First BUNAC Pub Meet

It’s been a long time waiting to get to this exact spot – on a bed, in my pyjamas, having just finished a cup of tea and a couple chocolate chip shortbread biscuits. Most of the day was pretty monotonous – I went to BUNAC for little more than 40 minutes, and then went to the British Library for about four or five hours to use its wireless connection, during which I had a berry tea with lemon cake (which was delicious, by the way – very moist and filled with a layer of lemon crème). Many, many emails were sent. I’d left my headphones at home (oops), so the time passed very boringly. I had hoped to make time to visit a flat in Bow, but it got late quicker than I’d realized, so it’s been rescheduled for tomorrow.

By the time I left the library, it was after 6:30. I knew that Gill was busy, so even if I’d left then, she wouldn’t have been able to meet me at the station. Kevin wouldn’t have been able to meet with me, either, since he was to be working later than usual. Obviously, it was too late for the buses, too, so whether I left then or not I’d have still needed to get a taxi home. Tonight there was a monthly BUNAC pub-meet at the Cantaloupe pub in Shoreditch. Normally, I’d just skip out on social events (fear of awkward moments, or something like that), but I gave Nicole a call, and she was planning on going, so I’d at least know one person there.

I hopped on the Northern Line, which took me to Old Street, and from there I figured out the directions to Charlotte St. in my A-Z book. I was a little bit early… So I walked a block or two up the street and back. Not much time was killed. I went inside, had a look around, and didn’t spot anyone familiar. I stood around the bar, trying to occupy myself with my cell phone, sending texts and reading old ones. At that moment, I would have preferred a nice quiet café with a cup of tea and a peaceful corner to read in, and I considered what a wallflower I must seem. Maybe it was just paranoia, but I felt some eyes were on me. (Pathetic!) I went downstairs – a lot of them, actually – to the bathroom. I tried to kill some more time, but it just wouldn’t roll over and die. I found myself upstairs and feeling awkward again… I gave Nicole a call. Fortunately, she was just out of the tube and on her way. (There is a god!) I bought myself a pint of Guinness and got a booth in the restaurant area.

The rest of the evening went very sociably; everything seemed to fall into place. I can thank Nicole for that – she got me started in talking to a couple people, which led me to speak to more people, etc. etc., until a sort of circle-of-friends was created. I talked to some people more often than others – notably Katie (from Texas; moved to Portland, OR) the two Andrews (both Canadians), Stephan (a German photographer), Chris (another Canadian!), and Andrea (from Chicago – a fellow journalism grad). Katie’s living with her boyfriend’s family, but seems quite keen to move out – she and I may even look into sharing a flat. One of the Andrews (the one not from Vancouver), Katie and I made an agreement to go to a concert together. Oh, and Katie wants to go for tea at the Orangery this week, and Nicole wants to go, too. All sorts of plans have been made. The time passed so well. We discussed travelling (Vancouver Andrew is the most well-traveled of the group – he’s spent months all over Europe; Katie spent three months in Italy last year), US elections (I had my voter information with me – it made a marvellous conversation piece), Briticisms (e.g., How does one answer to “cheers”? It’s not exactly “thank you”, so “you’re welcome” isn’t exactly correct… The consensus seemed to be that one must mumble awkwardly in response.), Canada, hostel life (Nicole’s at war with some noisy Croatians in her room), and so on. As slowly as the minutes seemed to drag at the beginning, the time had passed so smoothly and enjoyably afterward. It got late – it was after 11 PM by the time we’d noticed most of the room had cleared and we were on our way. A number of us took the tube to King’s Cross together; we didn’t split till I headed for St. Pancras to catch the 1st Capital Connect to St. Albans.

