June

canal boat ride- okay, but it was completely covered and hard to take pictures.

Anne Frank House- LONG line that I wouldn't have waited in if Neil didn't want to go. I liked it from a historical point of view, not emotional. I just can't get emotional about other people's lives- I'm just too detatched. That will come in handy when I'm a couselor.

Stumbled upon the torture museum! That was one of the main museum I wanted to see there. Neil didn't want to go but went with me anyway. I liked it more than I thought I would. Everyone warned me that it wasn't as good as it sounded, so I went with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised.

Then we stumbled on the hotel- went back for a few minutes & got stoned- then went to the Red Light Disctrict where we stumbled upon the 2nd museum I wanted to see- the Erotic Museum- another place Neil didn't want to go but went in with me anyway. It was fun! Especially the pictures we took of each other's heads on "sexy" cardboard cut-outs. Now we're sitting at an empty bar in the Red Light District- I needed to sit down and it got cold sitting outside. Went to Amstelking (Catholic church museum)- all these houses here are narrow (which was a requirement along the canals) so they're built up and have steep, narrow stairs. Walking through the Amstelking, we walked up all the stairs and couldn't figure out how to exit. We kept going up and down around where we thought the ground level was but could not find a door leading outside. That was freaky- like the Catholic church was trapping us in...

Now we're sitting at the hotel for a bit. Neil doesn't like Amsterdam too much- I love it! I like the people, the culture, the water, the way of life, the city plan, the language... the only thing I don't like is the amount of cars and bikes on the narrow streets that you have to watch out for- you have to pay more attention to them than the interesting things on the streets- that's frustrating- that's why I have to stop walking every once in a while and stay out of the way of traffic (easier said than done, they come from every direction at once) and look around- this city is amazing!

Went to easyEverything to check my email. Heard back from Joel!!! He ended the email, "Hope to see you around somewhere." It totally made my night!! Didn't want to write back right away. I'll do that in London. A guy at easyEverything asked to borrow a pen. I said, "Sure," and he asked if I was from the States. I said I was and he said he was too- from New York (lived in Queens). I said I was too- I lived in Manhattan. He said he went to college in Manhattan- Barach College. I told him I went to Hunter. What a small world.

Went to the Historical Museum. Incredible!!! Possibly my favourite museum EVER!! Loved the bits about city planning and housing- that was fascinating. What an interesting history of an incredibly interesting city.

Walked around a little- then it started raining hard. Now we're at the hotel watching the French Open in Dutch, live in the same time zone. Okay, now we're going to get lunch and then I'm going to try to get Neil to have a hashish cake at a coffeeshop- or at least split one...

We took a nap- I feel a cold coming on- this weather is terrible- COLD & WINDY!

So after the nap, we went to the coffeeshop and Neil had 3 sips of a "Spaceshake"- that won't do anything- fine with me- I enjoyed the leftover shake! Now Neil went for a little walk and I'm waiting in the coffeeshop- don't have much to say other than I really don't appreciate getting sick- maybe the weather in London will be slightly nicer than here and the cold will go away.

I can't believe I took a nap!

This is a nice mellow high!

The guys at the table in front of me are cute. Another guy from another table wanted to sit with me. I said it was fine. He didn't talk to me at all- don't know why he wanted to sit with me.

Morning- nothing was open so we went to the airport early.

Short flight back to London- checked into the dump, I mean our room at the Royal Lancaster. Maxine and Abby were already there. One of the beds was completely broken so we waited until they brought up another one.

Went out with Neil, Maxine, and Abby to the food hall at Selfridge's- then met Paula and Harvey- sat around their nicer room at Claridge's. Dinner- went to the Red Lion- a quiet pub. I'm not hungry, so I went for a little walk and wound up at The Running Footman (another pub down the street) for some wine and some alone time. I'm feeling slightly better- the cold is mostly gone- yea!

Tonight- went to easyEverything and emailed Joel. I didn't mention anything specific about getting together since I don't even know when I'd be able to do that- so I just wrote about where I was, where I'd be going, and that all the cities I visit I look at differently since taking his class (which is SO TRUE). I'm sure I'll hear back from him soon and we can take it from there...

I don't know what else to write. I'm at the hotel bar- should have picked a more lively place- then maybe I could find some conversation- actually, I'm not feeling so lively (this damn cold)- so I think I'll just have a drink or two and then try to sleep.

I hated throwing away the pot I didn't get to smoke this morning. Why can't we all be like Amsterdam?

I should see about getting a ticket for "Noises Off" Wednesday afternoon. I decided it was more important to see a British version of this show than to see museums or something- the museums will always be there- although I do want to go to the Theatre Museum beforehand- and then I want to go to the Half Price Booth and see a show Wednesday night!

This cider I'm drinking tastes like weak piss (Strongbow in a bottle)- maybe I'll get a cocktail next- or maybe I'll walk around a little and try to find a better pub... It is nice to see Pimm's prominantly displayed at a bar... Not really looking forward to seeing Bill & George tomorrow- am looking forward to see what tomorrow will be like (who shows up, etc).

It's only a little after 10:00- not ready for bed yet- really hope my cold clears up- need to get some non-drowsy cold formula! I got some today but it's the drowsy formula- so I'll take that tonight and look for non-drowsy tomorrow.

I love Europe! So efficient, such interesting people, so much to do, so easy to get around, the trains are quick and quiet and cheap...

I can't believe the Royal Lancaster got 4 stars in the Michilan guide.

Whoa- "Written in the Stars" from the Elton John "Aida" concept album is playing here at the bar- it's not Heather Headley and Adam Pascal but still... I've had this one in my head for the past 3 days! This version sucks though.

Okay, there wasn't anything exactly near the hotel (I didn't look too hard though), so I just wound up at the hotel lounge/bar for a glass of port- maybe now I'll be able to fall alseep more quickly. Port is cheap in Europe.

I'm optomistic about Joel- I'm sure he'll ask me more about my travels- I also mentioned something about Berkeley since he wrote that that's where he was during the final- I'm sure that will spark his interest and his need to reply. I'm feeling really positive about us getting together for a drink or something- then I'll probably find out that he's gay- I should have asked him about some gay establishment in Berkeley to see what he would have said about that- maybe I'll do that in the next email.

Neil didn't know what freedom flags were, so I enlightened him. I saw more freedom flags in Amstersam (not the Hage, even) than I've ever seen in my life.

Feeling pleasantly tipsy and mellow- this is good- hopefully I'll be able to fall asleep not much later than an hour after I life down. When I get home, I'm going to learn the grammatical differences between lie, lay, and laid!

And maybe the drowsy cold formula will help with the sleep as well...

I'm going to want pot when I get home- who can help me? Maybe George will know someone. Anyone reading this have any ideas?

I really want to write some more but the only subject on my mind is Joel- and I can't write any more on that subject- except that I think he's really adorable- but how often have I mentioned that? TOO often!

This couch is really comfy right now.

Okay, I'm ready to finish my port and get into the tiny, lumpy bed. The bed at the Hotel de l'Europe was AWESOME!! The comforter was wonderful! I don't expect that kind of comfort, but something than an itchy blanket would be nice... Oh well, I plan on spending very little time in the room here...

Have "Masachism Tango" is my head right now.

Good night.

Dinner at Tammarind with Paula, Harvey, Neil, Maxine, and Abby. Great dinner (not spicy enough though) and enjoyed the Kir Royals there.

Found the karaoke place- it's almost 10:00 and the place is dead. I'm not singing unless more people show up and/or I can join a group of people- there are some songs I can do though- too bad I still havr a cold.

I think Abby will like showtunes- I sang some and she had a huge smile and wiggled her feet- I can't wait to take her to a show- maybe "Beauty and the Beast"?

I love seeing Level 42 and Marillion on a karaoke list along with Brittany Spears and Alanis Morisette- actually, they have a very big list- wish someone was here with me- I'm just not prepared to sing unless I'm with someone or I join a group of people- you have to stand on the stage... and they take your picture at some point and show it on the screen after you're finished.

This orange Bacardi Breezer is very refreshing.

I'd love to hear someone do Laurie Anderson's, "Oh Superman"- that's gotta be tough!

There's a cute woman in a red tank top and black skirt dancing. She looks like someone who would be fun to hang out with.

Met two English guys who have sat down at my table now...

For Neil: You mentioned wanting me to censor what you read in this journal so I will do that now. I don't think you'll want to read the next paragraph.
James and I made out at the bar and then had sex in an alley- what the hell? Perfect gentleman- bought all my drinks, took me back to the hotel in a taxi and paid for that as well. I definitely had a few drinks last night- don't know exactly how many though. They kept buying me Bacardi Breezers and then someone bought cinnamon shots for all of us so I couldn't refuse that... James and I did talk for a while before fooling around- he's intelligent, has good taste in music, and was fairly attractive (more so than the others). I never did sing though- I wanted to but never got around to it. James gave me his number and I was half thinking of calling tonight, but I want to leave it as a one night stand thing. I really did enjoy hooking up with a Brit though- what a turn on listening to that accent!

Today- lot viewing- slightly busier but still boring- I hate sitting around doing nothing. I hate George too! Neil has a cold now. Sorry Neil, I'm assuming he got it from me.

Got a ticket for "Mama Mia" at half price booth- now am at a pub for a bite to eat before the show. It doesn't sound like my seat is that great but hopefully for this show it won't matter.

Drinking another orange Bacardi Breezer now.

Tomorrow's plan- theatre museum in the morning, "Noises Off" in the afternoon, pub with Harvey in evening, and perhaps a movie or comedy club at night.

My cold went away last night and this morning but came back this afternoon and I don't feel so hot now- I'll probably go back to the hotel after the show tonight. Perhaps I'll try the hotel bar again so I can fall asleep without tossing and turning for hours waking everyone up.

I don't really like this pub- unfriendly, bad music, nachos are gross... Hope I can find the theatre, I'm kinda turned around right now- and my feet are killing me- I hate these boots- I can wear my sandals tomorrow but it's supposed to rain all day- figures.

OH!! I'm pissed- James told me he could get me in to the BBC radio show featuring some great comedian, but it's on Thursday night and I leave Thursday night- that would have been incredible! I don't know what I'll do Thursday- hopefully hang out with Neil- of course it's election day here so many things will be closed, I guess. And Neil and I were hoping to go to Parliament. Oh well.

The bartender/waitress here is really unfriendly and pissy.

Can't wait to see if Joel wrote back- maybe I'll check my mail tomorrow night before or after meeting Harvey at his hotel.

It would have been really nice to see the London nightlife with George since he's great at finding fun and interesting places, but no chance in hell of that- he's really been an asshole (as Neil calls him) this trip. He didn't say hello to Maxine or Abby yesterday morning, he didn't say good morning to Neil and me this morning... in fact, except for 1 or 2 comments this afternoon, he hasn't said anything to me the entire time. Whatsupwiththat?

My feet are killing me but I think I'm going to find another pub- this place is bothering me. Place called Hogshead or something like that.

Now I'm at the Cambridge Pub- much better atmosphere, better bartenders- I was going to get a Blackthorn cider but decided to go with the trusty Bacardi Breezer. Don't know why.

Just found a perfect drinking establishment right next to the theatre! Lab! Experimental drinks, ambiant music, awesome lounge-like trendy laid back atmosphere- the Soho Bulldog is a terrific beverage- Absolut, Belgian White Chocolate liqueur, kahlua, cream, and coke- topped with 2 cherries! Sweet and bubbley- YUM! My perfect girly drink. Someone just shut off the electricity by mistake- that was an interesting moment. Fresh fruit for the fruit drinks- blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. Okay, time to go to the theatre...

Seat in the last few rows of the orchestra- last seat on the aisle away from the centre- not great but not bad- for 50p I can use the binoculars- I paid �2.50 for the programme- didn't realise they cost money- that's certainly different but worth it, I think. It looks like my seat for "Noises Off" will be great!

