A fit of organisation

I decided tonight to rearrange my bookshelves. Yes, it's 10pm, so what? It's not like I have a full day planned for tomorrow or anything. It's not like I need to stand in an atrium trying to talk academics into accepting e-books as the next wave of educational development, having arguments with the Anti-Apple Contingent over whether we should have gone for the Android platform, the one that hasn't actually been released yet.

Seriously brain, I don't think I needed to rearrange my bookshelves tonight. Especially since I'm caught in the classic dilemma of whether I should go for alphabetical stacking, genre-based stacking, or Nick Hornby stacking - autobiographically.

Decisions, decisions. Might have a cuppa while I consider my options.

Modern science se gat

One of my medications leaves me bruised and bleeding. The other has a local anaesthetic that makes my tongue and throat numb. So I can never sunbathe again, and I can't taste anything after 10pm.

There must be more to life than this.

A dialogue, of sorts

After buying two £1 scratchcards with a £5 note I found randomly on the ground in Tesco and purloined with a feeling of guilt and trepidation.

Me: I always find it quite decadent to scratch a scratchcard with a £2 coin.

Her: Or even a £1 coin.

Me: But then I worry that I'm tempting fate.

Her: The universe won't let you win because you're scratching with a £2 coin.

Me: No! You do not deserve a million! You have money!

Her: So really you should scratch with a penny.

Me: Or a button.

Her: Or just use a fingernail.

For the record,  I scratched with a £2 coin and won nothing. She scratched with a £1 coin and won...£1. There's a lesson in there somewhere.

Catfish

Go and see it. Don't read about it, don't watch anything about it. Be unspoiled, watch it and then come back here because I'm dying to talk about it.

Christmas playlists

Every year I rely on Der Fuhrer's inspired Christmas mixes. This year I made one of my own, my favourite carols for my own amusement.

Once In Royal David's City - Sufjan Stevens
Angels From the Realms of Glory - Annie Lennox
O Come, O Come Emmanuel - Belle and Sebastian
Silent Night - Josh Groban
Oh Come All Ye Faithful - Twisted Sister
Away In a Manger - Mindy Smith
O Little Town of Bethlehem - Sarah McLachlan
O Holy Night - Faith Hill
The First Noel - Crash Test Dummies
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing - Johnny Cash

The end of the road

Can't...wrap...anymore...presents. Fingers are bloodied stumps. Hands are covered in ink. Have lost the ruler I was using to tear up the wrapping paper because I've lost the scissors. The sellotape is growing carpet fluff. I need more wine.

Dreams

I dreamed I was running across some paving, running so hard my watch fob fell open. I stopped and stared and thought, I didn't know that could happen. And then I saw a tiny gold key, nestled inside the works of the watch. The key fell and I lost it, got down on my hands and knees and began to search. I couldn't find it, but it was suddenly there, back where it was supposed to be. I closed the watch and went on my way.

Precious little baby

Dear Universe

Was it really necessary to have my car's heater and windscreen wiper fail this week, this week, in which snow, ice and pestilence are supposed to make landfall. And after I just forked out £130 to make my car all nice and spanky new.

That's not very nice, is it?

No, not nice and all.

Dear Glands

Please stop swelling.

I already have the cold sore and the red nose. I don't need to look like my nephew's hamsters on top of that.

Love and kisses,

Liz

A very Keatsian day

Went to Stowe Landscape Gardens with my Zen-like Friend today. It was just alive with autumn. And sheep. And rain. It was an enjoyable way to spend a day, in undemanding company, walking about wet fields, admiring the grey and red and the orange and the yellow that make an English autumn. And then we had good food and I decided I should expand my house search to include Buckingham and now I'm home, in comfy pyjamas with a cup of Horlicks. I like it when I look forward to the week with a clear mind, because I haven't squandered the weekend.

I'm not sure how I can expect to find grace

I'm so blatantly unprepared for it. In my mind, and in my surroundings, and in my soul.

Stamp of something or the other

The other day my boss was bemoaning her lack of a stamp, and I gave her one from the book I carry in my wallet. I very rarely post anything domestic - when I post it's generally overseas. But to not have stamps in your wallet? Barbarians at the gates. Visigoths sacking Rome. The end of all civilisation.

I wander how, I wander why

Last night I had a dream that I had to fix the electricity box outside. This was mixed with a fear that my car had been stolen. I kind of remember walking across my room, and opening my back door. I definitely remember waking up standing on the frosty patio. I thought to myself, huh, I don't need to be fixing anything. That's not my job, I can go back to bed. Which I did.

And then I woke up this morning and tried to figure out how to barricade my door, because it was below freezing last night. Good thing I woke myself up.

All the drama in TV, movies and books seems to come from one thing...

Miscommunication.

It's a little boring.

Dear Sally Hawkins

You are forgiven for inflicting Happy-Go-Lucky on us for two reasons: 1) Made in Dagenham, and 2) I just realised it was you who played Anne Elliot in the last, really good adaptation of Persuasion.

Leap

A leap, the leap. To leap. Leapt. Will leap. Have leapt. Leap now. Leap later. Leap.

Growwwwwwwwwwwwl

Growl growl growl.

Central Park

100_2246, originally uploaded by liz_isabella.

Ms Ellis goes to New York City (and Philadelphia)

I’ve yearned to go to New York since I was about 12 or 13 and, I’m ashamed to say, I saw Lois and Clark: the new adventures of Superman. Yes, I know, it was “Metropolis” but it was New York I saw. And then all through high school I saw movies about New York and yearned. Yearned, I tell you.

