Back in the US of A

Back in Boston (well, Waltham)...

The flight was horrible. Truly a flight of the damned... We sat for 90 minutes on the tarmac while the ground crew played who's luggage is this.

Then, we finally made it up in the air.

It's late, I'm exhausted. I'm finally back in Boston. A quick shower and then I'm off to bed.

As Friggin' Usual....

I'm trying to shove all my things into my bags, so I can go and there's a handful of things that won't fit. I used to be so good at spatial recognition.

Now, I just suck. :)

I may have to do the one thing that I really really don't want to have to do. And go buy a cheap suitcase to make sure everything fits.

On the other hand. It's the simplest and most efficient solution.

Packed and Boxed

That's it. All my stuff jammed into 10 boxes.

Signs of the Times

From the Mudchute farm near the flat.

Greenwich for Christmas

Greenwich at night, by the walkway under the Thames. I'll have to go out and try to get better pictures.

London lights up for x-mas

I needed to go to the Apple Store and was stuck around the flat until 4 or 5, which meant that I had to head into Oxford Circus — one of the busiest areas of London commerce on a Saturday afternoon/evening just before Christmas. To say it was crowded doesn't even begin to cover it.

Sidewalks that you should be able to walk on three abreast were spilling out into the street. This building, which you can't see very well here was covered from roof to ground in lights. It was like something out of the Vegas strip.

Home Stretch

In the home stretch now. Only one more week of work, then I have a week free before flying home.

At the moment, I'm shipping most of my stuff home on Dec. 17th, which will leave me fairly light in that last week. My flatmate will be off for the holidays and I'll have the place to myself. One of the places that I wanted to see before I left Europe (or when I come back) is Amsterdam, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull that off in the last week, especially with my sleep study.

Still it'd be nice, if I could pull that off.

See everyone soon.

Rituals

Everyone has rituals in their lives. Whether it's your morning shower and shave or trying each item on your plate before eating in earnest, there are things that you do in a certain way. I was thinking about that today.

I have a silly ritual that I do. I can see where it came from, but when you look at out of context it seems more than a little nuts.

When I find money on the street and I don't need it. I'll take it, but give it to the first person that asks me for money, whether street person, busker or co-worker. This came from when I was younger and there were a few times when I really needed money and I found a $5 or $10 by my feet as I walked around Boston.

So on some level, it's magical thinking to imagine that my need was connected to finding the money, but I guess that's not stopping me from I guess redistributing wealth in my own way.