As two, maybe three of you know, I am an American presently residing in Canada. Canadian Thanksgiving was last month, so today was business as usual around here. I have decided, however, that holidays ought to accompany the person, not the place. So I sneaked out of work a little early today (I didn't so much sneak, as I walked confidently out. This is a technique I developed back in high school, realizing that one is much less likely to draw attention to oneself if one does not appear to be sneaking about.. doesn't one? ..one.).

I arrived home and, once the rush of newly acquired freedom had subsided, realized I had nothing to do with myself. Everyone else was at work. Daytime TV is hot, stinky garbage. I'd exhausted my gaming supply last week after playing entirely too much Ace Combat 6 (this is untrue.. you can't play too much Ace Combat 6.. only too little). Does this spell defeat for our hero?!

Not nearly! You see, I don't have Mass Effect, which is to say, I've yet to experience TEh FX. But payday is not until tomorrow, and I blew my last ten bucks on gas. I started writing up a list in my mind of games I'd be willing to trade in at EB. I'm sure this is a mental exercise we are all familiar with. For the unknowing, it goes something like this:

Should I trade in R6:Vegas? I mean, the sequels coming out next year, so it's not like I'm gonna need both.. but what if I feel like playing it again before the next one comes out? I haven't played Table Tennis in a while, that can go.. of course I never did beat it. When was the last time I even touched Gears...

I knew that without making some serious sacrifices to the collection, I wasn't going to get anywhere near the retail price of TEh FX. So it occurred to me that I should round up all of the loose change in my bedroom. I don't really spend change so much as discard it. I had a healthy pile of silver on my nightstand, and some more scattered around my computer desk. So I loaded up a plastic bag and hit the grocery store for to coinify their Coinstar machine.

I had a lot of change. Like.. a bunch. Rather than tell you the grand total, I thought I'd show you what I was able to purchase with the bounty (that bit in the lower left is a KFC Chicken Bowl):



It's a Thanksgiving day miracle!!! So, I I may be far away from home and family on a holiday, and I may have failed to secure for myself the prized Rock Band kit (congrats Guitaratomik!), but sipping a cold beer and firing up Mass Effect seems like a half-decent consolation.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

:)