Thursday, March 17, 2005
Learning to juggle
Oy. Since the moment I got home from Spain it's been one thing after another, or more accurately, many things at the same time as many other things. Not that this is a bad thing at all -- it's just a shame I haven't had a single spare minute to write about any of it!
Well, Josh arrived the day after I got back from Spain. We went to St. Andrews, which I wrote about. After that I had to start working working on some major essay assignments for my classes. So when I wasn't entertaining Josh (or trying to -- who knew being tied down and forced to watch me sing the charts in drag wasn't everyone's idea of a good time?) I was in class or at the library. Then Katie arrived that weekend, except she flew into Edinburgh, so Josh and I took the bus down there to pick her up. And while we were down there, it's not like we weren't going to see the city and get our party on. So we woke up at 8 AM to pick Katie up from the airport with massive hangovers, or what would have been massive hangovers if we weren't still drunk.
Katie and Josh's visits overlapped for three days, so during that time I was trying to entertain two people and still get some work done on my essays, which were both due within three days of each other. Also, Katie was into clubbing a lot more than Josh, so I spent the whole week going out every night, and waking up at 9 AM to walk into uni to return library books because they were due at 10:30 AM the day after I checked them out and I was supposed to buy my own copies but I had no money which is also why I didn't take the bus and save myself two hours every day.
I think I did a pretty good job juggling Katie and schoolwork, but it was rough, especially the night before the Big Momma Essay was due. Yes, I stayed up all night again. No, it wasn't because I put it off to the last minute. Actually, the good news is that both essays themselves were relatively painless to write. I felt like I knew what I was talking about, and had some interesting ideas to explore. What the fuck? This never happened at UW. I'm so over the University of Aberdeen, but I have to admit the film classes here are excellent.
So I finally turned in my Big Momma Essay (that's a nickname referencing its size and importance -- not implying it has anything to do with Martin Lawrence's 2000 smash hit comedy Big Momma's House) and the next day we had to take the bus down to Edinburgh so we could spend the night there and get Katie to the airport the next morning. David was flying into Aberdeen that day, and would get on the bus to Edinburgh with us three hours after his flight landed. At least, he was supposed to.
This plan was derailed somewhat by the fact that David wasn't at the airport when we went to pick him up. Which, by the way, was already a disaster because the bus we were going to catch to the airport wasn't running, so we tried the other bus to the airport, but we just missed it, had to wait 20 minutes, and the next one didn't come because there was "an accident." So we caught a taxi, which, aside from totally relieving us of our cash, took forever because there was another accident blocking traffic on the way to the airport. When we finally got there, David wasn't there. Where was David? WE DIDN'T KNOW! It seemed totally sick to still leave town when David was presumably either somewhere in Aberdeen or on his way there, but we had no choice because of Katie's flight out of Edinburgh in the morning. But we did it anyway.
Eventually, I got a phone call from David saying he had missed his connection in London and there weren't any more flights to Aberdeen until the next day. So instead, I told him to book the next flight to Edinburgh and meet us there, at my friend Sarah's house, with whom we were staying. So we eventually got David to where we were. But it was pretty much a nightmare for four hours, during which we had no idea where on planet earth David was, and no way of contacting him to find out.
Katie left the next morning (I'm trying to make a long story short but it's really just getting longer and longer) and David and I caught the bus up to Aberdeen, except we had to catch different buses because mine was fully booked. So I sent David up to a city he'd never been to in his life after having him fly into a city he'd never been to in a country he'd never been to and not meeting him at the airport because I was still on a bus. I stayed in Edinburgh until nighttime and headed back to Aberdeen, where David and Rosie were having a laugh, thank god, instead of crying because something happened like David fell asleep on the bus and missed his connection and went all the way up to Inverness.
BUT THAT'S NOT WHERE THIS STORY ENDS. No, the very next day, in addition to having a full day of classes, Greg flew in for the week and I had two visitors again. And the next day, we all caught the bus to Glasgow because obviously David and Greg were not exhausted and jet-lagged after just flying over from America. We got to Glasgow and stayed with Marianne's aunt, whom none of us have met, but it's okay because she is awesome and gave us food and a place to sleep.
The next day, which was yesterday, the three of us woke up at 8 AM (I've been doing that for a couple weeks straight now) and did Glasgow in a day, which I think we did a pretty competent job at, considering we went there knowing NOTHING. Last night we caught a bus back to Aberdeen and got back really late and now I'm at uni again because I have to start working on another essay not to mention two presentations. Also, we're going to take the bus to Perth tomorrow and spend the night at Marianne's parents' house. Because we really have gotten out enough, you know.
Upcoming plans: the day after we get back from Perth, Greg is flying to Spain to study for three months. A week later, David flies back to Seattle. Two days later, Laura flies to London to study for three months. The next week, Easter holidays begin and I'll be traveling for three weeks. And the day I get back, I have a massive essay and a 25-minute presentation to do. And I have big travel plans after that, but I just don't have any room in my head to sort them out right now.
I'm completely knackered, but also a very happy boy. I can't believe I stayed home for four months before leaving Aberdeen. I just hope I keep this up because I've pretty much never been happier than in the last month, except for a few times but I'm sure we all understand that I'm loving life right now. Can't I do this forever?
