Thar be polar bears ...

(Tonight's workout accompaniment: Probably Good Omens, again. Haven't decided yet.)

Briguy is always funny, but his Black Friday blog is worth a read.

"I spend most of my time in Michael's making the plastic dinosaurs battle the polar bears and other animals while I wait."

I didn't even know they had dinosaurs and polar bears at Michael's.

In other news ...

I won Carl Kasell's voice on my home answering machine two months ago, but for the life of me I can't think of anything witty for Carl to say. Suggestions? Comment below.

Random things ...

(Tonight's workout accompaniment: Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Thoroughly the fault of Glockgal, whose art piqued my interest.)

This is a list of random things that make me happy for no apparent reason.

• boss buttons
• notaries public
• passers-by
• used-book stores (the more disorganized the better)
• princess seams
• innocent bystanders
• Smart™ cars
• red herrings
• leeks (of which there are three in my refrigerator — anyone know a good recipe?)

I'll admit it ...

Bradley Whitford's face on the cover of the Heifer catalog kept me from pitching it.

Oh, and the fact that this very cool person volunteers for Heifer.

God has a sense of humor

It was quite an enjoyable date.

Singleton

It's been at least a year since I last went on a date. And I'm not even sure that drinks at the top of the Hancock Center counts as a date, although I did have a very enjoyable evening with the person in question.

I have some friends who are very concerned about my lack of interest in dating.

Tonight, over dinner, they suggested I check out eHarmony, since a friend we have in common is using that service. Given my previous experiences with online dating services, I'm not terribly interested.

More that that, though, I don't feel like I'm missing anything by not being attached. I spend my free time with friends, on creative pursuits or reading.

While I was in the Middle East, I was encouraged by my host to come back for my honeymoon.

"That might be quite awhile," I said. "Since I'm not currently seeing anyone."

"No problem," she said. "We'll find you a husband."

"We have a whole catalog of them," her assistant added, in jest.

I had a series of long-term committed relationships when I was younger. After those ended, I felt a terrible void in my life.

In the past few years, however, I haven't felt that pang for companionship. I'm happy with my life. I don't feel a need to "put myself out there" as my friend suggests.

Perhaps its laziness. Or complacency. Or a sense of unworthiness. Or fear that a relationship will hold me back from doing the things I want to do with my life. Who knows? But what matters is that for now I'm happy.