My weekend in Perth
This weekend was spent in Perth, an hour or so north of Edinburgh, at a volleyball tournament. I went last year and had a miserable time. This year was, as they say in Spanish, asi-asi, so-so.
For my accommodations, I reluctantly decided camped outside. All my team-mates (Volleyball Best Pal, Pet, Turtle) were camping and so I would miss out on the camaraderie if I stayed in a B&B. But mostly, I did it to save money. The rates at B&Bs were jacked up for the weekend; the people of Perth certainly know how to get paid. All in all, it was nothing to moan about. The weather held up, though it was fucking freezing the second night, so cold I couldn't actually sleep. Rain was forecasted for the weekend, so I was looking for a pair of wellies to keep my feet dry. I managed to snag a stylish pair in good nick from a guy on Freecycle and I got mad compliments on how I looked in them all weekend, including from my own Boy before I even left.
The camping itself was great. VBP had the site kitted out and I wanted for nothing. We all bought along food galore and even went out shopping for more. VBP brought along a lilo for me to sleep on, in addition to a sleeping bag. We also set up a gazebo that she brought, along with some folding chairs, which turned our 3-tent site into party central, home to some serious boozing and hooking up. (None for me, thanks -- hooking up, that is.) I actually enjoyed the camping more than I thought I would, but I'm not sure it would always be that good. I hope it is, though, as Boy and I agreed to a summer camping weekend with VBP and her boyfriend.
As fun as it was, the weekend was draining in so many ways, mostly because of people. On the first night, our tent kept getting kicked because there was a fight going on right outside our tent. Some dudes were doing some sectarian chanting and some others, rightly so, decided a beat down was in order. And people decided to pump their seriously slack British music into the wee hours of the morning. I felt overwhelmed by being around so many people. I could literally hear everything, whether I wanted to or not. It was like being a clairvoyant, or schizophrenic, and hearing all these voices in your head. The back of my neck is incredibly sore from the weekend from carrying the strain of being surrounded by people. The tension was made even more unbearable by two things: 1) the inappropriate actions of two friends that I will no longer refer to heretofore and; 2) the clear divide among the teams. A little history needed probably about the latter point.
My volleyball club currently consists of four clubs: 2 men's teams and 2 women's teams, one team clearly better than the other among the genders. The two women's teams don't really get along. Most on the 1st women's team look down on the second team and actually won't talk to them. I had one girl totally blank me every time I passed her this weekend, as if I were a stranger. Why would they do that? I'm not sure; I put it down to arrogance and fear. The arrogance bit is pretty straightforward: they think they are better than us. I think they are fearful of us because if they get to know us and hang out with us, they might turn shite like us. Ha ha. Anyway, they don't like us and we don't like them. So it's pretty draining being around people for a whole weekend who consider you a stranger, but you have to pretend as if you like them. Draining.
Plus, as much camaraderie was there was with my team, I hate playing outside. Obviously, getting dirty sucks. But as well, everyone's standard of play decreases exponentially with the weather conditions: the sunnier and brighter it is, the faster play deteriorates. Everyone just wants to enjoy the sun. With drink. There were some teams boozing between games! Our own team got completely wasted on the Saturday night and stayed up late and played like shite the next day. Turtle continually moaned about her (self-inflicted) state and was ready to forfeit our last game. Suck it up, I told the girl.
I was glad to get home to my little Boy and my little puppies. I always thought it was bullshit when people said it, but in this case, it was certainly true: absence did make my heart grow fonder.
lilo air mattress
For my accommodations, I reluctantly decided camped outside. All my team-mates (Volleyball Best Pal, Pet, Turtle) were camping and so I would miss out on the camaraderie if I stayed in a B&B. But mostly, I did it to save money. The rates at B&Bs were jacked up for the weekend; the people of Perth certainly know how to get paid. All in all, it was nothing to moan about. The weather held up, though it was fucking freezing the second night, so cold I couldn't actually sleep. Rain was forecasted for the weekend, so I was looking for a pair of wellies to keep my feet dry. I managed to snag a stylish pair in good nick from a guy on Freecycle and I got mad compliments on how I looked in them all weekend, including from my own Boy before I even left.
The camping itself was great. VBP had the site kitted out and I wanted for nothing. We all bought along food galore and even went out shopping for more. VBP brought along a lilo for me to sleep on, in addition to a sleeping bag. We also set up a gazebo that she brought, along with some folding chairs, which turned our 3-tent site into party central, home to some serious boozing and hooking up. (None for me, thanks -- hooking up, that is.) I actually enjoyed the camping more than I thought I would, but I'm not sure it would always be that good. I hope it is, though, as Boy and I agreed to a summer camping weekend with VBP and her boyfriend.
As fun as it was, the weekend was draining in so many ways, mostly because of people. On the first night, our tent kept getting kicked because there was a fight going on right outside our tent. Some dudes were doing some sectarian chanting and some others, rightly so, decided a beat down was in order. And people decided to pump their seriously slack British music into the wee hours of the morning. I felt overwhelmed by being around so many people. I could literally hear everything, whether I wanted to or not. It was like being a clairvoyant, or schizophrenic, and hearing all these voices in your head. The back of my neck is incredibly sore from the weekend from carrying the strain of being surrounded by people. The tension was made even more unbearable by two things: 1) the inappropriate actions of two friends that I will no longer refer to heretofore and; 2) the clear divide among the teams. A little history needed probably about the latter point.
My volleyball club currently consists of four clubs: 2 men's teams and 2 women's teams, one team clearly better than the other among the genders. The two women's teams don't really get along. Most on the 1st women's team look down on the second team and actually won't talk to them. I had one girl totally blank me every time I passed her this weekend, as if I were a stranger. Why would they do that? I'm not sure; I put it down to arrogance and fear. The arrogance bit is pretty straightforward: they think they are better than us. I think they are fearful of us because if they get to know us and hang out with us, they might turn shite like us. Ha ha. Anyway, they don't like us and we don't like them. So it's pretty draining being around people for a whole weekend who consider you a stranger, but you have to pretend as if you like them. Draining.
Plus, as much camaraderie was there was with my team, I hate playing outside. Obviously, getting dirty sucks. But as well, everyone's standard of play decreases exponentially with the weather conditions: the sunnier and brighter it is, the faster play deteriorates. Everyone just wants to enjoy the sun. With drink. There were some teams boozing between games! Our own team got completely wasted on the Saturday night and stayed up late and played like shite the next day. Turtle continually moaned about her (self-inflicted) state and was ready to forfeit our last game. Suck it up, I told the girl.
I was glad to get home to my little Boy and my little puppies. I always thought it was bullshit when people said it, but in this case, it was certainly true: absence did make my heart grow fonder.
Learn to speak British
wellies waterproof, or rain, boots; origin: Wellington bootslilo air mattress
posted by Autumn at 29.5.06
1 Comments:
Your are Nice. And so is your site! Maybe you need some more pictures. Will return in the near future.
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