Please stand by...

The roughly four of you who tune in here on a regular basis will notice that there's no 'Tube today. I wanted to, but I just didn't have time to pull it together.

I am now in the last three-ish weeks of the semester, and Crunch Time has officially begun (it manifested itself today, as I sat staring at my computer screen trying and failing to write cogent sentences for my paper, which oh by the way I'm presenting a week from tonight). The good news is, on December 8th I will get to have another Mel Gibson moment (which will mark exactly 12 months until I finish grad school, for those of you keeping track) and a little over a month off to decompress, do the birthday and Christmas thing, and all that fun stuff. The bad news is, the next three weeks are going to be their own special little plane of the Hell, and I'm out of sunscreen.

This whole semester has been a little off-kilter for me, starting with my textbook issues and never quite settling down the way I thought it should. I think this was the first semester I hit real fatigue with the whole grad school thing (not surprising, I guess, two years in). Whatever it was, I've had a much harder time focusing on the work this semester, and it's got me a little behind heading into the home stretch. I absolutely cannot wait for it to be over, but it's going to be kinda rough between now and then. So my four day weekend will really be four days of nonstop project and paper work with a short break on Thursday to go visit some local cousins for Thanksgiving*. I'm really looking forward to that, partly because they're wonderful people, and partly (okay, largely) because having local plans means I will not be among the frustrated masses trying to get from here to there throught the ironically-unfriendly-considering-it's-a-holiday skies. Travelers, I wish you luck, but better you than me. If it's any consolation, the chair at my desk does not recline, I will have to get my own peanuts and drinks, and I will be sitting in this chair for far longer, delays or no, than you will spend in transit. So if you're into comparative misery, tuck that away for during your canceled connection through Chicago.

All of this to say: the blog might get a little neglected for a few weeks. The irony, of course, is that it was just last week that I alerted my friends to the fact that I have a blog in the first place, so now that they know about it and might actually stop in to check it out, they get the blog equivalent of elevator music and "Please continue to hold. Your call is important to us." I guess on the upside, plenty of time to check out the archives.

But most importantly: have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Enjoy the food, and your families, your friends, your parties of one, whatever makes your world a better place. For those of you that are traveling, I will keep my fingers crossed that the skies stay clear and safe, and that the roads are at least somewhat less rage-y than ususal getting out of DC this time of year (and let's be honest, that would be a huge improvement).

If you do happen to be in town wandering around Arlington over the next couple weeks, and you come across a whimpering, fetally-positioned gentleman crying for his mommy, don't be alarmed. It's probably just me on a 'study break,' out 'stretching my legs.' It will pass. But please, no kicking.

*I would just like to point out, as is my habit, that to my knowledge Virginia Tech is the only major university that actually consumes its mascot as the centerpiece of a national holiday (partial credit to Arkansas, if you assume that razorbacks (wild boar = pig) count for Christmas). I have no idea what that means, but I am sure that it is critically important. Or it's just funny.