Days 50-53: From Boot Loss to the 90s

Thursday:

Kalie and Cody in front of the London Eye

I started the weekend out with an absolutely awesome ride through Hyde park. Once again, Carrie and I were allowed to take "our" horses on the trail away from the group. It's kind of nice knowing that the trainer is trusting and respecting us more as riders. So, with me on Clifton and Carrie on Figaro, we were able to walk, trot, and canter the Serpentine trail and meet up with the group halfway around on the wider stretch. The instructor seemed pleased that we didn't get lost or fall off (her words), and so told us to go ahead and finish the wide stretch and meet up with the group at the arena so we could all walk back to the barn together. So Carrie and I took off, letting the horses get in a nice little canter. Now, it might have been the chilly weather, or maybe just our own excitement, but the horses began racing just a bit, so we figured- why not? - and let them go. Oh my goodness. What an exhilarating ride! There is something absolutely fantastic about galloping a horse down a nice wide trail, wind pushing so hard against your face that it almost stings, the only sound being the horses hooves over the dirt and our own laughter. What can I say? It was an adrenaline rush, and one that I've been missing for a couple years now. We made it back to the group without problem, walked back to the stable, and then back to our house. I spent the rest of the afternoon getting a little homework done, going to the gym, before we all went out to a wine bar that evening, where I somehow lost a boot. Honestly, the boot should be in my room... but it isn't. Confusing matter. I'd really like to figure this mystery out. I mean, we have phantom handprints appearing on the mirror in one of the other rooms, my single boot goes MIA. Does the London house have a ghostie? Well, it is fitting for Halloween. But really... I'd kind of like to find my boot...

Friday:
Friday was my lazy day. I got to sleep in, and then decided that I really could care less about being productive, and so I consumed an entire bag of goldfish while catching up on a few shows and then watching a movie. I did contemplate the gym at one point, but a romantic comedy just seemed far more enjoyable. So, I pushed some pillows together and watched my movie. This was followed by a quick dinner and then - wait for it- some more laziness in the form of watching Breaking Bad with some of the girls and guys in the house. Seriously, that show is addictive. Go watch it. Now. Regardless of my disgusting amount of laziness this day, I did actually manage to crank out the entirety of my history paper, which was a huge weight off my shoulders. So, a little productivity! And then a good night's sleep. Lovely.

Saturday:
Saturday I decided that I really needed to actually do something with my life, so after making myself a quick lunch (yes, I did sleep in again... gotta love it), I found Kelsey and we made a quick excursion to Portobello Road, where I bought some new boots to replace my old ones. I seriously have the worst luck here. One pair of boots just broke down, the other lost its mate, and my converse have holes in the bottom. Shoe fail? I think so. Anyhow, I bought some new ones, because running around in massive rainboots everyday isn't really acceptable, and then we headed back to the house when it began raining. I decided to hit up the gym to make up for my laziness of the day before, and it honestly did feel lovely. I think I have a strange obsession with the gym... but I guess that isn't exactly a bad thing.

So, after I returned from the gym I got ready to go out later, ran downstairs and made myself another healthy quesadilla dinner. Good thing I'm really lacking in food products here. Oh well, I'm going to Barcelona soon, so I don't really need to have a plethora of groceries that would go bad during my absence anyhow. Dinner was followed by some more Breaking Bad (again... I'm clearly obsessed with this show, and for good reason). After such, I was given an invitation to join Kelsey and Sinjin at a rugby party. Apparently they have their own bar, and this night was "Hammerween." Yeah, that bodes well doesn't it? With the theme of 90s party, Kelsey and I were really hoping that it was the same 90s that we went through, and proceeded to rock some shorts over tights, converse, tank tops and band T's, and flannels, with heavy makeup and red lips. It was actually kind of fun, and most certainly funny. We hopped on the tube, made our way to the bar, and were met by-

Yeah, definitely not 90s theme.

So, somewhere the theme got lost in translation, or maybe we were just ignorant to the fact that nobody really dresses up according to the theme, because it was just a huge eclectic group of costumes. Of course, that didn't really bother us, so we got our drinks and began dancing to the live band that was playing some older classic rock, inclusive of I Shot the Sheriff and Sweet Home Alabama. Really, really random music. Kelsey and I managed to befriend some rugby guys, danced around with them, got some pictures with some of the more awesomely-dressed people, and then one of the guys (Jeff) proceeded to drag us around the bar and introduce us to a ton more of the guys. I have never been in such a testosterone-filled room. Seriously, it was like... man-land. And I felt very small in their presence. But we both met a ton of nice people, many from Australia and South Africa, and then of course England. The night proceeded with more dancing and silliness, Kelsey and me trying to avoid a male-nurse-costumed guy who wanted to kiss both of us, and then our attempts at catching the attention of a trio of guys (Hulk, Skeleton-man, and Ghostbusters Dough Boy). Seriously- English guys are so reserved. So after they kept looking over at us all night, we leaned against the bar right next to them and they still failed. So, what did I do? At Kelsey's dare, I walked straight up to them and made friends.

We spent the rest of the night chatting with the trio- I hit it off with Hulk aka Dan, who was actually a tall soccer player that looked like a California surfer guy (love it!). Dough Boy had just a bit too much and wandered off at one point, and Skeleton professed to me that I was his second favorite person at the party. First place went to some random dude that walked by and looked very confused. I ended up chatting with Dan and sometimes Skeleton for good part of an hour and a half before we decided to head back to the house. While waiting for the bus, who did we meet? Jeff! He returned and began teaching Kelsey and me a South African dance while we waited for the bus. Gotta love it. Seriously, we met some pretty nice people that night. I can't complain. Of course, the fun wasn't over quite yet....

On our way back from getting off the bus and going home, we randomly met some Imperial students running down the road. So, naturally, Kelsey gives one a piggy-back ride and we all become 2-am best friends for the remainder of the walk. After professing our best-friendship upon parting, we made it back to our house, and into the kitchen, where some lovely snacks were pulled from the fridge. I finally bid my friends goodnight, chatted a bit with Kalie who had just gotten back from her outing that night, and crawled into my lovely, warm bed. Seriously... that thing is a beautiful creation.

Sunday:

With a time change, I actually woke up at 9:30 instead of 10:30 today... Fantastic. So, I got up, washed my face, walked back into the room, and decided that my bed was way too awesome to leave. So I hopped back in and slept til 11:30. I love weekends. After I finally pulled my lazy self out of bed, I edited my essay, put together my bibliography, and then ran downstairs for a late lunch. This was followed by a moment of self-hate at the gorging that had just gone on with really unhealthy food, and so I ran off and braved the cold outside and made friends with the gym again. I love that place far too much... but maybe it's a good obsession? Let's hope. After returning from the gym I had fantastic skype dates with my dad and Elise before showering and writing up this lovely thing before our house-prepared dinner and Halloween house party.... (time lapse here) So, the party was delicious. Yes, delicious. Chili and cornbread and sugar cookies, followed by none other than the final episode of Breaking Bad season 1 with Craig, Steve, and Ashley. A lovely, quiet evening in preparation for a 2-day week before Barcelona!

Monday/Tuesday:
Well, I can't say that there was anything too exciting on these days. Everyone was in a panic to finish essays, making me very thankful that I got mine done early. However, this also meant that the house was... dead. So I reacquainted myself with chick flicks and got in a couple of movies and shows and some laziness, matched, of course, by my gym visits. Oh, and then there was Breaking Bad. Season two has already started off with a bang. Love it. Tuesday night was finished off with some last minute laundry, packing, a little hanging out before crashing out early for our long weekend in Barcelona! Woohoo!