So, the day started off pleasant enough. As usual I was running a tad behind schedule, but I think that's because my name is Forest Gump and I prefer to run places rather than walk, so I just literally sprinted to campus and made it in like 5-7 minutes to catch the Sheffield Uni tour bus. I think it helps keep my adrenaline running, so I purposely dilly-dally for an extra few minutes just so I can see if I can manage to beat the clock. Really no different than any other day, but this habit of mine has got to stop. Anyway, so I get there and Monique had just called me to make sure I was awake because of the last time I was trying to catch the bus to London only to have her tell me that the bus broke down and we were going to have to wait for another bus. I'm okay with that. Really, patience is a virtue and my patience was intact. So, the bus came about half an hour later. At this time, the weather was mostly cloudy, part sunny, part drizzly... typical England weather. So, we get on the bus and all three of us immediately fall asleep. I wake up to rain pounding the windshields and I'm thinking yayy, I'm sure this bodes well for the shore. We finally arrive at Whitby at approximately 11 am. The weather is partly cloudy, partly sunny, and hurricane winds. Here's a picture of what it was like when we got there...
Monique had looked in one of her England travel books that her parents gave her and found a good restaurant for us to try, but that didn't open until 12 pm, so we explored for a little while. By this time the rain was coming down a little bit more, but still not too bad. The wind had become slightly unbearable at this point, and it got worse once I persuaded Mon & Chels to walk up the 199 steps to see the Whitby Abbey, graveyard, and another church. Once you get up there it's the coolest view of the sea and you see cliffs everywhere. The waves were insane.
At lunch time, we headed back to the restaurant where Mon & Chels ordered roast chicken, mushrooms, and Potatoes, and I had fish, chips, and mushy peas... when in Rome. Best fish & mushy peas I've had since I've been here, hands down. They were making fun of me because I removed all of the batter from my fish, but I really don't like too much fried crap, so I just shed it and go for the fish. I'm weird, I know. After we finished our meal and were officially in our comfort zone away from the wind and rain, we realized it was pouring outside. YAY. We proceeded to dart across the cobblestone and get "The Best Hot Chocolate in Whitby." Monique thinks it's the best she's had, I have to disagree... Union stop is still my fav for 1.50 babay. Monique had two and we were discussing whether it would be a good idea for her to buy another incase her marginal utility of purchasing/enjoying another would go down. We decided if it wasn't as enjoyable as the first, it'd be pretty darn close, so she might as well get another one. By this time, the weather was not funny at all and we were getting pissed. If one of the elements were present, it would have been bearable. But not all of them together making it hurricane like. We darted from shop to shop to retain heat in our bodies and then finally gave up and went to hang out at the grocery store next to where the bus was supposed to pick us up for half an hour.From there, I fell asleep in seconds on our way to Scarborough. This was not a long trip at all and I had to sit next to some random Asian man who was perturbed at me for sitting there, but it wasn't my first choice and there were no other open spots. I fell asleep and then got off the bus in the pouring rain once again. Whitby was better than Scarborough for sure, but maybe that's just because the weather was beating the crap out of us. I realized then why the Norwegians came up with their Norwegian Formula because I felt like my face might come off. In Scarborough, we rapidly made it up this hill and saw the Scarborough Castle from afar and Anne Bronte's grave. By the way, she's buried right next to one John Holden (he's immediately to her right), which you know I thought was pretty significant.
Then, we ran back down and proceeded to dart in and out of places until again, we just gave up, went back to the bus and waited to leave in the somewhat heat. The bus driver never found it in him to crank the heat up to high. If you know me at all, you know how hard it is for me to get warm once I'm frozen solid, so fortunately I had two seats to myself and literally positioned my body so that I was knealing on my legs in the fetal position for the way home. I was bloody cold. I slept for a good hour like that too. Incredible. I kept wishing that somebody was sitting next to me so I could withdraw heat from them and use it to restore warmth within myself.We got back home, we grabbed some kebabs and headed home in the cold. I'm still cold, so I'm going to go let myself defrost in the hottest shower of my life. After that, I'll be attending a silent dance party where everyone is given head phones and gets to jam to their own playlist. THUMBS UP. How ridiculous is that? Let you know how that goes.
Finally, I leave you with a quote from Grey's Anatomy that really touched me:
"Trauma always leaves a scar. It follows us home, it changes our lives. Trauma messes everybody up, but maybe that's the point- all the pain and the fear and the crap. Maybe going through all of that is what keeps us moving forward, it's what pushes us. Maybe we have to get a little mesed up before we can step up."
-Alex Carev
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