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Sup. Happy Thanksgiving. I've definitely noticed that people are generally a lot nicer around the holidays. I wonder why that is? Normally, I can't stand when someone cuts in front of me after I get off the PATH and proceed to follow the line of monkeys making their way down the stairs. But, as of late - I've not only not minded, I've also extended my hand as if to say, "go ahead in front of me." I've also noticed a lot more people making eye contact and smiling at one another, cars pardoning the pedestrians, couples frolicking hand-in-hand...Everyone's just jolly. I got off the train tonight back in Hoboken. As you know if you live here, when you catch a cab, you're usually sharing it with two to three other people, because that's just how we roll. People in New York don't have this -ahem-pleasure. ANYWAY, I actually did pleasantly enjoyed the ride with my two carpoolers. We joked about being annoyed with our families if we're around them too long, bars being closed tonight, and we even exchanged numbers - sike.

One of the national traditions (well, at least in New Jersey) around this time is the ever-awaited "Thanksgiving Eve" outtage. This is the one night a year where you can go to any local dive bar in your hometown and judge people based on how much they've changed in a year. An annual event, Thanksgiving Eve gives you the ability to see people from your high school that you may not have seen in a very long time. The first year out of college was the best - by far. Being away from your friends for two whole months at college - the feeling of being reuninted on that fateful eve is just elating.

As you get older, the fun is still there, but let's face it: You've just done it one-too-many times. Don't get me wrong, you still check out who gained weight, who's still a "townie," and who ended up getting married/having babies. But judging people in the bar is neither here nor there. I believe there is a far scarier endeavor that we each go through on this night. There's one question (albeit different versions) that's thrown out there more than ANY other: "How are you doing?; What's new?; What are you up to?" Let me tell you how I feel about these questions - they're bullshit. You don't really care what's new. You don't care how I'm doing. Maybe you care what I'm up to, but only so you can figure out if it's on par with what you thought I'd be doing with my life at this age. Does everyone follow that? These are the most predicable questions that are open-ended, but usually answered with a simple "Good, thanks ... You?" Guess what? We all know it's rhetorical.

Well, Wednesday night, I brought my A-Game. I wasn't going to answer any of these fools with "Great, yourself?" Hell no. When someone asked me how I was doing, I repled with a heavy sigh, a short pause and then, "Well, I gotta tell ya ... my sciatica's been killin' me. Uncle Jack is still complainin' about this cataracts and my pooch Pluto is in doggie heaven." I did this several times with different people and different calamities: "Mom can't seem to get her bunions in control"; "Still thinking about getting that breast reduction"; "I got married, caught my husband in bed with another woman, killed her and now I'm out on a $100,000 bail and awaiting my trial."

True story.

Shout out to JJ's Pub in Fair Lawn, NJ ... Feeding me beers since 1997 (yea, do the math.)