Friday night was better. We were able to hit up this bar place much earlier in the night. The food was actually really good though, as all pub food goes, it was a little expensive. I had a couple of pints of Strongbow and the people watching commenced. I often forget how fun it is to go out in those kinds of social settings and just observe. The two of us sat against the wall, away from most people, and just watched. Occasionally people noticed we were American when we were talking, but generally we were unnoticed by most everyone else. And so I had another Strongbow and we commenced in our observations of the terrible choices in fashion made by men, women, but mostly by boys and girls.

Saturday was meant to be the last and final day to get to do all of those touristy things before heading home. Stonehenge was first on the list of things to do. Next was London for the remainder of the sightseeing there. Stonehenge was cool. I was saddened by the fact that it was all roped off and you can’t actually go up and touch the rocks. Much of the reason behind all of this is explained in the audio tour you get when you pay your admission price. We were nearly finished. we were about to finish snagging the last of our photos before heading back to the car. Just when we got to the heel stone, I noticed some clouds and said, “It’s going to rain again.” Oh, it didn’t just rain. It poured. Like buckets. It was torrential. There is only one way in, and one way out… and it’s the same place. Halfway down the walkway to get out, all traffic stopped. The people under the little tunnel stayed there. Leaving the rest of us to stand there, getting soaked and wet.

I can handle a little bit of rain. But at this point, I was soaked to skin. Yes, my underwear was soaked. My sweatshirt weighed something close to 15 pounds with all of the additional water. It was so bad that I couldn’t pack it to bring it home. This also meant that there was no way we could reasonably dry off enough to get to London. We headed back to the hotel to change clothes and he took me to Fairford. It was a very cute little town that is exactly what you imagine British towns to look like. I grabbed a pizza, he got some fish and chips and back to the hotel we went for some lounging… and packing. Sadly, the packing was only done by me.

Seeing as this was a business trip for him my getting to go was just a ‘bonus’. Travelling alone isn’t nearly as fun as travelling period. And really, this particular flight was going to suck more than the first because going into Heathrow we flew business class. Extra leg room. Free food and drinks. More space. I was coming home economy and the flight was overbooked (joy )

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have problems travelling alone. It’s not a fear of flying, or sitting next to strangers that I have problems with. But being on a plane for that many hours it’s nice to have something (or someone) that’s familiar. It just would have been nice.

This was a good trip. This was a life altering trip. From here on out, we’ll see how things go… and exactly how the cards fall. For now I’m rather enjoying the bliss.

While I read it seemed like I was reading a story someone wrote and told me it was my life. I guess that’s the point of journaling, for that opportunity later in life, when you’re not even remotely the same person anymore, when you can look back and read it all and laugh at yourself (and others of course!).

As I read through some of the relationship-y bits, it made me that much more appreciative for the way things have been going with the boy. I’m so very happy because of him, and with him. We all have bad days… sure. But he makes so many of them better by simply being… him.

What I really want to do is have the boy in the same room with me… we don’t have to DO anything together, I just want the comfort of knowing he’s here. I won’t have that for at best, a few more days.

I have stories needing to be written, and I keep avoiding the pen and paper (or computer).

I have bills that I simply can’t pay right now, and I hope they don’t shut anything off until I get my “bill” paycheck rather than my “rent” paycheck.

I really needs a pick-me-up of some kind… as I feel somewhat lost and floundering without something to do.

I am horrifically hungry all the time, and I hope all the weight I worked so hard to lose doesn’t come back.

I haven’t had a cigarette in almost 5 weeks, and the desire to have one gets less and less. Actually when I’m at Starbucks with my friends, I almost want to bitch at them because the smell bothers me so much.

I need to journal some of my recent experiences.

And I need to start carrying my camera again (or at least upload all the photos I did take into flickr).

Thursday I wanted to leave work early, get a head start on my weekend. I knew I was going to spend the majority of it with the boy, and that made me giddy like a kid. On the way home, I stopped by the fruit stand and picked up a few pounds of peaches. They’re the boy’s favorite fruit.