Well, Josh arrived the day after I got back from Spain. We went to St. Andrews, which I wrote about. After that I had to start working working on some major essay assignments for my classes. So when I wasn't entertaining Josh (or trying to -- who knew being tied down and forced to watch me sing the charts in drag wasn't everyone's idea of a good time?) I was in class or at the library. Then Katie arrived that weekend, except she flew into Edinburgh, so Josh and I took the bus down there to pick her up. And while we were down there, it's not like we weren't going to see the city and get our party on. So we woke up at 8 AM to pick Katie up from the airport with massive hangovers, or what would have been massive hangovers if we weren't still drunk.
Katie and Josh's visits overlapped for three days, so during that time I was trying to entertain two people and still get some work done on my essays, which were both due within three days of each other. Also, Katie was into clubbing a lot more than Josh, so I spent the whole week going out every night, and waking up at 9 AM to walk into uni to return library books because they were due at 10:30 AM the day after I checked them out and I was supposed to buy my own copies but I had no money which is also why I didn't take the bus and save myself two hours every day.
I think I did a pretty good job juggling Katie and schoolwork, but it was rough, especially the night before the Big Momma Essay was due. Yes, I stayed up all night again. No, it wasn't because I put it off to the last minute. Actually, the good news is that both essays themselves were relatively painless to write. I felt like I knew what I was talking about, and had some interesting ideas to explore. What the fuck? This never happened at UW. I'm so over the University of Aberdeen, but I have to admit the film classes here are excellent.
So I finally turned in my Big Momma Essay (that's a nickname referencing its size and importance -- not implying it has anything to do with Martin Lawrence's 2000 smash hit comedy Big Momma's House) and the next day we had to take the bus down to Edinburgh so we could spend the night there and get Katie to the airport the next morning. David was flying into Aberdeen that day, and would get on the bus to Edinburgh with us three hours after his flight landed. At least, he was supposed to.
This plan was derailed somewhat by the fact that David wasn't at the airport when we went to pick him up. Which, by the way, was already a disaster because the bus we were going to catch to the airport wasn't running, so we tried the other bus to the airport, but we just missed it, had to wait 20 minutes, and the next one didn't come because there was "an accident." So we caught a taxi, which, aside from totally relieving us of our cash, took forever because there was another accident blocking traffic on the way to the airport. When we finally got there, David wasn't there. Where was David? WE DIDN'T KNOW! It seemed totally sick to still leave town when David was presumably either somewhere in Aberdeen or on his way there, but we had no choice because of Katie's flight out of Edinburgh in the morning. But we did it anyway.
Eventually, I got a phone call from David saying he had missed his connection in London and there weren't any more flights to Aberdeen until the next day. So instead, I told him to book the next flight to Edinburgh and meet us there, at my friend Sarah's house, with whom we were staying. So we eventually got David to where we were. But it was pretty much a nightmare for four hours, during which we had no idea where on planet earth David was, and no way of contacting him to find out.
Katie left the next morning (I'm trying to make a long story short but it's really just getting longer and longer) and David and I caught the bus up to Aberdeen, except we had to catch different buses because mine was fully booked. So I sent David up to a city he'd never been to in his life after having him fly into a city he'd never been to in a country he'd never been to and not meeting him at the airport because I was still on a bus. I stayed in Edinburgh until nighttime and headed back to Aberdeen, where David and Rosie were having a laugh, thank god, instead of crying because something happened like David fell asleep on the bus and missed his connection and went all the way up to Inverness.
BUT THAT'S NOT WHERE THIS STORY ENDS. No, the very next day, in addition to having a full day of classes, Greg flew in for the week and I had two visitors again. And the next day, we all caught the bus to Glasgow because obviously David and Greg were not exhausted and jet-lagged after just flying over from America. We got to Glasgow and stayed with Marianne's aunt, whom none of us have met, but it's okay because she is awesome and gave us food and a place to sleep.
The next day, which was yesterday, the three of us woke up at 8 AM (I've been doing that for a couple weeks straight now) and did Glasgow in a day, which I think we did a pretty competent job at, considering we went there knowing NOTHING. Last night we caught a bus back to Aberdeen and got back really late and now I'm at uni again because I have to start working on another essay not to mention two presentations. Also, we're going to take the bus to Perth tomorrow and spend the night at Marianne's parents' house. Because we really have gotten out enough, you know.
Upcoming plans: the day after we get back from Perth, Greg is flying to Spain to study for three months. A week later, David flies back to Seattle. Two days later, Laura flies to London to study for three months. The next week, Easter holidays begin and I'll be traveling for three weeks. And the day I get back, I have a massive essay and a 25-minute presentation to do. And I have big travel plans after that, but I just don't have any room in my head to sort them out right now.
I'm completely knackered, but also a very happy boy. I can't believe I stayed home for four months before leaving Aberdeen. I just hope I keep this up because I've pretty much never been happier than in the last month, except for a few times but I'm sure we all understand that I'm loving life right now. Can't I do this forever?