In a way, tonight reminded me of an evening in Cambridge a few years ago. The one night I didn’t meet up with Laura, I went with some fellow Gonville & Caius students to The Anchor, on Silver Street by the Cam. I don’t even remember how it was any of us got talking… only that during dinner previously, I was talking to Takeshi and someone else (I can’t forget that conversation – I retold Laura most of it afterwards; he was so anxious to ask me questions about Los Angeles and all the glitzy stuff of Hollywood; his friend – also Japanese – had to remind him that Universal Studios existed in Japan, too), and later someone mentioned going to the pub… I hadn’t arranged to meet Laura anywhere that time, so I just went along. We had cranberry spritzers on the lawn outside the pub (we took pictures of each other then, but I have no idea what became of them), and went inside when it got dark. Most of the time we chatted about cross-culture differences… there were a number of backgrounds sitting around that table in the corner; among these I remember Scottish, German, and possibly French. It was the first time I’d ever had a truly international conversation, with such variety. It’s one thing to come from a sort of “melting pot” city like Los Angeles, but it’s another entirely to be in a far-off country, making conversation about other countries. I don’t very well remember all the topics that passed over that table (I do remember once disagreeing with a German girl that some German words are easy to figure out in English – well if “garten” doesn’t sound a lot like “garden”, what on Earth else could it be??), but I remember the atmosphere to be so warm, easygoing, and full of laughter. Not much unlike tonight.

Some Progress... Not Much

Because I’m too tired to write normally, I’ll keep it simple once again.

Today I went to London, met up with Nicole at BUNAC, both made & received some phone calls, went with Nicole to the bank (we got our new cards), Carphone Warehouse (there was a problem with her phone; I got a new micro-SD card & reader for mine), and to a sandwich shop by Trafalgar Square for lunch (I had a bacon and sausage sandwich… too fatty, unfortunately). Then she went back to the hostel to shower & dress for an interview and I killed some time in the National Portrait Gallery before going to the very fringe of Zone 2 to view a flat (first one, too). Pros: it was very cheap and came with wireless internet. Cons: it’s out of the way and not very clean; plus, it’s a room share.

Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get plenty of other viewings done. Nicole’s moving out of her hostel and into another one, but we’ll probably meet after that’s done.

By the way: I’ve been listening to a ton of recordings on FreeSound.org, and now a handful of them are on my iPod.

Now the zombie’s going to bed… good night. Braaains…

Lists

I have to get up early tomorrow, so I'll make this quick...

In sum:
1) I took care of my banking stuff; all I need now is to wire some more money from my home account.
2) I got a UK phone number (new SIM card)... but my phone's complaining about it being locked to the old network, and my mom got me some code that's supposed to undo that, but it's giving me trouble now... so I'm going to have to go back to the store later and get them to try it.
3) I roamed the National Gallery for a bit; most notably, I saw some famous Turner & Renoir paintings to my liking.
4) I got a sandwich (chicken & bacon, if you must know) and a ginger beer, went to St. James Park, and splurged on a £1.50 chair-for-rent (comfier than grass and more available than benches), where I had my little lunch & fiddled with my new SIM card.

Impressions:
I wasn't familiar with the more northern portion of London (where BUNAC's office is; I had to go there before heading to the bank); it was less remarkable than the more familiar parts of the city (Westminster, the West End, Kensington, etc.), but I figured it out soon enough (thanks to a lovely little pocket map book Gill loaned me). Going to the other areas was a different sort of familiar experience. I'd been to these parts before on vacation, and this time, being solo and with particular goals in mind... well, I don't know exactly how to put it. Maybe I felt a little better than the tourists this time. Maybe I felt a little more free, knowing that I didn't have to stop at every landmark; six months is a lot of time, and I can admire/take pictures of these wonderful things any time I want to now. And by the end of the day, I was happy to make the commute back to Hertfordshire. In Gill & Kevin's house, I can relax, watch some TV, and have some tea. They're more than gracious hosts, and I enjoy their company.

Tomorrow's plan:
1) Wake at 7 AM.
2) Leave the house at about 8 (Gill has some places to go in the morning) & take the train from St. Albans' to Farringdon Road.
3) Kill a little time in London before arriving at BUNAC at 10:30 AM.
4) ??? (I don't know what all the Orientation stuff will lead to.)
5) Possibly take care of the phone thing.
6) Get back to St. Albans before 7.