Hash AGPU

Tonight was the AGPU at my running club, although in contrast to past years, it was perhaps even more tame than a typical night at the hash, just very low key.  No drinks stop, no staying late, just like an ordinary run, except with elections.

I arrived late, as I'd gotten stuck trying to finish up some e-mails at work and get them sent out while people in the US were still awake, but eventually I made it there.  Was instantly greeted by Matt, who I always love to see, although I found myself a bit restless, as I really wanted to talk to Caroline about the results of our Sunday nights.  Yet the circle dragged on, and on, and on...  And then when it was over I kept trying to make conversation with Matt, but I felt bad for him as I really just wanted to talk to Caroline.  Poor Matt, I was really rubbish company.

Finally though, Caroline just grabbed me and said, "Right.  Let's go over here..." and dragged us both far away from the group.  She'd apparently been just as desperate to talk to me as I was to her, and finally we just realised we'd better escape the group if we were to have any chance of chatting at all!

So apparently things had gone really well with her and Sandhurst Boy, and they'd even gone out for drinks and dinner last night, as well as making plans to meet for a picnic tomorrow afternoon.  She was a bit surprised by all of this, yet impressed by his maturity (he'd asked her what she'd want to name her children at dinner the night before), and was amazed at how well they got along despite his youth (he's a mere 22-year old lad).

I told her all about my night, although I had to admit I was a bit surprised that aside from sending a FB-request soon after he left me, I hadn't heard a peep from Qatari Boy.  Which, on the one hand, I'm not sure how much I like him anyway, so maybe that's not a big deal, but you kind of want boys to want you, if you know what I mean...  Regardless of how things turn out, even if we don't like a guy, we'd rather be the ones doing the rejecting.  Maybe he picked up on my ambivalence?  Regardless, his radio silence was at least making my mixed feelings more clear...  A boy who can't be bothered to follow up, even with the briefest of text messages, the next day, is definitely tipping himself over into the "not worth my time" column.

As we were in the midst of this very intense (and private) conversation, I was surprised at how people kept coming over to interrupt us.  Once it was Matt, just saying good-bye, but he seemed to pick up on the vibe and know to move on.  Not true of others however, and after one particularly clueless chap just kept hanging out and trying to talk to us, I downed my beer (seeing that he still had a full pint) and suggested we leave.

Yet, of course we still had to say our goodbyes, and so we got trapped in conversation with a bunch of boys, including Sweetheart, who kept putting his arm around me and holding on to me very tightly, almost romantically.  Which surprised me, but I feel like he's been doing that more lately.  The "friendly kisses" that are a bit more than friendly, the tight hold on me...which makes me wonder, "Don't you realise that I talk to Caroline about EVERYTHING?  And I know that you hooked up with her?"  Maybe he just likes the challenge of trying to have what he hasn't had yet, but knowing what I know about his history with Caroline, no way would I ever betray her confidence.  You've got to be a sister, sometimes.

Anyway, maybe I'm over-thinking it.  Still, it struck me as odd.  At last however, Caroline and I were able to escape, and continue our conversation on the way to the Tube station.  Except that even when we got on our respective trains and got to Oxford Circus, we found that we still weren't done talking, and so we stood on the platform continuing to talk, while at least six more trains went by.  Hilarious conversation where we discussed the respective merits of the bedroom technique of our boys, and were relieved to discover that both boys seem to do one thing that we find unpleasant (which I've actually noticed among quite a few boys...I think we really need to get the message out that they really need to stop that).

Caroline finally left saying that she was going to have to find an excuse to call Qatari Boy, given that they were old friends, and see what she could learn.  I'm not sure, given his non-communication, that I care, and so as a result just need to put him out of my head.  What a brilliant time to run away to New York for a while!

The Most Epic Day

The HAC polo team

In the morning when my alarm went off, it took a few deep breaths to stave off the hangover and get up and out.  But the previous night, I'd promised The Chap that I would meet him at Paddington Station at 11:30 to go watch some polo being played by some guys from the HAC.

On my way there, I got a text from The Neighbour Guy noting how hung over he was, which considering his state the night before, didn't surprise me.

Even without texting, I just happened to run into The Chap at the station buying tickets, so bought my own ticket, and was introduced to two of his friends who were with him.  One was a young chap who was about to head off to Sandhurst in January, and the other was a former housemate of his, who now lived in Qatar, but who was crashing on his couch whilst back in town visiting.  I'd met Sandhurst Boy at least once before, but Qatari Boy was new to me.  It turned out however, that he was a good friend of Caroline's, and they'd been to university together.  So that was an unexpected connection!

We all took the train up to Slough, chatting all the way.  I sat next to Qatari Boy, and had a good time bantering with him, but was a bit frustrated at times at how he misconstrued what I said.  The Tall South African does this too.  It's annoying.  Boys think they hear one thing when you've actually said something else entirely, and you find yourself trying to defend a position you never really took.  Irritating.

We arrived in Windsor, and went to the Waitrose to buy some picnic food and champagne.  We were then joined by Caroline, Nick, and a few others, until we were a crowd of 9.  Which led to a funny circumstance when we ordered cabs to take us all to the polo, and The Chap forgot to count himself and said we were 8.  Eventually we all got there however, and set ourselves up out in the blazing sunshine to drink champagne, eat cheese, and watch polo.

The picnic detritus

I got a text from the Tall South African, inviting me to come out and join him and The Girl for coffee (he is really determined for me to get to know her better!), but of course I was a million miles away from anywhere.  Plus, I find these command performances a bit tedious, to be honest.  Joel had made a comment to me about how I've got all of these "relationships masquerading as friendships", but end up with far too many male friends and I'm always simply the female friend.  Interesting point, which I think deserves some serious consideration, but I'm not quite sure what to do about it.

Mostly though, it was a great day to just sit out in the sunshine, occasionally note that there was something going on with the polo, gossip with Caroline, and talk to the others.  We got into a conversation about what we looked for in another person, as I always feel that Caroline's list of requirements is way too long.  I maintain that the most essential thing is good banter, that I'd be happy with a guy like Jon Stewart, who is only 5'7" tall and totally grey-haired, if he was that witty!  Had a bit of banter with Qatari Boy, cutting him down a few pegs with my own clever wit.  The boy seemed a bit full of himself and needed to be taken down a bit, I thought!

We all ended up debating whether to head to a house party being held later that evening at a guy's place that was the location of where swingers parties are held.  So we were all nervous about going, but yet curious about it at the same time.  (Let me be clear, we were not actually going to a swingers party, it was just a house that was used to host them, and we were merely just going to be exploring the location).

As we discussed this, I noticed that I had a missed call from the Young Dutchman, and when I called him back he told me that he wouldn't be making it to the birthday party after all.  I feel like he's been cancelling out on events a lot lately, but I suppose he has been working really hard at his new job.  I find I miss him though, quite a lot.

