My life these last few months has definitely taken some unexpected twists and turns.

After a long dry spell, for a brief period of time, there was something developing on the romance side of life for me. That's gone, but possibly for just the moment (although I am not holding my breath or waiting on anything). I did get a really lovely long weekend from it, with lots of good memories, and a bit over two months where I was smiling and laughing, and smiling _inside_, in ways I had not for well over ten years or more.

I thought I was going to be buying a place in Kent, but that's fallen through now for various reasons, none of which had to do with me thank goodness (only having a temporary visa and being a first-time UK property buyer created enough difficulties in securing a mortgage offer but that wasn't what caused the problems in the end).

Because I have to be out of my current rental place by mid-August, there's not enough time to find another place to buy. Which may actually be a blessing in disguise. Instead, I'm going to find another place to rent here in London for another year. At the end of which I may be taking a hard look at whether to stay in England permanently or not. Part due to the non-domicile tax which comes into play in 2010. Quite honestly, paying £30,000/year because I keep $5,000 in the US from my US-based income (so that I can pay the _taxes_ on my US-based income) is a really oppressive tax. There are quite a few of us affected by this and the result may be that a lot of the US lawyers and financial services people (to name a couple of examples) will be having to head back to the US because of this tax (which at the moment would be about 40% of my annual income from DLA Piper, before UK tax is deducted). Because of the US-UK investment treaties, except for real estate and my employer's pension, I'm not _allowed_ to have investments in the UK. And there's something from my late mother's estate which will always be resident in the US on which I have an income. So, unless they change things with the tax (such as changing the threshold from £2,500 to £30,000 before the tax kicks in), I may be forced to go back to the US.

There may be other reasons for going back also. A very good friend of mine pointed that I have spent my life moving from place to place, hoping that will be the "fix" to my finding peace and happiness. And that's never the result. That's certainly been true here in England. My life is just as empty as before, and I don't really have friends here or any kind of social circle. Although I do adore the English countryside, and the hiking I get to do here (the pleasures of which I've been introducing my friend Genevieve to on weekends when we can get our schedules in synch - like yesterday, when we had an absolutely beautiful hike in the Chilterns even though it was raining and visibility was poor - the views over the valleys and in the various woods were wonderful, and everything was so lush and green).

Anyway, my friend has recommended, and I am following her advice, that I start to try to heal myself and find peace and happiness within. I've started that journey but it will take some time. And this may take me back to the US (as would the guy mentioned in the first full paragraph, but again, it's not something I'm counting on).

Anyway, just need to take some small steps first. And deciding not to go forward with purchasing the place in Kent - a huge weight went off my shoulders Friday night once I decided this which is telling in itself.

Anyway, that's what's been up with me.

I had decided a few days ago to try to do a "small" walk. I bought AA's book of 1001 walks a while back, but for the most part they are 3-5 milers which is less than what I normally like to do (7-10 most of the year, 12-15 in the summer when the light lasts until past 9pm).

They also have a few 1-2 mile walks. Which, for someone like who probably should not yet even be attempting any type of sustained walking, looked perfect. I've hit a breaking point with the prohibition on exercise (understood as it is), and needed to do something.

Then I woke up to snow this morning. Which, instead of deterring me, got me even more juiced. Since I'm a kid, if there's a major snowstorm, I want to be out in it. In the past that usually meant heading to my favorite Italian restaurant, depending where I was living. Today it meant to do this walk.

So I found myself on the Northern line heading to the last stop, Morden. And then going through Morden Hall Park, which is operated by the National Trust. It's supposed to be lovely rose gardens. Today it was covered in snow, and kids were out making snowmen and having snowball fights. A different kind of beauty (I do feel for everything that had started blossoming - today's snow and the further snow showers predicted for tomorrow will have killed all the new sprouts).

Totally flat, paved paths which is all I can really handle right now. Probably 1.5 miles in all round trip from the Tube station. But it felt good to be out (although my feet were getting sore at the end, especially the left one which is lagging behind the right one somewhat in recovery terms).

I am booked to stay at a B&B in the Cotswolds over the early bank holiday weekend in May. Fortunately both of my Costwolds walk books have several 3-5 mile hikes. So I can continue to build up my walking stamina. I'm looking forward to doing more exploring out there.

