So normally this is where I’d proclaim my well-rested and turkey-fed return from Massachusetts and also comment on how much I miss its quiet and calm, but I actually didn’t go home this year. It was a New York Thanksgiving, and while I did miss my family dearly I have to admit it was unbelievably luxurious to wake up late on Thursday morning and know there were no five hour train rides ahead of me. But I am looking forward to getting out of the city and seeing my family at Christmas, especially now that my shopping is essentially done. (This did not entail entering a retail establishment of any kind on Friday, however.)

Speaking of shopping, I also want to acknowledge with bewilderment and gratitude those of you who have sent along early Winter Seasonal Happy Fun Time greetings and objects. In particular, I offer thanks to Buffalo, whose bountiful box of Wii-related booty was both an unexpected and heartily welcomed pleasure at the end of a wet Monday that began with the dropping of another umbrella down my garbage chute.