In the end, upon realising that we could all contribute a tenner and just get a cab to the birthday party, we decided to go.  In the cab, all of the boys fell asleep, whilst Caroline and I just chatted to each other in the back.  Upon realising that all of the boys were out of it, we ended up chatting about threesomes, which got a few of them waking up and paying attention!  I was surprised though, that Caroline had nearly had one with two guys I know.  Like discussions were had, the logistics thought about.  But, as we continued chatting, we realised that the logistics are tougher than one would think, to the point I just don't think I could do one simply because I couldn't focus on that many things at once...

At the polo, with Caroline chatting to Qatari Boy

We arrived at the party, and were immediately welcomed in.  I was a bit surprised by the crowd that was there, not too many interesting people that I really wanted to see.  So, pretty quickly, we all just ended up back chatting with our same group that we'd been at the polo with.  Kind of fun though, when you have spent a whole day with a group of people, and even when you've got a chance to escape them, you find that they are still the group you want to hang out and spend time with.  Caroline and I had been giving back-rubs to the boys in the car (since we were seated at the very back), but now that we were out on the grass, we had fun giving proper ones to Sandhurst Boy and Qatari Boy.  Definitely made a few friends with that one!

With Caroline on the sex swing

Given that we were at a house that hosted swingers parties, we decided to go explore the "dungeon", which was up in the attic.  Climbed up the precarious ladder (the boys helped us up there, how kind of them, and Caroline and I ended up taking photos on the sex swing and in the chains, which we then texted to the Tall South African as a joke.  It was all so freaky there (with used condom wrappers and everything), that we were mostly trying to avoid touching too much!

I'd brought my swimsuit, and lots of people were going into the pool and the hot tub, so I went and changed into mine.  Yet when I got a glimpse of that hot tub water...it just freaked me out.  No way was I going in!  So instead I ended up dancing around with people in the living room (where there was a stripper pole right in the middle), and just having fun.  I was surprised though at how many people commented on how amazing I looked in my swimsuit, which was surprising given that: 1) It's a one-piece, while every single other girl there was wearing a bikini, and 2) What girl EVER feels skinny and attractive in a swimsuit?  Most brutal item of clothing there is!  I can't believe I was just wandering around in it, but definitely the right thing to tell a girl who is wearing one, that she looks good in it, because there's no other way I would have survived that..

It was nearing midnight when The Chap and a few others decided to head home, to catch the last trains.  Yet, Caroline and I agreed that we were having fun and wanted to stay, so as Caroline said to me, "I think the problem of how to get home will be one for Future Caroline and Future A to solve."  Somehow, at the time, this seemed like a totally good and rational idea.

Enjoying drinks at the party

Not liking the hot tub, we then decided to go check out the bouncy castle.  Given that I was running around in my swimsuit, I didn't have shoes on, and so was walking slowly.  I was totally surprised then when Qatari Boy came up behind me and said, "You don't have shoes on?  I guess I'll just have to carry you then", and picked me up in one fell swoop.  I didn't even have time to react, before he was just walking across the grass with me in his arms.  As a girl who hasn't been feeling exactly lightweight and slender these days, it was amazing how he just picked me up and carried me.  And okay, I'll admit that any guy that strong suddenly seems a bit more attractive than he had just moments before.

We jumped around in the bouncy castle, although I was a bit cautious about my knee.  Mostly though, we ended up laughing so much that it was one of those things where you can barely breathe you are laughing so much.  How much fun was that?

At one point, the boys went off to the kitchens to return a little girl we found to her parents (what on earth was a child doing awake at this hour?), and Caroline checked in with me about my thoughts on Qatari Boy.  Would I be okay if she left me alone with him?  I'm always grateful for girls who look out for each other like that, and I asked her a bit more about him, since they'd been good friends all through university.  She assured me that he was actually one of the best guys she'd ever known, a true gentleman and a real sweetheart.  She wanted to make sure I was okay, but assured me that he was one of the really good guys out there, and I'd be fine with him.  It was strange for me, as he was black, which was a completely new one for me.  We all have our "types", and that has never been mine.  But between the good-natured banter and the incredible show of strength, I had to admit what had originally been something I hadn't liked, was now turning into a Beatrice-and-Benedick type attraction.  Plus, he lives in Qatar.  Not like I have to really worry about how much I like him long-term, this is all just a bit of fun.  So I gave Caroline a wink, and thanked her for her input, and told her she was fine to head off with Sandhurst Boy and leave me with Qatari Boy.

So when the boys returned, Caroline headed off with Sandhurst Boy, and I stayed there with Qatari Boy, lying on the inflatable bouncy castle, chatting and looking up at the stars.  Until at one point he just sat up, leaned over and kissed me.

I love that moment, when you can be out with someone, and it's not even awkward, it's just the natural progression of all your evening's flirtations and banter, where the dance and the game-playing finally end, and you just give in to the magnetic pull.  I like you, and you like me.  Sometimes it really is that simple.

We then alternated between kissing like mad and then just lying back and looking up at the stars for a while.  It was amazing out in the countryside how much more we could see than one does in the middle of London.

I wasn't keen on having an audience for anything, but when we noticed Suraya come out, obviously lost and alone, we invited her to come join us.  It was a funny night, as she ended up snuggled up on his other side (I don't think it was a sexual thing, it was just that she was cold), but still funny in light of the conversation Caroline and I had earlier about threesomes.  Nothing much happened except us all sitting there, talking, and watching the shooting stars, but I still think it was a fun experience for Qatari Boy!

The crowds sitting out with the bouncy castles behind

Suraya eventually left us, we stayed there a while longer just kissing again now that she was gone, until we realised that it was probably time to go.  He carried me back over the grass (again, something I absolutely loved), and we went up to the house to see what was going on with the other folks trying to leave.  We'd been promised that shuttles would be running all night from the house, but when we called the number, nobody was picking up.  How on earth were we supposed to get home now?

Back at the house, we ran into Caroline and Sandhurst Boy.  Caroline revealed to me that she'd spent nearly the past half-hour searching for a condom in this place.  I guess she and Sandhurst Boy were getting along, but that fact was both kind of bizarre (considering what this place is for) and scary (considering what this place is for).

As we still debated how to get home, Qatari Boy showed me a bedroom where we could stay, but given the state of this house, I was way too freaked out by all of the germs to even possibly think about staying.  I wanted to go home, and I wanted to go home right away.  I didn't care about the cost.

Finally, Suraya told me that she and Justin had managed to book a cab back to his, and we were welcome to come along.  So we rode with them, and one arrived back in Hampstead, convinced the driver to take us the rest of the way home for a bit more money.  In the end, we left Caroline and Sandhurst Boy at the house, but they had seemed fine to stay...  I guess they were having a bit more fun!  (Qatari Boy spent a bit of the journey home ranting about this, about how he hates that she does that, how one-night stands are just the worst, as are the people who engage in them.  Which of course, made me wonder what the hell he thought of me in light of all that we'd been doing, and made me think that girls are caught in a horrible Catch-22, where you can't win with boys no matter what you do!)

