I imagine that if aliens came to earth and landed in America, they would probably come away believing that in our country the way that we say hello is “How’s it going?” and the polite and appropriate response to that is for the second person to say “Busy!”

There may be a more overused word in our language, but I’m not sure what it would be.

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It’s fall! And we’re in New Canaan, Connecticut, did I tell you that? We moved back in May after our crazy year in LA, though I’m beginning to suspect that every year in LA is a crazy year.

We probably didn’t make it any less crazy by living in Hollywood, I should add. Like, The Hollywood – and throw in the fact that driving Finn to preschool involved passing a whole lot of shops that sold things that you wouldn’t even be able to mention on basic cable, let alone want your four year old son to see, but I’ll tell you what: there are no hurricanes in LA, and for that we were grateful.

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Like a New Year’s resolution, packing up your house begins with burning passion and world-conquering confidence and ends flat on your back in despair, with a sigh and a mouth filled with trans-fats.

You’d think we would be used to moving by now. Liz and I have moved house – believe it or not – seven times in six years (not including my move from Kathmandu to DC in 2007). The smells of cardboard and bubble wrap are like crocuses in spring. Through the process, I’ve discovered that moving is a science. Unfortunately, I suck at science.

But for those of you who are desperate for somebody to tell them what to do, allow me to share….

The Seven Principles of Moving, by Conor, Who’s Not Very Good at This.

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Unless you’re a starfish, you’re probably pretty busy with all kinds of comings and goings. For us, this year has sped by, and this blog has kind of fallen by the wayside with everything else going on. But I’ve missed blogging here, which has always been a favorite hang out spot for me, here with all you guys. So I’m back. And I brought Fritos! (And a bag of Cool Ranch coral polyps for my starfish peeps. Because yum!)

That’s not to say I’ve not been writing – I’ve written a bunch of stuff for The Huffington Post (which still sounds like a stoner magazine to me) and other stuff, but I’ve wanted to get back to this, my own blog, for two reasons.

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I heard once that kids benefit from shoving dirt in their mouths and I sure hope that’s true, because if it is my fifteen month old daughter is going to have the immune system of a Viking.

I also read that kids who live with dogs (though hopefully not only with dogs) have stronger immune systems than those without pets. Even better! Every piece of food that touches the ground in my house – let’s ballpark it at thirty percent – is immediately leapt upon by about a thousand stray dog hairs. You ever try cleaning dog hair off a piece of pineapple? You could rub that thing against the sun, that dog hair ain’t comin’ off. I don’t know what God put in pineapple but you’d think they’d be using it as an epoxy for the next generation of Space Shuttles.

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