Back Online, Feelin' Fine

Well it’s certainly been a while hasn’t it?

To the unknowing reader, it could almost have looked like I had packed the whole thing up ready to life a life of all things non-bloggerish.

But never fear – much to your personal delight (or horror) Milhouse is STILL here...

…Living an odd, odd life in a world of oddities, surrounded by a mass of odd thoughts, odd people, odd occurrences, and big, bright signs saying the words, ‘This Is Odd’ on them : S

Yes, I apologise in advance if the literature comes off a bit creaky today – it seriously has been a long time since I last wrote anything even remotely legible (it’s gotta be at least 4 months since my last real blog now, rite? Even then, it was suspect of being 90% Gibberish).

Being the student type that I am (or was), I, like many others had enjoyed the luxury of having a months worth of holiday in which to fill with as much dossing, chilling & bumming around as possible. I found my attempts on this particular mission to be largely successful (You can congratulate me later). Despite keeping alcohol levels to a fairly reasonable standard, so much has happened on the social agenda - in terms of going places & meeting new people - that I feel almost inebriated to the point where it's hard to remember what I actually did 5 mins ago.

Mind you, I guess most of you might think what's new.
(U Cheeky Bastads)

I mean, the earliest memory of the spring break has to be waking up to a text message on March the 31st at about fifteen minutes past 8am. To give you a bit of coverage on this particular event in mind, I would have to tell you that during that week, I had been busy arranging a load of friends to join me in a day trip to Thorpe Park. This was to be a celebration of my 19th birthday.

Seeing as it's never an easy task to invite a bunch of people to be at any one place at any one time - unless the invite contains the words 'Free', 'Booze', 'Round' & 'Mine' - I figured it would be important to make sure everyone knew when & where they we're supposed to meet up so that there would be as little waiting around as possible.

April the 1st - A Saturday & a whole 96 hours ahead of my actual Birthday - was to be the appropriate date for which to make the journey. So I texted & I called & generally bugged all the peeps that said they might come and narrowed it down to the eventual 9 or so people that did turn up. Some were to meet up at the Station, while the rest of them would come to my house in the morning to leave together.

Strangely though, a certain Dominic Christie - ever the thrill seeker - got the impression that we were in fact actually going to leave a day earlier than planned (so to skip the queues of course). After knocking at the front door of my house for a good 5 minutes he was greeted by my slightly bewildered mother and realised that maybe all was not as it seemed... Which is when I got my text:

I'm never gonna live this one down! Who has just turned up at your house thinking it was April 1st?! I'm an idiot! Apologies to your folks! - Dom C.

What can I say..? Clearly April Fools Day isn’t strictly a 24hour occasion. Nice one Dom : )

Well after that slight hic-cup, Dom fortunately did swallow his pride and buck up enough courage to come back the next morning and join the gang & myself in what was to be an absolutely wicked day out in Thorpe Park. In total, 12 of us went down there, including my brother & his two mates Ryan & Mark Baber (brother of Ian), Ashleigh, Aylwin, Collet, Dom, Justine, Newman, Myself, Renée & the ever elusive Ruth. A nice bunch of people you may agree. I don't need to tell you that the rides were awesome, and my Top 3 were definitely 'Detonator', 'Colossus' & the mighty 'Tidal Wave' - all of which resulted in me screaming like a little girl or laughing like a mad hatter.

I brought 2 disposable cameras on the day for everyone to snap with, so you can all take a look right here at the best ones and see for yourself if you like. The night was nicely round off by hitchin' to Aylwin's crib having him fix us a blindin’ pasta dish creation, and playing the meanest game of Jenga I have ever encountered. 29 STORIES before the final piece collapsed the whole structure!

Truly amazing I'll think you'll agree.

After that, there was of course my 19th on Tuesday. (That's The 5th Of April Everybody!)Which was complimented with a nice wad of cash and a pucker amount of chocolate to keep me going after I brutally underwent going cold turkey soon after this Easter's confectionery ran out.

& After that…Well that bit’s kinda fuzzy. Although I’m pretty sure it involved some kittens, lots of coffee, a trip to the Hayward Gallery & a girl named Justine.

Of course, since then, even more has changed and things are all gearing up for the Great Summer holiday that Alywin & myself have planned.

As of this Monday coming, the two of us will be Hostelin’ it round West Europe for a whole month! I believe we're gonna call it 'Aye & Mihouse's Europe Adventures' or something stupid like that. I dunno, I want something a bit snappier myself. Something with Sshnaz (Any suggestions anyone?).

So yeah, ‘This time next week!’ we’ll be taking in the sights, admiring the culture, sipping fine wine and wearing pegs on our noses in case we catch a whiff of our socks that haven’t seen a wash in weeks. I don’t know about you, but I very excited!

We’ll be getting around by train equip with the tightest budget we can for the four weeks that we’re out there. Between us, we’ve already spent some £900 pounds on the tickets, insurance, and general necessities in able for us to survive (Though my Dad told me you won’t need a Machete to endure the harsh conditions of Western European Civilisation... What does he know?) And we haven't even left yet!

Luckily, I managed to borrow quite items including the rucksack that Cozin Kate sent me in the post today. Cheers, Lady Gillanders it’s just what I need. I owe you one.

Now there’s only a few more things to sort out such as a Europe Bolt-on to get cheaper calls on me mobile, a trip to the bank to get some Euros, & find a decent pair of shorts to accompany my decent pair of legs.

It’s all come so quickly, we’ve been planning it for ages but it was only yesterday that it finally hit me & what we were actually about to do.

I’m currently making a little list of some of the things we definitely have to do whilst out there. So far I’ve come up with hiring a tandem bicycle in Amsterdam, buying a fake Italian football shirt that leaves huge rashes on your back, a competition of who can find the ‘Oddest-looking man in Europe’ and also a compition of who can find the tackiest postcard in Europe.
Aye hasn't got a chance.

I’ll be hopefully keeping my blog up and running with the help of Aylwin during the time we’re sitting in the hostels overnight (I'll Post in Blue, Aye will post in Red so you know who's who) and posting a number of pictures from our travels. Make sure you check it out some time yeah?

Well I better be off for the moment, I’m about to attempt my second driving test in a couple of hours so problably best that I change out of my dressing gown & slippers! I hope I pass this time purly because it’s so flippin expensive to book up another test. I figure I’m going to play it Hakuna Matata and just drive like I drive normally. If I pass, that’s great, if I don’t then at least I have a month abroad to stew over how badly I cocked up that right turn into a main road!

C You later Peeps x

P.S. Shout out going to The Z... Howard Z!