Saturday 26 November 2005

"(Someone's Been) Telling You Stories" - Dan Fogelberg, 1974

I had a very interesting day today. I heard lots of interesting stories. And I had started the day dreading the travel I was facing.

This was a business travel day...a long travel day. I had an incredibly early start. I was picked up at 6am UK time, from John's house in Hertfordshire, to go to London's Heathrow Airport. I flew from London to Toronto, Canada, and then on to Calgary. I got into my hotel here in Calgary just after 6pm Mountain Time -- which is 7 hours behind UK time. I'll be in Calgary all next week, teaching courses Monday through Thursday.

The first person to tell me stories today was the taxi driver who drove me to Heathrow. John lives in a town in Hertfordshire famous for its movie and TV studios, so it's not uncommon to hear some interesting "celebrity" stories from the taxi drivers there. But I especially enjoyed the one I heard this morning...about
Stanley Kubrick.

It seems that Kubrick likes Kentucky Fried Chicken. And he's very particular about his KFC. I was told that he prefers the chicken from the Marble Arch location in London...and that he can tell if the taxi drivers cheat and pick up his fried chicken from another London-area KFC! They apparently drive around with a mini-oven in their car's boot (the "trunk", to my US readers), so that the chicken can stay hot between the pickup in Marble Arch and the drive out to Hertfordshire!

The driver's stories certainly made the early-morning trip to Heathrow absolutely fly!

And then I got onto Air Canada's 9am fight from Heathrow to Toronto. I had a great aisle seat in the front of Coach (thanks to having lots of airmiles on Air Canada), and I was hoping against hope that the middle seat next to me might be free...giving me more wiggle-room. But nope. As I approached Row 14, I saw two young black men already sitting in seats E and F. Oh well. I figured it just would be one of those flights during which I'd have no conversation at all and would have plenty of time to listen to my iPod or watch a so-so movie or two.

But I was wrong!

The guy in the middle seat, amazingly, began chatting. He was British. This was his first trip to Canada. He and his buddies -- the guy in seat F and the two young women and one more guy sitting in Row 15 behind us -- were all traveling together. Guy-in-seat-E was wearing a heck of a lot of "bling"-- a big, sparkly ring on the little finger of his right hand and the biggest diamond watch I've ever seen in person. I was almost afraid to ask why he and his friends were going to Toronto...but my curiosity got the best of me. He was being so friendly to me that I just couldn't resist.

Why were they on the way to Toronto? Because they are the backing singers for
Ms Dynamite! I think he was stunned that I even knew who she is. And I do. I admitted that I didn't have one of her CD's (yet, anyway...I will soon!). But I have heard her work, seen her on TV (including Live 8 recently), and have also heard a lot about her in the press. She seems to be a very interesting musician. And they were headed to Toronto to meet her to film the music video for "Fall In Love Again".

He was a very interesting fellow, and I have to admit that I felt like a really cool middle-aged white woman to have had the chance to chat with a young black musician! He asked me for my business card before we landed, and he says he'll stay in touch with me and let me know what they think of Canada. We'll see about that. I'll let all of you know if I do hear from him again.

What was the best part of my conversation with him? Getting to hear all about Jonathan Ross...one of my favorite "personalities" in Britain! They had all been on his Friday night BBC show, with Ms. Dynamite, a few weeks ago -- unfortunately, though, that was one of the few Jonathan Ross's that John and I have missed! Is Jonathan as funny and interesting in real life as he appears to his fans who watch him on the telly and listen to him on BBC Radio 2? Absolutely, according to my new acquaintance, the R&B singer!

Whew!

Janet
(reporting from Calgary, Alberta, Canada)

Friday 25 November 2005

"(Simply) The Best" - Tina Turner, 1989

George Best died today. Some think he's the greatest football (i.e. soccer) player Britain ever produced.

For my American readers, this is the equivalent of the death of Mickey Mantle, Joe Namath, or Michael Jordan.

RIP, George. You knew, of course, that your lifestyle could be cutting years off your life. But you were a superb athelete, and hopefully you'll be remembered mostly for that.

Here is the BBC's page about the death of George Best.


Janet

Thursday 24 November 2005

"Far From Home" - Neil Young, 2005

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American readers!

I'm afraid I'm having one of those rare bouts of homesickness today. But it was completely to be expected, given the significance of the day to me. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. It's "Christmas" without the commercial side. It's food and family and laughter and fun without all the presents. And I always loved it.

