Today I leave by 7 PM bus to my parents' for Thanksgiving.

Okay. Bye until about December 8, give or take. I've spent today taking care of anything requiring the computer. Until my sojourn away has ended, I'll only turn it on when need really calls.

If you need anything, comment in this space. I'll get to it in December.

I didn't vote today. Went to try for a provisional ballot, but I pushed it late and forgot to get exact directions to the polling place. This sort of thing was why I didn't vote in 2000, too, didn't send in my absentee ballot in time (I was in college at the time).

Instead of voting, I walked around a little. And I sort of cracked, in a way that I hadn't done for quite some time.

Was wandering down 8th Avenue, out of my mind a little and knowing it. Had some interesting thoughts about "Why the hell am I here? What'm I to do in life?" Talked to myself and tried assuming the personalities of assorted characters to help me snap out of it. English was the one who helped the most and managed to nudge me back toward home while I was part way across the bridge to Pittsburgh. I like her. I know it's weird talking about my characters like this, but it's almost like a muse-relationship.

I entered a merry, almost maniac mood as I walked back and on the way did some needed shopping (groceries and such). Was very happy. Somewhere on the way, I got the idea to take a break from the Internet, indeed, the computer itself. I mean, I wake up with a mind to do a few things for the day but first check just a few things on the computer, and then it's nighttime. This is almost a spiritual thing, too, in a way, as spiritual as an atheist can get, anyway. Like a fast.

On this break, I could:

• Read the books on managing ADD I recently got
  
• Implement those organization strategies
  
• Possibly do some writing. Some of my most productive times've been on vacation away from the computer, and I do have a notebook.
  
• Do considerably more walking and exploration.
  
• And more.

Stuff like that. I'm thinking of one month at most. The issue here would be it disrupting the games I run, and I'm in another one just about to start. I think I need to do this, though, or something similar. I need so badly to shake myself up. I'm not going to start it right now, though. I'm going to prepare for it first, print out some reference materials I'll need for some of the stuff I'm thinking of doing, stuff like that.

Since I feel the need for daily writing practice, and matters're progressing slowly on one of my projects, give me a theme. I'll try to do a short piece about it and post it by tomorrow, along with a request for another theme.

I'm going on one to Rollins Pond in northern New York with my family. Leaving today, will be back August 31.