I am finally in the holiday spirit, but I didn't really have a choice. My office held its holiday party this evening, so I had to be happy and friendly and ready to nosh.

Let me tell you: It was tough, but I did it.

You see, today would have been the 90th birthday of my maternal grandmother. She's been gone nearly 24 years, but I always think of her on this day. I wasn't quite 11 when she died, but I have very vivid memories: the movies (and the pre-movie trip to the drugstore for candy), the shopping (and the pre-shopping lunch), writing complaint letters to corporations (Nabisco and Swatch) and the composing of school reports (trip to Washington, D.C.).

And so, on this evening of eating, drinking and being merry, I raised a toast to grandma. I will always remember you.

After a long deadline day, I need to know that I have something I can come home and relax with. That's usually in the form of plopping myself down in front of the televsion and losing myself in a great story for an hour or two.

Five years ago, I was glued to the NBC combo of "Ed" and "The West Wing," two vast different shows that I loved the same. "Ed" was canceled after four seasons, while "The West Wing" was on for seven (the last on Sunday night, so that doesn't count it for these purposes).

Today, I am drawn to ABC's "Pushing Daisies" and "Private Practice." Both shows premiered last season as part of the network's all-new Wednesday. Unfortunately, the writers strike cut their seasons short, and both were off the air until about two months ago.

When they returned to ABC, so did I. Unfortunately, I was one of the few who did.

The ratings for both shows are significantly down and, although ABC won't come out and say it, "Pushing Daisies" has been canceled. Actually, it's filmed the 13 episodes the network ordered, but I don't know if they will all make it to air. And, even if they do, the final episode is a cliffhanger, which series creator Bryan Fuller says he will have to resolve in a comic book.

Well, at least I have five weeks until ABC rolls out its midseason schedule in early January. Sure, that means the return of "Scrubs" on two-episode Tuesdays. But what will be left for me on Wednesdays? You see: Although "Private Practice" was picked up for the full season, it will be moved to Thursdays at 10 p.m., which is way past my bedtime. (Believe me: If I could stay up that late, I would be watching the final episodes of "ER," a show I haven't watched in nearly eight years.)

So my dilemma becomes: What will I do on Wednesdays come January?

I guess I can always pull out my "Sports Night" or "Sex and the City" DVDs and spend some time with the CSC gang or the NYC girls. We'll just wait and see what kind of mood I'm in.

I never realized how informative AOL.com is until a few minutes ago.

Not only is there a quick link to my e-mail inbox, but I can log in to my AOL Instant Messenger, Facebook or MySpace accounts, too.

There's weather stats (it's 60 degrees here), along with national headlines in a variety of categories, plus constantly updated local headlines.

Of course, my favorite part had to be the list of cheapest gas prices in Broward County. Apparently, in Pompano Beach, there's a Hess that's selling regular for $1.80 a gallon.

If I wasn't the kind of person who spent all day hopping from one Web site to another, this would really be a time saver!

I would like to make an addendum to yesterday's post, in which I discussed how I loved rainy days. I still love them, but only on weekends or weekdays that I don't have to drive to work.

You see, I had to drive through pouring rain this morning on the way to work. (Not fun.) Of course, it wasn't all bad, as the dark clouds covered the sun as I headed east on the highway.

In fact, it took me about the same amount of time to get to work in the early morning rain as it did in the rush hour sunshine. (That's relative, of course, as the sun was going down fast.)

I guess I'll take rain over rush hour. Although that might change. We'll see.

Eddie Rabbitt once sang about how he loved a rainy night, but what I love are rainy days.

Sure, it's a little inconvenient when you're out and about in the middle of a half-dozen errands that must get done today. But, once you're back in the comfort of a warm home, it's nice.

Today, I was finished with the errands by 1 p.m., and I've spent the afternoon finishing up the laundry, cleaning up the mess -- a little bit at a time -- writing out some holiday cards and wrapping presents. By the time 8 p.m. rolls around, I will have accomplished so much -- and will have completely earned two hours in front of the television, watching Animation Domination, even though I'm not all that into it. (At that point, I am too tired to read, but not ready for bed.)

I'm a little sad that my five-day weekend is coming to a close. But, I'm also refreshed and ready for a five-day workweek. And it just doesn't get any better than that.

It's been a great week for me, in terms of free theater tickets. I just scored a seat for a matinee of "Avenue Q" in January.

Sure, it'll be my Chanukah present from my parents, but I was going to buy a ticket anyway, so I might as well save myself the $64 while making the gift-getting process a snap for mom. Plus, the whole family will be going together, so that will be nice.

"The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" last night was a hoot. The merry band of players (Austin, Matt and Reed) worked nonstop for 97 minutes -- well, minus a 15-minute intermission -- to zip through all 37 plays, plus the 154 sonnets. And they were gracious enough to chat and sign Playbills when it was all over. Bravo, Reduced Shakespeare Co.!

I am pleased to report that it has been so-called Black Friday for 17 hours now, and I have not yet spent a cent. Since I am heading out soon for the evening, I think that'll hold me for the next seven hours, too. Unless paying for theater parking counts. But, it doesn't, right? Right. I just decided that. Especially when the tickets are free and parking is a necessity.

