Day 83

FINALLY!!! I've seen my boyfriend play football!!! My boyfriend being Michael Owen of course...and he doesn't know it yet...but one day...one day. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself here.

I got woken up today...early of course, and managed to go back to sleep, but not for too long. I definitely didn't need my alarm clock. I was out of bed and getting ready before 9. Now, on a regular day, it's not like me to open my curtains...but for some reason I did today. When I did, I saw the neighbour's dog was on our side of the gate. Unsure if this was normal, I found my cell phone and called Brigitta. No answer. Now I am not one to go out of the house without doing my makeup, let alone not having done my teeth yet...but I was so worried something was going to happen to the dog, that I ran outside and whistled for him to come to me. Luckily he did. I then took his collar and walked him back to their house, where I knocked on the door a few times, but didn't get a response. I then called Heloise, who was at football with Zach. - Note through this entire blog, I will call soccer football, as Zach told me today, I was no longer allowed to call it soccer, cuz he didn't know what that meant - When Heloise answered I asked if the dog normally roamed the area and she said no. She then told me that she had put him back on their side of the gate before leaving this morning, so there must be an issue with the gate. We talked for a bit and she told me to bring him in the house. (She had forgotten about Jelly). I brought that to her attention, and she decided he'd be better off in the garden. So, I put him in the backyard, and shut our gate. Thinking everything was fine, I went in the house and tried calling Brigitta again. She answered this time...but very sleepily. I told her I just wanted to let her know, in case she was looking for Jackson (The dog), he was in our backyard. She said thank you, and must have gone back to sleep.

When I hung up, I saw I had a text...it was from Heloise. She had forgotten the fence in their backyard had been broken, and she wasn't sure if it was fixed yet. Down I went, and out the door, around to the back. The fence was down, and there was no sign of Jackson. GREAT! Another adventure for Maija. I started calling his name and whistling, and although this worked to get him to come to my door the first time, I wasn't having any luck this time around. I got back on the phone with Brigitta and apologized for waking her up again. I explained the situation and she said she'd be out in a minute. I looked around the front still calling and whistling, with some panic in my voice, as I was afraid he may have fallen into the river. What must have been about 10 minutes passed, and still no sign of Brigitta. This is stupid, I thought to myself, he could be anywhere by now! So instead of waiting around for her, I started briskly walking up the road. I saw a man doing some gardening, so I walked faster over to him, and asked if he'd seen a chocolate lab. - Keep in mind, I had no make up on :| - He told me he'd seen him and said "He's not very friendly is he?" *Um...hi...do I have time to answer your questions?* I said oh I'm not sure, he's my neighbours. To which he replied..."I tried to call him over, and he had a go at me". I apologized and went in the direction he told me the dog had gone. He had headed towards the path. Well...I don't think I've ever ran so fast in my life! I was calling his name as I ran, and luckily he came running out of the pathway, where I used to see the builder - No way was I walking up there today without make up and teeth done. I called him again and he came over to me. I took his collar, and was SO happy to see him. I dialed Brigitta again, out of breath, and told her not to worry, I had him and would be back to meet her in a minute. She told me to calm down! She said I needed to stop worrying, and to relax. To which I replied..."HE WAS LOST!" - She said thank you, and told me she'd be out in 2 minutes...she was almost ready. ALMOST READY???? I'd be out there in my pyjamas if it was my dog...or the dog I was looking after. She just didn't get it...I was shocked. When I got back to the house, she STILL wasn't outside. Jackson and I sat on the step waiting for Heloise to come home, and when she pulled up, her Zach, the dog and I went into the house. We locked Jackson in the kitchen, where he polished off the cat food...and Jelly in the playroom. Jelly was not impressed. Brigitta finally showed up a few minutes later, and thanked me...called the dog naughty, and left. We told her to make sure she kept him inside...but I can't see that happening.

Now that that was done, I raced upstairs and got myself ready. My cousin Tom arrived shortly after, and we were told there were delays for the train. Great. Heloise said she'd take us to the station and we'd find out what the wait was like. When we got there, they told us they were 2 hours behind. That would not do! We drove back to Heloise's, figured out the post code for the tube station, and Tom and I headed there. We found a parking spot on the street, and hopped on a Tube. Finally, we had arrived!! And in good time as well. The streets were packed as we made our way to the stadium, and there were police EVERYWHERE! Away fans (US) had to walk a different way to the West Ham fans. We got to our entrance and our seats fairly quickly. Right behind the goal! This, was going to be awesome! The first player I spotted was Rooney...quick scan of the rest and...Michael Owen. I was smiling ear to ear! Tons of chanting and lots of cheering made the experience that much better. There is nothing like the atmosphere at an English Football Stadium! Football...boys...and football boys...I was in heaven! The first goal for Man U was seconds before the whistle blew for half time. We had 3 more goals follow in the 2nd half, while West Ham stayed at 0. "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle All the Way! Oh what fun it is to see MAN U WIN AWAY!!!!!"

The game ended and we headed home. We had to walk quite a ways to get away from the huge crowd at the first tube station, but it was worth it. When we got on, we only had to stand for a stop or two, and then there was room to sit and talk. Although we were surrounded by West Ham fans, so we couldn't talk about the game.

Once we got home, we had 45 minutes to grab something to eat. Tim ran up to the fish and chip shop for us which gave us about 30 minutes to eat by the time he got back. Toni arrived, and Tom was getting beautiful. When he finished we went out to Toni's car, and met a friend of hers. The 4 of us went to Karaoke Night. It was a fundraiser for her pantomime group. Not the best singing ever...but who am I to judge? I wouldn't even get up. I would only sing from the table. We laughed a lot, and had fun...we even danced a little. After they played Michael Buble, Toni decided it was time to get out of there, so she drove her friend home, and then came in to play Twilight Scene It. One round, and we were done. She had to go home, and Tom was ready for bed. I said goodbye, and now, here I am writing my blog and uploading pics. Tomorrow morning is going to come extremely fast. It's 1:40 already, and I should probably be up at 7:30. Ew. On that note...Good Night xx