28.06.05..9:37 pm

At this moment I am enjoying what I think may be my first thunder and lightning storm in London. Forked lightning is right this second piercing the night sky followed by long rolling thuds and cracks of thunder. On the floor beneath me Songs in the Dark is poetry-reading/mellow songstering along. It's a beautiful beatiful thing.

I'm in the middle of my final week at work. I spent the entire day yesterday unpacking. The entire day today recycling and will spend the entire day tomorrow archiving. On Thursday I will leave the fold completely and all I've got to say is they better have a damn good leaving present for me!!! I have more cuts on my hands and up my arms than I ever did as a cat 'owner'.

Today I also biked from BROCKLEY (aka Butt-Fuck Nowhere South London) up to CALEDONIAN ROAD (aka The Stop No One Ever Thinks Of aka the one north of King's Cross.. NORTH OF KING'S CROSS!!) The whole journey took me less than a bleary-eyed hour this morning and I was indeed one of those cyclists who give cyclists a bad name by looking blankly at the drivers of vehicles as thy honk ferociously for some unknown offence and bike on and plowing through stop signals and red lights like they were fields of soft hay crying, "Go Little One! Cycle Faster, cycle hither! They will not hit you!" (Though not as bad as M yesterday who had the back of his foot run over by an anonymous unmarked white van near Farringdon.)(He is fine by the way, managed to learn his lesson even on mad van drivers who give van drivers a bad name and all.) I improved this afternoon when I cycled back down to New Cross to thesis speak with my supervisor about M (head of the Secret Service) and M (the Russian letter for Sch which is the first letter of Shpion which is the Russian word for spy and with which Bond gets branded at the end of Casino Royale) and Bond's philosophising on the contextuality of heroes and villains. I made it back down in about 45 minutes without crossing anyone. HOWEVER that was topped immeasurably by my 35 minute cycle back up to Farringdon and the Plum office where I sit now writing. THIRTYFIVE MINUTES!!! That's with two pints in me and no supper too! I've impressed myself no end and will surely not be able to walk tomorrow.

I've been an eBay fiend of late. Not very nice for my bank account, but lovely lovely for my post box. There's nothing quite like walking through the front door to oodles of little packages of Stuff. And Things. Stuff and things you've forgotten you bought and so it's like a little Christmas in July when you open them.

Today I had my first half cigarette in ten days. It wasn't intentional by any means, the not smoking I mean. I was hung over desparately one Sunday and then had a nasty cold for a few days and then just kind of didn't want one. So I didn't have one. For ten days. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about having had one tonight. I know I wouldn't have done had I not met up with Irene and James for a drink, but I'm not going to be too harsh with myself about it. Mind you, if I can keep this sporadic smoking lark sporadic, I'm sure I'd end up thanking myself. And it's makes cycling easier too. And smoking in the sun is smelly and gross. Not that I'm making any promises here. I('m just saying. The constant need to justify runs deep. Sigh.

Emmy the Great is playing now, so I'd better bolt back down.

****emmms