Whirlwind

Wow, it's been a crazy week. 

Last Wednesday, I left work in time to meet the running club for the normal run.  I've been doing the mid-distance option, at a decent pace, but not going so far as to completely exhaust myself.  For some reason, though, I felt ambitious that night and decided I'd go out with the group that runs the longer option, up through Hampstead Heath.  A group of 10 or so of us ran together at the same pace, up through a wooded park, with some incredible views down into London.  It was great, despite the rain starting about halfway through the run.  Needless to say, after that 12-mile run, I was dragging a bit Thursday morning, but it was worth getting in a good distance run and meeting some new people!

Friday morning, I started my first trip out of town since having arrived in London just about a month ago.  Rather than going to explore Europe or the like, this trip was back to Pennsylvania for a high school friend's wedding.  I was on a 10:25 am flight from Heathrow back to NYC on Friday, which ended up taking off about 90 minutes late.  My parents met the (late) flight in New York and drove me down to Harrisburg, just missing the start of the rehearsal.  We ended up going through the full rehearsal again after that, and then to the bride's parents' place for an incredible barbecue, bonfire, and dinner.

Saturday was a morning at my parents' place to pick up a few things, drop off clothes that I don't have space to keep in the flat here in London, and to enjoy some fresh corn on the cob with lunch... something I definitely haven't experienced here. 

It was an outdoor wedding and reception on Saturday afternoon, at an amazing location headed up the mountains along the Susquehanna River.  I had a great time catching up with friends I hadn't seen in forever, and was even dragged out onto the dance floor for a bit.  It does happen!

The trip back here yesterday was a bit less exciting... I left Harrisburg on a 1:10 pm train, stopped in Newark airport long enough to join the second half of my fantasy football league draft, and then got back to my flat here in London at just after 9am today.  Fortunately, today is the summer bank holiday here in the UK, so all offices are closed.  That makes it infinitely nicer, in that I can catch up on a few things around the apartment and have an early night, rather than having had to go directly from the airport to the office this morning, which I had originally expected when I first booked this trip.

In all, it was a great, if exhausting, weekend and I'm glad I was able to catch up with as many people as I did, despite the amount of travel time involved.  At the same time, though, now that I've arrived back in London, this seems in some ways much more permanent now than it did just a few days ago.  I'm not sure if it's because I've actually talked with more people about living here, or if it's just had more time to sink in that this really is home for at least the time being.  The city itself continues to be great, but I'm becoming less and less excited about the weather... it's mid-60s and cloudy again today -- not bad for autumn, but this is August.  Also, I've met a number of great people here in London, and have been having a lot of fun, but also realize just how far away many of you are, over across the pond.  (note:  yes, you CAN visit for a weekend... as I just demonstrated :p )