Pirate party, etc.

Abbe, me, Gwen, Ricky and Hannah on the tube
Gwen and I on the Thames River pirate boat party


Waiting for tea to seep in the kitchen, I realized that this is the longest stretch I've gone so far without posting. And the irony of this is that I've had the most fun, the most happen and been the busiest of all this past week. Prime writing material. But I guess being busy doesn't help that out.

It's strangely quiet outside and I know why. There's a tube strike taking place for the next 48 hours, so the train that is directly outside my bedroom window is not rumbling past. That is the only nice thing about the strike. It is very inconvenient for everyone who has to commute to work, which for me and all the other interns, is quite a problem. We're forced to figure out the bus system once and for all tomorrow and Thursday.

So, I'm trying to think where I left off. Wednesday was the last blog. Well, Wednesday's class got cut thirty minutes short so that we could all travel in a big mass over to this pub called O'neills. It was great to hang out with people in the group, as well as our professor, outside of a classroom setting.

Not so fun getting up for work the following morning. It was a fun day, though, because I got to move over to the Entertainment section of MSN. I will be working for Entertainment every Thursday from now on, which I'm thrilled about. It's made up of mostly guys and this girl, Colleen, and they spend the day cracking jokes, most of which I don't understand. My assignment for the day was to read through message board posts on the Susan Boyle meltdown and compile the most interesting ones into a new story for the website. So, not a whole lot of original writing, but it was still enjoyable. And I got my first official byline on the site, which was terribly too exciting. But it was Thursday evening that was the most memorable part. All the interns got sent an email from one of our coworkers, Antony. Subject: Evening worship. And the body of the email consisted of a picture of a cathedral of some kind with pints of amber ale etched into the stained glass. A bunch of us ended up going, about half I'd say. The Entertainment crew basically wouldn't let us say no. We walked around the corner of the office building to a pub called Phoenix where at 6 p.m. it was already packed with businessmen and women in work attire hanging outside on the sidewalk/street, drinks in hand. I was one of three interns who were the last to leave with two MSN employees at 11. I don't really know how five hours went by, but I had an absolute blast. It was a gorgeous night and the sun stays out here until well past 9, so we stood outside socializing for quite a long time in a big work huddle. Everyone was so nice about buying all the interns drinks, and I had more than a fair share of white wine. I talked to Antony about this upcoming music festival that takes place every year, which a bunch of the MSN people are attending. Apparently it takes place on a hill and it has rained so much in the past that all the tents that are set up at the bottom of the hill get washed away, so you have to go at least a day before the fest starts to search out a good spot at a higher elevation. He was like, "It's a blast but you're a bloody muddy mess by the end of it." I know that feeling all too well. Basically, my conversations with everyone centered around music. I talked about Radiohead with one of the guys who works the homepage for quite some time, and James, the music editor, told me to stick by him this summer and he'd give me suggestions of where to go catch good live music.

Friday the cold, rainy weather hit again. And it hasn't left since. I had class at ten that morning, and thinking it wasn't until one, was frantically woken by my dear 'ol roomie, Reyn at 9:40. (sorry Mum & Pops, I know you don't want to hear these things!) We learned about theatre for three hours and had a really incredible guest speaker named Sarah who was filled with information about the history of theatre. She could "only choose eleven" playwrights who were pioneers to the world of theatre. It was funny when she asked us at the end if we'd gone to any shows. Chicago and Phantom of the Opera were, of course, the ones a group of Americans had seen. It was obvious that she was a bit peeved after talking our ears off about all these obscure and fabulous works that are being shown now. It made me feel guilty for not getting out and seeing any shows yet, but she told us about all these tiny theatres like The Gate in Notting Hill that I hope to make my way to soon. I spent the remainder of the afternoon at Troubadour, my favorite little coffee shop/pub, sharing a pot of chamomile lemon tea with Gwen at a table by the window and trying to stay warm from the dismal weather. She left at one point because her internet went out, but I stayed awhile longer and a waiter brought over a candle and set it at my table, lighting it. It was really nice and a bit peculiar because he didn't do that to any of the other customers or empty tables.