Meanwhile I really need to turn my head toward my housing situation since it looks like I only have until mid-August to sort out a place to buy (complicated story I won't go into here). So flat hunting, here I come!

Today I really wish I had the memory on my digital camera fixed.

Yesterday I was admiring the white blossoms on the tree in the yard of the house my flat is in.

This morning I woke up to find fairly heavy snow falling. Such that the ground is covered, along with the trees.

The effect of the snow covering those same white blossoms is really marvelous. It is absolutely beautiful looking through the glass of the conservatory panes.

It won't last that way. But I'm going to quickly get dressed and try to {slowly} walk around outside this April winter wonderland for a while.

Today I went out and ran my first errands since the surgery.

Up until now, I have been having things delivered after ordering online (and will still need groceries delivered for the next few weeks until the no heavy lifting ban is lifted).

So what did I go out and get? After warming up the car for its first use in 10 weeks.

Comic books and light bulbs. Or rather, I tried to get comic books and light bulbs. My comic book store, which had been sending me my standing order every two weeks, had not done so for three weeks so I decided to go check things out. Turns out they sent three weeks of books off to me yesterday so my trip was pretty much wasted (except I did pick up three trade paperbacks based on recommendations among 12,000 comic book messages on the V [whose messages I have been playing catch up on during my enforced down time]). They'll be good for the train ride to and from Birmingham this week for the compulsory litigation training there (for work, of course).

The light bulbs - the guy at Homebase still ended up giving me the wrong bulb even though I had brought the burnt out one with me (I had no success in locating one online when it first blew a month ago). Which means I'll have to make another trip there (or somewhere else) next weekend.

How are things going with the feet recovery? A bit slower than I had envisioned. But I think I may have been expecting miraculous things once I was out of the Japanese wedgie shoes (which had me walking solely on my heels). As I put it, old ladies, heavily pregnant women and the slow boat to China have nothing on me at the moment so far as "speed" is concerned.

The lack of exercise/working out is taking its toll. While the scale says I have only put on 3-4 pounds during all of this, it looks like more on my body (and seems that way with my clothing). I really cannot wait for the doctor to say that I can start working out again (hopefully I will be given the all clear on 15 April). I hope this is a lot of water weight, and due to being on the couch and so sedentary, so that when I do start exercising again, some of it will come off quickly. Also, if I keep myself at the reduced calorie levels I put myself on during this whole time, that should also help. Crossing my fingers big time.

Has the op itself been a success? That's the question I keep getting asked. It's hard at this stage to tell while the feet are still healing. It did turn out to not be normal bunion correction after all, but something related to my birth defects (over-rotation of the bones in my feet). So the recovery is taking a bit longer, especially for the left foot, and everything is still quite swollen (I only finally got into trainers this past week - open toed sandals are actually much more comfortable right now but the weather is not conducive to them).

Time and patience. I have to say 10 weeks have just sped by. How is it April in 2 days?

I've been making references to this in various places, and it is now happening on Tuesday so I thought I should put something in here about it.

Basically, both of my feet require what is called bunion correction surgery. Except I don't quite have the bunions yet. What I do have are two big toe bones (or whatever the medical names for those bones are) shifting inwards at 45 degree angles to the rest of my foot. Which has caused my foot to widen, and also made it hard for me to walk properly. It has happened fairly rapidly over the last few years. At this point I'm no longer able to wear most shoes, and anything really closed toed (aside from trainers) or with any type of heal is unbearable after a brief period of time.

But yet I continued to do my hiking. I just would go barefoot immediately afterwards (even driving home from someplace) or put on open toed sandals.

The deformity is pretty noticeable now if I am in open toed shoes (as my friends noted in the Bahamas last week).

So I'm getting the corrective surgery done. In what sounds like a really posh private hospital here in London (this is covered by insurance). Room service, a wine list (if permitted by your doctor), plasma screen TV, lots of other amenities. I'm not sure whether I'm off to a hospital or a spa, quite honestly.

I'm there for three days starting Tuesday. Home sometime on Thursday. Then I get to stay home the better part of three weeks, walking as little as possible. Then three weeks back at work but still wearing the surgical boots. Then 6 more weeks in trainers. Finally, 3 months post-surgery I'm allowed to try regular shoes, start working out, do small hikes, and basically build up my walking/leg/foot strength again.

