I left on June 11th at about 3:30 in the afternoon or so Arizona time. I arrived in London the next day at about 11:00 in the morning London time (or 3 in the morning Arizona time).

It was a pretty uneventful trip other than that I met a woman on the plane from Phoenix to Chicago who used to be a teacher and we chatted the entire trip, so that was a nice way to while away 3 hours or so. When I got to Chicago it was nice to find my gate was nearby unlike the last time when I had to walk forEVER to get to the next gate. Anyway, I had some food so I wouldn't pass out and waited for my plane to take off.

Got to London half an hour early, couldn't remember how to turn on the international cell phone at first, so I got a little panicky and took the battery out and put it back in and everything and then finally remembered the on switch was on the top. Whew.

Zipped through immigration and customs and went to what they call “The Meeting Place” to wait for my friend to meet me. Friend was not there, so I sat down and waited. Finally got there after I'd been waiting 15 minutes (but remember I was early so friend was actually only 10 minutes later than the arranged upon time). There had been some kind of emergency on the underground which held things up, but nonetheless, friend arrived and we were on our way to Windsor for the first night and day of my journey.

I took a nap, then a shower, and then we went to dinner in Windsor at a little restaurant across from the castle. Back to the hotel and fell asleep, but I woke up missing Mike in the middle of the night, so I called him and had him call me back (incoming calls free = outgoing calls $1.49/minute). That made me feel better and I finally had a good night's sleep.

Finished Harry Potter (the British version) yesterday. As always, it was hard to put it down and I enjoyed reading it very much and I can't wait for the next one! It's really getting interesting!!!

I also find it's nice to have been talking a lot to Brits because now I am able to translate some of the phrases faster. lol

Anyway, highly recommended. Looking forward to the next one!

Well, I'm back from my trip in one piece more or less. Don't worry, you will hear all about it in coming posts, but suffice it to say (for now) that I am happy to be here at all. I know some of you will not like my being so cryptic, but hey, obviously I'm okay or I wouldn't be typing this, and if I didn't leave you with a cliffhanger, then how do I know you'd come back to read the journal?

I haven't got pictures back yet, but I will hopefully get them on my new website as soon as I can figure out how the heck to do so (hint hint Syndromes). Ireland was beautiful, wish I could have seen more of it.

I will write more very very soon…I promise! And if you really can't stand it, you can always email me and ask me. I'll probably tell you.

Oh, and one more thing, I know that some of you complain a lot about the bad things about America. Let me just say this. We are VERY lucky to live here. Period.

More later.

Mike and I spent Saturday (on and off with breaks here and there) putting together a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. It was one of those scenic views - you know the kind that you think will be easy until you actually do it? Anyway, two things stick out in my mind about it. Number one, it's interesting how we can spend all those hours together and not really say all that much, yet grow closer with each passing moment. We were working on something together and just enjoying spending time together. [Random thought: I've not spent much time in any rooms besides the office and the bedroom and so it was kinda nice to spend some time in my living room for a change] Number two, the other interesting thing is how differently Mike and I go about putting together puzzles, and that is why we work on different parts instead of the same one at the same time.

Jigsaw Puzzle 101 by Karin & Mike

1. Karin must find all the edges and put that together first.
2. Mike wants Karin to find other things while looking for edges and she just ignore him so Mike takes box and finds edges for Karin while sorting all the other pieces into different piles.
3. Karin puts the frame together in its entirety before she will ever even begin to think of doing anything else.
4. Mike then will work on his section and Karin will work on another section. In this case, it was Mike on the sky and Karin on the flowers.
5. Mike will take a piece and study the box lid until he finds exactly where it goes.
6. Karin will take a bunch of pieces that look like they belong in the same general vicinity and study the piece and the puzzle looking for shape and color matches.
7. Karin never ever ever looks at the box lid unless she is totally stumped.
8. Mike never ever does NOT look at the box lid.
9. Mike is spatial in his way, and Karin is spatial in hers.
10. Mike determines things by finding the exact match in the picture.
11. Karin determines things by their shape first.

I think it has something to do with the way that I learned how to type on a French keyboard (which had keys in different places) in about 4 minutes and then didn't have to look at the keys anymore. My friend that I travelled there with was in awe. And how I could look at a map, find where we were, and then whenever I looked at the map again I would go right to the correct spot. Perhaps I have a photographic memory or something…I dunno, but I never realized I had that much spatial aptitude until this year. It's kind of a neat thing to learn about oneself though! :-)

All right leaving on Wednesday for a nice long trip. Hate airplane rides. Stressing about that. Mostly because of my past history with airplanes and hospitals. See the heart attack story a few months ago. Goodness…that anniversary is approaching. What will it be…8 years? Wow. Life goes on and on. That is a good thing.

If I don't type before I leave, I'm sure I'll have plenty to say when I get back.

I just love the internet…I just ordered pound traveller's cheques for my trip online. How cool is that? They will be here by Tuesday. Okay, sure, I could have driven to the bank and done it, but convenience is a nice thing! Just like remote controlled fireplaces and ceiling fans in my bedroom. No, I'm not lazy. I just enjoy modern conveniences. Okay just a few more days and I'm on my way to the UK again. Yay!

Wow, what a show…I was on a rollllll tonight. It amazes me how natural it is for me to be a DJ. Not that I'm the best DJ or even the most talented, but it just comes so easy for me, and that is what amazes me. There are no real nerves, no stage fright…I just do it. And if I make a mistake? Who cares! It becomes a comedy spot. So happy am I on the air. Syndromes, you should be on the air, too. You'd be a natural as well I bet! And Enjelani, if you read this, I hope you don't mind that I play your tunes once in awhile. I did buy the cd!! :) All right..time to start floating on down from the high of performing. Sleep is coming soon I feel!

For Teacher Appreciation Week, the church that we share space with gave us all $5 Starbuck's cards. I thought….what good does this do ME? I can't drink coffee!! Well, some friends from work and I went to dinner at Macaroni Grill and then over to Starbuck's for a drink afterwards. I was introduced to…drum roll please….Vanilla Creme Frappuccino….uh oh. YUMMMMMMMMMM! And my $5 Starbuck's card will be gone quickly. And now I've joined the Starbuck's generation. *sigh* Who woulda thought it?

I can't wait until tomorrow, cuz I'll be right by Starbuck's and get one. Yay!