Though I'll deny it later, the common legend about me - or at least one of them - is that I blew up a hotel room.

Despite what Jill McDole and Libby Shaw may tell you, it wasn't quite that way but as the great man once said 'print the legend'. It is true that while in a hotel room that will remain nameless and timeless to protect the guilty, I did something that led to all the lights going 'fizzz' and ceasing to work. I'm not proud of damage in general, but yes, at the time it was quite impressive. At the time, I merely blinked a lot and lied through my teeth to the staff. (Though in my defence, the hotel's electricals must have been dangerousy wonky to begin with!)

It seems that my innate electrical magnetism is still working today and this time I took three rooms with me: my parentals' main room, back room and kitchen. If you count the hall, it's four, but let's not. And I swear, hand on a copy of Firefly, that ALL I did was turn on the light as I went into the room. Fizz. Then a bang. There were actual sparks. There might even have been slight and sudden profanity. And then darkness.

Right now, they're awaiting an electrician. While it's possibly simply fuse-related, it's unusual a single bulb would go 'splodey in such dramatic form and yet leave others dark but not broken and its impossible to tell the *specific* source from looking at the fuse box and without turning off ALL power to the house as it all appears okay there. Bright sparks (see what I did there?) will notice I can still get online and will deduce that my wi-fi and at least one circuit are still working.

Is it the static levels that I've brought back with me from Iowa - where, quite frankly, I gave near fatal ticklish shocks to two cats, a dog and a human being just by looking at them, or just plain co-incidence? To avoid current (see what I did there?) or future legalities, let's go with the latter.

First full day back and the UK doesn't feel much warmer than the US, however I think that's down to the dampness which gives you an added chill - where the Iowa version was a lot drier - hence the static. I hear weather and business things are clearing up for Jill in Iowa too, so good news for all. Hoorah! However we didn't win the lottery. Boo!

Sooooo... time to start the travel fund once more and also to find time to do taxes and play on the X-Box that my superb brother surprised me with on my return. Thanks, Steve. At the moment I'm putting the FU into Kung Fu Panda.

He rocks. Jilly rocks. I rock. And sometimes I take entire buildings with me.