So, how was your Thanksgiving weekend? Mine was really good; visited the family, ate a lot of great food (including many, many slices of pie), trimmed the Christmas tree over a glass of hot spiced wine… and now I’m back at work. Josh got a job today - guess where? Yup, same place as me. We’re going to save a ton of money on gas. ;-) Took the Max in today for it’s 30k mile service - actually, it has 34k on the odo. Augh! Where have I been driving? Oh, well, at least the only maintenance I’ve ever done on it is scheduled checkups. On the subject of the Max, I’m pondering getting “Maxed” on my WA plates - it’s available, I checked. Whattaya’ll think? If you’ve talked to me in the last 6 (unemployed) months you should catch the double meaning… Any opinions? Is it worth the extra 40 bucks a year?

Happy Thanksgiving, all! I made it home last night well in front of the holiday rush with minimal fuss, although (no offense, Christian) Portland’s airport sucks. Paying extra for direct next time. Anyway, I’m sending you turkey day wishes from my mom’s cute blue iMac, sipping hot spiced wine and listening to Christmas jazz, at home in my parents’ very peaceful, very cozy home. It really strikes me at times like this how important the holidays are, if for no other reason than that we allow ourselves to be just a little sentimental and maybe even a little sappy as we take a moment to appreciate what (and who) we’ve got to celebrate. There are people out there celebrating a lot more with a lot less. So give thanks, and save me some pie!

Only two more days until I head home for Thanksgiving! Home cooked meals, mandatory seconds, 11 kinds of pie! I can’t wait!

Work is progressing along smoothly. A short week this week, then in two more I’ll be in Chicago for training, and then it will be Christmas and before I gather my senses I’ll be signing checks “2002″. Wait a minute, I don’t ever write checks… anyway. I kind of miss the tech. market and being a programmer - hopefully someday I’ll get to do that again, and actually use my degree. ETA to student loan payment: 18 days.

Happy birthday Annie!

Happy birthday Lambert!