Every Thanksgiving, thousands leave the family reunion to participate in the annual one-night stand. Many believe that this night of standing in line represents a sick sort of selfishness, but those of us who participate know that it’s not.

It’s a celebration, and it’s a game. Many of the first people in the lines of more than 300 don’t buy anything. This year, I waited in line for 13 hours, and, after I got in the store, I decided to let someone else use the voucher for the computer I was going to buy.

I cut the turkey dinner short at 4 p.m. (Frankly, I prefer pizza.) My brother and I rushed to an electronics store where we were the fifth and sixth in line.

According to Sunday’s “Good Morning America,” Black Friday spending reached $10.3 billion, up more than 8 percent from last year. This surprised their “experts,” who had predicted no more than a 5 percent increase, but not me.

I’ve been doing it for five years, and every year I’ve seen it get more popular. The first year I was able to get in to two major electronics stores when they opened and the lines were short when I showed up minutes before the stores opened. The second year, I went to an electronics store after midnight, and I was the seventh person in line. This year there was a group of at least 100 by midnight.

This year, my brother and the three people who got there before us pooled our resources to watch a DVD on a laptop that we set on an extra chair. We enjoyed the movie after we covered the store’s lights with cardboard and tape to eliminate the glare. This sort of thing led to a sense of friendship and teamwork, but no names were exchanged. We all knew that the bonds between us were as strong as they were temporary.

Some time in the night, a news van pulled in to the parking lot, and one man with a camera walked out to interview us. My brother and I had worn boxing gloves for just such an occasion. “They’re really warm, and, well, if anyone tries to cut in line….,” I said, glancing over to my brother who is much larger than I am.

A few hours later, a friend who I had hardly seen in years, came. She said that she was living in the area and she had seen me in line on the news. We talked for a while but because it was only 22 degrees outside, she didn’t stay long.

She wasn’t the only familiar face that I saw, however. Many of the people around me in line were the same people who I had met last year in the same line. Though we only see snapshots of each other, it’s interesting to see how drastically that snapshot changes after just one year.

After about 10 hours of waiting, I always get to the same point. I become bitter, tired, and cold, and I start to regret ever coming. It reminds me of the “Buy Nothing Day” campaign against consumerism, run by the folks at adbusters. com. While I don’t agree with their premise, and the goals of many of their grammatically-challenged activists, I can understand part of their point.

The site says that a “Buy Nothing Christmas” is “about taking a deep breath and deciding to opt out of the hype‚ the overcrowded malls‚ and the stressful to–do lists. It’s about reminding ourselves to really think about what we are buying‚ why we are buying it‚ and whether we really need it at all.”

If that’s the way they feel about it, they should just stay home on Black Friday. But the attitude is more anti-social than it is anticonsumerism. I enjoy the long lines, the crowded malls, and the “hype.” I even headed to the mall after a brief nap on Friday, and yes, there were a lot of people there, but it was fun. Looking around, I saw people smiling. People were enjoying the company of their friends and family, and celebrating the season through their love for each other.

When it’s all over, I always ask myself the same things. Was it worth it? Will I do it again next year? And my answers are always the same: yes, and probably.

Thanksgiving, as we all know, is a time to give thanks for everything that we have. Many people take this time of the year to go home and visit their family and engorge themselves with copious amounts of turkey. I have done this for the last 22 years or so and thought it might be time to switch it up.

My girlfriend had to work over the break so she wasn't going home either, and this was a major motivating factor for me to not drive four hours up to Sault Ste. Marie.

She had some friends who were also around over the break that were great cooks. They kindly played host for one of the best dinners that I have had in a long time (since I started eating at the Rock, I have lost my appetite).

We showed up around 7 p.m. and dinner was almost ready. We enjoyed drinks while the turkey was being pulled from the oven.

Dinner began and we stuffed our faces with bird, green bean casserole, stuffing and various other trimmings, laughing and joking the entire meal. Miniature strawberry and Oreo pies were for dessert, even though we barely had enough room. And a food fight broke out with the remaining pies.

We cleaned up the table and ourselves and proceeded to watch Mallrats. No football, no parade watching, just a great time hanging out with friends.

Sometimes I feel like the movie 'Little Miss Sunshine' was written about my family, although we are a lot better now than we used to be - in fact we are now very close. I love my family very much and didn't forget to call them all on Thanksgiving - but I loved the opportunity to do my own thing this year.

Like I have said in the past - college can be the best four (or more) years of your life. It is the time to get out there and do something different. Try new things. Invite someone over for dinner (think exchange students).

Thanksgiving was nice since it was different than normal. Christmas planned out the same way. We are flying out to Oregon to spend a few weeks with my brother and his wife for a non-Christmas break. Only two of the four people are Catholic, and they are non-practicing so we decided to just hang out and not do Christmas - and it's going to be awesome!

It’s finally happening. Clinton’s strangle-hold on the Democratic presidential candidacy is finally slipping.

According to the Washington Post, “Illinois Senator Barack Obama gets the support of 30 percent of likely Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa, compared with 26 percent for Clinton, 22 percent for former senator John Edwards and 11 percent for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson."

The results are only marginally changed from a post-ABC poll in late July, but in a state likely to set the course for the rest of the nominating process, there are significant signs of progress for Obama - and harbingers of concern for Clinton.

This is a positive sign. Obama’s campaign seemed to have been slipping. In spite of raising tons of money, he has kept a relatively low profile.

But most recently, he has been doing what he should have started doing a long time ago: pointing out the obvious. Clinton is great at highlighting her positives while minimizing her tremendous negatives. She does a great job of saying the things people want to hear.

The problem with Clinton’s campaign is that she doesn’t promise to do anything. She’s trying to keep a status quo that very few people are accepting.

In fact, that is a problem with the Democratic Party these days. I don’t know what is making it so ineffective. It keeps giving in to the Republican Party and is angering the American people. Look at Congress’ terrible approval rating as proof.

Clinton is in the mold of these Congress Democrats. She will say the things people want to hear. But when she gets elected, nothing will change. And I believe that after eight years of Bush, the country will be desperate for a change.

I don’t hold a very high opinion of the American people in general. But still, I can’t believe that they, as a whole, support this War on Terror. They have seen what the Republicans plan to do. They are seeing the never-ending war taking place. A strong anti-war stance is something that is electable.

After the World Trade Center attacks, “Support the Troops” became the pro-war rhetoric. But supporting the troops these days means bringing them home where they’re safe, not keeping them in a war zone. Not keeping them in a never-ending, war they are unlikely to win.

Clinton voted for the war and doesn’t want to bring the troops home for years. Although he admits his mistake, Edwards also voted for the war. Most of the Republicans want to expand the war. Aside from Ron Paul, there is no consistent anti-war candidate who has the resources to compete for the presidency besides Barack Obama.

Obama is the most electable of the Democratic candidates and the most trustworthy on the biggest issue: the war. I expect Clinton’s numbers to wane and Obama's numbers to keep improving.