So my course director, who told me to give her a week's notice (that's now) if I didn't think I could finish by my deadline, is 'out of the office'. Until the day after my deadline. This is... interesting.

I would send an e-mail saying, look, you're out of the office until after my deadline, and because of that, please note the date of this e-mail and consider it my official week's notice.

I'm having Thanksgiving at mom's. We did it last year, but this year, my bro and fam will be there. Bro and fam are spending the night. I hate not sleeping in my own bed and have said that repeatedly, but my mother never respects that and always wants me to spend the night.

Also, if I am making dessert, I have to have that done ahead of time, and bring two desserts, plus an overnight bag. It's a big pain in the ass, and I don't get why she won't let it go.

A few years ago, I gave in and spent Christmas Eve. It was fun, I'll admit. Until I wanted to go to bed, and discovered that my mother hadn't even set up the bedroom, and I was sharing with my great aunt who a)snores like a forest full of loggers and b)has to get up at 5Am to take her medicine, but has a hard time with alarm clocks, so it's REALLY loud (I ended up getting up, waking her up, finding her glasses, getting her some water, dolling out the pills, etc.) All of this would be fine if I didn't live so close that it takes less time for me to drive than it does for me to pack a bag to take over there.

Yeah, I'd say 80% of Thanksgiving dinner is vegetarian anyway, or can easily be so without shaking things up too much. Vegan takes more planning but still hardly insurmountable. The year we had raw foodies at T-day was another story but they were mostly happy to take care of their own needs and not worry about the rest of us.

We've got (at last count) 23 for Thanksgiving this year. I feel like I should start cooking now.

I would send an e-mail saying, look, you're out of the office until after my deadline, and because of that, please note the date of this e-mail and consider it my official week's notice.

It's a good plan (though it will cause chaos in the office, as my other two extension requests did), but I'm still um-ing and ah-ing about whether to ask for more time. I don't really have a good reason, except ongoing stuff that meant I couldn't do the quality of work I wanted to do. Really, I'd need another six months and a total change of approach to the project if I were going to achieve that. Which isn't going to happen. Also, if by some miracle I still get an overall distinction (despite this crappy dissertation), I might want to apply to this department for PhD funding. It would be nice if I could create the illusion that I can complete work, in support of my application, rather than looking like the flaky mess that needs three extensions before she can write a dissertation.

Vortex, my family have a thing about spending the night at holidays, too. Which makes a bit more sense with the ones who live three hours drive away, and far less sense with the London-based ones. We've taken to staying in local hotels (this year, even for Christmas), but that's mainly because everyone has stairs. But having a hotel to retreat to at the end of the day is always a really good thing.

But having a hotel to retreat to at the end of the day is always a really good thing.

yeah, that's an issue as well. To be perfectly honest about it, I really loved being there for breakfast, and watching my niece tear through the presents, etc. But, the overnight bit was exhausting. Plus, I have to have everything done before I arrive (presents wrapped, desserts made, etc.). And my family tends to procrastinate, so my mom is all "oh, you're all done with your wrapping, and you don't seem to be doing anything right now . . ."

OMG JESS! Ruhlman's doing a Ratio iPhone App!

OMG JESS! Ruhlman's doing a Ratio iPhone App!

Meep!

I know! Could my fangirling possibly be any greater?

Maybe if he showed up with Tony Bourdain at my house to install it?

Ooooooooooooooooh!

On another note, why is it national news that someone in the Kennedy family was denied communion? I don't know who or why, I remember hearing something about it on the news radio station last night, and there it was as top story on CNN. WTF?