The last week arrived with a bang. frantic packing, loads and mountains of clothing, sheets, duvets, hair dryers, towels, used books and half filled bottles of vodka and cider lined the hallways. Indeed the remains of the semester have been left behind.
We said our goodbyes early to Fawn, Katie and Steph. Our night wednesday broke out into a tesco run that ended up at Opal, the smallest little club ever. to hot. to crowded. but i had to dance party with katie my love one last night. Thursday we had a huge dance party all afternoon and night in her room, singing and dancing and hugging and crying. It was really hard to see her go. but i know we'll see her soon...end of story. After she departed, we decided to drown our sorrows and go to Kavanaughs' one last night. swamped with old men of course. and some REALLY crazy dancers. Scotty got a run for his money with one girl ;) hahaha. watch for the you tube video of that one. :-D
Last week of work (thank god). I'll really miss the RTYC. The people and atmosphere the most. secretarial work? mmm not so much. But it's been the experience of a lifetime and no where in the world would i ever get to work with such a posh clientel and with such friendly coworkers and supervisors. At the end of Friday, Annabel and Jonathan were being sneaky. The captain gave a little speak at the close of the work day and presented me with a huge card from everyone, and Annabel and Jonathan bought me a tea diffuzer and tea cup from Harrods' as well as a RTYC polo. I'm sincerely going to miss working along side them. They have been great mentors.
Friday night was our staff Christmas party. I ran home after work to change and met up with Annabel, Jamie, Jonathan, Mike, Jamie's fiance, Monty and JG at a pub around the corner before we went to the drinks and canapes reception at the club. Headed over to the club for some bubbly champagne, the Grand raffle (in which Jonathan and Jamie had a competition to buy the most tickets), and actually had at least a 5 minute one on one conversation with the Vice Commodore. Mike won a bottle of high class champagne, and gave it to me. I proceeded to carry it around with me (unopened) to dinner and then had to walk home with it. Wow. i probably looked like a star. Dinner at Biagio's was really fun. We had Christmas Crackers (the poppers Tor has every year with the toys, fortunes and funny hats) and delicious sea food risotto. one of the best meals id had in four months. Said my goodbyes to everyone :( and then proceeded to walk home from Picadilly because I'm stupid like that.
Came back to the dorm, (it was only 1030? 11?) and I fell to the floor in the hallway. Our last night consisted of dance parties, sing alongs, hugs, and getting rid of as much alcohol that was left over as possible. I took a sip of the champagne that I had brought home for everyone, and cut myself off after that, but made sure that everyone else indulged and enjoyed every last drop. We pulled an allnighter for the most part before Dani's departure at 4 am. Danielle left at 6, and after that the tears just kept coming. I think my tear ducts are completely dry now. We said goodbye on the hour pretty much. Our morning commenced with a last breakfast together of Mario's omlettes, and bran flakes/muesli. Oh atlantic house canteen...
The new yorker flight was the last coach to peace out at 12. Lynn and Brad and Haley parted from the rest of us, and more tears were shed again. As we drove away from hyde park and gloucester road the tears kept flowing. It felt so surreal, like we weren't really leaving, and would be seeing the streets that had become so familiar to us over the past four months sometime really soon.
The airport scene was a disaster in a nutshell. I waited to check in for an hour and a half or more, had to repack my suitcases at one point, almost had to pay for overweight, got lost on my way to the security check, got my bag searched and emptied entirely at security, couldn't find my gate, almost missed the plane. literally was crying, and running down the halls *by myself* right in the nick of time. Josine was in line a few up from me, in the same frantic state, and ashley b came running up behind me 3 minutes later. Some of the kids had been able to get on way before us and had a chance to eat, but i hadnt even had a chance to pee since 1130 that morning. Ashley had said Scott and Christie were still behind us somewhere and she didn'tknow if they were going to make the plane. Scott was the last one on the plane, and Christie didn't even make the 4 oclock. It was hell. The flight itself was much better. I passed out off and on, and watched Ratatouille and Harry Potter :)
I wish you could have seen the smiles and excitement on all of our faces when we landed. A wave of happiness rushed over me. As i turned the corner from customs, of course there's mom at the gate yelling "KRISTA!!! KRISTA!!!" (you know what im talking about) and snapping 800 pictures. I pull over to the side, and get side swiped by Britty, who wasnt supposed to be there. Then 2 minutes later i see this poster near me with a huge Cupcake on it, covering someones face and it said welcome home cupcake! and i screamed (elbowing a woman next to me apparently) and attacked Jodie who surprised me as well. The tear ducts opened up again, and i was so happy to see everyone.
