First things first, it's been a while since I've updated WTGW, there are no legit excuses, a thousand pardons.

So what happened this past weekend, you ask? We spent Thanksgiving with Tracy's family and I was in charge of making the mashed potatoes, they were good if I say so. Tracy almost got punched in the face at a diner in Manchester, NH at 2AM while trying to get in the middle of two drunk guys arguing over a stool at the counter. The lesson as always...don't play peacemaker with two drunk guys at a diner in NH at 2AM.

Next, I had my ten year high school reunion over this past weekend. We hit up Jose Mac's the way that we used to back in the day. Check out the gallery for pics.

On Sunday I was at the Patriots game at Gillette stadium and it was an unreal game. Over the last four years I'm undefeated at Gillette. Every game I've gone to the Pats have won, I think I'm 5 - 0 or 6 - 0.

Not much on the radar for this weekend, might have to spend some time doing work so I can get caught up on everything.

I'm sure there is more to report but for now that is all.

On Friday night I happily went to bed at 9:30PM...the early morning gym trips were kicking my ass all week and I was wiped out. I'm not sure how I feel about this but on Saturday morning I tried a spinning class at the gym for the first time and I must say that it is a pretty ridiculous workout. On Saturday night we went and saw The Departed, the first time I've been to the movies since Wedding Crashers if you can believe that. The Departed was definitely worth it, you should check it out if you haven't already. Sunday I went to Tommy Joe's and watched the Pats whoop up on the Packers of Green Bay, it was a most ripping victory. I also went 3 -1 in fantasy football for those of you keeping track. That puts my four teams at 9-2, 8-2-1, 7-4 and 7-4.

Last night I got a chance to go to my first University of Maryland basketball game. I went with a couple of guys from the lacrosse team and our seats were on the floor, literally my feet were on the hard wood, some of the best seats I've ever had at a sporting event.

So what's the deal for the holiday? We are flying out tomorrow AM, hanging in Manch tomorrow night and then spending Thanksgiving day with Tracy's family. On Friday we'll head down to Winchester and then experience the debauchery that is my 10 year high school reunion...that is a scary thought. Saturday we'll recover with sandwiches from various establishments and lay low Saturday night. Sunday I'll be heading to the Pats game in Foxboro against the Chicago Bears, I'll once again be showing off my superior tailgating skills. We won't have time to see everyone, per usual, but give me a call if you are around.

Gobble, gobble...

We are working on Monday so we won't have a true long weekend but it will be nice to enjoy the weather and get the day off on Tuesday. Have a great weekend.

That's all well and good but Mandy and Danny were here this weekend and we hit the town hard with their friends (and now our friends) Ana, her husband Justin and Ana's sister Fanula. Saturday night we went out to dinner in Bethesda and the girls had a few too many martinis and the guys had a little too much tequila. Sunday we headed to Annapolis and it was awesome. Annapolis is very similar to Newport, RI, which I love, and there are all sorts of bars and shops and restaurants on the water. We had lunch at Pusser's at the Marriott in Annapolis and then went on a lighthouse boat cruise where we saw some of the oldest lighthouses in the country and learned the extensive history of lighthouses, which is actually quite interesting. Some of you might recall my previous experiences with Pusser's Rum.

It had been a while since we had visitors down so it was great to see them and it had been a while since I had gotten to hand out with Mandy and Dan. For a photographic recap of the weekend check out the Memorial Day photo gallery.

The other big deal for the weekend was UMass making it to the division I men's lacrosse finals, I haven't yet spoke to Al, who is an alumnus of UMass men's lacrosse team. He went to Philly this weekend to take in the games in person and last week I extended him an invitation to be a guest writer on WTGW which he respectfully declined. My hope was that he could help my readers get a better understanding of what a big deal it is to make the lacrosse Final Four and get some additional exposure for UMass. Al, the invitation is still open if you want to give us all a recap. Congratulations to all of those guys and I think what they accomplished is a huge step in helping put Massachusetts and New England lacrosse more on the map.

Santa was good and delivered some much needed cash flow along with some other goodies including:
- a new suit along with tie, belt, shoes and socks
- some viewing material including Napoleon Dynamite and Family Volume 3
- a new jacket, sweater and Brooks Brothers non-iron shirts The highlight of our trip was Tracy's niece Mackenzie trying on her new coat that we got her, she likes to play dress up but doesn't like to have her picture taken...

Napoleon and Pedro wish you a Happy Turkey Day!!

This Modern Love - Bloc Party - Bloc Party is a London based band that got it's break when Fraz Ferdinand asked them to open up for them. I've been reading about them in Spin for the last six months but never took the time to check them out but they are legit.

King Without A Crown - Matisyahu - Jay played this song for me and asked me to name the singers ethnicity, there was obviously a catch but I played along and said he was black with dread locks and from Jamacia. Well Matisyahu is a Hasidic Jew that just happens to dabble in a little bit of rock and reggae and the result is unbelievable. Check it out.

Ghostwriter - RJD2 - Any of you that watch ESPN on a regular basis have certainly seen the commercial for NBA games with the 60's or 70's style with flower looking things in the background and lot's of orange and the music for the commerical has a really cool and catchy beat, well after a bit of research Jay and I were able to track it down. Turns out that RJD2 is the artist who is another artist that I've read a lot about in the past and just never checked out. Ghostwriter off of his debut album Dead Ringer is the best song on the album but the entire album is worth checking out.

Thanksgiving Tunes
1. Permanent - Acceptance
2. Between The End And Where We Lie (Album Version (Edited)) - Thrice
3. For Me This Is Heaven - Jimmy Eat World
4. Atlantic (Album Version (Edited)) - Thrice
5. Brighter Than Sunshine - Aqualung
6. Move On - Mike Doughty
7. Snowbirds And Townies - Further Seems Forever
8. A Hole In The World - Thursday
9. This Modern Love - Bloc Party
10. You're Forever An Hourglass - Benzos
11. Middle Of Nowhere - Hot Hot Heat
12. Title Track - Death Cab For Cutie
13. basement ghost Singing - Armor For Sleep
14. Sore Eyes - Benzos
15. Joga - Ben Gibbard/Ben Barnett
16. Boston - Augustana
17. Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo - Bloodhound Gang
18. Old School - Danger Doom
19. Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz
20. King Without A Crown - Matisyahu
21. Ghostwriter - RJD2

On Sunday we headed to the Zoo and took some pictures. There are some pretty good ones and it is a great site to see especially considering that admission is free. We had hoped to catch a glimpse of the newly born panda but the line was a 20 minute wait and pandas aren't that cool. And no this is not a Anchor Man joke, there really was a newly born panda.

This week is going to be a busy one so posting will undoubtabley light but I'll post something before I head to NYC for the weekend for Sox vs. Yankees.

Instead Tracy and I went into DC on Sunday with a million other people that thought it would be cool to be in the nation's capital on 4th of July weekend. Didn't think that one through very well. But seeing as we've only been here a couple of weeks we fit in pretty well with all of the other "tourists".

Nothing beats the pops on the hatch shell up on Beantown, not even the Beach Boys and Gloria Esteban. Who were utterly terrible from my vantage point on my couch and probably even worse in person.

So I had orientation today for my "new" job, basically a big Kool Aid session but very, very beneficial. It is always good to get a reminder of why I do what I do everyday.