The journey back to mine took longer than I expected, but given that it meant I would get to sleep in my own bed, seemed like the best £18 I'd ever spent.  We spent the whole journey back with him stroking my leg and me telling stories about the London Underground.  I think he was beginning to realise that I wasn't kidding about being bizarrely clever, but luckily he seemed amused by it.

On the dancefloor, with cider in hand

When we got back to mine, we had some water and then, after repeating a discussion we'd already had at the bouncy castle about how we'd only met that morning, and hence there were limits on what was appropriate to do.  Plus, we'd already had that ranting conversation about one-night stands, so there was just no way that was on the table anymore.  Hence, it was mostly a lot of cuddling, which was brutal in this heat, but still very nice.  Lovely evening with a truly gentlemanly guy.

We spent the next morning lazing around in bed (how fortunate that neither of us had to get up for work!) just kissing and enjoying one of those mornings that makes the night before worth it.  He did beg for some coffee, and I had to feed him some terrible instant stuff I found in my cupboard that my mother had left behind.  I really do need to get some proper coffee for my guests!

At around 11:30 AM, I got up to try and get some work done, while I left him sleeping.  I caught Caroline online, and she admitted that while she was still at Sandhurst Boy's place, she'd escaped the weirdo house, and they'd had a fun night.  We'll see what happens from here on out.

At around noon, Tall South African called me, and I had this weirdly odd conversation while trying to talk to him, yet completely aware of the boy still in my bed.  I'd let him know that via text, so I didn't have to say too much on the phone, but I think he was having fun torturing me knowing that I couldn't really talk.

Still, luckily he didn't want to talk too much about that, as per usual it was all about him and wanting to know what I thought of The Girl.  What was there to say really?  She seemed nice, but totally ordinary, there was nothing in particular that struck me about her.  Yet, of course I realised that the usual, "She seems nice" platitudes weren't going to work here, what he obviously wanted was for me to go on and on about how amazing she is.  Hence I made some crack about how she seems nicer than he is, which came back to bite me later when he called back in the evening.  Apparently he'd told her as much, she'd been thrilled to gain my approval, and he was now a bit irate, considering that he's my friend first.  Ah, but doesn't the boy realise it's all a strategy game?  It's more important at this point for The Girl to like me (I know I've got him already), so I've got to play to that audience.  I'm always a bit perplexed at the inability of so many men to think about the long-term game plan.  He's particularly bad at it, doing what I call, "winning the battle to lose the war." Think about it boys, you need to see the whole picture.  I finally hang up with him with the sense that he's mad at me but I don't even know how to talk myself out of it...just will have to give him some time to himself and he'll forget about it and forgive me, I think.  At least that's often the easiest way out of a fight with almost any boy!

Finally Qatari Boy woke up again around 1 PM, and we ended up chatting about books and relationships.  I tried to make the point by talking about other girls and boys that I liked him, but I was fully aware of the fact that he lives in Qatar, and I don't expect much to come of this.  Not sure if that relieved him or disappointed him.  He did finally admit what I'd been telling him, that I'm too ridiculously clever for my own good.  Which made him laugh, saying, "I've known this all along, but I was hoping to avoid telling you to keep you off-guard!  But that you got it out of me, I guess should be expected from a girl as clever as you."  We agreed that he had my number, and that he owed me dinner since I'd paid for all of the cabs everywhere.  Given that he lives in Qatar, who knows when he'll end up taking me out to dinner, but I think he was still intrigued enough to want to make sure that happens.

I had a conference call at 2 PM, so he decided to get going right before that.  He kissed me good-bye right before the call, and after our first kiss was pretty tame, begged for another.  So I turned up the heat, which had him quickly pulling away and noting that in another few seconds he was going to be tempted to drag me right back to bed.  Made me laugh.

I got some work done (not as much as I should have), and eventually took a nap later in the day.  But the best part of the day was in the evening, when the Young Dutchman called, just for a post-work catch-up call.  I decided not to tell him anything about Qatari Boy, as I figure the Young Dutchman doesn't need to know everything about my life.  Yet, it was so good to talk to him, as I miss him a lot these days.  I like at least how he's been doing these post-work calls, I like that we at least get to talk regularly.  After such an exhausting day though, I could hardly wait to turn in for bed that evening!

Great British Beerathon and Lotte's Party

Spectating with Matt, Elena and Flo

I woke in the morning to blazing hot sunshine, and got myself up and through the shower to head out to the Hoop and Grapes pub in Farringdon, for the Great British Beerathon.  Matt and I had agreed at the run on Tuesday that we would both come for the opportunity to catch up and laugh at all of the madness.  One of the better ideas we've had in a long time.

The idea of the Beerathon, is that it's a five mile "slobstacle" course.  You run a mile, then neck a pint of cider and eat a pork pie.  Then you run a mile, neck a pint of Guinness and eat an apple crumble.  Then you run a mile, drink a lager and eat a scotch egg, before finally running a mile and drinking a pint of bitter and eating a pasty.  Run one more mile, and hope you don't vomit on the way back.  In total five miles and lots of sick along the trail!

Despite the heat, lots of people went for some amazing costumes, which were fun to see.  Cookie ran the whole thing in a signed England netball dress which had apparently cost Sweetheart £500 at a charity auction.  There were people in foam hotdog costumes which must have had them sweating buckets, and lots of guys who just went for the shirtless look by the end of it.  It must have gotten to Cookie and this shirtless guy, Eustace, who I noticed holding hands behind their backs by the end of it...  Lots of beer and little clothing will do that to people, I think!

Eustace in his costume

Elena, Sweetheart and Cookie

Cookie showing off the £500 dress 

I had a lot of fun hanging with Matt, having pints, cheering on the runners as they came in, and having push-up contests.  Given that we started at 1 PM and didn't leave until nearly 8 PM however, that was a LOT of beer drinking.  In total I'm guessing that I had around 8 pints of beer, which would have been fine if I'd just gone home afterwards, but of course I was supposed to go out to Lotte's party in the evening.

Somehow, with the world spinning, I managed to get home and get changed, grab a bottle of bubbly, and head out to Lotte's.  Probably should have spent more time making myself look pretty, but as it was I had to grab a cab there to arrive at a reasonable hour, so it was just changing into my dress and running out again.

Once there, they had a photographer snapping pictures which later ended up in Tatler.  Which is kind of funny to think that this was a party worth recording for a society magazine, but there you have it.  It was a brutally hot evening, so everyone was melting in their black-tie (the theme of the evening had been "James Bond"), and we often found that it was just as hot outside as it was inside.  What on earth had happened to these cool English summers?

My memories of the evening are unfortunately incredibly fuzzy, just lots of circulating and talking with people for a few minutes before circulating again.  I'm not sure if it was the alcohol, or whether I was just distracted by the presence of so many people.  I've been having trouble focusing lately, and I notice that the Young Dutchman is always drinking very little at these parties recently.  Perhaps I need to take a page from his book and do that more often.

