I've been on vacation for the past week or so due to a forced shutdown at work. Unfortunately, I have to go back on Thursday. But I've spent my time off well...movies, books, and knitting. From my family's holiday gift exchange I got the new edition of Trivial Pursuit. My friends and I have already played it twice. It's so fun! And it's nice to have questions relevant to more recent current events. New Year's Eve plans consist of an annual lobster dinner. I don't really like lobster that much, but participate more for the social interaction. Here's to 2003!

I finally finished Kavalier & Clay over the weekend. I loved this book. The story was completely engrossing and told from several points of view. I also enjoyed the historical aspect it gave me about comic books. Fascinating. Knowing that I would be finishing this book this weekend, I went out and bought more books: Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk, Iceland by Jim Krusoe, The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill, The Little Friend by Donna Tartt, How to Be Good by Nick Hornby, and A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel. I go on these book buying sprees regularly...when I've almost finished reading the pile I bought six months earlier, I go to my local independent bookstore and buy more. Sometimes I borrow books from friends, but I hate to risk the chance of reading something so wonderful that I don't have a copy of it. I was so excited when I got home with my stack of purchases. Nothing beats reading a great book!

This is the new Polaroid Mio. I want it really bad. The photos are the size of a credit card. Only 10 exposures per cassette of film though. But I'd be willing to overlook that because the coolness factor is so high. Maybe this qualifies as a present to buy for myself.

The five-day weekend was fabulous! I saw lots of movies: Secretary, Notorious C.H.O., 8 Mile, Pumpkin, Italian for Beginners, and Monsoon Wedding. I ate lots of food. I played a fun new game called Hoopla. It's from the people who created Cranium. It provided three hours of hilarity and laughs.