Edmonton Green

Yesterday I went where few Americans had gone before: a random private road into a small development in Edmondton Green, which is in zone 4 in north London outside the realm of the tube. You have to like, take an actual train to get there. Being the sucker that I am, I said I would go up there and count movements in and out of the development during peak hours. Peak hours being 7:30-9:30 am and 4:30-6:30 pm. I was assured there was overtime involved. I'm not that much of a chump.

So after getting up at 5:15am and getting precisely the second tube of the morning at 6:05 to Earl's Court, then another tube to Victoria, then one from Victoria to 'Seven Sister's', I went on a crappy train with some pink interior to Edmonton Green. Being that special combo of December and London, it was heavily misting when I first got there, then it stopped misting, and then it just started raining. You do not look cool trying to hold an umbrella with your chin trying to mark things on a clipboard and then having to chase after your umbrella when it blows away. The whole thing reminded me of every Jane Austen novel everywhere where people get wet and cold and get fevers and nearly die.

On the way back I had to mind the world's biggest gap to get on another one of these regular trains, and then due to my own confusion and lack of announcements or maps or signs anywhere, I got off one stop early. And then I realized this and the train pulled away. Thanks to the crappy weather apparently causing some signal problems I got to wait 30 minutes for another train. It was very unpleasant. I was really just cold and wet. Don't go to Edmonton Green.

In that afternoon I went back despite at one point swearing nothing could get me to go back there. It was a little better as there was no mist, but there was a lot of rain and wind to test my umbrella handling techniques. Some kids lit off a firework that kept me entertained for approximately 2 minutes, which was a definite highlight. I got home at 8pm.

So today is the Friday before a 3-day weekend. You gotta like that excessive leave allowance! We can't carry it over to the new year so need to use it up! I'm going to be festive and put up some lights and have some egg nog latte and go ice skating and such. This is made possible by the done-ness of my dissertation, which is, quite frankly, very anticlimatic.