Creature of Habit

Today started off to a bad start… I am beginning to wrap up my semester (although I will be working through the break on several group projects due after the New Year, ugh!) and have multiple group presentations this week. The biggest presentation was this morning and worth 70% of my final grade; needless to say - a big deal. The group comprised of nine people and miraculously we all got along and worked well together. We all agreed to meet on Sunday afternoon and do a run though of the 45-minute presentation. I woke up Sunday morning feeling great. The sun was shinning and the weather was warmer (37 F is considered a warm day now). I cleaned the flat, washed the dishes, took a shower, gathered my things and was off to the meeting. I should have checked the train times because I had to wait on the platform for a good 20 minutes before a train to Kingston actually arrived. I hopped on the train and the carriage was hot and stuffy. A big difference from the cold air I had just sat in for 20 minutes. I started to feel my chest getting heavy and my nose started to run. Ehh, it’s nothing I told myself! As the meeting progressed, so did my symptoms and by the time I got home I was feeling quite grim. I took (what I am sure my mother would say) entirely too many cold meds and was in bed, asleep by 9:40 p.m. Well the meds worked because I slept like a Nyquil commercial suggests (minus the Nyquil – can’t get it here…) and woke up with a clear head and a very heavy chest. I think I skipped the “head cold” part and went straight to the “it’s in your chest” part. So, today got off to a bad start… I must have sweat a lot in my sleep because I woke up late smelling icky. My bedroom still smells like a locker room (not quite sure how to fix that – Febreeze?). After a quick shower I realized there was no way I would be able to make my train and would have to take the late train. No biggie. Well, I couldn’t find my Oyster and then I realized, there was no money on it and the lines for the tickets were a mile long. I ran to the nearest Oyster shop and waited in a long line to top up. Then I ran, chest heaving in the freezing cold; the train pulled away from the station right as I reached the platform. Great! I wished I could pull an Indiana Jones move and ride the train from the outside, but didn’t think getting arrested (or killed) was really in the schedule for the day. Plus, jail would not be a good place to have a cold. I bet they wouldn’t even give me tissues! Anyway, the next train wasn’t for another 20 minutes and it was already 8:26 a.m. at that point. Now the train to Kingston makes about six stops before reaching my destination and takes about 25 minutes. From there I typically walked to school to save the £1.50 (I can get a whole chicken dinner at the dodgy kebab stand for that) bus ride. The walk takes about 15 minutes depending on the speed. Given the bowling ball I’m carrying on my chest I was calculating it would take much longer! At this point my presentation would be over by the time I arrived. I started to panic and jumped on the next train to Surbiton instead. Granted, I’ve never been to Surbiton and I don’t know how to get from Surbiton to Kingston, but we’ve talked about it in class and I know people who live there. I thought it must be close. The train made one stop at Wimbledon and then reached Surbiton station. I hopped out of the station and saw Bus 71 at a stop across the street. This is the bus I would take from Kingston Station, if I weren’t cheap. I thought, “Self, would you rather walk aimlessly up the streets of Surbiton or suck it up and pay the £1.50?” I paid the £1.50. Admittedly, I got on the bus going the wrong direction first but quickly realized and dashed across the street just in time to catch the correct bus. I did almost hit a car in the process – no, the car did not almost hit me… I almost hit a parked car. The nerve of it getting in my way! Not four stops later the bus driver announced my stop (about three blocks down the street) and as I rushed into the school I realized it was only 8:55 a.m. I was five minutes early. I actually arrived to the school sooner than if I had caught the 8:26 a.m. train to Kingston station. God is good! Oh and it turns out the professor decided to not start class until 10 a.m. today to give us a chance to review and prepare – figures! So what did I learn? Surbiton station is shorter train ride and a shorter walk to school. So what did I do when I was leaving at the end of the day? I walked the 25 minutes (with the bowling ball heaving in my lungs) to Kingston Station and took the longer train to the same station where the Surbiton train would have brought me. I really debated which station to leave from and as I was regretting the long walk through town all I could think was I am a creature of habit. I took the route most familiar, even though it might not have been the fastest option. (Granted I don’t know how often trains leave from Surbiton to Earlsfield and how reliable, but it’s a safe bet that they are more frequent or the same as Kingston). I find that I am more a creature of habit here than I ever thought of myself as being when at home. I always take the same set of escalators in the mall, or go to the same kebab shop, or order my pizza the same way, ride when I could walk, take a train instead of a bus (still trying to figure out the whole bus thing), go with friends when I could find it by myself, pay more for the American brand cereals instead of the British brand (when it’s the same thing). The list could go on forever. I guess I need to ask myself; do I like it this way? Or am I ready to mix it up?

#London #Life #Travel