London, Day 2 I arrived yesterday morning and, apart from a vague eye infection, I'm fine. The weather is actually incredible--sunny, warm, not humid. The flight with Air Transat was worth the discounted fare I paid. No, they don't give you pillows or blankets (that's for first class). No, there is *no* protein in the *meal* they serve you (I bet first class got some chicken or something). But the pilots are competent (we didn't get lost once) and the plane looked newish. I'm glad I'm a small person, because lack of leg room doesn't really concern me. The lack of pillow made me buy one of these neck pillow things from Muji, a chain that sells fun Japanese things, for the return trip home. Happily, there was no one in the seat beside me, so I contorted myself into all kinds of positions throughout the flight, all of which gave me really sore muscles today. Getting from Gatwick to central London is the easiest thing in the world. You get off the plane and you get on a train. The train takes you to Victoria Station, where you get on the underground, which takes you to your hotel. If your luggage is on wheels, it's like doing the commuter things from the suburbs. And it's cheap! It took me all of 45 minutes to get to my hotel. Aeorports de Montreal, est-ce-que vous ecoutez? While on the Gatwick Express, I struck up a conversation with a young man and his mom. Originally from Columbia, the son was teaching his mom how to use their matching cel phones. He runs a cafe for some guy from Vancouver. They were so sweet: they made sure that I safely navigated through Victoria station to the underground. His mom kissed me goodbye on the cheek. Finding my hotel was not too much hassle, though I did get lost (I really *do* have no sense of direction). An italian delivery man pointed me in the right direction. It's notable that London's immigrants are the ones who lent me a helping hand. My hotel is very small, right opposite the University of London. I think I have the smallest room in all of London. It contains a small single bed. And a floor. It also has it's own bathroom with shower, which actually has more floor space than the room itself. But, if I stick my head out the window, I can see the gardens below, and I hear the birds every morning and every evening. Once I arrived, I took a shower and decided to explore the area around the hotel. I walked down Gower Street (which turns into Bloomsbury), past the British Museum, to Oxford Street. I walked east a little bit, hoping to find something to eat. I found a small Italian Cafe, where some sweet ladies made me a prawn and avocado salad. I ate it outside and it restored my energy level somewhat. I was trying to stave off the jet lag and stay awake for as long as possible. Since I was on Oxford street, I decided to explore it. It's like Montreal's Ste-Catherine Street, with biggish department stores (Selfridges and Marks and Spencers) at one end, and lots of stores leading west. The shops catering to younger women were full of peasant stuff. Poufy blouses, billowy skirts, elastic everywhere. This style was ubiquitous. I think young women will regret their purchases next summer, as they'll look completely dated. One or two pieces, yes. A whole outfit, no, unless you like looking like someone in a 60s period piece dressed by a very bad costume designer. Met quickly with my friend B, who works with Framestore (the people who brought you Walking with Dinosaurs and Dinotopia). We'll be getting together later for a proper English pub crawl. He's warned me about the broken glass. Bought dinner at Marks and Spencers takeaway and ate it picnic style on my bed. I fell asleep at around 8:00 p.m. Woke up this morning at around 6:30 a.m. Waited an hour for breakfast to be served. Was served a large egg, a sausage, two pieces of fried ham. Toast. Instant Coffee. Juice. Enough to keep me going for the day, I think. Off to the British Museum. More tomorrow.

Maggie LondonBound Tomorrow night, I take off for 10 whole days in London (England, that is). While my hotel doesn't actually have telephones in the rooms (I can't afford *those* kinds of hotels, though I do have my own toilet and shower), my kind hotelkeeper has assured me that there's an internet cafe not 5 minutes away, and it's open 24/7, so I fully intend to keep this blog updated. I'll be hooking up with Lisa at some point, and may go to Glasgow and Wales as well. Or, I may stay in London the whole time. I'm on holiday and I can do as I like.

I've been linked! I don't think it's a porn site....

Fortysomething Last month, I attended a conference in San Jose with a number of my colleagues from Softimage. At our company dinner, I sat with one of our marketing people, a beautiful and intelligent 26 year-old woman. For some reason, the question of age came up and I felt compelled to remind the table that I *was*, after all, 42. My beautiful marketing colleague looked at me, surprised, and said "I want to be Maggie when I'm 42." This was, of course, a great compliment, but all I could think to myself was, "When I'm 42, I want to be like you." Age has been a preoccupation of mine these days. If I had a choice, I'd like to stay, physically at least, in my mid-thirties forever. In my mind, there was even a day--a day!!--when I peaked. It was a day in June, 1994, the day of an Elvis Costello concert. I was 34. I felt fabulous and I think I looked it, too. Stupid, huh? I now know a lot about anti-oxidants. I drink green tea. I carefully research skin care claims. I exercise regularly. I dye my hair. I take more vitamins and minerals than my body can probably process effectively. Still, self-love and self-loathing go hand-in-hand. My friend L. (who just turned 50, though you'd never know it) says that you should never lie about your age because it robs you of your experience and wisdom. I don't lie about my age, I just let people guess what it is. When I was 40, people generally guessed that I was in my mid-thirties. That 5-year grace period is still there, but of course, I *do* look older, so I no longer pass for 35 or 36 but someone now closer to 40 than 30. It's a stupid, losing battle. The face doesn't lie. There's only so much you can do stem the inevitable sagging of the flesh. It can be virtually wrinkle-free and shiny-healthy, but still show the effects of gravity. No exercise can *lift* the jowls of the aging face--no matter what those infomercials try to tell you. Only surgery can do that. I guess I'm trying to have my cake and eat it, too. Witness pictures from my 30th and 42nd birthdays. I know I'll get used to this new older me. In the meantime, I'm gonna brew me some white tea and find a 23-year old boy to worship my hair.

Find the Kitty Curse you, Dave!

Three Words Sensitivity Affection Willpower

HorrorScopes Update No amazing things happened, no secrets were revealed to others, and I didn't have any revelations. This horoscope stuff is for the birds. Pffft.

Lego Kitty Curse you, Lisa! Find your lego inner-self here. Click the apostrophe to add naughty bits to your lego avatar...phun!

Room with a View Again There's another lady whose back garden I can see from my office window. This is not the smoking-and-sweeping lady, but the lady-with-a-labrador retriever-whose-husband-drives-a-huge-brown impala. She's sitting in the sun in her backgarden (always spotless) doing something to vegetables. She's either snapping beans or shelling peas--it's hard to tell from this distance. Who still shells peas?

My HorrorScopes for Today Globe and Mail: Something amazing is about to happen, the kind of thing that has you standing there like a fool with your mouth wide open. Hopefully you will get your wits together quickly because no matter how amazing this event might be it is tailor-made for you to take advantage of. While others are rolling their eyes in fear you will be rubbing your hands in glee. AstroGuide: A few interesting revelations could be coming your way today. There's also a possibility that someone close to you could reveal one of your most personal secrets right now. And you might attract some rather unusual or intense people who have a strong effect on you and who force you to have to examine yourself a little more closely today. Sidney Omarr: You learn what has been happening behind the scenes. Someone lets information ''slip'' during social gathering. Maintain humor, emotional equilibrium. Gemini plays top role. Maybe I should get out of my pyjamas and just find out what all these secrets are that I'm to take advantage of. I'll keep you posted, gentle readers...