London Bubuyog: December 2006

I watched my first ever live football game today. I don't think I've had so many things happen to me in one single day. I didn't get any sleep the night before and at 7am I dragged myself to the shower. We took a cab to the train station as it was too cold to take the tube. The whole place was packed by the time we got there. Everyone who couldn't get a flight out went to the station to take the trains home. I was still hoping we could get seats until I saw the reserved seating tickets. All seats were reserved and there were lines at every entrance. We walked along the platform towards the end of the train and back. All entrances already had a group of people huddled together with the minimum amount of space possible before you get the urge to say *Please stop breathing my oxygen...* After getting on the train we made our way to find somewhere to stand. We ended up in the buffet cart (I don't think they knew what "buffet" meant. At least there was still a bit of space there to stand and hold on sor some sort of support.

I was standing beside the buffet cart. It stayed there the entire journey, the server didn't attempt to serve drinks. The whole place was just crammed with people those without seats blocking places where the cart could go. The couple who got the best standing only room were deep in coversation (I confess, I did listen in to the converstaion). In my weak attempt at my defense they were talking loud enough for me to be distracted from reading the paper. Right. Anyway, the guy was an astronomer on his last year at PHD. Amazing, professors really do look like the way they get described in books. Another couple from Edinburgh settled in our tiny but not yet cramped space. They joined in the conversation. Professor Astronomer just got off the plane from South Africa. He was there for work fixing a telescope in an observatory. That is amazing...a totally different world for me.

Professor Astronomer: It took us 10 days to figure out the problem and it was a simple one that we overlooked.
Edinburgh lady: What do you do exactly when you say *fix the telescope*?
Professor Astronomer: Well, we check that the coordinates are correct, program settings, magnification...
Edinburgh lady: Oh ok. I thought you guys were just like plumbers and technicians.
Professor Astronomer: What do you mean?
Edinburgh lady: I thought you just had a spanner with you and tightened some bolts.

This is going to be an interesting trip. Cool, at least I have entertainment.

The lady with Professor Astronomer worked as a tax researcher (whatchamacallit) for a bank. Basically they find loopholes in tax rules and use them to lower their tax payments. She's been with them for 6 years eversince she came to England. She is also a gemologist, mainly as a hobby but she hopes to make it full time in the future. It takes two years to complete a gemology course and she did this while working full time at the bank. By this time couple from Edinburgh had already moved on and were replaced by a couple from North Carolina. It's always interesting when you mix Brits with Americans. They typically don't get each other. Brits find Americans a bit dim. The lady and the professor were talking about their funny (another word for idiotic) experiences with Americans just before North Carolina couple came. After introductions, all four made conversation.

North Carolina lady: Wow you're an astronomer (pointing to Professor Astronomer) and you're a gemologist (to Lady Gemologist)???
PA and Lady Gemologist: Yeah
North Carolina lady: That's amazing cause back home we have this gem that actually uses the two principles!
Lady Gemologist: What's it called?
North Carolina lady: It's g something I forgot. But anyway, it goes like this. Meteor showers pass through the galaxy and the universe and as they pass through it they go through the stars. Particles in the stars stick to the meteors then the meteors fall in a crater on Earth. The people mine the crater then they use these particles to grow the gems!

At this point I had to look away when I saw Professor Astronomer's face...This is getting so good that I can actually forget about my aching feet.