I know this sounds highly, highly improbable, but it turns out that I'm a lot more efficient and effective when I'm a couple hundred miles away from my home office. I'm only checking my email and the web occasionally, when I'm glomming onto some terminal or the free WiFi at the Soho Apple Store (where I am right now, actually), so instead of surfing and then looking up to curse as I discover a couple of hours have disappeared, I'm actually working. Which means that, gods willing, I'll be able to roll out a couple of projects this week.

And, YES, I successfully tracked down my very own Canon Digital Rebel. This camera rocks. I finally picked it up late last night at a Circuit City here in New York (the Apple Store was woefully out of stock), and I intend to give this baby a workout this week. Snapshots at the Met, coming right up.

My birthday was pretty cool, actually. I wound up working in a coffeeshop for a good chunk of the day, which makes me feel great because, as I noted above, my productivity is skyrocketing, and I'm getting a lot done. Longtime to-do list projects getting crossed off left and right. This is great. I goofed off in a neat comic shop downtown (Forbidden Planet, which I think is another instance of the same chain of geekery shops I used to hang out in over in London), chilled in a Barnes and Noble to review the latest Print Regional Design Annual (checking out the competition, you know), went to dinner with Kate and then – and this was one of the coolest things I've done here – went to a party at Kate's friends' house. Not a birthday party, mind you, but a "It's a Rocky Horror Christmas, Charlie Brown!" party. Kate's friend Kevin took a script of A Charlie Brown Christmas and inserted all kinds of audience participation moments, complete with throwing styrofoam peanuts in the air for snow and alluding loudly to Linus' penchant for prom dresses. It was a hoot – and I even have a copy of the script to run copies for anyone else that wants to try it. (Shannon, I know you'd love this!)

So, yes. Good birthday. The new Dreamsbay site is an enormous step closer to being done. And I have a kickass new camera. So far it's been a great weekend in New York City. Onward!