Saturday 1 (10/07/10)

My first blog will have to be uploaded at a later date, since internet access is not yet sorted.

I can feel my energy levels dropping, and I suspect my good mood will go with it, so I will try to keep this brief.

The flight went very smoothly, perhaps the most surprising thing of all was how quick immigration turned out to be. I think my flight came down at a lucky time – there was no queue in front of my fellow passengers. We landed at about 3.30, and by 4 I was outside waiting for the shuttle bus.

The accommodation here is much better than I expected. The decor is predictably depressing – white woodchip walls, industrial carpet, plain wood furnishings, single bed. I may not be able to resist finding a poster or two, even if it’s only for 5 weeks. But the apartment is more spacious than I thought it would be. The living room has a couch and an armchair, and a small table with four dining chairs. There’s a separate kitchen behind a bar or counter. The kitchen has a double sink, lots of cupboard space, a fridge with a generous freezer compartment, and best of all a gas cooker with oven and four-ring hob. Not sure how much cooking I’ll be doing, but it’s nice to know I can. No kettle, unfortunately – I’ll see if I can get a cheap one. If not, a milk pan should do.

Bought my first American food – a baguette from Subway. Curiously, the Subway Smell didn’t seem to be so pungent here as in Glasgow. I’m going to eat it at 7 in hopes that it will help with jetlag. Don’t expect to be up much after 8.
There was a little girl sitting across from me on the plane, and she was watching Tom and Jerry on a portable DVD player. Even though I was watching and listening to Bill Bailey, I could hear Tom and Jerry’s soundtrack in my head when I glanced over. I’m obviously right for this job.

Going to watch a film now. I feel as though I should take some photographs, but I think I’ll wait until tomorrow, when I’m sure to have time to kill. Possible subjects I saw today were a grey squirrel (much greyer than your common UK squirrel, which supports the theory that British greys and reds are interbreeding into a new breed) and views of the University. But I got this picture before I left Glasgow of the FlyBe plane to Barra. This is supposed to be an LA blog, but since this is technically Day -2, I think I’m justified in having one from Scotland.