Catching up: Wednesday, 13 September, 2006

Didn't sleep too well last night due to the heat & humidity – did I mention it’s hot as hell here? And humid, to boot? To add insult to injury there was some strange, persistent beeping noise emanating from somewhere outside my window, which I kept open on account of the aforementioned climate issues. This, in turn, made it rather easy to hear the jets overhead that never really seemed to stop. You see Westminster (not the university but the town, or borough, or whatever they call these microscopic and somewhat meaningless divisions of London) is right in the flight path to Heathrow, the world’s busiest airport. Apparently it never closes. No lie. At about 4:00 AM a 747 sounded like it was preparing to land on my miniature desk, right here in my miniature Victorian room.

Of course the one thing that does close down – with alarming regularity, I might add – is the Victoria underground line. I discovered this to my chagrin when I finally decided to take the morning tube to today’s programme, instead of walking as usual. So I wound up walking… as usual. Oh well, that’s more money saved and more exercise gained.

It must be the British food, or perhaps it’s the genuine Montreal bagels I’ve been scarfing down since leaving my parents’ place, but (warning: graphic medical details ahead) I’m all plugged up. I can't wait to get my own toilet.

Even at 8:30 AM, which is the current time of this entry, the heat and humidity are making me moist around the edges, and I’m just sitting here typing on my keyboard.

By the way, I’m having more computer power woes. I’m afraid. I am very afraid. If you don’t hear from me for another several days, blame Hewlett Bastard.

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Later:

I'm settling in just fine, considering I'm still in temporary accommodations and moving into a more permanent home on Friday morning. Perhaps that’s because I just came home from dinner at an old friend's place in Walthamstow, northeast London. I met Sharon’s husband Bevan and their 6-month-old daughter Charlotte for the first time. They make a wonderful family, they made me feel right at home (and answered my many millions of annoying questions), and it was indescribably good to see them before they head off this week to visit Bevan’s family in New Zealand. Can’t wait to see them again after they’ve returned.
While we dined the skies opened and it poured like mad, accompanied by copious lightning flashes and booming thunderclaps. This can be a bit unsettling if, like me, you live in Vancouver and haven’t experienced such meteorological violence in a long time.

Before I knew it, it was getting on for 10:30 and I didn’t want to overstay my welcome, since they both have lives beyond visiting Canadians. It’s also a fair hike even by tube back into the heart of the city, and without umbrella I wanted to make sure I got home without being soaked to the skin. Plus, my stomach was rumbling and I felt I might need to be near my own (shared) toilet in the event I had to settle in for a long bout of reading.

I'm off to bed now since I didn't sleep so well yesterday, and I think I'll be able to sleep better tonight.

See, I told you so:

Well, It Turns Out That Lonelygirl Really Wasn't By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN and TOM ZELLER Jr. – New York Times. After months of intrigue, the identities of Web video star lonelygirl15 and her producers have been revealed.