Scotland and New York: Worlds Apart.

0600 hours and the call of Haggis awakes me. Well, it used to: that was before I moved to New York.

Now it’s the sound of my land lord balling his head off for a reason – unknown to me but I believe there is something driving his behaviour. What a stark contrast.

Not only is my morning call different, but my lifestyle has changed too. Before I would head straight down stairs where a bowl of sugar topped porridge would await my arrival and once devoured  i would head out of the house to the shed where a range of lumberjack tools would be gathered. The day would then involve myself and my father Brian chopping away at epically formed pillars of wood. My friend Lucas also helps out on a daily basis. And now? Yep, i get up, head straight to the subway where im likely to encounter various urine smells and then jump on the train as if it were the last one to be running that day.  Then onto 5th avenue where my lumberjack tools are replaced with Microsoft outlook and various other computer programs.

Into the afternoon I have about a million options where I can eat. But, because of the lifestyle my options are actually quite limited. In fact more often than not I will pop round the corner to Foodworld – not because the food is of good quality, or the fact that one of the workers from Poland finds me attractive, but because I dont want to miss frustratingly bad tv programmes such as Tool Academy or Rock of Love with my work colleagues. And bang, its time to go back to work.

To put this into perspective, back in Scotland my father, my friend and I would return  to the house with some of the wood we had chopped down, place it in the shed and then eat fresh cuts of meat from our livestock. My mother also maintains a beautiful vegetable plot where the vegetables are divine. Food in New York for the most part is awful. Hunting Haggis is fun too but because of laws protecting the specie hunting Haggis only occurs in the months from March – June. Most of that time the animals are hunted but are preserved throughout the year so it can be consumed annually. Fishing is also another one of my favourite ways to get a meal. Theres nothing like catching a huge shore fish. Food is of great quality and although the options are no where as great, the knowing of a 100% fresh meal overwhelms an choice of chicken cutlets or cheese steak phillys.

5pm comes and great – only another hour or so to go. My eyes are strained and my body is craving movement. So when the option of going out for a few drinks and owning the dancefloor with work colleagues is out there, I take it. One a scale this is win. This is one thing New York can deal. And that is the Ace of Win. With the option to go out every night and not go to the same pubs, bars and clubs over and over – although ironically i do – but i choose to.  Back in Scotland the night life is mundain.

While I am on a roll with positive New York thoughts lets think of the other great things the city has to offer – Central Park, art museums, a diverse population, the avenues and much more. What a city. Although for you who find Times Square a fun place to be – you are wrong. Times Square is far too crowded and the pace of tourists equates to a tragic fail.

Ok, so you have got this far and are thinking ‘fit the fuck is this boy on about?’ Well, the purpose of this blog was to reflect on my life in Scotland and gather your opinions on the stereotypes both in New York and Scotland and the differences.

Although I now live a completley different lifestyle, which is my own doing - would you rather have a much backward way of life where you had the option to hunt and gather while roaming the mountains in any country or does visiting the deli round the corner suffice your lunch needs and desires? Would you rather be in Scotland than in America?

I wouldnt change any of the decisions ive made to move away from Scotland. Although, I sometimes think, without my great flatmates and really friendly work colleagues, would life in New York be that great?

Thanks for taking time to read my blog – in fact this is the first blog I have ever written.

AlphaMale