Happy New Year

My only New Year's resolution for now: in 2005, I will always compose my posts in a text editor first, and then copy it into Blogger so that I don't lose any more long posts like the one I just finished that was supposed to go here. (self-administered dope-slap)

I'm not going to try to rewrite it, so here's the distilled version:

Salutation and theme: Happy New Year's (like the title says)
Dissertation: Turned in.
Defense: Scheduled; this Tuesday. Committee members making scary noises about what to expect. I can take it.
Freedom: Imminent.
Date of relocation: Second week of January; to be confirmed.
New Contact Information: Will distribute after arrival in NY; don't panic, current e-mail address is good for another 6 months.
New Year's Resolutions: Postponed until I have some basic information about what my life is going to look like - will I be working crazy hours? will I be in NY or Paris? will the temptations of urban life lead me down the path of wickedness? To be continued.
Likelihood of more frequent posting after the move: High, but I'm not promising anything.
Likelihood of more frequent contact of some other sort after the move: High; I will promise something, but I won't say exactly what, or when.
Self-pity level: Refreshingly low, for a change.
Valediction: I can't promise to be a truly new man in the new year, one who remembers all the birthdays and promptly returns the calls, but I can say for sure that once this shit is over with, I will be in a much better position to earn the loyalty my friends and family have shown me. I am looking forward to rejoining the living and talking a lot more, and more personally, to everyone who still reads this, who used to read it and gave up, and who I wish read it.

That is all for now. Stay tuned.