It's officially Thanksgiving and here it feels (and actually IS) like any other day, so it's hard for me to tell that the holiday season is approaching. I miss that holiday feeling that Thanksgiving initiates for us Americans and I'll certainly miss the preparatory traditions as the countdown to the 24th of December begins. Sad.

Nonetheless, I woke up this morning and held Thanksgiving day close to me and remembered all the things I'm forever grateful for...In no particular order, mind you:

Quirky television shows that are so amazing, that they fly over people's heads and are canceled after about three seasons (or less)




and



and



Random (or perhaps not so random) movies and the ridiculously funny writing that encourages me to constantly vomit movie quotes (ok, so no pics associated with this piece of the world I'm grateful for, but you get it anyway, right?)

"I was surfing the crimson wave. I had to haul ass to the ladies'."

"Donger's here for five hours, and he's got somebody. I live here my whole life, and I'm like a disease."

"It's that damn Hansel! He's so hot right now!"

"Yes. Yes, I did it. I killed Yvette. I hated her, so much... it-it- the f - it -flam - flames. Flames, on the side of my face, breathing-breathl- heaving breaths. Heaving breath..."

(Seriously I could go on and on and on...)

Pil
She drives me crazy and has a tendency for the overly dramatic, but my mom is nothing short of awesome.



Tio Pato
My mother has four brothers and one sister, but my Tio Pato is the one I grew up with in CA and since I never grew up with a father, he was the closest thing I had to a father figure. And he rocks. When I was little (as in 4) he used to tell me to just call him Pato. Errrr ... it always confused me bc he insisted so much. Needless to say, I never really caught on to that. He also taught me things like "Portate mal para que lo pases bien" (Be bad so you make sure to have a good time.) Priceless, just like him.



Chile
Yes I have all kinds of complaints about my new home but I attribute that to not really getting how things work here (yet). I had/have a lot of complaints about San Francisco too, believe it or not (namely the weather). But Chile is a beautiful country and I live a great life here. Yeah I'm in Latin America and by default that comes along with all the frustrations you can assume are associated with it, but it genuinely has so much to offer and I'm thankful to live here (as opposed to, say, Caracas.) Note that the pic below truly is how Santiago looks...see? You can totally outline the smog.



Shannon

Sweet, dear, chocolate-covered Shannon. I TRULY love all my friends but this year I have to give a special Thanksgiving Day shout out to my BFF of 18 years. In my entire life, I can count on one hand the people that have shown the amount of strength and integrity she has shown. Despite personal hardships that would have the rest of us clawing at the ground, she's held her head high throughout so much this year AND HAS STILL managed to be a good friend to me (despite distance) and be an amazing maid of honor at that as well! I'm thankful for her and that's the simplest of truths. (yes I purposely chose the most hideous picture of us bc that makes it funny.)



My old friends back home...
Krellis, Cor, Mands, JoJo Bean and Lor (among so many others.) I'm thankful for you and the way each one is so completely different from the other one. I'm grateful that they have chosen to be my friends and have accepted my friendship. And now in life, I'm grateful that they keep me connected to my life in the U.S. because they take the time to share with me, despite the distance.




...and the Gringa friends I've met here
My life in Chile would be 1) depressing and 2) boring if it weren't for the great women I've met here. Some will stay on for a while and some will be leaving to continue their lives back in the U.S. Even if I've met you for a second, we hang out all the time, or I've yet to meet you and become friends, I truly am thankful for the other "Gringuitas" that are here (who else am I suppose to speak Spanglish with and totally GET it???!!)





VIZ, my job, and the faith that my coworkers have in me. Three cheers and long live Japanese animation and comics! :o)
Cheesy? Definitely. But am I wrong for being awesomely grateful for being able to work in something I know and love given that I live on the other end of the world? I don't think so.


And though there are so many other things I'm thankful for (my health, the health of those around me, the opportunities I have to travel, the ability to speak two languages fluently, Mexican food, ceviche, pisco sours and wine, to name but a few) I've come to the end of this blog entry.

To conclude the list of things I'm grateful for this Thanksgiving, I give mad, thankful props to my sweet Gonzalo... and my life with him ... and our fabulous, "grown up" apartment...and our wedding planning ... and the way he makes every little moment about life seem rainbow colored...

Thank you for Gonzalo ...



and Gonzalo ...



and Gonzalo ...



And DUH! Thanks to you for reading my blog!