Too bad I don't have enough web space to post video clips -- there are so many Mastandrea-isms that just can't be reduced to words. Vinny's: "get outta heeeeere." BazzukaJoe's: "uhhh!" Mojo's: "eh!" And, of course, Vito's: "so I looked at him..."

I'm still in the stress-free protective bubble that enveloped me over the course of my two weeks of vacation. But it is rapidly wearing away. It held up well during the early-morning meeting I had with my boss ("I couldn't hear a word you said" is what I told him afterward). And it withstood the management meeting that run through noon. And was still more or less intact following the onslaught of issues that flew my way throughout the remainder of the day. But I'm frazzled.

I need more vacation. I think I'll go to Najaf. Talk some sense into that Mutanda al Sadr fellow. Get all Brooklyn on his ass.