Recently I watched a video where the comedian made a joke about how people say "What are you gonna do?" twice when you give bad news. And believe me, those lines were on repeat in my mind today. Look at this video. You'll understand.
I have a feeling that this will be one of those funny stories that I tell to my kids later on in life, but right now, the feelings are a little too fresh. Remember that one time everything in London went wrong? Yeah...too soon.
Today could not have gone any worse, by all traveling standards. Well, ok. It could have gotten a LOT worse. I came away unscathed in comparison to all the worst case scenarios. We've all seen "Taken."
But let me walk you through my day. England didn't seem very happy to have me back. I got absolutely no sleep on the plane (my own fault--my brain didn't think it was bedtime, plus Air New Zealand had excellent movie, music, and television choices). So I stepped off the plane, bought my cheap Heathrow Connect pass, made friends with a lady while I bought my tube pass for the day, and then blissfully made my way to the place that I was going to stay. It was a perfect morning. But wait... I'm an IDIOT. I thought I had the place for Thursday night with one of the girls from my program, but it is only Friday and Saturday. So, luckily I had service and called David, who started frantically trying to help me. I dragged my luggage to the tube station, only to get on the wrong direction, so I had to get off, switch lines, and then be on my way again. I had to lug my suitcase up about three more flights of stairs before I collapsed in a nearby McDonald's (for free wi-fi) and I started crying.
...talk about reaching the low of lows.
I bummed off their internet for a little bit looking for a place to stay. My boyfriend, David, had a great idea and thought that one of the members of our church in the area might be able to help me out. Unfortunately, the stake member quite bluntly and coldly told me that it wasn't really his problem. Ouch. Talk about not lending a helping hand. The British aren't known for being all that warm, so it didn't exactly shock me, but it did sting a bit.
So then I looked for hostels. I wanted something close by, since it was hours after my plane came in and I wanted to avoid a dodgy part of town. Basically, most things were booked, but I got a place (at a high price) that was near me and I would have my own room (even FREE wi-fi access...more on that later)
So I got to the hostel. I couldn't figure out the lights, the portable fan was broken (but I broke it even more, then fixed it so now it works? whatever), my valuables got eaten by the safe lock, the shower head didn't work. The best part was that I haven't taken a bath in YEARS (but yes, I have showered in replacement of baths... don't worry) so my first inclination was to just splash water on myself. Took about 5 minutes to realize that I could just take a bath. Haha. YEAH. Luckily, the TV worked and Big Bang Theory and HIMYM were on.
Then, I decided to go to Primark, for a reason I can't even explain. Just to look. But honestly, I don't remember hardly any of the trip. Exhaustion and physical exertion had taken its toll. I remember walking around the store seeing people floating toward me like ghosts, their faces blurred and unreadable. I just saw shapes and figures, no detail. I remember having one thought: I'm not sad or happy.... I'm just... numb. Void of feeling. I really was just a walking zombie down the streets of London. I should just be grateful that I made it back to my room instead of passed out on the steps exiting the tube station.
 |
| If only the tube steps had been this comfortable |
And well, the rest of the night involved crappy internet that I paid for (even though it should have been free), but it was all worth it to see this guy
Oh yes, this is love :)
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
