Marmfish day
Jan. 6th, 2011 05:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altogetherisi Marmfish ice skating meetup was a week ago and it was marvellous.
It started vaguely early, by which I mean actually getting up at a human time of day, writing down the locations of several Starbucks and Waterstones', sneaking past my sleeping cousin to snag the hairdryer and getting out of the house before either my brother or cousin had even stirred. I also packed up all my stuff to change rooms, which meant I was leaving a little later than I had intended, but that turned out to be fine, because I got a bus, like, immediately, and then sat on the not at all misfunctioning Tube until I got to South Kensington pretty much on time.
vandulocity was already there but it was just us chatting for a little while. pigrescuer turned up brimming over with energy but then disappeared again to get ice skating tickets, then sarkysnarky arrived, and laliandra, playwithfyr and arkeiryn all arrived together having all got the same train, and then pigrescuer came back and we all waited while hanelissar was delayed and then on the wrong tube and having a slightly more trying journey than us. But then she did join us, and then we were complete!
We realised how completely close the Natural History Museum is to the Tube station when we went there to finalise ticket stuff and gaze at the ice and the penguin things and then got some lunch from three different places, which was eaten slightly self consciously (at least, mine was) as we decided what to do next. We went to Starbucks, but it didn't really have any seating, so after some covetous gazing at some very expensive and very orange Lamborghinis, we went to look for a Waterstones.
It was not there. I was saddened to have spent such energy writing down the directions and locations to places that apparently do not exist, anymore at least. But we saw a Cafe Nero, so we went there and lo! there was coffee, and book discussion, and penguin bowling, and penguin orgies, and much laughter and merriment.
There was a bit of fluster looking for loos, and one drunk but friendly man in Carluccios later, we were on our way to the rink again. The rink where we went through, switched shoes for skates and put bags in lockers and queued to get on the ice, all without anyone ever checking our tickets. Sigh. Ah well.
Skating itself was very good fun, though I was pretty awful, since I basically had completely forgotten what to do with my feet, ie, how to bloody skate, so there was plenty of holding on to the side, and also to vandulocity who is very good at skating and became my saviour. I didn't fall over though, and by the end I could go round happily several times without holding onto anything, and I was very happy, so I considered myself good enough. arkeiryn fell over and didn't skate again for a while in the middle, and laliandra and hanelissar seemed particularly attached to each other for quite awhile - I think they were married by the time we got off the ice. playwithfyr drifted around, totally good at skating but with a certain air about her that made me think of some kind of ice fairy.
Afterwards, no one stole the photo that had been taken of some of us and everyone got all their bags back, along with some brief singing, I think of the Pogues. Everyone wanted to sit down though, so we decided to save our money and time by not going on the carousel and head for somewhere we could sit and have dinner. This was an error. We decided to go to Leicester Square. This too, a bit of an error.
The whole world was trying to sit down and eat dinner at Leicester Square. We wandered around for 40 days and 40 nights, and somehow keep getting separated and ringing each other to find out how eight people managed to not realised where everyone else was quite so much. As the search went on I got quite tired and mildly hysterical. Eventually we headed up toward SoHo and Chinatown and found a tiny Vietnamese place where we all sat, and some people ate and drank. pigrescuer had a lot more energy than, say, me, at this point, and she went back to a Bella Italia to book a table for later like the hero she is.
When we eventually got to that Bella Italia - after another confusing separation, where some of us went first to Pizza Hut and then to the wrong Bella Italia - I was exhausted and desperate for alcohol. We sat at two different tables of four :( but we were sitting, and there was alcohol and pizza, and that pizza tasted like the best thing I had ever eaten, ever. The other table seemed to have more energy and raucous laughter than ours did, and we regarded them slightly suspiciously, but then sarkysnarky started making paper cranes, and then also laliandra and I started texting and tweeting each other from right across the table like the ridiculous and technology addicted people we are, and it was good.
It was also about this time that I started texting H, for no particular reason except that I do weird things like that and I like when he replies to me, and so the trouble began, ie, I got myself tied up in knots over nothing, as per with me and boys. Bloody boys. This led in turn to a desire for more alcohol, but omg it was expensive in there, so I had to cope with what I'd had already.
