THE QUEEN MUM IS DEAD--A NATION MOURNS

Well, except for those of my friends who are wondering why exactly a 101-year-old woman dying is news. I think it's sad. She seemed like a really kind person.

The restaurant was lovely, by the way. All through dinner our conversation was quasi-interrupted by the loudest American woman I've heard possibly ever, regaling the restaurant with tales of her homeland. So friendly! I cannot fathom why people in other countries hate us.

Matthew is also being lovely, in case anyone is wondering. I am trying very hard not to be one of those annoying people who spends all of her time waxing poetic about people, but he really is quite lovely. I'm finally over the culture shock thing that was making me act like an insane person, so hopefully he'll eventually feel the same way about me. Like maybe in 8 to 10 years.

On Sunday we met up with a few of his friends and went to the Warhol exhibit at the Tate Modern. I was pretty nervous because I'd never actually met any of his friends before, and I wasn't really sure what to expect. It turned out that they are really wonderful people, and exactly the kinds of people I would probably make friends with or at least want to. Sean arrived in this really fantastic furry blue coat. I need to know where he got it.

Anyway, yesterday I was supposed to meet up with a friend, but ended up not doing it and doing a bunch of contract work instead. This was good and bad. On the good side, I made some money. But I ended up blowing off a friend. I also had wanted to spend some time in my own space, because I've realized that I really really need to spend time alone, because otherwise I end up feeling like...either like my life is a subset of Matthew's, or like I'm on vacation instead of living or something. The culture shock goes away when I spend time in my own space. I also can't quite handle using Matthew's computer and invading his space and that sort of thing--I am not used to having to accept help from someone else, and even if it's just space, I'm relying on Matthew's resources, and I hate it. He's very good about it and doesn't ever *make* me feel uncomfortable. It's just me that hates it.

I haven't figured out this contract work thing yet. I've almost never been in the position of not having a steady, normal sort of job. I usually get a new job before I quit the one I'm in. So this is sort of weird. Yesterday was a holiday in the UK, and I had plans. But I received a message in the morning, sent the night before, basically saying that they *needed* to have the work done by 6:00 pm Monday, my time. If it was a 'real' job, I would have either known I would be at work or not. And although I realize that it's unreasonable for them to ask me to do something on that short of notice, I'm very aware that this is my only source of income, and there's not going to be much of it for a while anyway. But I need to figure out how to balance things, because I feel really badly about missing lunch with my friend.

Anyway, that's the mundane details of my life.

The Radio 4 people were supposed to come by this morning, I thought, to do an update on the cat situation. But I didn't hear them come in, although I was awake from about 7 am on. I can give you the update, of course. The cats have taken to sitting on the fence and watching Peter scatter lion dung around the back yard. They find it interesting. I can't tell if it's affected their behavior at all or not, but I can tell that they find it fascinating.

There is a *huge* burly squirrel who has been running around the back yard all morning today. He's enormous and grey. In spite of his size, he is quite limber, and has been engaging in some of the strangest behavior I have ever seen. He stands on the ground, then suddenly leaps into the air, does an airborne somersault, lands, and starts all over again. Sometimes he somersaults, and sometimes he twirls around horizontally. Keeps landing in the same place. I keep trying to figure out if this has anything to do with the lion dung. I don't know.

Oh, speaking of which, I listened to the first radio program, which Peter had recorded. It's a scream. When he says, "Well, the problem with the cats is that they keep the birds away," a bird chirps in the background. I am not making this up. Every time he refers to it, the bird chirps as if on cue. I wonder if someone back in the studio has added the bird-chirping sound effects, because it is honestly far too good to be a coincidence.

The problem now is that I'm finally settling in and really beginning to enjoy myself. Eventually I will get a job, and I will have to work 8 hours a day, and it will be very sad because I will have gotten used to this. It is *really* nice. I don't think I've ever had this kind of freedom before, and it's wonderful.

Anyway, this is disjointed, but I'm not going to edit it anyway. I have a lot to accomplish today, and I have to get it done before this afternoon when I'm going to get a CD signed by the Pet Shop Boys. You know, I have a very busy schedule.