A long December indeed ... I really don't like to write about my own personal health. The last thing we need is more complaining on the internets, but I would like to leave a note to my future self when I read this: December 2008 was terrible for me. I was probably sick for 90% of the time and just when I thought I made it out of the woods, something stronger knocks me out.

Well another Thanksgiving came to a close. I often wonder what "tradition" means when it comes to this particular holiday. For the past 5 years or so, every Thanksgiving has been wildly different from the previous. While I'm not saying that it is a "bad" thing, it always makes me feel ambivalent before the day and quite relieved after. This year was no different. If I could pick one common thing about Thanksgiving when I was growing up, it would have to be that there was almost as much arguing as there was laughter.

I know this is from last year (perhaps 2 yrs ago), but it made me laugh thinking about it. "Michael, what do you want for Christmas?" "Grandma, can you get me an X-box?" "What? A next-box? I don't even know what the first-box was?"

I will be out of town for some rest and relaxation for a few days. I will get back to my email and other random stuff when I return. Long overdue.

I graduated from the University of Some School about X years ago. For the past several months, I have been receiving non-stop emails and post-cards in the mail to "update my Alumni profile" so that my information could be valid so people can contact me and know what I am doing. All the information would be updated into a big "Alumni Directory" or something like that. The thing that I find questionable is that both the emails and post-cards say that I can only do it over the phone - not email not postal mail.