Eventually, the waitresses got a bit fed up with us I think, because they did that rude thing of bringing us the bill without us asking for it, the non verbal equivalent of "For gods sake will you people leave already?" We reluctantly paid and left the premises, and then sarkysnarky and vandulocity went home. This was the part when I had been planning to go home also.
But I didn't. I didn't want to go, and there wasn't really a reason I had to at all, and I was a bit fed up with being with my family and I didn't want to say goodbye to the remaining marmfish and they were just very persuasive IDK, so I went back with them to stay over at PR's house. There was a bit of confusion with trains not going where they ought to, and then disappearing entirely, and then reappearing, and then going where we wanted them to unexpectedly, but we got back to PR's and it was totally lovely, despite me having no staying over things with me at all.
We ate cookies, and I watched people jump around like crazy people playing a video game, and Lal and I tweeted at each other despite being in the same room again. And I started looking up yacht rental, because boats are fun, and had my mind blown by how much they cost. I'm so used to seeing the floating mansion type boats in Greece, I'm used to the idea they belong to the rich, but I'd never thought they were quite so crazy expensive. And then I went back to looking up castle rental, which is so much cheaper than floating mansion rental its insane. There was one that looked positively affordable, except Lal would be in America at the tail end of the low season for that one. Silly laliandra, having other friends and cool plans already :P
Got to sleep about 4ish, and woke up first, just before 9. More cookies and tweeting for breakfast, and then everyone else slowly joined me in the waking world. PR spent ages figuring out about three different routes home for everyone, and Han was trying to work out where she was meeting her other fandom friend later that day, and PR lent me her copy of The Thief by Megan Whelan Turner which was very nice of her and I should totally get around to reading.
And then we all departed, the collective losing one person at a time so that the collective hugs got small and smaller. You marmfish are some of my favourite people, it is always sad to say goodbye ;___; Hope it isn't too long until I see them all again!
Then I got home, and changed, and ate, and watched my two cousins-once-removed play/fight, and then I slept, and also finally sorted out the NYE question that had been causing me some confusion. I think my cousins thought I was hungover, but that's ok, I was pretty knackered at that point. I felt much more like a human again and less like a zombie after some refreshment.
It started vaguely early, by which I mean actually getting up at a human time of day, writing down the locations of several Starbucks and Waterstones', sneaking past my sleeping cousin to snag the hairdryer and getting out of the house before either my brother or cousin had even stirred. I also packed up all my stuff to change rooms, which meant I was leaving a little later than I had intended, but that turned out to be fine, because I got a bus, like, immediately, and then sat on the not at all misfunctioning Tube until I got to South Kensington pretty much on time.
vandulocity was already there but it was just us chatting for a little while. pigrescuer turned up brimming over with energy but then disappeared again to get ice skating tickets, then sarkysnarky arrived, and laliandra, playwithfyr and arkeiryn all arrived together having all got the same train, and then pigrescuer came back and we all waited while hanelissar was delayed and then on the wrong tube and having a slightly more trying journey than us. But then she did join us, and then we were complete!
We realised how completely close the Natural History Museum is to the Tube station when we went there to finalise ticket stuff and gaze at the ice and the penguin things and then got some lunch from three different places, which was eaten slightly self consciously (at least, mine was) as we decided what to do next. We went to Starbucks, but it didn't really have any seating, so after some covetous gazing at some very expensive and very orange Lamborghinis, we went to look for a Waterstones.
It was not there. I was saddened to have spent such energy writing down the directions and locations to places that apparently do not exist, anymore at least. But we saw a Cafe Nero, so we went there and lo! there was coffee, and book discussion, and penguin bowling, and penguin orgies, and much laughter and merriment.
There was a bit of fluster looking for loos, and one drunk but friendly man in Carluccios later, we were on our way to the rink again. The rink where we went through, switched shoes for skates and put bags in lockers and queued to get on the ice, all without anyone ever checking our tickets. Sigh. Ah well.
