"This is the end / there ain't no more" as various camps songs say, "unless I meet that..." Well, in this case it's not a bear, goat, or train - I'm talking about Eternal Egypt. Tomorrow, the fat lady will sing, so to speak, but I won't be around to see it as I'll be riding a Greyhound to New York (hooray !). I'm working in the phone dungeon in the Visitor Services office right now and mostly the phone has been ringing steadily. Not necessarily 'off the hook' at all times, but damn near it for somewhat extended periods. We're up to 200 phonecalls, which isn't a record by any stretch, but when 92% of the calls are basically the same three questions ("Are there any tickets left?" "Can I purchase my tickets on the phone with you?" "Where are you located?"), it might as well be a thousand calls.

Rick is in the museum right now, moving through the Egypt show. He never quite managed to pick a time when I'd be able to give him the tour, what with our two schedules, so he's stuck with the last minute crowds. Joane called me down here in the dungeon to tell me that she saw him and and his lovely short hair and that it looked very good. I was just telling him last night that all the ladies think he's cute now. Even Joane. *laugh* Well, it's true. Anyway, I said my goodbyes to the exhibition yesterday. It was my last day doing the tours and it was pretty melancholic. Most of the interpreters were subdued and we all moved through the show saying our private farewells to our favourite pieces. We gave our best for the groups yesterday, trying to fit in all the best information we could. The class that went through last got one of the best tours we could have given them.

On the one hand, I had become pretty tired of a lot of the students. I had grown tired of telling them to be quiet and acting like their teacher or parent, but on the other hand, there were so many great kids with so many wonderful questions, I doubt I could get tired of them. Even yesterday, I was amazed at the wonderful way that some kids express their ideas. One grade five boy, when I was explaining how the creator god, Khnum, creates two identical statues of each human, suggested that the reason for this was so that the two could 'exist in two worlds'. After a moment of encouragement, he developed this idea into a picture that I realised was meant as 'this world' and the 'next world', or the Afterlife. And he would be right. That was a nice moment to savour on the last day.

Tonight I have to head down to Queen Street in order to pick up my excellent custom shirt as done by Nicole. I'm paid up, had it fitted to me yesterday, and I'm very excited. I wanted it for New York, even if I don't get a chance to wear it. I have a lot of packing and organising to do tonight as my bus will go tomorrow in the evening. I had planned to take the earlier bus at 12:30, but honestly, that one arrives after midnight and I'd rather battle the rushhour crowds in the New York subway on Monday morning than arrive in the middle of the night. I can sleep on the bus and get most of a day's activity in on Monday providing I get a bit of a nap. Besides, Alfred, with whom I'm staying, is a morning person, not a night person. This means that I can probably manage to see Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkeban with everyone for Stew's birthday, afterall. That should make him very happy. It won't cut my time in New York short, either, as I just swapped a shift with someone at work that gives me an extra day at the end of my holiday. Yay !

My goodness, I hadn't the time for excitement previously, especially since Mom gave me the news that she wouldn't be able to come due to Real Life and I was really looking forward to travelling with her. My mother is the BEST travelling companion. We share interests in just about everything, and since she knows New York like the back of her hand, it would have been fun to poke around in her old haunts. However, I'm going to check out a couple places I've never been before, like all the galleries in Chelsea and maybe a couple of other places in Manhattan that I've never been. Also, I'm going to visit old friends of the family in Sheepshead Bay (my old neighbourhood in Brooklyn) whom we have not seen in something like two decades. That will be wild. I haven't been back to that area since I was nearly seven years old for my Zaida's funeral. Maybe I'll even take a walk down the old street.

Now, looking at my watch, I see that my day is drawing to a close so I really should post this and get on with things. Current phone tally is now over 220. Lots of people are now disappointed because we've been sold out for over half an hour. It is not my fault that they left it to the last weekend of the show. I am now looking forward to going for dinner with Rick. Oh yes, a quiet evening is most welcome.