A few random and disjointed items:

1. I just received a Peyton Manning jersey in the mail. :) Its origin was a mystery, but one that was quickly solved via phone call to my mom. My always-surprising father was the sender. If Peyton pulls off the win on Sunday, I'm wearing it to work Monday.
   
2. I had to take the kitties to the vet yesterday for booster shots. Keep in mind that I have no car, so going to the vet involves carrying the kitties half a mile in the frigid cold. Luckily Matthew was home in time to help, but it was still a pretty miserable experience walking there. After a brief but expensive appointment (in which I learned that Smokey and the Bandit are *exactly* the same weight--9.11 pounds) the kind vet offered us a ride home. My faith in humanity is restored.
3. A character on House last night had been a comparative religions major at Northwestern. Beyond the extreme unlikeliness of a random person having majored in religion at NU (the year I graduated, I was the only person majoring in just religion, and the others would have described themselves first with their second majors, i.e., psychology or economics), this girl did not in any way strike me as either a Northwestern student nor a religion major. She had very obviously East Coast sensibilities that seemed untempered by a stint in the Midwest, and more importantly, she was clinging to a faith in God , and obviously a Christian God, that is rare, if not completely unknown, amongst religious studies scholars in non-religious universities.
   

Both of my teams are going to the Super Bowl!! Now what the hell do I do?

For the record, I'm rooting for Indy. Peyton deserves to get a Super Bowl ring before Rex does.

I did not make a New Year's resolution to blog more often.

If anyone is around for Thanksgiving and hankering for a traditional meal, let me know. My parents are in town, and we'll be cooking turkey, etc. And watching football. Just let me know soon if you do want to come, so that I can get enough food/wine.

An email I just received from my good friend, Barack Obama. :)






Dear Friend,

Congratulations. You did it.

At this hour, because of your voices and your votes, the Democratic Party has taken back the House and the Senate for the first time in more than a decade. Across the country, a new generation of leaders is coming to Washington – leaders who are ready to listen to the American people and solve America’s problems.

This should make us happy Democrats, but more importantly, it should make us hopeful Americans.

Hopeful that the years of gridlock and partisanship; of blame and bickering will finally give way to civility and solutions.

Hopeful that this overwhelming victory will finally force the President to realize that governing is not a war of ideologies, but a contest of ideas.

Hopeful that when we’re finally able to bring the issues you care about to the halls of Congress, we will finally have enough leaders – Democrat and Republican – who say “yes” to a higher minimum wage, “yes” to more affordable health care and college tuition, “yes” to an energy independent America, and “yes” to a new plan in Iraq that starts to bring our troops home.

Elections come and elections go. Some make little difference in the life of our country – and some change the course of history forever. I am so proud of those of you who have donated your time, your energy, and your resources to get us where we are today. But in order to change history, we now have to work even harder to turn last night’s results into tomorrow’s progress. I’ll be asking you to help me do this in the days and months to come, and I can’t wait to get to work.

Sincerely,




U.S. Senator Barack Obama