Been There, Lost That

I've had quite a funny week. Sure enough, it's been quite cloudy and foggy, and not much sun, but I think we could have predicted that for half-term ;-) 

I went to a gym class last night with a friend. Another gym has opened, and a couple of our friends have started working there, and there's been a lot of talk, so we decided we would go and check it out to see if it would be any good to fill in the gaps, so to speak. 

It's a brand new space, but the facilities are just no comparison to what we've already got. One of our friends was coaching, which we didn't realise, although my friend had a nightmare journey so we came in a bit late. It was ok, quite a small group, and lots of beginners. We had to share the space with some kids classes, so we couldn't really go on much of the equipment. If fact, I think it was pretty disappointing all round. Too structured for us, and there just wasn't enough equipment or space. I felt like I didn't do any gym! We warmed up, did some lines, then toured the pit and practised a somersault. Then we walked along the slack line(?) and that was it! Oh, and not forgetting when I was reluctantly persuaded to do something simple that I could already do quite well, and then they gave me a round of applause ;-) 

We came to the conclusion that we are more than happy where we are, so it served it's purpose. They do have Ballroom and Latin classes running, which might be good for me as I keep toying with getting back into it again.

The parentals were off to Switzerland the next morning, so after a disturbed night (Little Ro went to Tulley's Farm for Halloween and didn't get in till 2am), we were all up at 4am when she took them to the airport. Now that it's super dark, it wasn't too hard to fall back to sleep, which I did until 9am. So much for a lie-in...

In the evening I met a guy I met a couple of months ago at a social event for a drink. It was the sort of thing I wished in a way I hadn't agreed to, but made myself go. He picked the pub in the photo, just off Oxford Circus. It was too busy so we wandered and chatted until we found somewhere we liked the look of. Conversation flowed easily on the walk, but by the time we sat down to have a drink, I think we had run out of things to talk about...

After one drink, we both went our separate ways. He suggested we meet and do some touristy things together (he's Australian and new to London) which I might do. 

Guy-friend was DJing for Halloween so I decided to call in there as it was on the way. When I got there he wasn't, so I was picturing myself going straight home, and the thought of PJ's, TV and the puppy was looking quite appealing! Then he arrived so I knew I would stay for a while. 

It was a good night. We chatted a lot, about anything and everything, and that always lifts me a bit. The only thing that marred the evening somewhat was a three-way texting conversation between me and "the sissies" (as T used to call them, and his own!), trying to coordinate dog-care. In short, Little Ro decided to go out knowing I was, and the refusing to curtail any plans, leaving a gulping, quivering dog terrified of fireworks home alone. My other sister had her sister-in-law's dog, so she couldn't take B as well, so in the end she came and dog-sat until the Little R came home.

It was funny, as I've had a couple of really quiet weekends, largely due to trying to be frugal, as I'm going to Amsterdam in a couple of weekends time. And of course tonight nothing really worked. I was determined not to cut short my evening as it's always me that caves first, and has to be "the responsible one". Well, I still was, but I didn't just drop everything. That sounds like I didn't care, which isn't true, as I knew Shelle was with him. 

We had a nice night, and guy-friend offered me a ride home, meaning I could avoid the super late train, which was very kind. It was nice to walk a different way, plus it wasn't freezing ;-) We got back to W around 1:30am, and then I took a taxi the rest of the way. We saw a girl crouching on the floor near the station crying, and he stopped to help her. It made me a bit sad to see somebody in a bit of a state, but there wasn't really much we could do except tell the Street Angel people about her and point them in her direction. It makes me think that this is how Little R ends up sometimes, and it's a bit of a sobering thought. And reminds me how important it is to be responsible for yourself so that you don't end up in horrible situations like that. I guess you always think, that's somebody's daughter/sister/friend etc. 

A very slow taxi ride home meant I got in around 2:15am. I think. The clocks went back so I was a little foggy on the details. 

It was a good night, and it makes me feel better, I can't explain why. I miss my T. 

On a side-note, I was delighted to realise that there were eight rather than six episodes of Cold Feet, and I caught up with the last two this week. And they were just so raw, that it makes you feel something. Life is all about connection, and in this case, the connection to the character makes you feel something. When I watched Adam's love interest Tina tell him a little about her past, one of the phrases she used totally made sense to me.

"Been there, Lost that". 

I think that's me. I had something great, I lost it. There'll never be another the same. 

I know it's only fiction, but I shall be interested to see how it pans out next season.