December 6. Just realized that the Hungarian Santa should have come and left me some chocolates and/or a birch in the boots put out on my windowsill. Or was it the morning of the 7th? I guess you are only supposed to remember these things if you are a kid or you have a kid.

I feel like I got a luxurious gift though: I am able to write my blog in bed thanks to the wireless connection we got this past weekend. After Friday's lowpoint (which also involved a 7 am wake up knock on my bedroom door by my boss!), this and the purchase of a beautiful vintage fur coat with the help of Cina helped me to recover. In addition to the internet, for the first time in my life I live in a place where there are about 55 TV channels. On Saturday I spent a lot of time zapping around; this numbed my senses for a couple of hours but when I was awaken by the cold I understood that I have not missed much in the past 8 months by having no access to TV at all. On Friday I didn't dare mention the privacy violating early morning incident for fear of being considered a complete loser; on balance I might be (haven't decided yet), but there are redeeming factors such as the perks I mentioned before...

The other benefit of the permanent internet connection is that I can be in touch with my brother over ICQ. When he was here for his Thanksgiving break we spoke lots about his various writing projects: essays, screenplays, memoirs. Some of his writing is amazingly original and very moving, and he seems to have found something that he wants to take truly seriously. The act of writing is a solitary passtime for him and he is uncompromising even vis a vis his American professor: he refuses to create a piece with the participation of others in his class. This is why I am pleased that he seeks my advice and input. Of course, after he is done with the creation bit, he thoroughly enjoys sharing his work with his fellow students and some of his friends. I can identify with that: I enjoy the occasional feedback I get on my blog, even if my blog has not become the sort of forum for interaction that many blogs are. As you might have read in the news, the word "blog" is the most used word of the year. When I started mine I did not realize the vastness and variability of the "blogger community". I don't like belonging to "communities" or adhere to fashions, so I had to overcome these inhibitions to start looking at other people's blogs. Still have to make up my mind. For now for me, it is easier to see the value of those blogs that are focused on professional rather than personal activities (my favourite being this: http://www.lessig.org/blog/, and if you are interested in copyright and its impact on culture read Free Culture, Lessig's latest book, it is truly eye-opening), notwithstanding the fact that mine is not like that. Maybe I will change my mind though.

Today is bad. I am fed up with being surrounded with people who talk in some kind of freakin' code language. Nothing means what is being said and, in any event, nothing that is being said has any relevance because they are either just words that serve no purpose at all other than as a false description of "action taken". Action is glorified over here, ironically enough, considering that it is the one thing that almost never happens, not if by action we mean: "ac·tion Pronunciation: 'ak-sh&n, Function: noun, ...5 a : a thing done" (Webster). Kills me.