Thanks for the advice, guys.

In I-love-my-life news, I just looked up the books I'll need for Spring, and they total $29.95. Cheapest semester yet!

Apparently the people I live with don't own a coffee pot. How am I supposed to go 17 days with no coffee???

In Britain, people mostly drink instant. Even if there's a working coffee pot sitting around, in many cases. We haven't really grasped coffee as a concept. My Mum does like "proper coffee", but my Dad won't touch it. Meanwhile in Bangkok I have a coffee maker and my blender has a coffee grinder attachment, so I'm all coffeed up; however, at work there's only a kettle & instant coffee. I therefore have one of those mini one person cafetiere things, from Starbucks (this is a French press, right?), and so I keep a stash of ground coffee in the fridge at work and make my own coffee that way, one cup at a time. I would recommend it.

Also, I agree with Hil and Anne that brevity of phone message is the way to go.

Just been to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park with my parents for a nice bracing walk - it's remarkable how mild the weather is (but still much colder than Bangkok, obviously. Duh). Tomorrow I'm heading down to London to spend New Year with a good friend who is, happily, no longer living in Pakistan.

...apparently I have hiccups. Sorry about that.

t /embarrassed

Coffee.

I am: At home in MI, waiting for my parents to return from church so we can go out for brunch. Looking at Craig's List for a new apartment in CA. Bemoaning the real estate/rental market vs. my measly income. Envying my little sister and brother-in-law who are about to purchase their first home back here in MI. Also bemoaning my career choice which has made visits with my dear family so terribly infrequent.

I'm hungry, but am waiting for the parents to return so we can get brunch and talk...

I baked rum cookies. They are yum. And I must resist eating them now, because they're for a party tomorrow night. (I ate one, just to make sure they turned out OK. No more now.)

Nicole, if you're around, insent.

Tea.

Hil, those cookies sound yummy. I should start baking some brownies and banana bread for tomorrow, but TCG cleaned up the kitchen so nice today that I hate to mess it up.

Banana bread! I need to make banana bread. Tomorrow, I think. Tonight I'm going to Game On Boston with my brother. I plan to get completely trashed. It's the only way I'll make it through the football game!

Sounds like a good plan, vw.

It'll be fun, and he'll drive me back to my place, so totally a good plan.

Maybe he'll try to explain football to me. Maybe he'll give up like he usually does.