h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, I'm back, just in case anyone noticed I was away... Returned last Sunday from a two-week holiday in England visiting Krispy, and was tossed right back into working overtime, so I've been busy, and a bit tired, but otherwise okay.

Had a lovely holiday, spending much of the time just relaxing, drinking copious amounts of Earl Grey tea and watching British comedy on DVD, visiting various pubs and coffee houses, and getting acquainted with some of Krispy's friends. I did get to see a bit of London, and we visited Paris for a one long, romantic, adventure-filled day and two extraordinarily peaceful nights. I haven't had such a fantastic holiday in years. In fact, the only crappy part was having to come back home... but I'm planning to go back for the two weeks around the Christmas holiday, and hopefully shortly thereafter, this whole immigration fiasco will be over.

So, I'm back to the daily grind, and picking up extra hours here and there, which is good, as it will help me get caught up a bit. I hope As of next Monday, I go permanent, which means I *might* earn a wee bit more, and can expect insurance and paid time off in a few months' time. One of the girls at work is going to take me to a girl she knows to have my hair done- I've decided to go with dread locks again, as it's both low-maintenance and aesthetically pleasing- and that's the pinnacle of excitement now I'm back home. Simple things please simple minds, eh? Other than that, I've just been catching up my reading and finding every excuse possible to avoid tidying up my house. I just can't be bothered to care. Hmmmm.

For my friends from the survivor's group, I've been keeping a pretty low profile, but I haven't forgotten any of you. I'm still here, out on the fringes, left of center, you get the idea. I just can't think or talk about any of that past drama any more right now.

I think I might have pushed too hard, too fast, or something like that; it was affecting both my sanity and my behavior, and I may have alienated, if not driven away completely, some dear friends because of it. It's been enough of a strain physically and emotionally to deal with current stuff, at the moment. If I continue to dwell on the past right now, I fear I'm doomed to repeat it. Hopefully, there's better times ahead. But I'm still here to listen and I still care very much for you all, even if I don't do such a great job of demonstrating it sometimes. To those of you I've hurt, betrayed, and not been considerate toward, if you're reading this, I am truly sorry, and hope to eventually re-earn some of the trust I've trampled on.

Anyway, I hope all of you are doing all right or at least mucking along as best you can. I do look forward to talking with you all about this and that, and hearing what you're up to and how you're doing. I'll see you on the flip side.

Mikey

Thanks, Mikey

What's the imigration fiasco about? I missed that one.
PS if your trip to England takes you to the South of the country you could pay me a visit.

No requirement to talk about the past.
We are becoming friends in the present I hope.

I am glad you had a wonderful Holiday and you two were together on a romantic Paris fling!

Hi Psychocandy
glad you had a good time. Turns out we were in London on the one day that you were! Then again Moonglum is in London every working day, and we go there a lot socially, so thats no big deal, living in London suburbs you would expect that. I love Paris, we got engaged there!

Hi Abbi, Meg, and Kaz!

I loved Paris, it was beautiful, busy and relaxing at the same time, and we had a lovely time. We'd gone to the Musee Rodin to see my favorite sculpture ever, Rodin's "Caryatid with Stone", and I was able to share with Krispy what she means to me. And here she is: http://www.knpb.org/artbeat/rodin/rodin14.asp

He chose that spot to propose to me in person at last, in the most eloquent and romantic way I could possibly have imagined! We saw lots of other great stuff, too, and Krispy took tons of pictures for me to look at often.

Meg, as far as the immigration stuff goes, my British fiance came for a visit back in July, and was turned back by US immigration officials. They felt that although he was coming on a visitor's visa, he seemed to have the intention of remaining indefinitely, and they didn't like that. So now we're working at submitting an application for a fiance visa so he can come over, hopefully in early spring, and we can get married and stay here together. Barring that, I'm prepared to relocate to England, at least for a couple of years, if necessary.

When I come back in December, I'd love to see you guys, Kaz. Meg, I'm not sure whereabouts you guys live, but I'll be in Ipswich at that time. It'd be great to meet those of you I can in person, at last!

Abbi, you've got that right, we are all friends in the present (and what a wonderful it is!), and I'm glad we can talk about other things besides our past "stuff". Though don't hesitate to call me on it when it affects me in the present. It's what friends do.

