10/11/09 - Evening
Had a busy and fun last 24 hours. It's been a very symbolic day of looking back at my time with Ali. Had an 80's themed birthday party, went to Greenwich and headed to Piccadilly Circus for good beer and great sushi. I spent much of the time thinking, "Ali would've loved this" and sharing fun stories with David.
Last night, we got dressed and ready for David's girlfriend's friend's 80's themed birthday party. Being really into dressing up for parties, Alison and I would've gone all out for this one. I packed a great Mondonna-esque outfit (thanks to my sweet friend Aimee for lending me everything from white high heels to lace gloves) and was ready to go. David did not have an outfit yet so after landing from my flight, we spent the day in Ealing to go find 80's clothes at the "charity shops". That means Goodwill type stores. We also went to Primark (an even cheaper version of H&M) and a few other shops as well. In the end, he got blue man-Keds, hot pink scrunchie socks, purple tights, blue shorts, a blue sleeveless hoodie (with yellow tank underneath) and topped the look off with purple Max Headroom sunglasses and pink hair color. He was more "gay parade" than 80's but it was fun none-the-less.
Amongst all my London "must haves", I packed my trusty crimper. Yes, I still have my crimper from the 80's and it's come in very handy for themed parties. However, this time it failed me. For some unknown reason, it heated up to some insane level and when I went to crimp a chunk of my hair, it burned right through in less than a second. Seriously, chunk of my hair, just burned right off. Rushed to get ready from our day of shopping and long Thai dinner delivery with David's roommates Jaime and Kate, I had to just throw my hair up in a side pony tail and move on with a laugh. The whole experience reminded me of the time I went shopping with Ali for jeans.
We were supposed to be out looking for a Halloween costume but she wanted a new pair of jeans. I had been raving about my jeans from Madewell so we decided to head to the Domain to give it a shot. After grabbing different styles and colors, we headed to the dressing room. First pair she put on were okay, but a tad bit too big in the waist. We grabbed multiple sizes so we tried the next size down. I left the dressing room to get more in the next size but when I returned I could hear Ali grunting from the dressing room. "Just a sec, almost dressed." I stood there, waiting for her, when she commented that something was wrong.
I get in the dressing room and the jeans are stuck, mid thigh, with no room to go up or down. We were both so confused cause it was just one size up from the pair that were too large. I told her to suck in and tug harder but to no avail. It didn't take long until we couldn't control our laughter...she couldn't get them up, but she couldn't get them down either. I tried to help but it just seemed to make matters worse. We were laughing so hard I couldn't breath. I tugged, she tugged, and in between fits of laughing, I fell out of the dressing room. Rolled right out into the middle of the room to see a group of horrified sales people wondering what was going on in our dressing room.
In the end, we realized, the pants were mis-sized and were much smaller than labeled. Before we could find the perfect pair, we got out of there still laughing in embarrassment.
A couple weeks ago, Ali put some jeans on getting ready for work early in the morning but forgot to unbutton and unzipthem first. She called me up and told me about how she was freaking out that the jeans that used to be loose on her were now hard to put on and how she was worried that meant she put on some weight. She told the whole story and upon realizing her mistake, called to tell me how silly she felt. We recalled the story from Madewell and had a good time laughing before we headed of to start our work days.
Ali, wish you could've been there to see David in purple tights and remind me that burning off a chunk of hair is funnier than it is tragic. Love you!
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Karen, thank you so much for blogging on your trip. I know how much Ali was looking foward to this trip. The "jeans" story brought happy tears to my eyes. That was SOOOOOO Ali, wasn't it? Will you be back in Austin for the Kids Tri? If so, I'll get to meet you there.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the note:) ANd yes, the jeans story is SO Ali. I'll be at the Kid's Tri and will be the bike course director, can't wait to chat with you there. Cheerio from London:)
ReplyDeletei love that you are traveling with alison in spirit! she is right there with you, laughing and walking alongside. beautifully written memoirs, karen. keep 'em coming.
ReplyDeleteYou're right - Ali would have loved shopping and getting ready for the 80's party - and it sounds like David was looking like Elton John. So are you going to need a "shag" haircut now that you've crimped off a chunk? Maybe you can get a "Twiggy" haircut while you're over there. In any event, don't plug in any more "American" appliances. When are you going to Abbey Road?
ReplyDeleteKaren, I love this blog. Your hair story reminds me of one of my own very similar experiences. You can’t plug American appliances/devices into foreign outlets because the wattage is different. You have to use a transformer that plugs into the outlet. You then plug your appliance/device into that so it converts the wattage. I’ll never forget my first day of 6th grade. We had just moved to Malaysia and my mom and stepdad forgot to tell me not to plug things in without the transformer. I plugged my curling iron in and began to curl my bangs and within seconds my bangs were gone…poof…literally up in smoke. Talk about a great first impression in a new school in a new country. I was traumatized for life after that…LOL.
ReplyDeleteYou have always had a great sense of humor and incredible strength. Although, I didn’t know Alison real well outside of Tigerettes I know she is watching over you and laughing at your new hair style!!! I’m sure she’s laughing with you, not at you, of course!! :) As the lyrics from a song from my favorite band, Mercy Me, say, “I cannot see the big picture, but one day will understand as my heart will fly when I finally see you face to face and my tears will fly away.” We don’t always know or understand why things happen, but I do know for certainty that God used Alison to touch many people’s lives and will continue to do so in her physical absence.
I was talking with a friend from work last week about Alison’s accident and mid-sentence she (also named Allison) stopped me and asked what line of work Alison was in. I replied by telling her “audiology”. She asked what her name was and I stated “Alison Berry”. She began to tell me that her sister-in-law worked with Alison and had talked about her passing over the weekend and had been so upset and talked about what a great person Alison was and how she would be missed. This is a true testament to how many people Alison touched.
I continue to pray for you and Alison’s friends, family, and her husband. May God bless you with safe travels and great memories you and Ali can laugh at together when you see her face to face again one day.