Not really a post that's centered on the holidays, I just wanted to do a quick update on what we've been doing on our Christmas break. We're in Kansas, visiting family and friends and having a jolly time. We spent the first day or so in Lawrence, our favorite place on earth. Lawrence is the antithesis to everything you've heard about Kansas. It's hip and liberal and groovy all at once. We had pizza at Rudy's (the best pizza on earth- I recommend the Cheezy Rudy), dinner and beer at Free State (the only beer I'll drink), and we did lots of cool walking around and window-shopping. Oh, and I got my hair cut at Sakaroff's from my good friend Randy, the one person I'll trust with my hair. We also spent time in Kansas City, visiting John's family. Abby, John's niece, is ten months old and cute as can be- she's already walking! Now we're in Manhattan, which runs a very close second to Lawrence. We're visiting my family and seeing the sites in the Little Apple. I know nobody will believe this, but Kansas really is one of the best kept secrets around. There's something about Kansas that just resonates in my bones and my blood. It's so great to be back, if only for a moment.

Before you start thinking things, let me clarify: it's our dog, not me. John and I went to the vet this morning to get Luke's ears checked and the vet immediately declared that Luke had a "raging yeast infection." I felt the subject line alone was blog-worthy.

Just as there is a Chick-fil-A down the road and on the way to campus, there is also a Shoney's. I am forever bewitched and bewildered by the sheer number and variety of buffets that they boast on their billboard. I think they must have an employee whose sole job it is to go outside and change the sign every couple of hours. Honestly, I've counted a breakfast buffet, an express buffet, a lunch buffet, a burger buffet, a seafood buffet, a homestyle buffet, and more. It's incredible! I have to wonder: do they change the food every couple of hours, or do they just change the sign and hope that nobody notices?

The jig is up. The animals seem to have realized that John is gone, and not knowing that he's coming back in just a couple of days, they have started to join forces. If it's not Edgar wanting water straight from the tap, it's Luke bugging me for the fifteenth time to play with him (or, alternatively, chewing his paws until they bleed). I think they're trying to wear me down. But what do they want?

This is the third day of John's latest trip to California for work. This one is going to be a six-dayer, so we're halfway through. On day one the animals had started sensing something amiss and they began to get antsy. So far they haven't mutinied yet, but if you don't hear from me for a couple of days, send in a team of rescuers.

Since none of my students have come to my office hour today, I feel that I have a moment to blog. I wanted to blog about putting up our Christmas tree this weekend (it's really lovely), but since I don't have any pictures of it, I'll have to post a picture of Christmas Luke. I was contemplating sending this photo to the folks at the rescue place where we adopted him, but then I thought that they might nab us for mistreating him in some way. I just think it's a funny picture!

There's a Chick-fil-A down the road from our house and on the way to campus, which means that we drive past it a lot. And for the past couple of weeks, they've had a sign up that honestly has me befuddled. It says "GIVE CHICKEN SOME CHEWING REQUIRED". No punctuation, no explanation. My best guess is that it is supposed to read like a "some assembly required" notice. But that is problematic for many reasons, not the least of which is that it implies that people should give Chick-fil-A chicken during the holidays. And that's just plain weird.