I'm feeling very far from home. But what I have to remember is that even if I was back in the States today, Thanksgivings of old can never be resurrected. What I'm homesick for the most are times, places, and people from the past. So I believe I'm feeling a longing for the past today more than really experiencing homesickness.

I've just gotten back from a trip to Marks & Spencer Food with a fancyish chicken dish, a prepared veggie casserole (a potato and spinach gratin) and lovely wine for tonight's dinner with John, here at his house. It's not "pilgrim food", of course, but I'll be with the person in the world who is absolutely positively numero uno on my list of what I'm thankful for.

And that's what counts!!!

Janet

Wednesday 23 November 2005

"Savoy Truffle" - Beatles, 1968

On Monday and Tuesday, I ran a training class in London for a group of traders from one of the international oil companies. The venue happened to be near the Savoy Hotel...on The Strand. I always "soundtrack" the title song when I'm on The Strand.

After class yesterday, John suggested meeting me down on The Strand for a walk to over to Piccadilly to Fortnum & Mason. Were we after their famous food hampers? Their tea? Their truffles? Their cavier?

Nope.

The reason we wanted to make the trip to Fortnum & Mason was because we were almost out of American peanut butter!

You see, Fortnum & Mason are one of the sources of American foods in London. We bought the only two jars of crunchy peanut butter they had left (Skippy Super Crunch). We would have bought more if they had more. I wouldn't care if it was Reece's or Jif or Skippy...as long as it's crunchy. But they only had the two jars of Skippy. We also saw pancake mix, Aunt Jemima syrup, devil's food cake mix, two colors of Karo syrup...AND lots of cans of pumpkin. And more and more cans of pumpkin were being placed on the shelves as we stood and watched, with Thanksgiving only days away. I wonder how many of those cans of pumpkin will still be there by Friday.

While in the store, I also bought two tins of Fortmason loose tea as well. It's the most fragrant, wonderful tea I've ever had. It's fancy tea. I wouldn't have made a trip only for the tea. But for REAL peanut butter, HEY I'd travel all across England!

I'm lucky that John's as picky about good peanut butter as I am! Otherwise, he'd think I'm nuts...no pun intended, of course!

Janet

Friday 18 November 2005

MORE "It's Not Easy Being Green" - Kermit the Frog, 1976?

OK...this story has just fallen into my lap...and it's the perfect followup (colorwise, anyway) to yesterday's post.

Check out "Golden Retriever Gives Birth to Green Puppy".

Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. They've named the pup "Wasabi"!

And (sorry to my friend Steve)...but... only in California, huh?

Janet

Thursday 17 November 2005

"It's Not Easy Being Green" - Kermit the Frog, 1976?

I don't know why I even did this today. But I did.

I searched for the word "celery" on Google Blog Search. I guess I was just curious what I'd find.

And in case anyone else besides me is actually interested, here are some of the things I found...besides entries from my own blog, that is:

*There's a Canadian blogger calling him/herself "celery". It's possible that this blogger could actually be canine, given the photo he/she uses on the blogger profile. Anyway, celery's blog is entitled "sooner or later it all gets real..." That's an interesting title -- one of the best I've heard since my friend Steve's blog called "Today Is Absolutely Today".

**A blogger in the US calling herself "MJ" has an entertaining blog called "Peace Thru Parsley"...I especially enjoyed her blog entry titled, "Ode to Celery". When I first saw the title, my heart raced, thinking it was about Lord Celery. Alas, no. It's only about a dead vegetable in her fridge.

***There's a live journal, written by a fellow named "Steve" in Georgia, USA, called "This is the Celery Forest!" (followed by the subtitle "There's a Baby Persimmon"). Where do these people come up with such strange names for their sites, I wonder????

****Heidi -- mother of two boys, living somewhere in the States -- includes celery in her recipe for a very fancy chicken noodle soup in her blog entry called "Jewish Penicillin". Her blog is called "pebble chaser...random ordinary thoughts". I might visit Heidi's blog again some time soon.

I guess I've bored all you enough, so I'll stop now. But I'd have to say that being green doesn't seem to be all that difficult!

Janet

Listening To: "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard", Sir Paul McCartney (and it's starting to grow on me...a little...!)

Wednesday 16 November 2005

"New Kid In Town" - Eagles, 1976

Heinz Baked Beans.

