After eating leftovers from the past few days, Lindsay and I went on a much needed bike ride. After going out the past three nights, we really needed to get our blood pumping through our body to sweat out some of the toxins. When we started our ride it was still sunny and hot, so I braved wearing a skirt with spandex shorts under. It was a good thing I had on the shorts because as the clouds monopolized the sky and the wind picked up, it was difficult to constantly be holding my skirt down when I needed to steer my bike.
We walked around and shopped for a little, but it was starting to sprinkle and we wanted to avoid the rain. In order to avoid the train we considered taking the train, but Lindsay lost her bus pass while we were out last night. Thank goodness our study abroad program provides us with a bus and train pass because I wouldn't be able to navigate buying a ticket every day. Lindsay was having a difficult time with the machines finding the right stop and then getting her credit card to work. It was all overwhelming, and we finally decided to just ride our bikes back. The rain never picked up to a full blown downpour, but there were some times that it was a little more wet and windy than I would have preferred. Ultimately I was glad we biked home because I needed some time by myself to think. A lot has been going on the past few days, and I've realized that I haven't had much time to just sit and relax without the pressure of doing anything.
I probably should have stopped at a coffee shop to decompress and relax for a bit, but it was getting late and we were planning on going out again tonight. Going out four nights in a row is also contributing to my need to take a breather, but with nothing else to do, I agreed to go. Before leaving we made stir fry with chicken, peppers, and onions over rice. If you don't already know how to cook rice, it is incredibly difficult to figure out when the directions on the back are in a different language. Luckily I was video chatting my mom who has more experience cooking and knows how to make excellent rice if I do say so myself. Apparently it is really easy with a 2 to 1 ratio of water and rice. Obviously Lindsay is a history major rather than math because she measured out two cups of water and then started pouring rice directly into the pot without a measuring cup. While I was video chatting, Lindsay asked how much rice she should put in as she was pouring. I couldn't help but shake my head and go have a look to see if we got it about right. Then as the rice is cooking we kept opening the lid to make sure it was coming along. Apparently you aren't supposed to do that either in order to let the rice steam completely. I think in the future we will stick to stir fry and fajitas.
A group of us went to some bars at the meat packing district. This area is full of old warehouses that have now been converted into bars. Many of the bars have concrete floors with graffiti on every surface. I would consider this a really good investment, you get to save a lot of money on cleaning and not having to renovate and you can claim to be trendy and hipster to draw in a big crowd. I sure was intrigued, so we hung out for a bit and had a few beers. It was a relatively quiet night because it was the last night of Distortion and many people were enjoying that final party.
Half our group headed home at around 2am, but David and I decided to go to LA Bar again to meet up with Lindsay and the rest of our group that left for LA Bar earlier in the night. David and I seemed to hit the trains just right, and although it was a confusing mess to get to the right stop, we managed to arrive in pretty good time. We didn't actually go to LA Bar at first, but instead went next door to get a beer. Lindsay was with Kenneth again, and soon we met up with Mads and a group of their friends. Because it was already so late, we didn't stay out much longer. Lindsay and Kenneth left earlier in the night, so Mads and his two friends walked me to the bus station. No matter where you are, guys can be guys. We sat outside the train station talking, laughing, and having a great time joking around. Since the sun was already up, it was time to head home and Mads walked me home again because Lindsay had already left.
Just to make life a little more interesting, as we get to the door of my building a young woman walks up to us and asks where a grocery store might be open. It was 6 in the morning and I doubted anything would be open until 8am. She then pulled me aside requesting to talk to me alone. At this point I was thoroughly confused and a little apprehensive, but agreed. She asked if she could borrow a tampon. I couldn't help but laugh and Mads was completely and totally confused, but we went up to my room so I could help her out. It was a strange end to an even stranger night.
No comments:
Post a Comment