Back....

.... well, gentle rubberneckers, I is home safe and sound..... bagless, of course, but home nonetheless.... a bit tired, sure, but that is merely a side effect of all the glorious chow, wonderful booze, and raucous, wild nights of adventure that I've enjoyed.....

.... oh, did I mention 'bagless'?..... well, indeed.... it seems that booking transcontinental flights with British Midlands (and internal flights with United) is a guaranteed way for your luggage to take a wee siesta and lounge about unattended in the guts of O'Hare or Manchester for 24-48 hours..... the flight over ended with me hanging at the Hilton smelling pretty funky for the first day and a half (well, funkier than usual)..... the flight back?.... well, not only was MY bag lost, but the Missus' too..... luckily we were home and had duplicates of all the sundry bathroom stuffs, so not much was effected by our bags being delayed....

.... actually, that's only 99% true.... I did not have a spare razor for this morning's ablutions..... but other than that, we're cruisin'...... I will say this though - merely as a point of reference for any of you guys out there who find yourselves alone in a shower with a woman's 'Venus' razor - never borrow a razor to shave your face that has spent the last few months plowing across some woman's thighs.... y'all will just have to trust me on that one.....

.... sure, you might be tempted to just cast caution to the wind and dive right in with a "hey, a razor is a razor!.... what could possibly go wrong?".... but woe betide the whiskered man who does not heed my warning, folks......

.... anyhoo, speaking of cutting throats and bleeding out, the trans-Atlantic flight happened to be showing "Sweeny Todd" during the journey..... and as gory, bloody, and cringe-worthy as it was, I have to say that I enjoyed it very much..... I mean, it's not every day that you get to watch a musical about a serial killer and cannibals.... it's funny, really.... not being a huge fan of Johnny Depp, serial killers, cannibals, OR musicals, I still became immersed enough in the storyline for two or three hours of the monotonous journey to slip by.... and hey, when you have a 8 hour flight, life is all about The Distraction.....

.... so, yes.... I'm back safe and sound.... and I'd like to thank Elisson, Shadowscope, Winston, and Jimbo for keeping this place ticking over while I was away.... you guys are great..... and I very much appreciate what y'all did.....

.... hot damn!.... a gray headed gentleman just dropped off my luggage!..... time for laundry and a cocktail...... although perhaps not in that order.....