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Yesterday Ellen and I made our way out to see the Thomas family. This would be the first time I’ve ever visited the family and grave site of a deceased friend. I expect this to be the last time I have to do this for at least the next 60-70 years. As nice as it was to see Phil’s family and mourn his loss, it’s something I don’t want to do again for anyone for a long long time.

Yesterday night I, for the first time ever, drove my little sister to the emergency room. Her knees gave out on her again and she fell. Taking that in combination with her shaking hands and recent perpetual hunger dramatic weight gain, I decided something was amiss. Six hours later she was released from the ER with a preliminary diagnosis of hyperthyroidism.

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Completely unrelated to the subject above: CONGRATULATIONS to Joel and Katie.

After spending four hours in an uncomfortable seat next to a Chinese couple that complained entire trip about how bad Delta/Song’s service is, I arrived in Orlando. The long trip, uncomfortable seats, annoying passengers, and lack of sleep were all things I could happily have done without. Upon seeing Ellen at baggage claim, however, all unpleasantness washed away and I knew it was worth the trip.

It’s been a hectic few days. I tried to squeeze seeing as many people as I could into the few days I was in Gainesville. I didn’t manage to see everyone, which is unfortunate, but it was nice to see those I did manage to see.

Whatever it was that Dave coughed into his hand and rubbed onto the door of Ellen’s Solara, Ellen and I both got it. Ellen was completely zonked out today and my throat is starting to get sore. I hope this goes away quickly. I have too many things to do and people to see in too short a period of time as it is.

So, good news everyone, we caught Saddam Hussein. About freaking time. That’s great, we finally caught the guy that didn’t knock down the World Trade Center towers and didn’t horde Weapons of Mass Destruction. It’s really great. Good job, guys. Now the question remains, are we ever going to look for Osama Bin Laden?

I swear, there’s a conspiracy against me by FedEx. They’re watching my home. Like clockwork they wait until 15 minutes after I leave to deliver any packages to me. It doesn’t matter what time I leave, it’s always 15 minutes after that. I waited an hour and a half later than I usually wait just to try and be present for the package. They never showed. Sure enough, when I now check the tracking information they showed up exactly 15 minutes after I left.

The West Wing is a new show I’ve recently started watching. It’s one of the very few shows I watch ‘live’ because I don’t want to wait. The unfortunate drawback of watching it live is I’m forced to sit through the commercial breaks. It’s not really all bad, I don’t usually watch commercials. I’d hate to think that I’m missing out on my allotment of advertisements and pop culture.

I just watched a commercial for zoloft. It’s supposed to make me feel less nervous so I can be more social and meet new people. Sounds good, doesn’t it? I just have to be careful. This new-found freedom , however, comes at a small price. I might get some dry mouth, sexual side-effects (impotence), diarrhea, and nausea. In addition to that I will simultaneously have insomnia and sleepiness. But that’s okay, I’m not nervous anymore.

So, The Company has a Christmas Party coming up … I suppose it’s next weekend. I RSVP’d but I’m not sure if I want to go. On the one hand there’s the perk that it’s at the Hollywood Museum. I’m told that they have a replica of the Voyager bridge there. I’m sure there’ll be other cool things to see. On the other hand, there’s the body painful sitcom Christmas Parties the media has fed me through the years.

Back to the cons. I have to dress up … nicely. I’m not even sure where my ‘nice’ clothes are. Plus, I won’t have a date.

This was actually an email forward. Politics through a child’s eyes.

This page of culinary oddities is a must-see.

For Thanksgiving this year I had the traditional non-traditional Thanksgiving meal. I, again, did not have turkey, did not have stuffing, did not have cranberry sauce, pie, or mashed potatoes. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I had a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

This year, for Thanksgiving, I went out to a restaurant with my grandparents, 2 aunts, and a handful of cousins; a Chinese restaurant. I don’t think I’ve ever had Chinese food quite like what we had that day. Every item on the menu was cooked with some sort of medicinal herb or root. I came home from that meal smelling of ginseng and other unidentifiable medicinal plant-matter.

I drove down to San Diego for a couple days after Thanksgiving and visited Craig and company. It’s good to see some familiar faces. An enjoyable trip chock full of excitement. Especially the brawl outside of Hooters after the game that ended with a bloodied guy running away screaming “I’m going to get my piece and kill them all.”