Local time 0910.
I'll do a fuller update later on the journey, etc, but I couldn't *not* mention that the hotel is near to where Liza Minelli is appearing in concert from this evening, and heading back to the hotel after a quick drink last night, we walked right past Liza-with-a-Z, standing chatting to someone before getting in her car. Best New York celeb story I've ever had....
"Sitting like a mindless clone, wishing he would tap my phone
Just to hear the breath of the man, the myth, the monotone."
Last night, in preparation for the trip, I was playing a bunch of the albums that I bought while I was living in New York, so the Foo Fighters made a major appearance, and a few others too, including Bree Sharp's Cheap and Evil Girl, with its really quite wonderful tribute to David Duchovny.
Full lyrics are here - you have to near it for the best effect though.
That's it - I'm off - catch you later.
I was watching the coverage this morning about today marking the official end of the WTC clean-up operation. Weird that it's the very day I'm going back for the first time in so long.
Important Notice
Since I've been very diligent and been in the office since 7.40 this morning, I actually do have a moment to make one very important comment. I have set the tape for tomorrow night's Big Brother fun (still time to vote for Jade....), and of course I can check the Big Brother website to see the results of the vote, but what I need is reaction. So this posting is here specifically to provide comment space for thoughts, opinions, whatever about tomorrow night's eviction. Even if it's not Jade (how can it not be Jade?), tell me how it went - the looks on their faces, the reactions, what you thought about it, everything. I'll watch out for the comments.
Well, I managed to get myself organised to go away relatively early this evening - clothes ironed, ready to go in the bag - all the additional stuff (CD player, discs, books, etc) all lined up ready to go - it's not normal....
I'm in the office tomorrow morning then heading off at lunchtime, so I'm not sure how much time I'll have to update in the morning. I intend to do some updating from New York anyway.
I'm really looking forward to catching up with lots of people I haven't seen for ages, and I'm really looking forward to relaxing - as you may have noted, I've been stressing a little lately - more than I'd realised. I'm not looking forward exactly, but I have a sense of great anticipation regarding seeing Manhattan without the WTC - I've lost count of the number of times I've been to New York, and on very many of those trips the towers were the first landmark I would see. Ever since last September I've felt that I had to go there before I could believe that they're gone. I guess that tomorrow I'll have no choice but to believe.
I should also note that the previously-mentioned emotional wringage, coupled with an unexpectedly little amount of free time has meant that I have been sadly failing in my duties to do the round of other blogs and pass comment where appropriate. You should probably all be thankful for the lack of time - you might not have appreciated a visitation from the emotionally-wrung one....
"As one door closes, another opens."
It's not quite right, but it does represent something of how I've been feeling the last couple of days. I put myself through something of an emotional wringer (or to be strictly accurate, something somebody did caused me to do so) for a while, and ended up venting in a fairly major way. Then I felt bad about having done so (more wringing), only to realise/discover today that actually, I was entirely justified in being so worked up. Sometimes, people really do live down to my expectations of humanity.
But the past is another country, and I'm making a conscious effort to cross the border. Or to return to the original proverb, I'm making the closing and opening of these doors my own conscious act.
Don't worry that this makes no sense - you had to be there 
This is turning into a TV blog:
With a typical lack of fanfare, Channel 4 start a new series of one of their best series tonight: Previously-mentioned here, Oz is an American prison drama unlike any other US TV series I've ever seen.
C4 are also trailing another series from the same source, HBO, at the moment. I haven't seen Six Feet Under, but it comes highly-regarded in many circles, and is the story of a family who run a funeral business.
And finally, for now, Will and Grace is back on C4 this Friday night.
Graham Norton just threw a gratuitious dig at Jade into his opening monologue:
"150,000 applicants....and Jade got through. How did that happen? If it wasn't cruel to kick a pig, you would, wouldn't you?"
He went on to paint a less-than flattering picture of Spencer:
"All that stuff about extensive psychological profiling....and Spencer got through. Sitting there all zipped up and rocking. I wouldn't sleep knowing he had access to cutlery."