tick...tick...tick...

You know it's going to be a long week at work when you're thinking about the end of the week before you've gone in for your first shift. That's where I find myself at this moment, a couple of hours before I'm due in the office for the first time this week.

It's mostly because I'm headed on vacation Sunday, and what better places could I pick to go in early December than Dallas and Portland? I probably should be headed to a warm beach somewhere for a carefree 10 days ahead of another New England winter, but if you recall, I also thought it was a swell idea to head to D.C. in July. (And I'll have you know I'm hoping my next trip will be to Central New York in late December.)

The only bright spot in the next four days, I think, will be the long-awaited new laptop I'm getting Thursday. (Again, you might recall -- and I know that's a big "might" given this blog's readership -- that this is a piece of equipment I don't plan to secure properly.*)

So if the new machine is properly equipped, I may be able to provide updates on how my vacation is going. If not, it's back to my old friend Kinkos for far-less-frequent and far-more-expensive updates.

* If I were smarter, I'd have set up this blog so I could link to individual posts in the archive. But I didn't, so find the posts yourselves, if you're so inclined. And you're probably not.