Sitting in front of 2 American couples (not traveling together)- both booked their tickets 2-3 months in advance- and I got a cheaper and sort of better seat the day of the show! I like that shows start here at 7:30- I don't care about eating dinner before a show and it gives you more time after a show for fun or whatever. Theatre comfortable- wider seats, more leg room- this theatre (Price Edward) was renovated in '93. Just had the thought that I would have prefered "Beautiful Game" or "Witches of Eastwick" since they would have music I've never heard- but this could be fun too because I know the music. Oh, this will be fun- thank you for the music, ABBA!

My thoughts on "Mama Mia":
- weak story
- weak voices
- Sophie- sweet and innocent- she did a good job
- cute number with Tanya and Pepper
- Pepper- good dancing
- two ensemble members- good dancers
- some minor, funny moments
- choreography- predictable
- lighting too dark most of the time
- set too sparce
- would work better as a movie
- curtain call- enough energy from audience and music to leave with an upbeat mood
- good scene between mom and daughter day of the wedding when mom helps the daughter get dressed
- Looking forward to "Noises Off" now- almost anything will be better than "Mama Mia".

Walked around a little- Lab was too packed, couldn't find a seat- too loud also

Now at hotel lounge- a group of Brits sitting around drinking, laughing, and having an interesting conversation of personality traits and their views of each other- discussing introverted, extroverted, shy, confident, outgoing, quiet, how they act differently depending on who is with them at the time...

Almost ready for bed- this cold isn't going away- I'm not doing a good job of making it go away- I will take some medicine before bed.

Short hair with highlights seems to be the look in London- New York seems to be long, curly hair- although it's harder to tell there.

These 4 women and the guy work in a department store- oh... they're leaving- no more interesting conversation to listen to- I guess I'll finish my Kir Royale and head to bed myself.

George just sat down across the room (at least I think it's him, it's kind of hard to see that far)- should I ignore him or go over?

Today I'm still feeling sick and the coughing phase is almost in full force- that should be splendid during "Noises Off".

Went to the Theatre Museum- it was okay, but not as interesting as I thought it would be. Learned that a Box Office got its name because originally the only tickets that could be booked in advance were the box seats, and you picked up those tickets at the Box Office.

Then the Transport Museum was nearby so I went there for a little bit as well.

Now I'm at Paul's- a cute, yummy French cafe. In a few minutes I will head over to Picadilly Theatre to laugh and cough my head off.

Sitting at an Irish Pub having another stupid Orange Bacardi Breezer- I feel it's better than Cider since it has orange juice in it- good for the cold, right? Stupid, I know. It feels good to sit down. I'm wearing my sandals today but I've been on my feet (except for a 20 minute lunch) for 4 hours.

It only rained for a few minutes today- by the time it started coming down hard enough to break out the umbrella, it stopped abruptly. So my feet are still dry. I hope Neil and Maxine and Abby made it to Bath today. And I hope they make it back in time and want to have dinner with me, Paula, and Harvey- wherever than may be. Paula and Harvey wanted to be boring and go to Tamarind again. I know England is not know for great food, but surely they can find a different place that's suitable. I wouldn't mind some super-spicy Thai food- clear the sinuses! Okay, I'm not drinking my drink fast enough- the show starts in 40 minutes and I want to read the programme first. Fortunately, the theatre is right next door.

I really love London! It's like New York except not as many good restaurants and the people are polite. There is just so much to do here! I'll just have to come back- hopefully I can find an inexpensive place to stay that's slightly nicer than the Royal Lancaster. Maybe I can actually find a way to take classes here next summer. Of course then I'll be in a dorm... I guess I could deal with that for 6 weeks. Then I can spend a week in Germany after. Sounds like a good summer to me- but what about working? Can I go that here somehow? Hmm- I think that could ruin my lovely plans. Oh well, there's time to go over the details later.

I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow- I'd like to walk around for a while- through Hyde Park, over to Notting Hill, around Chelsea maybe... Oh- an idea- after the show, I'll go to easyEverything and check my mail- then walk over to Claridge's to meet Harvey and Paula- what a perfect way to pass some time while waiting for them to return.

It's hard to remember to not talk to people with a British accent- speaking of accents, there was a CD of all kinds of accents for sale at the Theatre Museum- I didn't want ot carry it around with me for the rest of the trip (I know it wouldn't take up that much room) so hopefully I can find it online when I get home- it had accents from all around London, US, and a few other places in Europe.

I forgot to mention- there's a fabulous store on Bond St. that Paula told me about that sells TONS of sheet music- if I wasn't in a rush, I could have stayed there for hours! I'm assuming they have a website so I can get some of the music. Then I'll need to take up piano again. Perhaps Hunter has practise rooms that students can use without being a music major.

I can't believe Bill and George think all Paula likes to do is stay in her hotel room when she's traveling. How ridiculous. I tried to set them straight, saying the only thing she doesn't like is going to smokey bars, but they weren't listening. People think what they want to think. Who cares? Paula doesn't care what they think of her.

I gotta run, so why did I think of 50 things to write now? This pub is playing accoustic Radiohead and other good bands! I like it here!

Okay, now off to the theatre!

WOW! I am in love with my seat! 6th row centre! Now hopefully someone short will be sitting in front of me. Nah- I don't have that kind of luck, do I? Matinees here are like matinees in the States- 90% of the audience is over 65 years old. The show runs 2 hours and 20 minutes- maybe I won't have time to check my email before meeting Paula and Harvey.

Wow- just read in the programme that "Noises Off" text (newly revised) is for sale at the theatre! I think I'll have to buy it! I can handle carrying that around with me.

Neil- don't read the next little paragraph.
I have many bruises and cuts and my legs are sore- from James and my little adventures on the concrete sidewalk/street behind the dumpster.

My ears are still clogged- they popped a little when I was going down an ESCALATOR! How ridiculous!

Then I just went back to the hotel, talked to Neil, Maxine, and Abby for a bit, and then slept on and off until 5:30 AM (when Maxine woke me up talking to Abby).

"Noises Off"- ABSOLUTE PERFECTION!- the rewrites were wonderful- it was fun seeing new stuff (all funny, of course), I got an ice cream during intermission since my throat hurt so much from laughing the entire time! The guy next to me, from Ireland, loved it- talked to two women from New Jersey sitting behind me. The guy who played Gary was amazing- I can't believe he can keep up that level of performance for every show. Towards the end, he started reminding me of Jerry Seinfeld, which was slightly irritating, but not irritating enough to make me not like his performance.

Today- packed, Neil took Maxine and Abby to Paddington Station to catch their train to Heathrow- Neil came back to the hotel and we went over to meet Paula and Harvey at Claridge's. We all went to Chelsea, walked around a little, but coudln't find the interesting part so we left and went our separate ways. Neil and I went to Westminster Abbey but didn't feel like waiting in line to go in- took lots of pictures from the outside. It was a bitch getting around on the Tube today with all the fire alerts (according to the bartender at Lab, where I am now, a fire happened a few years ago and now everyone panics at the slightest chance of a fire). We tried to see if it was at all possible to get on the London Eye (we had serious doubts), and when we got there, saw that they only sold tickets for future days- oh well- it looked like it would have been too long a ride anyway.

We went to Notting Hill (with more Tube problems), and Neil wasn't feeling well so he went back to the hotel. I walked around a while and then headed over to Covant Garden to pick up fridge magnets at the London Transport Museum that I was too cheap to get yesterday. I got a Baker St. one for Josh and a Baker St. and an Arsenal one for me. Then I managed to find my way back to Lab- this awesome "experimental" drinks bar. I'm the only one here. I'm having a strawberry champagne drink with a delicious fresh strawberry. Bartender is cutting up all kinds of fresh fruit- watermelon, kiwi, pineapple... Another bartender (or someone who seems to work here) offered me some delicious cherries! Yum!

As much as I would like to stay here longer, it also feels like a good time to head out and over to Hong Kong.

I'm looking forward to warmer weather, a new culture...

Oh, the place is picking up a bit now. The guy I thought worked here, I think, is just a regular customer. He's here with a gorgeous woman. Another couple walked in a minute ago. The gorgeous woman is moving in 9 days to Greece for the summer- wow! I'd love to see Greece- "Mama Mia" encouraged that even more the other night.

Now I'm trying to decide what to order next- the same drink, the Soho Bulldog, or someone different and daring? Elderflower Collins? Angels Kiss (a shot of violet liqueur with whipped cream and a chocolate dusting)?

Single guy just sat down next to me...

I think I'll get another Rossini or two and then I'll get the Bulldog. Okay, single guy left to talk to gorgeous woman and cherry-giving man. Okay, now he's back...

I decided on a peach champagne drink instead. I guess that would be a Bellini...

I want to stay here for a while- what else can I write?

Yum- peach drink good- it tastes like that Robert Corr peach soda I used to drink when I was younger- except this has champagne- yum! I like champagne! Feeling happy now- I love London! Can't wait to come back. It's such an easy city to learn- I remember how to get back to places I've been, I recognise everything, it's easy to get around...

Happy, happy, Joy, joy!

Bloomberg on the telly behind me- can't see it from here though- my eyesight is so horrible...

Single guy leaving to get to work...

Petula Clark's "Downtown" is playing now- Cherry-giving guy just turned it up! Even happier now! If I get any happier, I'll burst! The only way I could be happier is if Joel writes back!

Two women just came in... I love British people! I really, really do!

Another single guy joined that gorgeous woman and cherry-giving guy.

Now some cool, old R&B song is on- I love it!

Roxy Music is on tour this summer- I didn't even know they were still around- wish I could go- theyh look really old, especially Bryan Ferry.

This is a great bartender!

Another single guy walked in who knows those other people (single guy, gorgeous woman, and cherry-giving guy)- oh, he works here... and now he left- maybe he doesn't work here- I don't know- who cares? Why am I obsessed with writing these mundane details?

Wish they had a place like this in New York...

Now that one guy who works here (?) is now sitting at the bar.

Hmm... I know it's the alcohol (haven't eaten today), but the bartender is looking attractive now. He isn't bad looking, but the attraction is coming more from his bartending skills- hacking open a pineapple with a HUGE knife, mixing complex drinks, arranging baskets of fruit...

Good ambiant/electronica/R&B song playing now...

Oops- it wasn't two women who came in a little bit ago- it was a man and woman.

Everything is beautiful! Music, atmosphere, bartender, drinks, people, lighting...

Place across the street, Millenium, has a deal- 3 videos for �10! Not bad! Not bad- dance teacher, Lesley Bradley used to use that expression after every excercise she gave us at Sudbrook. Sudbrook- memories of Tracey Chester, Ravital Shalev, Meredith Exler... I used to always know people's last names- I don't now.

Had a dream about Leah Elashvili last night- she was at Matt and Sylvia's asking to borrow a toothbrush for the night- there was a lot more to it, but I don't remember it now- it was a fun dream.

I'm writing in a Disney notebook that Neil and Maxine gave me for Christmas 2 years ago- the purple paper is easier to write on than the yellow- don't know why- good thing, I'll be in the purple section at least for the rest of the trip.

I've written more than I thought I would- I know I won't want to type all this when I get home- maybe I can start in Hong Kong- I'm sure our hotel will have a business centre- or maybe there will be an easyEverything nearby? Doubtful. I don't even know if they have one in Hong Kong. Then maybe another Internet Cafe nearby? Who cares? I'll get it all typed and uploaded eventually- my handwriting is getting so sloppy! I write way too fast- trying to keep up with my brain especially now with the effects of alcohol.

I wish someone could take a picture of me now- I must look like quite a site with my hair pulled back and messy and my face is a mess and my cold doesn't help my tipsy expression... Maybe I'll have Neil take one when I get back to the hotel- I hope he's doing okay. Maybe he can manage to take a little nap in the lobby...

My coughing is not as bad today as it was yesterday- I was sure I'd have it for the next 3 weeks like usual- maybe I got lucky...

