I'm back...just

I say 'just'because I was starting to think I might not get home during my farsical journey home in which I spent 4.5 hours sat in a broken airplane on the runway of Atlanta airport...with the air conditioning not working and people starting to panic slightly! Made it eventually anyway...only about 5 hours later than planned!
Last days in San Fransisco were spent doing more wandering, discovering the very cool Grace Cathedral (some very nice modern art, an indoor and outdoor labrynth and a cool tribute to everyone affected by HIV/AIDS), meeting some new people (please note that HI hostels in the US don't seem to do very well at cultivating an atmosphere of social interaction - it took me a few days to get talking to anyone apart from shop keepers!), discovering parks and beaches and generally savouring my last days in the US.
So...back to work straight away but am really v tired and don't think I'm going to get caught up on sleep until the weekend - one more day to make it through.
xXx
P.S. We're having a house warming party (you have to dress up as a tube station, e.g. Victoria/Angel/Hyde Park etc., just in case any of you blondies were going to come as a train/building) on 15th October and you are invited (at least if you're known/connected to at least one of us!), ask me to email you an invite if you eed details.

escape to Alcatraz

Well, I have been quite the little tourist. Due to an acute lack of funds I've been doing as many free activities as possible...many of them involving walking. I walked from the area where my hostel is (slightly scary area but then I'm all for a genuine experience!), through the main shopping area (vast - starts with downtown type market places, goes right through Old Navy, Abercrombie and Macy's and finishes up nicely with the Emporio Armarni coffee house - it's like travelling through different worlds! Then I walked right along the Embarkadero (the side of the bay with all the piers) up to Fisherman's Wharf and Girhardelli's old chocolate factory with the cream soda fountain. My feet were so tired that I allowed myself the small luxury of queuing for an age to get on the ancient little cable car tram thing (really a carnival float marked 'tourists') back to my side of town. Then in the evening I managed to bag myself the last cheapo ticket to see the San Fransisco symphony orchestra, they played a bit of Wagner (very dramatic), a bit of Mahler (gorgeous but sad) and a Beethoven piano concerto (very impressive soloist called Mr Biss). I even went to the free pre-concert lecture (and was the youngest there by about 30 years) delivered by a (very) english guy called Mr Susskind, son of famous conductor Susskind.
Today I escaped the clamour and bussle of the city and sailed accross to Alcatraz. It's actually, ironically, a beautiful island - with great views of the SF skyline. But it's also quite an eerie place, if you sit in a certain spot the wind carries accross all the noise from the city, yet you seem completely cut off. The cell house is quite claustrophoebic, and you can see the holes, dug by spoons, out of which the 3 prisoners escaped.
Then...I went and saw the sealions and they were so cool! They're wild, but have taken up residence in the harbour, and spend their days lounging around, basking, fighting and flirting in the sun. I've never seen one closed up and was fascinated - they have wierd tail things which are actually like little feet.
Anyway...just thought I would share some of my experiences with you!
Now I'm going to go rest my feet some more.
xXx

changes come

Well, Miss Janae is now no longer - she's a Mrs! Which is quite scary. The drive from Portland to Bend was lovely, both in terms of scenery and in that I was reunited with a good friend that I haven't seen in a long time! It was a great time of catching up, and quite emotional and surreal, but really it felt like we'd seen each other only last week as opposed to last year. The wedding was beautiful, held at Janae's uncles stunning house complete with mountain view, and Janae and Mark looked so happy and in awe of each other, not a dry eye in the garden! I am so glad I had the opportunity to be there.
I changed my plans a little and left Bend with Ben, Landra, Rufus and Pugsley (J's bro and sister in law and their two loveably hilarious pug dogs!) to stay with them in Portland for a couple of days. Portland is a great place, the sort of place that I can actually imagine myself living. Quirky little coffee, music and clothes shops, nice people (especially Ben and Landra who looked after me so well), lots of character and a really chilled out atmosphere.
So now here I am in San Fransisco after another Amtrak journey (afew things I've learnt about Amtrak: the trains are very cold, the trains never ever arrive at their destination on time - I was 4 hours late getting into Portland and then 3 hours late getting into SF!, the train food sucks so take your own, and the observation carriage is the best place to be - you can avoid the scary person you've been seated next to AND take in some great views). Time for the next, and last, leg of the trip begin...
xXx
p.s. I have changed my settings so that everyone who wants to can leave comments - people kept trying and failing, hopefully it shoould be easier now!