I was also surprised when at one point I found myself chatting to The Chap, this guy from the Saville who likes smoking shisha, cigars, and often says things like, "Bang on!" and calling all girls "fillies" and the boys "chaps".  Really, along with the long sideburns, he's something out of a 1920's novel.  Now, The Chap has an identical twin brother, who looks exactly like him.  It takes ages to figure out the difference between the two of them, and will often throw you if they aren't side-by-side to compare.

Not Tatler-quality shots, we're all too far gone at this point!

Now, when I originally met The Chap and his brother, I was surprised how I felt an electric chemistry with the brother, which led to a little flirtation but in the end went nowhere.  The Chap, on the other hand, never really seemed to take to me, and I've spent ages slowly trying to break down his defences and get him to learn that I'm a lovely girl.  I'm often left off invite lists or only treated as an afterthought at many events, and he's often seemed a bit cold to me.  Most frustrating though is the fact that I have no idea what I might have done to offend him.

So you can imagine my surprise, when as we were chatting, he suddenly said to me, "Well you had a thing there for my brother at one point, I know..."  Which startled me, as I couldn't think of a single instance where I'd been chatting to his brother where he was at the same event.  Most of my interactions with his brother had taken place with just the two of us.  So how on earth did he know?  I shrugged it off with the comment, "He's such an attractive-looking guy, how could I resist?" which of course is amusing in the context that they are identical twins who look EXACTLY alike.

Yet I wonder if this is why he's always been a bit cold towards me, assuming I prefer his brother to him.  If so, that would explain quite a bit.

I found myself fending off the unwanted advances of the guy who I'd met a few weeks ago who lived near me.  Nice enough guy, but clumsy in his game due to his drunkenness.  Just had to do a little merry dance to keep talking to other people and keep away from him...

Some time around 11 PM, the Tall South African arrived with The Girl.  He was very eager to have me meet her, and I wish I'd been more focused and paid attention to her.  As it was, we had a few fleeting conversations.  What surprised me, was how much the Tall South African had been talking about how gorgeous she was and how much attention she gets.  And upon meeting her I had to say she looked....totally ordinary.  I mean, certainly a lovely, pretty girl, but no more attractive than I am or any of the other girls at the party were.  You know how it is, when you meet a girl who really is a cut above the rest of us, but this girl was absolutely lovely yet average.  Which was charmingly reassuring, this idea that some boy out there might become so devoted to us as to think us the most stunning girl they've ever met, even as we remain the average people that we are.

Dying in the heat outside

She was Italian, I knew, yet had been living here in the UK for quite some time, so I was surprised at how strong her accent still was and how she occasionally still struggled with her English.  But therefore it makes sense that she seeks to move back to Italy in a month.  They seemed lovely together, but I don't think that relationship will survive that kind of separation, I'm afraid...

They invited me to come with them when they were leaving at around 3 AM, but the Young Dutchman came by right at that point to talk to me about leaving, so I assured the Tall South African and The Girl that I would be fine and would go home with the Young Dutchman.  The Tall South African knows about my relationship with the Young Dutchman, and I often think wonders about it, but hence knew to leave me with him.

Lotte's cousin, me, Victor, the Neighbour, The Chap, and Piers

Finally at around 3:30 AM, one of the hostesses came out and told us that we all needed to go home, so the Young Dutchman and I left.  We went walking for a bit, apparently to see if another party was still going, but when it wasn't, we parted ways, I grabbed a cab, and a little while later texted him to say I was home safe.  A good night, if a bit more tame than parties at this place have been in the past.  Good times though, for sure!

Lotte's Birthday

The Tall South African called me right after work to chat for over an hour, which was great to talk to him as always... I find it funny how when we talk, every time I think the conversation should end, there always seems to be something else to say.  Although strange as we were talking about how rubbish he is in relationships, because he becomes insecure.  Makes sense on some level, as when you don't care what people think, because they're not important to you, you're not insecure with them.  You really don't care what they think.  Yet, when they do become important to you, you care very much what they think, and hence the insecurity comes in...  Probably just doesn't help that the Tall South African, for all his bravado, is somewhat insecure in general.

 Of course, as much as I enjoyed talking to him, there was this part of me that wonders in the back of my head, "So why are you talking to me about all this?"  It amazes me how he's known this girl for years, been in a relationship with her for months, and still seems completely incapable of having a real conversation with her.  Oh well, not my problem...

 As we were talking, the Young Dutchman popped up online to say "Caek!"  That made me laugh, as I knew exactly what he was talking about.  I assured him that I was going to our friend Lotte's house for birthday cake later on, as today was her birthday.  

 As I related this back to the Tall South African (I can't do two things at once, so I just had to tell him who I was talking to and what I was saying), he realised that he'd completely forgotten Lotte's birthday (he's her former housemate!  He's known her for YEARS!), and seemed a bit upset about that, as apparently he's never forgotten her birthday.  Although, instead of getting off the phone with me and calling her, he just stayed on talking to me.  {Sigh!}  Sweet that he likes me so much, but still obviously a boy who needs a woman in his life to organise it!

Turning back to the Young Dutchman, we agreed when we would both be setting out, and how much we were looking forward to seeing each other.  I know I see him all the time, but somehow, ever since he's started at Google, I have felt like I've really been missing him.  It's a little bit like when he started at Oxford, I really just missed him a lot.

Since I stayed on the phone with the Tall South African way longer than I should have, I had to race to make it there in time, and ended up grabbing a cab to get there on time.  But once I did make it there, was rewarded by the familiar sight of the tall, long back of a favourite Dutch person standing in the doorway when I made my way in.  Just ran in and hugged him from behind, I was so happy to see him.  Got a hug in return.  Don't know why I've missed him so much (hadn't I just been at a party with him less than a week ago?), but nonetheless, it was good to see him again.

Spent the evening chatting with him and a guy who was a professional cyclist, who had gotten into cycling after he'd been hit by a car and had been in a wheelchair for months.  Cycling became a key part of his rehab (as it is for me), and he'd really just taken to it.  Funny how life works out that way...  I got the sense of how much of a pro he was when I asked him about the Olympics and he said, "Well, a few of my friends were competing..."  Oh yes, the rest of us just bought tickets, you had your friends competing...

Had a nice evening chatting to people (there were only about 10 of us there), but as such it was an early night for everyone, and we all headed home around 10 PM.  Although to be honest, maybe an early night is not the worst idea ever, eh?

Back to the Hash

I love it when my phone rings at exactly 1 PM.  There's only one person it can be...

We talked about his job (he's frustrated), and when I got tired of that, moved it on to talking about how it's pointless when he wins the argument, because although he salvages his pride, he loses so much more than that.  He admitted he was cheating on his girlfriend...I don't even get the point of it anymore. Oh well, it's not for me to understand, but he still seems to love to talk to me about anything and everything, and I do find him amusing.  Much more interesting than my work day, anyway!

In the evening, I decided to head out to the hash, since it was in Clapham, and I had a good sense that Matt might be there, since it's close to where he lives.  I was running late, and so jumped off the bus a bit early and decided to just dash across Clapham Common to find everyone, an easy task since they were making so much noise outside the pub!

