On a far lighter note ...

Crocker called me yesterday and left me a voicemail, yet my outgoing message apparently caused him to laugh so hard that he wasn't able to stop by the time he had to start talking, which I consider a compliment.

My outgoing message currently is:

"Hi, this is Benjamin, and I can't come to the phone because I'm probably living through some horrible experience that I'll be able to elaborate on with a clever twist later. Please leave a message after the beep."

Crocker called me to tell me that he enjoyed the copy of Good Omens I bought him a couple weeks ago. In fact, he said it was so funny that he passed it along to his friend Alan.

I always buy my friends, at some point or another, a copy of that book, which is very British yet highly amusing. I've gotten Vic, Mike, Crocker and a couple others to read it. It's like a chain letter, too, because they always recommend it to someone else.

I found out about the book and the author Neil Gaiman because of Pam, my highly-cultured ex-girlfriend with impeccable taste in art, books, music and film. (Yes, I have ex-girlfriends.)

So thanks to Pam, I guess.