too much travel

Not really had any fun adventures lately, but thought I should write anyway just to highlight how little fun you can have whilst travelling so much.

 

I was in Birmingham at the weekend, took the train Friday after work.  However, on Monday I had to go to Nottingham and P wanted me to take a laptop on the off chance I could put some data on it we'd been waiting for.  So I had to lug this laptop as well as my normal weekend bag (minus dirty washing) across London on the Northern Line to Euston.  Then at New Street I planned to get the train to 5-ways but it was a 40 minute wait and I couldn't be bothered with that.  I decided to walk and to walk the long way as I didn't want to get mugged for work's laptop.  It then started to rain, but not too much so that was OK. 

 

Got home, checked the Hamster was alive and the house hadn't burnt down.  It was and it hadn't.  Didn't really do much else all weekend actually.  Saw my sister on Saturday and briefly on Sunday - can't actually remember when I last saw her!  Could have been Christmas actually.  Fixed my computer, not the way I wanted it really but at least it's working now.  Exorcised the poltergeists that'd been turning on the computer and scaring my mom (BIOS setting to "wake up" on network command - think a hacker may have spotted my computer when the defences were down and taken an interest).

 

Sunday night in Birmingham, which is odd for me.  Then Monday morning up early to go straight to Nottingham.  When finished at Siemens it was back through London to Croydon for the night.  Tuesday at work in London, then as we had a "workshop" starting at 8.30am (yes, 8.30am :o(    ) left the office at 4pm with BPB, BC and GA to get the train back to Nottingham.  Went through stuff for the workshop on train and then GA enlightened us all about the half-hourly electricity market.  Didn't stop at Luton.

 

Checked into a hotel in Nottingham literally on my old Uni campus, right opposite the library.  Cute Finish girl at the desk, hotels seem to be a good place to find cute foreign girls, although this time no cute maid offered to "turn down my bed".  Thought I should hang around while BPB checked in as one of the questions on the check in form was "Nationality" and if not "Commonwealth or Irish citizen" then other stuff like passport number.  Who takes their passport on business trips in the same country?  In the end it wasn't Nationality that caught BPB out, but paying in cash!  He does not have a bank account yet (it's rather difficult to get one) and his Belgium credit card was full up.  However paying in cash requires proof of ID!  God knows why but what can you do?  The girl that was checking him in was in training so wanted to do things properly.  In the end BC had to pay on his credit card.  The nationality problem did come up but she asked the other girl (cute Fin) who said not to worry about it.  Really, BPB is Canadian, and thus a commonwealth citizen, anyway so it was never really an issue.

 

Went out for evening meal (up to £16) on The Company, had a few drinks then back to the hotel after last orders.  

 

Wednesday morning woke up, showered, dressed and packed then down to breakfast.  Had 2 pieces of toast, Orange juice, apple juice and a muffin (the "continental" breakfast as opposed to full English) at a cost of £6!  Oh well, not me paying.  Then off to Siemens again.

 

Had another free meal, this time on Siemens.  Much to BPB's dissapointment was the fact that he couldn't claim for it on his expenses too.  The workshop in the afternoon that I was responsible suffered from poor planning on my part and wasn't 100% sucessfull, so felt abit down about that.  Then KM took BPB and I (BC and GA had left earlier) to the train station.  Train back to London St Pancras, tube to London Victoria, picking up about a million people from Oxford street as it was now 5.30pm.  Still more people couldn't fit on the train.  Then train to East Croydon and back to the flat.  Knackered.

 

Still had to make my parents bed and my own as I'd been sleeping in The Bedroom while folks were in Cypress for the week (although I think I slept in the flat 3 nights in total).  Had dinner, had a sauna, showered and went to bed.

 

And now it is today.  Amazing how little fun I've had!  No doubt you're glad I've shared it all with you.