"On A Day Like Today" - Keane, 2004

So many things are running through my head today. I'm working from John's house until Wednesday of next week. I'm really glad to be here. I miss him terribly during the week, when we're not together. I'm delighted that I can spend all this time with him. We have a lot of things to talk about...as you can imagine. We're planning our future together!

It's kind of a weird day, though.

The Pope's funeral was this morning. I've had the TV coverage on as I've worked this morning. At least I did for awhile. It started getting me down about 10:30, and I switched over to the Paramount Comedy Channel to watch some old episodes of US sitcoms. I think I needed the comfort of familiar friends. Most enjoyable was an episode of "Soap". It was the final episode of the show, as a matter of fact. It certainly brought back a lot of memories. It made me think of the early days in my oil trading career, at Texaco. Bill, do you remember how you used to re-enact the previous night's episode for Ronnie and me...even getting up on your desk once for dramatic emphasis?

And speaking of weddings, Charles & Camilla were supposed to be getting married today, but it's been postponed until tomorrow because of the Pope's funeral service. They seem jinxed, don't they? By the way, it seems to me that the rest of the world is a lot more interested in C&C's wedding than anyone here in Britain. I share the opinion, held by many here, that they should just be allowed to get on with the rest of their lives. I'm glad we aren't in the spotlight like they are.

Here are some of the other things running through my head today...

---how much I LOVE Keane's album "Hopes and Fears". I wonder what they'll do next...and when?

---how easily I drove over to John's Hertfordshire home last night! I'm really making good progress feeling more comfortable on British roads. I've noticed that when I get to John's house, my hands don't feel like I've been in the "death grip" position most of the way like they used to. I'm very proud of that. Real progress!

---how happy I am that I've made such a wonderful friend here in England...a friend that wasn't somebody John already knew. I met Cindy because we often ride the same bus from the village I live in down to Oxford. She's been a terrific gift to my new life here!

---wishing we were still on vacation in New Mexico. I miss the variety of colors of the landscape there. Please don't get me wrong...I really enjoy life here. That doesn't mean I don't miss things about the States, though...especially my family and friends. I get so sad when I think too much about how far away they all are. Often this feeling overwhelms me just after I've seen them. I'm fighting that feeling now.

---wondering why so many people in Britain don't seem to like Jessica Stevenson's recent BBC sitcom "According To Bex". I didn't realize that until I accidentally bumped into a bulletin board about BBC programs yesterday. Strange. I think it's innovative and well-delivered by the cast of characters.

---looking forward to the upcoming new BBC series "Love Soup". I wouldn't know anything about it except that they were filming on John's block (and outside and inside the house just around the corner from his) when I drove up last night. I wonder if John's Focus or my Audi will be on TV? By the way, it's an interesting premise...the idea for "Love Soup", I mean. Makes me almost shudder to think how slim the chances were that John and I would ever meet. It's not worth even considering...

---and speaking even more about TV, I really wish we'd managed to see a current episode of "Desperate Housewives" on TV while we in the States. How did we manage to not do that, I wonder?

Now, before you think I'm really "down" today, I'm not. Just feeling introspective.

Janet