This music is on an hour loop- an electronic dance version of "These Boots are Made for Walking" is back on- it was on when I came in. Good- then I'll get to hear "Downtown" again before I leave. I'd rather hear "Don't Sleep in the Subway" actually. Actually, I'd rather just hear some different songs, period. I love to be pleasantly surprised by music- that's why I always keep my music at home on random. Ah- the "Would You Go to Bed with Me" song is back on now...

Now what should I drink? Another Bellini sounds good. Then I'll have two Soho Bulldogs. I haven't spent that much money at all this trip (theatre and pot were all I spent money on), so I can justify spending a little (well, a lot) on alcohol my last day here. I certainly won't drink much in Hong Kong.

Guy who pseudo works here is leaving. He's going bye-bye, as Eytan would say.

There are HUGE flowers in a large vase on the bar- pretty, purple flowers.

Hm. the bartender changed the music- good, new tunes to look forward to... So far, so good- song number one is a funky, European dance music kind of song. Hmm... cute bartender seems to have a wedding band on his finger- oh well- like I'd do anything anyway.

Lab uses Micros for their computerised checks- just like in many places in the States... Okay, time for another Bellini...

Cherry-giving guy seems to want to open up a place in Manhattan (I told him I wished there was a Lab in New York).

Loving, loving life right now!

More electronic music- this is nice but I wouldn't mind a little change- maybe the next song will be nice.

Cute woman behind the bar now...

This place is like someone having an open house during the day.

I'm thinking with a British accent- PLEASE don't let it come out when I speak.

Another couple walked in. Pretty, piano part of electronic music- I do love the piano- I'm thinking seriously of playing again when I get home- or maybe I'll start in August since I won't be home much bbefore then.

Okay, this is the electronic music mix- that's fine, I like it.

Never mind, bartender doesn't have a wedding band- my mistake- okay, flirting time... Wish he didn't have the almost mustache thing going on.

Cute chick behind the bar made herself a cappachino and then sat at the bar to drink it. She's sitting too far away to flirt with- this couple is in the way.

George has never been to Hong Kong- I'm glad- a place he's never been to and therefore can't act like an arrogant know-it-all.

Time to go pee...

Okay, I've written WAY TOO MUCH today- not much else to say right now, but I'll keep the notebook open just in case, plus it gives me something to hold onto, rather than just sit here staring at the bottles on the wall...

Okay, another guy behind the bar making a cappachino...

Oooh- a Vincent VG- dangerous mix of Hills Absinthe, Chambord, and Lemon Juice- wish I felt like doing a shot... I thought absinthe was illegal. Tropical Julip sounds good- fresh mint, watermelon liquer, vanilla sugar, smashed then infused with pineapple vodka! Yum!

Cherry-giving guy got close to me, started singing, and tried to kiss me... Um- no.

I wish I could just taste stuff- Elderflower Cordial, Violet Liquer, Absinthe...

Music is getting on my nerves now.

Okay, time for the Soho Bulldog. Hmmm... a song I recognise- "Back to life, back to reality... However do you want me, however do you need me..." good tune! Happy again! Nothing like letting music dictate my mood!

Single, older gentleman came in now. He knows cherry-giving guy too! Am I the ONLY one here who doesn't know everyone? Yes...

I need to buy some fresh mint and figure out how to make a mint julip. If I get it at a bar and don't like it... I'll feel ridiculous. Cherry-giving guy now behind the bar making drinks.

Still feelin' good- good song still playing, some energy, great atmosphere here, not drunk enough yet though- in fact, not drunk at all.

They have cell phones at Lab instead of land lines- interesting!

Just looked around at the scene- I like it! I love it!

Julips are HUGE- can't get one of them here... Looks great though!

Another couple came in plus a single guy came in- he works here too- how many people work here during the day?

Another single guy came in- sat down with the cute chick who was behind the bar earlier.

The bartender seems to have forgotten about me. He's busy with his friends- I want a Soho Bulldog- can't seem to get his attention... There we go- one Soho Bulldog coming right up. Yum- two real cherries with the drink! I love cherries! Too much cream in this drink, but it's still good. It's very refreshing!

Music annoying me now- the atmosphere has changed. Oh well, I'll just finish this drink, have one more, and then head back to the hotel...

Annoying oldie playing now- "You can get it if you really want..."

I'm really not goin to want to type this- maybe I could just scan in the pages- no, it would take too long to download. I'll just kill my little fingers the Saturday after I get home late Friday night.

I sure can drink like a fish sometimes.

I've been here for 2 1/2 hours- doesn't feel like it. Okay, I'm getting one more Bulldog and the check- time to go check on Neil...

Hm- English Apple Juice- how is that different from American Apple Juice? Oh, who cares? The rate I'm going, I'm going to run out of purple paper soon. Although, I changed my mind, I can't write more smoothly on it than the ugly orange-yellow paper. It's easier on the eyes though.

Oh good, only one straw in my 2nd Bulldog- did he notice I only used one or did he just forget to put two? Again, who cares? This feels like the most boring journal entry ever- writing about nothing for 3 hours...

Yum- this one has more coke- I like the fizz of this drink...

I think I'll take the menu as a souvenir!

Wow- �32.80- ouch! Worth it though!

3 people behind the bar now- cute bartender, a gorgeous blonde chick, and another guy. Hmm... is my charge card not working? Cute bartender left with my card and the phone- I guess for a referral- I paid off my balance before I left and haven't used it yet- it should have been fine- I hate Bank of America! Oh, here we go, okay. Thank goodness- I didn't want to fight with BoA! Maybe I should get rid of the card, take my free domestic flight on US Air, and concentrate on American and the One World Alliance for now. Citibank gives me a higher credit limit, they are a better company, and there are more airlines with One World Alliance than with US Air... Is Air Cananda with US Air? I'm hoping to go to Vancouver one day soon... of course I should have done that when I lived in Phoenix, but I never had the time. Maybe I'll do a NY to Montreal to Vancouver to Montreal to New York flight.

Ah- nice piano music back from the electronica mix- guess it's been another hour.

Cute bartender's name is Jamie- according to the credit card slip...

Dramatic bartender now making drinks. He shook the drink like there's no tomorrow and is now straining it like there's no tomorrow...

Collins drinks are huge too! Should have gotten one of them... Oh well, I need to get going.

Virgin has nice entertainment options, but the seats were the most uncomfortable seats I've ever been in- I couldn't sleep- I slept a few minutes here, a few minutes there. My feet were in the seat pocket since I needed to put them up somehow and I lifted the armrest up and my knee was a few milimetres out in the aisle- a few milimetres was enough... for everyone to hit my knee as they walked by... which they did, literally, every 30 seconds or so. I did enjoy watching the plane move across the map and see how fast we were moving. I watched "Down to Earth", "The Contender" and half of "Miss Congeniality". I tried to watch TV, but the channels weren't functioning. My knee was tingly and numb when I got off the plane- I didn't get up for the entire 13 hour flight. It took an hour to get my knee back to normal. But for that hour, it would have been nice to have a working leg- to walk through the airport, to the train, to the hotel... Luckily it was a very compact airport.

The Furama Hotel is nice- the lobby and other public floors are great and the room is like a cheap Hilton- not bad. The Mandarin Oriental is beautiful- especially the Macau Suite for which Paula and Harvey managed to get a good deal. Neil, Paula, Harvey, and I had dinner at the Mandarin Oriental- they had a special Thai buffet which was very tasty! I even liked the desserts- coconut soup, pumpkin custard, and of course, sticky rice with mangoes. Paula and Harvey got a complimentary bottle of champagne with their suite (sweet!). So I helped them drink some of that. Now I'm back at my hotel, conveniently right down the street from the Mandarin, having a Kir Royale (my new favourite drink).

Tomorrow, I think we're all heading out to Kowloon to go to the markets. Maybe there won't be HEAVY rain the entire day...

Oh, the immigration guy didn't ask us anything- just looked at our passports, stamped them, and sent us on our merry way. I like it like that! I'll probably have the most problems back in the States...

My knee still hurts- damp, humid weather is not good.

Next to the lobby lounge (where I am), there seems to be some sort of bar with LOUD music (I can hear the music blaring when someone opens the door)- right now "I Will Survive" is playing. If I had a little more energy, I would check it out- but I'm in the mood to just sit and relax right now.

I'm loving the 24 hour clock, it's going to be hard going home and going back to stupid US ways- 12 hour clocks, fahrenheit, feet, pounds (as in weight, not currency), etc. Who started that stupid way of measuring things? The metric system just makes much more sense.

I think I'll just have this one drink. It's hard to drink a lot of champagne and I've had way too much to drink recently. It's so odd that I never get drunk- or even tipsy...

They're big on BBQ flavoured things here- BBQ flavoured pretzels on the plane (yuck), BBQ crisps they just gave me with my drink (double yuck- I don't like crisps of any flavour). I do wish I had some more appropriate clothing for Hong Kong- I have 1 tank top, 1 t-shirt, 1 pair of jeans, and 2 pairs of semi-light pants. Oh well.

Oh yeah, the reason they had the Thai buffet at the Mandarin was to Attract locals to stay in the financial district after work hours- it seemed to work- they should do more of that.

Harvey got a call from an EXTREMELY wealthy man wanting a private viewing of the lots! He wants to take Harvey out to dinner for an authentic peking duck- wish I could join them! Hope Harvey makes a good impression.

Music at the next door bar is an interesting variety- The Beatles, Eagle Eye Cherry (I think that's who this is)...

I can't believe I didn't have to use the bathroom after 13 hours on a plane, 3 glasses of water, 3 glasses of champagne, a small orange juice, and a glass of wine- it's 6 hours after the 13 hour flight and I still don't need to go- what's wrong with me?

This is definitely the financial centre- outside the hotel window, I see 3 HUGE buildings- Citibank, Bank of America, and HSBC (I belong to all 3- 2 credit cards and a bank account)! Which reminds me- I need to go to HSBC and get some money tomorrow morning. Then I need to get some film- so far I've taken 3 rolls- one of Amsterdam, 1 1/2 of London, and a few pics from the balcony of Harvey and Paula's room- GORGEOUS view! I'll have to go back during the day to take a few more!

I don't think I'll like most of my pics- I can't see well enough to know what I'm getting. I want to take a few of the view from our room, but I can't get the windows open- the locks are stuck.

Ah, "Voulez-vous Couchez Avec Moi" is playing now. I have a feeling I'll be ready to leave after 2 full free days, and 2 working days- but we have 2 more full free days after the working days (our flight leaves at midnight)- what will we do? I wish there was a day trip somewhere. Maybe there is- we'll have to check into it.

I am happy to be here! It's amazing going from one culture to another!

Wish Joel would reply to my email. Maybe I can check tomorrow evening (which will be his early Saturday morning).

I still have ABBA songs in my head- "Voulez-vous", "Mama Mia", "Name of the Game", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "The Winner Takes it All"... It's almost starting to get on my nerves. "Miss Saigon" is playing here- that could be interesting. I wouldn't want to see a show that I didn't already know the story- so "Miss Saigon" should be good. I also saw something about a comedy show in English- I'll have to look into that- wish I could have seen a comedy show in London- gotta love that British humour (right, Maxine?).

"Don't Cry for Me Argentina" is playing next door now.

Some woman did a nice job of the Miami Mix version of that song at the karaoke place in London. Still wish I sang there... Next time!

The only vehicles driving by are taxis and buses. I want to see what kinds of cars people drive here- haven't seen any yet.

Ugh- "Memory" is playing now- I think I'll need to peek my head in just to see what's going on in there.

I'm NOT looking forward to the flight back to London- those seats were SO UNCOMFORTABLE! And I'm going to want to sleep with the flight leaving at midnight...

Before bed, I checked my email- no email from Joel :(

Today Harvey went to lunch with his client (which lasted as an all day event with visits to more food establishments, a little tour of the city, and visits to 2 country clubs)- sounds like an exciting day!

