No, not a post about the plethora of leftovers in my life right now. A post about that process of withdrawal from my calming fix. Even when I periodically “quit” coffee I know enough to taper off over a few days, but this week Mother Nature decided I was on the internet too much and ripped it away from me with a bit of wind and rain. Two days with no landline and no DSL. Not even a day of dial-up to ease the transition – just a flashing yellow light on the modem mocking my frustration. In a sad commentary on the state of my life, I didn’t even notice the phone itself was dead until I got fed up with the DSL diagnostic software and tried to call my ISP’s customer service line. Cell phone coverage was down for a while as well, and spotty after that as my similarly disconnected neighbors overwhelmed the local cell. But that warming feeling returned last night and I feel soooo gooood right now. Coffee, news [et al], e-mail and NPR streaming through the iTunes. This is how the morning is supposed to start.

Over the years the questions have come up many times. Why Geography as a major? Aren’t all the maps drawn? What’s the capitol of ___________?

I could go into a long diatribe (and someday will) about how Geography is more than crayolas and state capitols. I could explain ad nauseum that it’s not just the geologic features that matter but the economic, political and cultural features of man’s interaction with the planet that matter. I could even sell the value of geography as the perfect multi-discipline, multi-cultural liberal arts program (at least as run by Cal Berkeley). But I won’t.

I’ll just point at the shifting of Sumatra and say ‘No.!’ All the maps aren’t drawn and things change. So there.

Wow. What a story to be able to tell. With the emphasis on the survival aspect of being able to tell it.

“In my view, vacation is when you don’t wear a watch, you don’t have anyone checking in on you.”

Merry Christmas y’all. Our gift to you (actually being regifted) is a great little article from the New York Times on the never-ending balancing act between personal time and professional time. Do you check messages constantly to avoid an avalanche on return (from lunch or holiday or vacation or whatever), or do you enjoy your time and just let them compost?

I get scared by stories like this:

Her family spends a week at the beach each winter and summer. “After being away, I am kind of excited to be back,” said Ms. Drescher, who works from home in Cheshire, Conn. “On the way home I think about all the things I have to do. I make lists. I like coming back and seeing what has gone on when I’ve been away. It gets me totally back in the mood for work.”

It took her a long time to learn she could leave her e-mail behind. Last winter, vacationing in the Florida Keys, she had a “flash of panic” at the e-mail messages piling up. She found a local library with Internet access, signed up for a time slot, and scanned through several hundred messages.

Maybe it’s why I’ll never be the perfect cube-dweller, but some days modern technology makes it tough to have a client-free day. But client-free days are necessary. Sometimes a day or two without beeping is necessary. Maybe that’s why I envy Mighty Jimbo and his great sabbatical so much.

So, even if we can’t go back to South America this year, be it here and now resolved, we will take more beep-free roadtrips in 2005 (except for camera beeps – those are good beeps).

Waiting.

Waiting for the fat man overloaded with gifts to come visiting tonight. That’s what he gets for staying on a predictable schedule.

You see, it’s all about waiting. Those local dogs never understand – scaring off the prey serves no purpose. Yeah, the woof, woof sounds macho, but going to bed hungry has never been a mark of prowess in any arena. Lay in wait. Bide your time. Wait until they’re close (and if you’re lucky, distracted or incapacitated by piles of gifts), and THEN strike. Fat man filets on the George Foreman for a midnight feast, and leftovers for weeks.

And if I’ve been a good puppy, maybe I can get some fresh reindeer meat while I’m at it, or one of those cute little elves. Are elves one of the other white meats? Sometimes it seems like everything but cow is just another white meat. And does soy milk work as well as the cow stuff for bait? Amazing the things that go through one’s mind when one is waiting.

And still waiting.

Despite Pongo’s well-intentioned efforts to get me to stay home today, I’m packing up some Christmas cheer Dayquil and getting set to make a token appearance at the cube. The cube is the only non-retail business I know that is actually planning to be open after lunch today, but so be it – I won’t be there for long.

Today’s agenda:

1. Get electronic ball-and-chain afterhours pager.
2. Turn in report that no one will read until next year.
3. Run fast.

Yes, it’s the shortest day of the year. Yes, it was a long day of work, with lots of driving between the various stops. But I did escape for a while and swim my way to a bit of zen peacefulness. Life feels good now, even though someone keeps trying to call me on the office cell phone. There’s no chance I’m going to pick up and ruin the tranquility – tomorrow will be soon enough.

Recently added to the 2005 Must-Do list:

June 17 – Catch Batman Begins [Trailer via Boy's Briefs]

Three days until the winter solstice and one week until Christmas. How to celebrate the season? Why, go to the beach, of course. Get some sand between the toes, take a little nap in the warming sun, and be very, very glad that white Christmas is just one of those things we don’t do here.

The cube farmers got together for an unnamed winter holiday lunch today. It was kind of wierd because with recent staffing changes we were all unsure as of yesterday whether it would take place or not. I stuck with traditional holiday colors. The crab melt with avocado. It had just enough red and green to look festive and the avocado reminds me I’m in California. Avocado goes with everything in California.

Big thank-yous are due to the bloggers who’ve been posting the Christmas (and other winter holiday) carols that are emanating from iTunes as I type: Thank you and Merry Christmas Mike and Jason.

At least there’ll be none of that white Christmas stuff around here. Temp came close to 80 today with the Santa Ana winds, and I’ve got an invite for the beach on Saturday. I’ve got to enjoy this weekend because I’m on call for the actual Christmas weekend. Someone thinks someone at the office has to be reachable 24/7, and Christmas is my time this month. It’s almost enough for a big Bah Humbug, but I’m feeling good today so I’ll just roll with it.

Merry Christmas y’all.