So, I forgot to add this in earlier. On Thursday night when I got home from the pub outing with the MSN crew, I got an email from Chris, a guy I had contacted a few days prior about getting into a sold out boat party on the Thames River for the upcoming Saturday. I thought for sure I didn't have a chance in hell, especially since I was kindly asking for three spare tickets to an event that clearly said SOLD OUT on the website. The email said that three tickets had just become available and to call him immediately, so I did, and managed to score myself, Reyn and Gwen spots on the Exit to the Thames Boat Party, which was in fact pirate themed and ALL DAY LONG on Saturday. I was literally jumping for joy after I got off the phone with the organizer. Saturday morning we all were up getting ready by 9 in the morning so that we could be at the dock no later than 11:45. Chris made this very clear on the phone as well, that we couldn't be late. We took the tube to Temple Pier and arrived early. Let me illustrate the scene: first of all, we could not have picked a colder, more gray day to go on a boat ride all day long. The three of us were standing by the pier shivering. There were a few groups of people scattered about, and we knew we were at the right place because a few of them were dressed up. Within moments, pirates began walking in our direction and we were even more assured yet that much more hesitant about going because we hadn't had the time (or mostly) the motivation to go out and buy some elaborate one-time-use pirate costume. We were all kind of laughing nervously at the entire situation as the wind whipped through the light coats we foolishly wore. Then Chris appeared in the full pirate get-up, with a clipboard and pouch of tickets. Fifteen pounds each and a quick search of our purses, we were aboard the two-story ship and there was no turning back. It was not even noon and there was already a DJ on the top deck pounding out house music. People were already cracking open Coronas and ciders and even, insanely enough, a couple vodka cocktails. It was going to be a good day. And it was! Once we got past the fact that it was a bit cold and the fact that we knew no one there and everyone else seemed to be regular boat party buddies, it was a blast. Gwen and I threw on some bandanas to get in the spirit. We danced, drank some beer, laughed a lot at the crazy people dancing and drinking more than us and had a grand old time until the boat docked at around 5. Oh, but the party was not over yet. Not nearly. The after party at a nearby pub, which was not actually that nearby, was still to come. Everyone wobbled off the boat, costumes still in tact but looking a bit rough, and trekked over to Lounge 34, a pub which did not serve any food. See, at this point, I was sort of dumbfounded by this whole not eating thing that people in England do. The boat did not serve food, which, okay, that's reasonable I guess. We packed a few granola bars and apples just in case that happened. But you'd think this drunken slew of people would want to stuff their faces after five hours of partying. Nope. The pub had no menu whatsoever. Reyn was fine with this, but Gwen and I were foaming at the mouth. Need food. So we left Reyn at the pub and got directed towards the nearest, quickest food at a tube station. We got London's version of fast food to go: pasties. Warm croissants stuffed with vegetables and meat of choice. They were delicious. I think we would have been content with anything at that point. After an hour at Lounge 34, we had had enough of the pirate scene. We headed back to the flat.

But our night did not end there. We arrived home and took a few hours to relax and figure out what to do with our buzzes. I went downstairs to the basement flat to hang out with Ricky while people showered and got ready. We all eventually decided upon a club called Cargo that we had read about a couple weeks ago. It was free to get in before 10 p.m. and had live music. Sounded great.

We have this problem, and I've always found this to be the case, even in Columbia, MO, where you start hanging out and no matter how much time you give yourselves, you NEVER leave at the time you set. All we wanted was to leave by 9:30ish to arrive at Cargo before ten. We didn't leave the flat until 10:15. So, it was another rushed exit and we took the tube to Old Street (which we had been to before and failed to find our destination, so we were all hoping this time around would be a success). We got off after annoying many people around us with the flashing of cameras on the tube, and started a mad dash to find Cargo. The area was looking just as unpromising as the last time we'd been. Deserted, no life anywhere. We made a turn at one point and it was like a switch went off. Bright lights, loud voices, I swear there was even music coming from some unknown source. It was hopping and we got excited. Faster running. It was kind of a far walk, but we found Cargo by 10:30. And every one of us - there were six of us - got in for free. And the place was packed. And the band was so great and the dance floor was huge and everyone in the place was dancing. It was the best thing in the world not to hear another shit cover band, because I swear, that's somehow all I've been seeing in London. We danced through the band and continued on when this DJ with a box on his head entered the stage. This place even had an outdoor patio out back with a foosball table (Ricky killed me) and picnic tables. It was by far the greatest London find yet. And this is still the same day as pirate party, so this was perhaps the greatest London experience yet as well. So, it ended up just being me, Gwen and Ricky as Cargo was closing (everyone else had left). And somehow we started talking to two British guys who invited us back to their flat to hang out. We decided to go. We stayed up really late talking to them at their place and I watched this insanely awful but hilarious movie called "Shark in Venice" with Ricky and one of the guys who lived there. We spent the whole time pointing at the screen and laughing hysterically at the horrible effects, plot and Stephen Baldwin's acting. I fell asleep before the end, which was close to six in the morning. About halfway through the movie it started storming really bad outside, and apparently, this is really rare in London. We all got up and watched the rain come down in sheets out the window. It was light out.

It's experiences like that that will only happen now while I'm here. And I don't even think I can accurately describe how amazing certain things are that have happened, just because they're these strange little moments that are sort of indescribable in their simplistic greatness. I'm already sensing how fast this summer is going to go by.

A trip to Paris is booked for July, as well as a trip to Barcelona at the end of June. And I get to see Jolene in two weeks which I am so excited about. She's going to stay with us a few nights before we head off to Spain. And we're spending the summer solstice at Stonehenge for this nightlong festival. There's so much coming up to look forward to, and so much that I still want to do simply in London.