Thanksgiving update, or chalk this up to dumb things I've done :)

So, I haven't really written much as of late. With the semester in full gear now though, I hope that really doesn't surprise anyone. In addition to my normal history seminars, and teaching, I'm also taking Russian classes (very cool!), writing my masters thesis, working as an Research Assistant for my advisor (which is a nice change of pace), and slowly beginning the long, painful process of preparing for my prelim exams in the spring.

To make matters worse, the program which allows me to post pictures has gone kaputt, and will not function properly, even though I've reinstalled it several times. Hence, no pictures for the past couple months. :(

That is too bad because I actually have some stuff I could probably post, not to mention the enormous back log of pictures from my travels this summer. Now comeon, I know everyone is just dying to see the hundreds of pictures I took back in the Ruhrgebiet (The German Rustbelt). Actually, if you want to see a (not so) insane video of German soccer fans in the Hannover Hauptbahnhof, go surf through the archives of Fred's blog (http://tomservo0.blogspot.com).

So, the dumb thing. . . For those that don't know I run about 4.5 miles a day up here, 5 days a week. Since today is Thanksgiving, I decided that it was especially important to run this morning. The only problem? It was 20 degrees with a -1 windchill. Definitely not smart. Chris's hair literally had icicles at the end. I managed to get through the run though, largely by recounting Chris's drunk rant at the end of the hockey game about how Minnesotans do not know how to drive or (apparently) walk (?!?!) because they did not get statehood until the 1850's. According to Chris, we are naturally better walkers because we come from the original 13 colonies. I have no idea where he was going with this. Your guess is as good as mine. . . The upshot though, is of course I can now eat guilt free, and enjoy what appears to be a new tradition of watching Arrested Development on TV all afternoon.

So, that is my disjointed series of posts for now. Perhaps if I get time I'll write more later. . . Happy Thanksgiving, and stay safe!