A few years ago I was a dominatrix for Halloween. Simple costume. Black dress. Black leather jacket. Black knee high boots. Black bobbed wig. Black riding crop borrowed from a gay friend involved in the Silverlake S & M scene which I used to smack the asses of anyone who came near me and black handcuffs that I got from a costume shop.

I kept the handcuffs because. . . well. . . you never know when you might need handcuffs do you?

I unpacked them yesterday, set them on a shelf where they were gleefully discovered by Jen who promptly put herself into them. She thought it was funny until S tightened them so that she needed the lock to get them off.

She bleated for a while before we let her out.

Just now I looked above the fireplace and saw that she removed the picture that was there and hung the handcuffs up on the nail. So funny.

Either it was her or our ghost likes the handcuffs too.

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S said when we moved in that he saw a mirror move and that he feels that something is always watching him in the flat.

I thought he was being a little overly. . . I don’t know. . . wanting the place to be haunted. Is there a word that means that? The desire to be witness to ghosties.

I haven’t seen anything but his saying something has put thoughts in my head so late at night I have been feeling a little edgy.

Have been having really vivid weird dreams and S and Jen have as well. I usually sleep so deeply I don’t remember my dreams. Have had a few night terrors, but I know that is from stress.

This afternoon, just now, this very moment, I hear piano or music box music. Simple little pattern. I IM’d S asking if one of our neighbors has a piano and he tells me that it is our resident guest. Tells me that it is loudest in the kitchen and that if I go in there it will stop.

I go in the kitchen. Loudest in there. Then. . .it stops.

Feeling a little freaked out.

Asked Jen in IM if she ever heard it and she typed, (sic) “whoa!!!!! easy going tiger…….never heard that b4…..noone told me i was gonna live with loonies!!!!!. . .and is god telling u 2 drink more red wine? cos thats wot he says to me.”

It keeps playing on and off.

I’m listening to Bill Evans right now. Listening to Bill Evans trying to ignore the music box noise that keeps playing behind me.

I’m here alone tonight. Jen is pulling an all nighter at her job and S has a work dinner thing.

I wish I were making this up.

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Shot a,”In London- Please send job” e-mail to a recruiter I met in June who had given me her card. She had me come in today to make sure I didn’t have two heads and has already set me up for three interviews tomorrow.

Need to do my research on these companies and get my head screwed on so they don’t think I am an idiot. At least not to start. Let them realize I am an imbecile after they hire me.

I should have waited to contact her next week after I was all moved in. Whatever Heather.

I’m sad I didn’t get short listed for that a gig at The National Theatre. How stupid am I that I’m sad that I didn’t get to interview for a job that only pays 18,000 quid.

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Why do I have so many books? What was I thinking? How did that happen?

I keep thinking of that poor sap in Howards End who is killed when the bookcase is pulled onto him. That could happen with the shelves in the hallway here.

I now know why I stayed in my apartment for eight years. It wasn’t the huge rent controlled apartment. It was for the simple fact that I didn’t want to move.

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President Bush’s Walkabout

After President Bush’s disastrous visit to Latin America, it’s unnerving to realize that his presidency still has more than three years to run. An administration with no agenda and no competence would be hard enough to live with on the domestic front. But the rest of the world simply can’t afford an American government this bad for that long.

In Argentina, Mr. Bush, who prides himself on his ability to relate to world leaders face to face, could barely summon the energy to chat with the 33 other leaders there, almost all of whom would be considered friendly to the United States under normal circumstances. He and his delegation failed to get even a minimally face-saving outcome at the collapsed trade talks and allowed a loudmouthed opportunist like the president of Venezuela to steal the show.

It’s amazing to remember that when Mr. Bush first ran for president, he bragged about his understanding of Latin America, his ability to speak Spanish and his friendship with Mexico. But he also made fun of Al Gore for believing that nation-building was a job for the United States military.

The White House is in an uproar over the future of Karl Rove, the president’s political adviser, and spinning off rumors that some top cabinet members may be asked to walk the plank. Mr. Bush could certainly afford to replace some of his top advisers. But the central problem is not Karl Rove or Treasury Secretary John Snow or even Donald Rumsfeld, the defense secretary. It is President Bush himself.

Second terms may be difficult, but the chief executive still has the power to shape what happens. Ronald Reagan managed to turn his messy second term around and deliver - in great part through his own powers of leadership - a historic series of agreements with Mikhail Gorbachev that led to the peaceful dismantling of the Soviet empire. Mr. Bush has never demonstrated the capacity for such a comeback. Nevertheless, every American has a stake in hoping that he can surprise us.