I am looking forward to this because it means I should be pain-free once I'm through the recovery period. And hopefully I will be able to manage everything during my recovery here at home. I've just stocked up on lots of stuff, and have arranged for home delivery of groceries. Lots of DVDs on the rental queue. Lots of books and magazines to read.

So that's what's up with me for the next while. I'm probably off-line for several days this week, but I figure this will also be a good chance to catch up on some web surfing.

Today I went around parts of central London catching a couple of exhibitions I've been wanting to see, but not had time to see, and which are closing in the next couple of weeks. I am a bit leery of trying to see more than one exhibition in a day, because I can sometimes have "art overload" but these two were surprisingly complementary.

First up, The Art of Couture at the Victoria & Albert museum. Me getting to look at haute couture clothes? No brainer, obviously. I still miss the exhibitions that Diana Vreeland used to put together for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York - truly wonderful displays with lovely scenic backgrounds and full mannequins. These days all the costume exhibitions tend to be on only partial mannequins with not much in the way of decor.

Anyway, I digress. While the clothing was restricted to 1947-1957, so much is timeless. Plus the tailoring and fabrics can still be admired even if they belong to another era. However, the evening gowns and cocktail dresses - there are so many which I would wear today without pause.

I do recommend this to anyone who enjoys fashion although it closes down in the beginning of January.

Second, the Millais exhibit at Tate Britain (also closing in mid-January). Besides just being very lovely art, my breath was taken away by how I could almost "feel" the fabric in his pictures. Especially velvet, silk and organza. Plus his Scottish landscapes (putting in my mind the idea of doing a two-week trip in Scotland next summer). One of the better exhibitions the Tate has had in a while (Britain anyway).

I did not make it to the Queen's Gallery for the Italian art exhibition but I think that might have been one too many for today. Plus that exhibition will be open until May so I do have a bit of time (which is why I shall aim to see it next weekend while work is a bit slow and before the foot operation puts me out of commission for two months).

I have a real dilemma right now.

I totally stumbled during one of my walks in Kent a few weeks back on a 19th century manor house which is being re-developed into a block of flats. www.swaylands.net if anyone is interested.

Went back to see it with my friend Genevieve the next weekend. Really fell in love with it (one flat in particular, especially its kitchen). This would be to buy. But the thing is I can't buy a place in Kent and also keep a place in London.

So this week I stayed at a b&b not far from Swaylands and gave the commute a try. And it took basically the same amount of time as it does for me to get from Belsize Park to work. And I got a seat each way, both days.

I would commute out of Tonbridge but I'm about 10 minutes also from Royal Tunbridge Wells (which looks beautiful).

So now the hard part is deciding whether to seriously pursue this and move out to Kent or stay in London (where I will probably not be able to find the kind of space I want for the money I have/mortgage I can get because of current prices without going fairly far out anyway). But again today I found myself running/driving out to the countryside for a walk, and felt my heart start to sink as I drove back into London. So maybe it is time for a change of pace and some country living/commuting.

Opinions welcome here!

A beautiful mercato blue VW Polo. Used (2004) but with only 20,000 miles on her.

Yes, her. This is the new Mack (as in SLAMT).

So I've finally taken a big step and bought something fairly major (somehow the furniture does not really count - that can always go with me wherever I go should it be back to the US or another country should the winds ever move that way). But it means freedom! Bicester here I come! Bluewater here I come! Brent Cross here I come!

And, most importantly, my two week holiday consisting of road tripping and hiking through the Lakes District, Yorkshire, and Derbyshire - here I come!!!

Current Mood: giddy

Okay, as last noted, I was giving the world of Match.com a whirl.

And it appeared to be starting fairly positively. One guy who seemed interesting asked me to meet him for a glass of wine. He lived in my neck of the woods (Hampstead) so we agreed to meet up Monday night (tonight).

Only then he started giving me really odd "directions" to the place he wanted to meet up at. As in they were directions which would not lead me to any bar or restaurant - he would name a street and say the place was the first bar on the left, but the street was completely residential and had no bars.

So this morning I sent an email asking him to clarify where we were supposed to be getting together.

And I heard nothing.

He had given me his mobile number earlier so I texted him about 90 minutes before we were scheduled to meet (from the work mobile, though, not the personal one). No response.

