Well, it�s not so bad, really. At least I can rely on that schedule. I should really get a Palm Pilot, though, with a modem so I can do these entries on the train. As it is, I�ve read more books on these commutes than I have over the course of my whole life.

This arrangement will only last a few more days and I�ll be off�somewhere. It was supposed to be Vancouver on Monday but it might be somewhere else. I was thinking that I would definitely not want it to be one of the production centres in the Arctic�but�know what?�as long as it�s not for a long time, I actually wouldn�t even mind that. At any rate, I�ll probably be on the road for a long time � what with Ecuador and Panama and all.

It�ll be nice for a while; being put up in some snazzy hotel with per-diem and being close enough to walk to work. I don�t know about spending Christmas away from home. This�ll be my first time. It�s ok though, they�ll pay for luvofmylife to be with me for the holiday. It�ll be a good getaway for her (�cept if the gig�s in the ARCTIC).

It doesn�t look very Christmassy around here lately. The temperature is supposed to inch over ten degrees Celsius today. The only sign of Christmas comes during the absence of daylight. Man, do those Christmas lights look out of place without snow.

I remember being in Florida one Christmas (visiting the parents) and I remember thinking the same thing. Rooftops with glittering Santa�s and thousands of reindeer looking like scattered beacons across the coastline. All of it knitted together with palm trees, pounding surf and sun burned lawns. None of it looks right without snow. Well, it probably looks perfectly normal to some people; just not to me.

There�s lots of snow in the Arctic, I hear.

Arc