IT'S THURSDAY, I MUST BE IN...EDINBURGH

I like working closely with our "Friends Philippines"/Tourism department here in the UK, of course. But when it's the Philippine Trade office that invites me to give an investments promotion lecture and travel up to Scotland, well, wala nang kaibi-kaibigan.

(but we can still be "Friends" again, Tourism...just invite me to the dive show in Birmingham next month...I'm that easy)

Return to Edinburgh on a Thursdah

The LLDD-Hyphen-L and I arrive late Thursday afternoon, but because we've travelled so far up north, there's still plenty of daylight well into the night and we get a chance to walk all around Edinburgh's old town. It was as cool, beautiful and mystical as I remembered it.

. . .although youth photobombing has since become a problem.

How beautiful is Edinburgh? Put it this way: if you're an engaged couple and have an unphotogenic groom-to-be, having your "Guy and Pip" pre-nup photos taken with Edinburgh as the backdrop is guaranteed to overcome any of his unsightly double-chinned dorkiness.






(but not, alas, his inability to nail the "fierce" look)

Like I said the last time I was here, Edinburgh's stone sculptures are the best, most dramatic I've ever seen. (you might even say they...ahem...rock) The local bird population, however, does not afford the statue heads the same respect.

Fil-Forum Friday

With a full day's work ahead, we join the Trade team in the midst of the official picture-picture session. This may be an investments event, but it's a Philippine investments event, so by gum there will be picture-picture! Lots of it! (At. Every. Single. Hotel. Office. And. Restaurant.)

En route to the forum venue, we pick up a meeting participant at a trendy new hotel in old town Edinburgh. And by trendy new, I mean 80s New Wave colors and decor everywhere. Mauve walls with Zubaz flooring? I like!

Forum begins and I deliver a lecture on Philippine economic and investment opportunities before some Scottish business players. I won't burden you with the details of the talk (7.3%!), but I will say as unsolicited advice to other Philippine FSO lecture-geeks around the world that two particular jokes go over surprisingly well with an audience. The first is right at the start of the speech (above)mentioning the local weather ("I see today is one of the few sunny days of the year in Scotland. I won't blame you for ignoring me and just staring out the window"); the second is at the end of the lecture teaching the gathering the meaning of Mabuhay ("In Spanish it would be 'Viva', in Vulcan it would be 'Live Long and Prosper' ")



You think I'm kidding? Zoom in on my hand! And remember, the most beloved character in Star Trek's name is, that's right, Scotty! So you see how the Scottish speech has all come together. The circle of dork is complete. So awesome.

And there can be, of course, no talk of awesome or of sci-fi without Star Wars - even up here in Scotland. After the forum, the Trade group pay a visit to the offices of one of the event organizers. The conversation is dominated by a debate on macroeconomic figures and priority investment sectors until...I notice in one corner over some desk clutter...and yell out...BOBA FETT!!

Instantly, two heads pop-up out of cubicles like a whack-a-mole game. We all lock eyes. There are no words exchanged, yet it is immediately understood: I am safe here. I am among friends. I will not be harmed on this ground.

The owner of the Boba Fett image (above) explains, "I've had that since I was a kid, but my wife won't let me keep it at home". I feel you, brother.

His co-worker dives in and we all have a spirited discussion on the appeal of the bounty hunter ("It's the mask, isn't it? It makes him an enigma"), the merits of the re-booted Battlestar Galactica over the original ("The re-boot is just more gritty and intense. And the girls are hotter"), and the coolest thing about buying the Family Guy-Something Something Darkside DVD box ("It has a T-shirt inside, and the Chicken is Boba Fett!"). Good times.

The best part? Turns out the guys are animators working on a informational project. Their work is going well, but they say they still could use some help. Well then, what so happens to be one of the Philippines' priority sectors? That's right, Animation BPOs! The Trade people immediately referred my sci-fi boys to some local companies, and everyone may very well hook up. Win. Win. Win.

To recap: I got to visit scenic Scotland, promote the Philippines and get my Star Wars and animation groove on. All in the name of work.

Told you Edinburgh was cool.