Everyone's Favorite Vegan

I tell people I've known Chetan for, like, 8 years. It's not true, of course. it didn't occur to either of us that we hadn't known each other forever until recently. But it seems like it's been that long! The truth of the matter is, I've known Chetan for something like 5 1/2 years. And for the 4th year running, tomorrow I'll be having a most excellent Thanksgiving dinner with Chetan's family, including their giant dog Simba.

I met Chetan at debate camp. He was teaching at the UT debate camp my sophomore year in high school. The cool thing about debate camps is that most of the "teachers" are really college students, and you end up with a bunch of them as friends. Chetan, and his classmate Kate, were the ones who talked me into applying to Brandeis because they were both students here at the time. By the time I got here, Chetan had graduated, but was going to BC Law, so we went out for coffee regularly. He indirectly introduced me to Mark, because he introduced me to the Brandeis debaters who were Mark's housemates at the time, and went with me to their Halloween party where I met Mark. Obviously, we go way back (even if it wasn't 8 years back!).

People are always confused by my Thanksgiving traditions. At first, they want to know if I'm going home for Thanksgiving. When I explain that going home would mean spending more of the weekend on a plane than off, they always look slightly concerned and say, "Oh...do you have somewhere to go?" Well...it's not exactly like I'd be spending Thanksgiving on a grate in the subway, but I appreciate that most of the people I know seem ready to set a place for me at their table if I don't have somewhere to eat turkey and cranberry dressing. The next conclusion people invariably draw is, "Oh! Are you going to have Thanksgiving with Mark's family instead?" Well, no, not that either. People are mystefied when they find out that not only am I not going to the boyfriend's family's for Thanksgiving, it is because I am going to Thanksgiving with...another man.

Chetan's family was kind enough to invite me to Thanksgiving dinner freshman year when I really DIDN'T have a place to go. The infamous Jenn Orlin and I made pumpkin pies that had....issues. They were suspiciously flat. And burned. Not my best culinary achievement to date. Luckily, Chetan's family took it in stride and everyone enjoyed "Pumpkin Pie With Issues." I must have behaved well, because they still invite me back. I kind of see them as adopted aunts, uncles, cousins by this point. Chetan and I are busy, so we don't have coffee nearly as often as we used to, but I wouldn't miss Thanksgiving dinner (with and without issues) for the world! So every year, Mark and I make pies. He takes one home to Thanksgiving, and I take one to Chetan's. It seems like a reasonable compromise. This year I'm making pecan. Hopefully without issues!