If You're Looking for a Time Waster

I've given up Spider Solitaire, for the moment at least. I'm down to one crossword puzzle a day. And I no longer watch reruns of Sex and the City (I know them by heart). But lest you think I've abolished all the ways of wasting time from my life, don't despair. If there's one talent I possess, it's the art of procrastination.

My latest useless activity is looking for new themes for my iGoogle homepage. I've used iGoogle as my homepage for quite a while, but at first I was content to use the classic theme—simple, neat, clear. Then I noticed a link in the right-hand corner, inviting me to "Change theme . . ." I began to imagine palm trees on my homepage, something to remind me of Florida even when I was in Boston. Then again, the Boston skyline might look attractive. Or maybe some cool arty theme. You get the picture.

After an inordinately long search, I settled on the theme "Summer, Sun and Holidays." It appealed to me with its cheerful rendering of palm fronds and blue sky. I've had this theme on my homepage since last spring and I've enjoyed looking at it numerous times a day. Nevertheless, I still occasionally waste time searching for new and even better themes.

For a short while, I switched to a theme by the artist Hiroshige—very zen. But the palm fronds were calling me and I returned to my summery theme. Now that spring is here, though, I've been wasting time searching for an appropriately spring-like theme. A little while ago, I realized I had found the perfect choice, the Boston Red Sox. So now, less than two weeks before the official start of the season, I've changed my iGoogle homepage theme to "Fenway Panorama." Go Sox!