Thanks, everybody!

Wow, I had no idea that people were actually reading this thing!

Thanks, everybody, for your kind thoughts and e-mails following my last entry. Now I feel like I was out campaigning for a sympathy vote! I wasn't, really!

Sigh... it's always nice to get e-mails from friends and family. Especially nice because I am notoriously bad at keeping up on my end of e-mail correspondence. (This is my weekend to catch up on e-mails.)

Yesterday I received a hilarious e-mail from Karla, a friend from Freaks + Weirdos, a friend with a side-splitting sense of humor, a friend who could bring me to tears (of laughter) simply by walking past my cubicle. Karla's e-mail made me realize how much I MISS having friends who make me laugh. It's not that there aren't any funny people in OlyWA -- I just haven't clicked with anybody who can make me belly-laugh the way my Cincinnati friends could.

To get my humor fix, I have been relying heavily on "The Office."

Fortunately, there is somebody in my office who shares my love of this show. His name is Bill, and he is the receptionist. And, he is one of my favorites coworkers.

Let me tell you a few facts that I've learned about Bill: He is 60-something years old, a Vietnam vet, and a Native American. He wears cool turquoise and silver rings. He grew up on a farm, and he can't stomach strawberries because he had to pick so many when he was growing up on the farm. He performed CPR on his wife last year and saved her life. He dotes on his grandkids. He loves to make jokes and tell stories about his life -- and I love to hear them (or eavesdrop on them -- his desk is right outside my office, so I get to hear everything). He would be a perfect candidate for the StoryCorps project... I keep meaning to tell him that. And, he loves "The Office," which puts him on the super-cool list.

So, I am meeting plenty of great people out here in Oly. But, I have to admit, I am looking forward to seeing -- and laughing with -- old friends at Christmas.