i got a happy thing in the mail yesterday. :)

i won the weekly dig crossword contest yet again! it never ceases to amaze me that i have won multiple times on a trivial little mail-in competition that i'm sure a gazillion other people in boston could easily enter. i suppose it's just the enormous cost of puzzle-solving (which everyone does on their commute anyway; this is not the NYT sunday edition by any stretch of the imagination) and then sticking it in the mail. really. not that i'm complaining, but the dig-reading crossworders should get a little more organized around here. more energized. :) there's goods to be had!

and goods indeed. for a while the prize has been $20 of moolah good at el pelon, which stands as one of the best taquerias in town. and if you've ever been there, you should know that $20 buys a *lot* of edibles. thinking about the chips and guacamole makes me get a little excited. aah. however, the envelope yesterday contained something a little out of the ordinary.

the dig has shifted from gift certificates to el pelon to a $20 thingy for johnny d's uptown in davis square. good, good. and accompanying this was a little handwritten note from the crosslord herself! this was a first. she congratulated my winnings and also sent a little hello from michael brodeur (one of the music reviewers on staff), who believes he knows me. (i don't think i know him, but cool anyway. we'll meet one day.)

i don't know i get so excited about tiddly little things like this. maybe it helps to convince myself that i'm part of the scene (define as you may), and that boston really is such a cozy, small, communal beantown. then again, maybe it all boils down to free food. :) the graduate student mentality striking yet again...