Well, given that it has been a month since I last posted, I guess I should make some kind of attempt at doing so.

Things got really crazy right after I last posted. The day after Michelle and I got our flu shots, we woke up really sick. I treated mine with OTC meds for about a week, and it seemed like I was better. However, as soon as I stopped taking anything, I got really sick again. So, I went to the doctor, and found that I had a sinus infection. The doctor said that it was purely coincidental that it came the day after the flu shot. Yeah, right. That's why they make you sign a disclaimer absolving them of responsibility if you get sick from the shot. Such is the state of American medicine. What a joke.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we pawned Alex off on Michelle's parents and got out of town for a couple of days. We kind of did a Dick Cheney-type thing, which is to say that we stayed in a secure, undisclosed location...LOL. Alas, we did not shoot anyone while we were there. It was good to get out of town for a couple of days, although it was really strange to not have the baby with us. It was sort of surreal. There were several times when both Michelle and I could "hear" him cry, even though that was obviously impossible. One more reason to not be an empiricist, I suppose. Rationalism rules!

On the Saturday, Michelle found a an area where several of her favorite stores were concentrated, so she dropped me off at the nearest guitar shop, so I could dream whilst she spent...LOL. I played several Taylor acoustics, which all sounded fine enough, but there is just nothing quite like a Martin. Or my Epiphone. I also played a Guild 12-string, which really sounded great. Once I get considerably better with 6 strings, I want to play 12.

Among the many things that Alex's arrival has changed for me is my usual practice of picking a book or two to read during the semester just for fun. In the past, I have chosen a couple of books each semester, and each day, if I have done enough school work, I reward myself by reading some fun stuff. Now, with Alex in the picture, I have not been able to do that. So, I bought a book to read during our time away. I got "Revolution in the Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made." It was fun to trace the steps of the first Macintosh's development. I concluded that many of the people on the development team would today be diagnosed on the autism spectrum.

You may remember that last Thanksgiving, on the way home from Tullahoma, our Dodge Intrepid died. So, we approached this Thanksgiving with some trepidation, hopin our vehicles would emerge unscathed. Yeah, right. The week of Thanksgiving, I observed that the Explorer's serpentine belst was quite frayed, and in need of replacement. So, I ordered a belt online, and once it came in set about installing it. Turns out it was not the right belt, so after a trip to the parts store, where I had no small amount of trouble exchanging it for the correct one, I proceeded to install it upside down. So, this caused the belt to rub a hole in the lower radiator hose, which drained all the coolant out of the engine. After installing a new hose and refilling the coolant, the Explorer was once again road-worthy.

Thanksgiving itself was a lot of fun. We visited both families, and it was great to see everyone. Of course, we all ate too much, but I guess that is part of the fun. My dad's smoked turkey was awesome. He has truly become a grill-master.

On Sunday morning, we left early so we could worship at Mt. Denson. It was great to see everyone there, especially since most of them had not seen Alex. Of course, everyone doted on him, so we did not have to do much with him, which enabled us to relax a bit.

Classes have ended for the semester. Next week is the reading period, which is when everyone does as much of the work they should have done throughout the semester as they can. Finals are the week after that. Two of my finals are take-home exams, and neither is very long. I also have a paper due for another class, so in all I have three papers to write and one exam to study for. Not too bad.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...