And now I can say I’ve done it.

And it was spectacular.

I left on 25 September for the US, flying into Newark, where I was met by some friends. I then drove with them to a town near Philadelphia, and we spent a wonderful few days enjoying martinis, chatting, walking, going to the Museum of Art (scene of Rocky and the Staircase of Doom), eating wonderful Italian food, martinis and chat. We also did a side trip out to Lancaster County and the marvellous town of Intercourse, and saw the Amish. It sounds weird to put it like that, like the Amish a breed of something rare and we went to the wilderness to spot them, but I found it interesting anyway. The countryside is particularly agricultural, with actual red barns and sheds. And horses and ponies, the place was lousy with equines. We stopped off to sample quilts and arty things, and I discovered my favourite sub-genre of romantic fiction – Amish romance novels. All very passionate with a stern moral core. Hilarious. I would have made a very bad anthropologist.

I then went up to New York City by train. It was quite dark when I got there, so I didn’t see much, but I headed for my friend’s apartment and we went out for dinner and to see her bookshop (mysteries – I saw about five I wanted but settled on two). And then the next day I woke up and realised that I was in New York. In New York. There was just the tinge of disbelief to the whole week. And even now, a week later, it doesn’t feel real. How could I have been there?

I took myself off to Times Square (I took the subway for a week, by the way, and not one delay announcement did I hear – take that London Underground) and then walked up Broadway to Central Park. I had to duck into Lindy’s for breakfast because the rain came showering down, so I tucked into pancakes and fried eggs and bacon with liberal doses of maple syrup and read Wolf Hall and people watched. Once there was a break in the weather I carried on on my way. My first stop was The Frick Collection, an amazing little art gallery. It was the bequest of a millionaire industrialist with flawless taste in art. He had this house built around his collection, and it’s been left essentially as his. It was staggering – Holbeins mixed with medieval bronzes, Whistlers mixed with Van Goghs, Monets sprinkled about, and an indoor garden with fountain. It was definitely a favourite, and I enjoyed the seemingly haphazard arrangement a lot.

After that it was on to the more staid and formal Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was very imposing and enormous, so rather than get struck down by art fatigue, I decided to only see the 18^th and 19^th century European galleries. Even that was substantial, but it was so worth it. The Van Goghs, the Monets, the Cezannes, the Turners. I nearly cried.

And then it was off to Grand Central Station, to meet M and tuck into oysters and clams, seafood soup and lobster roll. Grand Central Station is like a cathedral, with its big arched windows and the celestial map on the ceiling. We went down to the lower floors to the Oyster Bar, which is where the famous whisper dishes are set into the ceiling. As we were talking I tipped my head back and I could hear my echo. It was very disconcerting and, well, fun! The oysters and clams – holy shellfish Batman. I haven’t tasted oysters that good since I was in South Africa, and the clams…well, I hate to say it, but Mozambique didn’t match up. They were so crisp and fresh, with that delicious meaty, salt water taste.

The following day was beautiful – warm and sunny and clear – so I took in the islands. I went down to Battery Park to get the ferry and was met by oceans of people. Huge crowds who were all thankfully going to Liberty Island rather than Ellis Island, which was my destination. Between the buskers, Wolf Hall and a cheddar cheese pretzel, I was barely aware of the standing around. The buskers would ask us where we were from and then play the national anthem. They knew Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, which I was impressed with, but they kind of segued into Turkey in the Straw, which was funny. The security to get on the ferry was mad - almost worse than the airport. The Ellis Island museum was really impressive - great displays, wonderful audio guide. The photos really moved me, seeing these people landing with just the clothes on their back and various bags and rucksacks and whatnot, the things they didn't think they could live without. Just setting out. Mostly because they had no choice, but it was an incredibly brave thing to do. My trip was bookended nicely on Thursday.

I woke up really late and then had to race to make it to the Tenement Museum, which was just genius. Having seen the immigrants arrive at Ellis Island, it really closed the story to then visit an area where immigrants tended to settle. The tenement block the museum is in has been furnished to represent different time periods, so you can get a sense of what life would have been like, and how that reflected what New York was like at the time. Just to celebrate the area we went to Katz's Deli for delicious pastrami sandwiches and...oh my God...pickles. So nice. Katz's has been there for years, as in, a New York institution, and it's where the orgasm scene was filmed in When Harry met Sally (that sold it for me in advance). My sandwich was served by a really interesting guy, and we got into a debate with him over the country's defence policies, so the pastrami was even yummier for that.

On Friday it rained, but in a nice holiday way. I went back to Times Square and then just wandered idly around, finding landmarks and taking pictures of them like a tourist. I eventually ended up at Union Square, where I went to see The Social Network (excellent movie all round), and then M and I went to PJ Clarkes for a hamburger and proper onion rings. England does not know how to make good onion rings. I nearly smuggled them out to take on the plane with me, they were that good.

Saturday was a gorgeous day, lovely and warm, so I finally took my longed for trip up the Empire State Building. It was very kitschy, but the view really is worth it. Next time I go (and there will be a next time), I'll go right to the top, at night. See it from a different perspective. I left the crowds behind and headed for Central Park, which was surprisingly idyllic. I sat and read Wolf Hall, and ate a hotdog and another pretzel and revelled in just being there. It was a nice way to end up.

It's always weird when you get something you've wanted for a long time. You're left kind of feeling, well, what next. I loved it - the atmosphere, the food, the thing, you know, that thing. It made me glad and happy to be able to do it, and want to do it again. I'm going to find a globe and spin it and put my finger down and point my nose in that direction and go.