The Waiting Game
This 'in the moment' blog post was written in about half an hour, completed at 6:08am on 19th May 2013. It was spontaneously written, and was edited very little in post-production, with the exception of a grammar error here and there.
These are my thoughts and ideas, written as they popped into my head. I wrote this at a time when I hadn't had any sleep, and I was shattered, so apologies for any bits that don't make much sense. I just wanted to post this in the same way it was written (more or less), to make it a more genuine 'in the moment' piece.
Please bear in mind, there is a specific time frame I am referring to - though this will hopefully become clear.
Thanks and enjoy!
There are a lot of times in life when you'll find you have to wait - waiting for a bus or a train to arrive; standing in queue for a concert; maybe even counting down the days to Christmas.
I'm normally quite good at waiting. I do consider myself to be a relatively patient person. I don't tend to get too agitated when I find I have a while to go before I can get into the gig, or get on my bus.
But there are, of course, some occasions where waiting has really... drained me.
I am slightly referring to the gushier little stuff - I had to wait until I was sixteen before I had my first real kiss, and I've been waiting ever since I was sixteen (and even before then) for a decent boyfriend - but I'll spare you the gory details!
And of course there was the wait for a job, which is a wait that is now over, thankfully! But the job hunting phase in my life sucked all of my energy and motivation out of me, as I'm sure you'll know from previous posts and tweets of mine.
But one of the most tiring occasions I've had where I've had to wait for something is now, actually. As I'm writing this, I'm sat on a (very uncomfortable) bench in London Victoria station, as I have been for the past five hours, and as I will be for the next hour and a half or so.
Guess which silly twonk managed to miss the last trains home at both St. Pancras International and London Victoria on the way back from Wembley...? Yep, me.
Though it was mainly down to signal problems and delays on the tube, so I had to go all around the houses to get to where I needed to be, then by the time I got there, I was too late.
So when I got to Victoria at about half past twelve, I found that I'd have to wait for the next train. Which would come at some point in the morning.
Now, I initially thought that the first train of Sunday morning that would take me home was at 6am. I even tweeted updates of the countdown, for as long as my phone battery would allow. "4 hours to go..."; "3 hours to go!"...
So I sat here in this very spot, using my coat as a (rather unsuccessful) blanket, with my earphones in, trying not to doze off to sleep (which was not easy!). I watched people coming and going, got my personal space invaded by a group of young guys on their way home from a night out and even got a free coffee from one of the people at a pastry place because he saw I was cold (result!).
It got to 5am and the station guard, who had earlier let me use his phone to contact my mum, came to see how I was getting on.
"One more hour!" I responded, in as cheerful a manner as I could muster in my tired state.
"Have you checked the time of the train yet?" he asked.
"No..I heard it was at 6...?" I said.
But he went to check for me, just in case.
7:24am. That's when the first train going through Gillingham is. THAT WAS ANOTHER TWO AND A BIT HOURS WAIT!
Ugh.
Sooo, here I am. Still waiting. I am exhausted, and I can't wait to see my bed. The thought of climbing into my bed is the only thing that's keeping me going. Though by the time I get home, I'm not sure if it'll be worth it. But I've been looking forward to my bed all night, so I won't let myself down!
My bed will be worth the wait.
That's the thing about waiting for something - it helps you to appreciate it much more once it comes along. The waiting game might be a long, frustrating and tiring one, but once you finally get what you've been waiting for, it's almost like the winner's prize.
You might have waited for hours in the cold to see your favourite band live, but look how awesome they are on that stage!
Oh yes, that bus might have been running a tad late, but once you're on it, you'll be extra glad for the seat.
And Christmas! I know, I know, it doesn't come around quick enough, but when it does, we all love it even more!
I'll be so grateful to get home (eventually) that I'll probably forget all about the tedious wait in the cold station. (Hopefully.)
Though I have to say, after the show that McFly put on at Wembley last night, it's definitely worth the lack of sleep and the 7+ hours of doing practically nothing while waiting for a train. So damn worth it!
