In about two hours I'll be boarding a flight to Pittsburgh, Penn., where I will spend the next seven days eating lots of Christmas cookies and catching up with family and old friends. But don't worry: I'll be working from home and checking e-mail multiple times a day, just for you. If you need me before we're back in the office on Jan. 5, just shoot me an e-mail at mpacella@hammock.com, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Have a safe and happy holiday season!

I generally do my best to avoid making New Year's resolutions, since I usually end up breaking them (like when I resolved to give up eating chocolate in 2005, and had already devoured a Hershey bar by Jan. 4). But when Summer asked us to come up with a few goals for 2009, I decided that reflecting on my work at Hammock and what I would like to improve upon in the new year can't be a bad thing. Here are my resolutions, in no particular order:

1. Communicate with my co-workers in person more than I do via iChat or e-mail.
2. Eat lunch every single day, no matter how busy we are in the office.
3. Cut my coffee intake from two cups each morning to one (maybe next year I'll give it up altogether!).
4. Post weekly (or at least bi-weekly) updates on my people page blog.
5. Finish my American Spirit and MyBusiness stories before Lena and Jamie have to hunt me down to get them.