We'll take a cup o' kindness yet, for the sake of auld lang syne... (Part 2)

Sorry for such a delay in the second part - I've been completely snowed under by work for the past few weeks!

Now to resume...

When I left off I had just landed back home after an 'interesting' journey, and after meeting mum and dad at the airport, I promptly fell asleep for most of the 80 minute car journey home. Other than being a bit antisocial with mum and dad (although they are probably used to it by now..) it also meant I felt pretty groggy by the time I got back home to good ol' Glororum.

First thing to do was say hello to the dog, Rock, before attempting to stay awake until a reasonable bedtime - to try and fight the joys of jet lag. After getting only around 6hrs sleep in 48hrs straight off the back of finals this was easier said than done; but with the help of the nespresso machine and Sky+ed episodes of You've Been Framed, I managed to stay awake just about long enough. That being said, as soon as 9pm came around I headed straight to bed and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Now usually I'm not that keen on having a lie in - if I wake up I find it pretty hard to stay in bed, never mind fall off to sleep again, and usually struggle to sleep past 10am. So it was a bit of a shock to wake up at precisely 3.30pm - 18 and a half hours after falling asleep! I could quite easily blame it on jet lag (it would be 10:30am back in the US) but I think in reality I was just absolutely knackered!

I then got up and dressed and had some breakfast/brunch/lunch/afternoon snack before doing a little unpacking. It was during the unpacking that I got a phonecall from James which went something like this:

Me: Hello?

James: Hi David, is Mum & Dad there?

Me: Nope, they're out. How are you? I've got so much to talk...

James: Sorry, got to ring Mum & Dad, speak to you soon. *Hangs Up*

Now to say I felt a little snubbed was a bit of an understatement, after all I had just come back from 4 and a half months in another country, but it soon became clear when he rang back 10 minutes later:

Me: Hello?

James: Hi, it's me again.

Me: What's up? Is everything alright?

James: Yeah - Sam just wants to ask you something...

Sam: Hi David.

David: Hi Sam - is something the matter?

Sam: I just wanted to know if you would mind me becoming your sister-in-law?

Of course I didn't mind! And after many congratulations I found out what had happened - the night before, James & Sam had been heading back from Sam's dad's house in Wales when James had told her that she would have 30mins when they got back to pack her overnight bag for a surprise Christmas present. They then headed to the airport where they stayed the night. Early the next morning they took off and soon landed in Paris, the city of love, where they spent the day gallavanting round, taking in the sights and sounds.

Just before dusk they headed to the Louvre to take a few pictures. While getting Sam to take a picture of him in front of the glass pyramid, James gets down on one knee and pulls out a little box. Sam, meanwhile, oblivious to this carries on taking photos (assuming James was just doing a weird pose) - until a group of Japanese tourists start applauding. After the initial shock Sam said "Yes" and much romantic kissing and hugging ensues... Not only that but James then announces that he's got them a table for dinner at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

No I like a bit of romance as much as the next person, but this causes a little bit of a problem for me. When I come to propose to my future wife (not for some years yet I guess) how on Earth am I going to live up to this?!? James did everything so perfectly I can't exactly just ask her on the couch in front of the telly, can I?

Of course I am immensely happy for James and Sam. They've been going out for 5 or 6 years now, and I can't think of a happier couple - they are truly made for each other and I wish them all the best for the future. So needless to say, the rest of the holidays contained much celebrating (as if I needed an excuse..).

That night I had a chance to finally catch up with Becca - after 6 months of Skype calls. So much had happened since we last saw each other: grad school for me, med school for her; and we've been best friends for years now so it was really nice to go out for dinner and have a good natter.

Soon enough it was really Christmas (and a white one too!) and after wrapping all my gifts and putting them under the tree I slept soundly on Christmas Eve waiting for Saint Nick to come a knocking. Next thing I know I'm getting woken up by loud "Ho Ho Ho"s from next door in my parents room - whereas to be honest all I wanted to do was go back to sleep! Now I get just as excited about Christmas as the next person (probably more so), but with jet lag I was still adjusting my sleep pattern. I got up however, and spent the next few hours giving and opening presents, calling relatives and generally having a fantastic time. We also headed into the village to see everyone, including my cousin Kate's three kids - which definitely reminded me of the sheer magic I felt at that young an age at Christmas.

Christmas dinner was its usual indulgent self and soon enough I was dozing in front of the fire content that another fantastic Christmas had been and gone. I didn't have too long to sit around in post-Christmas idleness though as on the 27th we were through to the Falcons to watch the rugby, and more importantly meet James and Sam. I did find it funny that up until an hour before the game the Falcons were still asking fans to arrive at the grounds with shovels to help clear the pitch of the inches of snow piled on top - and get a free drink for doing so. I think this shows how much smaller scale rugby is compared to football (the Falcons are a premiership side) but also emphasizes the community spirit in rugby. It really is just a big family that go watch the games.

Talking of family, I finally got to see James and Sam and spent most of the game concentrating on catching up with them instead of the rugby (it was for the best - we lost). After hearing all about the engagement and everything they've been up to since I've been away we finally got home for Christmas #2. Lots of presents ensued including an awesome one I got from them which was a guide to road tripping across the US: providing routes, itineraries, suggested supplies etc. I'm definitely going to be trying that out sometime soon!

