carve your name into my arm, instead of stressed i lie here charmed

I do not know what I would do without my laptop. I spend practically every waking moment with it; the only time today that I was awake and not using my laptop was a) taking a shower/getting dressed, b) in the car on the ten-minute drive to/from work, c) while making a peanut butter sandwich for lunch (which I ate at my desk), d) while eating dinner, e) while watching the Tour for half an hour, and f) while saying goodbye to Thomas. Combined, that's perhaps three hours of non-computer time. Sadness. The laptop has become an extension of my person; it's like having a second brain, and I am better able to control it than I am my own feet. I am essentially a prototype cyborg. The machine has become a part of me, so that I can no longer tell where my reality ends and the cyberworld begins. I start to get twitchy if I go more than an hour without checking my email. Europe will be interesting; it will be the longest that I have gone without near-continuous internet access since...well, probably the last time I went to Europe. I've had this laptop almost two years, and I have spent more time with it than all of my friends combined. How sad is that?

Work continues to work me, but that's okay because it ensures that I stay in constant contact with my laptop, which makes me feel safe and secure. I came home tonight and watched the last half-hour of the Tour; it was not a particularly exciting stage, and so I will not go into detail. We also had a brief farewell chat with Thomas after dinner, since he is going back to the States tonight. The office here is really great in the sense that everyone truly seems to care when people leave; there were several people who were openly sobbing when Thomas left the office for the last time. I don't think that I caused anyone to shed tears when I left California, particularly not at the office. So the atmosphere here is very friendly and warm, but it's also a little overwhelming for someone with my sarcastic sense of humor and jaded sensibilities.

Anyway, I came upstairs after the final farewell and caught the last part of tonight's 'Rock Star'. Then, I watched 'Arrested Development'; I'd never seen it in the States, but it was playing tonight on Star World. I *love* it. It stars Jason Bateman, who I fell in love with during 'Dodgeball' ('Pepper needs new shorts!'), and it is somewhat reminscent of 'Scrubs' and other completely absurd shows and movies. I love absurd things, and so 'Arrested Development' is right up my alley. Roommates, be forewarned that we're watching 'Arrested Development' this fall--you won't regret it. If you could handle watching such gems as 'High Hitler' (a History Channel documentary of Hitler's addiction to various medications and possible case of Parkinson's disease), 'Arrested Development' should be no problem for you.

I came upstairs to discover that my air conditioner is leaking, and so I had to shut it off. Luckily it probably only got up to 85 or 90 degrees today, and so the ceiling fan is quite sufficient. So, I shall go to bed, and hopefully I will dream of icestorms and the end of the world even though I am not under the immediate influence of my malaria pills.