I am taking Amtrak today! I'm hoping that leaving at lunch will mean Union Station is slightly less hairy than it usually is the day before Thanksgiving.

Realistically, Union Station probably will be super crowded, super hot, and smell weirdly of SpaghettiOs.

Mmm....SpaghettiOs...

I wish I could justify taking Amtrak more. I love train travel. But especially in the NW, driving is just so much easier/more worth it--you don't have the same issues like driving into New York, with traffic and parking.

I'm staying here for Thanksgiving.

ION, I like this awesome headline:

Coming tomorrow: Hot Sun-on-comet action

Tomorrow, Comet ISON is due to fly closer to the Sun than Encke, during a much more active time in the solar cycle. Scientists are anticipating an awesome collision, like spectators at a demolition derby.

I usually got a seat on the Amtrak, but I was going from DC to NYC or Philly, depending on the year.

Now I can't imagine not driving. LA has made me one of those car dependent people.

Thanksgiving prep has included making red velvet cupcakes (technically for scouts tonight) and two pudding pies. I should cook the breakfast casserole we'll have, but it will be easier to prep and assemble tomorrow AM.

I swam this AM (about 15 minutes longer than usual too), but I can't decide if I should swim tomorrow. It will be clusterfucky-crowded at 7:00, but worth getting a swim in.

I'm taking the bus to the Jersey shore tomorrow.

While there are some places that are open on holidays, in the past there was some negotiation with employees: who wanted to work T-day vs Christmas? Can your shift end early enough or start late enough so you had part of the day? Then too, there are people who prefer to work and don't celebrate T-day, Christmas and other holidays.

I teach students who often are teachers (who get the week off this week) so they requested that I cancel class this week. I was happy to do it. I prefer to travel on Tuesdays anyway.

My college's Thanksgiving week schedule included classes on Monday and Tuesday. But tons of people would take the whole week or, at the very least, skip Tuesday (pretty sure that's what I did).

My Thanksgiving food prep today involves baking a pumpkin pie and taking the green beans out of the freezer to thaw in preparation for being turned into the venerable green bean casserole tomorrow. I've never made it before, so I'm a little nervous. But it doesn't seem like something that can be fucked up too badly. (I wouldn't ordinarily make it, but my aunt gave me 4 or 5 freezer bags full of green beans from her garden earlier this month, so, hey -- green bean casserole!)

We're also bringing wine (which I'm really good at) and rolls (which is Tim's job). Although we decided that starting next year, the 20-something nephews who live on their own can be given the job of bringing rolls.

I'm one of those people that actually like to work on the day after Thanksgiving. No traffic problems, and everything is so quiet that I can get a lot done (or goof off without worrying that anyone will see me). (This year, it's going to be "get a lot done.")

In my division, I think it's going to be just me and the new attorney who has to be careful with the little annual leave that she's accrued.

in the past there was some negotiation with employees: who wanted to work T-day vs Christmas? Can your shift end early enough or start late enough so you had part of the day? Then too, there are people who prefer to work and don't celebrate T-day, Christmas and other holidays.

Right, I think it's the volume that really makes this different. I always enjoyed working T-day AM when I was at Starbucks, but you just needed a few people who felt like that and you were covered. A handful of people, and hours that are conducive to still preserving a bunch of the holiday. Now there's such a volume of shopping that stores are extra staffed up and my perception is that many people do not have a choice.