Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh

Back in NYC after taking a few days off from blogging to visit the family in Pittsburgh. Although I mentioned that I was nervous about the holiday travel craziness, everything was actually very smooth! Thanks to all the USAirways people who helped make it an easy trip (and feel free to upgrade me more often!)

I had a very nice trip home. Saw my Pappy who just had is gall bladder removed, along with the rest of my family. Also got to see some of my college friends, including my friend Danielle and her beautiful daughter, Lily. Saving some space, so click the link below for the photo spread! Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!

Click for the Photos!

Wednesday night I went out drinking with the family, including Jimmy, Aunt Freddie and Uncle Jim


Caught Aunt Freddie sipping some beer when she thought no one was looking...


Dad and I took advantage of a photo op on the back deck


Mom took the picture and didn't even cut anyone out!


Grommit assumed his normal position on the throne


Sam and Sully on Thanksgiving Day.


Drew is not phased by toddler mangling


There was snow on Hummingbird Hill


And while I can't take credit for this photo, this is what I got to play with on Friday night. This is not a baby actress, it's a real baby that I met. Her name is Lily. Feel free to "ooh" and "aww."

Black20 Friday

In honor of Black Friday I have decided to post a few videos from Black20.com First off we have a new edition of Black20 News with Jessie Cantrell. Jessie tells us about a vest that makes it feel like you're being shot, a website that lets you skip the boring things in life, and some sweet alarm clocks.

And this second clip is from another one of Black20's shows The Middle Show. David Price combs the streets of New York asking to see people's weird talents. I'm surprised no one used stabbing as a talent. Check it out.

Live blog from the Laguardia Airport

Good morning! I'm currently sitting and typing from the USAirways terminal at New York's Laguardia Airport. I was very anxious to travel today, as every single media outlet told me DO NOT FLY THE DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING OR YOU WILL WANT TO DIE. So far, no death wishes, but it's not even 10am. The day is young.

I made sure to take extra precautions for travel today. I made sure to carry on my luggage to avoid the monstrous security line.... I checked in online and printed out my boarding pass ahead of time so that I wouldn't have to wait in any lines once I got here. I even left extra early to make sure that the ensuing holiday traffic wouldn't hold me back. Well... not only did I get to the airport in about 10 minutes (and unheard of record from my apartment to LGA) but the only people in front of me in line at security was a nice old couple going to visit their grandchildren in Virginia. So much for that awful congestion....

I love people watching. Besides television, I think people are my 2nd favorite thing to watch. The airport terminal is suspiciously warm. Aren't public spaces like move theaters and malls normally extra cold, as to accommodate the people who carry their own natural insulation aka fatties?

There seems to be 2 types of people here at the terminal at the moment. Business people who are frequent fliers and people going to visit family for the holiday. The frequent fliers are poised and ready. They know all the ins and outs of airline travel and aren't afraid to squash those infrequent fliers to get the best placement in the terminal. They know which gate agents are the fastest, the quickest route to getting a coveted seat at the gate (heaven forbid you'd have to sit in a chair directly next to a stranger! *gags*) and they know where to go when it's actually time to board. A smart traveler will watch the frequent flier and follow their lead.

The family travelers are the ones that everyone else wishes were dead. As a matter of fact, about 10 feet away from me is a dad with 2 small boys. They are probably about 4 or 5. Clearly the dad has become sick of entertaining the kids and has bought them each a small firetruck toy from the gift shop. The firetrucks each make this horrible screeching/beeping sound for about 30 seconds when activated. The other passengers will not stand for this. They are trying to silence to toys with their hateful glares. I think it's working.

Now, I like to think that I'm somewhere between the two classes. I don't really have to travel for business like the frequent fliers, but I also travel enough to know proper airport etiquette and behavior.

I just realized that my bag was open and everyone can see my Hanes underwear... You're welcome, travelers.

Just took a picture on my new computer so you can see how fun the airport is. This bearded man behind me was looking at what I was doing on the computer. Busted. He should mind his own business and stop lurking me.

A giant throng of humanity just stampeded towards gate 15 on their way to New Orleans. Apparently, a ton of them weren't paying attention to the gate agents when the gate was moved. It was fun to watch the mad dash of travelers run like the McAllister family on Home Alone. Remember that? One of the best movies ever! I hope they didn't forget any of the children because chances are that they won't be able to foil a burglary attempt like Kevin. They will probably just get shot/stabbed.

Some jerk just slammed into my chair. I hate him.

If you're bored like me, you should watch my On This Day video that I produce for iVillage.com. A lot of cool stuff happened on November 21st, so check it out! Did you know today was "World Hello Day?" I didn't, because I'm not speaking to anyone.

Crying baby alert... 2 o'clock. Dear Jesus, please don't let this kid be on my flight...

Holy crap! I'm boarding already! Gotta cut this short!!! Wish me a safe flight!

UPDATE- I am currently typing this from my blackberry on the runway. This is what's so unfair about air travel. They actually loaded us on to the plane early and gave us a major false sense of hope. Now we are number 16 or something in line for take off. So infair! The good news is that I somehow got upgraded to first class! It must have been my dashing good looks. So I guess while I sit in my extra large seat and eat my bag of white popcorn I can't really complain. Also- if the alcohol is complimentary, is it ok to drink it before noon? Discuss.

Vote for your parade favorite!

Happy Early Thanksgiving, everyone! I'm headed back to Pittsburgh in about 2 hours and might not survive the airport battle to post this later today... wish me luck.

Tomorrow is the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (or just the Macy's Day Parade, if you're my mom. When is "Macy's Day" anyway?) and iVillage.com is letting fans vote for their favorite float and ballon during the celebration.

The site also gives you a sneak peek at the balloons and some extra info about this year's parade. Let's home that no one gets injured by renegade balloons this year! I think they took them M&Ms out back and put them down anyway, so I think we're safe.

Happy Thanksgiving!

More Collage Art

Sunday night my bud Kelly came over to my apartment and we watched TV and listened to some jams. In the midst of all this we decided to do some more collage artwork! Here are my latest creations:



What do you think?

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Related Things:

• My collage art