Despite having 5-days off for Thanksgiving this year, we had little time to enjoy ourselves with Melody’s oral boards and my Step III exam on the horizon. We spent most of Wednesday studying at the NYPL, breaking only briefly for hotdogs from Gray’s Papaya, which sadly, were no longer the deals they used to be. After a big potluck dinner with the extended family on Thanksgiving Day, we drove up to the Woodbury Outlet Mall to battle the crowds. The last time I went there was exactly 8 years ago, when I stocked more than half my wardrobe. This year was no exception, and the hoards of shoppers made it hard to believe that we’re actually in a recession. After more than 10 hours of bargain hunting, we drove home with a trunk full of clothes and an impressive stash of credit card receipts. We concluded the evening with a birthday dinner for my dad, which included a tasty black bass and a platter of walnut shrimps and fried milk. After lugging our heavy bags of goodies back to Boston, we went straight back to work. With little time left to study and no break until March, I anticipate a bleak winter ahead.