The Aberdeen Chronicles pt.3

Listening to: 'Crossfire' by Brandon Flowers [Flamingo]

You might wanna check out Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 first.

So I'm back in Cambridge, and have been for about a week and a half now. I was so knackered on the Monday after the trip. I was in the office and just staring into space...I was afraid to go into the lab in case I broke something. Hardly surprising, I guess, considering the round trip was about 900 miles.

There were a few amusing incidents that didn't make it into the last two posts. The first one was on Friday itself, during my jaunt around the city. I had just finished dinner at a quaint restaurant on the promenade, and I decided to take an alternative route back into the town centre, rather than just retracing my steps. With my by-now-somewhat-faded Google Maps print out in hand, I head off in my chosen direction...only to find that I had wandered into an area that wasn't on my map - the dockyard. It was about 9 o'clock and getting a bit dark, and there I was on a lonely street consisting of warehouses, warehouses, and more warehouses. Joy. I was contemplating whether to forge ahead (potentially stupid) or head back to the restaurant and retrace my steps back into town (definitely boring), when I saw a forklift truck moving in a nearby yard. I wandered over to the entrance to the yard (I didn't want to trespass) and put my most innocent smile on and waited to catch the driver's eye. I think I must've found the nicest forklift truck driver in the whole world - not only did he acknowledge that I was standing there, but he stopped his truck, got out and came round to where I was, to ask how he could help. Oh and did I mention that he was adorable?! He had the most amazing smile on the planet, and the softest eyes...I melted then and there! Anyway, turns out I wasn't lost...and had I forged ahead as planned, I would've ended up exactly where I wanted to. But hey...at least this way, I got to see some eye candy. Such a beautiful man *sigh*.

Unfortunately that was my only encounter with dashingly handsome men. The amusing incidents, however, just kept coming. The next one was on Saturday, at the wedding. It was about 11pm and the reception was in full swing, and I was chatting with the bride's 17yr old brother about his potential university choices. He was asking me about my work, and then the following conversation ensued:

Him: It must be difficult being a similar age to your supervisees
Me: Hehe it used to be, but there's quite a few years between us now
Him: Wait, how old are you?
Me: I'm your sister's age, why?
Him: WHAT?! I thought you were just a few years older than I!

*Sigh*. A 17yr old thought I was just a few years older than him. I dunno if that's a compliment or an insult. At first, Shorty said it was a good thing, 'cos it meant I had a better chance of getting a toyboy...but then we realised that the whole point of a toyboy is that the age difference is obvious...so this 'looking young' business doesn't work. I think I've decided that it's a tragedy of epic proportions.

Sadly, the final anecdote from the trip is also a tragedy of epic proportions. Partly my fault this time, but still. It was Sunday night and we had just got into Stevenage. I was standing on the platform waiting for the train to Cambridge, when I noticed that there were some people next to me looking very confused about the trains. There were three of them - an American couple and an Indian man. So, being the helpful soul (read: glutton for punishment) that I am, I asked them if they needed any help. Turns out they did, so I explained how the departure boards on the platform worked, and then just as I was about to get back to my music, the Indian man started to make smalltalk. I was tired and bored so I thought 'ok whatever' and I chatted with the group until the train arrived. It was packed. I was looking into the carriages for any free seats and I saw some wonderful eye candy, so I thought I'd try and get a seat in his carriage. Turns out my new travel buddies had picked the same one...and as luck would have it, I got a seat across from the Indian man (I could still see my eye candy, so I was happy). I stuck my earphones in and took my thesis chapter out of my bag and proceeded to read. Suddenly I realised that the Indian man was talking to me. So, to be polite, I took one earphone out and answered his question, and then quickly went back to my music and thesis. But noooo, he was in a mood to tell me his father's life story. I mean WTF? I'm wearing my earphones. I'm reading. That's supposed to be a signal that I'm not in the mood for conversation. Why do you keep talking to me, old man? Stop iiiiit. AAAAAARGH! I practically jumped off the train when it pulled into Cambridge station and ran for a taxi. Creepy Asian men...ugh. And my eye candy didn't make eye contact even once. What a waste of energy.

So yeah, those were my random highlights from the trip. Oh apart from the time I overheard some guy introducing himself to the girl next to him, and then proceeding to introduce her to the dot product. I was laughing so hard I had to call Shorty for distraction. I couldn't even contain my laughter long enough to figure out if his explanation was right...d'oh! But seriously...who in their right mind thinks that explaining vector calculus is the way to a girl's heart/pants? El stupido.

OK I think that really is a full account of my trip. Turns out I had underestimated my photographic skills (either that or I'd overestimated my standards), and there were not 10, but 28 photos from the weekend that made it onto flickr. I've put them all in a slideshow in case you're interested.

It was a good weekend and in the end I'm glad I went, despite the insane cost. I really need to get some work done though. But maybe after I go to London this weekend to see Inception at the IMAX. D'oh!