Mirror, mirror...

Thanksgiving reflections:

• Thanksgiving was great--family time, food time, what more can you ask for? Instead of dessert, I had seconds. Heavenly.
• I spent more time with friends this time than I usually do when I'm home. I liked it for the balance--I've always felt so rushed just being home for just the weekend that I can't justify spending a lot of time away from the family.
• I even got to visit the main street bar, The Water Tank, on the night before Thanksgiving with my Jenny, my Devin, and Lori. I tried not to make eye contact with any of the locals, but they still shouted (hollered) "girls, girls, we've got some girls here now!" when we came in. What an entrance.
• The morning after Thanksgiving, instead of shopping, the immediate Wells family went to see Walk the Line, which was AWESOME. I never really knew a whole lot about Johnny Cash, but he definitely has an interesting, drama-filled story. And I mean...he looked like Joaquin Phoenix when he was young, so I'm a fan. And, even though it was pretty dysfunctional, his and June Carter's relationship seemed, from the movie, like a real love story. Neither of them was perfect, but they were perfect for each other. So there's hope, right? I will hope.

Reflections on my return:

• Driving back to DC from SC is no fun the Sunday after T-giving. But it could've been worse. I finally broke down and bought a VA map, at least. And now I know that Hwy 11 parallels I-81, and connects to Hwy 320, which leads to I-64, which goes over one of the most beautiful mountains in VA (in the dark), and ends up on Hwy 29, which leads to DC. Whew. I enjoyed what scenery there was before it got dark, though. And I like secondary roads better anyway.
• I've got so much Christmas shopping to do. Maybe I won't buy presents this year. Maybe I should do the environmental thing and just buy some rainforest land in the name of my family and friends. Somehow I don't think that's quite as exciting for them as it might be for me. (Would it really be exciting for me, though?)
• Things are getting slow at work, which would usually mean time for a sigh of relief...but in reality it's almost more nerve-wracking than having tons of work, because at least then you have billable time. Now, I practically have to beg for things to do so I can bill my time, get in 40 hours a week, and get paid. Such is the life of a consultant...much like that of a lawyer--and I certainly didn't sign up to be a lawyer.
• In unrelated, way more positive news, I saved $12 with my Safeway card at the grocery store today! It was like almost everything I went in there for was on some sort of special. Ah, the domestic delights! So now I have about 10 cups of yogurt and 3 lbs of cheese...

I think I'll be done now, even though there's always more I could say. But perhaps another day.