1) This is my third holiday season in NYC, and you know what? It's the first where I didn't feel depressed. I attribute this to staying very busy, leaving little time to feel low. And also not visiting that big-ass Christmas tree. That must have helped.

2) I walk along Central Park each work day. At one stretch, I encounter the crushed remains of berries from one of the trees. The stench is godawful. Being a former biology student, I wonder if the berries evolved to smell like dogshit or if dogshit evolved to smell like the berries. No one's too eager to clean up those stinky berries, so I imagine they have a good chance of longevity. Or maybe it's the opposite? Maybe nothing will eat them, save for the occasional desperate animal, and they have difficulty thriving. I hope that's the case. I'd like to see that tree with those berries go extinct as soon as possible.

3) Speaking of smells, I have this Bath & Body Works pink grapefruit-scented handsoap I bought impulsively in one of those sales where you seemingly get a lot for a little, unless you consider what you could get at Costco or Sam's club. It made economic sense, and there's no way I'm seeing the inside of a bulk goods store any time soon. I used about a third of the handsoap before scratching my nose one day after some handwashing and realizing, "Whoa. My hands smell like pot!" This is a cautionary tale on my part, but if you're into that smell, then I urge you to visit yonder Bath & Body Works. I'm sure there are sales right now.