2001-05-08

Last Day.

I slept in until almost 10:30. I didn�t care that it was my last day in Scotland. I just wanted to sleep. All I had planned to do that day was go to a couple of museums and see Lee. Oh, and try to use up as much of my film as possible. I did talk to Henry a bit that morning. He asked me where I thought he should go in the US given the chance. I think Ben answered his question better than I did.

Wow, it�s been forever, I�m forgetting stuff.

The most important thing to mention is that the Museum of Scotland is one of the best museums I�ve ever seen. The architecture and interior design. The lights in the display cases. The artifacts. The descriptions. First person narratives. You can tell that so much thought went into each little detail. The whole place is beautiful, educational, well planned. Impressive. You sort of take all that stuff for granted until to see a great example of what a museum can be. And you can go up on the roof! I didn�t care much for the 20th century section. Apparently the wonder bra is one of the greatest inventions of the last century. I really enjoyed it there. I wish I�d gone there sooner. I could spend a lot of time just sitting in there doing nothing.

I didn�t see much of the Royal Museum of Scotland except for the fish in the main hall. I�m going to put a picture of one on the front of my web site. Oh, yeah, that fish is a huge part of my master plan.

So after the museums we went to get some nachos. Or rather, what passes for nachos in Scotland. Why were they bad? Well, not enough cheese for one thing. But that�s a subjective criteria. What Scotland needs desperately is salsa. Not oily tomato sauce. SALSA. Not that hard. Black beans, of course, but salsa is a more pressing concern. I�m sure I came off as a snob over those nachos, but, shit, if there�s one thing I take seriously it�s Mexican food and the meeting of tortillas and cheese in any way shape or form. It�s simple tasty goodness. And it just breaks my heart to know that there are people in this world who do not know the joys of good Mexican and Latin American food. (sigh)

One day I shall deliver the people of Scotland into a new culinary age. The Age of the Pupusa.

Ok. I am off of my high horse. Gina joined us for lunch and that was great. I was glad to get a chance to hang with her a last time. After that we headed over to Princess street and I took loads of pictures along the way. The weather was pretty good.

Ben and I went into a bookstore. I looked for American Tabloid ( by James Ellroy), but ended up getting Spares (which I really enjoyed). Then it was a nice long walk to a movie theater for Girl Fight. Again, I enjoyed the chance to walk through a new and different part of Edinburgh.

On the way there we passed a Woolworth�s and I thought �shit, I�ve got to get some tic tacs�. NO, not for me, for Lara. (I�ve cut back. Really) I had almost forgotten the one thing I was after and immediately started scanning the boxes of chocolate. And there they were! Matchmakers. I grabbed a couple of boxes. Hesitated and then grabbed another one. Then another one. And then another one. This little (sort of) old lady looked at me like was insane �steady�� she said. And I, freak that I am, exclaim that I love matchmakers and that I can�t get them where I live. �where do you live?� and I told her. She seemed to understand and let me go about my business. I�m sure she enjoyed relating to her friends the story of the crazy black American jonesin� for some matchmakers.

Girl Fight was good. Afterwards I had to explain to Ben about the presidential physical fitness test.

I called Lee and we agreed to me on the Mound. So another walk back to Princess street. AND I actually used my map. Well, Ben used it. But it was nice to have one for a change. So we got to the Mound and sat in the sun for a while waiting for Lee. At seven Ben ran around one corner to see if Lee was on the other side of the building just as Lee was coming the way I said he would come. Hello. Then Lee and I went for Chinese food.

And it was good, Praise the Lord. We even got desert. Lee is such a doll. Did I mention that? I love hanging out with him. I�ve missed him.

Then he walked me all the way back to Ben�s flat, further proof of his doll-ness. And by this point, I was so sore. My legs were aching. It occurred to me then that I�d lost weight that week, �cause I was sore in new places. Bonus.

I got upstairs. Ben was lying on the couch in the kitchen. Yes, a sofa in the kitchen. We discussed my need for a taxi. I walked away for a minute and when I came back I could hear the end of a conversation where Johnny and Heiner were asking him why he wasn�t going to the airport with me. They�re such good boys. We all sat around in the kitchen for a while. Chris came in and decided to make bread. And I swear Johnny spent forever tapping Heiner�s knee testing his reflexes. It was so funny. So damn funny. Those two are like a comedy team. They need to go on a road trip and someone needs to film it.

I watched tv for a few minutes before I went to bed. It was pretty bad. It made me glad to be going home, actually. And Ben told me to wake him up in the morning. I was like �fuck yeah, I�m waking you up�. Duh.

I know. I know. No sarcasm needed, but I couldn�t help it.

I got my shit together. I went to bed. As tired as I was, I couldn�t sleep. Partly �cause I was so concerned about getting up on time. Partly for the usual reasons. I couldn�t take a benadryl. So I just had to suffer.

The next morning I got up at 5:51 and was out the door at 6:30. I rolled out of bed and then rolled out the door. May I act like a girl for second? Ben was soooo cute. All half asleep. Hair messed up. Talking about meeting that agent, trying not to get his hopes up. Offering me as many copies of his work as I could carry. I just sat there like a lump. Staring at him. No wonder he had no idea. No one ever does.

It was a beautiful morning. The ride to the airport was pretty fast and cheaper than I thought it would be. I tipped the guy well (trying to get rid of some money) and despite that he didn�t help me with my bag. Oh well. I got to the desk and there was an annoying Canadian family who thought they could carry-on enough stuff for a small circus which is actually what they were come to think of it. Then I went to get some coffee.

I got some and I spilled it all over myself. It was at this point that I felt everything was back to normal. End of vacation.

The people at the food court were really nice. This one guy kept asking me if I was ok and kept offering to carry my (second) cup for me. They took pity on me. I�m sure it happens all the time. People not used to being up and functioning at such ungodly hours spilling things everywhere.

It was good coffee.

Then I spent some money on souvenirs. But not enough �cause I�ve got ten pounds left. The first flight was ok. Heathrow was a nightmare. The second flight was ok.

I landed. I got through customs with no problem. I almost knocked over a lady in wheelchair to get to my bag.

It was hot out. Traffic sucked. Welcome home.

Nicole drove me straight to Mexicali for a Dos Equis and a burro. I�m going to need a lot of beer and black beans now that I�m so completely depressed. Maybe in the back of my mind I always knew that I shouldn�t go back unless I was prepared to stay there. Live and learn.

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