I am finding the lack of computer access to be both frustrating and liberating. I�ve been forced to work on projects that don�t involve large amounts of writing, something that tended to be a form of procrastination. But somehow when forced to give up writing for a while, I find that I don�t seem to want to do anything else.

Fortunately Thanksgiving is fast approaching, giving me a project in another part of the house as a distraction. As usual, we are having my husband�s mother and siblings for dinner. My usual approach to Thanksgiving dinner involves ordering a turkey far too big for the oven several weeks in advance, religiously pouring over recipes in search of the perfect menu, and finally making exactly what I made last year. Happens every damn time. This year, however, I swear will be different. I refuse to waste all that time with the cookbooks. The menu will be the same: turkey, my grandmother�s stuffing recipe, my secret cranberry sauce, green beans, carrots, potatoes, salad, pumpkin pie. Mmm. Pie.

AJ is getting very excited about the holiday as well. He has been a wide variety of turkey iconography at school. He is, however, somewhat concerned that there is nothing on the Thanksgiving menu that he likes to eat. I tried to point out that�s because he doesn�t like to eat anything, but he didn�t appear to hear me. AJ would be thankful for a dinner of applesauce and chocolate cake. But then, who wouldn�t?

I am still trying to wrap up some loose ends from Seattle. Several people wanted copies of my paper, so I�m trying to clean it up and add my references back in so its readable by someone besides me. And a couple of people have contacted me regarding research questions that I think I can actually answer. It�s nice feeling useful. As a treat, I�ve picked as my next proposal project a paper about music in one of my favorite films, which happens to be related to my dissertation work. I�ve never worked on film music before, so it�s fun to be striking out into new territory. It was also nice to spend yesterday afternoon watching movies and calling it work. Life is good.

Despite this entry, I am still (sort of) on hiatus. My computer has apparently arrived in California for its spa vacation. I hope it will be back by next week full of renewed vigor. If only it would send me a postcard and let me know how it is doing.

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