10/12/09 - Evening
Today David and I headed to the south coast to Eastbourne, East Sussex. He planned a work meeting there for a hearing aid fitting so Ali could assist him and then after the fitting we were all going to go to Seven Sisters, the famous chalk cliffs on the Sussex Heritage Coast. Ali was most excited about this day trip and the trip to Bath, which I will take tomorrow. She kept telling me about these cliffs and how she's been reading about them in her England travel books. We looked at the tiny pics in the book and were convinced they didn't do the cliffs justice, cause it didn't look like much but the description made it sound like one of the most beautiful views to see...which it was, but more on that in a bit.
Leaving early in the morning, I got a feel for London traffic but once we got through the city, the drive was absolutely gorgeous. It was a sunny, beautiful day and the leaves are all changing colors. Lots of lush green pastures with sheep and big brown cows. Once we got into town, we had coffee in a little cafe and then we went our separate ways. David to his hearing aid fitting, me to run on the coast.
Ali would've been thrilled to assist David with this fitting. It was for an 80 year old Dutch gentleman that had lost his arms in World War II. Ali was so passionate about helping others improve their hearing and I know she would've really connected to this man - Ali was gifted in this regard. After David's meeting, I kept asking him about the man and how the fitting went cause I know it would've been a highlight for Ali and I just wanted to soak it all in.
While David was in his meeting, I went for a run on the coastline. I brought along Ali's iPod and just ran to her "Recently Played" list. The playlist couldn't have been a more perfect selection. Ali is known by her friends as having a very cool, eclectic taste in music. Few would find my own "Recently Played" list inspiring...Beyonce, Jay-Z, Miley...great to run to though:)
Ali's playlist was perfect from start to finish with all songs being Indie type or with a chill, reflective vibe. Here's some from her list:
1.) "Save Me" - Queen
2.) "A Lack of Color" - Death Cab for Cutie
3.) "Sad Songs" - Matt Nathanson
4.) "Staring at the Sun" - TV on the Radio
5.) "Rome" - Phoenix
6.) "Things Ain't Like They Used to Be" - The Black Keys
7.) "Viva La Vida" - Coldplay
8.) "Street Spirit" - Radiohead
9.) "Across the Universe" - Jim Sturgess
10.) "Kiss of Life" - Friendly Fires
11.) "Let the Drummer Kick" - Citizen Cope
12.) "Little Secrets" - Passion Pit
13.) "Golden Years" - David Bowie
14.) "Anonanimal" - Andrew Bird
15.) "Happy Ending" - MIKA
I got to Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain with views of the south east coast from Dungeness to the east, to Selsey Bill in the west (thanks, Wikipedia). When I turned around to run back, I was just so sad and missing Ali terribly. Running felt okay but I felt compelled to take a break and just take it all in. I took a seat on a bench right on the beach and looked out into the ocean.
It was a clear day so even though the wind was quite brisk and cold, the sun still kept you from feeling too chilly. I don't know how long I was sitting there but after some time, I noticed just past the sail boat I was following that there was a huge cross. Way into the distance, I could see it coming up from the water. A cross! What a beautiful sign that I'm not on this journey alone! I spent the rest of my morning staring out at what I later learned is the Royal Sovereign lighthouse, knowing that Ali was here in spirit and God was looking to comfort me. What an incredible sign to send me! Words cannot describe how this felt but it was exactly what I needed at the exact perfect moment.
David and I met back up for lunch where I had a lamb and mint Cornish pasty. WOW! So much better than my Lean Pockets:) After that we took the car to the Seven Sisters and started our trek. You start at one end in the countryside and then you climb up and down the seven cliffs. We spent a lot of time in the cliffs and were able to spread some of Ali's ashes in a beautiful area overlooking the ocean. It was the view photographed in the England travel book of Ali's but just as we thought, the book didn't give it any justice. It was absolutely breathtaking and so peaceful up there. Indeed, it was everything Ali promised it would be and more.
Thank you so much for the love, prayers and support through all this. I am so blessed to have such amazing friends and family with which to share these stories.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
My Version of the Sisterhood of Traveling Pants
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!
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!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
All Aboard!
10/09/09
Sitting at the airport, getting ready to board. First stop, Chicago. Second stop, London...baby. Very Austin Powers.
When preparing for this adventure, Ali and I watched some movies to get ready for our big trip. First movie, "Run Fatboy Run". Set in London, we thought it sounded like a funny kick off to our Brit movie marathon. It ended up being "eh" (as Ali succinctly put it), but perhaps it was because we watched it the day after my 70's Disco Bowl party - we were a bit tired. Next we put in "Notting Hill". Surprise, surprise, we didn't make it through without "Nodding Off". Never got around to the rest of our list but we didn't need the movies, we were so excited about our girl's week in the UK!
The trip has just begun and while it's going to be an entirely different experience, I'll still be surrounded by Ali. I look forward to following her very well-thought out itinerary and connecting with her through prayer. Still meeting up with her friends and look forward to hearing about some of the great stories they have shared with her.
With earbuds in place, I have Ali's iPod to take in the scenery with her favorite tunes singing along the way. Wearing her signature turquoise ring, I will be armed with super powers much like the DC Comics power ring - "whatever the wearer imagines, the ring will create". And most importantly, I have all the great memories of Ali that I'll forever carry in my heart.
With the week ahead of me, I'm still not sure of what each day will bring but I do know that some day I'll be with Ali and will share all the great stories from the trip to London:)
Sitting at the airport, getting ready to board. First stop, Chicago. Second stop, London...baby. Very Austin Powers.
When preparing for this adventure, Ali and I watched some movies to get ready for our big trip. First movie, "Run Fatboy Run". Set in London, we thought it sounded like a funny kick off to our Brit movie marathon. It ended up being "eh" (as Ali succinctly put it), but perhaps it was because we watched it the day after my 70's Disco Bowl party - we were a bit tired. Next we put in "Notting Hill". Surprise, surprise, we didn't make it through without "Nodding Off". Never got around to the rest of our list but we didn't need the movies, we were so excited about our girl's week in the UK!
The trip has just begun and while it's going to be an entirely different experience, I'll still be surrounded by Ali. I look forward to following her very well-thought out itinerary and connecting with her through prayer. Still meeting up with her friends and look forward to hearing about some of the great stories they have shared with her.
With earbuds in place, I have Ali's iPod to take in the scenery with her favorite tunes singing along the way. Wearing her signature turquoise ring, I will be armed with super powers much like the DC Comics power ring - "whatever the wearer imagines, the ring will create". And most importantly, I have all the great memories of Ali that I'll forever carry in my heart.
With the week ahead of me, I'm still not sure of what each day will bring but I do know that some day I'll be with Ali and will share all the great stories from the trip to London:)
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