I got home from work (early!) just in case we were still going to meet so I could "spruce" myself up and get out of work suit and into something more fun. But no messages or emails. I had a funny feeling though so signed on to match.com. And found out that he was online at that instant also.

Which meant he was standing me up.

I really don't understand people like that. If he had changed his mind about meeting me (or had hooked up with someone else prior to our date), why not just pay me the courtesy of cancelling instead of leaving me hanging?

Instead I admit that I am now wondering what was wrong with me that a guy did not even want to see through a first date (which he had initiated). I know I should not think that way, but it would have been my first date since moving to London and I was looking forward just to the idea of that (even if it was not the "right" guy, at least it would have been a step in the right direciton for me socially).

Oh well. (And, no, I have not sent any further texts or emails to him. That much I know better not to do.)

Current Mood: disappointed

I've signed up for Match.com and put up a profile.

Okay, I'm done taking the deep breath.

Basically, I found out that, once again, a guy I was interested in, who I thought might be interested in me, wasn't. And I'm just really tired of mis-reading signals and spending all my weekends (and weeknights) without dates or someone in my life.

So (as Cath has been urging me to do for months) I have taken this step towards "fixing" this problem.

I've even "winked" at three men already (but not had the guts to send actual emails). Unfortunately, I still only have the one picture of me I've been using for a couple of years. There's nothing else uploaded which I would feel comfortable posting. So I may have to get someone to take some shots of me at some point just so there's a bit more variety on there.

I also hope I have not been too honest with my statements. I probably have. But the funny part is that what I wrote about myself is so just the tip of the iceberg.

If I have any good or funny stories to tell from this "adventure", I'll post.

www.walkforlife.co.uk/cherylharris

I'm giving this another try (and hopefully have made it easy to just click on the link).

Next Sunday I will be walking all over London helping to raise funds for research for AIDS/HIV. If you would like to sponsor me (even for just a few £ or $), please click on the link above.

Back in New York, I tried every year to do the breast cancer and AIDS walks in NYC.

Last year in London, because of the severe hours on my job I was unable to do any of those walks.

But this is a different year. And, with the 10-15 mile hikes I do every weekend, I thought I would do one for a good cause.

So I doing the Walk For Life here in London on June 10. It is the AIDS/HIV research fundraising walk over here.

And you can sponsor me online. And you do not have to be in the UK to do so.

www.walkforlife.co.uk/cherylharris

Just click on that link (or copy and paste it if I have screwed up activating the link). Any amount will be much appreciated (I know the $-£ exchange rate is really bad right now). For those of you who do not know, my cousin Gary died from an AIDS-related illness back in 1993. And there are others I have known who have also died that way, and I know of several others who are living with HIV. So it is a cause I try to support as much as possible.

Please help me in my efforts and become a sponsor for my walk.

Thank you in advance.

It's been a few months since I posted.

I was very sick the first couple months of this year - housebound for about three weeks during February. March was spent recovering and a quick trip to the US for my niece's bat mitzvah.

And then it was the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. I was about 30 minutes by train outside of London at a spa trying to get the rest of my health back. But got bored of the limited grounds of the place. So decided to take a walk out on some of the roads in the area. And found the public footpaths and bridlepaths.

Suddenly I remembered one of the reasons I had moved here - exploring the countryside on foot.

So I dug out a couple of the walks in or near London books I had in the house. And the next Sunday I was on a train to Henley on Thames and did a 8 1/2 mile walk in the countryside just east of there. And it beautiful and fun. And good for me.

So each weekend since then I've done a hike in the countryside. I've been to Knole Park and House now, and Igtham Mote, and loads of little villages (and their public houses). The early Bank Holiday weekend in May I rented a car and went to the Cotswolds where I stayed in a B&B. Did 10-12 mile hikes each day. Saw some absolutely beautiful scenery. And some fun historic sites and country houses (if Blenheim Palace can really be described that way). I really fell in love with the Cotswolds - if I end up with a weekend home at some point, I think it may be out that way.

This morning though I sit in the lounge at Heathrow waiting for my flight to Rome to be called. Yes, I am off on a holiday (with my friend Genevieve) to Rome and Florence. 11 days of no work and getting to see some places in Europe I've wanted to get back to since my one day in each city during the now infamous "Drinking my way through Europe" bus tour I did my first year after college (when I ended up on a bus tour with a bunch of other 21 and 22 year olds - our sleeping was done each day on the bus). This shall be fun, once Genevieve and I get some sleep tonight (we both ended up in our respective offices until close to midnight, with the taxi picking us up for our flight at 4am and we had not packed yet when we left work).

