Music on the Blog!

So, there is now a playlist on the blog...we'll try to make a preemptive strike here and answer some questions that could possibly be asked about it...

Yes, Ian, I did steal the idea of having a playlist from your blog, just remember, mimickry is the sincerest form of flattery. 

Yes, there are two country songs on the list, now you know two of the five that I actually enjoy listening to.

Yes, there is a rap song on the list.  There are a few more than five that I will admit to liking, there are probably less than five that I felt were appropriate for all audiences (trying to keep the blog PG or at least a questionable PG-13).

Yes it seems like a very random jumble of different songs and genres, I prefer just to say that my tastes in music are very eclectic...another example of how word choice helps you put the right spin on a statement.  Some others:  "It's not you, it's me..."(is it?), "I did not have sexual relations with that woman..." (so much for the PG), "Yes we did!" (uh-huh, did what exactly?), "no offense, but...[fill in offensive statement here]" and the closely related "[fill in offensive statement here], I'm just saying...".  So in order to put the right spin on how I'm feeling right now and  to once more mimick...or should I say flatter? you Ian, let me just sum up this post by saying, "Damn it feels good to be a gangster!"

DC, Thanksgiving, and other random thoughts.

My fans have been clamouring for it, my followers have been waiting in tense anticipation, I've been thinking it's about time for it as well.  Okay, so only one of those is true, I'll let you be the judge of which one.  But, yes, I am a firm believer in giving the people what they want, so for the sake of the masses of my adoring readers, it is time for another post. 

So I drove out to Washington DC to visit my brother, Kyle, and his wife, Janae, for Thanksgiving.  It took about nine and a half hours each way, but for me it was well worth the drive.  The first few days I was out there I spent time catching up with friends who are out there for school/work/or just because who would be heading home later in the week for Thanksgiving.  (Oh, yeah, Butler gave us a whole week off for the break, so I drove out the Saturday before.)  My sister-in-law took me to see the zoo.  I really liked that, what can I say? there is a reason I chose biology as a major.  I also saw most all of the monuments that one must see while there.  I went to a couple of Smithsonian institutes that looked really interesting too.  My favorites were probably the night tour that included the Lincoln, FDR, and Jefferson, as well as the Korean War Memorials. 

 A couple days later I hit the other big ones, WWII, Vietnam War, Washington, as well as going by the Capitol and the White House.  The amazing thing about DC is that while I hit the major "must-see" sites, I could go back, and fill another couple of weeks with really cool attractions and never hit the same one twice.  Wednesday night, we had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner with Kyle and Janae's friends Jeff and Trina who are in their ward and live not too far away.  We had brisket, which was outstanding, as well as salad, potatoes, desserts, etc.  Just stretching the stomachs for the main event, you know! 

One of the coolest parts of the week for me was the turkey bowl we played Thanksgiving morning.  Now, I've had my fair share of turkey bowls, and I love football, so they are usually pretty awesome in my mind.  However, this one beat them all because not only were we playing football, we did it on the National Mall, in the shadow of the Washington Monument.  That was pretty sweet.  It was kinda funny to see all of the Asian tourists A.) walk through the middle of our game, probably not realizing they were on our playing field and B.)take our picture, maybe they will tell the story over and over until the details get embellished enough that we weren't just random people playing a pickup football game, but that we were NFL stars who just happened to be on the Mall playing when they strolled by...  (They were about the only ones out looking at sites that day, due to the Holiday that most of the Americans in town were busy getting ready for.)  Thanksgiving dinner was great.  We went to another couples' house that Kyle and Janae know, Jeff and Trina and their baby Xander(sp?) came too.  Plenty to eat and a big screen with football on is the equation for a great turkey day, in my opinion.  Now, almost as fast as it came, the break has passed and it's time for a very hectic couple of weeks to wind down the first semester of pharmacy school.  A round of "Clusters" at the end of this week, so 4 tests in a 3 day span, a 4-page paper due tomorrow (no I have not written it yet, and yes, I am procrastinating it to write this post instead), and then just one more week of class after that before finals week.  It'll be a blur, but at the end I get to watch Butler take on Stanford here in the Hinkle Fieldhouse then I get to go home, so I'm looking forward to it all!  Anyway, that's the news from Indianapolis, Indiana, my new hometown, where all the bulldogs are butler blue, the tests come in clusters, and all my final exam grades are (hopefully) above average.  (Any Garrison Keillor fans out there???)