We texted once I got home, and while I was tempted to use the peaches as a means to lure him to my place half a day earlier, I figured it might be a cheap ploy. So when he thought of coming up Thursday night instead of Friday, I was thrilled.

Thursday night we drove through the Buttes and stopped along a levee to sit and look at the stars. I’ve seen the Milky Way before, but out there, there are no lights, few cars, and endless sky. When it got too cold for the both of us we drove home, with the windows open and the heater cranked up. Sleeping that night was good.

My sleep schedule is pretty much the same whether I’m in school or not, so at roughly 8am on Friday, I was wide awake and unable to go back to sleep. I snuck out of bed to feed the cat and pick up a little bit while the boy was sleeping. After a few hours I went in to harass him, as I didn’t want to waste the day. I had big plans! He woke up and made these awesome omletes for the both of us. Very yum. I played some Guitar Hero III (now that I have a fully functional and working GH Guitar), and we packed to head up into the mountains for some “get away” time.

I took the scenic route, because it really is that much prettier, and while out in the lovely town of Linda (capital of Meth-head, California), I drove by childhood homes to show the boy. I told him stories about different houses, and what we used to do when running around being kids. The people. The relationships we had with each other. Very nostalgic. Then we drove up into the mountains, and found ourselves in Nevada City. We wandered around, having arrived just after the parade had finished (yay! no crowds!), and I went on a mission. The mission was to find the truffles. The truffles I ALWAYS have when I go to Nevada City. This time it was to share the truffley goodness with the boy.

Now, I must tell you about these truffles. First, they are HUGE. They’re massive truffles. I mean, I’ve paid a lot of money for chocolate before, and gotten a far smaller piece of heaven than what you get when you buy a truffle from Degroot’s Truffles. And OMFG! I can’t even begin to explain the goodness of them. They. are. amazing! And the boy loved the two he chose. We might spend some weekends out there, now that he knows it exists.

After Nevada City, we headed to Bridge Port, a local river-y area for swimming and all-around goodness. except, there was no river. There was NO water in the RIVER! But there were a ton of people wading in the mud. We left, went home. Went to Lindsey and Josiah’s, much to his chagrin, and he had fun. He didn’t want to be there all night, but we didn’t find ourselves home until close to 1am. Ha!

Saturday I decided that I didn’t like my couch, and thus wanted to kick it with my toe. Too bad the couch won and my toe was much worse for the wear. After bandaging the poor thing up, shoving it into a shoe, we hopped on his bike and headed to Davis to watch the UFC fight.

I’m not much of a fight fan, but I was excited to see the Griffon vs. Rampage fight. EX.CI.TED! And it was worth it. It was loads of fun.

Sunday we lounged. We got coffee and each of us read our own book. I caught him staring a few times, which made me smile. Wandered the Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento, and just did… stuff. Normal, everyday stuff that we almost never get to do. Some swimming, more lounging, and eventually home.

The second he turned to leave, I felt sadness. It’s bad enough I don’t get to see him very often, but the end to a wonderful weekend meant sleeping alone.

What I adore most about the boy is that he listens to me despite the fact that I go off on tangents about things that he not only has no knowledge of, but has no interest in. We don’t have to share all things, but we should be supportive of each other and our endeavors, right? I don’t always care about what he’s telling me, but I DO care about the fact that he is telling me.

The other night, when I met his family, I heard Elton John’s “Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues” play in through the speakers of Black Angus. This is one of those songs I love. Not like… LOVE! Over the weekend, I went in search of a download for the song. Today, I decided to make a playlist, of just that song. And I danced around the storeroom at work mouthing the words and singing in my head.

I’ve heard the song a thousand times over the years, and the only part I ever knew was the title line. But the song, and it’s lyrics, are amazing.

“… But more than ever I simply love you
More than I love life itself

And I guess that’s why
They call it the blues
Time on my hands
Could be time spent with you
Laughing like children
Living like lovers
Rolling like thunder under the covers
And I guess that’s why
They call it the blues”