They are a British institution. I often hear that they are the food-from-home that ex-pat Brits miss the most. They are somewhat different from the kinds of baked beans and pork & beans I grew up on in the States. And I have observed that saying something snide about Heinz Baked Beans here in the UK is tantamount to saying something disrespectful about the late Queen Mother.

But there's a new kid in town. I should rephrase that. There's a new bean in town!

Branston, the pickle people (and one of the divisions of that big conglomerate Premier Foods), have boldly decided to challenge Heinz's domination of the baked bean business in Britain. Here's an excellent article about the battle of the baked beans from the "Cambridge Evening News". And here's another from the "Daily Mirror".

So John and I decided to try a can of the new Branston Baked Beans last weekend. I knew I could keep an open mind, given that I don't have the life history of eating the Heinz variety that John does. But I wasn't so sure what he would think. After only a couple of bites, though, the verdict was in from the two of us. The Branston beans are terrific...and just as soon as those remaining turquoise cans are off our kitchen shelves, they'll be replaced with the baked-beanie-colored Branston cans!

The Branston sauce is definitely a bit spicier -- and am I tasting more brown sugar, too, perhaps?

How 'bout any of you? What do Lord Celery's readers think?

Janet

Listening To: "The Storys" - by...The Storys!

Tuesday 15 November 2005

"Groovesome Twosome" - Steve Wilson Quartet, 1996

I've always heard that opposites attract. But I saw the most interesting couple ever after work this evening, in the city centre of Oxford. At first I thought they were headed for a costume party. But the longer I observed them, walking along the Cornmarket, the more I came to believe that they were just being themselves.

He was a Rastafarian. A very interesting Rastafarian, too. He was dressed like a member of Sgt Pepper's band!

In contrast, she was...a Goth...in typical black, from head to toe!

They are a very, very cool couple! And it was obvious they are very much in love. Bless them!

Janet

Listening To: "Heard It On The X" - Los Super Seven

Monday 14 November 2005

"Too Early" - Son Volt, 1995

On the way home on the bus from Oxford this evening, my friend Cindy and I were amazed to see a house in the village of Kidlington which was already decorated for Christmas (and all lit up). Overly decorated, too...but that's not the point of this post.

Decorating the outside of your house for Christmas this early just isn't acceptable! It's not even Thanksgiving yet!

Janet

"Delete the Elite" - Lawless Solidarity, 2000

Ever heard of "leet"...or "leetspeak"?

I hadn't until today. I just happened to run across the term reading some news headlines first thing this morning.

"Leet" is apparently slang for the word elite...and "leetspeak" is the very cool language that young people are using on the internet these days. Pre-teens and teenagers have always wanted language of their own, of course, and the fact that a new internet language has developed is no surprise. The catch here, though, is that parents need to be careful that the leetspeak their kids are using isn't disguising foolhardly (or even worse...) activities on the web.

I just did a Google search for the word leet and got a grand total of 3,360,000 entries presented to me!
Here's an interesting one, for those of us who are behind the times! (I'm even farther behind than I realized...that article is dated January 2003! Yikes...!) Here's another one from Bill Gates Inc....this one a guide for parents.

Also, if you're interested in a
translation device, try this one.

H0p3 4 0f y0u "0rd C33ry" r34d3r5 h4v3 4 600d d4y!


Janet


PS. By the way, I was not able to come up with today's song title without some "search" help from Amazon.com!

Sunday 13 November 2005

"Wave On Wave" - Pat Green, 2003

John and I watched the Remembrance Sunday service of remembrance on TV this morning...broadcast from the Cenotaph in London. It's an beautiful service, in tribute to soldiers and others who have served the United Kingdom from countries within the UK and also from other countries in the Commonwealth.

There were two interesting features in this year's ceremony. One was that representatives of the US Marines marched in the remembrance parade for the first time. And the other is the topic of this entry.

The brainchild of a British artist, a message was sent along the Thames River by 20 war veterans. Did they use mobile phones? No. It was a silent message sent by semaphore flags, from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich to Whitehall, in London. The message read, "War turns us to stone. In remembrance we shine and rise to new days." It was transcribed onto a piece of paper and was then placed, on a wreath of poppies, at the Cenotaph. There's a good article about the semaphore message here.

To see a message sent silently by a group of veterans waving yellow & red flags, in this age of fancy electronic communications technology, was amazing. God bless them...and the artist who conceived this idea.

