Sleep Deprivation makes you Hallucinate

If this is incoherent, then I apologize. 

I'm running on three hours of sleep right now.  I only had 5 the night before that, and the night before that, and the night before that...

I've been really busy, and I've been trying to maximize my last few days in the kingdom I love the most. 

Seeing Paul again was really, really good.  We went out for chinese and drinks on Wednesday night, and then spent all of Thursday together because he had the day off work.  We wandered around London the entire day, and I FINALLY got to see the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub!  It was closed for renovations last time I was in London.  Yeah - open since 1667, and the one year I go, it's closed.  It was a fantastic pub - with old wooden beams, and basically - the "tavern" look.  It sold traditional middle english food too, so I had a pheasant for lunch. 

After that, we went shopping on Oxford Street, and collectively spent 3 hours in a bookstore, and then a toy store.  But you don't understand - it was the coolest toy store EVER! 

Toys'R'Us has nothing on Hamleys.  Six floors of everything you can think of, from toys for children, to toys for adults.  I wanted to buy at least half the store.  And they had a stirling silver mariner's compass that I would have died to own, but it was far, far outside my price range.  We spent the evening at an indian restaurant, and then went to see the musical, Avenue Q.  Avenue Q is basically an X rated version of Sesame Street - and it was hilarious.  When the homosexual character started singing about his "girlfriend in Canada" I laughed so hard I cried.  "Girlfriend in Canada" is a euphemism for a girlfriend who doesn't exist (because NOBODY lives in Canada...right?)

I think throughout the whole day, we walked the London core four times.

I spent all of yesterday in Reading with Jamie, and had an amazing time.  I finally got to get my chocolate at a Thornton's chocolatier (think of Purdy's, but infinitely better.)  We wandered for a bit, had delicious italian pizza for lunch, and then took the train back to his house in Shiplake.

Since it was gorgeous out, we spent the afternoon walking around the woods in his little town (village?) - and it was crazy windy! My hair got quite messy.  Unfortunately, my shoes got completely totaled by the mud and swampy bits, and the outsides are still kinda damp today (thank you, goretex - for my dry toesies) and I managed to lose my sunglasses.  We looked everywhere for them, but they were on my head at one point, and we were climbing through fairly dense brush, so I think maybe a tree branch knocked them off my head.  Trying to find a pair of black shades after the sun has set is ridiculous. 

Also, I learned a fun game that apparently, I need to bring back to Canada with me.  Scarf fight.  We took our scarves.  We tied knots in them (I wanted to tie rocks into the knots, but that's against the rules, it seems) and then we fight with them.  Which was loads of fun.  Well...you know, until I damaged my hand, but Jamie was bleeding too, so it's probably fair.  Besides, I'll just feed him to a bear when he comes to Canada, so we can be even. :)

My hand is okay, just a little tender. - my little pinky is really swollen and purple, and when I awoke this morning, the top of my hand and part of my other fingers were a little bruised as well.  The bruises didn't stay anywhere else on my body. 

His mother (who is very sweet) invited me to stay for dinner, so I ate her amazing food, and actually, ending up staying right until the last train at midnight.  I got back to my hotel at 12:30, went to bed at 1:30, and then got up at 5:00 to catch the train out of Reading. 

Getting onto the train this morning was ridiculous.  Reception, which I assumed was open 24 hours was totally closed, so I had no way to check out.  Then, there was no phone to call a taxi to the station (because I still hadn't figured out how to walk there, yet) - so I walked in the pouring rain, and finally figured out how to get to the station on foot.  Somehow, I made it on time, but one train to London Paddington was early, and the other was late, so I didn't quite leave on time.  THEN, I get to Paddington, have to switch via the underground to London Euston, only to discover the tube line between the two stations is closed for construction.  Two tube transfers, and an hour later (I went the long way), I got to the Euston station, only to have JUST missed my train.  I had to sit there for an hour. 

I'm on the train now, somewhere in the midlands.  The train has wifi.  And a good thing too, it's the only thing keeping me awake.

Later on today, I'm meeting Bryan for coffee because he is in Glasgow today, and tonight, I sleep at a hotel near the airport, because I fly out at 6:30 tomorrow morning. 

And I really, really don't want to go.