Sunday, May 24, 2009

The Sun Sets On My Empire

At the intermission of WAITING FOR GODOT last night I met a girl who devoted a whole semester to it in college. "I'm so glad to meet you," I joked, "what the hell it it about?" She just shrugged. Its an impossible play which is why you need skilled actors to keep it alive for two hours. In this case it was Sir Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart, who did the job admirably.

This is my last day in London. Tomorrow morning I board a big ol' jet airliner back to Los Angeles. I'm going to miss it but I'm realizing that I couldn't live in the city. London is the sister city of New York - it has the same relentless energy and it surely would drain the life outta me. Plus I'd be, you know, surrounded by foreigners. If I ever move to England, and I'd love to, I'd live in a less metropolitan area where I was the foreigner. "Look, it's that American chap," they'd say as I approached the pub. "I hope you remembered to cool off that beer for him."

Anyway, vacations always exhaust me and I'm looking forward to my old life, where I do the same things every day at the same time, cook my own food and am master of a tiny domain. Plus I'll enjoy the pleasant buzz of severe jet lag for a while. Happy bank holiday everyone!

(Pictures: the marquee on a cinema in Notting Hills; and the best directions ever. May I call your attention to the fifth one from the top?)

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