Happy Thanksgiving!

While most people are reveling in the three F's of this fabulous holiday -- family, food and football -- I turned my attention, as I do every year, to my favorite: the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, broadcast live from Manhattan from 9 a.m. to noon. (After that, it's time to rest up for dinner.)

This was the 82nd parade, which starts at 77th Street and Central Park West, makes its way down Broadway and finishes up at Herald Square, right in front of Macy's on 34th Street. My favorite parts are usually during the first hour, when there are musical numbers performed in front of Macy's before the parade finally reaches that spot. This year saw performances from "In the Heights," "The Little Mermaid, "South Pacific" and "White Christmas." Of course, the synchronized Radio City Rockettes kicked thing off for the parade portion of the telecast.

I didn't actually watch the whole thing, but I did see the M&Ms float, with Idina Menzel aboard. There were M&Ms dressed to represent the musicals "A Chorus Line," "Phantom of the Opera," "Spamalot" and "Wicked." The green one was made up to look like Elphaba. I loved this nod to Menzel, who won a Tony Award in 2004 for originating the role.

After I finished with the parade, I did laundry, took a nap and tossed a bunch of cut-up fruit into a bowl to bring to dinner. The dinner was delicious, and I am so thankfully full that I didn't even get up for dessert. Of course, there's always leftover fruit.

Today, I spent most of my day at two malls on opposite ends of the shopping spectrum: high-end Aventura Mall and outlet mall Sawgrass Mills.

It appears that no one has received the memo that holiday shopping traditionally begins after Thanksgiving. But, I guess that's because retailers are suffering so much that they've begun the post-Thanksgiving sales in the pre-Thanksgiving weeks.

Better for me, I suppose.

Two other (totally unrelated) things of note: I spent some wonderful time with out-of-town friends (at the high-end mall) and this is my 300th blog post! Since I won't be getting to 400 this year, this will probably be my last big blog milestone.

It's been more than a decade since I last won anything from a radio station, but I can proudly say that today, the drought is over.

At about 5:45 this afternoon, "MJ" called me -- at home and work -- to inform me that I'd been randomly selected to receive two tickets to this Friday's performance of the Reduced Shakespeare Co.'s "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)."

It was one of those things that I signed up for online, thinking there was no way I'd win -- especially since I haven't actually listened to the radio in nearly three and a half years.

No matter -- I am quite pleasantly surprised!

It's a good thing I've begun my end-of-the-month "staycation" because I have to go pick up the tickets between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. tomorrow. (I'd never have been able to do that if I was working because the radio station is in the exact opposite direction as my office.)

So, I guess I was meant to go. Maybe someone knew I wasn't about to pay $50 a ticket for a 97-minute show (even if it does include all 37 plays). How it happened doesn't matter. But, I'll be sure to thank my lucky stars, and I hope I laugh myself silly.

I'm halfway through my workweek, and I feel great! Tomorrow's going to be busy (and perhaps long, too) but I'm up for it!

Besides, I don't care if I have to stay at work until the wee hours tomorrow because I'm taking five days off, and I won't have to go back until Dec. 1. Woo-hoo!

I survived the bar mitzvah on a boat. It was rough seas, but I made it.

And boy, am I still tired!

I did nothing today but laundry and nap. And I ate, too. But that made me more tired.

I can't believe it's back to work tomorrow. I'm so not ready for it.

But, the good news is that after working for two days, I get five days off. Now that's definitely something to look forward to.

Today, I went to my first bar mitzvah in more than five years. It was a three-hour service that included both a torah portion and a haftorah portion -- which concluded with people throwing fistfuls of candy at the bar mitzvah boy. (Or is it man?)

Also of note: Both the rabbi and cantor were quite young, and there was a "barbershop quintet" of men who chimed in to sing along at times. They were all fabulous!

Tonight, I shall set sail on a nautically themed reception, complete with candle lighting and massive amounts of food. You know, this coming-of-age stuff isn't really all that bad.

How can this feel like it's been the longest week ever, when at the same time it feels as if this entire year has just flown by?

It's one of life's many mysteries, I suppose.

I know Thanksgiving's a week away, but my workplace will celebrate Turkey Day tomorrow.

The company is going to provide a turkey, ham, stuffing and gravy. The rest of us signed up for side dishes, drinks and desserts. I decided to be responsible for bringing the flatware.

That's right: I don't cook, but I'm great at picking up a variety pack of clear plastic utensils.

I think my computer monitor might be dying. I turned it on five minutes ago, and the picture on the screen looked like some sort of four-color printed material where the four colors don't quite line up with one another.

My monitor and I go way back to the early 1990s. I bought this Compaq Presario 1510 at Computer City. I don't think those are around anymore.

And, frankly, neither are many monitors like mine.

Even my parents long ago traded in their bulky monitors for newer, flat-screen models.

Maybe it's finally time for me to do the same.

Update: As soon as I hit "publish post," my monitor snapped back to life. I guess it's not yet ready to let go. Frankly, neither am I.

Thank goodness it's Tuesday!