Skating itself was very good fun, though I was pretty awful, since I basically had completely forgotten what to do with my feet, ie, how to bloody skate, so there was plenty of holding on to the side, and also to vandulocity who is very good at skating and became my saviour. I didn't fall over though, and by the end I could go round happily several times without holding onto anything, and I was very happy, so I considered myself good enough. arkeiryn fell over and didn't skate again for a while in the middle, and laliandra and hanelissar seemed particularly attached to each other for quite awhile - I think they were married by the time we got off the ice. playwithfyr drifted around, totally good at skating but with a certain air about her that made me think of some kind of ice fairy.
Afterwards, no one stole the photo that had been taken of some of us and everyone got all their bags back, along with some brief singing, I think of the Pogues. Everyone wanted to sit down though, so we decided to save our money and time by not going on the carousel and head for somewhere we could sit and have dinner. This was an error. We decided to go to Leicester Square. This too, a bit of an error.
The whole world was trying to sit down and eat dinner at Leicester Square. We wandered around for 40 days and 40 nights, and somehow keep getting separated and ringing each other to find out how eight people managed to not realised where everyone else was quite so much. As the search went on I got quite tired and mildly hysterical. Eventually we headed up toward SoHo and Chinatown and found a tiny Vietnamese place where we all sat, and some people ate and drank. pigrescuer had a lot more energy than, say, me, at this point, and she went back to a Bella Italia to book a table for later like the hero she is.
When we eventually got to that Bella Italia - after another confusing separation, where some of us went first to Pizza Hut and then to the wrong Bella Italia - I was exhausted and desperate for alcohol. We sat at two different tables of four :( but we were sitting, and there was alcohol and pizza, and that pizza tasted like the best thing I had ever eaten, ever. The other table seemed to have more energy and raucous laughter than ours did, and we regarded them slightly suspiciously, but then sarkysnarky started making paper cranes, and then also laliandra and I started texting and tweeting each other from right across the table like the ridiculous and technology addicted people we are, and it was good.
It was also about this time that I started texting H, for no particular reason except that I do weird things like that and I like when he replies to me, and so the trouble began, ie, I got myself tied up in knots over nothing, as per with me and boys. Bloody boys. This led in turn to a desire for more alcohol, but omg it was expensive in there, so I had to cope with what I'd had already.
Eventually, the waitresses got a bit fed up with us I think, because they did that rude thing of bringing us the bill without us asking for it, the non verbal equivalent of "For gods sake will you people leave already?" We reluctantly paid and left the premises, and then sarkysnarky and vandulocity went home. This was the part when I had been planning to go home also.
But I didn't. I didn't want to go, and there wasn't really a reason I had to at all, and I was a bit fed up with being with my family and I didn't want to say goodbye to the remaining marmfish and they were just very persuasive IDK, so I went back with them to stay over at PR's house. There was a bit of confusion with trains not going where they ought to, and then disappearing entirely, and then reappearing, and then going where we wanted them to unexpectedly, but we got back to PR's and it was totally lovely, despite me having no staying over things with me at all.
We ate cookies, and I watched people jump around like crazy people playing a video game, and Lal and I tweeted at each other despite being in the same room again. And I started looking up yacht rental, because boats are fun, and had my mind blown by how much they cost. I'm so used to seeing the floating mansion type boats in Greece, I'm used to the idea they belong to the rich, but I'd never thought they were quite so crazy expensive. And then I went back to looking up castle rental, which is so much cheaper than floating mansion rental its insane. There was one that looked positively affordable, except Lal would be in America at the tail end of the low season for that one. Silly laliandra, having other friends and cool plans already :P
Got to sleep about 4ish, and woke up first, just before 9. More cookies and tweeting for breakfast, and then everyone else slowly joined me in the waking world. PR spent ages figuring out about three different routes home for everyone, and Han was trying to work out where she was meeting her other fandom friend later that day, and PR lent me her copy of The Thief by Megan Whelan Turner which was very nice of her and I should totally get around to reading.
And then we all departed, the collective losing one person at a time so that the collective hugs got small and smaller. You marmfish are some of my favourite people, it is always sad to say goodbye ;___; Hope it isn't too long until I see them all again!
