"This is your front door??"

There is always a twinge of sadness when I pack off the last of the visitors for the airport or train station, never failing to underscore that I have all of two friends in New York.

This past weekend the number of friends in New York swelled to four as Dennise flew in from Cleveland and Kay took the train up from Washington so that we could all celebrate New Years in the Big Apple. No, there were no trips to Times Square for the ball drop, but rather a sedate food and champagne affair followed by a trip up to my roof to see the fireworks over Manhattan. You could literally hear all of New York erupt into a roar when the final moments of 2004 passed into 2005. Cars honked wildly, people shouted from their windows, and on the horizon flashes of silver light lit up the space between the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.

So now that Dennise and Kay are gone, I am left to my own devices once again. But hark! I have just purchased a new computer—a shining, gleaming piece of design and technology that oozes urban cool. I have just purchased a 20" iMac G5 and it will be my link to the outside world.

Hurrah! No more furtive web surfing during work hours.