It was funny, because as I approached the group, I had to make a choice about whether to go right or left around a fence.  For some reason, I chose to go right, and was rewarded when I saw a familiar silhouette lit up in the shadows.  Hoping I got it right, came right up behind him and hugged him, and was greeted with the most wonderful expression of sheer delight.  It was like I had been telling the Rae sisters on Saturday, there's nothing quite like those people who think you are more wonderful than anyone else, and they think the same back about you.

As soon as I was recognised however, I found myself pulled into the circle for a down-down, I think just because everyone was so excited to see me.  Once again, so nice to be welcomed back so warmly, why I love showing up places like this, as it's so great to have so many people so thrilled to see you.

Once I escaped the circle again, Matt immediately wrapped his arms around me, and we stood like that for the rest of the circle, just so excited to be together again.  Matt kept saying to me with delight, "You're my absolute favourite person in the world, you know that?"  The sentiment is very much returned.

Finally the circle broke up, and Matt and I walked back to the pub to get drinks, I got another surprise.  Devo was back!!  Really great to see him, and there were lots of hugs all around, and I was thrilled to learn that the plan was for him to move back in October.  My favourite fellow New Yorker has been missed!

Got back to the pub, and while waiting for Matt to make a phone call, ended up chatting with others, but getting kind of weirded out, as some of the guys were making pretty blatant comments about my chest.  I mean, I've always known I've got a bit more going on there than a lot of girls, but tonight the guys really seemed to be going at it.  And the worst was, I couldn't figure out why, as I was just wearing a relatively high-necked t-shirt.  Totally bizarre, and once again showing that I have no idea what men find attractive!

Anyway, before too long Matt came back and was able to just go back to talking to him, Cookie, and some South African guy.  Eustace, I think he said his name was...

We mostly ended up talking about the Olympics, and how awesome they had been.  Matt asked, "Why can't we have the Olympics every year?"  Princess chimed in, "How much did they say the budget over-run was per person?  £150?  I'll happily pay it to have them back again!"  It was just this total love-fest about how much we'd loved the Olympics, and how sad we were that they were over now!  Five years of planning, and it was all over so quickly...

I walked back to the Tube with Matt and Roofie, and with promises to see Matt at the Beerathon on Saturday, headed home with Roofie.  We ended up talking a lot about our respective ACL injuries, and I reassured him that my recovery had been so quick only because I'd been lucky, I hadn't had the extent of injuries that he'd had.

We then got talking about building up leg muscles, and suddenly he was commenting on my legs, and getting other people on the Tube carriage commenting on how strong and muscular my legs were.  It was the weirdest night for objectifying my body, first my chest and now my legs, what on earth was going on here?

Finally he jumped off at London Bridge, and got me even more puzzled when he reached out to shake the hand of some random guy we'd been chatting with (and commenting on my legs), and then reached out to shake mine too.  What on earth?  At least when I acted so totally flummoxed, he leaned in and kissed me, thank goodness!

Home after that, having had a great night seeing my favourite person, and at least with a little ego boost that I must be looking good enough for guys to notice my body these days...but how strange!

Sweedy's Flatwarming

I've definitely felt better some mornings than I did this morning.  I woke up, glanced at my phone, and realised I had a text from the Tall South African inquiring, "You were texting from [the Young Dutchman's] chest?"  Oh dear...  I replied, and then he gave me a call, basically using the opportunity to laugh at me, knowing I must be horribly hung over.

Apparently the BBQ at his place the night before had been about 4 people, including a girl he ended up sleeping with.  (I'm the only one who knows, because obviously this constitutes cheating on his girlfriend, although that relationship is so dysfunctional anyway I'm not sure it really matters).  I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised, but it did surprise me what a bastard he'd been about the whole thing.  He told me, "I'd forgotten how good it felt to be a man.  To just take charge, telling a girl what to do, and she being so in thrall to me that she did it."  The kicker though was that he hadn't actually "slept" with her, not wanting to share his bed (it's tiny to be fair) and so made her to go find somewhere else to sleep apparently.  I don't know, to me that's just a horrible thing to do.  Even when I haven't necessarily wanted to stay with a guy, I've always been glad that they offered.  Because what kind of guy kicks you out?  Let's hope she left of her own accord, anyway...

Despite my uneasiness with this, he made me laugh anyway, and it's hard not to be flattered that after all the fun of the night before, I'm still the girl that he wants to call and talk to.  Plus, I do find that the Tall South African is often good at talking me through hangovers, so it was much better to talk with him than to focus on my throbbing head.

An hour later, when I finally got off the phone with him, I saw that I had a text from Zhan:  "Lunch?"  I agreed to that, even as I realised that meant I only had an hour to get showered, dressed and over to our friend Andy's place.  That was going to be a challenge...

In the end I was only 10 minutes late, which I don't think everybody realised what a miracle that was.  I was still feeling incredibly dizzy and queasy, so was glad when we decided to go to Waitrose to get sandwiches and go eat them in Hyde Park.

I love those guys though, and after sitting in Hyde Park, eating sandwiches for a while, I was feeling noticeably better.  Not awesome, but better.  Had a nice time talking about public vs private schools, and what the standards are like in the US vs the UK.  Overall, a good time, with good company, and great sunshine.

At 3 PM, I realised I needed to get moving to my friend Sweedy's flatwarming, and after the disaster of the flat keys, had promised to drop off a spare key with my letting agents.  So I ran to get copies made, dropped them off at the letting agent (I didn't have time to check if they worked, let's hope they did!) and then made my way down to south London for this house party.

Luckily due to the nice weather, we were able to spend most of our time out in the back garden of this lovely little flat.  Not sure I was a huge fan of the neighbourhood (between being so far south, so far from any Tube station, and well...just south of the river, it was a bit...run down), but it was a charming little flat, and it was good to see so many hash friends.

Slowly, the sole cure for hangovers, just letting time pass, had me feeling better, and I had plenty of nice chats with various people.  Had a lot of fun chatting with Roofie and his brother, and showing off how well my knee was doing compared to their recovery time.  I've been lucky though, beating their recovery benchmarks the whole way through.  But then again, they both had to have their surgeries re-done, let's hope this is a one-time deal for me!

Late in the afternoon, I saw that I had a few missed messages from the Tall South African, so I wrote him back to keep him happy, and a missed call from the Young Dutchman, so I called him back.  He ended up telling me some story about throwing a Boris Bike over fences in Green Park and getting stopped by security, but somehow talking them out of arresting him and even helping him get the Boris Bike over the other side.  Of course.  He even tried to explain how he'd been responsible the night before because he had a lunch this afternoon, but the who or why of that was lost on me.  And even then, I got the sense that "being responsible" simply meant, "I did drugs that wouldn't leave me in a bad state the next morning instead of drinking."  Sometimes drugs do seem appealing from that standpoint...

