Our trip back east began with an unscheduled overnight layover in Minneapolis. Fortunately, we found shelter with Betsy's friends Bee and Brian and their two daughters Bonny and Brinn. In Connecticut we stayed with another friend of Betsy's who also has two young kids. And Betsy got to hobnob with her old reporter buddies at the Greenwich Time.

I was fascinated with New England: so different from the deserts and mountains of the west. The vast, deciduous forest was especially impressive with its endless string of villages and its winding roads - every bridge unique.

By far the best part of our trip was our weekend in Manhatten, staying with Betsy's cousin and HER two daughters (both fully grown, Thank God!). We wandered through the Metropolitan, rendezvoused with two of my friends in Central Park, explored Chinatown and Soho, toured all the best delis, and topped it all off with a breathtaking Broadway show (Medea with Diana Rigg).

Then we shot back to San Francisco, ricocheted down to LA for a fabulous party, hiked up to the top of Mount Tam with my mother, drove down to Monterrey and Carmel with Betsy's sister Hedy, and siddled on over to the quaint shops of Old Sacramento with Betsy's parents.

Very tiring, but it sure beats working. In between our peregrinations, I interspersed my rigourous four hour work days with mental health breaks and extra days off for afternoon naps. However, it now appears that my carefree days are numbered.

I have been offered a full time job at Sybase working on an excellent team at an excellent salary. I will probably accept, but it turns out that Sybase's chief rival, Oracle, is also out to get me and is prepared to shovel great wads of filthy lucre to lure me away. My interview with Oracle is only hours away and I will probably jump one way or the other in a matter of days.

I've never actually had a real job before, with a health plan and stock options and all that. It's ironic that after all these years Paul and I are trading places, me the company man and him the free-spirit consultant. What an unlikely transformation! Next I suppose Stuart will become a Marine Drill Sergeant and Drury will grab a whip and join the circus as a lion tamer. Holly will embark on a new career as a Mafia hitperson, Suzanne will move to Iowa and raise hogs, Janine will turn into a bleached blonde aerobics instructor, and Roger will become the most feared lawyer in the country.

I'll keep you posted.