It's official. I am addicted to the internet. I have been home for two hours and 45 minutes, and with the exception of making/eating my dinner and asking Jeff how his day was, I have spent all of my free time online. To be fair, I also attempted to watch TV, but A&E's Cold Case Files was a repeat and I've already seen the Travel Channel's "Do's and Don'ts" for vacationing in Hawaii. I read my book for about 10 minutes during dinner but the truth is, I could care less what happens to the characters at the end. It's called Starting Out in the Evening and I highly don't recommend it.

I need to find a hobby. I enjoy writing but I feel that I should dedicate serious time, energy and effort to it. My brain is definitely not at its best after a long day at work; the creative synapses in my head are disjointed at night and I can't clearly communicate the (brilliant!) thoughts that occur to me during the day. I like singing as well but that's a hobby I save for car rides, wine nights with friends, and the occasional Josh Groban sing-along in the office. Baking is great and has the beneficial side effect of making the house smell delicious, but I have a feeling that eating 48 of my own peanut butter cookies would most likely be counter-productive to the progress that I've made up to this point.

Turning my computer on is almost an instinctive reaction for me first thing in the morning, and in the evening when I come home. Being online doesn't require much brainpower. I play "Scrabulous" with my friends on facebook (that might stretch the brain cells just a little bit, and it allows me to form words with random letters--FUN!), then I check the local news on WFSB. National news on MSNBC. Hotmail. Stuffonmycat. Myspace. Weather. Read Heather's always informative and interesting blog. Return to MSNBC for breaking news. Check facebook again because, after all, someone may have left me a comment during the past five minutes. Talk to my brother or Rachel on instant messenger. Why not check my horoscope on Yahoo to waste some more time. Back to Hotmail. Etc. etc. etc. Am I alone in this? Why can't I just shut my computer down and walk away?

Because I don't know what else to do if I am not attached to my laptop. I reviewed my options: I could...clean. *shudder*. I could...read the dumb book that I don't like. I could...reorganize my dresser drawers. Watch a movie. Find music on iTunes. (Wait!! This is the 4th time I've read this over for editing purposes and I only just realized that finding music on iTunes requires...you guessed it...being online). Basically that's all I could come up with, besides blogging (which was obviously my final decision). It's too cold and dark outside to take a walk. I don't own any exercise equipment or I might actually get off my lazy butt and MOVE. But, alas. Sigh.

As much as I love Connecticut and New England, there are times when I wish darkness and winter didn't set in as early or for as long as they do. It's only the beginning of November and I'm already starting to feel claustrophobic like I'm stuck in the snowy season and I can't get out. Maybe I should focus on the positive aspects. Holidays. Friends. Wine. (that's the 2nd wine mention, isn't it? You can see where my priorities lie. ;) Snowy days spent reading under blankets. Corduroy pants and cozy sweaters. Snowball fights. Sledding. Hot chocolate with fake marshmallows. Trivial Pursuit.

Okay, I feel a little better now. And a bit more productive. Perhaps I should make a list of the things I hope to accomplish this winter. The goals I hope to achieve. That's one proactive way to spend the rest of my evening...