2006-07-17 - 11:28 a.m.
I'm back, back, back.
I'm back, but catching up to two week's worth of work is taking up time. Plus, I left my journal at home, so my pithy observations on the United Kingdom will have to wait. Bob is also putting together his own (somewhat pithier) thoughts, and is willing to share (one he's corralled them all into a semi-coherent bunch). For now, I will leave you with two observations that are still agonizingly fresh: 1. Travelling on a plane sucks a lot less if you get the kind of plane with two seats on the window sides instead of three. Bob is a saint for putting up with the middle seat on the way out. Economy (cattle) class seats are uncomfortable even for someone my height on the bigger planes. Plus, you don't get peanuts anymore, and the "pretzel nuggets" don't have enough salt. Plus, whatever they serve, it will have mushrooms in it. Chicken casserole? Mushrooms. Beef surprise? Mushrooms. Banana cake? I'm sure there were mushrooms in there somewhere. 2. England is more highly scented than here. I never thought I'd say this, but God bless the American people for
a. Bathing regularly
b. Using deodorant
c. Choosing not to douse themselves in cheap cologne (that goes for the men as well as the women.) Let's just say that an un-airconditioned Undeground train on an 80-degree (yes, we hit a heatwave for the first week) day is *redolent* with English atmosphere. I am looking into getting one of those little portable air-filter thingies for the next trip. I don't know what it is - people seem to say to themselves "Hmmm - I'm going to be in a hot, enclosed space with lots of other people. I think I'll bathe in eau-de-cooking-sherry". Alternatively, they might say "This shirt has only been worn seven times, once to play rugby in a well-used cow field - it's still got a few wearings left". They are a tad more fashionable than suburban Marylanders, I'll give them that, but this was the first year Bob and I couldn't tell who was American simply by clothes and body size. Apparently, blue jeans have come down in price, but I don't know how they manage to get fat - I barely gained anything (nothing, really), and I was eating cream cakes all the time, because the way London is laid out, you're required to walk *everywhere*. Seriously - we are *so* in shape for Pennsic. My calf muscles could crush bricks. Anyway. London smells. But it's still lovely. More tomorrow.
Dorsal - Ventral
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