Paula, Neil, and I took the ferry to Kowloon. It poured all day until about 3:00. We tried to go to the History Museum. We got there and it said admission was free. Went in and read a little about modern Hong Kong. Then went to where the exhibit was- no one was there- we walked around for a few minutes before realising that this was an exhibit on what the exhibit was going to be like when it opened later this summer. Then we came upon a film. We sat down and watched it for a few minutes (all in Chinese), before realising that this was a film on the exhibit of what the exhibit would be like when it opened later this summer. That was all that was in the museum. No wonder it was free. Oh well- at least we were amused- we were cracking up when we left.

The Science Museum was next door. I wanted to go but Neil didn't. So Paula and I went while Neil stayed in the lobby. It was okay- lots of "hands on" type things. Paula, I think, had more fun than I did! I'd never seen her play before- it was nice to see her trying to figure things out and laugh... We just bopped from one thing to another to try to get out quickly so Neil didn't have to be bored for too long. We stayed about 45 minutes, I think.

Then we went over to Nathan St. which was supposed to be a shopping area. The cab driver didn't understand where we wanted to go, so he made Paula talk to the dispatcher. We were on Nathan St. but not at the right part. It was pretty grungy and unexciting according to Neil and Paula. I don't like shopping, so I didn't know it wasn't what they were looking for.

Then we stopped by the Peninsula Hotel for tea (although none of us had tea- I had an iced cappachino, Neil- an iced chocolate drink, and Paula- a fruit shake).

As we were walking back to the ferry, we stumbled upon the Arts Centre! I went in to buy "Miss Saigon" tickets for Neil and I for Tuesday night! Can't wait! As we were doing that, Paula watched a little modern dance concert in the lobby- that was neat! Then we took the ferry back to the Mandarin Oriental to wait for Harvey.

Tonight we're going across the street to the Alexander House to the Peking Garden restaurant (where Harvey had lunch). Harvey saif the Peking Duck was good but not fantastic. I'm sure it'll be fine for me, I'm not as picky. Tomorrow we'll do Dim Sum and then go to Macau.

All the cell phones I've heard here ring a normal ring- none of those tunes than annoy me- I like that.

I hope our seats for "Miss Saigon" are okay- they're in the orchestra (or do they call them stalls here? Yeah, they probably do, being a former British territory and all.) on the side in about the 15th row. I liked that better than the 25th row in the centre. Ten rows makes a difference to me. I was singing "Miss Saigon" songs walking back to the ferry! I'm hoping it'll be better than the touring production I saw in Arizona (Tempe). At least I hope the audience is (but I doubt it- they'll probably applaud more for the helicopter than the actors). Oh, and the performance will be in English so Neil will be happy- I will too- I don't like Asian languagestoo harsh, not pretty. Although so is German and I like that.

Back at the Furama- the Chinese pop band is back at the bar next to the lounge- playing "Voulez-vous Couchez Avec Moi".

Neil and I are going to check out tomorrow and go stay at the Mandarin Oriental- just because- we can get the same rate, I think.

Macau might be more difficult than we though- you're supposed to get ferry tickets on the weekend well in advance- you need round trip tickets for the exact times in advance- oh well, we'll figure it out tomorrow.

Not sure what to do now- I'm not tired, so I just ordered a drink in the lobby- don't really want to stay here that long but don't know what else to do.

Victoria Peak, which Neil and I were both interested in seeing (more Neil though, I think), isn't worth going up since it's too cloudy to see anything- even if it does stop raining.

Okay, this band doesn't know too many songs- now it's doing The Beatles "Love Me Do"- they did this one last night as well.

When they give you the check here, they stand behind you while you sign it rather than walk away and then come back later. Is that what they consider good service or are they not trusting?

Dinner tonight was nice- the food before the duck was... interesting (sea blubber was the first item on the menu- didn't order that, did order the Shark Fin Soup which I didn't like)- the duck was good- the service was a little much for me- they don't want to clear the dishes unless you finished every last bite- I could barely eat one or two bites of some of it.

I can see the band next door- they're funny to watch- or at least the female singer is- she's all I can see.

I wish I had the body of Chinese women- I think they're so beautiful!

They're doing a Beatles theme- "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and now "She Loves You". I don't like the older Beatles songs- Rubber Soul, Revolver and forward is what does it for me.

Oh, most of the cars I've seen are Hondas and Toyotas- makes sense.

I really thought more people would be walking around. When I've seen pictures or videos of Hong Kong, there have been TONS of people- they look like Times Square when the theatres let out. Even when it's not raining, it hasn't been crowded at all. Harvey went all over the city today with his client and he said he only saw one crowded area and it was a slum. The population here is 7 million. Where are all the people?

So far I've written 102 pages in this little notebook- I wonder how long it will take to type? Ugh- I don't want to think about that.

Really don't have anything to say right now- and of course I had to write that down so I'll have more to type- and of course I had to write that down...

Just heard a cell phone ring with a tune...

Tonight they gave me a choice of snacks with my drink- BBQ crisps, BBQ corn chips, and strange tasting peanuts- had to try them- don't like any.

Scotch and Tequilla are cheaper here than wine and aperitifs- wonder why.

took a few pictures today- doubt they came out well- I'm really getting irritated with my picture taking skills recently. I used to take such good pictures- what happened? I miss my 110 camera- but I still took some good ones with my 35mm- I'd still move to get a nice telephoto lens and take cool black and white people pictures.

I just decided that if I don't hear back from Joel by the time I get home, I'm going to give up. Perhaps he just wrote back the one time to be nice and he's not interested in continuing conversation. That would be sad. Of course, I also don't really know him- it may turn out that I don't like him. But I want that chance to find out- not wonder "what if".

I'm getting hot drinking this decaf coffee with Baileys.

Just saw the guy singer- he's wearing black shades- guess that's supposed to be cool. He holds the mic and the girl leaves hers on the stand and sings into it. They're on a sappy oldies kick now. Don't know the last 2 songs they played. The woman has a permanent wide-eyed expression.

I'm not coughing much anymore, but I'm still stuffy and my throat hurts a little tonight- maybe it's the weather.

Okay, another sappy song- guess they're doing their slow, romantic set. Uh, how shmaltzy- "La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, I love you."

There's a man standing in the corner who keeps looking around the room and writing things down on a piece of paper- he works here- ah, he went away.

Black shades guy is now playing an electric guitar- it's another sappy number. Oh, it's "Ma Vie En Rose"- the woman is now holding her mic and standing closer downstage. She doesn't have a bad voice- not good enough to play better places though. Strong voice, she has. Okay, they just turned this song into a "wedding reception" version. And now it's a swing-rock version- I like it like that, actually.

Two interesting cultural things Harvey told me-
- When drinking- every time you take a sip, you lift your glass and say "Cheers" before drinking (although that could be just this man's British thing)
- When giving someone a business card- you present it to the person with both hands and bow slightly.

Now they're doing "Leaving on a Jet Plane"- this song has always upset me- ever since my mother sang it to me when I was a child. Even this crappy, pop-ish version is choking me up. WHY?!?

I had "Corner of the Sky" from "Pippin" in my head earlier tonight.

Oh boy, now they're doing "New York, New York"- I really think that only Sinatra could do this song justice.

Cute- she did "queen of the hill" instead of "king". Hmmm... getting a little homesick now.

Last night's dream (the little I remember)- in my old Loch Raven Village apartment, waiting for Brie's dad to show up- it turned out he was in an empty apartment next door, he just broke it- remembered how easy it was to break into those apartments and thought if I ever needed time alone, I should have broken into an empty apartment for a night- then I found Brie's pot in a drawer and smoked some- then I ran into my History teacher from Scottsdale and he was talking about just coming home from Hong Kong- I told him to tell me all about it since I was going in 2 weeks- then I woke up.

When I layed down last night, I got ready to start my nightly lie-in-bed-and-think-about-tihngs routine and realised after a minute that I was really out of it and thinking about strange things in a strange order that I wasn't consciously thinking about. Then I realised that I had caught myself falling asleep. It was a really odd feeling- I'm not used to falling asleep that quickly. I was tired- didn't sleep much on the plane and had a full night after we arrived.

Okay, it's almost 12:30 and I'm still not tired. Don't know what else to do though. If I had the room to myself, I would go read. Don't know what I'd read though- all I have is "Noises Off" and that wouldn't help me get tired. I could read the books in the room on Hong Kong... Oh well, I'll just go lie in bed and try to fall asleep...

I decided to write in the bathroom for a little bit. Reminds me of the time I wrote for 3 hours in the bathroom in Vegas when I was staying there with Neil and Maxine in '98. That was a fun trip- winning money with my royal flush on video poker. I've never gotten a royal flush in my life till then and haven't gotten one since- wish I had put 5 quarters instead of 3- would have won $1500 instead of $400 (or whatever it was)- then the next morning I won a little more from video poker.

Oh yeah, it was slightly annoying flying during my time of the month- fortunately it only lasted 3 days- maybe my body was confused about the times? Or arrived in Hong Kong and knew it was the next day?

This bathroom is A LOT smaller than the one at the Luxor in Vegas. Maybe the bathroom at the Mandarin will be a little bigger- but hopefully I won't need to use it as a place to write for a while. Okay, this is getting cramped- time to try to fall asleep- hope I don't wake Neil up from tossing and turning trying to find a comfortable position...

Realised this morning, while taking a shower, that they didn't put "Fernando" into "Mama Mia". They could have- just make one of the 3 guys named Fernando and she could have sang about him in a flashback or something- oh well.

We're not going to Macau today- Paula and Harvey don't want an all day event since that will make them worn out for their EXTREMELY important dinner tonight with two super-important collectors and the biggest Asian dealer (or something like that).

The purple paper is really easy to write on, on the front and not on the back. Yellow paper- not easy on either side.

So now we're waiting to see what we're doing today. Paula and Harvey have been thinking all morning and haven't come up with anything yet. Maybe Neil and I can go to Macau on Wednesday.

Today was a day for almosts. I almost enjoyed the Dim Sum- until I found a clump of hair in my pork bun. We almost went to a Temple- we took he ferry to Kowloon, where we thought the Temple was, but it turned out that the Temple was in Central, not Kowloon. Harvey and I almost went to the Space Museum- until we couldn't find where to purchase admission tickets and then when we did, the line was too long for us to see the museum and get out in time to meet Neil and Paula. I almost got an occular migraine- well, I got a mini one that fortunately didn't last too long. I almost went to the Teaware Museum- but that was when the occular migraine hit so Harvey, Paula and Neil went and I sat outside on a bench.

What we did do- we walked around a lot and got to experience Hong Kong culture. There is a large Philappene population here- they've come here looking for work since the pay is better. Every Sunday, they have a "picnic"- they gather in the Central area and bring food- they gather in large groups, eat, play games, trade goods, and there's a band playing on the street outside the Mandarin Oriental. It's very crowded! We also saw a few wedding activities- picture taking in Kong Kong Park, dancing and singing in the streets...

Now I'm back at the hotel (we checked out of the Furama and into the Mandarin(, drinking a glass of wine at the bar. The snacks with the drink are- peanuts, pistashio nuts, and pretzels (much better than the BBQ stuff at the Furama).

Tonight I'm going to take it easy. I don't want to eat out so soon after the hair incident- Neil and I will eat at the hotel while Paula and Harvey are wining and dining with the bigwigs. Then Neil wants to swim and I thought I'd watch a movie or two in the room and read "Noises Off".

Tomorrow is work. It will be interesting to see how viewing works here- especially if a lot of people show up- all the lots are only in 3 books- guess there will be a lot of waiting... The main thing for us is making sure there's no switching going on- we've heard the Chinese are known to do that regularly.

I've only had a few sips of wine and it's already relaxing me- I was tired to begin with, very little sleep last night, walking all over in the hot and humid weather (at least it didn't rain for very long this morning- and the sun actually peaked out for a few minutes this afternoon before going back into hiding).

There is a Hong Kong Museum of Costal Defence that sounds interesting, but if I don't get to go, that's fine too. But Thursday would probably be a good day for that. Neil wants to go to the Biggest Mall in the World- I could do that for a short amount of time- if he wants to stay longer, then I could go to the museum. I'd like to know more about China's actions during WWII- you never hear about that (or at least I don't). I just know they were defending themselves against the Japanese. The music at this bar is horrible elevator musak- I'm trying to ignore it, but it's hard. There's a Japanese (I think they're Japanese, anyway) couple making out at the table in front of me. They've been here at least 10 minutes and haven't touched their drinks. Now the music is more of a porn them- lovely...