When those of us at the party realised it was 7:30 PM, we dashed inside and fired up Sweedy's computer (she didn't have a television either), and found ourselves screaming our heads off as we watched Mo Farah win the 5000m, to add to his 10000m victory from last Saturday.  It was again crazy, this Team GB effect, as you watched other runners pass him, but then in the final lap it was like he just decided, "Nope, I'm going to win this thing" and blew past everyone.  Everyone was screaming and hugging, it was awesome.

Then we flipped over to watch the diving, where Tom Daley was going for it.  At the end of the 6th round of diving, I was stunned to see that he was in the lead (although his lead was by a hair's-breadth, I wondered if he could hang onto it).

He did another great dive, but unfortunately not as complex as those of the USA and China guys he was going up against, those two eventually won gold and silver.  But he hung in there for bronze, which he was so excited about that he and his whole team jumped in the pool, leaving us all to wonder, "Wait, did he win gold?  Or just bronze?"  Oh well, the guy was excited, you've got to give it to him!

At this point, it was past 10 PM, and everyone was heading out to a local pub, as apparently we didn't want to be making too much noise given that the neighbours had a baby upstairs.  So everyone head out, but knowing that it was going to take over an hour to get home, I just decided to hop on the bus.

I was joined by the Rae sisters, who were much drunker than I was (easy to do, given that I'd not touched any alcohol all afternoon, I'd been feeling so queasy), and so somehow I ended up in a discussion with them about their relationships, and how they felt like the guys they were dating wouldn't really be bothered if they never saw them at all.  And then were turning to me for advice.  (One even implored me, "Tell me what the answer is!  Tell me what to do!"  Why on earth is it that people think that I, the single girl, is so knowledgeable about relationships?)

I just can't understand why people stay in relationships however that are so obviously dysfunctional, as although I'm not always happy with my single state, I at least don't seem to suffer the agony that so many do in relationships that aren't working.  At the least, why not try to do something to address your issues, instead of being so constantly unhappy?

And so I talked to them about how the best thing often about our favourite people, is that they equally prefer us above all others.  And I gave the example of Matt, who every time he sees me is just thrilled beyond belief, as I am when I see him.  They laughed at this but admitted it was true, and agreed that this is what we all look for:  Not merely people who like us, but those who prefer us to all others.  Those are the truly extraordinary people who form our closest relationships, and what it seems we should have in our romantic relationships, no?

Not sure I exactly changed any lives, but hopefully at least gave them something to (drunkenly) think about on the way home.  I at least, was headed home for some well-deserved, sober rest!

The Millionaire's Party

I think the party I ended up at on Friday night, can be pretty much summed up by the message the host left on the event wall on Sunday:

"Well, if I may say, Friday night was a night of truly vintage proportions. Thank you all for coming along and making the evening such fun. Having done some cursory clearing up, you'll be impressed to hear that we got through c150 bottles of Champagne and wine. Sadly the arrival of Southwark council noise abatement officers at 4am cut short the fun. Items found includes a number of leather, lace and latex garments, handcuffs (!), and various items of female underwear - truly the detritus of a memorable party. These are all safely in my lost property drawer and can be collected when you're next here."

The theme of the party was "Leather and Lace", so I went out and bought a lace dress to wear for the occasion.  Of course, have been feeling a bit larger than usual lately, as my time in the gym has yet to completely erase the effects of being injured for so many months.  I've also got some funky tan lines from being out in the sun watching the Olympics, but hopefully on the whole I looked okay.

Before the party, I met up with my friend Des for drinks at the club.  It was an incredibly warm and sunny day, so we had drinks up on the terrace, which was truly lovely.  Des is such a gentleman, that of course he paid for everything, although it often makes me wonder if Des might have some sort of crush on me that I'm unaware of.  Although then some days I just can't decide if perhaps if Des is gay.  No matter, as he lives in Dublin anyway.

A great guy though, so I was glad for the chance to catch up, even if I did note that he looked a bit worse for wear, kind of exhausted and a bit gaunt looking.  He's apparently combining being a professor with doing private legal work, and while I'm sure he enjoys the challenge, I couldn't help but think it was a bit much.  Still, it was a great opportunity to catch up, and I felt much better about leaving him when he assured me that he was meeting a few friends for dinner that evening, so our quick catch-up had worked out well for both of us.

I then made my way to the Millionaire's flat for the party.  I was a bit nervous about showing up on my own, but determined not to show it.  So I had to smile when the Young Dutchman called to ask when I was going to the party.  We chatted for a bit (him in a low voice since he was still at work at Google), and I assured him I would see him later.

I got to the party, chatted with the Millionaire for a bit, and made polite conversation with random people while eating canapés and drinking wine from the magical never-ending wine glass that was being continually topped up by the roving waiters.  Now, that's a recipe for disaster if ever there was one, but even I was surprised by how all of a sudden things got fuzzy.  What on earth was in that wine?

After a while Sophie called me, and after I reassured her on the phone that she could change once she arrived at the party (she'd been at trapeze), she came along.  A while later, the Young Dutchman rang me, and asked me to hand my phone over to the Millionaire.  Apparently he was asking if he could bring extra guests, because he later showed up with Kellogg Boy, one of the guys he rows with (who I had met before), and two random girls I didn't know.

I can't really keep track of how much time passed, but at one point I found myself down in a super-fancy massage chair while another girl had fun playing with the settings for me (felt nice, I do admit), exploring the house (there was a stunning view, a cramped dining room, and a bedroom that felt like a dark dungeon), and just passing the party in a blur.  At one point I could swear I saw Kellogg Boy making out with a girl who was definitely NOT his girlfriend, but the Young Dutchman just pulled me away and assured me that we were going to forget about what we'd seen at this party and never mention it.  (The next morning, when the Young Dutchman was in a lot better shape than I was, I realised that he hadn't been drinking too much but had simply been on drugs, probably Ecstasy.  If other people, including Kellogg Boy, were on E as well, that probably explains a lot).

Also unfortunately, the Tall South African had earlier invited me to a BBQ at his place, and somehow I ended up texting back and forth with him when my brain was definitely in no shape for it.  (I often do this with whomever the last person I was talking to was).  Among the insightful things I told him, was at 3:45 AM, I was "Now texting from [the Young Dutchman's] chest..."  Indeed, I found myself curled up on the couch with the Young Dutchman, and having trouble holding my phone, laid it down on his chest and used that as a flat surface from which to write.  Definitely telling, for anyone who suspects anything romantic is going on between us, as it did not even occur to me until the next day how dodgy that must have looked.  There I was, drunk as a skunk, curled up on a couch with the guy I like more than almost anyone in the world, and the only thought going through my head was, "Hey, this will make a good flat surface!"

At this point, I noticed that the giant flat screen television in the middle of the room had been switched on, and was now showing a night vision CCTV feed to the bedroom downstairs.  What on earth?  This was now truly bizarre, I was having trouble figuring out what was going on, and so I realised it was time to go home.  Plus, it was nearly 4 AM.

