Today's gonna be a good day — Catherine's landing at National around 10:30 tonight. But my lingering Puritan genes are pushing me to punish myself before that happens. The office where I'm working is close enough to National that, if I look out the window, I can read the signs on the airport's Metro platform. Heading home and then coming back out to meet her seems kind of silly, particularly given how far behind we are on this project. So it's gonna be a little bit of a late night.

Still, it won't be nearly as bad as the Thanksgiving death march I've arranged for myself. That day will begin with a 6AM bus ride to New York, followed by a couple of hours on a commuter train. Then it's dinner, back on the train, then back on the bus. I'll be getting home around 2:30AM on Friday, having discharged my familial duties in the absolute minimum number of hours possible.

I did the second half of this trip last year; it wasn't too bad, but I'll definitely need a good novel. I had my heart set on this (murderous antarctic amphibians? sold!), but nobody in the area seems to stock it. Suggestions for suitable replacements would be appreciated.