Thanksgiving

Two posts ago (count 'em: 1, 2) I told you all of my November Thankful List (NTL) where every day of November (including October 31) I would write one (or more) thing(s) for which I am thankful. I've enjoyed it: it's been great to take some time [each day] to ponder the things that mean the most to me in my life. So without further ado, the NTL.

October 31

Today I am thankful for the Lambson family. They've taken me in as though I'm one of the family. Friendship, making me feel welcome, meals, love. Couldn't have survived Columbia without them.

November 1

Today I'm thankful for Steven and Tamara. They call me almost every day. They invite me to dinner, even though it might be their date night. They let me watch movies with them and treat me like I'm their best friend and a very important guest in their home. Steven's concern for my wellbeing blows my mind, even when I'm feeling especially introverted. As I said yesterday, there's no way I could have survived this place without them.

November 2

Today I'm thankful for Mike aka Klammi aka Wiggy and Kacee. One can't really understand how much one misses a good home-cooked meal until one gets to be a taste-tester for these guys. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I'm afforded to serve them almost on a daily basis. Knowing that they are trying to improve the way they live makes me so hapy. Kalambo also makes work better than bearable.

November 3

Technology. And smiley-face emoticons.

November 4

The Hess shared her opinion on why it's OK to listen to Christmas musicks starting November 1, and so I've been enjoying some lovely Celtic Christmas tunes. I'm thankful for her and for the Celts and for Christmas.

November 5

Tonight I watched all of season 1 of The Office, and part of season 2. It made me realize how much I appreciate good humor and made me think of Haley Greet and Paul (Sephin) Harris. Haley introduced me to the fine show, and both used to sit and watch it with me for hours. So I'm thankful for The Office.

November 6

Tonight I'm thankful for my ninja skills that allow me to weave in and out of human crowds to avoid being seen and/or stopped by annoying people. Also I could protect myself during a zombie/radiation-mutated monster outbreak.

November 7

One word, two syllables: Stake Conference.

November 8

Tonight I have been watching the ever-nolstalgic Back to the Future trilogy. What this means is 1) I'm thankful for nostalgia, and 2) I'm thankful that the future didn't turn out anything like that.

November 9

More nostalgia and Final Fantasy IX. It doesn't matter what games come out or how good the graphics get. I get VGADD (Video Game A.D.D. - this is serious). Each time this hits, I pull out a classic Final Fantasy and am instantly cured. I'm thankful for Square-Enix and of course Nobuo Uematsu.

November 10

Tonight I'm thankful for tomorrow because I have the day off.

November 11

Again the Lambsons make the list. And vintage clothing shops. And Cajun restaurants. Oh, and Scott Pilgrim. (RAMOOOOONAAA!!!)

November 12

I had to work today and tomorrow is the weekend. I'm thankful that I have a job even though sometimes I really hate it.

November 13

I'm thankful for Chili's, free soup, and $5 bets that involve mixing every condiment on the table together and using it as a sort of "fry sauce." They would have had to pay me $50 to taste it, as I gagged only at the sight of them mixing and adding and mixing. This occasion reminded me of a different occasion. Picture this: me, Nate, Chris, and Brett eating at Ghetto (Apollo) Burger every Friday night. They all loved ketchup. I gag at the smell.

November 14

Travelled to Washington D.C. today for a work training. It's been good to spend time with friends, especially since I can be my normal, stupid, silly self and Wylenne just acts along with me. So I'm thankful for work friends that ease the sucky burden of work.

November 15

Lots to be thankful for. My dad encouraged getting a good education. Tonight I talked with the administrator of my agency that would only talk to you if you had a Master's in Statistics. She introduced me to two other gentlemen who spoke with me about the research division, where I would really like to be. Soon. Also I'm thankful for my friend Melly for picking me up and taking me to FHE so I could have some other Mormons to hang out with.

November 16

Tonight, again, I'm thankful for my dad, his love, his example, his dedication to his family, his advice, his funny sayings and quirks, and all the memories, good or bad, that I have of him. Love you, Dad!

November 17

My family. They love me, stick by me, laugh with (at) me, call me, text me, and always want me around. No matter how far apart we live, I'm always a priority to them.

To my mom, Amber, Mike, little Emma, Shawn, Sheeila, Josh, Jaycee, Nats, and Brooke: tonight, and always, I am thankful for you.

November 18

Art. Air. Space. Declarations. Constitutions. History. Liberty. America. New friends. Pizza. Pie. Sleep.

November 19

I'm thankful for strange, unfamiliar houses in Arlington, VA, and the people that let me stay there. Also photography.