The place to begin is with Dick Cheney, the dark force behind many of the administration’s most disastrous policies, like the Iraq invasion and the stubborn resistance to energy conservation. Right now, the vice president is devoting himself to beating back Congressional legislation that would prohibit the torture of prisoners. This is truly a remarkable set of priorities: his former chief aide was indicted, Mr. Cheney’s back is against the wall, and he’s declared war on the Geneva Conventions.

Mr. Bush cannot fire Mr. Cheney, but he could do what other presidents have done to vice presidents: keep him too busy attending funerals and acting as the chairman of studies to do more harm. Mr. Bush would still have to turn his administration around, but it would at least send a signal to the nation and the world that he was in charge, and the next three years might not be as dreadful as they threaten to be right now.

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Today on the tube to the city to buy pillows so the sofa doesn’t look quite as frightening and sad, it really didn’t feel like there was any lag time between my leaving in July and now.

I now have a library card, an appointment for my National insurance Card and at the bank to open a checking account. I stopped by the Balham Leisure Center to get info on joining so I can get rid of my flabby bits.

Tomorrow my 45 boxes and my Argos order arrives so I will be unpacking and building cheap furniture.

I should make sure that there is beer in the house.

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I keep pinching myself.

There have been certain points where I have done the major life change, usually around going to school or breaking up with a long term boyfriend, but this one wins.

Our street in Balham is row after row of Victorian homes that have been converted into flats. The tube is a three-minute walk away and Balham High Street has lots of great shops. There is an organic butcher around the corner, a little farmers market with fruit and veg stalls and the Sainsbury’s is a proper grocery store and not one of the little convenience things that I had to use when I was in Central London last spring. Of course there is a Boots and at least four kebab shops that I have seen (there are probably more).

It is a cute little area that walks the line between nice and dodgy quite well. I was all for living in Brixton but I can see that this area will be a little less stressful.

There is a pub one minute away down the street and it is friendly with huge windows that look out on the street, although they play a lot of football and rugby, which would commend it for others. We were in there Saturday for the Wales/ New Zealand match and it was great how the entire room groaned and cheered.

S took me to another pub down Balham high Street after I arrived for lunch that was really nice- huge Victorian rooms, sofas and they rent games for you to play.

Friday late afternoon I took a nap and I woke up to the sound of people setting off fireworks early for Guy Fawkes night.

I have my insomnia that I seem to get when I come this way across the pond. I go to bed all right but wake up at two- three in the morning.

My stuff is being delivered Tuesday as well as some things I ordered from Argos. Love the Argos.

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Last Night in LA at Tom Bergin’s with the boys

Feeling a bit teary. Wasn’t expecting that.

Things I will miss about LA.

A good shower. I have been told that our shower in the flat is complete crap. S has taken to showering at work. I am looking forward to our trips just so I can have a decent bath and shower.

Being in the center of the movie universe. I may have stopped wanting to be part of the industry a while ago but I like the info you hear just by being here. Plus good screens like they have at the ArcLight.

Mexican Food.

Walking out my door at 1 AM and getting the best Thai food outside of Thailand.

Zankou Chicken. The garlic sauce at Zankou chicken especially.

The beach. Okay I hardly ever go, but every time I go I think, I missed you beach!

The weather.

Grocery Store. I will miss Whole Foods. I will miss Trader Joe’s. I will even miss Ralph’s. You walk in and they have what you want. Not only do they have what you want, but also there are ten different variations of what you want.

Ordering a simple drip coffee at a Starbucks and they understand me. (Every Starbucks in London it seems that the baristas don’t speak English. When all you are ordering is a cup of coffee, it can be frustrating.)

Good pizza. Yes, there is good pizza to be found here. my favorite is Village Pizza on Larchmont.

Driving a bit too fast on the freeway with my music blasting, singing along.

Walking in the morning and you catch a whiff of jasmine or some other flowery flower. Or walking at night in the fall and the air is crisp but not freezing and there is that fireplace burning wood smell.

My friends.

Things I will not miss about LA

Being in the center of the movie universe with all the poser people that cling to it like cat hair on a cheap suit.

Sunset Boulevard on a Saturday night.

Trying to make a left hand turn. There are maybe five left hand turn signals in the entire city. In order to turn left when the light is green, you inch into the intersection and when it is clear you turn. Problem is it is usually not clear until the light turns yellow. At this point you need to use the force to determine if the cars coming toward you are going to try and push through the yellow light or stop. They are usually pushing through the yellow light leaving you to turn left when it is red and other cars are coming at you from the other direction.

Smog.

Panhandlers.

Current governor of California

I am sure I can think of more but I have a lot of last minute things I need to finish up.

See you in Londinium!

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So this is it. Tomorrow I bust out of this popsicle stand and get on the jet plane.

Surreal.

I keep checking to make sure my passport is there.

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For my American readers that do not know what the slang “minge” means, check out the British Slang dictionary on the right. . .

Google requires user to enter ‘minge’

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