Still sick, but I thought some tea was in order, so I’m up for a little bit. While drinking my tea I thought I’d take part in this Pew Internet and American Life Project survey that Ann linked to. I’m going to bet that many of us who blog (or read blogs) are going to find similar results:

Based on your answers to the questionnaire, you most closely resemble survey respondents within the Connectors typology group. This does not mean that you necessarily fit every group characteristic.

Connectors make up 7% of the American public.

Basic Description
The Connectors’ collection of information technology is used for a mix of one-to-one and one-to-many communication. They very much like how ICTs keep them in touch with family and friends and they like how ICTs let them work in community groups to which they belong. They are participants in cyberspace – many blog or have their own web pages – but not at the rate of Omnivores. They are not as sure-footed in their dealings with ICTs as Omnivores. Connectors suspect their gadgets could do more for them, and some need help in getting new technology to function properly.

Defining Characteristics
Connectors combine a sense that information technology is good for social purposes with a clear recognition that online resources are a great way to learn new things. Their cell phones have a lot of features, and they also try new things with technology; more than half have watched TV programming on a device like a laptop computer or cell phone.

Who They Are
Connectors, which make up 7% of the population, have a median age of 38, with a majority (54%) in the 30-49 age range. Ethnically, it is mostly white (72%); 16% are Black and 12% are English-speaking Hispanics. The typical Connector has been online for 9 years, which suggests they were a second-wave of late 1990s adopters. Most are women (55%) and they rate above average in educational attainment and income.

Uh oh.

My throat is sore. My glands are swollen. I feel tired and achy.

What are the odds that a good night’s sleep can forestall the illness that sidelined Rudi for three days last week?

Maybe this is why I’ve been so tired the last week…

Heading to bed….

Sweetpea published this meme weeks ago and I’ve been meaning to do it. Since it’s almost 1 a.m., now seems as good a time as any.

Two names you go by:
1. Sprite
2. Kase

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. A twenty-year-old sweater
2. Socks knit for me by Emily

Longest car rides:
1. Eugene, OR, to Northford, CT (although I was an infant and have no recollection of it)
2. Salt Lake City, UT, to Virginia Beach, VA, to Middletown, CT

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. Read
2. Knit

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. To see my friends and family more often
2. More time to knit and read (yet still afford to pay the rent)

Two animals you have (or have had):
1. Jacks (Della’s brother and a lovely football of an orange cat who had an oral fixation)
2. Baby (Rudi’s and my first cat who went blind due to cataracts and blew out her ACL when Rudi first moved to a place with carpet)

Two people who will fill this out:
1. Jenn?
2. ???

Two things you ate today:
1. Rudi’s homemade chili
2. Willie Nelson’s Country Peach Cobbler ice cream

Two people you last talked to:
1. Rudi
2. Susan

Two things you’re doing tomorrow:
1. Knitting the cuff of my Monkeys and the first sleeve of my Everyday Cardigan
2. Laundry (because I will want to wear underwear as the week progresses)

Two favorite holidays:
1. Thanksgiving (it can be such a nice, laid-back holiday)
2. Halloween (because people feel it’s okay to be silly)

Two favorite beverages:
1. Black tea (no herbal for me, thanks)
2. Cocoa (again, no weird flavors. I want it to taste like chocolate.)

So while Rudi is away, expect a total lack of productivity from me.

Well, not total. I did knit a few rows on Mystery Project #1 tonight while catching up on the episode and a half of Ugly Betty I’d missed this season. And I am diligently working at putting away the rest of the Halloween Almond Joys and Reese’s Pieces … in my stomach.

Tomorrow I plan to make beer, return library books, and watch BritComs. Maybe if I’m feeling particularly energetic, I’ll make some bread in the breadmaker or paint my toenails.

Such is the exciting life of the occasionally single woman.

At six a.m., should I bother going back to bed?

Am I really awake?

Would I regret staying up at, say, ten a.m.?

Would I be flat out asleep on my keyboard come two p.m.?

Why isn’t Jenn writing things to convince me that exciting things happen at such a dark and crazy hour?

That was pretty much our weekend. Friday night, we headed over to Sweetpea‘s for a Halloween party she and her neighbor were throwing. Rudi went as a lobbyist and I went as a feminist Red Riding Hood. Thanks to our friend John who said he was dressing up when he called to coordinate transportation; otherwise, we would have just gone as ourselves. It’s amazing what you can come up with in an hour!

Saturday we got some old electronics out of the Burrow in D.C.’s biannual electronic/hazardous waste recycling. We just missed it in the spring, so it was a great relief to have these things out of the apartment. Then we headed over to Virginia to hang out with our friend Pat and his son Jack and bottle some root beer that Sweetpea and I brewed last month. In case you were wondering, brewing beer is much more fun for a three year-old than bottling is. I head back next weekend to do more of both, so expect a more robust report then.

We had to mop up a little water before we left Saturday morning, but we were lucky in that three straight days of rain didn’t cause any big headaches. I suppose this is why our apartment decor includes a kickboard of towels, though. We’ve learned finally after all these years!

Today I hit the farmers’ market earlyish, intending to spend my day productively. I filled my basket with lots of seasonal goodies and got a lead on a terrific-tasting turnip soup. Rudi and I headed back to the Burrow and ate breakfast, and then I promptly fell asleep for the whole afternoon. I roused myself around 3:30 and we moseyed around the neighborhood, stopping to check out the new music releases and to buy some warm drinks. We took them up to Malcolm X (aka Meridian Hill) Park to listen to the drum circle. The park was clearly created with the area’s original millionaires in mind and is ornate with fountains and benches and a Beaux Arts design. Today, it has truly become D.C.’s people’s park and is where you definitely find a cross-cut of the District’s society. In the spring, you find Latinos playing soccer and on Sunday afternoons like today there’s an amazing drum circle with all sorts of percussion instrumentalists taking part. Definitely authentic D.C.

And last night and tonight we spent as we’ve spent many nights this month — watching the Red Sox play on tv. After a shaky league championship, they came out and dominated the world series, winning in the bare minimum four games. The last time the Sox won, I was in a lonely hotel room in Michigan watching from bed and missing the celebration that would have taken place back in New England. Tonight at least I was home with Rudi who, as a Sox fan, was a delight to watch when that last out was clinched.

We celebrated their victory with tea and freshly baked apple crisp. Winning tastes sweet indeed.