First snow

Some snow has finally arrived: just enough to mess around with the commute, not enough to build much of a snowperson with.

We were looking the other night at some soapstone carvings we collected while we lived in the Arctic, and remembering the conditions under which the carvers worked. They were head to foot in dust, sitting in little "heated" work tents not far from their houses, each with a little rosebud of non-dusty lips where the cigarettes went in and out.

And then today I had an email exchange with someone who wanted me to read a part in her new play. She is off to Vienna tomorrow for the first time since 1956. The big difference on this trip is that she will not be homeless or starving, she said.

So I guess sitting at a table with lights and heat, connected to the Internet and with plenty of things to learn and jobs to apply for, is not the worst situation I could find myself in.