that's what i get for trying to take a week off.

i should've known my plans would be foiled.... by The Pestilence. M_'s been plague-ridden since wednesday, and despite a valiant internal battle that included attempts at jedi mind tricking myself into wellness, i too succumbed. the past two days have been a blur of crumpled tissues, mucus and vast, fuming vats of vicks vaporub. all productivity has ground to a gear-shredding halt, and i've been reduced to a blanket-swaddled lump protruding from the cushions in our couch.

i've been 100% offline for around 48 hrs -- the first time that's happened in any past -- recent or not-so recent -- that i have mental recall of. i'd planned to put some of my downtime this week toward responding to a sizable backlog of emails, but since that now appears unlikely to happen, let me now broadcast here a general, blanket apology to everyone waiting on any kind of response/correspondence from me: for lo, i am in a pitiable state, and deserving of your kindly pardon. when i am recovered i promise to embark upon a campaign of correspondence that will set everything right and mold me back into a shape that resembles something like a real, interactive human -- one who responds to questions, speaks in turn when spoken to, and is generally not such a tremendous ass with the email and whatnot. sorry, guys.

in the interim, enjoy the following dispatch from our lovely pittsburgh pal kelly, who is joining the ranks of us homeowning-types in less than a week... and is, understandably, a little freaked out about it.