Action in Acton… Part 2! (Blog 149)

My 149th blog! Why is that significant? Well, my 150th one is coming up at the start of next month, which will be my 22nd contest blog. But hang on, such a nice number should be a superblog, right? Exactly. Because I unexpectedly went to the Aeronaut in Acton yesterday, it screwed with my plans. If I didn’t go, my SB would have indeed been the 150th. But then again, isn’t 151 a better number? I mean it IS symmetrical. So who cares if I celebrate that instead? Of course I could just post my SB before my competition review, but that would mean adding it to my site this July. If I post it in August, it will be easier to get my four entries (at least) a month done. I could post it on the same day as my tournament post, but that would be anarchy.

Anyway, the day itself. I began the morning by getting my train ticket in advance and asking the ticket lady how to best get to my destination. I did plan the journey the day before, but judging by the look on the woman’s face when I told her my scheme, it clearly wasn’t the most logical. Still though, I wasn’t wrong, just inefficient. After some mild embarrassment, I went home… … Then in the afternoon, I rambled back to the depot and began the main part of my adventure. To my amazement and despite my four train changes and far from detailed, hand drawn map I had no problems with getting lost and I had no general confusion, whatsoever. Furthermore, my travels have given me an idea for a new short story: Not about someone getting lost on the tracks for hours, but how about YEARS? Yeah. epic. Not based on reality, clearly, more based on my fears and insecurities, but it’s still an idea. (Hopefully I haven’t ripped it off, but it’s hard to be sure).

Paradoxically, however, all that success gave me a problem: What do I write about? A plain, routine excursion? And one that I’ve already discussed before, but a more boring version this time? Not to worry, I could talk about the food I ate in the bar area of the Aeronaut. Except I can’t, because it was just so-so. After a bit of sitting around, I did meet and talk to a Bill Gates lookalike about one of his sketches that would be performed later that night. I wondered what it was about his work that got approved of by the theatre and what it was about mine that didn’t. I guess anyone who looks like the richest man in the world has a lot going for him. Who would you hire - him or a confused wanderer? First impressions count. But then again, maybe his work was just good. Who knows.

Soon enough, the performance was about to start. In the theatre, I explained to the billionaire doppelganger that I had no idea what I was going to blog about, and that I was praying the gig would be journal worthy. It would make things easier for me if the performers fell over or something. I kind of nodded to them, implying that if they did trip or whatever, it would really help me out, but no one obliged. Whether my behaviour was perceived as harmless joking (not true), obnoxious joking or flat out antisocial behaviour (more accurate), I don’t know. But that didn’t matter as the whole event wasn’t being filmed, so I could do what I liked. Nope, actually it WAS filmed. Never mind. Whilst I thinking non stop about what I could say the following day, I actually heard at least 95% of what the actors and standups were saying, which is pretty good going, as I often hear close to nothing. So well done!

After all that business, me and Bill’s probable relative walked back to where we originated from, train-wise. As he came from the same, last station as me, I didn’t have to bother reading my map, I just followed him. On the way, we talked about our favourite comedians. The man seemed a little reluctant to say who his were, which I found a bit strange. It’s not exactly a personal subject, right? But then again, maybe it is. He could be into really obscure foreign comedy about people farting in badly ventilated rooms and people saying dumb catchphrases such as ’Nein!!!!’, along to very unconvincing canned laughter. I know I’d find it hard to admit liking that kind of stuff, anyway. God knows how a super-intelligent person would feel about appreciating it - how could you rationalise that? If he tried to, what would his fellow businessmen think? Then again, maybe (actually more likely) he was just shy. Or maybe he was planning his latest PC hardware in his head and wasn’t fully with what I was saying.

As he led me to the first stop of my destination without problem, I trusted that he would give me good advice on how to finish my journey. Big mistake. He told me to get off at the wrong stop, and I had to go back. To be honest, I don’t really know how I got home, from there. I kept asking people what to do, every step of the way, which was pretty nerve-wracking as I was in danger of missing the final train, in the same way I almost did last time in Acton. I did much running about, and tripped on the last steps of a staircase. It was all very dramatic, and my ankle is still hurting, right now. I basically walk like a cripple. The sense of relief I got when I occupied the last transportation however, was very nice. Like being rescued from a cave after a few weeks - just on a smaller scale and without the panicking, starvation, PTSD and such. Okey dokey, I was expecting yesterday to be very challenging to write about, but I think I pulled it off! Phew!… … … Bye!