happy new year, my dear friend(s)!

the best part about working in baseball (other than the baseball) is the fact that i get the holidays off. the worst part about working is baseball is the first day back from the holiday break. (in this case, it was a particularly long holiday break - i'll be working tomorrow for the first time since december 23.)

i think too much went on to give boring descriptions of everything, but here's a day-by-day sketch:

dec. 24 - christmas eve with the extended family.
dec. 25 - christmas with the extended family.
dec. 26 - motor city bowl. travel with the boy and didi to ann arbor. catch the bowl game with nemo, harper, unstadt and others. drink upon return to ann arbor.
dec. 27 - return to glenview. smoke the boy in trivial pursuit twice that night.
dec. 28 - watch the bears game with dad n' coach. blackhawks game that night.
dec. 29 - lunch with didi and former nu prof rick. dinner and bulls game with family.
dec. 30 - shower at 8 p.m. nevin's with former co-worker fred. during fred's campus tour, save a high school acquaintance's life.
dec. 31 - new year's eve with unstadt and others at eddie winslow's house.
jan. 1 - watch bowl games. head to wej's in wrigleyville to watch remaining bowl games.
jan. 2 - lunch with brysi. return to davenport following lunch.
jan. 3 and jan. 4 - avoid cleaning the apartment.

i kept busy, i'd say.

christmas highlights include an eminently useful ipod (which is giving this three-year-old computer fits), the first-ever joe mauer jersey tee, and a stocked cd wallet from the sister. we're talking coltrane, the cure, modest mouse, and others. not downloaded, but burned. (is this implicating her?)

only three months til opening day. woof.