Ditched by Dubya on Valentine's Day!

Well, we thought we had enough reasons to hate Bush - but now we have another!! I got up at 5.45 this morning and trudged out through thick snow (up to my shins in some places), through the darkness, only to be told that the visit was off! Pah! Forget Iraq - now George really is done for!

I am reminded of the Alan Carr joke about parading with banner saying "Gays against Bush" ... most people don't get that striaght off (just think dirty), but my pal, Lee, and I love it! Oh yeah, and I did one very classic Sharon thing while at the Capitol yesterday - I left my bottle of Chanel No. 5 with security and had to be led all the way back through the building to get it!!

So, anyway, back to today - cold and wet, I've come home again and will spend the day indoors reading and preparing for NASA HQ visit tomorrow. (Why didn't I come in Spring??)

I must admit though that the White House looked absolutely stunning in the snow. I wish I'd had my camera - the president's official photographer was out front taking snaps. It was a jaw-dropping moment of beauty. The building is lovely - suddenly everything it symbolises (which is so negative) fell away and I was amazed.

Walking home too up our beautiful snowy street, I suddenly felt very present - like I had to become a camera. I think sometimes taking pictures actually takes you away from the moment, from the scene - and that's something I don't want. I need to be witnessing my life, inhabiting it more. It still rather feels as if this trip is being done by someone slightly to the left of me - maybe that's the person I need to become. I need to realign.

Still, I hope the presidential tour gets re-scheduled while I'm here, but we'll see. Not many people can say they stood outside the White House at 7.30 in the snow - so I've had that at least. I'm hoping the weather will improve though so I can do more sightseeing at the weekend - maybe some museums and monuments. One of my housemates, Jon, might come to the Holocaust Museum with me. There's a lecture there tomorrow night too - that's my next book. On displaced persons after the Holocaust.

I wish you all a very Happy Valentine's Day! I love you all! They're going crazy for it here - flowers, chocolates etc - so I feel quite sad and soppy being alone. Sob. But, hey, love is about more than romance - I think this day should be celebrated between friends as well. Friendship is incredible and enduring.

DC is a friendly place too - a Paris filled with polite English speaking people! The architecture is obviously a homage to that other revolution and its ethics of liberty (which were, in turn, classical) so there are some direct parallels to be made. Everyone is so educated here too - I met a MIT PhD in the snow this morning. A very nice economist, a black ex-professor who quit academia like me - but to something sensible in the government, rather than travel and write books! Yes, having a doctorate and going to Cambridge seems normal here, even if I'm more arty than most here. Still, I did spot a girl with horn-rims and a leopardskin scarf so I'm not the only one!

I'll sign off and get some breakfast and hot chocolate! Boy, do I need it! Brrrr.

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