Monday, November 1, 2010

Believing the hype

The weekend before last saw me take the afternoon off work and catch a train to London to meet up with some message-board friends. The train journey itself was wonderful and I spotted a few places I've walked with my parents as the train headed south. I'm trying to remember the last time I went on a train and I'm struggling... Oh! I took a short train journey from Hebden Bridge to Todmorden in the summer, and from Amersham to Hammersmith on the underground a few weeks ago, the the latter was dark so doesn't tick my boxes.

I always find the whole act of travelling by train quite exciting. The approach to the station is filled with anticipation. Getting onto the platform and seeing the huge engines fills me with a childish wonder. The electricity lines, the rails, the whole infrastructure really intrigues me. With my earphones in the gentle rocking of the carriage as we swept across the countryside was comforting. I always get a thrill from the graffiti as I approach Euston, the colours and creative forms inspiring me to doodle more often.

Euston Station was heaving with commuters and travellers, not surprising at 5.30pm on a Friday. The walk past St Pancras and King's Cross to my friend's hotel was hectic, with hundreds of people, cars, bikes and buses to avoid. The striking spires and adornments of St Pancras station are etched into my visual memory. The soundtrack to my fifteen-minute walk was Telefon Tel Aviv with some wonderful relaxing glitchy chill which contrasted perfectly with the city life bustling around me.

I found the hotel and dropped my stuff off in the room before we headed back towards Euston to meet up with the gang. The pub was buzzing with the week-end crowd as we entered and met up with some new and some familiar faces. We started in one corner of the building and gradually spread out along it as our numbers increased. At the peak, I think we numbered approaching forty people, probably half of whom I'd met previously. I made a point of wandering around and meeting the people I didn't recognise which made for a really nice evening of smalltalk, laughs and chatter. I got a zillion hugs and a collection of really lovely compliments, including my favourite: "People think you're lovely because you are lovely, and quite hot. You bastard." This from one girl I'm positive wants to get in my underwear. Woo!

So, this leads me to the point of this post. During the evening I garnered a whole bunch of compliments and subsequently on the message board saw many more. Some girls who I respect and are positively gorgeous said I am hot! Wowzers! I was mostly confident during the evening, only stumbling once or twice while talking to a girl who I find strikingly attractive. I came away from the night full of love and appreciation, and had my ego boosted by the subsequent compliments online.

What this boils down to is that I'm starting to believe the hype. I won't allow it to over-inflate my ego or make me arrogant, but if these bright, attractive women say I'm good-looking, who am I to argue? It definitely fills me with confidence that I am attractive to the opposite sex and ties-in quite nicely with my letting go of past demons and getting myself back in the relationship business. Also, I think we're on track for a new two-bedroom flat in town which will make the whole idea of getting to know someone a much easier prospect.

Now I just need to get out there and meet new people, so I'm going to get myself along to all these things I keep wanting to do but put off, like local wildlife projects and social nights out. I need to get myself around and let the women around here notice how beautiful I am :)

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