The next few days were spent preparing for the engagement party on the 30th and on the 29th Paul and Stéph came and stopped over on their way up to Paul's flat in Edinburgh. It was great to see them and we had a lovely meal with them, the whole family and Becca. It was then time for a movie and somehow it got decided (i.e. Stéph decided) that Stéph would pick the DVD. This immediately had me worried, especially as Sam had got He's Just Not All That Into You for Christmas and offered it to Stéph to watch. Me and Paul had pretty much resigned ourselves to this fate when Stéph suggested American Psycho. I've no idea if I was more relieved at not having to watch a chick flick, or more worried about Stéph's choice of movie!

The next day Paul and Stéph headed on up to Scotland while we got the house ready for the party. Before we knew it the house was packed with relatives, family friends and rugby teammates all having a great time and toasting to James and Sam. It was great to see so many people so happy for them both, and after most had left we ended up with all my family from Bamburgh left in the kitchen. Next thing I know, 'Daydream Believer' is blasting out of the iPod dock and my Auntie Sue is on the kitchen bench and my Mum is on the kitchen table... All I can say is that I think it's best that we don't have any neighbours!

The next morning there were more than a few sore heads in the little village of Bamburgh and I made my way up to Edinburgh for Hogmanay with all of my friends from Oxford. I had an amazing couple of days, catching up, smiling, laughing, partying, eating and drinking (Haggis pizza is delicious!) and generally having a fantastic time! It reminded me how lucky I am to have such great friends and how important it is to keep in touch with them - definitely a New Years Resolution! It all flew past far too quickly though and before I knew it I was back in snowy Glororum packing to head back to the States.

The journey back was just as eventful as the journey home, starting with The Snow. I capitalize The Snow as I can't remember the UK having anything quite as bad as it in a long time, and it pretty much shut everything down. So much so that the usual 1hr journey to the airport took us nearly three times as long and, as such, ended up with me travelling up the night before my flight to stay in the Airport hotel to make sure I caught my flight. At the airport at 8 the next morning I headed to the check-in desk to be told that, as my flight at 11am was going to be delayed, I would be put on an earlier flight, scheduled to leave at 9am. Of course, this was also delayed, and so much so that by the time we de-iced, found our space in the queue and flew down to London, I actually arrived at Heathrow an hour later than the original flight was due to land - don't you just love air travel?

Getting to Heathrow I had to transfer terminals before a 90 minute wait in the security check. Getting through I had only about 20 minutes to grab some sushi before I headed to our gate. Because of the new security concerns we had an extra security check at the gate, where everyone was patted down and had their bags manually searched. To be honest, I really didn't mind this delay - as anything that improves security on flights I can easily put up with. We finally were all aboard and took off for another rather bumpy journey back - this time with nearly 3 hours of added seatbelt time as we jostled our way across the Atlantic.

Arriving back in the US I decided that for the week before school restarted I would experience some 'culture.' Getting in touch with Dana we started to plan our week ahead. First, I headed up to Rockwood Music Hall on Friday night for a free gig by Johnny Gallagher Jr. He is a Tony Award winning actor (winning for his portrayal of Melchior in Spring Awakening) but did a really impressive chilled out set, reminding me of Damien Rice, John Mayer and Newton Faulkner. After his 1 hour set we were about to leave when the next act started to set up and, on a whim, we decided to stay. What followed was an hour of comedic jazz - not a very common genre but side-splittingly funny.

The next night we kept up our culture run with a trip to Broadway - with some student rush tickets. If you don't know what student rush is, it's cheap tickets (usually slightly restricted view) the show gives to students usually via a lottery or first-come-first-served basis. On the Saturday we managed to get tickets to Finians Rainbow for only $25 - pretty cheap! It's a pretty old fashioned musical )written around the 50's) and was funny and uplifting - just what the doc ordered!

Next up was a trip to Carnegie Hall om Sunday night. Fulbright have a cultural program that aims to enrich scholars while they are in America, and the New York branch provides tickets to events in and around the city. So from this we found ourselves at Carnegie Hall for the America-Israel Cultural Foundation's 70th Anniversary Gala; for free! It was an amazing concert, with many talented performers, and introduced me to some pieces I have never heard before. These included the sublime Schubert's String Quintet - which is possibly the most stunning strings composition I have ever heard. In particular, the Adagio is a heartbreakingly beautiful movement - composed only weeks before Schubert died. I've posted a video for this below; I urge you to watch, and hope you enjoy it:

Finally, my week of culture was rounded off with another trip to Broadway - this time to see Next To Normal. For my birthday, Jo had given me some dollars and I found tickets for less than half price, and so decided to use them for this. Next To Normal is a new musical based on the life of a Bipolar mother while the rest her family try to hold onto normality. This may not seem the most typical storyline for a musical, and with a cast of only 6 (mother, father, son, daughter, daughter's boyfriend and psychopharmacologist), and 8 musicians the odds of its success against the big spectacles on Broadway, like Wicked and Lion King, seemed stacked against it.

However the musical is honestly one of the best shows I have ever seen in my life. The music, the acting, the staging and storyline are all perfect. I think it really says something when I could easily imagine the play working without the music - it is so well crafted as a play that, rather than the music defining the show, it simply adds a whole new dimension. Seeing it on a Thursday night, I was also fairly skeptical about having two understudies in the performance, however both were excellent - Meghann Fahy as the daughter blew me away, and I can't honestly see how Jennifer Damiano could have played the part any better. It fully deserved it's mass of Tony nominations, and I am sure if had been up against anything other than the Billy Elliott powerhouse it would have swept the awards.

I really can't express how great this show is and if anyone gets the chance to see it then DO IT! On that note I leave you with a song from the show (one of my favourites), but also check out 'Superboy and the Invisible Girl' and 'I'm Alive' if you get the chance...

Until next time (I'll try not to leave it as long next time!) - take care and keep tuning in!