Thanksgiving Wrapup

Thanksgiving was a blast. My passengers were lethargic so I was able to listen to my podcasts in peace. Of course the normally tame and non-reactive podcasts I listen to decided to focus on the most awkward of subjects but maybe I was just hyper aware. The girl I was with said the only radio she ever listened to was Rush Limbaugh so I think I improved her life by exposing her to NPR.

We had dinner at my Uncle Michael's house along with him family, my grandmother, and some other extended family. My brother, Seth, commented that while we considered the sixteen or so people in attendance to be a small turnout many would consider that to be quite large. I had the lucky task of preparing the traditional "scalloped corn" that has populated our Thanksgiving table for my entire life. It's the best job to have because my Grandma is always quick to praise it and even though I messed up the recipe--to be fair though I was going off of memory.

During the rest of the holiday I spent a lot of time with my siblings as well as my nieces and nephews. Instead of hitting the normal Black Friday venues we explored some of the local thrift stores. Unbeknownst to us--they were having sales of their own and mixed with some good luck and a small stature I walked away with several cool things: gray three piece pinstriped wool suit, tan corduroy sports coat, dress pants, and an ANTIQUE World War II Army officer jacket (perfect condition) and all of it was only about twenty bucks. My mother has requested photos but my suit needs some hemming at the pants so that will have to wait. Instead here is a picture of a sunset I saw this past weekend.

Facebook peer-pressure made me post what I was thankful for this year and I responded with the following: 

I am thankful for the future of sustainable technologies and the pioneers in the field who desire to allow us to be better stewards of the Earth. In connection to that, I am thankful for the beautiful and varied planet we live on and humanity's perseverance for advancement in science and culture.

I realize its a little bit heavy handed and environmentalism has been spoiled by some of the radicals but I really believe its something we can accomplish while still maintaining a productive society. Sweden is managing its waste so well that it has to import trash from Norway to fuel its powerplants so its entirely possible.

I always wanted to be Fire because he got the hot chick.

As a side note--I'm getting entirely too addicted to the Les Miserable music. I listened to it for the first time this week and so far I've listened to the entire show maybe five times. Good thing there is a movie coming out.

There is a new puppy in my house. The McClellans decided they couldn't wait till Christmas to give Kemarie her present so once they found a deal on a puppy they snatched it. Once you get past having to clean up its urine and the strange odor--Rufus is a pretty decent puppy and the kids are happy with him.

Canvasing officially ends tomorrow which means no more overtime. It's bittersweet really, as much as I missed the free time I have really enjoyed the overtime pay. With the bulk of the counting done we're back to about five boxes of data entry. I'm being sent to the warehouse to preform repairs on some of the voting machines though so that will keep me occupied. Co-currently I am working on a curriculum to continue my informal education. Since graduating I have noticed my world view narrowing need a method to continue expanding my knowledge--more to come.

On Wednesday I will be driving over to Colorado for Thanksgiving weekend. I'll be giving a couple strangers a ride so here's hoping none are ax-murderers or talkative. I have a few podcasts I've been looking forward to and I need to be alive and in a quiet environment to listen to them.

Provo received the first snow fall of the season and if its anything like last year--it will be the only snow we see. Still, eight inches is quite a turn out for a desert valley and if it's viable tomorrow I'll see what I can do about a snowman.

Non-artsy shot I nabbed while waiting outside work.

We're in the middle of canvasing for the Election--meaning counting thousands and thousands of votes. If nothing else, this job will have given me a wonderful insight into what goes into making an election happen. Election day itself was a seventeen hour work day filled with paperwork, push-up contests, and missing votes. We have a little over a week left before the madness ends but it's fun to get wrapped up in all the hullabaloo. Unfortunately, everything I'm dealing with is "no pictures" so nothing fun to post for now.

The biggest recent development is that I finally registered to vote in Utah. I've lived here for over six consecutive years so I figure its time. I joined a political party for the first time--the Green Party. I feel like the two party system only works if you buy into it so I guess this is me fighting the man. Hoorah.

The above is the movie I mentioned previously--I play a minor but important role. Unfortunately my speaking was cut out but I'm still in several scenes. Be warned, there is some swearing at the very end starting at 4:08.

I would post more but my life has mostly been work. There are some pictures floating around of me in my Halloween costume at work but I have yet to acquire them. Halloween consisted of trick-or-treating with a baby elephant, dance party at the neighbors (my friend dressed up as a killer weeping angel), and a viewing of Hitchcock's "The Birds."

More life will occur post-election.