How did the human race evolve in the various parts of the world? Asians with their dark, straight hair, dark skin, and thin bodies, Africans with their dark skin and kinky hair, Western Europeans with their fair skin... Could I find that answer somewhere or is there no answer that people have discovered?

Tonight I think I will also use the Web TV in the room and respond to some emails. There are at least 15 that I could/should reply to, although it's not a necessity.

Okay, this one wine did it for me- time to head back to the room and relax...

Oh look, after 25 minutes, the couple making out came up for air, took a sip of their drinks, and went back to making out.

I am so attracted to thin, tiny women.

I can't leave a journal entry like that, so just in case I don't write any more tonight, I'll write this- they're back with the elevator musak.

Back at the hotel bar now listening to an American woman singing the "blues"- she's not great.

Had dinner with Neil at the cafe here at the Mandarin. One song they played there (instrumental) was ALW's "Take that Look Off Your Face"- thought that was a pretty obscure selection for a hotel.

After dinner, we watched "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"- great choreography and effects, amazing cinematography, weak plot- they could have added to and tightened up the plot and it would have been a masterpiece.

This bar is busy- American businessmen and Chinese (businessmen?)- it's much more quiet than a bar in the States with this many people. The place must absorb sound- the music isn't that loud either and I'm sitting right next to the band. The band is like a bad wedding reception band.

Again, I'm not tired but don't want to sit here for more than 1 drink. I hope I can fall asleep more quickly than last night- have to get up at 7:00 and have breakfast with Neil, Paula, and Harvey. Can't wait to hear about their dinner.

This woman can carry a tune- that's it- no rhythm, no style and she doesn't know the songs that well.

Hong Kong has 11 million tourists every yeat- what do they do here besides shop? I decided that I'm not going to try too hard to go to that defence museum- the museums here are pretty crappy. That one could be the one great one, but I don't want to make the effort to find out. Wish I could go back to London for a couple days.

I'm impressed that I've managed to keep up this journal for the entire time- didn't think I would. Hope I can do it on my vacation later this summer. THat will probably be more difficult- I'll be busier and have less alone time to write.

Written 128 pages in this little notebook now.

I'm going to be home in 5 nights- I am looking forward to being home, but I'm more looking forward to after the auction. Sure I'll be home in 5 days, but in 6 days, Brian and Rebecca will be coming up and will be there for days 7, 8, 9, and 10. Day 9, Eytan will be comin up. Day 11, 12, 13, and 14 will be the auction. Day 15, Paula and Harvey will be here for a night. Day 16 I will have the apartment to myself and I will do as little as possible for a day or two. Then I will be rested and happy.

Oh, I checked my email in the room with Web TV, but it was too annoying to reply- the keyboard doesn't respond to my fast typing and I don't have the patience to type slower. Didn't hear from Joel- didn't think I would.

I was thining of taking something else instead of the History of Japan. I think I'll have too much trouble learning and pronouncing and memorising all the names of people and places. Trying to remember names of things around Hong Kong has made me think about that. Don't know what I'll take instead though- maybe there will be another Pluralism and Diversity requirement available- I don't think there is though- otherwise I would have had more trouble making a decision of what to take in the first place. I'll look and figure things out when I get home. Oh, I think I remember that Sociology 101 is available- I could try that- not a fabulous selection but I think it does count as a Pluralism and Diversity requirement. Then I'm going to have a zillion projects to do for it. Still, that could be better than memorising oodles of Japanese names...

The band's starting back up after a little break- I don't know which I like better, the bad band or the background musak which has been on during the break.

I decided to get one more drink. It's 11:30 and they're about to close- it is Sunday. okay, hope I'll be ready for bed soon.

Whoops- kept thinking it was the 9th all day- it's the 10th- happy birthday, Andy.

Oh, got an email from Josh! He got us Tull tickets for Pier Six in B'more! 7th row! Cool! Can't wait! He's going to get sick of driving up 81 North- Yes at Wolftrap on the 24th, Tull at Pier Six on the 31st... I wish there was a way to skip the first week of classes so I can do more important things without school getting in the way. I'll have to be in DC until the 25th, then go to classes on the 27th and 29th, and then head down to B'more for 3 days. I wanted to go to the APS show in Chicago the weekend of the 25th, but I can't with having to be in class Monday night and the Yes show Friday night... Oh well, they don't really need me anyway. Maybe next year. I've done enough traveling this year anyway.

And it's a while off, but I'd like to go to Phoenix for a few days in January even though that means doing the annoying US Air flight to Phoenix. Maybe I'll have enough miles by then for a free 1st class ticket- or at least pay for coach and then upgrade with miles to 1st class- that might make it slightly more tolerable. I have time to think about that...

Time to try the sleeping thing now...

Lot viewing- okay- a decent amount of people showed up and they were all serious.

Neil and I went back to Peking Garden for dinner tonight. Still love Peking Duck! Still didn't try the sea blubber.

Now I'm at the hotel bar. Another band here tonight- Korean (?) woman with a strong voice- pleased with herself but she has to look at the songbook for the lyrics. Only heard one song so far, but I like them much better than last night.

Wednesday, we're probably going to Macau- Neil wanted to go to Mainland China but it takes a while to get a VISA and it would take too long to get anywhere interesting anyway.

Ah, now they're doing a show, American pop song- they love this stuff here. I don't mind it as much as I would at home for some reason.

George just joined me so I will stop writing for now.

We drank until 2:00, I was still a little drunk when I fell asleep around 3:00 or 4:00, and I woke up slightly drunk- took a little while to become human.

Lot viewing- busier than yesterday- the people here have MONEY!!! Musak was playing during viewing- lots of ALW- "I Don't Know How to Love Him", "Another Suitcase, Another Hall", "Take that Look Off Your Face" (again), "Tell Me on a Sunday", "Any Dream Will Do"... and other showtunes- "Bring Him Home", "As Long as He Needs Me"... that was halfway entertaining. The excitement of the day was revising and typing a letter for Harvey- it gave me something to do.

Had a quick dinner at the cafe here in the hotel and then took the ferry to Kowloon to see "Miss Saigon".

It was a touring production. First Act- fair, 2nd Act- better. Programmes too expensive- 12USD! Didn't get one, although I did think about it for a little while. Guy who played Chris was horrible- flat voice, no emotion, bad actor, ugly... although the scene where he tells Ellen about his Vietnam days was completely moving- it was like he saved up all his emotion and energy for that one scene. Kim was perfect- completely innocent without being sickeningly sweet, and she was STRONG! That's a well written character! A lot of the music and lyrics were different from the last time I saw it 2 years ago- most I didn't care about one way or the other, but I really missed the bit at the end when Kim sings to her son- "Eagles know when to fly when it's time, there's no reason to mourn"... All in all- glad I got to see it!

Now I'm at the hotel bar- band just played "Freak Out"- that amused me.

Paula got a stomach virus today- they're on a place to London now- hope it clears up soon! She's really run down- maybe she can take a little time off after the auction or at least take it easy for a little while. Although she has to go to New Orleans in July... and I'm sure there will be other trips in the near future...

Tomorrow I'm going to Macau with Neil and George- should be fun (except for George showing off his "fluen" Portugese)!

Don't feel like writing anymore now. Oh, one more thing- checked my email and none from Joel- almost have lost hope but not quite...

Okay, the non-writing period lasted a few minutes and then I got bored. People watching isn't too exciting here and the band is playing "Easy Like Sunday Morning"- ick.

Two slightly attractive guys in the corner, but they seem involved in their conversation and I don't feel like making an effort to go over there.

George and I discussed the service here vs. service in the States- here they anticipate your every move- you go to the bathroom- they refold the toilet paper, you go in your room for a minute, leave with the lights on, and come back 15 minutes later- the lights are turned off, the dirty clothes left on the floor suddenly are folded on the chair, the junk you grabbed out of your pockets and dumped on the desk are in a neat pile with the coins piled up in denominational order... The bathroom attendents reminded me of the Saturday Night Live sketch with Kevin Neelan- where he went to the bathroom, got offered a newspaper from the attendent who is in there with him, spraying air freshener and getting the toilet paper ready...

Ah, the band is taking a break and the musak kicked in...

Anyway, back to the service here- it's like the room is bugged and under surveillance- they know what you do in the room and when you leave so they can have it tip top shape when you return- even if it is 15 minutes later.

Almost out of purple paper and then it switches back to the yellow.

Sun chips instead of pretzels in the snacks tin tonight- I don't care, I'm hungry, I'll eat them. I didn't eat much lunch or dinner today.

Super-humid today- my silk pants are still sticking to me and I'm in the A/C.

After the service here, the Four Seasons service will seem shabby and they have the best service in the States. Oh, another thing sort of related to service here- most of the people working at the hotel speak and understand English fairly well but not perfectly at all... supposedly... I was sitting at lunch with Neil and Paula, and I whispered to Neil about what he was drinking, he asked me to repeat since I guess he didn't hear me that well, but before I could, the server told me what he was drinking. Either they have the tables bugged with a translator so they can hear every word or they have great hearing and understand English much better than you think they do.

It's going to be hard being in London Friday and only see 2 airports and a coach- I'll want to get off the coach in the city and trek around a while. I'll have to go back next summer, even if it's only for a few days rather than taking classes for 6 weeks. Maybe I could do 3 days in London, 5 in Germany, and 4 in Amsterdam... Ah, that's a long way off- first I get to go to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco...

George seems to want to tell me all about Morocco- only problem is that he was there 25 years ago when it was very different. Actually, he mostly talks about things that happened 25-30 years ago. He's only 44 but he talks like he's 60. Guess the best time of his life ended when he was 19, or he wants to show how much he's been around and show off that he lived in London during the cool years (early-mid 70's).

What else, what else...

Two attractive guys left... It's not even midnight and the bar is emptying out. I don't want to sit here that long either, but once again, I'm not tired.

George brought "London" by Edward Rutherfurd to read. I want to borrow it when he's done. I borrowed "Sarum" from him last year and love it!

Neil's being a good sport about George going to Macau with us, considering he hates him. When George asked me tongiht if Neil was going and I said yes, he said, "Good," so maybe George will make a small effort to be friendly and talk to him. I hope so- it will be uncomfortable if I have to make all the effort in conversation- talking to Neil, trying to talk to George, trying to see if I can get all 3 of us in a conversation. I'm not going to try too hard though- it's not my responsibility and I just want to enjoy the new culture and sights.

The band is back and playing another drippy song.

Back to the service- the servers here walk by and look at you, hoping you will need them- in the States they walk as far away as possible, hoping you won't try to get their attention.

Another woman here alone now- she looks French. George told me last night that I look Slavik- haven't heard that one before- I've heard Italian, French, purely American (whatever that means)...

Ooo- the band's getting slightly upbeat- break out the dancing shoes... "Cococabana"!

Glad the guy playing Chris tonight was ugly- don't feel like being attracted to another actor tonight and being miserable (too strong a word but can't come up with another one right now) that I don't have anyone.

I should try to remember to suggest to George that he should try to stay up as late as possible tomorrow night, so that when he wakes up Thursday, he'll be tired and able to sleep on his noon non-stop flight home. Wish I had a non-stop flight home. No- I get to go from Hong Kong to Heathrow to Gatwick by coach to Phili to La Guardia by tiny express flight- maybe I'll be so exhausted by the express flight, I'll be too tired to get airsick. Wish I could stop thinking about those horrible travel arrangements- it's only 29 or so hours- then it'll be over... but they will be a highly uncomfortable 29 or so hours...