So I somehow managed to use the app on my phone to book a taxi, and the Young Dutchman said he would come home with me.  Vaguely I realised that it was a bit strange that the Young Dutchman would be coming home with me, and not taking one of the girls he'd arrived with, which is unusual for him.  We then gave hugs to the guy he rows with, while the Young Dutchman explained that he didn't have space for anybody to stay with him, and we didn't say anything to Kellogg Boy (who was still quite involved with the girl who was not his girlfriend).

Then we piled into the cab, and once we were near Hyde Park Corner the Young Dutchman jumped out, and I went the rest of the way home.  Got back to my flat, tried to guzzle some water, flopped into bed, and was pretty quickly off to sleep, while thinking that had been one of the stranger parties I've ever been to!

Sara's Olympics Party

Feeling a bit lonely now that the Tall South African has gone home, but luckily I didn't have much time to wallow in being alone, as I was due out at my friend Sara's for an Olympic party at her flat.

When I got over there, I realised I'd never seen her new flat before, and was in total awe of how lovely it was.  Gorgeous one-bedroom flat, with the most stunning kitchen, a lovely main sitting room, and up a spiral staircase, a bathroom and bedroom at the top.  Made me wonder how much more I'll need to earn to have a place so nice...  Ah well, I know that Sara works a heck of a lot harder than I do (she's in the office at 7:20 AM every day), so no wonder she has such a nice place as a result of all her hard work!

I ended up having a nice time chatting with various friends of Sara's that I'd remembered meeting over the years, and had a good chat with a couple who had just come back from a week-long yoga retreat.  Sounded pretty nice, really.

We then mostly got involved in watching Andy Murray play Roger Federer for the Olympics men's singles gold medal.  It was so crazy to me, that just a month ago, Federer had taken Murray down on this very court, and now here they were back again, battling it out, the same players in the very same spot.  And even more amazing, the result was now reversed, with Murray taking down Federer in straight sets.  It's like there really is some magic for Team GB out there, and the roar of the crowds (and the roar of us yelling at the television) really takes people further and carries them through.

We watched the whole thing on Sara's laptop, so when I returned home that evening, despite not having a television, I wondered if I might be able to watch the men's 100 metres that way.  Indeed, got a great connection to the BBC website, and so was screaming live when Usain Bolt blew away his doubters, and in 9.63 seconds, ran the 100 metres and silenced all his critics, crossing the finish line with his finger to his lips.  I thought it was an amazing race, for just a few years after we'd wondered if it were possible to run 100 metres in less than 10 seconds, only one guy in the whole race ran slower than 10 seconds (and he'd pulled his hamstring).  What an amazing race, what an amazing Olympics...

Picnic in the Park

When I woke up in the morning, all I could hear were little whimpers and groans, and so I got up out of bed, fetched a bottle of water from the fridge, and handed it to him.  I guess I should believe him when he says he was too drunk the night before to remember what he said.  And at least it made me feel a bit better to know that he was suffering for his poor behaviour the night before...

Once he was feeling a bit better, we went out and did some grocery shopping to have food for the picnic we were going to, and get him a coffee.  It was kind of fun wandering through the grocery store, just doing the usual shop, debating what to get and pulling together a fairly decent picnic spread.  Even though the picnic wasn't due to start until noon, he seemed hyper to get there, and when we arrived I realised we were there quite early.  Even worse, I didn't know almost anybody there besides the host, and the other chaps were...well, a bit dull.

Brightly coloured trousers seemed to be a theme of the day

The worst was, I'd brought him here, and I didn't know what else to do but try to make the best of it.  So we hung out chatting with people, I texted both Sophie and the Young Dutchman (where on earth were they?) and we mostly just were our usual polite social selves.

Wheelbarrow Races

The Young Dutchman texted to say he wasn't coming (grrrr...), while Sophie eventually showed up later.  More people arrived, and we engaged in a few games, from wheelbarrow races (gosh that hurt my core muscles, need to build them up!), to racing with girls on guys' shoulders (I suppose I should have let the Tall South African carry me, but I was a bit too self-concious about how heavy I am), and races with the guys riding on the backs of the girls.

Guys carrying the girls (or guys) for races

I was a bit bored, on the whole, but not wanting to leave, as then I was sure that would mark the end of my time with the Tall South African.  After all, he'd been telling me that he was going to head home this evening, and I was sure that as soon as I called time on the BBQ, he would want to go.  So when he first asked me if I wanted to go, I said "no", even though I did really want to go.  I was bored, this crowd was tedious, and just full of people who were way drunker than I was.

I only lasted about another hour however, before I really did reach my limit, and so sidled over to the Tall South African and asked if we could go.  He laughed, said of course, and so we packed up, said our good-byes and left.  At which point he said, "Do you think we still could make it to that running club event if we left now?"  Goodness, why hadn't I thought of that earlier?

We then had to give everyone in shorts or skirts a photo

So called the folks down there, they were all still there partying, so we figured out we needed to catch a train from London Bridge, and ran for it.  Got to the station, asked one of the helpful "Games Makers" (love those guys!) for info on when the next train to Dulwich went, and then realising it was going in just two minutes, ran for the train.  My knee isn't quite up to running yet, and so it was a bit sore as we jumped on the train, but as the doors closed mere seconds behind us, it was a good thing I'd run!

Although, it then turned out that we were on a train to East Dulwich, not West Dulwich like we needed, so we were going to have to take a bit of a long walk through the park to get there.  Yet, it was a nice walk, where he very perceptively noted that I'd been ready to go a long time beforehand, but hadn't been honest with him.  So I told him about how I hadn't wanted him to go quite yet, and he laughed, and assured me that there were plenty of other things we could do, and I should just always be honest with him.

A photo for all those in jeans or chinos

This conversation about being honest with each other led to a lot of talking about what we REALLY think about things, including how much we like each other but acknowledge the impossibility of dating due to our age difference.  He just doesn't want to settle down for another 7-8 years, and he is quite insistent that I need a guy who is ready sooner than that.  I know he's right, but...I guess I always thought when I found a guy where it was the easy, "I like you, and you like me" situation, we'd just be done with it.  Instead, we are nuts about each other and agreeing there's no future for us and have to date other people.  It's kind of ridiculous, in its way, but given that I wasn't ready to settle down when I was 24, why should I expect he would be?  He's absolutely right, as much as I hate to admit it.  Still, it was nice just to outright talk about how much we like each other, which was good for my ego, at least!  

We arrived at the running club party, where they also solved the problem of what I should do about dinner for the Tall South African, by turning out to have a ton of leftover food from the BBQ, and insisting that we eat.  Had a great time hanging with Matt, Kitty and Cookie, and the Tall South African was happy to catch up with Sweetheart again.  (His man-crush on Sweetheart is really rather cute!)

Eating BBQ out in the field by sunset.  We should have done this sooner.

In the end, we found ourselves inside at the bar, watching Jessica Ennis win the heptathalon in spectacular style, as she was leading the pack, got overtaken and boxed in, and the commentators kept assuring us, "It's okay, she only needs to come in 3rd", since the event is based on the number of points achieved over several events.  Yet, you could tell she just wasn't having any of this "coming in 3rd" nonsense, and so she swung wide outside the group, ran the longer way around, re-took the lead and won the whole race, winning her gold medal in style.  Everyone in the bar was cheering at the top of their lungs, it was such a great night!  

