Nice Work Ethic!

Funny, I had written that I'd attempt to set up a couple of posts to cover the Thanksgiving holiday, but I totally dropped the ball. Problem is, I went out for a couple of beers and a great lecture Tuesday night, slept a couple of hours after coming home, then hit the road in the wee hours of the morning to drive to mom's house in Virginia. Because I had a lecture recap in the pipeline, posting something insubstantial just didn't seem so urgent.

Leaving at half-past-four in the morning has its benefits- I hit little traffic on the busiest travel day of the year and got to mom's in time for a late breakfast. Oddly enough, I was totally wired for most of the day (hanging out with my nephews, who I hadn't seen for months, forced me to get my second wind- these boys are good company, but one can't be slow around them). Wired though I was, I wasn't about to drive to a Starbucks so I could put up a perfunctory post. Much better to goof off and hang out with the fambly.

Thanksgiving was great- the food was delicious, the company divine. I was grateful to my co-workers who worked the day so I could make the trip down to mom's place. I spent the day after Thanksgiving hanging out with my nephews- my mom went out for dinner with a co-worker who was down in the D.C. area visiting her daughter, and my sister and her husband were out with a couple they hadn't seen in years. I had the privilege of hanging out with my brilliant, hilarious nephews. Boy B., the elder of the two, is going to be going on college visits starting next year (this is kinda scary somehow). He's planning on visiting **REDACTED**, and I told him that I'd try to get a smart, attractive former (and probably future) co-worker to take him around campus. Hey, what better favor could a guy do for his teenage nephew than to arrange to have a good-looking, smart young lady take him around a college campus?

Because I have an aversion to traffic and needed to get to work by Saturday afternoon, I decided to take a nap, then hit the road for another overnight drive. Once again, I avoided the typical, horrible Thanksgiving weekend traffic. I was able to catch some Z's during the day, and will be working until 8AM. I have some time to catch up with the news and, more importantly, to write the lecture recap.