Weekend Bonanza Part II

The next day was Sunday, and I woke up at almost noon. I had to return to Crawley. My friend Jojo wanted to meet me at Victoria Station. It was raining cats and dogs. What to do, what to do. I didn’t want to go out into the rain (duh!). Even more, I didn’t want to go back to Crawley and back to work because I was relaxing and getting reacquainted with my friend. I decided to back a cake for Kathy and her family, and also to make my favorite meal, boiled yam with corned beef and egg stew. Kathy and I went shopping once the rain had stopped. I texted Jojo to come over to Thornton’s Heath since he had a car, and he said he would after church. Ato, Kathy’s cousin, helped me very much with the creaming of the cake, so that I had very little to do, and could concentrate on making the corned beef stew, which turned out really well.

When Jojo turned up, he was quite surprised to see how I had changed, because we hadn’t seen each other in eleven years. J. It took him a while to get over how much I had changed. I introduced him to Kathy’s siblings and cousin, and we all basically sat in the kitchen, cooking and talking. Jojo made to leave many times, and we even wrapped a bit of the cake for him to take with him. As an aside, I made about a pound of the cheese pound cake, and thirty minutes after the cake was done, almost two-thirds of it was gone. Hehhee….(giving myself a pat on the shoulder). Back to Jojo. He didn’t want dinner, but since we had made him stay that long, we forced him to have a bit. A bit turned into a second helping as he enjoyed the meal immensely. (Yes, I am a bit vain, but whatever. Giving myself another pat on the shoulder.) After the meal, a new side of Jojo that I had never seen emerged. I got a phone call from Twum, my honey, so I went into the bedroom to speak to him. We both could hear (him through the phone) raucous laughter coming from the kitchen. It turned out that Jojo was quite the comedian, telling such funny stories that had the others doubled over with laughter. I don’t think he let till after 10pm. All in all, it was a fun night.

I then called Nan to tell her that I couldn’t make it back to Crawley that night. She said she had been worried because she hadn’t heard from me, and I felt a bit guilty. As I didn’t have any clothes but the ones I had worn there, I had to do laundry. However, by the time we had finished cleaning and all that good stuff, it was almost 1am. I started doing laundry at 1am. I knew there and then that I wouldn’t be able to make it to work, but I was hoping for the best. We put it in the dryer around 2:30am, and that’s when I went to bed. I woke up at 8:30 Monday morning to get ready for work, but couldn’t stay up, so I called to say I’ll be in a bit later. I woke up again at 10:30am and decided to get my clothes out of the dryer. They were by no means dry! L. I was definitely going to be way too late to go to work. I called in and said I wasn’t feeling well and would come in on another day. It wasn’t a complete lie because I was really drowsy and coming down with a cold. I slept till noon, had some cereal, and lay in bed reading for a while. I got cleaned and dressed around 3pm, and just kept lazing about and resting. Around 4pm, Ato came to remind me that I had to go to town to change some money and return some things I had bought. I took my handbag and left with him. It wasn’t till we got to town that I realized that I didn’t need to go back home with him, but I could leave from there since I had everything I had come with on me.

I got a little snack from Gregg’s as I was hungry, and then he walked me to the East Croydon train station after I had done all that I needed to do. Ato was really helpful, taking me where I needed to be to change money (Marks and Spencer) and to return two tops I had bought on impulse (Dorothy Perkins). Kathy had had to leave for work, which is why Ato was the one who helped me. I didn’t know how to thank him, but he said he would just wait for more cake the next time I visited. At the train station I bought a story book and a Fanta, but I was told the drink was cheaper if I bought two of them, so I did just that and gave one to Ato. I bought my ticket, got on my platform, and chatted with Twum on the phone until my train came.

The trip to Crawley was only about 20-25 minutes long, which was nice to know, as it meant I could hop over to visit Kathy without spending a long time on the train. Right as I arrived at the Crawley station, I got a call from Nan asking where I was and when I would be getting home for dinner. I told her I had just arrived, and that I would walk home to familiarize myself with the route. I thought I was lost initially, but I wasn’t, and found myself very soon at the Clarion Hotel which was near Nan’s house. I went in and signed up for the gym membership deal they are having, and also booked an appointment for a free consultation with the on-site personal trainer. I hope to go twice a day. Please pray for me so I stick to that. J

I had arrived at the train station at 7pm, and I got home before 8pm. It was about a thirty minute walk from the train station to Nan’s house, which is not a bad walk. I’m still not too used to the roads and the flipping of the sides where the cars drive. I’ve just told myself that most of the time the on-coming car is to my right, instead of my left, so I should just keep that in mind.

I’m in bed now, about to go to bed so I can wake up early tomorrow morning to get to the gym, then catch the train to work in Worthing. I hope I make it. I start my third week tomorrow. It feels like I’ve been here longer than that.

Stay blessed, and enjoy the week!