How can it be two weeks since I last updated? It’s not like I’ve been in Japan or Alaska or somewhere else memorable. I haven’t gone farther afield than The Henry Ford (which I still think is a silly thing to call a collection of attractions), where Mr. Karen and I saw Spiderman 2 at the IMAX theater (and where I found myself distracted by the curved scar on Tobey Maguire’s cheek–which I’m sure is tiny in real life but looms large on a seven-story tall screen–and the corners of people’s mouths and the angles of their teeth and so many other details that I would have been lost if there had been any sort of complicated plot to keep track of). So what have I been doing? Working a lot, for one. I got sucked into converting a customer from our old custom client-server product to our current more standardized web-based system (because I’ve been around long enough that I know both of them) on top of trying to get code written in time for two December 1 go live dates at other customers. If only our current product was completely standard and I could just say “it doesn’t do that” or “you have to wait for the next release” and I’d have plenty of time to write during my lunch hours. Well, maybe not, but it’s nice to daydream.

I also spent some time being depressed about the election results. The sports portents were so good–the Red Sox won the World Series, the Packers beat the Redskins, the Patriots had their winning streak broken–that the superstitious part of me had some hope that W. would be heading to Crawford to stay, but no. Sure, I’ll be okay–I’m white and heterosexual and have saved my own money for retirement and do not live in a wildlife refuge–but that doesn’t make me feel a whole lot better, especially knowing there are people out there like the guy at my (former) oil change place, who told me Bush got us out of deficits and all the media is against him except Fox News, which he recommended I watch after I suggested he was misinformed about the deficits. I did feel less glum seeing things like these maps, which show that the country is not blue versus red–it’s mostly shades of purple. A lot of warm purple this election could turn into a lot of cool purple next time.

One thing I haven’t been spending much time doing is walking. I did keep up my 10,000 steps the first two days of the month, which meant I got to see post-Halloween debris. In one lunchtime jaunt, I saw a fabric tail from a tiger costume and a single Spiderman glove, which I briefly considered picking up, but it looked too small to fit me, and besides what would I do with one Spiderman glove? I did pick up a shiny puffy plastic pumpkin sticker that’s now taped to the corner of my monitor–it was in pretty good shape and makes me smile–and also scored a nickel that had been run over several times. Despite the entertainment and the free stuff, I haven’t walked much since those early November days. Instead, I’ve been working out with the Firm tapes in order to get ready for ski season.

I’ve also been spending more time than usual quilting. I’ve almost finished a baby quilt, which is good, since the baby’s first birthday is Wednesday. Yes, the day after tomorrow. I’d better get home and get sewing.