Are we nearly there yet?

Yes - nearly! After over 35 hours travelling, I have just woken up in a very nice youth hostel in Portland, Oregon. Janae's coming to pick me up at 10, then it's on to Bend for the wedding happenings, all fun - especialy now I've had sleep (towards the end of last night it was not really fun anymore).
Just a quick share - wass skimming through a book marked 'ead stories of travellers from the past' (or something to that effect) - in which people over the last few years have been pouring out their innermost thoughts an feelings, for everybody else to read, in the form of song lyrics, poems, prose etc. Anyway, I come to a page with a short comment saying "Other than breathing, this hostel is the most essential thing I've ever done. When I die, I will come back and haunt it. Signed, an english person". For all its brevity it stood out amongst the pages of Dawson's Creek-esque soul searching. Aah the sarcastic cynicism of the Brit...!
xXx
p.s. I am paying to use the internet when, in my room, I have my shiny new mac complete with wireless airport card. BUT...I have no idea how to use/install it, I didn't have time to do it before I left UK as computer arived the day before I left, and I'm not sure if I can do it over here. If anyone has any useful pearls of accessible wisdom for me, do let me know!

MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY tv adverts...

...have been banned by the authorities that be! The click adverts etc. have been considered part of something that is too politically motivated/biassed. Think of that as you will...personally I think it's a bit rubbish.
By the way, if you're in London between today and thursday 15th pop down to County Hall (The Atrium room, entrance at the back opposite Starbucks) on Southbank. World Vision is putting on a free photo exhibition together with the highly acclaimed photojournalist Nick Danzigger. The photos are to focus attention on the Millennium Development Goals and progress so far made by world leaders towards meeting them. It's well worth a look.
xXx

ciao

...just about the only word in Italian that I can pronounce correctly! Yes I have returned from Sardinia, where not many people speak English. I don't mind this atall, in fact I quite like it, but it is frustrating when you don't speak their language and they don't speak yours and it's very difficult to have a proper conversation! Disregarding communication problems we had a lovely holiday...highlights (high can be translated as 'interesting and memorable' in some of the following cases) included a minor car accident, a very good tan (for me!), gashing my leg on a rock and then watch as it got more and more green over the next 10 days, lots of glorious sunshine, new italian silk underwear, experiencing sea sickness for the first time in my life (and suffering the indignity of a very attractive brazilian diving instructor pouring water out of a flipper onto my head to try and make me feel better), the novelty of having a baby geco as a pet for the week, good food and wine, italian antique stalls, our lovely lovely apartment landlords - Giovanna and Mereul, and the mediterranean sea...and lots of it. It was a lovely holiday, I would recommend Sardinia as a place to visit, but learn some Italian first.
America on wednesday...September is turning out to be a good month this year!
xXx

Is there nothing new under the sun?

...the tune from that annoying mobile phone network advert is going round in my head and it's very annoying! But seriously...it's kind of the way part of me is feeling at the moment.
I just got back from Greenbelt, lots of good things about it including: good people, good fun, good weather, the Tiny Tea Tent, good music, Flying Pig happy bacon sandwiches, the Mochamania tent, God (who's always good) and the fact that we signed up over 100 new campaigners for World Vision which was quite good (considering no-one could tell who we were thanks to a badly placed table!).
But I couldn't help being a tiny bit disappointed in another way. I went to a few seminars with high-hopes of hearing something 'new', but I didn't. Nothing I heard was bad, irrelevant or even boring..it was just a repeat of the same old theology that I so seldom see in action back here in the read world. Why am I so disconnected with church at the moment? It's not God that's the problem...he's (quite literally) the saving grace of this whole thing. I don't know, it's a bit wierd.

On a similar note, I met up with an old friend from my gap-year (last year) yesterday. We had a good chat, during which I found out that a large percentage of the other's on our year-out programme have since decided to take a break from God/church/faith/christianity (I'm not sure exactly how they'd put it). From what I can gather their belief system changed a lot and, out of the context of the programme, they felt they couldn't make it work anymore. I'm not quite sure what to say about that either...apart from that we're all young, on a journey and things do and will always change.

So, checking out now. Tomorrow I go to Sardinia to chill out for 10 days (I cannot wait), then 2 days after I get back I'll be heading of to the US of A for the wedding of a very good friend of mine.
Love lots,
xXx