They were throwing a party well, more like a dinner in a restaurant for a few colleagues that were leaving. One of the consultants and one of the receptionists were off on another adventure to a new place. We were all to meet at at this Chinese restaurant in town close to where Ba(r)be and I are going to be staying after she lands in thirty eight hours or so at the time of our communication when I was getting ready for this do. 

This is my last night in Stafford. I started packing the night before and came back to the place to “shit, shower ‘n’ shave” as they say in North America. I did most of those things and after ironing the outfit that I was going to wear out to this event. Have to look somewhat presentable so I made sure to shave. It’s nice to do something different for a change. My project has consumed so much if my time lately. 

There was only about an hour of time in my flat before I had to catch a particular train that would take me back to Stoke in time for the eight o’clock start. One of the consultants and one of the receptionists(?) are leaving. The consultant had been there for more than ten years so there is a lot of history there. The longer you are in a place the more elaborate the do should be. 

The restaurant is in a part of town that we will soon be staying in. Ba(r)be will enjoy staying near here. I was pleasantly surprised at the little town center. It’s car free and it has plenty of little shops and café’s that will supply us with food and entertainment. There was some heated argument between a youth and a security guard. Their voices debating the legality of being told to “move along.” I walked around a bit killing some time before the dinner started. 

I found the restaurant alright and sat down at one of the chairs that wasn’t occupied by anyone in our group. There were some people there. Some that have already started drinking as they proudly showed off a half finished bottle of wine. A former receptionist thought I was there waiting for takeaway until we were formally introduced. We were waiting for our table to be Reddy. Some people were taking their time to pay. 

The meal itself was a britishized version of chinese food. It wasn’t strongly flavored and the dishes just seemed to appear there on the little carousel in the middle of the table. I was surprisingly hungry and the dinner conversation revolved around our experiences traveling. One in oarticular stood out as our newly crowned boss told us a story of his first flight that had to make an emergency landing. We even delved into our stories of 9/11 and where we were. I couldn’t stay too long as I had to catch a train back and finish packing the next day. I made it onto the last train. 

Back at the flat I passed out and in the morning began to pack in earnest. There really isn’t that much stuff to pack but I need to organize it all so that it fits well together. I’ve already started to segregate things that I’m going to take with me and stuff that is going to be stored for my return from hols. It’s mostly winter stuff and things that I won’t be lugging around Europe on our adventure. Some of this segregating took longer than expected and I was glad that the laundry dried in time. 

There was time to buy tickets to travel back and forth between Stafford and London and I am happy that Rita was able to put me up for the night. Ba(r)be is landing early in the morning and we will have a busy time commuting all over. On the train ride into London I felt the surge of caffeine pulsing through my body. I may have drank too much of it. I composed myself trying to take a nap. I made a quick visit with a friend and then sat and ate at a cafe chatting on Skype for an extended period of time. I walked and ate pho at a restaurant I like around Clapham. I was taking my time enjoying the atmosphere of the old neighbourhood. 

Once I got to Rita’s I watched some news and emptied some of my photos from some memory cards. No need to buy new ones. Rita and Jaco are away on their hols so it was a quiet time at their place. I watched them talk about the ballon tragedy and it made me think of a patient one time that survived something like that when the ballon she was on caught on fire she fell from the sky. There was a story of that guy who jumped out of a plane without a parachute. That’s brave. 

I’m happily anxious at Ba(r)be’s arrival. Happy to once again hold her in my arms but anxious at how the trip will turn out. The worry is just a natural outgrowth of how I am. It’s like worrying before writing an exam doing everything possible before realizing that no more can be done. It’ll be fine… We will have a great time together. This slight anxiety (as it has subsided in intensity as I’ve gotten older) means that I care about what happens. I want it to be great. It means something about how I feel about her.  I can’t wait 😀.