A Laugh a Day Keeps the Men in White Coats Away

Today I completed a post-New Year's ritual in record time. I managed to find a Dave Barry 2004 Day-to-Day Calendar at the second store I visited. This usually ends up being an afternoon-long ordeal, since I always wait until a day or two after New Year's to get one. The upside of waiting is that it's half-price; the downside is that not everyone still has one in stock by then. I've had good luck at the Borders in Spanish Village in recent years, and sure enough, they had multiple copies today.

Dave Barry has been one of my favorite humor writers for a long time; I read his column every Sunday in the paper, own several of his books, and have in the past year become a regular reader of (and occasional contributor to) his blog. And for a long time, I've had one of his page-a-day calendars.

You can't say a lot in one little calendar page, but a small dose of Dave usually hits the spot. It may not always be laugh-out-loud funny (or nearly-in-tears funny like that "mondegreen" stuff from last night), but it's exactly what I need; it's the first thing I do after I turn on the light in the morning. Any day that starts with a laugh and ends with a prayer will probably be at least halfway decent.

Other than that, it was another lazy day. I did go with Fizban and Dingus to The Tomato in Denton (a pizza pilgrimage?). You may laugh about us going all the way to Denton for pizza, but a) it's that good, and b) we didn't want to wait until the next One O'Clock concert. I also stopped by Pender's to pick up an Aebersold so it wasn't strictly a one-dimensional trip.

Oh, and happy birthday to my cousin Matt in Indiana (not to be confused with Demon Matt or Halfling; they're later in the year).