back in cali - once again

well i'm back. flight on Virgin was fine, but since i booked wrong fare class no free upgrade. not even with smiling pretty.
as soon as the plane touched down, i got all sad cuz i wanted to not be here.
i wished i could have extended my stay, but then with this jury duty selection thing tomorrow... ugh.

3 months. i have 3 months to kill and avoid europe. i suppose it's as good a time as ever to put in for a new passport.

watched romcom - he's just not that into you
watched the international - ok fun.
then that animated thing i wanted to watch - bashur something, but no time. dammit.

food was quite good too. even though i didnt get to select a special meal.

ok. so tomorrow, jury duty selection. not happy about it. not at all.
but oh well.

not happy about having left my MagSafe Power Adapter in London.
Hey Apple-y Mac peeps!?!
wonder if anyone out in LJ land has an extra sitting around perhaps?
even like bay area peeps?

what i do like is coming home to new issey miyake tops n alexander mcqueen silk pants (tho need to have them hemmed to fit me)

tweets

lj-tags: twitter
Twitterific stuff under the LJ cut!:
( Tweets )

edinburgh

i was not happy at all to leave paris.
i might explain later -
but after only 2 nights there, i felt like caca having to leave
having to get to the gare du nord and then force myself to head to CDG and board my flight... i wanted to turn around.
but no, i had to get my ass to work and honor commitments.




so then, wow. border there was a bit stricter than london airports.
ended up explaining my life to an older - quite a bit older - gentleman who didn't quite understand the internet and the ability for people to actually not have to sit behind a desk in an office. but in the end, i think he got it.

In any case, june 5 i flew from paris to edinburgh - a completely new city for me, and i suppose a new country - depending on your opinion, though i guess Scotland is technically the UK. when listing my visited countries on that form at US customs, I didn't get to write SCO or anything like that, just UK. (which i didnt have to write more than once).

Got to hang out with B & F for the whole time and wow they were super nice. And omg i was getting over being sick. luckily it was quick.it seemed to get worse the day we shot, and then got better the day after my tourist day!

we were all going to check out the fetish party in glasgow but my sickness crap got the better of me. putting on latex and being unsocialable didn't seem like the best plan. so staying warm and drinking warm tea while feeling like crap seemed like more fun.

tourist day was pretty damn awesome too. went up to the castle and checked out that photo show i mentioned before. and princealbert  came by too.







the memorial is still in use. there are heavy books with current names and dates of all the soldiers who have died in service to their country.
i tried to find the last one but i only found one dated from 2006 - which i don't think seems plausible.
no photos of the inside. not allowed. i liked the way it was arranged in there though.




Eventually we left the castle and stumbled down the road.
went by a shop that featured fancy imports:


the dudes:


went for a drive: firth of forth (of thirth of fith of sith of seveth)



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and then you wanna know what sucked?
having to leave edinburgh
gah






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all the moblog shot are at
http://kumimonster.tumblr.com

st pancras

the thing i love most of all about st pancras station is kind of cheesy.
but still:



i loved seeing it when coming in from the Eurostar. it's also there when you walk into St Pancras from the stairs outside the station across the street from the KingsX tube station.


I just really like it. I like the rest of the station too. The other day I came back from a shoot at Potter's Bar (with LatexGirlsHD.com) and arrived in KingsX rail station (tube strike on thurs).
hedonydesign  happened to be coming in from Paris on the Eurostar so I went over to meet him.



While waiting for his train to come in, I realized how nice it is to actually have someone meet you upon arrival - not just pick you up outside by the curb, but actually at that point where they are physically barred from coming any further.
I take off and land so often (and I do appreciate it when people pick me up at all) but because i like things to be convenient so I often prefer the perfect timing of the cellphone/cig/curbside swoop and scram.
Usually upon grabbing my bags and walking towards that oneway door, i know that there will be no recognizable faces searching for me with smiles nor hugs nor kisses. Instead, I prepare myself to rush past those bodies holding each other and blocking the path to the world outside and my cigarette fix.
When it does happen, it really is nice though. It's kind of like the final acknowledgement and realization that one has arrived.
When I flew from Vienna to Paris, I jumped on the train to the gare du nord and that's where i was met.
I think it was at that point i felt like i arrived because technically I was still in transit alone.
(I only realize this now that i take the time to think about it, of course).

When J did arrive at st pancras the other day, i withheld any kisses because i was being snooty.
he did get them before we left the station, but i made him wait until after sushi.
next time, if there is a next time, i promised not to make him wait.

In australia, I noticed that not only passengers were at the gates before boarding their flights, but friends and family as well.
(not on the intl ones, but domestic flights). hugs n kisses all over the place.
of course, maybe i just noticed cuz it's something that i don't usually take part it. hmm.