REMEMBER THE TIME WE STOLE A ROUND OF DRINKS

Last month was my three year blogiversary (!) and I can not believe it has been three years already (and I really can not believe that people actually read this crap. Haha). I sometimes wonder why I do this, or why I even started to begin with; is it just narcissism? Do I actually get anything out of it? Would I miss it if I gave it up? Would anybody else? (Ha!) I don't know, but what I do know is that it is days like this past Friday when it all makes total sense, when I am so glad that I started this blog and that I have kept it alive all this time...

Just over a year ago I discovered a little blog called Excelsior Lady (Now called FILTH) run by a lovely LA woman by the name of Hanna. We followed each others blogs and then we became pen pals and 'Facebook friends' and then Hanna took a vacation to London and we became REAL LIFE FRIENDS. Anybody that knows me, and knows Hanna, will know that we both like a drink or several, so it will come as no surprise that the first thing we did upon meeting was head straight to the nearest pub. We then spent the rest of the day going from pub to pub until we eventually retired to the twinkly lights in the beautiful garden of the Notting Hill B&B she was staying in. It was a perfect day.

I was a little apprehensive beforehand that it may have been awkward or strange meeting "in real life", not because I thought Hanna would be anything other than lovely, but I was concerned that perhaps I don't give an honest representation of myself on this blog or in my letters. It is easy to create an online persona for yourself and only show the world the embellished, polished bits that you're willing to reveal. I like to think that I am an honest person and that Blog Martin, Letter Writing Martin and Real Life Martin are one and the same, but you never know. It turns out that my apprehensions were unfounded and (apparently) I am no different in real life. Phew! The only strange thing was that it really wasn't strange at all. It was comfortable and easy and I felt as if I'd known her forever. I mean the alcohol probably helped those feelings along but whatever.

Also, we may or may not have accidentally stole a round of drinks from a bar. Sorry 'Al's Cafe' but that's what you get for having a grammatically incorrect sign above your door (Als Cafe? Seriously?).

Also, when it came time for me to leave to catch my train home there were massive delays and cancellations on the tube which could potentially have left me stranded in the middle of London. And nobody wants to be stranded in the middle of London on a Friday night so the lovely old lady that Hanna was staying with very kindly let me stay the night. Hanna and I then spent the rest of the night drinking and partying because we're totally rock 'n' roll and we were definitely not in bed by 10:30pm. DEFINITELY NOT!

Still looking pretty good after ten hours of drinking!

I hope I get to meet that pretty face again somewhere down the line, whether in London, or LA or some other random city around the world. Wherever life takes us, wherever we end up, I hope we remain friends for a long time to come. I also hope that Hanna will not be the only blog friend that becomes a real life friend. I have one more pen pal to meet and I am determined to make that happen in 2014. Whether she likes it or not! XD