Notnem

Just got into work after spending the weekend in Oxford. It was Ailbhe’s 21st an I hadn’t visited her in a long long time, so I decided to make a weekend out of it. I few to Heathrow on Friday after work and took a direct bus to Oxford which got me there at about 2330.

I was expecting to meet everybody (Alf, Ais & Nif) in the pub for a drink or something, but they were all in bed… I had eaten a pile of coffee beans on the bus, so I knew sleep was not going to happen for a few hours so I just surfed until I was tired enough to fall asleep.

The next morning Ailbhe had a tutorial, and at about 1100 we all went for breakfast in the dining hall. Excellent food by the way. I then hit the town to do a bit of walking while the girls visited the shops. I just walked around and had a gander. It was something I had wanted to do and I really enjoyed it.

Dinner was a Chinese take away in Ailbhe’s room while everybody was getting ready. We were in the club (Escape) for 2000 and shortly afterwards people started to arrive. We had a whole section booked which was great. I think there were roughly 50 people at it which was a great turn out. We were there until about 0230, so it was a long night, but Ailbhe had a good time… and she scored a couple of guys.

Six people slept in Ailbhe’s room… I don’t know how she got us in by the night porter, but I think it is safe to say she flirted with him (go Alf). I was lucky in that I had an air bed for myself… where as Aisling and Niamh had to share one with Chris.

The next morning we did breakfast in the St Hilda’s bar. James (Ailbhe’s Guy) had said he would give us a tour around his college which is the oldest college in Oxford. It dates back to the 13th Century. James had the history and stories of the college down, and it was a great tour. The highlight of it all was when he brought up to the top of Merton Tower which has fantastic views over Oxford. It was a steep staircase which centuries worth of graffiti etched into the walls.  Fantastic stuff.

We got something to eat and headed back to  St. Hilda’s to chill out. Niamh and Ais had to get trains and head home. I wasn’t flying out till the next morning so I was able to relax and managed to get a couple of hours worth of sleep in. I woke up and it was just myself and Ailbhe. Some of her friends came around to eat some cake and for a chat which was good fun. Then we watched a DVD on her computer for a bit and hit the hay. I had my alarm set for 0300 and I think it was 0100 before I actually got to bed.

Obviously, knowing that you are going to be getting up in two hours doesn’t bode well for a good 2 hours sleep, and it didn’t. Maybe I got an hour, maybe I got 90 mins. I don’t know but it wasn’t enough. I got the 0400 bus to Heathrow to catch the 0650 flight to Dublin which came in on time. I got my bag and caught the Thrifty Bus to work for 0830 and here I am… hoping the day will pass without me having to drink to much coffee…