Then, when I thought things couldn't get any better for Team GB, we watched Mo Farah dominate the 10000m to win and have everyone screaming and cheering for our British hero.  As well, there was a long-jumper who won gold too, except we kind of missed it amidst all of the cheering for so many other Brits! 

Finally, it was truly late, and the Tall South African pointed out to me that he hadn't been home to feed his cats in days.  (In truth, as much as I love having him around, I was feeling rather guilty about this as well).  So at around 11 PM, we said our good-byes, made our way back into London, got his stuff, and I waved him off to catch his train home.  So much fun to have him around, so sad to see him go!  But what a fun time we had...

BT Live in Hyde Park

In Hyde Park with the Tall South African

In the morning we got up and went to Harrods to meet some friends of the Tall South African for lunch.  Although mostly we just spent a lot of time walking and talking, discussing his exceedingly dysfunctional relationship (if you can even call it that), our own relationship, and my relationship with the Young Dutchman.  It really comes down to communication, for I was noting that even when the Young Dutchman and I argue, we pretty clearly explain to each other why we're mad, and it's all over quite quickly.  We don't hold grudges for long, and forgive each other readily.  Even with the Tall South African, I had to point out, we were pretty honest about the fact that we're still attracted to each other, but we've made a conscious decision to take our relationship in a different direction, even if it often means resisting temptation.

I don't know, I just couldn't seem to make him see that a relationship without honest and open communication isn't a relationship at all.  But then again, he's young, and I guess there are some things you can only learn for yourself.

We got to Harrods, met these girls (all former lovers, I discovered later, as though that wasn't completely obvious just by observing the air of quiet desperation they had around him), nice enough girls if totally air-headed.  Which I guess explains why they were all good enough for a fling, but not enough worth keeping in touch with (he hadn't seen most all of then for 5-6 months).  And then there's me, who he calls every day...

We listened to them natter on about the other girls they worked with and their crazy nights out, and I found myself asking more questions and telling more stories in an effort to be entertaining and engaging.  It was like he didn't even want to be there.  Which I later discovered, he didn't...he checks up on these girls out of some sense of social obligation, not because he really likes them.  I just don't get that...going to the effort of staying in touch with people you don't like.

We walked around Hyde Park for a bit, before we then went into the BT Live area.  Upon entering, I remembered how uncomfortable it had been to sit there during the Opening Ceremony, on all those wood chips, and wondered why I hadn't remembered to bring a picnic blanket.  Oh well, coulda, shoulda, woulda...

Cookie called, so I told her where we were and she came to join us, and then we went and found the others at the front of the 2nd screen.  I almost shrieked with delight when I saw that Matt was there, and so immediately sat next to him to chat and catch up.  I love how that is with Matt, as he's always as excited to see me as I am him.  It's just fabulous when you have great friends like that.

With Matt, my favourite person

I left the Tall South African to chat to others, introducing him to Caroline, who I was sure, being tall, blonde, and gorgeous, he would take to.  Perhaps I was doing it for my own amusement, but after all of our discussions earlier about his dysfunctional relationship and yet his insistence that there was nobody else, I kind of wanted to point out to him that there were other options out there.  Plus, I just knew that Caroline would entertain him.

I then mostly spent my time talking to Matt about finances in relationships, particularly when one of you earns a lot more than the other, and how that was affecting his relationship with his girlfriend.  He had a good point, and I'd never really thought about what it would be like to be in a relationship where the guy earned a lot less than I did, and was in a career field where he never would earn a lot.  How would you navigate that?

As well, Matt kept pestering me as to why I'm still single, saying, "But you're such a catch!"  Goodness Matt, if only I knew...

It was also interesting when Cookie was joined by her boss, the guy she's having an affair with.  And I guess, having known her incredibly fit fiancee, I sort of assumed that any guy she would leave him for, and risk and affair with, would be amazing.  So you can kind of imagine my shock when this guy seemed rather short and balding.   And maybe he was nervous, but not that funny either.  Really?  I almost instantly wanted to take her aside and say, "Run, as fast as you can!" but how can I?

We mostly though had one of those perfect afternoons, sitting out in the sunshine, drinking beer, and screaming like crazy as Victoria Pendleton won gold.  Being there, cheering with Team GB and the whole crowd was just amazing.

Me, Matt, Cookie and Caroline

Finally, towards the end of the evening, we'd had enough of watching at the screen we were at, and started walking with the group to join some folks at another screen.  At which point, almost out of nowhere, as we walked along, the Tall South African managed to nearly make me slap him with just about the rudest thing anybody has ever said to me.  (It doesn't bear repeating, but could really be taken as an aspersion on my looks).  Really just a truly awful, insulting thing to say, and particularly strange after the good time we'd been having.

So at that point, pretty furious, I just abandoned him.  He had his own keys, he could figure out his own way home.  I was absolutely livid at him.  Later on, when I told him what he'd said, he was absolutely dumbfounded, claimed to have no memory of it at all, swore he never would have said anything like that, but understood my fury at him if he had.  He was then quite upset, as he'd had a few more beers than I'd had, but figured it was nothing too bad, but was realising that there were entire parts of the evening that were just blank, he had no recollection of them at all, it was a total black-out.  So strange, as he'd seemed rather fine, and how strange that he would say something so awful when he was blacked out.

Anyway, furious at him for this random comment, I left him to figure his own way home, and when I saw a group leaving, went and joined them.  I found myself arm-in-arm with the Ginger Lawyer Guy, who I know is attracted to me but I never really feel like doing much about it.  We got totally lost looking for this pub, and took a nice little walk around London, where I did worry for a bit that he would abandon plans to find the group and just want to take me for a drink at the Dorchester.  Eventually we did find the pub where everyone else was at however, and joined the group for drinks.

I found myself talking to Lex and Kim, two runners who are dating who I like.  Stayed talking with them until quite late, until the Tall South African (who had somehow managed to find the pub) came and joined me.  I was puzzled as to why he was so friendly to me again, seeming totally unaware that I was absolutely seething at him (but later, once we realised he didn't remember any of it, at least that bit was explained).

Finally, we made our way home, where I realised he was completely off his face, and so made dinner for the two of us when we got in (along with a lot of water).  I got a text from Caroline, asking about how she'd done on the flirting with the Tall South African, and upon realising that we'd totally set him up, got quite annoyed with me.  I then told him he had no right to be angry with me after what he'd said, we hashed out what had happened, and he apologised profusely for being an arse.  At least he knew it, thank goodness...

The evening ended with us getting ready for bed, which somehow involved both of us stripping down to our underwear and then just sitting there, talking for ages.  I guess that's what they mean when they talk about having "nakedly honest conversations."  Ugh, who can explain it?  We were a bit tipsy...

Finally off to bed, after a very weird and wonderful day!