An excerpted e-conversation...

Laine: "I am starting to realize that dating in New York can be very romantic in a way that's not possible in most other places (though [DC] would qualify). People are dressed in expensive suits and tailored clothes, cocktails in elegant glassware, having someone hail a cab for you and helping you in the car. Sometimes, it's like you are on a movie set. Especially on the Upper East Side."

Kristen: "I do love New York for those very reasons. I think being in love in New York would be ideal. I KNOW for a fact that I've watched way too many Woody Allen films and they are the basis for my reasoning, but a girl can dream. I picture long walks in Riverside Park and getting caught in the rain near Washington Square. Evenings that just simply last forever... the Sunday Times crossword nearing dawn at the Strand Diner on West 96th Street was the perfect ending to one of my most perfect dates."

Tonight I walked down Wisconsin Avenue past the antique stores and Bistrot Lepic to go to the Georgetown Public Library. I guess my year+ at the bookstore sunk pretty deep into my bloodstream, because I found myself continually amazed that all of their books were just free for the public to borrow.

While I was there, a little girl named Janine came in with her father to get her very first library card and check out her first books. I had to smile. I mean, libraries can be quite an adventure.

Especially if you're Joe Maciag.

After 7.5 hours (when you're billable you actually count) of troubleshooting my networking problems all the way to nowhere, Ken asked if I wanted him to send me anything.

"Like..."

"I could email you files from the server so that you have something to work on tonight."

Which is just about the time I told him that the only thing I was going to be working on tonight was a strong and defiantly pink cosmopolitan.

What drives you to drink?