So that brings all of you up to speed. Except for one last item, which shall be in the next post.

I've been saying for weeks how I would love to see some snow already this winter. The type that dusts the ground and trees enough to make for a pretty picture.

And I have finally looked at the window this morning to see that my wish has come true.

Of course, this is also the morning when the second attempt is to be made to deliver my piano and other furniture from the States. The first was when the gale winds erupted last week and forced the closure of many roads, including some around me which prevented the delivery van from getting here.

I'm crossing my fingers that fulfillment of one wish is not going to get in the way of the other.

And wishing I had time this morning to figure out how to change my memory card in my camera so I could capture the beautiful scene in the garden behind the house my flat is in.

. . . or How I Spent My Christmas Holiday

For this really has been a bit of a holiday for me. I cannot remember the last time I had four days off where I wasn't rushing off to someplace involving planes or where I was not so sick that I could not remember what happened during a period of time, and where for once I could truly relax and not have to wonder if someone from work would disturb me (okay, ditching the work mobile and Blackberry is helping somewhat with this part ).

Anyway, being (1) Jewish and (2) without family I do not have any obligations during Christmas. Which can be great. Last year I took off and was at a hotel for Christmas where there was an ocean and warmth and, well you get the picture.

This year I do not head for the islands until the 30th. So I had to figure out what to do. And, until a few days ago, I thought that would simply mean lounging around at home. Catching up on stuff on my DVR and computer. Just being lazy.

Then I got to thinking. I worked through Thanksgiving and really started hankering after a big dinner/lunch with all the trimmings. Plus wanted to be someplace festively decked out. For years I went to a place in Asheville, North Carolina which did an old-fashioned Victorian Christmas with caroling and tree trunks roasting in fireplaces. Truly lovely.

Without a car (something I intend to rectify in 2007) my options were limited. As was the fact that I was only deciding to do something a few days before Xmas. But one of my favourite hotels here in London by Hyde Park had a holiday special going on so I booked myself in for two days. And made reservations for Christmas Day lunch at one of my favourite restaurants also in the Hyde Park area (Lanes in the Four Seasons Hotel).

Then I checked to see what museum exhibitions I could squeeze in on the weekend. And discovered that in London, pretty much all the museums would be closed on Christmas Eve. And the 25th. And the 26th. Which (except for the 25th) is pretty stupid. There are so many tourists here right now, you would think that the museums would want to capitalize on that. Especially with shops still open on the 24th. It's not like it's a bank holiday that day. The States gets it right, I think, with being open the day before, and the day after Christmas.

Anyway, I ended up at the Victoria and Albert on Saturday. Saw the Da Vinci drawings exhibit. Through which I was mostly underwhelmed until, towards the end, it struck me that these anatomy drawings, scribblings, and designs for machines were being made centuries ago. Obvious, right? And not something I had not known before. But when you see the pages from the Codex and the other notebooks which were on display, it just makes something like the Mona Lisa look really insignificant in terms of what Da Vinci could do.

Sunday I checked into my hotel. And then walked down the street to Buckingham Palace. Where the Queens Gallery was open. Pretty much the only museum/exhibition space open on the 24th. Very smart of them. They had quite a number of people there.

The current exhibition: Unfolding Pictures - Fans in the Royal Collection. And what fans they were! I have always loved fans and owned quite a few when I was a kid (destroying quite a few from oversnapping and such). I have one which I keep wrapped up which I bought in Bruges almost 20 years ago. The royal fans are just exquisite. It's really a shame that they have gone out of fashion as they have. It's a lost art, in a way. And there were 3 Faberge fans!!! I don't think I ever knew that Faberge made fans before. Or, if they had been included in that massive Delaware exhibition six years ago, my apologies for not remembering but I was still pretty out of it from my mother's death at that point (although points to my stepmom for taking me to it as a way to get me out of my robot state then).

So many of the fans had quite a history. Queen Mary was quite the collector of fans (as she seems to have been quite the collector of so many things), but most the "recent queens" (from Queen Charlotte onwards) had added to the collection along the way.

