every martyr in this jungle

Are there any apple orchards or pumpkin patches within train/bus reach of NYC? This is what people do in New England during fall, I'm to understand. In Florida, we celebrate with an al fresco meal and packing up our sweaters because businesses stop over-air conditioning their offices.

My good intentions of starting a post-work walk routine, since I can't develop a rapport with the rowing machine like the Mr., were waylaid by an impromptu nap. Look, some of you might be heartless enough to move a cat that has just snuggled against you, but I'm made of softer stuff.

I've been soul-deep in Sherlock for so long that no other fandom's managed to pique my fannish interest since last January, but the new season of The Vampire Diaries might just do it. I suppose one of the pleasures of being a vampire is infinite second chances. Interested to see how the Salvatore boys will screw up getting everything they ever wanted.

The world is conspiring to get me to watch Breaking Bad, just as it's ending. I don't love the idea of committing to a source just as everyone else is preparing to move on though, and that may ultimately be the reason why I don't watch it. I had my epic television love affair with Battlestar Galactica, and prefer my conflicts speculative or internal rather than agency-sapping things like cancer and the rotten state of American health care.

Day 6: Whatever tickles your fancy I really should have read this list before committing to it. Um, we're on Season Nine of another rewatching of SG1, so Daniel and Vala are always good for making me feel fuzzy inside. Our kittens, Barry and Sam, who greet us at the door and sleep at the foot of our bed and enjoy just lounging around the house as much as we do. Lindt chocolate truffles. The rare beer or glass of wine, since I have neither a car nor an alcohol license. Shopping in Dubai. The cool weather right now that makes the city a little less oppressively stagnant and eases the reek of rotting garbage. The 'Smores Pop Tarts that come in my in-laws' care packages. My awesome purple rock star handbag bought at a total bargain at Debenham's. The Norlander bread from Spinneys, dense and earthy and perfect with butter. My "I walk the line" playlist that gets me to work every day. Successfully healing a hard fight in Warcraft. Brandon's bad puns.

Since moving to Abu Dhabi, I take more pleasure in small things, because the big ones are so far away. More than anything, living here has made me better at internalizing my happiness in accomplishments, rather than going out to seek it. Because besides being far from home, working at a newspaper can be incredibly depressing - people dying of exposure from India to the UK, food aid stopped to Somalia, 45,000 Americans dying prematurely because they don't have health insurance and can't afford treatment. And here, in a completely incomparable but still significant act, the security guards who patrol (and smoke in front of) our office all day didn't tell anyone about a box of four newborn kittens, so young their eyes weren't even open yet, abandoned in the front courtyard. It's been cold enough for a jacket, and they were meowing constantly when one of the designers found them on his way out. Why not say something? Call someone? Maybe the security people couldn't do anything, but all us expatriates inside known to take in strays sure could. In this case, the best thing we could do was take them to the British Veterinary Clinic, where they were put down - still a far more dignified end than dying of exposure or starvation.

Everywhere is another sign that people don't care about each other, the environment, the greater world. Granted, the overwhelming majority have pressing problems of their own, but is there no drive in the average person to at least look around themselves and see a way to help?

As with all generalizations, the above wasn't fair to all the aid organizations, volunteers and good samaritans who DO notice the need around them. But when my distraught colleague called to tell me the above story, I was almost not surprised - and I that's not the opinion I want to have of people. I never want to live in a world where mewling kittens are ignored. Newspapers do help with that, but I don't feel like I'm doing enough. Can career ennui set in this early?

They either cause endless agonizing or picking what's in the player right now.
A little behind, so a two-fer today:

Day 2: Favorite Movie What does that mean? Is it the movie I watch the most? Because that, embarrassingly enough, would be either Robin Hood: Men in Tights or Bridget Jones' Diary. Is it the movie I recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it? That's Fight Club. Because of the amazing experience I had in the theater, Scream 2 (used a fake ID because I was 15 and it's rated R!) and The Empire Strikes Back (when Han and Leia walk into the conference room on Bespin and Vader is sitting at the end of the table, I learned not to trust seemingly good guys) are up there. But I don't have a movie that speaks to my soul, as it were. When I'm happy, it's You've Got Mail or Beetlejuice. When I need cheering up, Men in Black or Beverly Hills Cop III (the rescue on the Spider is still the best action sequence ever!) usually does the trick. Basically, I like movies, but don't ask me to reduce Hollywood to a single title.

Day 3: Favorite TV show Much easier. On the air: 30 Rock. Off the air: Battlestar Galactica. No contest.

Thanks to a last-minute ticket (Dubizzle FTW) I got to see a tennis match between David Ferrer and some guy who's supposed to be the best who's ever played the sport. I think his name is Roger something?

( Maybe you will recognize him: )

Yeah, no, I can't actually downplay my enthusiasm. The seat was as nosebleed as you could get, but Federer put on an excellent show. It's like he emits some sort of anti-gravity aura, he just kind of hangs in the air and seems to get across the court faster than possible. Ferrer got his shots in, but he was way outmatched, running all over the court and unable to return a lot of what was served to him. Also, watching tennis with a live crowd is pretty cool - the energy of the place ratchets up the longer a point goes on.