london

the send off was slightly different though quite appropriate. S and J came to drop me off. they were the first 2 guys i met in boston (and my first 2 roomates) so it was quite fitting that they were the last 2 guys to see me off. celebrated in the airport lounge with johnny walker.

reached london ahead of time and was supposed to meet G for lunch. G and A are two of my oldest and closest friends from undergraduate days. in january, the day my advisor gave me the green light to finish by may i met G and A in new york. G was on some work and staying at the ritz carlton. A came up from DC and i came down from boston and it was the first time the three of us had met in almost 5 years. we celebrated with champaign at the ritz carlton. a far cry from a dirty dorm room in delhi and cheap beer.

today, i met him on the first day after leaving america. reached the goldman-sachs headquarters on fleet street with my oversized backpack and grubby pants and sweatshirt. the place was full of people in business suits zipping in and out. the receptionist was surprised to see me and G came down looking serious and stressed. left my big backpack and laptop in his office (i wasn't allowed to go up!) and had lunch. met my parents later at the royal festival hall and went for a cruise on the thames to greenwich. hung around the museums and prime meridian, etc followed by beer. on the way back it was a snooze on the thames for me and my father.

met G and his wife, C, for a drink later. one drink led to another and another and the cab we'd called at 11 was cancelled. stayed on in the bar till later. doctor pande in his hiking boots and boston marathon sweatshirt didn't quite fit in with the crowd on the dance floor but after 3 hours of sleep on the flight the night before and 5-6 pints of bitter it didn't matter. got home and slept at 2.