November 20

I saw a lot of great things today. Note that "great" doesn't always mean good. Creativity. Talent. Humor. Dedication. Perseverance. Destruction. Sadness. Death. I'm thankful for the creative and talented people that fill this world and make life worth living. I'm thankful for a good sense of humor. I'm thankful that there are people out there who are so dedicated to a cause and refuse to give up even in the face of death. I'm thankful for challenges that stretch and tug and shape until they are finally overcome creating a new and strong person.

November 21

Mercy.

November 22

Modern medicine, vitamins, an understanding boss, Donkey Kong, and sick leave.

November 23

I applied for a job today in Fairfax, VA. I posted something to this effect as my fb status and my sister commented, "Sweet! :)" Maybe she doesn't know the impact that it has on me, knowing that she supports me even though I'd be even further away. Today, sis, I'm thankful for you.

November 24

Woke up at 2:30 this morning; couldn't fall back to sleep. Couldn't focus at work. I'm thankful for a scattered brain and for those who have to deal with it and don't complain.

November 25

The gospel. My Savior. The knowledge that I have that through Him, I can be with my family forever. Nothing could make me happier; nothing brings greater peace. To my family: I love you, and as I said before, I am most grateful for you!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Peace.

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Da Coolest

I went to Washington D.C. this past week. O! what a week. Laughter, smiles, new friends, old friends, new enemies, covetous feelings, tears, rejection, beauty, and I could go on. So allow me, as if you had a choice, to take you on a photo tour of our nation's capital. Pictures.

First off, a picture of yours truly with a truly spectacular stache in the Air and Space museum. Remember how I said I made new friends before? Well one of them took this photo. Why, you ask? In her own words, "You seem like the lying type. So you should probably be in the picture if you want anyone to believe you were actually here." That's a lie.

And then we went to another part of that museum where there was this sweet infrared camera you could stand in front of.

It's always night in the District, except when I took this picture. I must have tripped on a rock as I pushed the button with my index finger that releases the shutter. Or maybe I purposely took the photo like this. Gosh!

I just really liked that people have learned how to carve words into marble. It has nothing to do with what it says.

My sister loves elephants. No, I didn't say "pink elephants." These jokes are getting lame. I'm done. Oh, this was in the American History museum, where I also saw Dorothy's red slippers and Julia Child's kitchen. No photos.

And then at the gift shop, we found some relevant souvenirs.

D.C. has 2 places to eat. You can go to a bar or a cool pizza place where they cook pizzas in a stone oven. They also serve lentil and ham soup, which is delightful. Also these were embedded into the table.

Also shadows.

Remember how I said it's always night in D.C.?

Many people don't believe me, or even care, but Abraham Lincoln suffered from depression. This was kind of a fun shot. Heaps of people were taking photos with their flash turned on, so I turned mine off and just lengthened the exposure time.

Some people can't keep their eyes open. Some people have a cool mustache.

Melly and I went to the market for breakfast. The Eastern Market. It's at the Eastern Market metro stop. You scale the stairs out of the metro, head that one direction, and if it's a Saturday, they have this cool farmer's market and, well, it's superb. This place is famous (back to the Eastern Market) for their blueberry-buckwheat pancakes. While we were in the infinitely long line (because this place is so good (!)), we were greeted by the owner. This gentlemen. We talked about family, Utah, food, you name it. What a guy!

Of course, there are only 3 things to do while visiting the District. You can either 1) eat bar food, pizza, or delicious bluebuck pancakes, 2) visit the Smithsonian museums and other monuments at night, and 3) dress up like characters from the hit book series, Harry Potter. Can you guess who I am? Prolly not. Can you guess who Melly is??!

Note, I had to teach her how to act mystical.

End of line.

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What Are You Thankful For?

You may have noticed that my 3- or 4-post streak ended quite abruptly. I guess one could also make the argument that you didn't notice, meaning that you don't come to Resplendent very often anyway. Either way, you're now wondering, "Well Leon, if you hardly blog anymore, why is tonight any different?" You could also be thinking, "I don't care what it is, just get to the point."

The point. It's November. That means lots of things: food, eggnog, turkeys, tofurkeys, trebuchets launching tofurkeys from Logan to Salt Lake using calculus to determine the exact angle and power needed, oh, and if you didn't know already, Thanksgiving.




I decided on October 31 that every day until Thanksgiving, I'm going to write down one think for which I am thankful. Thanksgiving day, or maybe night, or maybe within the next day or two after, I'm going to post those things on here. Please bless you'll do it with me! If you do, email me your lists and I'll post them on here, or post them on a blog somewhere and I'll create a link from here to there. It will be like if this blog were a trebuchet in Logan and your thankful list were in Salt Lake, then the great and spacious interweb would be the trajectory along which a tofurkey would journey between my trebuchet and your thankful list. Now that's something!

PS - if nobody sends me a thankful list, that's your problem. I know where my priorities lie. End PS.

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