At Last.

Well, the time nearly at hand when I will board a plane and say "adieu" to London.

I can't wait.

It's been a trip of a lifetime, and I've learned many things on this trip about history, architecture, design, Europeans, drinking, art, and photography. I've learned 5 weeks is about 4 1/2 weeks too long to be away from your family. I've learned about myself; as an artist, theatre critic, father, and who I am and who I want to be. I've learned it doesn't matter what the city is, I'm not a city boy. Pittsburgh is it for me, that's about as "city" as I care to get. I've learned what good theatre should be and what its place is in our world. I saw Phedre by Racine at the National today, starring Helen Mirren and Dominic Cooper. The best acting I've seen the whole trip was not by them, but by a secondary character as he describes the death of Hippolytus to Theseus. I was on the edge of my seat (which happened to be front row, center seat...no joke...I could have touched Dame Mirren if I wanted to) with tears in my eyes, it was so moving. That's what I want to do. (oh, Helen Mirren was fantastic, too, but this was one of those moments that transcends all else).

So tonight, a few of us decided to walk around the city after the show and take night pictures of London. It was rough going as I didn't have a tripod, but I think I got some good ones. I've enjoyed taking pictures here and getting used to my camera. I'm still a long way off from taking headshots for people, but it's at the point where I'm wishing I had another lens...

So, in 5 hours, I'll board a bus to take me to Heathrow where I'll sit for 4 hours and then fly for another 7, and then have a 5 hour bus trip to State College where I'll kiss my wife, hug my son, and cry like a damned baby because I've missed them so much. We'll have the weekend to ourselves and then we'll head to Pittsburgh to be with my mother as she has her knee replaced, but not before we partake in Uncle Dave's Seafood Extravaganza with Uncle James and Aunt Katie.

Lots of family. 22 hours and counting...

PS: I'm still a 12 year old kid at heart.

Oh Crap. Time to Baby-proof

"That's one small step for a child...one....giant kick in the ass for his parents to do some baby-proofing."

Gimongous

Max and I had a blast this evening visiting my college friend Casey (1/5 of the Quad), her parents and husband Jim. Casey & I have reunited in 'exotic locales' like New York City, Des Moines, IA & Paradise, California since college and thought meeting up again (this time 5 years later) somewhere equally exciting was in order- enter the Jolly Green Giant in Blue Earth, MN. You may (or may not) see us underneath him in the middle pic.

He was jolly. He was green. And he was *definitely* giant!

Happy Birthday, Pops!

We don't know what time he'll see this blog and due to the 6 hour time difference between here and London, we're posting it now- Happy Birthday, Michael! (Tues, July 28th!) We love you and can't wait to see you this weekend!

'Relative'ly Mobile

Here's a pic of Max with his Aunt Becky and meeting his Great Grandma Flossie for the very first time last weekend. He has become quite the camera ham and whenever I pull mine out he immediately poses. Michael calls me the 'Mommarazzi', which is (of course) quite fitting given the number of pictures I take on a regular basis.

On Saturday my Dad, Max and I made a whirlwind trip to pick up Dr. Becky's couches from her apartment. She recently finished her residency and is moving all the way to California (wine country!) this coming week! We had a deeelicious lunch with her at the Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co., then packed up the couches, took down the satellite dish and hit the road again. We spent more time in the truck than with her, but it was great to see her again before she starts her trek to the West Coast. Who knows? Maybe Max's first dip in the ocean will be in the Pacific?

And finally, today was a big day- Max pulled himself up to a standing position with the help of the couch! It was just his height, as the cushions were not on it at the time. He was quite proud of himself and I was both thrilled and tired at the same time! His mobility has taken huge strides in what feels like only the past week or two and he's definitely going to keep us on our toes. (Note: it turns out it didn't matter that there wasn't a cushion on that couch- later this evening he pulled himself up to me on a couch with cushions!) Naturally, I have video of the big event, but I want Michael to see it first before I post it for the masses!

Michael and I have yet to take a honeymoon, but we joke that we're taking separate ones- he's on his right now in London and I took mine two months before our wedding. (I had the good fortune of booking a tour of A Chorus Line in Hawaii and the poor guy was left at home to finish planning it while I worked (ahem, played) in Maui & Honolulu for two weeks.) As I was telling him about Max's mobility the other day he said something to the likes of "So I shouldn't really think of this as my honeymoon, but rather as the only rest I'll be getting for the next 10 years?"

My answer: "Heck yeah- enjoy the rest, man!"

Piggie Update...

The professor who lives in London took the infected student to her house this morning. Fine, but the professor is no spring chicken, and from what I understand, the older citizens are at risk.

The American professor sent us an email saying that whatever we're thinking, we shouldn't get nervous or panic. He extended an invitation for coffee for anyone who was nervous. We would have to get in touch with him via email to set up the coffee, as he has no phone. As far as I know, no one has taken him up on his offer. Can't imagine him being very comforting since no one trusts him very much. He's proven to be out of touch and out of date. Besides, we're all adults, and the exposure was no one's fault. Whatever happens, happens. What was disappointing was the ability of the leadership of our group to tackle the crisis with swift and authoritative decision making. But none of us were surprised to see that.

Finally, received another email from London-based professor saying that she did have swine flu and that she's staying with her at her house. We should call the professor if we get sick. Unfortunately, that's our only option.

Walked around a lot today, went to Harrods and got their Christmas Teddy Bear for Maxwell, because the bear is named...Maxwell. Also spent 2.5 hours at the Victoria and Albert Museum and saw most of the things I didn't see when I was there earlier.

Off to see A Little Night Music tonight. This is their closing night. Saved 30 pounds by going to TKTS....

Really? Oink, Oink?

I don't know what the news in the states has been (just recently found out that Roethlisberger was accused of rape), but here, swine flu is the headline getter. And guess what?

I've been exposed.

One of our flat mates came down with the symptoms, and called the national health line set up just for swine flu. Long story short, she checked off enough symptoms that they have told her to quarantine herself for a week, and gave her access to the precious swine flu drug. Her bedroom mate has move out (good for her) and now we're all in a state of flux. Why? Because the leadership abilities of the professors on this trip is nihl. One couldn't be reached because he has no cell phone here (everyone else got one for 20 pounds as soon as they landed...no clue why he couldn't get one) and the other one can't make a decision without his input, and so she went to a show that she was scheduled to be at. So now, we have a student, 3000 miles away from home, sitting in a room by herself, with no authoritative supervision tending to aquiring her what she needs. She has not been to a doctor, nor has any arraingements been made for her to get one. A phone call was made to one of the other students in the flat asking "how we were"? That was the extent of checking up on the situation. I'm quite upset, as are the other members of the flat.

Well, that's that, except the show I saw tonight was just awful and really wished I had gone to see something else instead.

May be home in a week...or not....may be quarantined.