Last Drinks Before Christmas

Tonight was one of those perfect confluence nights, where everything seemed to land all on one day.  First, it was the night for the "Last Wednesday Drinks" at the Club, the last ones before the club closed for Christmas.  

I needed to be in Scotland the next day however for a friends' wedding, so I booked myself on the midnight train from Euston station, taking the Caledonian Sleeper up to Edinburgh, from whence I would catch a shuttle ride to the hotel for the wedding.  So two things on one day, but I was sure I could manage it.  

My bunk on the sleeper train

Then a girl who had been on my course at Oxford, who had been asking if we could meet up for weeks, came around again suggesting we meet up, so I simply suggested she come along to these drinks as well.  Three things at once.  Still manageable.

Then a friend from high school who lives in Boston announced that she was going to be in London for one night only.  Tonight.  Okay, so she should come for drinks too!  Four things at once.  I can do this.

Then a girl who I'd met at the Christmas Ball who wanted to join the club e-mailed and asked if I could give a tour of the club, so I suggested she come along to these drinks as well.  Five things at once.  Oh, and at the last minute she invited a friend without telling me.  Stressful, but manageable...

Oh, then the German-American Guy let me know he was coming, and I'd been wanting to make an effort to talk to him and catch up with him.  Six things at once.  Yeah, I could start to see this one going downhill...

But the kicker came at the end of the work day, when I was frantically trying to get ready and out of the house in time to meet my high school friend at the club.  My phone rang, and I answered it with a simple, "Oh.  My.  God."  It was Joel.  Who I was talking to in person.  Who wanted to know if I was free for drinks.  Tonight.  AUGH!  The person I want to see more than anyone, but with the worst timing ever!  

I explained to him my dilemma, and he said that although he was wearing jeans, he might grab appropriate duds to change into and call me later, although a part of me knew that would never happen.  {Sigh!}  Oh Joel, I do adore you and miss you so, but I do wish you would give me more advance notice!

I made it to the club and met up with the girl from my course, and was joined slightly later by my high school friend.  I didn't have as much time to devote to talking to everyone as I would like (I barely got a chance to speak to the German-American Guy), but hopefully I gave everyone enough attention.  

I was distracted by my phone buzzing at one point, but it was a bit before I could excuse myself to go to the phone booth to check it.  Turns out it was the Tall South African, who was calling in surprise at the fact that he had received my Christmas card that day, and it had made him laugh excessively.  I like to write real Christmas cards, giving people honest news, not just checking a box and filling in the blanks.  Still, once he realised that I was out and at a drinks party, he encouraged me to go back to it.  Only right, I suppose, and to be honest I'd only left to check my phone in the hopes that it might be Joel calling.  

I then returned into the party, where I found my friend from high school entertaining two German guys, including one I'd met a few weeks ago, and thankfully my brain managed to remember his name from the depths of my consciousness.  As we talked, the guy kept moving around the group to be near me, paying quite a bit of attention to me, and doing what I'd thought he was doing when he first met me, very obviously being quite flirtatious.  Given that he'd also gone to Balliol, we'd hit it off right at the start, and I had to admit that although I had my concerns about his age, he was pretty easy on the eyes.  We spent the entire evening talking, mostly just the two of us in a corner, although finally at one point I had to abandon him to not entirely ignore the two girls who had come to get a tour of the club.  Damn my 50-million obligations in one night!  

Although, just to keep me thoroughly distracted, a guy tapped me on the shoulder at one point, and thank God my failing brain also recognised him and came up with his name.  It was the 25-year old that I'd met at the drinks in October!  It was nice to see him and recognise that he'd made an effort to talk to me, and even later on in the evening he was sending me messages on Facebook.  He'd been there with another girl that evening (and we'd already established that I was much too old for him), but I suppose whatever spark or chemistry was there at the start is still there a little bit...

Finally, after I'd raced through a tour of the club, and it was past 11 PM, the girls I was with at least gracefully acknowledged that I was due to be on a train to Scotland in just a few minutes.  And given that I have no idea what I would have done if I missed my train, I grabbed my bags and booked it out of there.  

I debated taking a cab, but then realised that taking the Tube was actually probably the fastest way there.  I managed to arrive at Euston station 20 minutes in advance of my train, and then ran around in a mad panic trying to find a ticket machine to print out my ticket.  

Thankfully the station staff directed me, I got my ticket, got on board, and was shown to my cabin.  It took me at least four tries before I could understand most of the questions the heavily-Scottish-accented staff were asking me, but finally figured enough out to ask for orange juice in the morning.  I found myself sharing with a university student, going back to Edinburgh, who had done the journey before and was able to share a few tips and bits of wisdom with me.  

The very cozy cabin in the sleeper train!

I went and got changed into some clothes more appropriate for sleeping in, and then curled myself up in the top bunk of the cabin.  I exchanged a few messages with people, and then finally, as the train pulled out of the station, dimmed the lights and settled down to sleep, as we rumbled north to Scotland.  As I'd joked with people, I'd always wanted to be on "the midnight train", and here I finally was on one.  Not going anywhere though, but off to Edinburgh!