USA, here I come... hopefully!

Howdy folks!

2008 is the year I move to the USA, or so I've decided!
Over the course of a year and a half, I have packed (might not be the word!) this blog with tips on where to go and what to see in Scotland, including information if you want to relocate to this part of the UK.
It is now time I take it a step further, meaning on the other side of the pond!

It should take me ages but in the end I hope I'll find a decent job in the USA without having to marry a guy to get the green card, or just buy it (the green card that, not the guy!).
I'll keep a concise (hopefully!) diairy of my journey from the wee town of Largs to the Big Apple and hopefully by January next year, I'll be writting from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean!

So please, if you have any tip (websites, personal experiences, books, offices...) that could help me, feel free to drop a note!

Pics of Ayr, Ayrshire

Ayr, Ayrshire. Capital city of the Ayrshire county, Ayr is a wee city by the sea, as many others in Scotland.
Ayr is a very quiet and peaceful city with a very typical town center and a nice sand beach. That's one very nice city and one of the few ones I could leave Largs for!


Ayr, Ayrshire.Capitale du conté du Aryshire, Ayr est une fois de plus une petite ville côtière... à croire qu'il n'y a que ça en Ecosse!
Dans mon coin de l'Ecosse en tout cas, c'est à peu près tout ce qu'il y a en effet... ça et des iles!
Ayr est une ville très agréable au centre ville typique du pays. Une plage de sable à perte de vue. Encore une ville au charme indéniable et certainement l'une des rares villes pour lesquelles je pourrais quitter Largs!

Pics of Ardrossan, Ayrshire

Ardrossan is a wee town by the sea in Ayrshire (South west of Scotland).
With a direct link to the Isle of Arran by ferry, Ardrossan is somehow touristic, and has this amazing beach with this sumptuous view on the Mountain Goat Fell, one of the numerous treasures of the Isle of Arran.

Ardrossan, Ayrshire. Une autre de ces villes côtières de l'ouest de l'Ecosse.
Rien de bien particulier, si ce n'est un ferry qui relie le 'continent' à l'ile d'Arran, certainement l'ile la plus touristique des Lowlands.
De la plage d'Ardrossan on a une vue absolument magnifique de l'ile... bref une petite ville où il fait bon y passer un peu de temps.

New Year's resolutions.

Failing to see the point in Christmas (that is, as the non catholic I am), I find this period pretty depressiong. However, there is something magic about the New Year's Eve... almost as if you could bury in the past whatever you did and start afresh.

And of course, among other traditions, we have to come up with resolutions that we will drop after 2 days... or will we?
Most of the people I know have taken the resolution of not taking any resolution, which is funny but at the same time, I think it's passing on a great opportunity, stop thinking about changing and start doing it.

So last year I decided that my 2007 project would be myself. I have a very bad self confidence issue, I don't like the way I look and even though I'm out-going, I always fear what people will think of me. So in 2007, my resolution was to work on this, and because I love taking on new projects, it really worked.
12 months later I've changed my wardrobe, bought more make-up than I ever did, started playing squash twice a week and a month ago I even joined a fitness club!
I have changed so much that I wear skirts!

So yes, resolutions do work!

But now it's time for a new resolution/project, and because I quit smoking 5 weeks ago, I can't take this one, it would be too easy...
So two resolutinos for 2008:

- Stop giving a damn about things I can't change!

I don't like my nose, so what? Ain't gonna change anyway so stop giving a damn!
I hate the time it takes to put a new process in place at work, tons of stuff infuriate me at work but there's nothing I can do anything about, so I need to stop caring!

However, this also means that what I don't like and can change, I have to do the best I can to make it better!

- I will celebrate New Year's Eve 2008 in the USA!

This year is my year, it's high time I move on, Scotland is a great country, I love my work and my teams, but in 12 months I need to be in a different country, with a new job (I wouldn't mind the same company though!).

These are my two projects, as well as keep on working on my 2007 project which is an ongoing project!

UgzY has a new home!

I've decided to go public... sort of anyway!
Being a geek, I've always prefered to be in charge of every detail of my blog, choosing an open source application and hosting it and all... but nothing really suited my needs for a bilingual blog whose main purpose is hosting pictures.

After many versions, I've realized that nothing will ever be perfect and that the multiple plugins I had were more of a waste of my time than a real solution.

Being a big fan of the Google concept and already using half of what's available, including the online photo storage and offline tool Picasa, I've decided to go for the easy solution for once... hope this will help me keep this blog up-to-date!

So UgzY is back with a new home... I've lost the comments, not everything is back yet and I'm missing like 400 pics but it will be as good as it can be before long!

So, for those of you who don't know what this blog is all about... I'm a French girl who decided to leave for Scotland back in August 2005 and I'm merely trying to share my journey and whenever possible, tips on where to go if you want to visit or move to Scotland.

FR: Stirling - 2ème essai réussi!

Pour ceux qui avaient suivi mes mesaventures il y a un an et demi à Stirling, j'avais reussi a prendre un panorama du chateau et a crasher ma voiture dans la même journée!
Ne m'avouant pas vaincue pour si peu, c'est avec ma seconde voiture que j'y suis retournée!
Cette voiture, au programme visite du chateau ET retour en voiture... c'était pas gagné d'avance mais j'ai réussi!
Ceci dit je n'ai toujours pas été voir le William Wallace Monument mais cette fois par faute de temps, le chateau de Stirling prend quelques heures a visiter.