so, when you burn books, do you have to buy them first? in which case, aren't you kind of just making even more of an ass of yourself? seriously, i've read the harry potter books, and i still don't know how to be a witch, wizzard, or warlock.

oh yes, and have yourself a happy new year.

today feels good. i took the day off because otherwise i'd lose some of my vacation time (we can only roll over 40 hrs into the new year). my apartment is clean, my pajamas are comfy, i'm reading a good book (a heartbreaking work of staggering genius), i've got yummy coffee (sorrento blend), and i ate cinnamon toast for breakfast.

when we were little, my sister and i had a friend who had a little jar of cinnamon and sugar on the counter to be put on toast or cereal or whatever. we were so jealous. our mom didn't think it was all that groovy an idea -- when presented with it, she muttered something about ants liking sugar and that meant no. i vowed that when i grew up, i would have ready-made cinnamon and sugar for my toast. i completely forgot about this resolution of mine, so imagine my delight and surprise when i opened a christmas present from my sister and in it was a shaker full of cinnamon and sugar! she's a good sister.

i watched an affair to remember (again) on tuesday night. one of my favorite scenes is where this little kid gets stuck in an unlikely position on the railing of the ship, and deborah kerr and cary grant help him down. deborah kerr and the kid have the following conversation:

she: you ought to be careful. when i was a little girl, i fell down and broke my leg.
kid: is it okay now?
she: well, yes, it's mended...
kid: then what're you crabbing about?

kids do say the darndest things.

i hope everyone is staying warm and is getting some relaxation time in this holiday season. i was going to say something about taking the time to perceive and absorb the beauty that surrounds us all, but people make fun of me when i say stuff like that, so i'll just wish you all well and be done with it.

i had the raddest bus experience the other day. all was quiet until the bus pulled up to my stop. a woman rose from her seat and stepped into the aisle. in the seat in front of her, a man also rose from his seat, but didn't immediately step into the aisle, so she started to walk past him. "HOLD ON!" he snarled, adopting a defensive stance. he then stepped out into the aisle in front of her. as he reached the door, he stopped and turned half-way to make sure she was keeping her distance. i'm not exactly sure what he said then, but i swear it sounded like, "if you ever go to san diego, it will be your last trip to san diego!"

ooh, look. chris updated his site.

superstringtheory.com. neat.

today sucks already. not to be a big whiner, but i was up late last night and then i came into work and two (at least) of our sites were down because old files got moved out to production when we deployed yesterday. this kicked off a huge source control debate where i somehow managed to give the impression that i don't believe source control is necessary (not the case). sigh. at least i have good coffee.

how's the easy life treating you, john?

i went and saw iron monkey today and it got me thinking about how much i've learned about china from watching movies. if you have a second, you can tell me what you've learned about china, too.

i guess some people are incredibly uptight about who links to their sites. so here's a gratuitous link to kpmg.com.

so, i'm a novelist now. how weird is that? i actually think of myself as a 'crappy novelist' -- very important distinction there. still, it's kind of fun being able to say "my novel." the best thing, though, is that i'm done now and i can start reading books again. i went and bought nine books this weekend, or something absurd like that and i finished one last night and have started another. mmm... reading. i don't think i've gone that long (a whole month!) without reading for... well... maybe ever? i think i've pretty much been reading non-stop since i learned how. that is probably incorrect, but it's the impression i have, so it may as well be true.

hey, you should check out odd todd. maybe give him a job or something, or at least check out the movie on his site, and his daily facts.