I’m in the Grafton Alterra’s, 7:40PM, Saturday night. I don’t know if it’s the snow, the white tea, the coffee, The Hold Steady, or the fact I’ve worked my ass off the last couple of hours, some combination of all the above, or something I’ve completely missed, but I’m feeling pretty good. The gently falling snow has become a rip-roaring snowstorm. Goddamn, I wish I had brought my camera. The intersection outside the window is small town beautiful, and the flakes, as big as the palm of my hand, are swirling in every direction. You can see them near the streetlights. Goodbye, winter. Thanks for visiting one last time.

So this week was crazy busy, and next week promises more of the same. I visited three schools in three days. Then, when I was in the office, everyone needed something. No, I don’t feel important. I’d like to close my door and keep everyone away, thank you very much. On the pro side, and the con side, I guess, the music teacher from one of the schools I visited told the AN ENTIRE CLASS OF CLINICAL STUDENTS that if I wasn’t married she would hit on me. Uh, thanks. Good for my ego, but I’m not going to hear the end of it for the foreseeable future. Ha.

Some insomnia returned early in the week but by Wednesday I was fine. I skipped working out Tuesday, thank you, insomnia, but pushed hard Wednesday through Friday. Today I did thirty minutes on the elliptical. Maybe I’ll do another thirty later. I don’t know.

This morning T and I hit Borders, where he bought some military science fiction book and I picked up a new dictionary. Dictionaries fascinate me. I went with this one because 1) the type was beautiful and easy on the eyes, 2) the boys can use it without difficulty, and 3) I like the paperback more than the hardcover:

http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Oxford-Dictionary-Thesaurus/dp/0195307151/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238287892&sr=8-3

I don’t know how the hell you can call this a “pocket” dictionary, though. Who’s got pockets that big?

T and I had fun. We hit Harry’s for lunch after the bookstore. Harry’s is a true step back in time, beautiful old appliances behind the counter, etc. Last year some jackasses threatened to close the building and replace the restaurant with a 50s diner. Fuckheads. Score a point for the real estate collapse.

I spent the rest of the day reading or on the elliptical. I thought about driving down to the office but the impending snowstorm and the fact I drove to the bookstore earlier pushed me toward the coffee shop. The space is almost empty, just a couple of other guys and I working on laptops. But thank you, Alterra’s, for staying open until 9PM. The ice cream place next door is open late, too. How in the hell do these businesses stay open? I have no idea.

That’s it for now. Beautiful night.