But I just can't wait to get home and claim my prize.
It's now 6:07 by my iPod.
One hour and seventeen minutes to go.
These are my thoughts and ideas, written as they popped into my head. I wrote this at a time when I hadn't had any sleep, and I was shattered, so apologies for any bits that don't make much sense. I just wanted to post this in the same way it was written (more or less), to make it a more genuine 'in the moment' piece.
Please bear in mind, there is a specific time frame I am referring to - though this will hopefully become clear.
Thanks and enjoy!
There are a lot of times in life when you'll find you have to wait - waiting for a bus or a train to arrive; standing in queue for a concert; maybe even counting down the days to Christmas.
I'm normally quite good at waiting. I do consider myself to be a relatively patient person. I don't tend to get too agitated when I find I have a while to go before I can get into the gig, or get on my bus.
But there are, of course, some occasions where waiting has really... drained me.
I am slightly referring to the gushier little stuff - I had to wait until I was sixteen before I had my first real kiss, and I've been waiting ever since I was sixteen (and even before then) for a decent boyfriend - but I'll spare you the gory details!
And of course there was the wait for a job, which is a wait that is now over, thankfully! But the job hunting phase in my life sucked all of my energy and motivation out of me, as I'm sure you'll know from previous posts and tweets of mine.
But one of the most tiring occasions I've had where I've had to wait for something is now, actually. As I'm writing this, I'm sat on a (very uncomfortable) bench in London Victoria station, as I have been for the past five hours, and as I will be for the next hour and a half or so.
Guess which silly twonk managed to miss the last trains home at both St. Pancras International and London Victoria on the way back from Wembley...? Yep, me.
Though it was mainly down to signal problems and delays on the tube, so I had to go all around the houses to get to where I needed to be, then by the time I got there, I was too late.
So when I got to Victoria at about half past twelve, I found that I'd have to wait for the next train. Which would come at some point in the morning.
Now, I initially thought that the first train of Sunday morning that would take me home was at 6am. I even tweeted updates of the countdown, for as long as my phone battery would allow. "4 hours to go..."; "3 hours to go!"...
So I sat here in this very spot, using my coat as a (rather unsuccessful) blanket, with my earphones in, trying not to doze off to sleep (which was not easy!). I watched people coming and going, got my personal space invaded by a group of young guys on their way home from a night out and even got a free coffee from one of the people at a pastry place because he saw I was cold (result!).
It got to 5am and the station guard, who had earlier let me use his phone to contact my mum, came to see how I was getting on.
"One more hour!" I responded, in as cheerful a manner as I could muster in my tired state.
"Have you checked the time of the train yet?" he asked.
"No..I heard it was at 6...?" I said.
But he went to check for me, just in case.
7:24am. That's when the first train going through Gillingham is. THAT WAS ANOTHER TWO AND A BIT HOURS WAIT!
Ugh.
Sooo, here I am. Still waiting. I am exhausted, and I can't wait to see my bed. The thought of climbing into my bed is the only thing that's keeping me going. Though by the time I get home, I'm not sure if it'll be worth it. But I've been looking forward to my bed all night, so I won't let myself down!
My bed will be worth the wait.
That's the thing about waiting for something - it helps you to appreciate it much more once it comes along. The waiting game might be a long, frustrating and tiring one, but once you finally get what you've been waiting for, it's almost like the winner's prize.
You might have waited for hours in the cold to see your favourite band live, but look how awesome they are on that stage!
Oh yes, that bus might have been running a tad late, but once you're on it, you'll be extra glad for the seat.
And Christmas! I know, I know, it doesn't come around quick enough, but when it does, we all love it even more!
I'll be so grateful to get home (eventually) that I'll probably forget all about the tedious wait in the cold station. (Hopefully.)
Though I have to say, after the show that McFly put on at Wembley last night, it's definitely worth the lack of sleep and the 7+ hours of doing practically nothing while waiting for a train. So damn worth it!
But I just can't wait to get home and claim my prize.
It's now 6:07 by my iPod.
One hour and seventeen minutes to go.
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