I've always loved Tuesdays -- mainly because they are not Mondays. (I don't like Mondays.)

All was going well, until someone asked me if a particular show was on TV tonight. That prompted me to say, "it's not Thursday, it's only Tuesday." Well, you'd have thought that this was the worst thing I could have possibly said to this person. Sure, I love my Thursday TV as much as the next person, but I wouldn't want to skip over my Wednesday TV just to get there faster. Of course, there's absolutely nothing on TV for me on Tuesdays, so I usually amuse myself by reading or surfing the Internet.

The good news is that Thursday will be here before I know it.

All I have to do is get through Wednesday first.

This morning, I woke up to a first: I had an actual comment from someone reading this blog who wasn't my sister!

I noted yesterday that I saw Part 1 of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog," but I didn't laugh once. Gina was referred to my post through a Google alert -- I'm guessing for the search term "Joss Whedon," which means she'll get this one, too -- and left an excellent comment.

First, a few things:

• I was not a "Buffy" watcher, but I did see the musical episode. (My sister made me watch it with her.) But, since I really didn't know what was going on in terms of the storyline, it didn't have much of an impact. I'm sure that I'd have been able to appreciate it more if I'd been there from the beginning of the series (or at least the beginning of the season). I really wasn't paying attention to clever lyrics; I was just trying to figure out who was who.
• I love everything Neil Patrick Harris does, from "Doogie Howser, M.D." to "How I Met Your Mother" and all the musicals in between. (Oh yeah -- I love musicals, too.)
• I haven't seen anything Nathan Fillion has done, but I hear from my sister that he was excellent in "Firefly" and "Serenity," also from the great mind of Whedon. I can say with some authority that Fillion is quite nice to look at.
• I agree that "Dr. Horrible's" dialogue was clever. If I'd had more energy after such a long day, I probably would have laughed. But, at the point I watched it last night -- on the screen of a laptop, no less -- I was just trying to pay attention to the details.

I really do want to see how this whole thing pans out. Hopefully, I will enjoy it as much as Gina did, and I will be able to give more detailed thoughts on this clever little project, which was done during last year's writers strike.

My second day at the book fair went off without a hitch. And my sister -- despite the fact that she was extremely tired and a little sick -- came, too.

We went to see our cousin give a reading of her book to a packed tent of kids, then attended a session with Roy Blount Jr. and Carl Hiaasen. After that, it was up and down the street fair, in and out of booths. My sister spent a pretty penny (and blamed me, of course) but had to admit that she had a great time.

We topped off the day with dinner at Moon Thai and a screening of Part 1 of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog." I didn't laugh once, but maybe that's because my expectations were so high. (According to my sister, the combination of Joss Whedon + Neil Patrick Harris + Nathan Fillion + songs = comedy gold.) I probably will need to see the other two parts to make a final decision.

And, my parents arrived home from their cruise -- early, no less -- and I just got off the phone with my mom, who's one of those people who says goodbye and keeps talking. (In fact, before I could even publish this post, she called me again.)

Anyway, that's about it for today. I've got to catch up on some laundry before I go to bed and get psyched up for another workweek.

Today's trip to the book fair went even better than I'd expected!

After getting off to a bit of late start and finally finding a parking spot on the ninth level of an 11-story garage, we arrived at the fair in time for the one (and only) session I had confirmed myself for -- only to find out I didn't need to bring the confirmation after all. While listening to Art Spiegelman speak, one of my co-workers -- whose wife is basically in charge of the whole event -- came over with a media pass. "This will get you into anything, regardless of whether or not it's full," he told me.

It was music to my ears. I was so ecstatic that I completely forgot to have Spiegelman sign either of the books -- Maus and Open Me ... I'm a Dog -- I'd brought with me.

I am not the type to take advantage of my status as a member of the press. You see: I don't really write. And, if I did, I wouldn't be covering the book fair. But, I put the pass around my neck, nonetheless, and smiled, knowing there would be more events for me, after all.

I stayed in the room for the next session, Dave Barry and Frank McCourt. I couldn't imagine what the author of "Boogers Are My Beat" would have in common with the author of "Angela's Ashes," but it turned out that they were more similar than not. Both were very articulate and funny, and I might have to pick up any (or all) of McCourt's books, just to see if his wonderful Irish voice comes shining through.

After that session, I went over to Children's Alley, where my cousin had presented her book, and was now signing autographs. There were a few takers, but most people were looking for Jeff Kinney, who wrote "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." From the amount of kids who stopped at our table, I'd say he has a really big following. Unfortunately, he was nowhere near where we were, so I don't know if any of them actually got to see him.

Then, I headed back for another session -- stopping along the way to spend $7 on a hot dog and frozen lemonade and $20 on books -- where I got to see Francine Prose, Carl Hiaasen and others read the works of other artists who were under surveillance. This was not what I'd imagined, but it was somewhat interesting. When Esmeralda Santiago began reciting poetry in Spanish, many people got up and left. I took this as my cue to head to the restroom before we headed back to the garage and went home.

All in all -- a great success! Stay tuned for my Sunday adventures in tomorrow's post.