“Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood:

So much for endings. Beginnings are always more fun. True connoisseurs, however, are known to favor the stretch in between, since it’s the hardest to do anything with. That’s about all that can be said for plots, which anyway are just one thing after another, a what and a what and a what. Now try How and Why.

Happy New Year.

For somebody who hates the cold of winter so much, I sure picked a hell of a state to live in. But today, I learn, is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. After this, the tide begins to turn on what I dislike most about winter: the shorter days, the longer nights, sundown before five o’clock. I seem to tire more easily in December, feel like I get less done, have fewer hours with which to work. I’ve never suffered from severe depression, so I hesitate to call this anything as troubling as seasonal affective disorder. But I am happy to learn that we’ll be getting more sunlight after today. Even though the skies still threaten snow, and Christmas is a just four short days from now, spring seems somehow closer at hand.

Some quotes, because that’s the sort of guy I am:

“It’s reassuring to know that, after everything that’s happened in the past three months, there’s still irrefutable proof that Bush is a dick.” — The Onion, “What Do You Think?”

“It continues to amuse me when $25,000 items have little “Add to Shopping Cart” icons next to them.” — caterina.net

“A coworker sugested to me yesterday that the last sequel to Harry Potter, where he returns to the magic school should be called Welcome Back Potter.” — teambanzai, via e-mail

“If novelists had a real union, we’d get paid to procrastinate. There would be strikes for longer procrastination hours.” — Caitlin R. Kiernan, Low Red Moon Journal

“Nobody thinks it will work, do they?” “No. You just described every great success story.” — Say Anything, which I watched again this weekend, along with Almost Famous and High Fidelity

There are some days, like any day you see a squirrel trying to unsuccessfully climb a tree with an empty jar of peanut butter in its mouth, that you know are going to be a little different than all the rest. Today has been a good day, all things considered. I learned that lemmings do not commit mass suicide. I learned the proper use of a University credit card and was given one with which to test my knowledge. I learned that my friend Sharon has started updating her weblog again. I cancelled an interview for a job I wasn’t sure I wanted, and an hour later I was asked if I would like to interview for a different job somewhere else. I decided I’m taking this Friday off, finished addressing the last of my Christmas cards (I realize they will be late), had a decent lunch, and saw a squirrel trying to climb a tree with an empty jar of peanut butter in its mouth. Some days are weird, but they’re worth the price of admission.