Lucie, leggings, and Laguna Bay

Somehow I did two interesting things yesterday yet managed to take no photos! I headed out in the pouring rain to meet Erin and Gina for brunch at Urban Pantry, and we had nearly two hours of catching up and deep-diving into family stuff and sharing plans for our futures. It was a really great time for us all together, and also nice to know that we will see each other again in just two days for Bill’s birthday. Then I headed home, in slightly less rain, for a little bit of continued Nest unpacking and laundry.

Around 4pm I headed to meet Lucie in the financial district. Still knowing very little about her, I was surprised to learn that she works at Lime, and with someone I was friendly with at Columbia. I had scouted out a good place to go nearby since I figured neither of us would be up for adventuring far in the rainy afternoon, and she was down to try the Thai place around the corner that was above a popular pub. It turned out to be the perfect spot, because the second story helped us feel away from the street chaos and we had a cozy table where we lingered chatting for three hours.

We talked about everything: our childhoods, relationships, and, of course, detailed debriefing of Burning Nest. She recounted funny things I had said when being led around by her on that magical tambourine-filled Friday. Getting together in the “real” world cemented our connection for sure and I feel confident that our paths will cross again. She also joined the Church of Dave virtually so that we could continue to share in their amusing shenanigans together. Then we exchanged a big hug and went our separate ways, with me making it home in time to join my crew for a Giants game and cheer on their win on what looked like another beautiful SF day.

Today I got dressed wearing the absurd leggings that Vida got me to match hers, and headed across town to Comedy Trapeze. Unfortunately just as I was about to get to my stop, the train bypassed it with announcements that there was some kind of issue at the station. I got off at the next stop and optimistically hopped a train in the opposite direction, hoping that the issue would be resolved, but it wasn’t, so I got off at the stop just after and walked to class, arriving 15 minutes late. At least I wasn’t the only one. And I’m not going to lie, it was kind of nice to miss most of warm-up and jump right into trapeze time.

It was nice that Michelle was having us do a trick that I was already familiar with, so I got the rare feeling of success right away. Although then she added a bunch of complications and I took her up on her usual offer: “you don’t have to be confused and scared at the same time” and had her lower my trapeze close to the ground. I still couldn’t nail the trick but loved insisting to her that I had done it right when she wasn’t looking. There was a bunch of fun gossip during class, and we are all sharing in the exciting countdown to her first ever trip to Paris this coming Wednesday.

It was also really sweet that Michelle remembered that we’re coming up on my last class, and insisted that we should all get coffee after class, not just after my last one but the two preceding it as well. This is great news for me. I also exchanged contact info with one of my fellow regulars, Marita, an expat from Chicago. The feeling of nailing a trick is no match for the feeling of people noticing my imminent departure and making me feel like I’ll be missed. It means a lot. I am in such an extreme mode of noticing every feeling of familiarity in my daily life, from the ways that I can navigate tube stations on autopilot to the many faces I recognize. And I love it.

After leaving trapeze with Marita and happily finding our tube stop reopened, I hopped a train to Green Park to hit Fortnum & Mason for my favorite pie for lunch. I was swept into the usual joy of their treats and treasures, and bought a favorite soap to bring back to SF and then noticed that they were having a pop-up of hats timed for the Royal Ascot. I ended up peeking in and having the most delightful time following a gay Canadian couple who were absolutely having the time of their lives chatting with the saleswoman and trying on hats. They were so flamboyant, down to her telling one of them he looked like a king and him replying, “oh honey, I’m a QUEEN!” They convinced me to try one on too and then took like a dozen photos of me in it.

Eventually I headed down to the basement level where my favorite fresh foods are, and surprised myself by not getting the Moroccan pie I had come for. I’ve lived in England for nearly a year and still haven’t tried a sausage roll, so figured I should finally do it, and why not get the most gourmet one possible. I also got a small currant scone, a passionfruit tart, the summer cooler tea to bring to SF, and a couple other small souvenirs. Amidst my joyful spree I bumped into a fellow ISL mom, Sally, and once again got that rush of familiarity. We chatted for a few minutes and I tried to sell her visiting friend on the Moroccan pie, and then I floated out in happiness and ate my sausage roll on a nearby bench.

I came home to change and do some chores and then rushed to do a quick grocery run before our planned early dinner. The weather looks like it should be ok for Bill’s birthday canal boat party tomorrow, so I wanted to assemble a snack bag for each of the three boats since we won’t have lunch until mid-afternoon. I also found some Union Jack print (British flag) party horns and had to have those too. I knew I was cutting it close on time so I rushed through the big Sainsbury’s grabbing my most balanced attempt at sweet/savory snacks and then caught a (slow) bus home and had just a few minutes to change into my circus-striped leggings for an evening out at the actual circus.

First we had a fantastic dinner at Grilandia on Turnham Green Terrace, with a server so friendly and generous that he ended up offering to take photos of us and then posing for a selfie. He had recommended a glass of wine and poured so much that I couldn’t finish it, and then insisted on transferring it to a paper coffee cup and topping that up to send me on my way. We walked to Chiswick House & Gardens where the big Giffords Circus tent has gone up. It’s a homegrown traveling UK circus that will be here for a few weeks before moving on to lots of places that end in “shire.” I didn’t know what to expect, but the set-up of the area was promising: really nice vendor trailers and costumed ushers.

We easily got good seats in the third row, and then the Dutch arrived to join us, with Ben happy to have his friend Abel with him. The theme of the show was “Laguna Bay,” which is obviously inspired by Laguna Beach but taken generally to be a throwback California beach town. It was honestly surreal to see a circus with a California theme, because I know that it does read as a theme to others but not to us! For me it just felt like home, even with the amusingly imperfect American accents. At one point a guy who was trying his best said something about “rubbish” and quickly corrected, “I mean ‘trash!’ like we Americans say it!”

The show was fantastic. Creative acts and high-level performance quality but moreover such a perfectly executed production from the costumes to the sets to the live music which was Beach Boys-esque in the best way. The main clown was phenomenally talented, and there were innovative acts like a near-life-size small airplane that hosted an aerial act, a duo hair hang act, two guys doing insane handstands on things like hoverboards, and the requisite animal acts which included a miniature horse. The performance ended with an audience-included dance party in the ring, and all of us were on an energy high when we left.

We said goodbye to the Dutch and then walked home along the High Road, which was bustling thanks to the skies having cleared. We ducked into Sainsbury’s Local to grab some drinks for the party tomorrow, and then came home to finish assembling the snack bags. Ben went to bed, James and Bill finished whichever Mission Impossible movie they’re on now, and I enjoyed adding a few final touches to the birthday decor before trying to get to bed before my normal 2:30am. I really hope to wake up to reasonably clear skies tomorrow, but, if not, my last-minute purchase of 24 plastic rain ponchos will come in handy!