Have a great day, everyone!

We went to the Musee Rodin on our last trip to Paris! Moonglum proposed to me in a restaurant in Montmatre (why have I suddenly forgotten how to spell that word?!). We had a view of the whole of Paris at night, and the best choc desert ever!!

What a romantic proposal Kaz!

Oh, Kaz, that IS such a romantic proposal! I think it was very romantic to have been proposed to in Paris, for both of us! You know, London was #1 on my List of Places to Visit, and Paris was #2, and I had the good fortune to do both in two weks, AND with the Love of My Life! Krispy said he's meant to propose in a lovely restaurant as well (how very romantic of him!), but the way he chose to do it (even more romantic, I tell ya!), so spontaneously and with so much thought and meaning, will be forever imprinted on my mind. He promised me I'll never have to bear that weight alone again, and knowing that's true means everything to me. What a gift, a blessing, a miracle. We truly are more fortunate than most, aren't we?

If anyone wants to see pictures, email me at belladonna_23 at hotmail dot com. There's zillions, but I'll share what you ask to see! It was just too lovely to keep to myself!

So, how is everyone doing? I've missed you all so much!!

Has anyone seen "To Live and Die in Mexico" yet? I'd like to see it, but I'm a bit broke, so I want to make sure it's *worth it* before I go.

Hiya, Abbi! How're you doing? How's hubby and twinny? I'd fancy a chat soemtime on MSN, don't be shy, just say hello, eh?

Oh I would love to see your pictures.

I had to go the one time we both were on with Terri!
I would have never left if I thought it was my last chance to talk! So, I am glad you mentioned it!

I would enjoy talking. I need to recheck your Im addy. I can ask Terri,I think it's different from the email I have.

I'd be glad to share some photos with you, Abbi! Terri can give you my IM id, though I'm sure I can be found using my hotmail addy. Would love a chat again soon, either you and I or another three-way with Terri. We'd arranged to both be on tomorrow night, I'll watch for you, you're on my list so if I see you log on I'll be sure to say hey! There's no way that was our last chance to talk.

I've got to hit the sheets now, it's waaaaaaaay past my bedtime, but I had my friend Stacy over to play and you know how *that* goes! See y'all soon!

Hi psychocandy and Abbi

it could have been more romantic though. Whilst Moonglum was on his knees doing his romantic speel, the waitor came up and cleared the table and re-filled our glasses!! Don't french waitors know what being on knees means?!

Oh, Kaz, that's too much. Waiters seem to be a universally dense breed, don't they? Just about anyone ought to know what being on knees means. No matter how well you have anything planned, someone always has to do something to muck it up, somehow.

But it meant we had a romantic proposal and something to laugh about!!

The table next to us applauded, but were disappointed when that realised we were English and not French, it was all quite funny really!

It all suited our sense of humour and we won't ever forget it, thats for sure!!

Hi PCandy and All,
Just dropping in quickly to say hi. I love hearing about London and Paris - it brings back good memories for me. Got a good laugh too hearing about the waiter clearing the table during a proposal. PCandy, I hope the whole visa thing gets sorted quickly - although I know red tape never unravels very fast. Talk soon. Oh, and I haven't seen Once Upon a Time in Mexico yet either, but I'll let you know if I see it for sure.

Chow, JEllen

Hiya JEllen!

I'll make a point of being online this evening, probably around 8-ish my time. I'd meant to get on last night, had even pre-arranged to find Terri and possibly Abbi. So what did I do? Got home from work around 6, popped a cup of soup in the microwave, settled down on the couch to 'rest for a minute'... and fell asleep!

But I'll definitely be around tonight, so hopefully I'll see you then.

Hi to everyone, and hope y'all have a good one!

My computer is so messed up
I will try tonight, I did find your IM name Pcandy
If I do not make it it's because of my messed up computer.
The computer is worse after it was "fixed"

Hi Abbi, I'm sorry that your computer's even more messed up than it was to begin with. I hope it's sorted soon. If I don't get the chance to talk with you before they take it in to be repaired, I look forward to hearing from you when you're back online.

I hope one of you girls can make it online tonight, I *really* need to talk, with someone who has the slightest capacity or the inclination to understand.