Zzz…

I’m back in Mountain View. In fact, I arrived almost 24 hours ago, but wasn’t much in the mood for blogging. I’d caught only 2½ hours of sleep the night before and had not grabbed much in the days before, either. I managed to supplement that with an extra couple of hours on the plane, but it wasn’t enough to avoid arriving with a headache that slowly increased in intensity as the day wore on.

I grabbed another couple of hours of sleep in the late afternoon, then stayed awake until midnight to try to assure a normal night’s sleep, which would put me back on local time.

That plan seems to have worked. I awoke this morning at about 09:30, feeling perhaps groggier than ever before. 20,000 km and 20 hours of flying within 4 days is not ideal, but the experience was well worth it. I’d do it again in a shot.

I headed up to Camden Town and paid a visit to Mega City, a comic shop where I once worked. In fact, it was my first legal job. The place hadn’t changed at all and I recalled the people with whom I’d shared the experience: Nick, George, Paul (who accidentally got me sacked) and Garrett. Where are they now? I wonder.

I came outside again, passing a market stall holder too young to have been born when I was working in the shop outside his stall, and proceeded down Camden High Street. The market’s a lot more active now than it used to be. Not much happened here on weekdays fifteen years ago, but the market seems to be thriving every day of the week now.

Magic mushrooms are now sold openly, which took me by surprise. Maybe the rules have been somewhat relaxed; it never was very clear what their legal status was. I had a brief look around the lock, then headed back to the tube to meet up with Bas.

Bas and I met at Belsize Park tube station and walked up the hill, stopping for pizaa before continuing on to Hampstead Heath, an oasis of tranquility within the heart of London’s restless frenzy. How nice it was to catch up with each other. Unusually for me, little time was spent reminiscing on shared experiences. The lion’s share of the time was devoted to discussing our individual pursuits over the last few years.

After a brief stop back at my hotel, we met up with Bas’s fiancée, Kylie, in Camden Town and went for a bite to eat. They struck me as a very sweet and well-suited couple. There’s a slim chance Sarah and I will make it to their Maltese wedding in Autumn, but we won’t know for sure until much nearer the time.

After dinner, we went our separate ways, I to see Dead Can Dance in Kentish Town.

And so ended my three day trip to London.

It’s good to be back with the heavily laden pregnant one, less good to be back in Mountain View, a place devoid of spirit and soul. It would have been nice to stay longer in London, but it would have been without clear purpose and anyone to share it with. For my intentions, this trip was the right length and very enjoyable.