Ninety Thanksgivings

In early November, I flew to Seattle to celebrate my grandma's birthday. I normally would not fly just for a birthday, but we were celebrating Grandma's 90th. Even I'll agree that turning 90 is worthy of a celebration!

Grandma has lived so long, we don't know how old she truly is: she was born in China around the end of World War I.

The neck brace Grandma is wearing is just a precaution for when she's in a car.




We celebrated Grandma's birthday at a local Chinese restaurant. The owners were very accommodating. Yum!





This is my cousin Michelle and her son Braden. Isn't it funny how kids can be cute even when they're not happy?




This is my auntie Nancy with her newborn grandson, Aaron.

From Grandma's birthday

Actually, we celebrated not just my grandma's birthday, but also my mom's birthday . . . because they were born on the same day!

It's kind of cool that a mother and daughter can celebrate their birthdays together.

Today is Thanksgiving, so I guess Grandma's been through 90 Thanksgivings! (Oh, but they probably didn't celebrate that in China.)

This year, our family is spread out for Thanksgiving: Mary in Calgary, Mom in Sac/Fresno, and me in Los Angeles. Growing up, one of our Thanksgiving traditions was to go around the dinner table and say one thing that we were thankful for. (For some reason, it was an effort to get me to think of or say even one thing.)

This year, when I reflect on it, I am very thankful. I am thankful for my health. I am thankful that I am not in debt. I am thankful for the generous opportunities that I have been given. I am thankful for the lessons I have been taught.

But thankfulness is different now than in the Pilgrims' day, isn't it? Back then, they were thankful for everything they had, because there was a very real chance that they might die from starvation, disease, or cold.

They were thankful simply to be alive.

It is hard for me to say that for myself and mean it. After all, I'm always complaining about everything beyond that, worrying about everything past that.

Today, I will try to be thankful simply that I am alive.

ElecTRONica at Disneyland!

A few days before Halloween, a friend flew into town for the ElecTRONica event at Disneyland. My friend's name is TRONster, so this was a natural fit.

ElecTRONica is a new event at Disney's California Adventures, in anticipation of the upcoming movie, "TRON: Legacy." At ElecTRONica, they convert part of the theme park into a Tron-themed night club.

ElecTRONica is already special, but this was also a special ElecTRONica: the first 200 people in line were able to meet the screenwriters from the new movie! In the middle is Tronster.

Part of the "night club" of ElecTRONica. I liked that it was outside and not in a stuffy building.

They also had a sneak peak of the new movie in 3D, an exhibit with some of the real props from the new movie, and an old-school arcade filled with video games from the 80s. (The last part was one of my favorites, of course. :)

I was wearing a very bright T-shirt, which was accentuated by black lights in the street.










Here is an iconic poster from the original "TRON" movie. The text reads:

"A world inside the computer where man has never been."

"Never before now."






Some fans came in very elaborate costumes. These two took advantage of the black lights to strike a pose.








The next day, Tronster and I explored LA. We visited Saddleback Church, then we tried to find the Hollywood sign. In the evening we met with our friend George. (We all met at a game conference.)

George took us to his favorite restaurant, "The Counter." It's a custom burger joint. As George said, "It's the only place where your burger gets a character sheet you fill out."

The Counter is so fancy that they have 20 different sauces to put on your burger. (I chose either the roasted garlic aioli or the sun-dried tomato vinaigrette . . . I forget.)

From Tronster & George

A close up of my fancy burger. Whatever I ordered, it was very tasty. :)

I had a great couple days hanging out with Tronster and George. It was a fun change of pace, but what I enjoyed most was getting to know my friends a bit better.