Just a quick note to let my cousin Damon know we love him and wish him a Happy Hannamas from The Debra and Michael.

Here’s the angel Damon made for his Christmas tree.

Damon is an incredible painter. See - and buy! - his work here.

Todd Herr is an angry email security fellow at Time Warner Cable. Because he is a Unix guy, we call him Angry Sun Guy. Sometimes his anger leaks out at the bar, as evidenced by the comments written on this beer coaster by the bartender at Sweet Water Tavern in Sterling, Virginia.

Stay golden, Pony Boy.

“This is what Heaven probably looks like,” wrote Jeff Watson.

The anesthesiologist twisted a switch on the IV and The Debra’s face softened.

“Am I supposed to not be able to focus my eyes?” she asked. The anesthesiologist told her that was normal.

“I feel lightheaded.” He told her that was normal too. The anesthesiologist and an RN pulled the guerney from the wall and turned it into the hall. I told The Debra everything would be ok. Her eyes closed and I let go of her hand. Then, as the anesthesia took effect, she raised her hand and made a pronouncement.

“I want everyone to know,” she said with childlike conviction, “that I have kayaked in Tonga. I have been on African safari in Kenya.”

And then they wheeled her into surgery.

It was the most adorable thing I’ve seen in a very long time. Sometimes The Debra and I are asked if we want to have kids. I respond by saying we already have two. I am hers. The Debra is mine.

She was thrilled, by the way, when I told her I put her at the top of the web page today. “You mean you finally got rid of the picture of that nasty horrible woman?” The Debra, it appears, is not a fan of the Cell Phone Bandit.

I should add that The Debra’s foot surgery was minor and a success. The Debra and foot are home resting comfortably surrounded by food, juice, drugs, and remotes.

December 30th will be my 2492nd day with Time Warner Cable. It will also be my last. Since I started on March 6 1999, the company has been known as Road Runner, ServiceCo, HoldCo, AOL Time Warner, and Time Warner Cable. It’s been a roller coaster, that’s for sure, and after 6 years, 9 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days it’s time to move on.

I know that doesn’t sound like a long time to some, especially those raised during a time when people stuck with a company for life, but for an old wanderer with a mortgage and a BMW, it’s still a bit boggling. Sometimes I feel like a bit like surgery patients do when they come out of the anesthesia. One moment the situation is X, and suddenly, with seemingly no time passing, the situation is Y. But I like Y. It’s a good place, Y. Damned happy to be here at Y.

True North Solutions will be home now. Its going to feel a little weird, I think. But I’ll figure it out. I always do.

• No Randy Moss (Minus Pro Bowler #1)
• No Matt Birk (Minus Pro Bowler #2)
• No Daunte Culpepper (Minus Pro Bowler #3)
• No Scott Linehan (Minus Offensive Coordinator)
• Head coach busted scalping Super Bowl tickets (Scandal #1)
• The Original Whizzinator (Scandal #2)
• Lake Minnetonka Sex-o-rama (Scandal #3)
• Bengals 37, Vikings 8 (Butt-whipping #1)
• Falcons 30, Vikings 10 (Butt-whipping #2)
• Bears 28, Vikings 3 (Butt-whipping #3)
• Panthers 38, Vikings 13 (Butt-whipping #4)

After all that - AFTER ALL OF THAT - my guys have won six straight and slithered their way into the playoff race? Only one game back of the division lead? In the words of Al Michaels, “Are you kidding me?”

It’s been a good month-and-a-half to be a Vikings fan. I don’t have any unrealistic expectations about where this is all going to go, but I gotta admit, it’s going to be fun to find out.

So The Debra and I are thinking of traveling to these places next year.

• Normandy
• Alaska
• Montreal
• New Zealand

Thoughts?