22 DEC 2002 The same four words end every re-telling of this three page story, and mine is no different. She met someone else.

17 DEC 2002 When they break they create such luminous absense.

03 DEC 2002 Why do we put so much stock in these things, these events that shape our lives?

26 NOV 2002 My first fully snowed day reminds me how quickly my love for winter could possibly turn to an aching tailbone.

24 NOV 2002 The hours-long snow storm makes exquisite my view of the beginnings of Lincoln Park.

21 NOV 2002 I've missed you, chill wind, and I'm glad you've returned to chase me into buildings and automobiles, even if only to thaw a moment before I brave you again.

18 NOV 2002 A sweater plus a comforter equals one of those warm winter moments you wish you could share.

13 NOV 2002 Have you ever closed your eyes and taken a deep breath in order to hold everything back?

12 NOV 2002 I laugh, aloud, at the pause in "Hall-sting-ding . . . ding-worth".

11 NOV 2002 All my hopes are wrapped up in the one sentence e-mail coming across the wire.

09 NOV 2002 Though displaced 300 miles, the cheer still rings clear over an endzone of red and white, one half-section of blue and orange yelling to another.

08 NOV 2002 I've never had this much difficulty turning off my cell phone.

07 NOV 2002 I get strange looks as I'm walking down the street, blaring Fiona Apple at the top of my lungs.

05 NOV 2002 The blue glow of my light switch's carpety shock fills the dark room, and my finger jumps back.

04 NOV 2002 My stomach sinks further with two, three, four, five rings.

03 NOV 2002 On Bosworth there's a black and white cat trapped between pane glass and a window shade watching me as I walk by.

02 NOV 2002 I take a step back and look up at Samantha as she's still braced from the impact of the subway's breeze, eyes closed and hair whipped every which way in front of her face.

01 NOV 2002 I'm two steps out my apartment building's door when my breath comes into full view for the first time this fall.