The exhibition is on until February so if you are in London and have ever been interested in fans, I do recommend it. I've been to the Fan Museum in Greenwich, and I have to say the ones displayed here were of a much higher quality. It's also easier to study the ones here because of how they are displayed. And do not skip on the audiotour. It gives quite a lot of information which is not available otherwise.

Today I had a wonderful Christmas lunch. Returned to the hotel in time for the Queen's Christmas Message (first time I've actually seen one). Settled back to watch Brokeback Mountain on the DVD player in my room (which I had through my Amazon.co.uk rental queue). Only it would not play. So I've been catching up on stuff on my computer.

At quarter to six though I decided that maybe I should head down to the Library Bar here in the hotel for some tea or cocoa and read the book I had brought (George R R Martin's A Feast of Crows). I get settled down there when a party of 6 or so sits down at the table next to me. And a gentleman asks me if they can borrow a chair from my table. I say of course. And the man wishes me Happy Holidays, which I wish him back.

And then I put my glasses back on (I had taken them off for various reasons). And realised that sitting right over from me, and who had asked for the chair, was Henry Winkler (aka the Fonz). Who is here doing Pantomime (playing Captain Hook in Peter Pan if I remember the signs). He is with a small group, two of whom appear to be his son and daughter (the woman definitely is - she called him "dad"). Fellow Jews having a nice Christmas. What can I say - we enjoy the trappings of the holiday!

Tomorrow I will return to the flat, do some laundry in preparation for the Bahamas, pay some bills, etc. But these have been a lovely couple of days where I get to enjoy London the way I wish I could more often (not the hotel part necessarily, but getting out and doing things I like to do, or just chilling out with a book [or comic books - I brought a stack of those to read also], or watching TV [yes, I just watched the Dr Who Christmas Special]). Sleeping 8-9 hours per night.

I may actually have a shot at going on holiday for the first time in 15 months not totally exhausted. Tennis lessons here I come!!!

I hope everyone is have an equally nice Christmas long weekend, and has a Happy New Year!

Over the weekend I found out that one of my best friends has a fybroid tumour (I've probably spelled that wrong) and is facing a possible hysterectomy. Which has her very scared for a lot of reasons which probably have more to do with facing the side effects of that rather than having a tumour (which is more than likely benign).

Yesterday she had her diagnosis confirmed (and found out that it's a fairly sizeable tumour) but she's seeking a second opinion over how it should be handled. Which she won't have until mid-January.

Personally, if it was me, I wouldn't want to give something like that another 3-4 wseeks of growing time inside of me. But I would want to make sure that I'm getting the best advice possible. Which is why I'm glad I pointed her to some of the better hospitals in the Philadelphia area so that she could seek out that best advice and get it. Which is what she is now doing. Unfortunately, Christmas/New Year's means she has to put off getting that opinion until mid-January. Whole department practices in hospitals should not be able to take such length breaks, in my opinion (with usually only one doctor around for emergency cases).

And then this morning as I'm getting ready to go to the gym, I open the newsletter from my synagogue in Philadelphia which arrived yesterday. And see on the In Memorium page a notice about the death of a family friend. Someone who, along with her sister and parents, made me feel much more welcome into the family circles than my step-siblings did when my dad and step-mom got married. Tanya had been going through bouts of various cancers for quite a few years now. She was only 56 when she died but she'd been battling it for a good 10 years I think. Her parents are still alive, as is her sister Marsy. And, while it is so horrible to have to bury your child, I also cannot think that there is now some measure of peace for them (and her). Because she went through so much illness for so long, and they (especially her mom) went through it with her every step of the way.

I'm not at the gym. Last night's news, coupled with this morning's, has left me a bit too raw. So I took my Christmas cheer to my trainers and explained the situation and have come home here to get my thoughts sorted before heading to work where there is a really major court deadline awaiting us for 4pm today.

I've already gone and made my donation to the American Cancer Society.

And am trying to banish some really bad, selfish, self-pitying thoughts. You see, Tanya's death must have happened sometime within the last couple of months because my synagogue's newsletter is only published every few months (usually timed with major Jewish holidays - this one was Hannukkah themed).

And no one told me.

In case it wasn't enough that no one contacted me for the Jewish New Year (although I tried to call some of them), or Thanksgiving, or now Hannukkah, this just really seals it for me that my stepfamily, because of the situation with my father, have just excised me from things. And I am really alone without any family now.

