Baby, it's cold outside

Hi everybody!
I've spent the past few days in the beautiful city of Oxford, both seeing friends and also trying to do some work that I couldn't do from home.

It's a beautiful, amazing place, and it feels like home. I've got lots of very happy memories there. It was still very flooded. Port Meadow looked like a big lake.

The highlight of the weekend was the Sunday, where I met up with a friend from university. She is so incredibly wonderful; kind, fun, optimistic, smily! She really brightens up my life. I'm in love. Problem is: we're in completely different places, both geographically and in where we're going in life. Also as a minor problem, she's out of my league as she's so brilliant. It doesn't stop me from daydreaming though, and I love being in her company as a friend. I really want her to be happy, for someone so great, I think she's slightly troubled. I can't stop thinking about her.

It was nice to catch up with my other friends too. Interesting gossip in the "who fancies who" and "who's pissing off who" (I'm sure Ringleader would insist I mean "whom").

On a work front, semi-productive, but I hate writing, and get easily distracted. My wonderful boss gave me a pep talk, and bought the group ice-cream. It was very flattering when he said I came up with a good idea! Yay!

I tried to sleep in the lab for two of the three nights I was there. The first of the two wasn't too bad, as I was out partying with a friend who was leaving till 3 am, in the Purple Turtle (horrible tiny club that I used to love as an undergraduate, I now realise was due to very low standards). A little drinkie (a honey based spirit, I forget the name), ensured the first night in the lab was fine.

However, the final night I spent in the lab was terrible. It was a night I didn't plan on spending in the lab, but things overran (partly as I'm a bit gullible and believed my boss who said an experiment would last an hour: 11 hours later, and it was still a long way off completion- it required 20) so I ended up staying there, without a change of clothes. It was so incredibly freezing cold as the heating had packed in. The lights kept coming on and waking me, as they are all on motion sensors for environmental reasons (I normally approve). I had one of the worst nights sleep ever! I kept waking for cold and light. I slept in two T-shirts, a leather jacket, and a towel wrapped round me. I was even thinking of wearing a lab coat and academic gown for warmth, but then realised that was excessive, and didn't fancy the prospect of someone stumbling over me and asking the inevitable - "What the hell...?". In addition, sleeping sitting up or on a hard floor are not the two most luxurious manners of getting shuteye...

It was still a good weekend though. Just a few hours in her company...!

Good night and love to you all

AcidCat