So, to those of you here in the USA, Happy Thanksgiving... Max is downstairs right now, gearing up to cook the big traditional dinner, which I think is amusing considering just how un-traditional we are. But he enjoys it, and he's definitely the chef in this family – I can cook some basic meals, but I prefer to just be the assistant on occasions like this.
And in any case, the whole big-traditional-meal thing is a gentle compromise on my part, because left to my own devices, I'd go out for Chinese and a movie and skip the whole thing. T-Day is just not my favorite holiday. It just reminds me of tedious family get-togethers where, in lieu of real conversation, everyone just bickers mildly over exactly the same meaningless things they bickered about last year, to the soundtrack of the endless games of televised football. I'm fond my parents and my brother, but I'm not close to anyone in my extended family. We just don't have much to talk about.

For that reason, I haven't gone to visit my blood family on Thanksgiving for, let me think - at least seven years. If I have to do the turkey and all, let it be with friends. So Miss K and her husband and Roman and his wife are coming over, which will be nice.

Actually, when I think about it, I'm not really into any organized holiday. Christmas is sort of nice, I suppose, but most of the other big ones – July 4th, New Years Eve, Halloween, Valentines Day – I'm pretty whatever about. I resist being told by someone else when exactly I should feel merry or thankful or romantic.

But dinner with friends is always a good thing, so I'll enjoy that. And if you're doing The Bird, I hope you enjoy it, too.