Stephen Mejias

We walked and walked and walked&#151stopping in pubs along the way&#151and gradually became more and more lost.

I often wanted to turn back, in fact, but Pete was so damn far ahead of me that I couldn't even get his attention. I kept following.

When we finally reached the top, we found a strange surprise: The rest of our classmates were there.

Pete gave me the two fingers.

(Who wouldn't feel immortal with hair like that?)

This weather is pointless. Pointless! What's the use of all this snow and ice? Don't tell me it looks pretty. I'm just not fit for this sort of cold. It's days like today after windy winter nights like last, when the temperatures plunge into the single digits and my apartment's old pipes freeze, that I wish I had an entire fleet of fiery amps to keep me warm.

Dear colleagues:<br>
The year is almost over. The air has grown cold. Our rivers are stuck in deep, deep thought. Outside my 6th-floor window, countless, swirling bits of snow are decorating this gray city like little answers blowing in the wind, like so many true loves: A sure sign that the annual <a href="http://www.cesweb.org/">Consumer Electronics Show</a> in glittery Las Vegas is right around the bend. It opens on Thursday, January 8th and runs right on through Sunday, the 11th.