Snow was falling, and covered the ground when i got home. And it's still snowing now. We have about 2 feet out there. The house is completely covered in Christmas decor, the tree is lit and the stove is burning bright. It's wonderful.
I miss London already, but it's amazing to be home. The comforts I've missed so much are right at my finger tips. I miss you all already and I hope everyone had a safe flight home, and I can't wait to see you all again at Steph's wedding. ROAD TRIP 2009!!!!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Christmas, Chocolates and Chaos
Last Friday we had the ultimate 80's Power Hour Work Out Dance Party. I have to say it was by far amazingness on the Fourth Floor. Provided by Steph M, there was also an Irish tune thrown into the mix. Love her. haha. Silvia's biffle flatmate from florida is here visiting and she is AWESOME :) She got right into our 80's attire and crazy shananigans right off the bat. Highlights include some favorites: summer of '69, boys of summer, jesse's girl (i dedicated that one to you jessmeister) We got reemed out by our "friend" down the hall and basically ended the night with a long game of never have i ever. For some reason it is found enjoyable to call me out on a few of the more interesting experiences and embarassing moments i have shared with these kids...and Danielle or Steph never cease to let up. Love it.
Saturday we woke up bright and early to head to Brugge (Belgium) for the day. and by early I mean early. We left at 515am, and had to snag a cab to make sure we made it to the bus stop on time. Scott of course had some issues, but did indeed make it in the knick of time. The trip itself was fun, but not worth the amount of traveling we ended up enduring. We coached to the coast of Dover, took SeaFrance across the water, got off in Calais, France and then coached our way to Brugge. We only had about 3 hours in the city, which wasnt much time to enjoy it thoroughly enough. However there were really cool Christmas markets, food vendors, chocolate shoppes, and awesome architecture. Apparently Brugge is very similiar to Venice, so I was glad I got to experience Italy slightly. I saw this amazing looking soup/stew thing boiling at one of the vendors and really wanted to try it, but it was actually a bunch of snails soaking in a stew stock. The woman asked if Scott and I wanted to try one though, so we said c'est la vie and gave it a whirl. It was wicked good. Like REALLY good. It taked like a clam or mussel perhaps. yum. Of course there were waffles baking every where and chocolate galour so you could literally smell the city from a mile away. Too bad it was really cold, and was pouring outside. Made for some really chilled hands, let me tell you. They've never been so white. The trip home was hell. in a nutshell. we got to the ferry on time. but the winds and weather were so bad they had closed the Dover port in England. We werent going to be able to catch the ferry until 10 pm. (it was now 7pm). There was no where for us to eat but a mini shack with a few toilets, three vending machines (which only took coins) and sold dixie cups of hot liquid, or a bottle of soda. We get on the bus and curl up to watch Wild Hogs (thank god the DVD player decided to work) which was the only movie that would work in the player for some reason. The bus driver comes and calls our attention at about half past eight to tell us that we now would not be able to get onto the first ferry at 10 and werent going to be leaving France until midnight. MIDNIGHT!....well, to skip the next 45 minutes-- We actually were able to get on the ship at half past nine actually. we dont know how or why, but we were. The journey was absolutely awful. the ship was rocking and rolling the entire time. if you were walking you were literally swaying from side to side of the ship. im not exagerating. walking down the stairs i felt like i was being lifted 5 ft from the ground. i thought i was going to puke. so i went and lied down the rest of the time with my eyes closed until we pulled into England. Next time remember: Journey time vs Travel time = ALWAYS GO FOR THE JOURNEY.
Sunday Katie and Scott took me to Camden Market. Amazing. It was like spitalfields on steroids. i loved it so so much. i wish i had gone earlier in the year, but never had the chance. so many things i wish i could have the chance to enjoy more. I am going to miss the market culture more than anything. When we got home we all were cramming for our final reports that we had to have handed in for Monday morning. stressful 3500 word paper. but its done. its over. 18 pages later. phew.
Monday was Tigger's (aka Silvia) birthday. Celebrations included going out for dinner at Las Iguanas, and getting some yummy Sangria. Then we carried on over to the Roadhouse and danced the night away. Yummy drinks there as well for half price. yay. Philidelphia Pear Drop and a Georgia Peach (can you tell they americanized their bar for the most part?) They also have live music, and a really sweet cover band. who started the night with a blink 182 cover, which i of course freaked out about because i'm lame like that.
Last night we went to Builder's for just a bit for some Winter Pimm's and Fawn's last big Hurrah! with everyone since she'll be so busy tonight. I'm not talking about leaving. It's too sad.
