Now I desperately want to go back to London. It's been...four years?

What part of London are you in, Sean? Besides bed now, of course.

One day is not nearly enough to see London. The BM is HUGELY overwhelming -- go with the intention of seeing maybe 2 exhibits. There's no way in hell you can do it all in a day.

Get a curry take out, find a garden, spend some time in Camden, and mos def have a pint. Do pubs still close at 11? Leicester Bloody Square! And one of my favorite museums, the London museum, about the history of London. SOOOO interesting.

London is very NYC-like, but once you get in a non-touristy place, they mellow out faster than NYC. But they are different like WHOA than Italians.

The Tate was my favorite art museum.

I also saw some trippy theatre productions; I was in a Shakespeare class and a Woolf class. Saw an S&M Japanese version of the Tempest -- don't ask -- and a kinda funny-cause-they-were-so-serious performance art piece of the sonnets.

Also saw Branaugh do Hamlet in Stratford. SWOOOOOON.

I spent two days in London and I'm afraid I didn't see the inside of a single museum. We did a lot of walking, taking buses, did a river tour and spent a lot of time in bars and restaurants. And, to hark back to the "finding familiar food", I'm afraid we went looking for a MickeyDs. But, when you've been living in rural Spain and the closest US chain (KFC) is 45 miles and (BK) 90 miles and (McDs) 200 miles, you kind of make a beeline for something familiar. After that, we were all about the basement level restaurant with the cowbell playing dude that swung from the rafters.

I didn't have a lot of disposable income, so I bought a lot of potatoes, wonderful French sour cream and ate Indian take out at off hours when they had deals.

And samosas for 50p at this sandwich and donut shop in Earl's Court.

See, now y'all make me want to go back to London, except for the whole knowing it's heinously expensive part. Cause...damn, London is expensive.

But I want to travel abroad with a friend. Not by myself. All my work travel by myself I'm fine with, and a day here or there, or maybe going for a lazy beach trip, fine. But..foreign country? Checking the sights? Enjoying stuff? I want companionship. (Heck, I"d love someone romantic, but a friend would be fine too)

I really do want to cross the Pond some day. And I haven't seen much of the East Coast yet.

Some do, yes. The awesome thing is that they are balanced out by people who so do NOT suck, like this foster mom. She and her family have fostered and placed 120 dogs (pups and full grown) in the past 18 months. How awesome is that?

Saints! Bless them.

Pix, what I'm about to say is something you probably know, so please take it as the public service announcement it is meant to be.

Over and above every piece of advice I might give you about raising a great dog, please mark this next sentence as the bit I feel is most important, above all else:

--Do everything you can to completely forget anything you know, or suspect, about Awesome-to-be-named-puppy's history.

Not only is she a clean slate, free of the cognitive ability to remember her past, but any pity or anxiety you carry into that relationship can only do her ill. The very worst cases I work with are people who feel sorry for their dogs or who do not realize that a dog's mind is thoroughly in the moment...all the time. She can't remember being shot, or abandoned, or any of it.

Hagrid is a most glorious example of this. Branded vicious to dogs, historically 'dangerous' toward people and impossible to handle...(and might I add, 'old' at 10+)...now, with people who frankly didn't know enough about dogs to be anxious, he is at the top of his training class and an absolute love bug. He adores his new people and is spending no time lamenting his 'lost' family, nor musing about his misbegotten youth.

If your pup ends up with you, she will have hit the ever-loving jackpot!

I love bonny's wisdom, especially the doggie kind.

Daughter!fail. Today was my dad's 64th birthday and I just now remembered. With the lack of sleep and the very long and draining day, I got home with two brain cells to spare and they were looking to pick a fight. Gah. I lef a message that he'll get first thing, and I'll call tomorrow, but I feel like a heel.

Smonster, I did that to my grandfather the other day and I'm still feeling awful about it.