"You don't have to live like a refugee"

Yesterday was a quite a day. Class was pretty boring on the whole. I'm just not so into humanitarian concerns, at least not on the "let's get out and help some people" micro level. I'm into goverments and organizations.

Anyway, I had some tasty and delicious Thai food at The Hobgoblin which is a conveinant 10 minute walk from campus. There was snow on the ground in the morning which I attempted to photograph, but my rechargeable batteries are failing me consistently, so I had no juice. I agreed to meet up with Real World for a "party" at her boyfriend's house in the evening, so I took the afternoon easy - a nap and some Madden on the pc sufficed.

Real World's boyfriend lives out in the middle of nowhere, west London, Ealing Broadway. It's the last stop and then there's at least a 10 minute bus ride to his house. But I wanted to go because: a) he's british, b) he may know british girls, and c) there will probably be girls at the party. It was an enjoyable evening on the whole. It wasn't what I would term a "party" because 8 guys and 3 girls sitting around drinking beer and whine just doesn't come close to my idea of what a party should be. (And yes, I spelled that the way I wanted it.)

At any rate, aside from the cute Spanish girl, there were no other girls of interest. (And, I'm sort of kicking myself because I could have gone out in Earl's Court with some friends and had a decent chance to deploy "the system" on random strange and interesting women. Then again, knowing Justin, he probably would have wanted to go to a gay club.) I left about 1 am. I wanted to get home relatively early because I had planned on hitting the British Library today. HOWEVER, I was not prepared for how difficult and impossible the task would prove to be.

The only bus from this location heads East, but doesn't go anywhere I need to go. So the key is to change at the right place. Only problem is THERE IS NO RIGHT PLACE. The closest I could get was Shepard's Bush (hehe, I said "bush") which is quite a trek. The connecting bus does take you to Holland Park, but it drops you off at the north side of the park, which is essentially as far as just walking from Shepard's Bush. So, using the meager amount of logic remaining in my beer addled brain, I embarked on a daring mission to navigate home. It was a VERY long walk. But that wasn't my downfall. No, my downfall was when I turned the wrong way and ended up walking ALL THE WAY BACK from whence I came (although much farther south). My shame, humiliation, and utter contempt for myself knows no bounds. Being too stubborn to catch a cab, I managed to find a bus that would take me Kensington High Street which is about 10-15 minutes walking from my house. So, long story short, I left at 1 am, I rode buses for about an hour, walked for 2, and stumbled in at 4 irate, angry, and sober.

When I woke up this morning, two things were clear: I was not going to the Library and I was in trouble because the weak UK headache medicine was not going to be sufficient to alleviate my pain. It's not that I had a ton to drink either. I only had 5 beers over the course of 5 hours. No, it's that I was drinking Stella Artois, a truly foul and generic substitute that often leaves one with a nasty headache. Compounding the problem was the aching pain stretching from my feet to my back. I have good shoes and all, but they're not made for that type of hiking.

At any rate, there was obviously only one solution: Greasy Fried Chicken and Dirty Black Coffee. Fortunately, Earl's Court can provide these commodities in spades. Mixing in a couple weak pain killers and a bottle of water helped. Plus, the giant coffee that I consumed "gave me wings" meaning that I've been quite productive on this paper that I am working on. I consider today's work a major victory for my German-Irish constitution (with kudos to Coffee Republic and KFC).

Tonight, I think I'll stay in and work on these papers. I have it in me to finish these suckers this weekend, a dubious proposition, but a solid goal, if I say so myself.