What would I be doing right now if I wasn't here at work hardly working?

I'd be wandering around in Union Square, window-shopping, people-watching, taking in the season's smells and sounds... I'd mosey into Virgin Megastore and into the glassed-off area on the 2nd floor to sample the electronica...

What I should be doing with my freetime is writing Christmas cards. Ai-Ai-Ai! Not much time left... I wait until this time of the year to write back to the people who have sent me snail mail during the year. People, go get yourselves email address and IM IDs, please! It'll take me hours to write personalized messages to each. I've never written a newsletter before. Maybe I should try to do that this year...

Why do I bother to write back to these people? Should I let them fade out of my life? Will I ever really see or interact with these people again on a meaningful level? I still care enough about keeping in touch with these people, these now-somewhat-distant links to my past and nostalgia... and I don't want to lose their yearly letters and cards. Writing back and forth, though infrequently, is kinda like exchanging fan-mail.