Stymied, ironically, by the many free hours, my productivity has gone down.  It seems to be limited to promoting by book, “Back of the House,” through social media and shenanigans.  By the latter, I mean telling everyone, from dry cleaner to taxi driver, about it.

Meanwhile the not so secret preparations for New Year’s Eve do not abate.

We’re talking Alba white truffles–no Tennessee black ones here, thank you very much–and quail eggs and risotto and Japanese beef.  You know, a simple repast just like we used to have at Grammie’s.

But it’s not just about the food, is it?  Is it?

It’s about the presents.  Right?  No, Virginia, wrong holiday.

The love?  Well, yeah, but do you really need me to tell you that?

The resolutions.

Well, that’s getting closer.  Resolving to be better in the new year.

One big thing standing in the way of that is the strike being planned by dockworkers on the East Coast.  This would be the first dockworkers strike in 35 years.  It will bring things to a crawl.  And with organized crime no longer as big a presence on the docks, who will turn things around?

Talk about diminished productivity.