3.21.2005
ahhh...
I just got back from a glorious morning outing with the MCR crew. We took out a four today, which is much less stable than an eight, but which also is a lot more fun to row. The learning curve was fantastic - we were able to improve vastly over the course of the outing, which was a great confidence boost. And with a four, there's a greater chance that you'll like, or at least tolerate, the members of your crew. I don't think I've been on an eight yet where *someone* hasn't annoyed me in some way. Today was great.
Plus, the weather was wonderful; a rarity in England. It was a glorious start to what I hope will be a wonderful day and a wonderful week.
Last weekend was pretty nice as well. I went to London for my friend Edith's 25th birthday. And it was a lot of fun. Took the bus in with Simon and Basak, which was great, except I started feeling a bit third-wheel-iish. They're so cute, though. We wandered through London, past Carnaby St., which has become a huge tourist attraction a la Main St. USA at Disneyland. Waited forever for Derek and Emily and Emily's two roommates, Mark and Sarah, to arrive, and then waited forever at the restaurant for dinner, then forever waiting for Sarah to finish her bottle of rose (she didn't, in the end). Dinner, though, was great. It was a Thai place called Busaba. There are a few rather unhelpful reviews available online here. The food was fantastic, the decor chic without being overwhelming, and the only complaint I had was that the scent of incense was everywhere, which is fine, if you like that sort of thing. I happen not to. Hilarious bathrooms though. Seriously. They're great, and enough to make the BBC write about them.
The party was really nice, though it was a little hard to get to from Waterloo tube station. Had I know, I would have gone to Lambeth North, which was a lot closer and a lot less dodgy. Edith has a lot of lawyer friends, and the basic conversation starter was, "another law friend of Edith's?" Cake was lovely, drinks were good and relatively cheap, and the company was chic and smart and oh-so-professional. So yeah, I felt out of place a bit.
Simon and Basak made a great effort to walk around and meet people. Derek, Emily, Mark, and Sarah all parked themselves in a corner, which was fine, except that they didn't meet anyone, and no one really met them. If they're happy with that, great. I think I would have gotten kind of bored. Simon remarked afterward on the bus home that we are all doomed to a life of those parties in the future. Parties in which we get together in clumps of Oxbridge people and discuss how much we disliked Oxford while we were there and good gracious how much we wish we were back there. Typical conversation was very simple:
"Oxford or Cambridge"
"ahh... What college?"
"That's a lovely college - what did you study?"
"Excellent. What do you do now?"
A truly stimulating conversation. :)
I joke, but it was all there. At the same time, though, it was really good fun and we all had a good time. Except for the fact that they closed down early. They actually do have a late licence, but there had been a fight the night before, so they owners weren't taking any chances. All in all, a very enjoyable outing. It probably would have been even better had Simon, Basak, and I gotten off our butts and gotten to London earlier. But hey, it was a lazy Saturday over Easter break. What were we really gonna do?
Plus, the weather was wonderful; a rarity in England. It was a glorious start to what I hope will be a wonderful day and a wonderful week.
Last weekend was pretty nice as well. I went to London for my friend Edith's 25th birthday. And it was a lot of fun. Took the bus in with Simon and Basak, which was great, except I started feeling a bit third-wheel-iish. They're so cute, though. We wandered through London, past Carnaby St., which has become a huge tourist attraction a la Main St. USA at Disneyland. Waited forever for Derek and Emily and Emily's two roommates, Mark and Sarah, to arrive, and then waited forever at the restaurant for dinner, then forever waiting for Sarah to finish her bottle of rose (she didn't, in the end). Dinner, though, was great. It was a Thai place called Busaba. There are a few rather unhelpful reviews available online here. The food was fantastic, the decor chic without being overwhelming, and the only complaint I had was that the scent of incense was everywhere, which is fine, if you like that sort of thing. I happen not to. Hilarious bathrooms though. Seriously. They're great, and enough to make the BBC write about them.
The party was really nice, though it was a little hard to get to from Waterloo tube station. Had I know, I would have gone to Lambeth North, which was a lot closer and a lot less dodgy. Edith has a lot of lawyer friends, and the basic conversation starter was, "another law friend of Edith's?" Cake was lovely, drinks were good and relatively cheap, and the company was chic and smart and oh-so-professional. So yeah, I felt out of place a bit.
Simon and Basak made a great effort to walk around and meet people. Derek, Emily, Mark, and Sarah all parked themselves in a corner, which was fine, except that they didn't meet anyone, and no one really met them. If they're happy with that, great. I think I would have gotten kind of bored. Simon remarked afterward on the bus home that we are all doomed to a life of those parties in the future. Parties in which we get together in clumps of Oxbridge people and discuss how much we disliked Oxford while we were there and good gracious how much we wish we were back there. Typical conversation was very simple:
"Oxford or Cambridge"
"ahh... What college?"
"That's a lovely college - what did you study?"
"Excellent. What do you do now?"
A truly stimulating conversation. :)
I joke, but it was all there. At the same time, though, it was really good fun and we all had a good time. Except for the fact that they closed down early. They actually do have a late licence, but there had been a fight the night before, so they owners weren't taking any chances. All in all, a very enjoyable outing. It probably would have been even better had Simon, Basak, and I gotten off our butts and gotten to London earlier. But hey, it was a lazy Saturday over Easter break. What were we really gonna do?
