“Doob-de-doob-de-dooby-de-dooo” sings Ivor from my pocket.

“Tonight I go see da vinci code - want to come?”

I haven’t read the book. I have had no prior desire to read the book. However, an evening with LELI will be fun.

Well.

I still have no desire to read the book.

It’s a nice enough film, but I just don’t get the hype. About the book or the film. As far as I could tell it was just a tamer, less action, fewer laughs film than Raiders of the Lost Ark.

And to think I could have stayed in and watched the Eurovision Song Contest. Sounds like that was a treat - good old Finland and their death metal entry!

Texting with LELI.

LELI - Hi, martial art is good for me - I got rid of the headack after 2 days. It is weekend, who cases about work.

Me - exercise is usually good for a headache - thats why the excuse ‘not tonight dear i have a headache’ is rubbish! Big rugby game in town tomorrow.

LELI - I said that only once but it was a splitting headack. Next 4 sundays i’ll be working, bad!

Me - Haha at the headache. Working sundays is very bad. Want to go out to play after work?

LELI - see what time I finish, if not too late then yes.

From:”Mad Craft Shop”
To:woman
Subject:Mad Craft Shop, order ref: xxx
Date:Tue, 16 May 2006 10:08:52 +0100

Hi Woman,

You can track your order from later this evening by clicking here.

We hope that you will be happy with your goods but if you want to return any item, please see our returns/refund policy first.

*next day delivery to UK mainland in most cases. 2-3 day service to some Scottish locations and Ireland.

From:”Mad Craft Shop”
To:woman
Subject:Mad Craft Shop, order ref: xxx
Date:Thu, 18 May 2006 12:54:20 +0100

Hi Woman,

Regards, Sandy

I got 6 out of 10 here. Some people may find it surprising I got so few right!

This is hysterical.

I really hope they give the poor guy a job in the end - there he was, live on telly, and hardly fazed at all!

By the way, what is a “data support cleanser”?

Last night it got very dark, very quickly, and we had about 3 hours of thunderstorms. I took these two pictures just as the storm was blowing in.

Tonight, about the same time I took the next picture. What a difference!

I can’t believe I never took any pictures while I lived there.

So, this time I made up for it.

Here is the street which I used to live in. That is downtown Manhattan you can see past the end of the street - and years ago there used to be two very tall buildings in that gap.

And here is my apartment. It is the one above the red door in the centre of the picture. The window directly above the door was where the computer used to sit, while the two windows to the right as you look at the picture were my living room.

And yes, that green sign on the railings is declaring that they have vacancies available in this (small) apartment complex of 19 apartments.

However, it looks as if someone is living in *mine*.

Went back to work yesterday afternoon. Glad I booked the morning off - I tried to get up at 9, but it was just impossible. I reset the alarm for 11.30, and even that was a struggle. This morning I just about made it into the office for 9.15.

Spent most of yesterday going through my emails - ONB is still great, but he isstarting to annoy me a little. I gave him access to my email, so he could clear out the daily clutter, leaving me with ‘proper’ emails to deal with. I don’t think he opened my email once. I also asked him (time and again, but emphasised it before I went away) that if Z asked him to do anything even slightly different, he was to email confirmation to Z, copying me in. There wasn’t a single email, although he said there had been lots of discussions with him.

This afternoon, Z came over again to see what he has been doing, and yet again to make changes and specify different things to what ONB has been asked to do. I told ONB to email Z straight away - we’d had a 1-2-1 earlier, where I had told him I knew he didn’t like it, and didn’t want to do it, but pointed out that at the moment I was his only buffer between him and Z, and that I didn’t intend to hang around for much longer. If we didn’t get Z in line before I left then ONB’s life is going to be even more hell than it is now.

Anyway, ONB, after much whinging, sent an email to me, detailing what Z had asked, copying in Z. I replied, saying that he should be sending it to Z, and asking for his confirmation that it was what he asked for, as a back up for when Z changes his mind in the future. However, luckily Z read it, and came scurrying over, to put ONB straight concerning exactly what he had asked for. ONB did have the grace to say thanks to me for making him do it, and agreed that it was useful and had stopped him doing almost all that Z had asked for, but not quite getting it right so eventually leading to whole reworks.

And I finally have an interview! It’s been bloody weeks (which I think may not bode well for the type of department the job is in) since I applied, and I have heard nothing. Then this morning there was an email from the big boss, saying that I would be contacted by HR to confirm an interview time and date.

So. Wednesday. 1 o’clock.

Good job I bought a new suit!

Well, I got back this morning. A little later than I would have liked, due to there being problems on the train line (but it seems I can get the ticket price back since the delay was over an hour, so that’s okay).

San Fran was okay - probably not helped by me being very ill. I mean - who goes all that way for a conference, and then ends up having to take half a day off sick, and turn down a meal in one of the most highly recommended restaurants in town, with free cocktails, wine, and liqueurs? Me, that’s who!

I must have been ill there - I went into Macy’s twice, and managed to actually not spend a cent.

This was rectified by my trip to the East Coast, so all is not lost.

I have never, ever been homesick for anywhere before. At 18 when I left home to be a student, I never missed my home town. When I left the student town, again, never felt homesick, And so on through my life.

However, just getting out of the taxi outside from friend N’s apartment building (and where I lived for 6 months), just the smell takes me right back. I so miss it. I know I miss it when I am here - but I don’t truly realise until I am back there just how much I do miss it. I don’t even know why - it’s not like I can say I spent the happiest days of my life there, because I didn’t. It’s where my marriage finally broke down, it’s where I spent 6 months on antidepressants, it’s where I got fired and couldn’t find another job.

But I love it. And I miss it.

And I am astonished to say I find the NYC people more friendly than San Francisco people - I was under the impression that people from the West Coast were much friendlier, but I just never saw it.

Saw SE, who also happened to be in town (sexy as ever), also JB who has finally decided to boot his wife out (after months of me being so diplomatic when he talks to me about her, when all I ever wanted to scream was “Boot the cheating bitch out!”. I also met N’s boyfriend C for the first time - certainly not what I was expecting, although to be fair I didn’t actually get much chance to talk to him. Also spent some time with SE’s friends J and Y, who I have met briefly before.

Two trips to the favourite bar, but very disappointed. The first time there were no regulars in there at all. Even our favourite barman has apparently moved on (N’s mission is to find out where, so next time I visit we can go see him). Second trip I managed to see one of the Stoke Boys, who was, amazingly, quite sober. He is very funny, and surprisingly intelligent when he is capable of stringing more than two words together, and able to stand upright of his own accord.

Now I have days of jetlag to deal with - I am tired now, but not sleepy at all. I haven’t had a decent poo in days (which will also be down to the sheer amount of meat you get served in America, something I forgot about and could well do without - for god’s sake, nobody needs 3 whole chicken breasts on one sandwich!).

Pussy cats seemed pleased to see me (as I was to see them). They were waiting in the hall as I opened the door, not sure who was going to be coming in I think. Once they realised it was me, KK got all kitteny, and came running up for a stroke (I had trouble getting in the door with my bags because she refused to move away from my legs). Ed, of course, ran for the kitchen, pleading starvation so I could feed him. They have both had a big fuss now, and both been out exploring and come back, and gone exploring again. Bless them!

Gardener has been while I have been away. It doesn’t look like my garden anymore, and the cats are complaining because there are no bushes they can hide under any more!