Janet

Saturday 12 November 2005

"Make It Easy On Yourself" - Walker Brothers, 1965

I'm going to cheat a little today. Rather than write a blog item myself, I'm going to refer you to another one.

For some time now, I've been wanting to write about the inconsideration (or even worse...) of people who incessantly talk on their cell phones/mobile phones in public. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

But my friend Steve has, and his blog entry ("My Ride Home", on the 9th of November) says so much of what I would have said anyway So take a look at it here on his excellent blog -- Today Is Absolutely Today.

Janet

Listening To: "You Could Have It So Much Better" - Franz Ferdinand

Friday 11 November 2005

"True" - Spandau Ballet, 1983

John and I really like general knowledge quiz shows on TV. We enjoy trying to answer the questions ourselves -- out loud -- and we like the informal challenge of who gets the most answers right.

However, we've both been known to make up really stupid, joke answers when we don't have a clue what the correct answer is.

Early this year, we were watching
"Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" on ITV. One of the questions had to do with the artist Frida Kahlo. Now, I know a little bit about her because of my former sister-in-law Sue. I even have a book about Kahlo's work in my living room. So when the question was asked, "What nationality was the artist Frida Kahlo?" -- and I shouted out "Mexican" -- John started laughing. He thought I'd made that answer up. I suppose it did sound a little odd, given her name. But then when one of the four choices as answers included "Mexican", he stopped laughing. He couldn't believe I knew the answer...and that it was such an unexpected one.

We still laugh about that incident. And John's payback to me came just this evening.

We've been sitting here watching a BBC quiz show called
"Eggheads". One of the teams participating was asked a question about a particular British wrestler. Needless to say, I have no knowledge at all of that subject. But John shouted out, "Giant Haystacks"! I thought he was joking -- so in response, I suggested "Pea Brain". John just looked over at me...not laughing at all. And sure enough, the answer was Giant Haystacks! That was just too weird to be real, in my opinion. A bit like Frida being Mexican. And I thought he was kidding. But nope...he actually knew the correct answer.

We're just going to have to learn that each of us does sometimes tell the truth on these occasions!

Janet

Wednesday 9 November 2005

"Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind" - Lovin' Spoonful, 1965

How does Bob Harris make up his mind what songs to put together for his various BBC Radio 2 programs?

I can't always listen to his Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday night shows "live". When I can't, I record them and then listen to them on my MP3 player when I can.

I'm teaching in London all this week, so I'm getting caught up on some of Bob's shows while I'm commuting. I was jammed into one of the last available seats on a Thameslink train this evening, after an especially stressful day, listening to the program from Friday night the 14th of October. Bob's musical selections are always so interesting -- really eclectic -- along the lines of some of the playlists from another favorite radio station of mine, KGSR in Austin, Texas.

To my delight, Bob had selected the most interesting sequence of three songs to add to that particular Friday-night show. The first was Genesis' "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" (from 1973's "Selling England By the Pound"), then came Sarah Harmer's "Greeting Card Aisle" (from her CD release "All Of Our Names" -- I discovered her music on one of my trips to Canada for work), and then a recent James McMurtry release called "Childish Things" (from the CD of the same name).

That was an incredible three-some, in my mind...and just when I needed a little cheering up, too! Genesis songs are special favorites of John's, Sarah Harmer is a favorite of mind, and John and I discovered James McMurtry together (because Robert Earl Keen frequently records his songs).

What a gift, Bob! How do you make up your mind what to play on the radio?

Janet

Sunday 6 November 2005

"Paperback Writer" - Beatles, 1966

I'm so very proud of my friend from Salem Community High School, in Salem, Illinois. I don't usually indicate full names of my friends here in Lord Celery, but this time it's all right...you'll have to know in order to look up her work.

Take a look at Amazon's website, and then do a search in the "Books" section for "Vikki L. Jeanne Cleveland". Last year, she published a book about genealogy. But now she's published her first novel, "The Roommates". I understand that it might be a bit racy for some of you. But those less sensitive should definitely take a look. I'm certainly going to order the book.

Vikki is a terrific person, and I'm very proud of her. She's wanted to be a writer for as long as I've known her...and that's a lot of years!

Way to go, girl!

Janet

Saturday 5 November 2005

"A Wild and Crazy Guy" - Steve Martin, 1978

It's Guy Fawkes Day (Bonfire Night) here in England, and we can hear the firecrackers going off outside. I just got up to see if we were in the midst of a thunderstorm, it's getting so loud.

