Happy Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is the big day, so here's what I'm thankful for:
-All of the support from my family and friends, especially everyone who supported and took care of me the past couple of days on my trip to Lafayette and Chicago. I know the ideal payback would be to get a high score on the test, and I did the best I could, so hopefully I'm able to pay you back with a good performance. You guys have continued to push me to keep going in this job search, and now I have two great opportunities to get it done, hopefully I can.

-The start of college hoops season. You all know my love for basketball, it runs deep. I'm also thankful for the opportunity to coach at Northmont, hopefully I can serve as a teacher and an example for the team.

-Everything I've been blessed with, which I give thanks for every day. Don't waste any skill or talent you may have because there's a reason you have it.

And there are more things, which will probably come up as the Holiday season continues. Those are the biggies.

Ok, so Sunday I headed up to Lafayette to spend the night with family, and I had a great time. My aunt and uncle have four great kids, one of which an infant who is the fastest eater I've ever seen. My aunt made steak fajitas for dinner, mmmm good. I stuck around for a little bit on Monday to see my uncle at work, then I was off to Chicago.

I stayed at the Union League Club in the heart of downtown, thanks to one of my uncle's friends who went above and beyond anything he had to do. And I will remember the favor, thank you sir. Staying at the Club was great because it was right across the street from where I took my test the next morning. Plus, it had all the amenities: valet parking, room service, dress code, exercise rooms on the top, it was very comfy. I took the afternoon and went to Sears Tower to get a view of the city, then walked around downtown, going to my first ESPNZone, then to a local restaurant and eating the local favorite baby back ribs for dinner.

When it came test time the next morning, I was ready to grind it out. I did everything I could to get ready, going through the study guide and similar GRE questions, so there isn't anything I would change about my prep work. Hopefully I was able to come through with a high score. I was satisfied enough to sing happily along with the radio on the drive home. Luckily the weather was good, and I made it back to Dayton in 4.5 hours (with the bad Chicago traffic and 2 stops), yes I drove within the rules.

The one negative about being out-of-town was not seeing the beatdown Miami handed Dayton in basketball. UD ducked the Redhawks last year and paid for it this year, losing 58-42, and I guess it wasn't even that close. It was 56-28 with about 5 minutes left when Miami began to clear their bench. It almost made up for the 60-23 loss to the Flyers a few years ago. It was nice to see the UD coach confused and flustered after the game. Add to that Miami football beating OU, and it was great to be a Miami Redhawk. Redhawk football is 7-4, and on the bubble of going to a bowl game. I know it's hard to believe, but it may happen.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, I'll try and have some of my early thoughts on college hoops in the next couple of days.