it's only tuesday and i'm already shellshocked from all the work i've been doing. life seems to be losing its flavor as i go through the monotony, churning out code with no end in sight. i keep on thinking that while there's work to be done i should take advantage of it, but tonight i feel pretty worn out, maybe it's time for me to say no and get my life back on track.

i paid my taxes today, submitted my federal return via e-file last night and mailed out my state return this morning. i'm going to be a good self-employed worker in 2006 and pay my taxes quarterly; because i made very little money in 2005 (remember, i was gone almost half of the year), my estimated taxes for this coming year will be pretty low.

in the evening julie came over. it was still my turn to cook but once again i didn't have time to research any recipes so i opted to heat up some ribs i had in the freezer. i also tossed up some corn & bean salsa and we made some corn bread. julie gave me a belated birthday present, a book by mark leyner ("why do men have nipples"), who unbeknownst to julie is one of my favorite authors. women's figure skating was on tonight, and we spent the rest of the evening making fun of the athletes. my personal favorite: turkish figure skater tugba karademir, who despite a pretty decent routine, scored low in the pecking order.