I called the SEC Holiday party at 430 this morning. oh man. i love you guys, you shizzle shows. I think I even spoke with Rob Eaton!! ROB EATON I MISS YOUUUUU!!! (and our frequent meetings on the elevator of the West Side, or staircases of Merrow) I miss all of you lovers, and can't wait to see you next week.
Moving on... it's time for breakfast.
x Krista
Saturday we woke up bright and early to head to Brugge (Belgium) for the day. and by early I mean early. We left at 515am, and had to snag a cab to make sure we made it to the bus stop on time. Scott of course had some issues, but did indeed make it in the knick of time. The trip itself was fun, but not worth the amount of traveling we ended up enduring. We coached to the coast of Dover, took SeaFrance across the water, got off in Calais, France and then coached our way to Brugge. We only had about 3 hours in the city, which wasnt much time to enjoy it thoroughly enough. However there were really cool Christmas markets, food vendors, chocolate shoppes, and awesome architecture. Apparently Brugge is very similiar to Venice, so I was glad I got to experience Italy slightly. I saw this amazing looking soup/stew thing boiling at one of the vendors and really wanted to try it, but it was actually a bunch of snails soaking in a stew stock. The woman asked if Scott and I wanted to try one though, so we said c'est la vie and gave it a whirl. It was wicked good. Like REALLY good. It taked like a clam or mussel perhaps. yum. Of course there were waffles baking every where and chocolate galour so you could literally smell the city from a mile away. Too bad it was really cold, and was pouring outside. Made for some really chilled hands, let me tell you. They've never been so white. The trip home was hell. in a nutshell. we got to the ferry on time. but the winds and weather were so bad they had closed the Dover port in England. We werent going to be able to catch the ferry until 10 pm. (it was now 7pm). There was no where for us to eat but a mini shack with a few toilets, three vending machines (which only took coins) and sold dixie cups of hot liquid, or a bottle of soda. We get on the bus and curl up to watch Wild Hogs (thank god the DVD player decided to work) which was the only movie that would work in the player for some reason. The bus driver comes and calls our attention at about half past eight to tell us that we now would not be able to get onto the first ferry at 10 and werent going to be leaving France until midnight. MIDNIGHT!....well, to skip the next 45 minutes-- We actually were able to get on the ship at half past nine actually. we dont know how or why, but we were. The journey was absolutely awful. the ship was rocking and rolling the entire time. if you were walking you were literally swaying from side to side of the ship. im not exagerating. walking down the stairs i felt like i was being lifted 5 ft from the ground. i thought i was going to puke. so i went and lied down the rest of the time with my eyes closed until we pulled into England. Next time remember: Journey time vs Travel time = ALWAYS GO FOR THE JOURNEY.
Sunday Katie and Scott took me to Camden Market. Amazing. It was like spitalfields on steroids. i loved it so so much. i wish i had gone earlier in the year, but never had the chance. so many things i wish i could have the chance to enjoy more. I am going to miss the market culture more than anything. When we got home we all were cramming for our final reports that we had to have handed in for Monday morning. stressful 3500 word paper. but its done. its over. 18 pages later. phew.
Monday was Tigger's (aka Silvia) birthday. Celebrations included going out for dinner at Las Iguanas, and getting some yummy Sangria. Then we carried on over to the Roadhouse and danced the night away. Yummy drinks there as well for half price. yay. Philidelphia Pear Drop and a Georgia Peach (can you tell they americanized their bar for the most part?) They also have live music, and a really sweet cover band. who started the night with a blink 182 cover, which i of course freaked out about because i'm lame like that.
Last night we went to Builder's for just a bit for some Winter Pimm's and Fawn's last big Hurrah! with everyone since she'll be so busy tonight. I'm not talking about leaving. It's too sad.
I called the SEC Holiday party at 430 this morning. oh man. i love you guys, you shizzle shows. I think I even spoke with Rob Eaton!! ROB EATON I MISS YOUUUUU!!! (and our frequent meetings on the elevator of the West Side, or staircases of Merrow) I miss all of you lovers, and can't wait to see you next week.
Moving on... it's time for breakfast.
x Krista
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Christmas is Magical
Christmas time is here!
We kicked off the Christmas season with some classic gingerbread house making provided by Scott. Big props. All of us were pretty sick with stuffy noses and headaches, so we played some classic Christmas tunes, and had a blast building gingerbread houses out of shortbread and gingersnaps, frosting, silver balls, and sugarplums.
