�Why should it be that every sock I own has holes in it?� I wondered. �Didn�t I just buy socks?�

And a quick check of the archives reveals that, yes. Yes I did. In 2002.

That may well have been the last time I exchanged cash for socks. If I purchased socks since then, I must have stamped that memory with �Mundane� and written over it with another file.

I can't help how my brain works.

Work has been busy, and thusly, so am I. I�m no closer to figuring out whether, come October or so, I�ll be here or back in the friendly confines of Chicago. I do know, however, that I�ll be driving cross-country with one of my co-workers in late September. He�s moving to Chicago, and I figure I�ll tag along, split the driving duties, and see if I can get an open ended ticket back to Los Angeles, and hang out for a few weeks at home.

I do know that I haven�t found anything close to acceptable employment in Chicago, and that I may have a job offer or two here. That just might seal the deal. As much as I�d like to see leaves change colors and throw a snowball at a tree, there�s something to be said for the ol� gainful employ.

I am really loving �Amish In The City.� I thought it was going to be stupid and exploitive, but man, that show has a heart. The Amish kids are adorable � one of the girls cried at seeing the ocean, which was a life-long dream for her. It was amazingly touching, and I couldn�t remember the last time I saw someone expressing emotion that pure for something so simple, either on television or in my actual life.

And the premise: The question of whether to turn your back on your upbringing, sacrificing your culture, friends, family and home in order to pursue an uncertain future in the modern world, with no guarantee of any reward or satisfaction or happiness. I feel like I can certainly relate to that personally, but who hasn�t weighed safety against adventure?

The stakes are significantly higher for the Amish, though. Just as it is in more traditional Christian theology, turning their backs on the church can, literally, mean hell for them. Somehow, though, for them it seems to be an all or nothing proposition. Unlike so many who go through their religious lives branding themselves with the lazy clich� of �I�m spiritual, but not religious,� (if I never hear that phrase again, I�ll become Amish myself, just out of gratitude), it seems the Amish don�t have that luxury. For them, this is life or death, or, at least, life without their families or their God, which is arguably just as bad.

It�s fascinating. This is a show about people�s relationships with God more so than asshole city kids and kids with funny hats sleeping in the same bedroom. Watch this one.