On Finally Getting a Social Life!

Well, it's finally, after a month in this country, happened for me! I finally have the beginnings of a social life! I am overjoyed at the prospect of not spending ever weekend alone now! Hurray! Friday morning I got an e-mail from the only other Canadian on staff at the school, welcoming me and hastily inviting me to join a few staff members for a drink in Cambridge that night. I welcomed the idea, and so arrangements were discussed. I ended up catching a bus into Cambridge at 8pm. I had my iPod with me, so I jammed to some tunes while on the bus, and tried to take in the nighttime scenery.

As we got closer to City Centre, I had my eyes peeled for the pub we were supposed to meet at. It was called the Baron of Beef. Sounds classy, right? Eventually I spotted it coming up on the right. Not wanting to have to try to navigate myself back to the pub, I hastily made my way to the front of the bus, and asked the driver if I could possibly get out at the next corner. He gladly stopped the bus, and let me off. Overjoyed at my luck, I walked over to the door to the bar. Before opening the door, I was hit with a few nervous flutters, but I brushed them aside, and opened the door.

Immediately to the right, filling the whole front section of the pub, was a lively group of staff members. Introductions were made, as I wasn't acquainted with many of them, and then I grabbed a pint and settled in for the evening.
I must admit, it was a very very fun evening! I had a total blast, getting to know some of the other staff members. They're all such friendly people, and we had a really good time just chatting, joking, and laughing. Hopefully I make some lasting friendships out of the bunch! I certainly had fun, and I hope more outings occur in the near future!

A few notable things happened in the evening, the funniest being when an unfortunate British fellow puked EVERYWHERE, both inside and outside the bar. I was outside with two of the lovely female teachers, when suddenly a young man stumbled out of the bar, doubled over, and vomited on the pavement. Disgusted, the three of us instantly stepped back. A little of his sick splattered on my shoe.
"SICK!" we shouted, collectively.
"Time to go home, mate," I said to the back of his head.
People walking by heckled him as well, pointing to his vomit and commenting on how gross it was. It was really quite chunky. Looked like Pad Thai, or something.

He stayed hunkered down, with his head between his legs, for a good five minutes not doing anything. I could hear our group inside laughing at the bloke. It was rather funny, I suppose. It's not often you see someone stumble out of the bar at 12:30 in Canada, retching everywhere. The British are absolute lushes. Finally, the guy righted himself, and tried to take a few steps. He was clearly hammered, and couldn't even stand straight without wobbling around, this way and that. He made to go back in the front door, but found it was locked against him.
"Guess we gotta go around the side. Do you have any mates in there?!" one of my colleagues asked him. He mumbled something, with a stupid drunken grin on his face. The three of us headed back inside, and the drunk guy stumbled after us.

We were greeted at the door by the owner, a woman in her late 40s, at least.
"Did you get sick on my floor!?" she demanded of us.
"No, it was that guy," I said, pointing to the guy who was following us in.
"You couldn't make it to the bathroom?! You had to be sick all over my pub?!" she said, angrily.
Giggling, the three of us hurried back to our seats. I had to sidestep a pile of puke on the floor. Apparently he had stumbled to the door, threw up in front of it, opened the door, threw up in the breezeway, and THEN had stumbled outside. That's when we'd seen him puke on the pavement.
Everyone at the table laughed at us, saying it had been hilarious to watch us all jump back instantly when he'd come out. I drunkenly grumbled about my shoes, though lucky for me not a lot had gotten on me.

The owner made the guy help her clean up his mess though, which was poetic justice. You rarely see that in Canada. Unless, of course, you're Mike Holcolm, and you've puked down the stairs at the Mug. Ha ha ha! Oh that story never fails to crack me up.

I also should mention that this week, during staff meetings, I'd started to kind of notice one of the other staff memebers; a younger guy, who was, I later found out, from New Zealand. I kind of developed a teeny crush on him, just talking to him briefly at the meetings.

I also found out that he was the tutor (newly appointed) of one of my "bad" students, Jimmy. I didn't have to make up an reason to e-mail him about Jimmy, since he has a serious problem NOT making fart noises with his mouth. I shot off a quick e-mail, just asking him to speak to Jimmy about proper vs. improper behaviour in class. He e-mailed me back, saying he'd talk to him for me, and then wished me a good weekend, complete with a smilie face emoticon. Solid. Good sign.

Then, when I got invited out, I secretly hoped he'd be in attendance. I was quite pleased when he WAS out, and I secretly endevoured to have a solid conversation with him. The only problem was, that as the night progressed, I got the impression that another of the young ladies on staff (she's the same age as me, actually) also had a crush on him. You know how you can read people's body language? Well, I noticed them up at the bar, ordering drinks, and she was very clearly attempting to lean into him. She was doing all the usual things, that signal to me that a woman is interested in a man. I wasn't sure how to read his response to her, but I knew this could get messy. She is SUPER nice, and we had chatted a lot earlier in the evening. I definitely think we could become pretty good friends, as we're the same age and seem to have a similar personality. I like her a lot, so I really hoped that perhaps I was misreading her interest in J.

