I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. My phone hadn't charged the night before so I used the last little bit of battery to talk to the family in the morning which explains the lack of responses to texts.

My Thanksgiving had a couple of "firsts" to go along with it. It was my first away from home, which is really strange to think about. I had been with my family on Thanksgiving every single year for the last 23. But it wasn't like I missed Thanksgiving with the family as much as I missed just being with the family like I have over the past few months. It was also my first time on a traditional train. And on this train you can bring alcohol. So the girl and I were planning on housing a few tallboys during our journey but the intense hangover from the night before coupled with us running late the entire morning prevented us from doing so. And we would have been the only ones on a train of hundreds that would have been boozing that early so it probably would have been really awkward. So except for the alcohol-permitting train it was an otherwise traditional day filled with turkey, football, family, and booze.

I really should be finishing up this assignment for my State and Urban Policy course tonight but it sucks and the internet is way more interesting.

Whenever think back on a night of heavy drinking there's always that point where you remember things took a turn for the worse. It might have been that crazy shot someone bought for you or that last rum and coke, but for me the tipping point has never been beer. Beer and I have always had a decent relationship. I feel like our trips to the Saucer provided me with enough types to where I can say that I know beer well. My tastes haven't really changed that much. I've had Guinness on three separate occasions spanning the course of three years and it has tasted like beef jerky soaked in water every time. Boddington's has always been that really shitty beer Alex and I recommend to people that don't usually go the Saucer just to mess with them. But since moving to Chicago there has been a beer that went from really awful to alright. I can remember having my first PBR sophomore year of college in Danny's dorm room in Fusz. I thought that it tasted like a jar of pennies and never had any interest in tasting it again. I managed to avoid it up until these last few months and I have to say I'm impressed. It's nothing special by any means but in terms of an easy-to-drink-having-all-of-the-beers kind of choice it's pretty solid. Someone usually brings a case to Bad Movie Night and it's now the closer in my binge drinking evening lineup.

So here's to you, PBR. Though your brand is up for sale and the hipsters can't get enough of you, I just wanted to say that you're alright.

I'm not sure why it has taken me this long but I finally started following NASA on Twitter. Space has just always been one of those things that appealed to me. It probably has something to do with the fact that there's just so much more to learn about the rest of the universe that the future is really exciting to think about. But anyway I check their twitter feed and see that they have a live video of a fucking SPACEWALK. IN SPACE. I have been so excited all morning listening to them communicate and watching the dude work on equipment that probably costs more than what I'll make in my lifetime. It's just way too fucking cool. Just 10 years ago people designed their Geocities (R.I.P., btw) pages using mainly animated .gifs and now we're able to watch live fucking spacewalks and listen to their coms. I swear if NASA doesn't broadcast live video when we go back to the moon I'm gonna rage.

Also being in the big city sucked because I couldn't watch the Leonid Meteor Showers. I mean, it was cloudy anyway but still. On a clear night I can usually see about 20 stars. And three of those are probably planets.

I'm kind of obsessed with numbers so I have no idea why I barely ever look at my bank account balance. I never fill out my check book and always just try to keep an idea of how much money I have in the bank. But it seems like as much as I estimate what my account balance may be I always undershoot, which is great. It's not like it has only happened once and twice. My banking has functioned like this for six years and it always seems to work out well for me. The only bad thing is that when I realize I have more money than I thought I did I always want to spend it. And with the Friends and Family thing starting tomorrow coupled with watching a Chicago Fire game on Saturday night at a bar and not having really any team colors to sport, the urge to spend is strong.

I got an A on my State and Local Policy exam which kicks ass. Didn't do as well as I would have liked on Stats but that's alright. My first test and our final project will do more than enough to stay in good shape. Now's about the time when the shit hits the fan. Multiple assignments every week and a giant paper looming will have me adequately stressed.

The Mountain Goats was fantastic. They played more of their newest stuff than I would have liked but it was a great performance. It was also my first concert here in Chicago so I figured it would make a good start. Final Fantasy opened for them and their violinist did a really great rendition of Going to Bristol. And John Darnielle encored with This Year, No Children, and Going to Georgia. I screamed as loud as I could because I know Alex would have have killed me if I hadn't. The people in front of me were none too pleased but w/e. After the show my friend and I went to some local dive called L and L. It was pretty much empty but the beers were cheap and she knew the bartender so it was a really fun time. Two cross-dressers came in, walked in a circle around the entire bar and then left, which was strange. Otherwise it was a pretty typical bar experience. My knowledge of bars is growing and I've already learned of a place called The Globe which is essentially a soccer bar. For Chicago Fire games they give you a bus ride to and from the stadium plus beers for $15. But that season's over so I won't get to enjoy that service until the next one. But once the World Cup rolls around and I don't have work in the morning I'll be glued to their TVs. There are hundreds of places I want go to just on the North Side (including a bar with free darts and a Nintendo).

Stats test tomorrow. I've barely studied but I've got a pretty good grasp on this stuff.

The last few days have been a whirlwind. Halloween was fun. Mario and Luigi were a hit at the party. There is one incredible picture that was taken that I will post on Facebook as soon as Dave uploads it to his Flickr account. The wait is worth it.

I pulled an all-nighter on Monday to prepare for my test Tuesday. Work and class gave me zero time to really study and a 6am-3pm shift on Tuesday gave me no choice but to stay up. I looked at my test review and it was essentially "know every single thing we have talked about in class so far" so that was a great start. I held off on coffee until just before my test and it did wonders. I was wired by the time I was handed the test and did really well. Of course it comes down to how it's graded but I never had to bullshit through a question. I might not have remembered every single market failure that information provision addresses but I recalled most of them. And I didn't stop writing for about 2+ hours so I'm feeling pretty good about it. So now I'm in a really good mood today (no work for two days + bad movie night + THE FUCKING MOUNTAIN GOATS TOMORROW) and have a really good feeling about the rest of the semester.