestured with the sledgehammer.

“What happened? Are you alright? You’ve got blood on you,” Sarah asked, her tone marked with concern. In the darkness it was difficult to read her face.

“Don’t have time, bitch,” Nadia said angrily. She yanked open the door and pushed past Evan and Sarah.

“I’m fine. We’re leaving, get up the stairs. I’ll work on barring this door.” Percival gestured for the rest of them to move through the door.

“You’re so brave,” Sarah said and disappeared into the darkness of the stairs.

Karl and Roy Joy followed with out a word. Andrina merely patted him on the shoulder and followed them.

“I’ll watch over yer shoulder,” Evan said. “Least I can do.”

Percival wasn’t about to waste more time arguing with the youth. He moved through the door and closed it. He jammed a metal folding chair up under the doorknob. It wouldn’t hold for very long, but would buy them a few seconds; or minutes if they were lucky. He regretted breaking the latch earlier. It might have held the horde for critical moments longer.

“Time to go.” He scooped up his backpack, a large camping backpack, and motorcycle helmet. He took the stairs two at a time, despite the darkness that was barely alleviated by his flashlight. He pushed open the door to the roof and stepped out into the rain. His worry that it would lighten over the course of the night was unfounded.

If anything, the rain had gotten heavier. He stared through the grey sheets of water for a moment, looking for the rest of his group. He knew they were up here somewhere.

“Over there,” Evan said. He pointed across the roof to the dark outlines of five people. Lightning flashed through the sky and dramatically illuminated the group of survivors.

“Right. Let’s go.” Percival patted Evan in the small of his back and the boy took off. Percival followed after him, tugging his helmet on as he jogged across the rain slicked roof.
The other survivors had taken three planks of wood and carefully set them across the gap between the department store and the building adjacent to it. They seemed to be waiting for Percival to give the word to abandon the building.

“Right. Give me the heaviest of the bags. I’ll go first. Only right your leader takes the first risk. Andrina, you’re second, then Roy Joy, Evan, Sarah, and Karl. Nadia, you get to draw up the rear. One person at a time on the planks.”

“What the hell? She usually pulls up the rear,” Nadia said as she pointed at Sarah.

“Your attitude needs adjusting. You go last.” Percival knew he usually had Sarah pull up the rear. He trusted her a little more than most of the others. It was also a dangerous and powerful position to be assigned, and he hoped that Nadia would see it as such. “No more complaints or questions, we’re wasting time.”

Percival took a backpack handed to him by Karl. He relinquished the sledgehammer and stepped up onto the ledge. He fixed his gaze on the hazy outline of the building across from him and began walking.

He put one foot in front of the other and held his breath through most of the journey. The boards were slick with the rain and seemed more supple as well, shifting with each step and threatening to send him tumbling to his doom. He stepped down off the plank and onto the roof of the adjacent building. He shook from the exertion.

He dropped the backpack onto the roof and took his air horn out and blasted it twice to signal he was across and it was safe for the second to follow.

Terrible minutes passed as Andrina, Roy Joy, Evan, Sarah and Karl crossed the makeshift bridge.

Lightning crackled overhead and lit up the rooftops. It illuminated, in horrific black and white, Nadia and a horde behind her.

Percival pressed against the edge of the roof and tore off his helmet, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting. His words were lost to the rain and a roll of thunder from the clouds overhead.

Nadia climbed up onto the planks and started to cross.

A gunshot echoed from nearby and a member of the horde charging across the roof dropped. Evan worked the bolt on the hunting rifle and sighted through the scope and fired again.
The other survivors joined Percival at the edge of the roof, each shouting words of encouragement to Nadia.

Nadia was halfway across, moving far faster than any of the other survivors had, the makeshift bridge of wet and slick planks when the first of the zombies got to the edge of the roof on the other side. It slammed into the boards on the other side.

Nadia’s scream split the air as cleanly as a knife through hot butter. She slipped and tumbled, striking the boards and laying there for half a second before rolling with the impact and toppling the three stories to the pavement below.

Percival heard the crunch of her impact and the painful crack of bones breaking. He sank to his knees. When he put her last to cross the bridge he’d signed her death warrant. He’d failed her. He'd broken his promise to her.

Nadia’s screams echoed up the wall. It wouldn’t be long before the undead found her.

The rain also brought danger and disaster.

Just After Sunset Review

2009-02-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

Mike Staton
Review of the book “Just After Sunset” by Stephen King
4 out of 5 stars

Stephen King’s latest book delivers scares and subtle insights and certainly won’t disappoint fans or newcomers to one of the masters of horror. What may surprise people who pick up the book is that it is actually a collection of short stories. Most of the stories within have a chilling twist. Everything seems natural and normal until King delivers the subtle twist that delivers the reader into a chilling new reality. Most of the stories are designed to send shivers down your back and keep you on the edge of your seat. For some of the squeamish audience members out there, some of the stories are outright uplifting. I would have to say that my favorite ‘feature’ of the book is the notes on each story that King wrote. They provide an inside look to how a story came to be. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the horror genre or a fan of King.

World War Z Audio Book

2009-02-23T07:01:00.000-08:00

Mike Staton

Review of the audio book “World War Z” by Max Brooks

4 out of 5 stars

This audio book was spectacular. Max Brooks weaves a compelling and frighteningly real ‘what if’ zombie apocalypse story. It is told entirely from the view of the survivors of a world wide zombie infestation that nearly wipes out mankind. While portions of the story are certainly frightening, others are uplifting tales of humanity working together. The tale is narrated by a multitude of actors, including, Max Brooks, Rob Reiner, Mark Hamill and more than a dozen others. Each voice adds a distinct flavor to the story as it is told in a series of interviews, with Max Brooks as the interviewer. The music cues between speakers and between the parts of the book add an overall eerie feel to the entire experience. The only fault that I can really find is that it can be difficult sometimes to remember who each character is after he or she is introduced. That being the only fault that I find with this wonderfully told story of humanity’s survival of a zombie apocalypse, I give ‘World War Z’ 4 out of 5 stars.

Mission Statement

2008-10-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

I intend to use this blog to review books, movies, games, and the like. I also may publish portions of the novel I am currently working on, or anecdotes from various roleplaying game sessions I conduct. To be honest, I'm not sure what all I will end up using this blog for, but we'll see how it goes.