Eventually, I did get to have a few decent conversations with him. I tried my best to show a little bit of interest in him, but not too much. I was flirty, but not over the top. I don't want to come across as THAT girl, to anyone on the staff. Slowly, as the night progressed, people started to trickle out. Eventually it was just the three of us, Laura, J and myself.

I ended up missing the bus back, because I just didn't keep track of the time well enough. I was a bit inebriated, and was going to call a cab back to St. Ives. I was convinced this wasn't a good idea though, and a place to crash for the night was offered to me. I gladly accepted. On the way back I also requested, as per usual, some food. They asked me what I wanted, and I drunkenly shouted "poutine!"
Of course, you can't get that in England, so instead I said I would settle for some chips, and perhaps a burger. We caught a cab, went to a little takeaway place, and I ordered a cheeseburger and fries. It was bloody brilliant. Really hit the spot! I can honestly say it was the best burger I've had yet in England. Maybe it was the booze, or maybe it was something else, but it was freaking great. I scarfed it down super fast, hardly pausing to breath. Food comes first! The three of us headed to Js, were he popped in a movie and we kind of vegged. Laura was sitting next to him on the couch, and was leaning on his arm, with her head on his shoulder. I decided that my initial hunch had been correct. She was very much trying to show that she was interested in him, so I decided to back off. I don't want to burn bridges.

I was pretty hammered, so I started to fall asleep on the couch. At this point, J asked me if I wanted to sleep on the couch or on a blow up mattress. I gladly opted for the blow up.
"Okay, its in my room," he said.
Ooooooo! I thought.

We headed upstairs, leaving Laura passed out on the couch, bless her. I pumped up the mattress with my foot, J got me a sleeping bag, and I settled in for the duration. It was really cold though (this is the honest truth, I was FREEZING), so J told me to bring the sleepingbag onto his bed, and then I could share his blanket. It was totally PG. I really did stay in my sleeping bag, and he just tossed his blanket over me as well. We joked around a bit, had a pillow fight, and then went to sleep. Nothing happened at all, honest. I wouldnt have let it, regardless. When people you work with are involved, you have to be SUPER careful. I don't want to have stories about me started ALREADY! I am just hoping that Laura dosen't get mad, or think something happened between us. Nothing happened, it was legit, 100%.

I don't think she's mad though, as she texted me this afternoon, and seemed fine!

Anyways, when I drink I always find I sleep terribly, so I didn't have the best sleep, but ah well! It woulda been the same regardless of where I was in the world! In the morning, I had to leave super early, as I wanted to make it to the post office in St. Ives before it closed at 11:30. I caught a bus home, and made it to the post office at around 10. I was thinking it was going to be one of the packages from my Mum, but it was the one Meaghan sent me! I was super excited to see what she'd sent, so I didn't waste time opening it. I started walking down the street, ripping the envelope open. Inside was a really adorable card, a very handy book on British slang (I will def. use it against the students, mwha) and a hilarious game called Nun Bowling. It's exactly as it sounds....its a bowling game where you have to knock down little nuns. I laughed so hard, I almost peed my pants. I'm not even joking, I thought it was so cute! People probably thought I was nuts.

Since I was downtown St. Ives, I decided to check out some of the local shops. I went into a shoe store, as I am lacking shoes, and ended up buying a cute pair of mary janes, with a bit of a heel. I figured I could wear them mostly for teaching, but they have the ability to be dressed up. I then went into a clothing store, and bought a dress to wear for next weekend (which just happens to be my BIRTHDAY). A few of the staff members had agreed to come out with me, so I want to make sure I'm dressed to kill for my special day!

It was a GORGEOUSLY sunny day, so I took my time walking home. Once there, I decided to do my laundry, since I could hang it out on the line. It was so warm! I was wearing short shorts and a tank top all day, and was perfectly comfortable. I then decided to relax and watch Hot Rod, have a nap, and mostly just enjoy not having to do anything. Like I mentioned, Laura texted me today, and might come into St. Ives tonight. I'm not sure. I am not super keen on going out, but I will! J also texted me, being very friendly, and possibly a little flirty. Yet another good sign, as it shows he had to ask SOMEONE for my number; I didn't give it to him!

All in all, it was a glorious Friday night, and a wonderful Saturday afternoon.

I am looking forward to next weekend. I hope that it's as fun, if not more fun, than last night.

Cheers!!