OOh, shiny

Happy New Years.

Braved the crowds and the cold to watch the Fireworks by the Thames (it was very pretty and loud).

Beforehand, I got picked up one and a half times. The first was in a Waterstones, where another customer asked me if I knew of any good bars in the area. I confessed that I didn't, and we talked for a bit, while I mused about finding "America: The Book" in the exact same edition as in the states. He confessed he had no idea what I was talking about, and had never heard of the Daily Show or Jon Stewart. I made an excuse to leave then.

the half time, was at Pizza Express, where a famished me sat down and ate a pizza and read a recently acquired copy of Neverwhere. When I paid my bill, the waiter laughed when I apologized for being American and not having a clue as to what the hell I'm doing here. Then he said, "You're reading Neil Gaiman?"

"Yeah," I reply. I am about to tell him about how I met Neil.

"I've met him about four or five times." He replies, straightening up a bit and smiling.

"How?"

"I used to date girl who worked with his agent so everytime he was in town I'd see him. He's really nice."

Even with the past girl friend bit, doesn't that sound like he's trying to impress me? Just a bit? (Or was I reading too much into it because he was really cute).

Oh! I forgot, a third time today, in one of the working tube stops (there was a strike, only some of the stations were closed, and a few weren't. I don't get it either, but hey, as along as I wasn't walking back from Westminster to Hackney, I'm a happy girl). I hear this person muttering to himself, and then realise that he's talking about me. Perhaps a comment? Yeah, he's looking at my badges, and then asks me if I'm Polish (or if I speak Polish, I don't know), and then German. Why? Because I had an anti-war button. He was a little ... drunk, but not drunk enough to not notice when a person isn't interested.