match.com is AWESOME (when you're not the one looking for a match)

• One of the most enjoyable activities I took part in during my holiday break was searching Match.com with a friend. She lives in NYC, which makes the process different from what one might encounter in other parts of the country. For example, a search resulted in something like 30 pages of potential beaus within a five-mile radius of her zip code. I continue to follow her progress because she gave me her username and password. Many of the men who contact her are singers/writers/filmmakers/shoe designers/etc. A tarted up crossdresser (SexyLisa875) took a look at her profile as well, and she's currently corresponding with someone who is a contributing editor at a little magazine with a name that starts with "Vanity" and ends with "Fair." So, it's all fairly interesting and adds some excitement to my otherwise not-so-fascinating life. And I don't have to go on any awkward first dates, which is also a plus.

• Mr. Banality will be having surgery to reconstruct his ACL on Tuesday. Good, but ugh. Cross your crossables that I will improve as a caregiver before Tuesday because I stink at it. Also, he'll have general anesthetic, and I hate it when he's mentally incapacitated. Isn't it amazing how everything is about me?

• I just finished reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, and I loved it because it fits so well with social psychology's assertion that people tend to underestimate situational factors that contribute to behavior and performance. Gladwell profiles a number of highly successful individuals and then provides evidence that much of their success can be attributed to date of birth, cultural background, and special opportunities that other people didn't have access to. I used to think I was just a loser, but after reading Outliers, now I just feel less lucky than some other people.

• My friend (and favorite pianist), John Harmon, was interviewed on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on NPR. He is soooo cool.

• Speaking of cool pianists, I'm reading The World in Six Songs by Daniel Levitin, and guess who also just happens to be reading that book? Niece's incredible jazz pianist boyfriend. No wonder she likes him so much: HE IS EXACTLY LIKE ME. (Again, all about me.)