The night that the Wii came out, some coworkers and I teamed up to go wait in line at Fred Meyer. I chose to be there for the office Wii. We had an chilly nine hours of sitting around, playing DS, sending people off for hot choco and cupcakes, and talking to strangers. When the Wiis were procured, we went back to the office and enjoyed many hours of fun until sunrise-time. My fondest Wii memory so far is of spending my Thanksgiving break playing through Zelda all day, eating leftovers from office meals and drinking awful energy drinks.

I drove down to Portland alone to see Richard Dawkins speak. When I arrived, it was still several hours before the reading was to begin. I secured an up-front seat and camped out by myself in the room, drinking an Odwalla meal-replacement drink and reading my Michael Pollan book. Eventually the room filled up with hundreds of people. After the reading, I went to have a book signed, but my wits were so confounded all I could say was, “Thanks so much for everything”.

Ann and I went to see Sufjan Stevens perform. He had a huge band, all dressed in butterfly wings. His positive attitude, candor, and approach to creativity seem quite refreshing among all of the seemingly so cynical “indie” rock music.