Saturday afternoon Danielle, Lynn, Haley and I shared a magical day. We went to Oxford and Regent Street where they had shut down traffic for the day, for "VIP Day." Pretty much the streets were lined with street performers, christmas music, characters, sales, and amazing festive lights and decorations. We bought tea, and browsed the Christmas department in some of the big name stores and looked at all the gorgeous ornaments, and christmas cards for sale. As we were leaving one of the stores, we saw flakes falling ever so softly. We thought they were fake at first, and then realized indeed they were real. As we were turning out of the store at the same moment, fireworks went off from the top of the two buildings in front of us at one of the main intersections of Regent and Oxford. The snow was falling, fireworks were exploding and the Christmas music was supporting the background. It was magical. We hopped a bus to Knightsbridge, and hit up Harrod's Christmas World too. As we left, it was flurrying tenfold. It was so amazing. We tried this place Hare and Tortoise for dinner, which was amazing cheap sushi (big props to Sean, our tour guide from Ireland for that tip) and capped the night off with some classy Asti from sainsburys in Danielles room, with more christmas tunes and paper writing.
Christmas movie downloads from You Tube have also been a prime entertainment this week. So far we've watched A Muppet Christmas Carol, The Christmas Toy, Rudolph, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Santa Claus and Elf... always accompanying the perfect night in. We colored adorable Christmas cartoons and decorated the hall. Awesomeness.
The last younger members drinks party at the Royal Thames Yacht Club was last night. I had a blast. Hung out with Annabel and a few of her friends, who werent members, and two of which didn't have any interest in sailing even (ha! loved that.) Was treated to Champagne by a few, and then got to try my first Winter Pimm's (George style of course...which always means trouble) It was amazingly delicious. It tastes like warm gingerbread! AMAZING. It was so much fun, and I didn't want to leave. But i went to go and meet up with the cool kids after so we could go skating, but that didnt happen, so we walked through the Winter Wonderland of Hyde Park. Came back and passed out to The Santa Claus.
Only a weekish left. It's crazy. We all have a final report to write and none of us have started pretty much. We've just been trying to live it up as much as possible the last nights we have together. I'm going to miss everyone so much!! I'm really excited to be coming back home because I miss everything about home too. So bitter-sweet. Sigh.
Off to Builder's for some more winter pimm's. :)
x Krista
We kicked off the Christmas season with some classic gingerbread house making provided by Scott. Big props. All of us were pretty sick with stuffy noses and headaches, so we played some classic Christmas tunes, and had a blast building gingerbread houses out of shortbread and gingersnaps, frosting, silver balls, and sugarplums.
Saturday afternoon Danielle, Lynn, Haley and I shared a magical day. We went to Oxford and Regent Street where they had shut down traffic for the day, for "VIP Day." Pretty much the streets were lined with street performers, christmas music, characters, sales, and amazing festive lights and decorations. We bought tea, and browsed the Christmas department in some of the big name stores and looked at all the gorgeous ornaments, and christmas cards for sale. As we were leaving one of the stores, we saw flakes falling ever so softly. We thought they were fake at first, and then realized indeed they were real. As we were turning out of the store at the same moment, fireworks went off from the top of the two buildings in front of us at one of the main intersections of Regent and Oxford. The snow was falling, fireworks were exploding and the Christmas music was supporting the background. It was magical. We hopped a bus to Knightsbridge, and hit up Harrod's Christmas World too. As we left, it was flurrying tenfold. It was so amazing. We tried this place Hare and Tortoise for dinner, which was amazing cheap sushi (big props to Sean, our tour guide from Ireland for that tip) and capped the night off with some classy Asti from sainsburys in Danielles room, with more christmas tunes and paper writing.
Christmas movie downloads from You Tube have also been a prime entertainment this week. So far we've watched A Muppet Christmas Carol, The Christmas Toy, Rudolph, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Santa Claus and Elf... always accompanying the perfect night in. We colored adorable Christmas cartoons and decorated the hall. Awesomeness.
The last younger members drinks party at the Royal Thames Yacht Club was last night. I had a blast. Hung out with Annabel and a few of her friends, who werent members, and two of which didn't have any interest in sailing even (ha! loved that.) Was treated to Champagne by a few, and then got to try my first Winter Pimm's (George style of course...which always means trouble) It was amazingly delicious. It tastes like warm gingerbread! AMAZING. It was so much fun, and I didn't want to leave. But i went to go and meet up with the cool kids after so we could go skating, but that didnt happen, so we walked through the Winter Wonderland of Hyde Park. Came back and passed out to The Santa Claus.
Only a weekish left. It's crazy. We all have a final report to write and none of us have started pretty much. We've just been trying to live it up as much as possible the last nights we have together. I'm going to miss everyone so much!! I'm really excited to be coming back home because I miss everything about home too. So bitter-sweet. Sigh.
Off to Builder's for some more winter pimm's. :)
x Krista
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