Until this year, I was under the mistaken impression that Guy Fawkes was one of the heroes of the event. I didn't realize that he was part of the group trying to overthrow the government of King James I. Fawkes was the one caught 400 years ago-- under the House of Lords -- in the terrorist plot, and he was tortured and executed (in a particularly brutal way) as a result.

And I also didn't know anything about the Catholic versus Protestant aspect of this whole event until now. I understand there's still a somewhat controversial -- but very traditional -- anti-Catholic parade held around this time of year in Lewes, East Sussex each year. Howard, since that's your part of England, maybe you can comment? (Hope I got that right, Howard -- and if I didn't, please correct me!)

John has also found an interesting page on the BBC website here, comparing Guy Fawkes Day to Halloween. I was thinking more that this is a bit like England's Fourth of July, myself!

Janet

Friday 4 November 2005

"London Town" - Wings, 1978

You Belong in London
A little old-fashioned, and a little modern.
A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock.
A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything.
No wonder you and London will get along so well.

I just took the little quiz -- What City Do You Belong In? -- after seeing it on the YNR Blogthings website. Obviously, the quiz is designed for women. And obviously, I had too much time on my hands this evening. But it's a bit like junk food or junk television...sometimes I just can't help myself, when the mood strikes. Nice to see that I belong in a city in the UK, though! Whew...what a relief! But help me with something -- why might I be interested in a man who is sexy but wears blusher on his face (question 3)????
Janet

"Turn, Turn, Turn" - Byrds, 1966

In Britain, if somebody asks you to "Give me (or us) a twirl.", you wouldn't necessarily know what that request means.

They might be asking you to do a quick runway-type turn, as you might do to show off new clothes. John tells me that Bruce Forsythe used that expression a lot on British TV, and it's certainly something I've heard often since moving here. I like it a lot.

OR...

They might be asking for chocolate...for a Cadbury Twirl. Twirls are one of John's favorites, and he's an even more avid chocoholic than I am...maybe even as fond of chocolate as my friend Krista is! So his opinion on chocolate holds a lot of weight with me. (No pun intended...with the word "weight"...by the way!)

I've always spelled the syndrome as chocoholic, as many US-based websites do. However, I've noticed that other people spell the word as chocAholic...take a look at this "Daily Mail" quiz, for example.

I just visited Cadbury's website. I was surprised to do a search for the word "Twirl" on that site and get nothing back in return. However, it's worth a visit anyway, especially for the repository of old TV ads you'll find there.

So whatever type of twirl strikes your fancy this weekend, have at least one, OK?

Janet

Thursday 3 November 2005

"Just One Of Those Things" - Nat King Cole, 1957

I wish I could stop being such a perfectionist.

I had a little "incident" with my beloved little Audi a few weeks ago. I won't bore you with the details...but I hit something stationary...but it was something that shouldn't have been there...but I should have seen it anyway...etc....etc. The damage isn't terrible, but the car will never look quite the same again. And while I have the money to have her fixed, I certainly could have put the funds to better use.

I picked her up from the Audi garage yesterday. The mechanical damage is fixed, at least. But it will take a trip to the body shop, on the other side of Oxford from me, for the cosmetic repairs. Hopefully John and I can manage that before we leave for our wedding in the US in January.

I'm beating myself up over this incident. I know that it's just one of those things that can happen in life. Nobody was hurt...although I could have been, had the speed and angle of the impact been different. But I just can't let this go. It's just stuck in my brain that I've made a stupid mistake. And I'm haunted by it.

Anybody out there have a remedy for my incessant perfectionism? I've always been a bit like this, but I think it's getting worse as I get older. I just can't seem to give myself a break on much of anything anymore.

Janet

Wednesday 2 November 2005

"What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?" - Michel Legrand, 1969

Something has been on my mind a lot lately. I was under the weather last week, and as a result I found myself thinking about this even more than usual.

What do I want to be when I grow up?

OK..I'm not a kid. But that fact doesn't stop me from thinking about what I want to do with the rest of my life.

After ending my "student years", I began what's now become a 30+ year career in the oil business. During most of that time, I was a crude oil trader/marketer working for large oil companies. It was a fascinating career, but it ended in 2002. It was not my choice for it to end when it did, but it was the right time to stop being what my friend Bill affectionately calls a "traderette". Now, thanks for a wonderful opportunity provided by my current employers, I'm training people in the petroleum industry -- all over the world -- how to do many of the things I was involved in through all those years.

