World New York is cookin' these days.

Check it out: I'm a homework assignment. (July 1 item; thanks, Nick!)

I would love to read some of the submissions. Please contact me if you know where to find them.

This week I begin part-time contract work for Creative Good, where I will immerse myself in usability and brainstorm with some of the best minds in the business. Tomorrow I will get server access, an email account, and other goodies from their tech whiz.

This morning I logged into my Economist email account—I keep getting evites there—and discovered that all my messages have been wiped off the server.

This makes today my first (and perhaps only) day of limbo: for the first time since 1995, I have no business-designated email address and no Web site to which I am commercially bound. It's just me, netwert.com, and assorted Yahoo email accounts.

The freedom is bewildering.

[Setting: in bed, TV on, doing nothing.]

She: "My head hurts."

Me: "Did you take some Tylenol?"

She: "No." [pouts] "I hope I don't have a tumor."

Me: "It's not a tumor."

She: [affecting Austrian accent] "It's not a tumor!"

Me: "Oh my."

She: [plaintively] "You didn't say it right!"

Me: "You just complained so I would say that?"

She: [giggles]

Me: [cocks an eyebrow]

She: "Say it! Say it!"

Here.

Things I have learned since losing my job.

~ Running around town during the day when I used to be at work is every bit as fun as you'd expect it to be.

~ I like sleeping from 2 a.m. to 9 a.m. instead of midnight to seven, but I must be waking up too early, because I keep taking naps.

~ You would think the apartment would get cleaner faster, but you'd be wrong.

~ Theoretically, the longer I go without a new job, the more opportunities I will have to play golf.

~ After scheduling two weeks' worth of networking, friends, and catch-up medical appointments, I have no time to hang out with my dog.