Day 1: The Arrival

Day 1: Thursday 25 September 2008


Today began the great London Adventure! We took off about 10:15 CDT Wednesday night and, true to form, I slept about 45 min of the 7.5 hour flight. So, I’ve been awake for a very Scav-like 23.25 of the last 24 hours and although I’ve fallen asleep at my computer twice already, I’ve caught enough second winds to not feel too badly.

Side note: The Airbus A330 reminded me a lot of the ship from Wall-E. We were all watching our separate screens with games, movies, and maps. It was really quite a sight to see.

In the 6.75 hours I was awake, I did some reading, watched the latest Indiana Jones (Hilarious!), played a lot of bejeweled, and tried to drink as much water as they’d give me to stay hydrated. The 45 min I slept was when we went from “Not yet halfway” to “Over halfway there!” which made a huge difference in how long the flight felt.

We circled London for 25 min or so, and then taxied for another 10. I was really anxious to get off the plane and get going. Once I made it off the plane, I got the 5th degree from the border control people about EXACTLY how long I would be in Chelsea and WHY Id chosen to come to London. Seriously now, I’m an American. I’m not going to try to claim asylum, I can just move. We have those treaties in place.

Greg and I met up easily, after we both grabbed our bags. We were supposed to meet Andy there, but after about 5 min, we decided we’d make a go of it alone and if he was pissed, well, we’d buy him a beer for his troubles.

Dan: I feel badly, what if he really needs to meet up.
Greg: Then we will have to buy him 5 beers.

Turns out, he was just on the other side of Customs, and happy to meet up with us. Once we got to the dorm and settled in, the three of us collected Tom and my roommate Ryan and headed to the closest pub. It’s a decent place, good chips and decent beer selection. The four of us had a great time in the deserted pub and resolved that small groups were the way to go.

The rooms were purported to be small, but that doesn’t really cover it. Its about the size of a Max single (room, no foyer), only with two beds, two small desks, a bathroom and two small wardrobes. Our beds were bunked, but it is tight still. Needless to say, time will be spent in the Lounge, the kitchen, or elsewhere, instead of in our rooms.

We hit the grocery store (mmmm, whole wheat Cookie Crisp) and headed back to the dorm for a meeting. The meeting was largely useless, but we were warned about the frequent fire alarms! which seemed a little alarmist at the time. After the meeting, a few people wanted to grab some dinner, so we lead a trip back to the pub. The larger group was OK, but smaller is def. the way to go.

After returning to the dorm, I set to fixing my internet/power cables, which had wonked out on me and were making “unfriendly” noises.

Actually, the noises were similar to the sound a cat would make if you plugged HIM into the wall with the wrong voltage settings.

Finally got that all fixed and set to finding Twins highlights from last night. Just as I was starting to write up my 100th blog for bleacherreport, the aforementioned fire alarm went off. We waited the 15 seconds to see if it was a test, but sadly it wasn’t. The worst part about being on the 10th floor is the stairs. I ran them three times today, and my calves are lowing up a storm about it. Whiners.

All Unpacked now and getting ready to head for bed, unless I decide to try to leak the Twins game through this terrible internet connection, but I doubt I’ll be able to make it until 2 am local. Huge game for the Twins, but that’s another blog.