Thanksgiving 2009

This Thanksgiving was extra special. Being by myself in a new city, knowing precious few Americans, I thought I would be spending Thanksgiving alone, or at least not doing the traditional eat-'til-you-pass-out customs.

Thank goodness I was wrong.

So I celebrated it on a Tuesday instead of the Thursday (and why was it the 4th Thursday of the month and not the 3rd?). And I already had a mini-celebration with an out-of-town friend, which included cream of mushroom soup and a turkey and cranberry "sauce" tortilla wrap. Those are half of my favorite celebratory dishes.

Thankfully, since I'm still without a proper job, my director/friend invited me to stay with them until I got steady income. Which means I am currently shacked up in the "crack den" (i.e. extra room) with an American and a Scot. The American had decided to recelebrate Thanksgiving on Tuesday. Even dogs could barely hear my high-pitched glee. Guests of the feast included 2 Americans, a Scot, an Irishwoman, and a French guy.

So this year, in light of the bad economy, joblessness, and my still-nomadic state, I can still be thankful for:

- Emma, for letting me move in with her for a while and keeping a roof over my head
- Caroline, whose amazing cooking repertoire includes: green bean casserole (with onions made from scratch!), butternut squash casserole (who knew I'd ever like that!), homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes and brown gravy, and an amazingly marinated chicken.
- all the other friendly people in Hong Kong who have helped me out in this trying time of frustrating unemployment
- Obama, whose win has relieved some of the "stupid American" stereotype pressures
- animals who can bring a smile to your face, even if all they do is sleep (damn pandas)
- foooooooood
- Theatre, which I never tire of
- People who come and go, but who are sure to leave footprints in your heart (I was told that Americans are cheesy, please try not to vomit)
- My friends, who are ever so encouraging and who are there for me, even thousands of miles away
- My family, who keeps me from forgetting who I am

But most of all, I am thankful that even though curiosity may have killed the cat, satisfaction could bring it back to life.