Rob's Naked @ss

Nothing quite like finding out one of your (guy) friends has a very effeminate @ss. Nothing quite like finding it out at one of the fanciest hotels in all of London. Yeah, Rob and Dana came into London this weekend on business and were put up at the Savoy London, on the Strand. This place was FANCY.

I grabbed a 4:30 bus out of Cheltenham on Friday afternoon. Nothing special there, just another bus ride, though it did cost a bit more b/c Megabus wouldn't take foreign credit cards and I had to use National Express. Still, 22 pounds 50 for a RT ticket to London isn't bad. If the States had the same public transit system and infrastructure that England has I would be hard pressed to find a good reason not to use it more.

So, anyway, I arrived in to Victoria Station a bit after 7 and hopped the tube up to Derek and Kelly's. They were kind enough to loan me the use of their flat for the weekend while they were in Copenhagen. Once there I shared some wine with them and had a quick bite to eat before heading back to the tube to head down to Trafalgar Square. Unfortunately I was running behind and getting on a stopped train doesn't help any. That thing must have sat there for 10 minutes before it finally moved.

I was supposed to meet Rob at the Coal Hole while we waited for Dana to get out of her interviews, but the Coal Hole was PACKED, and Rob wasn't there, so I decided to try him in his hotel room. You ever get the feeling you're underdressed for an occassion? Well, that's the way the Savoy made me feel, standing there in my jeans talking to the receptionist. So I stole some matches to make up for it. Okay, you can't really call it stealing since that's what the matches are there for, so I don't really feel that bad.

Rob was indeed up in his room and Dana had finished her interviews. It was about 9:30 so I took them to the Garrick Arms for our first beer of the evening. It was good to see them again. I usually see them for Thanksgiving, the Superbowl, and St. Patty's, but I missed the first two already and am looking to miss the third, so this was a good opportunity to catch up. Two beers at that bar and it was time to show them around. We walked through China Town a bit and ended up at Waxy O'Connors for a bit.

By that time it was 11:30 and closing time for most of the bars, so we had to pay a cover to get into this place called the Walkabout that I'd never been to. This was one of those places that makes you feel a bit old, especially considering that the legal drinking age in England is 18. And apparently they all come here to listen to the boom-boom music. But, all things considered, this place wasn't all that bad. And I sent Rob and Dana a little text message that appeared on all the big screens. They liked that.

But, after a few more beers, it was about 3AM, and definitely time to head home. I didn't feel like waking Derek and Kelly so I crashed on the floor at the hotel, but not until after we visited Subway and Rob and Dana got some subs (I ate Dana's after she passed out - it was yummy). So anyway, I wake up in the middle of the night and see a a t-shirt wearing, naked ass staring me in the face. Now dudes don't normally dress this way so at first I thought it was Dana. It wasn't until later that I realized it was Rob, after finding his jeans and underwear spread out in the bathroom. So, Rob, you have a girly @ss. Deal with it. And, no, I'll never let you live this one down.

Saturday brought an expensive breakfast at the Savoy, courtesy of Booz Allen, and a quick trip up north to Derek and Kelly's to clean up. It was there that I checked my email and discovered that a coworker donated $200 to my fund-raising efforts. Thanks, Allen! I met up with Dana and Rob at Trafalgar Square and we walked up to the British Museum. After that we began our bar crawl. Every fifth bar (after humping for 160 yards - see picture) found us inside with a pint. We made our way (slowly) to Buckingham Palace, then down to Big Ben. By this time we were fairly well lit, and fairly hungry. The hunger caused us to head off in search of some food. The inebriation caused me to walk out of one bar with both the bar towl AND the glass I was drinking from. Whoops.

We crossed the bridge and made one last stop at a bar before catching a cab down to the Tower Bridge where we finally ate some bangers and mash, which was delicious. Though we were having a great time, we knew that it was time to call it a night and go our separate ways. So I walked them across the Tower Bridge and they walked me to the Tower Hill tube station. Thank you, Dana and Rob, for a great getaway weekend.

The next morning I slowly made my way to Victoria Station and caught a bus back home. And now, here I sit, writing it up, knowing that I have 48 days until I come home for good. Can't wait.