This was someone I knew for close to 25 years. She (and Marsy) were guests at my 40th. I could not even think about having that party without the two of them (and thank goodness because I have some really great pictures of Tanya having the best time). I did not know that she was in the final stages. So that I could tell her the great things I thought about her. And try to say something of comfort to her family.

I really hope the card they are going to get now from me (plus the donation card from ACS) does not stir up raw wounds that are only beginning to settle.

http://www.comicspace.com/cdh111/

Maybe it has something to do with having worked both Saturday and Sunday.

Or that I went with a friend last night to watch "The Holiday" and realised that was how I was really hoping my life in England would be turning out by now (not necessarily expecting Jude Law but that my totally empty romantic life would have taken a turn for the better).

Questions as asked by Budgie (apologies - I do not know how to do the link to someone else's LJ):

1. What most surprised you about the UK when you arrived? I've been coming to the UK for over 20 years. But what surprised me most as someone living here (as opposed to just being a tourist) was the hours kept by shops. The fact that so many places close by 5 (or 6/6:30 at the latest), and are not open on Sundays astounds me. I'm watching as later hours and Sunday hours are starting to creep in, but most cities in the US recognise that people work and cannot get to stores during working hours. And the blue laws that I grew up with have pretty much been abolished so I am really not used to seeing stores not open on Sundays.

2. What's your favourite quote from literature? "Tomorrow is another day." From Gone With the Wind. Which I read first, before seeing the movie, in a third or fourth printing that was my mom's and is still in my possession (it made the cut of books which came with me from NY to London). That philosophy has gotten me through a lot of tough places in my life.

3. What attracted you to the law? Logic and analysis. I'm not getting to do much of it now, but my favourite aspect of practising law is going through case law and statutes and applying it to facts, or coming up with the arguments that will lead to the creation of new law. I absolutely love doing that stuff.

4. What's your guilty secret when it comes to television? I don't think I have too many secrets. But not many people know that I've been watching one soap opera (As the World Turns) since 1984. And that Lost in Space is still my favourite all-time TV show, just for totally sentimental reasons, not because of quality.

5. You get the chance to propose any single amendment to the US Constitution. You can propose a new one or amend/delete an existing one. Which do you do? Probably tweak that "right to bear arms" thing. Except that I do get where people want a gun in the house for protection.

Every so often something comes to give me a kick in the gut to remind me that some people are going through some pretty big fights out there.

My law school sometimes sends mass emails around to tell us of news regarding our classmates - usually a death or something similar. Many times though it's been people from other years who I never knew.

This time the email I received Friday had to do with one of my classmates. Only it wasn't his death or serious illness. It was about his son fighting cancer. So today I went to the CarePage which had been set up for Patrick. And read about 50-60 entries his mom and dad had put in about this kid's struggle with cancer since June. And only discovered about 3/4 of the way through that this little boy, who is painted in all the entries as really dealing with his surgeries, chemo, side effects, etc. is only 3.

And a big Spidey fan. There's even a pic of him all bald from the loss of hair due to the chemo in a Spidey suit.

His spirit and good nature is just astounding me.

On the other hand, he's only 3. With two sisters, one of whom is not yet 1. I really do not understand how God works sometimes, but this has served to remind me that no matter what crap may be going on in my life or work stuff, nothing compares to something like this.

My prayers are with them, and I really hope this little boy gets to live a really full and long life.

I'm sitting here doing a really fine job of procrastinating putting my stuff together for my accountant. Which is pretty bad since I have to file my return by the 15th of this month. And I have to do it in the next 3 hours because after that I'm off to services for Yom Kippur and start the 24 hour fast.

But I'm now back from my holiday and just wanted to say that, no matter how often I go there, or what the circumstances, when I pass through the entrance to Walt Disney World, a huge smile breaks across my face.

I'm not sure what it is about WDW. And it seems to be tied more to Epcot than any of the other parks. But I do just get the most marvelous feelings from just entering its environs than pretty much anywhere else (with being by the ocean running a very close second). I do not even have to enter one of the parks. I went there before my flight on Thursday so that I could get a replacement Beauty and the Beast wand for one of my honorary nieces (who had lost it during our trip there last week). Just went to Downtown Disney. And realised I just felt really good being there.

Are there places that make any others feel the same way?