The woman next to me has a gorgeous body- wish I was thinner. It's so hard to keep a work-out routine and healthy diet when you're traveling or having auctions all the time... I'll just have to try harder- although it seems like the harder I try, the worse I look. Hey, I have a jacket that fits perfectly and it's a size 2! I'm sure it's cut big (does Ann Taylor cut their clothes big?), but it's till fun to see something that's a size 2 in my closet. Got lucky on that jacket- it was the $10 Housing Works purchase that I made last month.

Okay, one more drink and then time to try for sleep- I should remember to take out my contacts tonight but I'll probably be too lazy to bother- should have taken them out before coming to the bar and done the glasses thing. I'll try to remember to do that tomorrow night.

Ugh- back with the drippy music- even more reason to down this last drink and get out of here. Last night George and I had a few drinks at the downstairs bar and then went upstairs to Vong's- the swankier bar- to end the night. It's more comfortable to be alone down here- that's why I came here tonight- George seemed too tired to join me.

Where is my drink? I've been waiting 5 minutes- which is a lifetime of waiting here- guess they had to brew some more decaf for me...

I keep noticing more and more mosquito bites- they're getting VERY irritating!

Band played a short set- they're off on another break now- crappy musak back.

Just had a thought that 90% of this journal is super-dull- why do I write so much crap? Because there's nothing else to do when I'm alone and I've been alone for an extremely large amount of hours.

Okay, enough for tonight- I'll just down the drink (just got it- took about 8 minutes) and leave.

One more thing- our seats for "Miss Saigon" were much better than I thought they would be- they did an every-other-letter thing or something on the sides, so we were pretty close- and we both had short people in front of us (and I don't remember if I wrote this or not, but the woman in front of me for "Noises Off" was also nice and short)- couldn't see the faces too well, but that's just my bad eyesight- oh, and the audience only applauded after the Engineer's songs, at the end of each act, and at the curtain call- no standing ovations. This is a very reserved culture. At least they didn't applaud the car or helicopter...

Ooops, remembered 1 more thing. George told me that on my day of almosts, I shouldn't have written the journal entry, but write the next day and start the entry, "Yesterday was a day of almosts. I almost wrote in my journal..." Thought that was funny and was surprised he remembered me telling him about my day of almosts earlier that day. Actually, he remembers a lot of things I say- some I don't even remember- like last night he told me that I invited him to my production of "Hair"- don't remember doing that. Why does he remember that but doesn't remember things that he should remember?

Okay, time to get the check.

When we first got to Macau, it was not too humid and was sunny and when we left, it was raining HARD! At least we got to see the sun a little- can't remember the last time I saw it- it was gloomy and rainy days before I left New York.

Back to the yellow paper now- between that and the crappy Virgin Atlantic pen I'm using, I'm finding it very difficult to write.

I'm glad I got to go to Macau- I know George enjoyed going and I think Neil did, although he seemed in bad spirits most of the day- that could have been because George was with us. George didn't bother me today at all (besides 1 or 2 comments).

I think I'll have 1 more drink- a Chocolate Egg Flip (no eggs involved) and then see what to do about dinner- George asked what I wanted to do, but I really don't care much- I would like to eat though since I haven't really had anything yet today. Neil isn't hungry, but maybe he will be when I get up to the room in a few minutes.

I love being out on the water- I need to meet someone with a boat who wants to take me sailing or something. Being out on the water really turns me on.

Oh my- just tried the green peanut thing and wished my drink was here already- it's an extremely spicy peanut!!! Actually, it's quite good- just wasn't prepared for it. The first bite really throws a punch!!! It's quite exciting!!! I'm in an exclamation point mood!! Must be still from being on the water...

So we leave tomorrow night- I'm ready to be home and wish I didn't have to go through so many airports and modes of transportation to get there.

Yum! This chocolate drink is super!!! Why can't I find these things in the States? I don't try hard enough.

These peanuts are truly amazing- one just stopped my breathing for a few seconds!

Just downed my drink, paid, and am ready to see what the dinner plans are.

Neil stayed in and had room service, George and I went to the Red Pepper- a schesuan (I can't spell) restaurant in the Causeway Bay area (nice to be in a different area even though nothing looked different). Dinner was okay but we thought it wasn't spicy enough. After dinner, we walked around looking at all the shoppes- the aread was packed with people- this was the Hong Kong I expected- the shoppes were all the same- cosmetics, shoes, and cell phones (why is this all people are looking for?)- I'm sick of looking at shoppes! Tomorrow Neil and I are going to the mall- I won't last long there.

George wanted to go to bed early (don't understand his reasoning- he wants to stay awake for the 15 hour flight since he can't sleep sitting up, or something like that)- so I went to the bar downstairs- it was too busy so I went to the Clipper Lounge- they looked like they were closing, so I came up to the bar at Vong's- not wearing the dress code, but they let me in anyway- no one is in here. Drinking a Mandarin Punch- dark rum, mandarin liqueur, OJ, and Pineapple juice- it's okay (not a big rum drinker).

Just got a little sad, lonely, and anxious- said to be leaving, lonely because I'm sitting here alone, and anxious because of the Brian and Rebecca weekend coming up and getting my life back in order at the same time before the auction starts.

After June 27th- when I'm finally alone- I have 2 weeks of normal life and then it's off to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco with a damn tour. I should have paid extra for a single room- wonder if it's too late to change- maybe I can remember to call and ask when I get home- then again, maybe room sharing will be useful so I can stay on schedule better- having somone in my room will prohibit me from watching TV all night and will make sure I get out of bed in the mornings.

I don't know what to do all day tomorrow- we'll go to the mall, maybe check out the Temple, and then what? We don't have to leave for the airport before 9:30- I wouldn't mind finding a movie theatre- I saw one around here but only "Dr. T and the Women" is playing and I've seen that- I'd see it again though if that's all that is playing- I'm tired of touring around and there's nothing specific I want to do.

Finished the Mandarin Punch, ordered a Grasshopper (no idea why)- that will be my last one- tired of drinking alone.

Ready to be in bed- actually, ready to be in my own bed- soon, but not soon enough...

Got a little sunburned on my arms today- didn't expect that.

Wow- this Grasshopper is strong- leave it to Vong's to make a strong Grasshopper. George wants to take me to Vong's in New York- his exact words, "I'd love to take you to Vong's." Um, excuse me, I told you I've been there before- I'm not Mike or Bill- I hate that he wants to TAKE me there rather than just GO with me... Oh well, I still want to go, even if I'm TAKEN there- a dinner at Vong's is a dinner at Vong's. Don't know how that will work with Eytan- will he want to TAKE us both? Probably.

The bar downstairs played techno/dance music when the band was taking a break rather than the typical musak- that was a nice change.

I think if I had one more drink, I could start to get drunk- maybe I'll do that- even though I'm sick of sitting here alone, it would be nice to fall asleep quickly. I never did eat much today- I had not even half of my small dinner tonight- today I had a cinnamon roll, a few noodles, and a few pieces of pork.

My 2 drinks earlier this evening didn't do anything- maybe they make stronger drinks up here or maybe I'm more tired or something.

I like the ambient music they're playing up here- would like it better if someone was with me- can't believe I'm saying this but I wish George was here- we got alone well today.

Screw the other drink, I'm ready to be in bed...

So now it's 6:30 and we don't know what to do till 9:00- and leaving at 9:00 should get us to the airport 2 hours early- well, I guess it will take a while to check our bags... but what should be do now?

We will go hang out at the airport for a change of scenery and Neil wants to buy a gift for Maxine's father.

Got to Gatwick by 7:30, tried to get an earlier flight- there weren't any- and now we're sitting and waiting- we board at 11:30, get to Phili at 3:30 and my flight to La Guardia boards at 5:30. Not looking forward to the express flight- don't feel like being sick on my way home...

I'm feeling a little anxious again about all the things going on when I get home- work, unpacking, Brian and Rebecca, Eytan, Paula and Harvey, auction... Before I know it, it will be time to pack again. Hope I have time to try to find light, loose fitting clothing- it'll be HOT in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco...

US Air flight- long but entertaining- I like their entertainment options much more than Virgin- I don't see what the hype is about Virgin- can only watch entertainment at a certain time, they rush by you with drink service- it took me 4 times to get water, and the seats are TINY. So on the US Air flight- I just watched "Traffic" and "Antitrust"- both were good airplane movies, although I think I would have prefered "Traffic" at home. Also watched Friends and Seinfeld. So I have about 2 hours of flight left- think I'll read some more of "Sex in the City"- between that, Friends, and Seinfeld- I'm SO ready to be back in New York.

Asshole behind Neil- didn't want him to recline his seat- before we took off, we wanted to see how far the seats went back, we started to recline them and the guy said, "Hey," and then looked happy when we put them back up and said, "That's better." There was a row of 4 seats next to me that several of us were eye-ing. A woman got there first and the guy behind Neil said, "That's okay lady, I didn't want to sit there." Um, excuse me, she had as much of a right as you to sit there. Then after take-off, Neil reclined his seat and the guy said, "That's my knee." I made Neil recline anyway, it's his right! This guy was supposedly used to flying first class. Well, if he's so important to his company, why did they put him in coach? Well, they did, and he has to deal with it like the rest of us- no special treatment. I can't believe the way he was acting.

Issues in Phili- we both decided to take Amtrak after they cancelled Neil's flight and mine kept getting bumped up (original departure time was 6:00 and it changed 3-4 times after that). We traveled 10,000 miles and couldn't get home with only 100 miles left- I WANT to be home!

Now I'm REALLY glad to be home and glad to have finished typing all that nonsense

The other night I had a dream- I was in an auditorium in present day. Joel was teaching. We were getting back our final project. He called my name, went up to get the paper, and he knew it was me who had emailed him. There was a bit of electricity between us when I got it back. He left off a page and had to call me up to get it (the works cited page)- our fingers touched and sparks flew. Then I wound up in Italy or something on a playground-type place with Paula and Neil- we were looking for a department store or something. Then I woke up singing "Always True to You in My Fashion" from "Kiss Me Kate".

On the 18th, I was crossing a 2-way street and got confused as to which way I should be looking for traffic.

Two days ago I had a dream where everywhere I went, people kept mentioning Mario Lemieux. That morning I woke up singing "How I Know You" from "Aida".

This morning I woke up singing "Not Me" from "Aida".

Brian and Rebecca's visit was really nice- much better than I expected (thought I'd be more tired). I got home Friday night, did a few things, and went to bed at midnight. Woke up at 7:00 wide awake. Not having a body clock is great for travel- no jet lag- it sucks for everyday living though.

They came up Saturday afternoon, we had dinner at Cornado Cafe up near Hunter, and then they went to see "Alergist's Wife" (they liked it). I met them for a drink at Martini's after and then Rebecca went to sleep and Brian and I went to Pig N' Whistle for a few (it was emtpy). It still amazes me that I can not go there for a few months, and they always remember me and what I drink. It was nice catching up with Brian that night.

Sunday it was pouring! We were stupid and walked to the Brooklyn Diner (rather than catch a taxi or take the subway), we got there and they had a 30 minute wait plus were out of French Toast and Pancakes. Well, forget that- we went next door to Pick-A-Bagel instead (it was easy since it was close and we were soaking).

Then we went to see "Major Barbara". It was very well done- the acting, sets, and lighting was terrific. The staging I didn't like (not enough movement in the first Act). I also don't care for the script, but that's just me.

We went by Bryant Park after the show since it was the start of Gay Pride events. I read that Anthony Rapp would be performing there, but he wasn't there when we got there. We didn't stay long. There were VERY few people there, actually. I was surprised since sometime while we were at the theatre, it turned into a gorgeous day.

I went home to catch up on some things and make a Father's Day call (didn't realise it was Father's Day- Brian and Rebecca reminded me earlier that day).

Monday I met Brian and Rebecca at the Guggenheim to see the Frank Gehry exhibit. I had no idea he has done so many buildings all over the world. I don't know much about architecture but I can always recognise a Gehry building- so interesting!!

