Thanksgiving was quiet and relaxing. Technically, I cooked the turkey, though I left the gravy to Mom. Of course, all it takes to cook a turkey is to clean it, toss it in a pan, cover it with butter and then foil, put it in a hot oven, then wait a while and take it out. Not too taxing, but I think it helps to have a couple of advanced degrees.

Played golf on Saturday. After a one-year absence my annual Turkey Shoot returned. Well, playing is correct, though I'm not sure it qualified as golf. I won two skins, and actually shot a birdie. And I lost a net one ball. If you find a Championsport 1, it's mine. Al was the big winner after Jim got "distracted" whilst putting on the 9th and missed a chance to split and go to a tenth hole. But the annual banquet was it's usual fine time. (We missed you Bill. Hope the family was well).

I'm heading back to London sometime around next weekend - I'm spending too much time figuring out the best combination of fares. I should probably throw it all into AIMMS (mathematical programming software, for the uninitiated) to figure out the best combination of price and convenience. But, as usual, I'm just using brute force and intuition. So I expect to get hosed.

Nothing Earth-shattering happening, though I did get up to Broad Brook to visit my storage bin and visit the (ex-) condo. They've put a huge gate across the drive, and are installing a new fence surrounding the place. I'm going to try to get there on Monday to see if I can salvage the last of the "Warning - dig here and die" signs I had made. Amusingly, the Department of Health has posted about a dozen new signs around the property that say almost the same thing (we did get the original language from them), but they also copied the lovely "no dogs" emblem from my original! Of course, going to Broad Brook will make it confusing after graduation when my classmates tell me I'm positively glowing.

|

We'll I've been in Jolly Old West Hartford for a little over a week now, and the excitement is palpable. And I only had to pay through the nose to get here. It turns out that American decided not to honor my AAdvantage ticket, saying it expired after a year, even though the ticketing agent I called in July said there would be no problem if I left in late September of early October. I spent the better part of an hour at the AA desk in Gatwick talking to a guy in Dublin trying to convince him that he should honor what his rep told me. But he refused, making me buy another ticket home for almost a grand. I guess it's easy to understand, since there were only about 40 empty seats on the flight.

I then spent another hour with a "Customer Relations" agent today, who thought telling me what the ticket rules said was the same as weighing the circumstances and making a decision. When I tried to contact someone in the executives offices, I reached the same group, and they refused to put me through, telling me I had been told the only way I could pursue this was in writing. I asked if they would put me through if I was a stockholder, and they said yes. So I said put me through, but they refused anyway (I never said I was a stockholder, but if they inferred it from what I did say, it's not my fault). It's going to take a lot to ever get me to buy another ticket from American. At least a grand.

Other than that, it's pretty normal. Been to the barber, the dentist, and the doctor. All say I check out okay. The car's in decent shape, but the brakes or the front end need some work. And the belts need to be tightened. JR added some fine new wheel covers (though they don't spin), and my trunk is chock full of new toys like hats, shirts, sundry other items, and a great 8-track stereo system! I can't wait to get my old copy of Cheap Trick Live At Budokan and crank that bad boy up!

I'm scheduled to get back to London on about the 4th or 5th, when I'll do a little touring and then head over to graduation. Let me know if you need a ticket (to the ceremony).



|

I'm not sure why, but I'm not especially melancholy about my impending trip to the States tomorrow. Maybe it's because I know I'll be back for graduation (Wednesday, December 15 at the Peacock Theatre - you're all invited). Or maybe I'm just doped up on cough syrup and don't know any better.

On the other hand, I get to "enjoy" another Guy Fawkes celebration tonight. They're out there blowing up or burning anything they can get their hands on. Perhaps we'll get lucky and they'll burn down some of those hideous office buildings that line the Thames. To quote the late Cardinal O'Connor, "Dirty Prods." Okay, maybe he didn't actually say that in public, but I'm willing to wager he said it at least once to himself.

I do take some solace in Channel 4's Bonfire Night celebration. To mark this momentous event in British History, they set off a giant firework in the shape of... Homer Simpson's head. I don't mean to be cynical, but I wonder if it has anything to do with the series moving to their network starting tonight?

I'm scheduled to arrive home at 10:30 Staurday night. I'll be available for dinner invitations starting Sunday.

Cheers

|

Special Election Edition
Sell the car, sell the house, sell the kids. I'm not coming home.

|