Then I got home, and changed, and ate, and watched my two cousins-once-removed play/fight, and then I slept, and also finally sorted out the NYE question that had been causing me some confusion. I think my cousins thought I was hungover, but that's ok, I was pretty knackered at that point. I felt much more like a human again and less like a zombie after some refreshment.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 10:10 pm (UTC)Yes. You are crazy insane technologically addicted people! And it seriously did feel like forty days and forty nights, trying to find a damn place to eat. Why can't London be smaller and have fewer people in it? Then we, the people that matter, would get food! :P
And I thought you had Plans to basically go around stealing other marmfish's beds during the year? :P
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 10:23 pm (UTC)We wandered around in circles, confused and desperately seeking the
milk and honeypizza and alcohol we had thought we would be delivered unto D: Very wearying, of the spirit and of the feet.I am hoping to steal beds, yes! I should get to asking people about that. Um *cough*
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-07 07:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 05:41 pm (UTC)Who had the photos of the penguin orgy btw? Because I feel the internet needs to see them. Also the photos of whichever Scott Westerfeld Van had defeating Diana Gabaldon's book of crappiness. Which is STILL in my room for some angering reason. >:(
ANYWAY basically it was an awesome day and I'm so glad you arranged it and so many of us managed to make it! Except for the aching feet. I had blocked most of the memories of how much my feet hurt but reading this post the memories, they flooded back! XD Ouchies.
Love you massively! And that castle SHALL HAPPEN
xxxxx
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 05:47 pm (UTC)I love that. Never change. I shall leave a proper reply, um, later, when I'm not about to start digesting myself from hunger. I just wanted to say you are some kind of wonderful comment ninja.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 05:58 pm (UTC)Alternatively, I just happened to open my flist right after you posted and for once actually commented straightaway rather than open fifty bazillion tabs and then leaving them guiltily open for a couple of days because I can't be bothered to comment yet...
BUT YOUR REASONING MAKES ME SOUND MORE AWESOME. I AM A COMMENT NINJA, LOOK ON MY WORDS YE MIGHTY AND DESPAIR! OR SOMETHING LESS EMBARRASSINGLY LITERARY!
Love you, DON'T DIE OF HUNGER
xxx
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 07:45 pm (UTC)I hope the weird changes between losercase AND CAPSLOCK do not render this AWESOME comment impossible to read. Oh well, you'll cope. YOU BETTER, IS ALL I'M SAYING.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 08:43 pm (UTC)LOVE YOU AND THANKS FOR NOT DYING OF STARVATION!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 09:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 07:36 pm (UTC)Who has the photos? ...hmmm. I think van and Lal took some and possibly a third person did also, but not I, as I have currently mislaid my camera. There has to be a way to get rid of that book that is morally pure. Maybe you can just hide it somewhere and never see it?
BOTH the castle AND the seeing of Wicked shall happen! I have bought a diary now, therefore I need to fill it up with lovely awesome plans! \o/
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 08:45 pm (UTC)Oooh awesome. :) I shall hope for photos at some point then! *looks pointedly at Lal in light of her below comment* I am going for giving it to Waterstones on Monday in exchange for something awesome. Like Looking for Alaska. I really want to read that.
YES. AWESOME. THEY SHALL!
Love you!
xxxx
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 09:15 pm (UTC)Exchanging does seem like the best resolution to this sorry state of affairs. While you are there, you can also cover up any copies of certain other books. Hurrah!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 07:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 08:45 pm (UTC)xxx
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 08:03 pm (UTC)I like the idea that I could have in ANY WAY let go of Hannah. There was clutching. I have a bruise to prove it! Clearly as you are one of the sole witnesses to our wedding you should probably explain, you know, how that happened...
Silly Isi, for deciding to plan something on the only two weeks in the year I have plans :P
CASTLES.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 08:13 pm (UTC)The looking up castle rental as a means of procrastinating meme has spread (VICTORY) and Hannah is now suggesting we might be able to find a week in September...? Would that be at all possible for you perhaps?
I am pretty sure a handfasting took place between you and Hannah. It was one part beautiful, one part baffling to behold.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 10:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-06 10:55 pm (UTC)