Rebecca (Feldman) called me right when I got home- she had just arrived at Newark from her trip to Israel and wanted to see if I could get over to Port Authority to hang out while she was waiting for her bus. She always loves those quick little visits. I said I would try, but by the time she called, I was in a taxi with Brian and Rebecca on our way to Chinatown to meet Rebecca's roommate from college.

We ate at a Vietnamese restaurant (really sick of the Asian food now!) which was okay. He roommate, Annie, had an interesting boyfriend, Mike. He's in computers so we had a lot to talk about (it's nice talking to others in the industry once in a while). We also talked about Chinese movies since he had just seen some at a film festival and I had just returned from Hong Kong. Annie does Big Onion walking tours, so I think I'll do the Park Slope one that she does on the 30th. I didn't get to talk to her that much at dinner, but she seemed nice. I want to talk to her more about her dissertation she's working on- Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe to New York from 1870's to 1900's- sounds fascinating!

After dinner, we sat in a park eating ice cream from Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Then we said goodbye to Annie and Mike and went to Detour. The band was playing REALLY modern jazz, which was fine for a few minutes and then got annoying. Rebecca was still hungry so we went over to Union Square for French Fries at Steak Frites. Then we came back here and played a non-team version of Cranium (would be better with more people but was still fun).

I read my Fact-of-the-Day calendar from when I was away and on June 14, it was about American English and British English name differences. Thought that was interesting. I knew most of them but was not familiar with the "Big Dipper" being the "Plough" in the UK and "suspenders" being "braces".

Eytan came up yesterday afternoon and after a quick sushi dinner (I wasn't hungry and only had a bowl of rice), we went to "Cabaret". What a fantastic place to see it (Studio 54)! It really felt like you were in a cabaret in Berlin! We got to sit on the comfortable couches!!! Loved that!!! Although, the people in front of us were big so it was hard to see around them. The cast was terrific, but I felt the show moved too quickly (most of the numbers and the ending). I had a half a bottle of wine and a chocolate martini (which was HUGE). Didn't realise that I was drunk until after the show. That also made the show interesting- to see it while drinking! Anyway, we went to Martini's after and I couldn't finish my drink- I was REALLY drunk! I can't believe I got drunk from 2 drinks (although they were big ones) and when I was in Hong Kong, I drank much more and didn't feel any effects. So by the time I got home, all I wanted to do was crawl in bed. I left dealing with the pull out couch for Brian and Rebecca and even forgot to leave them blankets and pillows. I realised that in the morning and felt terrible! They should have woken me up, but they didn't.

This morning Brian, Rebecca, Eytan, and I went to Good Enough to Eat for breakfast (didn't know there was a Filene's Basement on Broadway and 81st- that's good to know). Then Brian and Rebecca went to Zabar's before they went home and Eytan and I came back to my apartment.

Now I'm all caught up on journal writing and can now go about my business. Some work, go buy Harvey some wine for his birthday, and then head over to the Four Seasons to see how I can be of help.

I need to go to the Post Office to mail postcards to Eytan and Rebecca (didn't have their addresses while I was away- dummy me) and mail Josh his magnet and Mars Bars, but don't feel like dealing with that today- I'll go early tomorrow morning before heading over to the Four Seasons. At least I managed to get to the bank yesterday- I was down to next to nothing in my checking account and I need to pay some bills this week. So now I have money in the account and just need to remember to pay the bills.

Tonight, if there's time, Eytan and I might see what's at TKTS and go see a show tonight. Sounds like fun but don't know if we'll have time to wait in line AND eat dinner. I wouldn't care about dinner, but Eytan does. Maybe if he can decide on a show, I can go over there earlier and get tickets, meet him at a restaurant nearby, and then we can go to the theatre... We'll see... I don't even know what he might want to see. I know what he doesn't want to see- "Urinetown", "Music Man", "Cabaret"...

This morning I woke up singing "Written in the Stars" from "Aida". This obsession with songs from this show is getting ridiculous and makes no sense. When am I going to stop waking up with these songs in my head?

After some work at the Four Seasons, Eytan and I went to dinner at Periyali (that awesome Greek restaurant in the Flatiron disctrict). I ordered the Santorini wine and loved it just as much as last time! For dinner, Eytan had lamb chops and I had the Mediterranean white fish special which was delicious! After dinner, we went to Tonic, a nearby bar. I had a Mint Julip (with light rum)- yum! The bartender suggested it after seeing that we were having trouble making a decision. How did he know exactly what I wanted? Then we came home and called it an early night.

I had to do some errands today, so I left the Four Seasons a little while ago. So far all I've done was buy Harvey some wine from Sherry Laman for his birthday. Then I came home to pick up some files and check my email. Now I'm going to stop by Liberty Travel to pick up my travel documents. I wanted to go to the Post Office and stop by a hardware store or something to pick up some super-glue for my shoes, but I probably won't do that. I'll just deal with broken shoes and I'll mail Josh/Steve the Mars Bars early next week and hopefully they won't be any more stale than they are now.

I don't know why I think I like working these auctions. The usual people (John, George, etc.) have been treating me horribly like they always do and I know it'll just get worse (this is only the beginning). Oh well, it's only a few days and then I don't have to deal with them until the end of August/beginning of September.

Tonight Harvey, Paula, Eytan, and I had dinner in their room at the Four Seasons (we ordered Indian from Dawat- LOVE that place!). Neil, Maxine, Wilmer (Maxine's mother), and Abby stopped by later in the evening. Got to see their pictures!

Then Eytan and I came back here since David had some more boxes to drop off (my apartment feels like a disaster right now- will feel better once the boxes and Eytan leave and I can clean up).

I kind of want to go to the Depeche Mode concert in Boston July 1st, since I can get free tickets, but don't know if I feel like making the journey up there. If Kristin (Rebecca's friend) wants to go, then I'll go. If not, I won't go. I'd really love to see them live but just don't feel like dealing with airports so soon after all the ones I've just seen and will have to see more in a few weeks.

Speaking of traveling, I decided 100% against the APS show in Chicago (I never seem to be able to go to that). It's just not worth all the traveling. I'd have to leave DC right after the Yes show, fly out to Chicago, and then leave early on Monday to get home so I can go to classes Monday night. Not worth it. Especially since I'll have to go down to Baltimore 4 days later.

Glad I remembered about the Baltimore trip. I'm currently scheduled to arrive August 31st but need to change that to August 30th. So I just emailed the Marriott to see if that date is available. My luck, it's not, but hopefully I'm wrong. It just seems that all hotels in Baltimore County are booked MONTHS in advance. When I first found out the dates for Balpex, I made my reservation and got lucky. That hotel, especially, seems a mess. They booked the Balpex auction in the same room as a wedding later that evening. There's no way the auction would be over in time, and after a lot of arguing on everyone's part, the wedding was postponed (or something like that). If it was my wedding, I'd be pissed. Of course, if it was my wedding, I would be smart enough not to hold the reception at the Hunt Valley Marriott. But this is Baltimore, Baltimorons are... well, morons...

I remember a little of my dream last night- I was wandering around London/Hong Kong (it was a combination of both, but I think it was supposed to be a version of Hong Kong). Decided to go to the area where all the nightlife is. Ran into my cousin, Kim, and some of her friends. We were partying all night- I wasn't into it. In the morning, they brought out some red wine which I didn't want, so I left. Then I was leaping from ship to ship, trying to get somewhere (this was the only way off of the ship that I was on, according to Paula). I think Paula was with me, actually. Neil was waiting somewhere for me. I got to him and then couldn't find my flight information... Some of those details, I'm sure, are wrong and there was a lot more to it.

Long day today. Well, the next 3 days will be annoyingly (is that a word?) long!!! I think I'm going to try something new. I'm going to ignore everyone around me (unless I need to ask them something) and just concentrate on what I need to be doing. If I ever have a few minutes of down time, I will live in my own little world. If people are joking and laughing around me, I will not pay attention. I wonder if this will be possible? Somehow I doubt it- but I am going to try. There has to be some way of dealing with these people without getting angry and violent.

Okay, I just got the STRANGEST song in my head of all time!!! "You Can't Miss It" (I had to look up that title) from "Plain & Fancy"! Where the hell did that come from? I have the part that goes, "General Washington once slept there..." running through my head. That was such an odd song. That was such an odd show. I can't believe I was in it. I barely remember being in it, but I remember all the music. I should remember more of it- it was the only show I ever did with Steffanie Podolny. Oh, I don't have time to think about this now. I have to go finish getting ready and we have to leave soon.

Random comment before I forget- now I'm REALLY glad I decided against the APS show in Chicago. It's at O'Hare- how boring!

Social activities of the weekend- went out with Mike and George to Connolly's Saturday night. I enjoyed talking to Mike for a little bit- he only stayed for one drink. George and I stayed a little longer and we got along fine. Sunday night, Eytan, George, and I went out with Rob Schneider. This is the first time I met him (although, I've probably seen him before), and I still don't know what I think of him. We barely talked and the little we talked about wasn't too exciting. He's recently divorced, has a 14 year old daughter, and he lives near me. I actually found him kind of annoying. Anyway, we went to dinner in Soho (don't remember the name but I hope I can find it again- it was good). I had lobster ravioli (yum)- Rob had grilled Tuna which was great and Eytan had Mediterranean Sea Bass which was wonderful. George had some sort of duck, but I didn't try it. George and I split a bottle of white wine (it was good- wish I noticed what it was). After dinner, we went to the Bubbles Lounge but it was closed. So we went across the street to Timothy's but they just called last call. So we went around the corner to Grace's. Great choice!! The bartender, JJ, was the best bartender I've ever seen! I had a few Pimm's Cup cocktails with mint (I'm on a mint kick- New York in June, I guess). I don't know why the four of us went out. George and Rob talked to each other all evening and left Eytan and I to talk to each other (like we haven't done enough of that). Soon after we got to Grace's, two women started hitting on Rob (Rob and George were the only available men at the bar). So Rob went off to talk to them and George went over soon after. Eytan and I finished our last drink and left. He was really drunk and is SUPER ANNOYING when he's drunk! I was really having trouble dealing with him- he was hyper and was making me anxious when all I wanted to do was relax. I have no idea what time we got home. I woke up at 6:00 and Eytan was in my bed with me. I had asked him to come in my room for a minute to ask him a question and I guess he fell asleep soon after that (don't remember- I fell asleep rather quickly myself). At 6:00, I kicked him out and slept until 10:00. Woke up feeling fine! Sunday morning I was feeling the effects of the alcohol more than this morning even though I had more to drink last night. I'm assuming that was because I didn't eat dinner Saturday night and had to get up early Sunday morning and I did have dinner Sunday night and got to sleep in this morning. George and Eytan were both hung-over this morning.

So they left early this afternoon and Paula and I had lunch at Wolf's on 57th St. They have the best chicken soup EVER!!! I'll have to get back there. Then we browsed Rizoli's for a few minutes and I bought Candace Bushnell's "Four Blondes" since I enjoyed reading "Sex in the City". You're supposed to read trashy stuff in the summer, right?

I'll probably read it on the train up to Boston. I decided to definitely go to the Depeche Mode concert since the tickets are free and Kristin said she would go. I really like her and it will be fun getting to hang out with her again. She even offered me a place to crash for the night! I might go up Saturday so I don't have to get up early on Sunday (the train leaves at 8:30), but I still need to figure that out.

So I decided to shirk responsibility today. I deserve it after the past few weeks and I've been avoiding my life for so long, what's one more day? So I came home after Rizoli's and while Paula and Harvey go food shopping (which I really should have done since I have nothing to eat here, I decided it was too much effort and today should be a day of completely no effort), I decided to update my journal and get my last roll of film developed. Then at 4:00, Paula, Harvey and I are going to see "The Anniversary Party". I have a feeling I'll like it more than they will, but it was Paula's idea. I haven't even heard of it until she mentioned it. I have no idea what's going on in the world of movies these days. I do know that there are a bunch I want to see... I'll figure that out later. And there are 3-4 shows I want to see before I leave for Spain. I have 2 weeks...

After dinner, we're going to Shelly's- I've been wanting to go there for a while.

