for Buk: I had a cider on Sunday afternoon watching the Arsenal-Chelsea match -- Norf Lann'en derby -- which Chelsea won two-nil. Oh dear.

I feel like a fish that's been let back into it's rightful tank, just flexing my gills and swimming about. Met with the master admissions tutor for the "Cities, Culture and Change" MA at Kings College London. He was really interesting and dear and the program sounds fantastic, lots of possibilities for networking and traineeships. Am I ready to be that responsible though?

I've been taking buses everywhere and riding on top wherever possible, and I met my old workmate Alan for lunch in Covent Garden, and then went for a wee shop along the Kings Road (nothing for me though, everything for others -- Ben I got ya Muji gel pens, and how!)

And it doesn't help that I've fallen for a man named after the primary character in "Where the Wild Things Are." I've known him since I was living here in 03 but things have shifted between us and ... and I am working on not getting ahead of myself. He always has been and continues to be absolutely lovely.

Tomorrow a big run all around and then the Young Vic Christmas show (The Adventures of Tintin -- I canNOT wait) with Daniel and Beverley, and then a few drinkies, and then I'm off in the morning. Sniff, sniff. I feel less hopeless, though, less like it's going to be ages before I get back. We shall see.

remote blogging from LDN

Even thought I haven't lived here for almost three years, it still feels like home. Came in the long way from Heathrow, on the Underground that's over ground until South Ken -- peering into people's back gardens, glimpses of the tops of terrace houses, graffitti sprinkled about. A woman next to me was working a crossword puzzle in what looked like either Polish or Turkish, and across from me a lovely man with lovely hair (gay or European?) ended his phonecall with "ta for that, bye" -- too wonderful.

Got off the plane, got off the train, rented a phone, then spent ten dollars on: a bottle of water, a tensy of Lambert & Butler's, and a lighter. No kidding. Those three items cost me ten dollars. There's a Krispy Kreme in Victoria Station now -- I resisted, but barely. It did make me feel slightly uncomfortable, I'll say that much. Now I have 90 minutes to kill before meeting Dan to get the extra set of keys so I can go and sleep for a few hours.

I am so ready to be rid of these bags so I can go exploring and cavorting, visiting all my old favorite places and finding new ones ... the internet cafe is playing "No Diggity" which I think must be some sort of sign, although I'm not sure what type.

merry Christmas to ME!

sorry I've been a bit ghostlike, Loyal Reader(s). Our interweb connection has been craptastic.

So I'll be in my favorite city from 14 December through 21 December, get your orders in for PG Tips and Thai Chilli Crisps. Have a meeting wiv University of Manchester on the fifteenth, with KCL on the nineteenth, wiv SOAS sometime else, and in between then I'll be boozing it up and eating paella with Tanya and Dan, drooling after luscious Max, catching up with Nora and Susie and Theo and Alan, playing coochie-coochie-coo with Finley and hugging his mom, and hopefully catching some kind of match somewhere -- can't really splash out for the North London derby (Arsenal v Chelski, 18th December) but maybe some sort of Palace fixture -- I love me some Croydon!

At any rate, I'm very excited, and soon to be very broke. Rest assured I shall try to purchase as many Harrod's beer mats as gifts as I can. Huzzah! Huzzah!