now entered upon the official countdown. i have three months to go on this contract - well, not really, not technically . . . not for another week. still, christmas was some kind of mental watershed, so let the gnawing of the trapped leg and the dreaming of freedom begin.

meanwhile i'm still riding my studded knobbies to and from work every day, and promising myself that if i'm really good, for a treat, i can go sometime and get them properly inflated again. there was frost on the windows of all the parked cars as i came home - stopped and scraped a fingernail along one to make sure - so at least they feel relevant.