*Raises own hand*
Yeah. Not so much. I've definitely got a lot more free time now, it's true! But the second I have a day off work (and I only have one day off, and one morning off in the week now) there are all these THINGS that I suddenly have to do, like seeing friends and family and actually cooking food (as opposed to heatings things up) and a million other tiny things that have gotten neglected over the past year. I would say that I've hardly turned my computer on, but that's not exactly true- I've been re-watching Mad Men whilst undertaking the ridiculously ambitious task of making everyone's Christmas presents this year (which has now become a financial necessity!) but knitting does not leave ones hands free for writing, or even reading, which I've done hardly any of recently.
This is not supposed to be a complaint though! I couldn't be happier to actually have my life back to DO THINGS with it, and it just so happens that these things have involved leaving the house a lot more than they have staying in and typing things on the internet. Which is not to say that I now think that writing about books/my life has no value, but more that my life at the moment involves a lot more living than examining and I'm very much ok with that.
But, of course, all of this living has to be documented, especially when it has relevance to my online life. This past month has seen my online life jump off the screen and into reality and it's been completely amazing, and tiring, and expensive! So, firstly. The extremely wonderful Tika came to London, ostensibly to see Hamlet with Benglebert Cumbleburn and to, you know, have an epic London holiday, during which we spent two excellent days together and were very touristy. We first went to Hampton Court Palace, which, potential overseas visitors, is a mere bus ride from my house, and learnt many historical facts, didn't get lost in the maze, and gaped at the decoration of the damn palace, after which we went back to Tika's beautiful beautiful airbnb Notting Hill flat that gave me serious lifestyle envy. There was much talking and soul sharing and staying up too late, and THEN we went to Harry Potter Land and everything was Harry Potter-y and excellent and I finally got a Hufflepuff scarf so everything was the best.
Our faces, especially, were excellent.
Tika left and I was sad, but then on Halloween I met up with Bex and Katie to, as we are prone to do, book shop around London. I bought 4 books which was absolutely too many books considering the number I still have to read, BUT it is impossible to book shop with bloggers and not buy books. It just is. I think it would be fair to say that it was (only very slightly) less exciting to see them than my overseas guests, BUT we're kind of at a meeting up stage now where we can just talk about everything and anything that's happening in our lives and then nerd out about books and ok yeah I'm basically just describing the things that friends do, huh? So, yeah, we're friends. It's excellent. Anyway. An excellent day was had by all, and it was especially good because I had to work the Sunday after AND THEN EVERY DAY AFTER THAT or so it has seemed, because I've also been busy in the sense that I've had to be in charge at work and it has been exhausting and stressful but I have kind of risen to the challenge? And also I need a new job. Seriously.
BUT ANYWAY. After all the in charging, I got to have a blissful 3 days off this week that I didn't know how much I needed until I was in the middle of them, and they were completely non-negotiable (cause, really, they could have used me at work) because I absolutely had to hang out with Kayleigh on the first leg of her travels around Europe. This was a BIG ONE, you guys. Kayleigh is one of the first bloggers I can remember having a proper huge connection with and over probably 4 years of intense internet friendship we've sent countless emails, I've shouted her name on twitter so much that my phone still autocorrects to KAYLEIGH and, I mean, what can I say? She's just the best. SO we met with our faces and it was wonderful and we went to all the places in London (I'm not exaggerating) and learnt about cosmonauts and ALSO went to Harry Potter Land (seriously. This is why I'm so poor now) and just generally had a grand old time.
Also, we fucking killed it at looking awesome.
I'm always in awe about how not-weird it feels to be hanging out with people from the internet in real life, and with both Kayleigh and Tika it didn't feel like they'd travelled a bazillion miles to be here so we could be sitting and drinking milkshakes (or wine...) and talking, it just felt completely natural and like the way things should always be. I guess at this point we know each other so well that it isn't weird to be hanging out in person, it's weirder that we don't always get to. As a concessionary statement to this, I'd like to propose that everyone I know on the internet comes and sees me, but maybe not quite so close together because oh my god, I am financially crippled. Take it in turns, we'll sort it out.
So. Life. I have been living it. Please now expect a resumption of living through the internet until at least the end of the year, because I can't afford to do anything indulgent (like eat) until at least 2016. Yessssss for December reading, right?!
