AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 16, 2005 — I never eat breakfast. Except today we were going to a lecture at 9:30 in the morning.

I thought I should get up at seven. But I went back to bed for an hour. Then up, shower, coffee, toast and jelly, more coffee. Me, toast and jelly in the morning. Not just coffee.

The lecture was at the Jewish temple down the street. Well, about eleven blocks down. I'd never been in the building. They have a big education building. Three stories in back. The lecture was about the making of Ballet Austin's Light: The Humanity Project.

I learn that the ballet will follow the narrative of a particular Holocaust survivor, a Houston woman, and they discuss all the different education components of the project for the dance company and administration and the community. This is an exciting premier and a bridge of art and history.

We decide that our 'exercise' will be to take our dog for a walk. Well, it's good to take a break from the same routine and the sunny, crisp (well, cold even) day invites. We change and go to Hyde Park. We walk up and down from 43rd to 38th, looking at houses done up nice or gone to seed. We sit outside in the sun at Dolce Vita and run into two friends, one leaving Julio's and one going to work at Dolce Vita.

At home, I slice up some vegies for salads and make a plate of iceberg and onions for sandwiches and make a plate of mozzarella and fresh basil and tomato and put it all back in the frig. We've invited a handful of people over but an even smaller handful are actually coming.

I read some newspapers and watch things off the DVR. Dad comes and watches football with Forrest in the other room.

The crop of movies this year seems thin. But our purpose for gathering was the Golden Globes. Which gives awards to TV, too, of course. It was actually suggested by Gayle, the bookkeeper. She and our friend SuRu come over and Gayle puts the finishing touches on a soup. She serves it with cous-cous molds with cheese. It's delicious. Everyone is full then but they still eat a sandwich or half a sandwich and a little other stuff. We put all the leftovers away and wash up quickly. We watch the Globes until Desperate Housewives comes on. The girls and FFP want to switch. I go switch the DVR to not do the Housewives and do the Globes instead (where the actresses playing the housewives are themselves getting awards). After the wives, the gang gets stuck into Boston Legal. Except Dad goes home. Then everyone else. I finish watching the Globes, fast-forwarding through the commercials. Sleep.

I took pictures today like I promised I would. I wasn't totally pleased with them. Chalow didn't seem to want to cooperate.

I didn't accomplish anything today. I couldn't even get many friends to come over so I could say I entertained a bit. Everyone had an excuse: work, other obligations, weddings. Rare we strike out so totally.

Tomorrow we are taking FFP's car to the shop. This means that the two of us will be tied to one car, more or less. I look forward to it, actually. It will give me excuses. There will also be no mail, delaying the arrival of more 1099's and therefore the necessity of getting serious about my tax work.