I thoroughly enjoy teaching. It surprises me how very much I'm enjoying the interaction with the students. I almost don't miss my former career at all -- perhaps I only feel a twinge or two when some major news item is affecting the price of crude oil, when I'd love to be right in the middle of all of the action.

Since I've started training, I've discovered that I get a great deal of personal satisfaction from mentoring my students -- especially the young ones. Many of them remain in touch with me after the class is over. That's very cool.

So I've been thinking about something. When the time comes (which I hope it eventually will...) that I don't need to work for money, what am I going to do with myself? I was thinking about volunteering to mentor students -- maybe especially young women -- who perhaps just need a little help navigating through life. Maybe just a word or two of encouragement from an interested non-relative would be helpful. Maybe that's something I could do.

Back in the early-80's, when I was living in Houston, I began the process of being approved by the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program to be a Big Sister. But I had to withdraw my application when my father's health worsened...I felt it would be unfair to take time away from my own family at that point. And somehow, as happens in life, I never got around to thinking seriously about any charitable work again. Life got too busy...too hectic...too complicated.

John and I have talked about how we both would like to get involved with something charitable. I'm sure we will. And in the meantime, I've just heard from my friend Chris, who has recently retired from oil trading, that he's involved in a student mentoring program in the community where he lives in the States. Good for him! I'm sure he's terrific at it, and I'm very proud of him for giving of himself like this. How interesting that Chris has told me this, when I've been thinking about doing the very same thing!

We'll see what the future brings, then...


Janet

Tuesday 1 November 2005

"Nice, Nice, Very Nice" - Ambrosia, 1975

"....so many people in the same device."

As regular Lord Celery readers know (do I actually have any regular readers, I wonder...?), my blog entry titles are songs whose lyrics bear some relationship to what I'm writing about that day. But today is different. Today, a song itself has influenced what's on my mind.

That song is "Nice, Nice, Very Nice", the 1975 release by the band Ambrosia. Firstly, I couldn't remember exactly what year the song came out, so I had to look that up online. Once again, it was that influential year 1975...very influential to me, anyway. Funny that so many of the songs I use as Lord Celery entry titles come from that same year. It's the year I started working for Texaco as an crude oil trader. In other words, it's the year I started my very first real live "adult" job...and it began my education in the world of petroleum. I'd been married for less than a year (and, sadly, that marriage didn't work out very well for either of us). I bought my first piano in 1975. I might have even bought my first new car that year. I also began a now-lifelong friendship with Bill (because we worked together at Texaco) and his wife Carole beginning in 1975. I believe that "Saturday Night Live" premiered on NBC TV that year. 1975 was a whopping thirty years ago. "Holy crap!", to quote Peter Boyle's looney character in the TV series "Everybody Loves Raymond"!

I thought, until this morning, that Ambrosia were an English band. Nope. They are from California...and they have the distinction of having been discovered, in 1971, by the conductor Zubin Mehta! I learned that on the Ambrosia page of this West Coast Music Artists website. I had also forgotten, until this morning, that the lyrics for "Nice, Nice, Very Nice" are based on Kurt Vonnegut Jr's "Cat's Cradle".

But I'm getting a bit off-track here...at least considering my original intention when I started writing this morning.

I rode the meandering bus from north Oxfordshire into Oxford city centre this morning. The ride from my village into central Oxford takes just over an hour. My friend Cindy wasn't on the bus with me today, so I entertained myself by listening to a selection of favorite songs on my iRiver MP3 player. "Nice, Nice, Very Nice" was one of the first songs I heard.

"...so many people in the same device."

I'm not a Vonnegut expert, but I've always assumed that the "device" referred to is our planet Earth. But sometimes, I think of the "device" as the airplane within which I'm jetting off to a teaching location...along with loads of other people, traveling to the same destination for their own reasons. This morning, the "device" was Stagecoach's #59 bus. And I was riding with many now-familiar faces. These are people whose names I don't know -- in most cases -- but they are faces I now recognize and smile at and sometimes even chat with.

I'm a long way from my home country, but I'm very much at home here. And I'm very much in love, also. Thank you, my John! Hope you don't mind that you'll be my husband #2! That's just the way it is. (And that's a completely different song, too...!)

Janet

Obviously Listening To: Ambrosia