the proposal

we were at the bar and L. had just given me her ring for safekeeping - she was going dancing and i was going home. it was a beautiful ring, very stylish, with a lovely aquamarine stone. and i could actually put it on my finger, which is rarely the case as my hands are bigger than most. anyway, F. decided to joke about this and pretended to put it on my finger, as in a proposal. but then someone mentioned he really ought to get down on one knee and so he did. i was laughing. L. got everyone else's attention and the whole table saw F. propose to me while C. took pictures. it was funny and everyone knew it was a joke. but then, about 20 mns later, F. put his arms around my waist and buried his face in my neck as if he was kissing me - very unexpected. A., who had apparently just walked back in, saw this and asked me if i was really engaged. i said yes, cos i didn't realise what he was referring to; it's only later than it occurred to me. so now A. thinks F. and i are engaged, while F. is in fact kind of pursuing L. and i'm trying to figure out whether i should be dating C... welcome to my world.  

Chicago

is an amazing city. funnily enough, i hadn't felt the Bean was really worth it, when i'd seen it online but it was actually great, as was the whole Millenium park. but what i liked the most was definitely the architecture. i took the boat tour - 90 mns, 168 pictures. it was amazing. i don't really know a lot about architecture but it was beautiful and definitely worth the money.

8 years later

the point of going to Chicago to visit D, whom i hadn't seen in 8 years. we keep in touch with sporadic emails and sometimes even video skype chats, which doesn't seem like much, but to me it always felt like we were still close. and once we'd got my luggage, it was like we'd seen each other last week. brilliant. shame he suddenly had to leave the next morning but it was great to catch up for real!

the bikini

it was my last day in Florida before i made it to the shops to buy a bikini. it seemed like a bit of a waste, seen as i'd have no more beach/pool time. that said, i still needed one so off we went, and after a few tries, i finally found the perfect match! can't wait to actually wear it.

the archaelogist's adventures - episode ? (i've lost count)

it was the end of dig party. the Archaeologist was dancing with one of the supervisors, who was quite drunk. nonetheless, she gave him the benefit of the doubt when he tried to dip her, which he failed at and they both ended up on the floor in a tangled heap. other diggers quickly gathered round to try to help. the guilty supervisor was trying to get her back up but there was just no way that was going to work seen as he himself was down. another supervisor tried to get her up and she explained that he wouldn't be able to until the other one stopped trying to do it himself. 'let. her. go.' he said. 3 times, cos the other guy wouldn't. he finally got her up in one sweeping pull - the guy had serious muscle. she was grateful. she wasn't really hurt - somehow her knee wasn't worse off and she only had a bruise on one arm - but she was a tad shocked from the fall. plus, he had come to her rescue again. it was nice.

crippled

first full day in Florida and already, i managed to half-ruin the holiday by ramming my knee into a fire hydrant. wasn't paying attention. a few hours later, despite 2 hours with ice, i couldn't actually walk. it was pitiful. instant fame among the guests, though, as everyone was kind enough to ask me how i was doing. definitely annoying for me, however, as it meant i couldn't really do much the next day. typical but hey, a great story.