Tomorrow I'll get myself together- pay bills, clean the apartment, go to the Post Office, go to the bank, organise my finances (which are in shambles), and possibly stop by Barami to see if I can find any nice summer clothes. I do want to do clothes shopping for real at some point this week, but not tomorrow.

Okay, it's 3:00- time to get dressed, wait for Paula and Harvey to get here, pick up my pictures, and off to the movies! I love slacking once in a while!

"The Anniversary Party" was great! Clever, funny, great soundtrack, interesting cast... I didn't like the way some of it was filmed though. Paula loved it, Harvey didn't know what he thought of it.

Then we got to Shelly's and Harvey and I got in a tiff, so I just left since I didn't want to fight on the streets of New York. For some reason, I decided to walk down Madison to 56th on my way home- I guess for a change of scenery. I passed by Otabe and decided to eat there since I was hungry and Japanese sounded good. I hate eating alone in New York, but Japanese restaurants aren't as bad as most places. As I was halfway through my meal, Paula and Harvey walked in. If I didn't know them better, I would have thought they followed me. It turned out that they didn't want to eat at Shelly's and returned to their hotel room to figure out where to go. They decided on Otabe and called me (left a message on my voice mail) to tell me to join them. How odd- out of all the restaurants in New York, they chose that one. That's the biggest coincidence I've had in a long time.

Now I'm really tired. I guess all the activity of the weekend has caught up with me. I called Marcell back (she had called the other day) but was glad she didn't answer since I didn't feel like talking on the phone (I was on the phone enough recently). I left a message and hopefully she'll call back tomorrow or something.

I still haven't fully unpacked from my trip. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. I plan on sleeping in and then I can be refreshed when I start dealing with my life. First I'll clean up the apartment so I can work in a more pleasant environment and then I'll try to organise my finances. I also got a ton of mail last week that I need to go through. Then if it hasn't closed, I'll go to the Post Office. And I still want to stop by Barami too.

Oh, I got my roll of film developed. I like the way most of them turned out. Now I just need to finish up the roll of film currently in my camera since the first 10 pictures are from Hong Kong (mostly of Victoria Peak) and I'm anxious to see those. I guess I can take some pictures up in Boston.

I was thinking the other day about how different my cousins, Kim and Dana, are. I decided it was because of when they were born. Kim was born in the early 70's when parents spent more time with their children. Dana was born in the mid 70's when parents didn't want to spend too much time raising their children. Those early years really have an effect on you throughout your life. Never mind, this theory made more sense the other day. I don't remember where I was going with this. I wanted to remember it but was in a rush when I was thinking about it, so I only wrote down the part about when they were born and not about what that meant. Oh well, maybe I'll remember one day.

Really wish I had my TV right now. I'm supposed to get it tomorrow. Guess I'll call them in the morning to see if I'm still scheduled. I should have called today, but I forgot until this evening and then it was too late to call. Hopefully they won't show up at 8:00 AM.

I called about the TV, and I'm scheduled today between 11-3. I have a good feeling they will show up. They've been reliable except for the Wednesday before I left for Amsterdam and he did tell me he would TRY to get it to me that morning...

Okay, now I have to get to work!

I've completely given up on Joel now. How sad, I was really hopeful there for a while. Oh well, I don't have time for dating anyway. There's too much traveling in the picture right now.

Oh, and I was hoping to do a Big Onion walking tour of Park Slope that Rebecca's friend is leading, but it's on June 30th- that's when I'll be heading up to Boston. Oh well, maybe there's another one in August...

I'm still feeling a little exhausted- I slept on and off until 10:00 this morning. I wish I had this weekend to fully catch up on things, but Depeche Mode is more important to me.

I will clean the apartment today, pay bills, go to the bank, and hopefully go food shopping (although, that might wait until tomorrow). I also want to get a ticket for Tick, Tick... Boom for one day between July 3-8 since they have a post show party going on that week.

I just remembered that July 4th is coming up and I have nothing to do (of course, do I ever?). I'll have to check out what's going on in the city and go somewhere alone. Why can't I meet anyone to hang out with in New York? I know people all over the place, why not here?

I got a ticket for Tick, Tick... Boom for July 5th!!

US Air's web site is giving me a fit with booking a flight. Every link I click on (and there are a zillion), I get the dreded "Cannot Find Server" page. Then I have to reload. It doesn't like that. I've tried 4 times and it will not let me complete the process. And their graphics are broken and not all of them have "ALT" tags so I'm going on memory of what I'm supposed to click on. If I call, I won't get the cheap fare and I might as well take the train. But the train takes so long... Guess I'll keep trying to book this flight. Maybe it'll work later in the day...

It worked! After 6 times it let me complete the reservation! And it really scared me at the end. I got to the final click (click to complete the reservation), and I got the "Cannot find server" page. Fortunately, I hit reload, and it accepted that.

Now I just need to find out if we need to rent a car or not. I hope not, it would be nice not to have to drive.

I went to the bank and went food shopping. Now I just need to clean and pay bills. Two bills are overdue- I never let them get overdue. I hate not being caught up. I also got a higher credit line from my US Air-Bank of America card. I've had that card for two years and they've never raised my limit and I've never manged to be patient enough to stay on hold to raise it myself. Well, today I finally did. Now I can pay off my bills and then charge a lot on my trip. I doubt I'll spend that much though, since all the hotels, transportation, etc. is all paid for and I don't shop. I'll probably spend the most on drinks and entertainment.

At least today isn't going by too quickly. Usually when I have a ton to do, the day flies by. I feel like I have plenty of time to clean and stuff. And I don't have any plans tonight, except maybe reading more of "Four Blondes".

Oh, I just checked- it's on tomorrow night at 10:00. I was planning on seeing what tickets I can get at TKTS tomorrow night. Maybe next week... if I remember...

Woke up singing "Written in the Stars" from "Aida".

I finally feel on top of things. The apartment is clean, the bills are paid, work is on track, and I feel good. Laundry needs to be done though. That will be done today.

Also today I'll head over to Times Square and see a show. I've narrowed it down to 4 choices (I'll wait and see what show I can get the best seats for). Broadway: "Stones in His Pockets" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Off-Broadway: "Maybe Baby, It's You" and "Once Around the City" (this is my last choice but I'll see it if the others aren't available). I'm kind of limited to things right around Times Square since I won't be getting to TKTS till early evening, so that doesn't give me time to go too far from there.

So I rented a few movies. Fliks now has a web site, so I ordered from there. How nice that was- to see what they had without using their crappy, outdated catalogue or going to the store. Of course, I ordered at 5:30, and they're still not here. I called them at 6:30 and they said that they were on their way and should be here shortly. If they're not here in a few minutes, I'm calling back. I have a feeling the problem isn't them, but this apartment building. My phone intercom (that they use downstairs to call me when I have a delivery) hasn't been working. The past few times, they've just sent someone up with the delivery guy and told me that the intercom wasn't working (or so they assumed- good assumption, there have been several problems with it recently). But what if the idiot who is working now just assumed I wasn't home when he called up and sent the guy away? That's happened before too. They should know they have intercom issues and to never assume someone isn't home. Especially when they have a delivery. Why would they have something like a movie delivered if they weren't home? Actually, I guess that could be possible, if they assumed the delivery guy would leave it at the desk. But with Fliks, you have to sign something when you get the videos... Oh, I don't know- I think I'm going to go call them again and see what's going on.

But first- I think Andy is definitely coming up here for the audition. So that means I'll have to go clothes shopping between the 5th and the 7th since he'll be here the 8th through the 10th and I leave on the 13th. Maybe being under pressure will have a good effect- meaning I'll find stuff fast. So Andy will be staying here... Hm... could get interesting indeed...

Okay, I called them and they told me to check with my doorman. Sure enough, when I called down he said they were there. I'm surprised he left them with the doorman. I'm surprised the doorman didn't say something like, "I've been trying to call you." He just said, "They just got here, I'll have Philippe bring them up." Philippe is the only one who says hello to me using my first name and I don't mind. He doesn't say it like he's flirting, he doesn't say it like he's patronising, he just says it in a friendly manner. Unlike Raoul (I think that's his name), every time he says my name it gives me the creeps...

Okay, now I can have a nice peaceful night of movie watching...

Wanted to sleep in today since it's the first day I feel really caught up and could afford to sleep in. What did I do? I woke up at 7:30. Oh well, I've gotten a lot of work done this morning, I guess.

Was thinking of going to see a movie today. Maybe "A.I." or "Atlantis", since they're both playing right near me.

Oh, but I just remembered, I still have "Best in Show" here that I haven't watched. I think I'll go see a movie during the day and then watch the video tonight. Last night I watched "Nurse Betty"- I liked it. It was cute without being annoying and it had an oddball cast (Renee Zelweger, Greg Kinnear, Morgan Freeman, Chris Rock, Crispin Glover...)

Okay, time to go put away the laundry and I think I'll pack for tomorrow. I never pack this early, but it seems like a good time to do that. I guess since I'll be putting away my clothes, I'll just put some of them in the suitcase.

So now I'm feeling girly. After I worked out, I put on a face masque (something I do once a year). Every time I do something like this, I tell myself I will continue doing it regularly. I never do. Okay, time to go wash it off and then I will paint my nails (clear- I hate dealing with chipped polish and with clear, you can't really tell).

In an hour, I head up to Boston!! I hope it doesn't rain most of the time. There are supposed to be showers possible for the entire time I'm there. At least our seats aren't on the lawn. The seats are actually quite good- the fron side section, about half way back, in the middle of the row (so we're not completely on the side). I hope it doesn't rain on the way or the way back- I don't like sitting in the car when other people I don't know are driving in the rain. I think there are only a few people I trust driving in the rain- Eytan is one, I can't remember anyone else right now but I'm sure there are others.

So, what else will I do in Boston? I have no idea. I plan to not do much. I'm tired of touring around and I'll be doing that for 15 days soon. Maybe I'll just go to the COOP and read. Or get some magazines from the US Air Shuttle area (that are complimentary), and if it's not raining, sit on the Harvard campus and read them. Sunday day I might do something. Kristin has someone moving in her house, so she'll be helping him all day. I guess I could help a little too, but I doubt I'll want to help a stranger move- I barely like helping my friends move. So maybe I'll help for a little while, and if it's not too bad and I'm having fun, I'll stay. If not, I'll hope the #71 bus that goes near her house is running on Sunday and I'll find something to do elsewhere. Or maybe there's stuff to do within walking distance in Watertown. Guess I'll find out soon.

I decided I'll probably stay in on the 4th and take it easy. I hate crowds and I think that if I do as little as possible the next week, I'll have lots of energy and stamina for my trip. Those tours really keep you busy. I'm looking forward to the daily walking around places, I'm not looking forward to packing up and moving every morning. I don't know how people do it. I can deal with not taking the clothes out of my suitcase, but having to unpack the toiletries, pack the toiletries, unpack the toiletries, remember to take the shampoo out of the shower... Maybe it will become routine...

Okay, gotta go get dressed and stop by an ATM...

Now I'm on the Harvard campus watching all the people- lots of interesting looking people sitting on the grass in groups- think I'll go to the COOP and read till Kristin calls which shouldn't be in too long- she said she should be home around 5 or 6. She said I could call her housemate and if he's home, he could let me in- but why would I want to hang out there when I can hang out in Harvard Square- besides, I forgot to bring his phone number with me.

There's a cute couple lying on the grass that I want to take a picture of. I'm behind them- if they turn around and make a big deal (most people don't like having their picture taken by a stranger), I'll just tell them I was taking a picture of a bird. There, I did it- they didn't even turn around- glad I did it then, they just got up and are leaving.

I wish I could take pictures of people without them knowing. I read about a digital camera watch a while ago with a BIG zoom- maybe one day I'll splurge and get that- that would probably be perfect. Not today though, need to watch my money right now.

Enjoying a few tastey beverages before catching the #71 bus to Watertown. I hope Kristin calls soon, as I forgot to bring her number with me and she's not listed.

Okay, it's 7:30 and she just called!

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