All that stuff I said yesterday about how spring doesn't affect me that much? Forget it. I wasn't counting on the blast of wind that blew through here last night about midnight. It's still blowing hard today, but not like last night, when the windows were rattling and the trees were bent over. I know, because I turned on the lights and looked. I was sure I'd get up this morning and find I've been whisked away to Oz.

The damage was minimal. The birdbaths got blown over and a few extra leaves and twigs got deposited in the yard. But the hawk's nest still rests at the top of the giant eucalyptus. The most damage seems to have happened on the east side of Santa Rosa, where power was out and a couple of schools were closed.

Over here in the west where I live, the biggest effects seem to be in my head, my nose, my throat. Sure, I sneezed my way through the winter, but it was nothing like this. It's a good thing I finished the Big Project yesterday, because I was kind of useless today. It's hard to focus on spreadsheets when it takes this much energy just to breathe. (Besides, there's not that much to do. I've already spent all the money we had.)

I can only hope that the worst of this is over. Can I hope that?

I realize it was late in the day when I faxed the Boss the financial sheets yesterday, but I got absolutely no feedback. It's not that I wanted to be thanked for doing my job, but it would make me feel better to be acknowledged, especially since usually by this time of year he's starting to bug me about when I'm going to get the Big Project done, and he didn't have to ask even once this year.

Then this afternoon when he finally did call it was to complain. Not about my work, but about the fact that the statements show we're basically in the same financial position we were last year at this time. It took me a minute to process this.

Buddy, in today's economy, that's like hitting a home run (or at least a two-run double). We didn't lose thirty billion dollars, the way some companies did. Stagnation is a sign of strength these days, and we should be proud to have survived.

Movie recommendation: If you ever find yourself watching Get Over It, fast forward through every scene — and I mean every scene — that doesn't have both Ben Foster and Kirsten Dunst on screen at the same time.