3 days before thanksgiving my sister calls me, no she actually texts me. she and my mom got in a fight over a cookie, clearly its not over the cookie, its years of deep seeded pain and misunderstanding that emerges in our weakest moments (I have pages of things to say about this but I won't, maybe I will later). My sister swears she's moving back to Hawaii this time and so it's clear to me that there will be nothing going on at my house in terms of a joyous family gathering. I'd planned to go home but with nothing to go to I decide to stay. Don't get me wrong, family, gathered or not is a reason to go back home but they were just up here the week before so I felt like that was sufficient, plus they'll be back for the wedding in Dec, merely a month away (saying - or typing things out loud, has a way of making things real - I just had a half second moment of panic as I was typing that). Catch your breath (to self). So it's thanksgiving and I have breakfast with a classmate and her mom who's visiting from out of town. It's a semblance of family, the meal was paid for - a small detail but important bc its just like my family always does. That's just the morning and there's a whole day to think about kinship. I randomly bump into an acquaintance I haven't seen in ages having breakfast alone. It's amazing how things 386.1 miles away can bum me out so much. I still consider hopping in the car and driving down - it might be guilt - I'm aware of it, I even convince a friend to come with but I tell him I still need to think about it after waiting for him to think about it, it's really that easy, making a decision then doing it but as it nears midday it becomes closer to being too late - dinner would be at 7 L.A. time (it's a 6 hour drive). I bike from the house, for the first time, to my studio which is only a few blocks down, pick up some scrap wood on the way, nearly crashing from the shifted weight before making it there. I'd gone to pick something up or drop something off - I forget at this point, it was a short visit. As I close my door to leave I see Brians car across the way on the otherwise abandoned street, it's thanksgiving I need to say hi, the forsaken quality of the place making it that much more urgent. I bang on the roll up door, we chat a while, make plans to go to some party later and to fix my sagging fence the next day. I go home download a history channel special on the crucifixion, I got curious all of a sudden about the historical significance of it (I mean besides the obvious) and I had an idea for a project. Projects require research. Actually I watched half of this before going on my bike ride. I mention it to Brian and he tells me his friend was one of the actors in it. That's hilarious and coincidental because after seeing it, I decided to add to my bucket list 'be an actor in history channel renactments'. I love the visual, and I feel like the history channel does such an amazing job showing us what it mightve actually looked like. although I have to say I was disappointed with their version of Jesus - they made him the stereotypical skinny, 7 ft, long haired, jew nosed, white guy - 'come on you're the history channel for god sakes!' (and i mean that literally). I was also researching this and according to archealogical finds detailing the people in that area during that time jesus wouldve been about 5' 1", tan, muscular and had these features:
Being a fan of ceremony, not formal but of any kind, my definition; ceremony - any intentional act commemorating or otherwise acknowledging a significant event, holiday, moment, celebration, loss, victory - I decide I should probably not be at home alone on this day of gratefulness. I call a friend, who had earlier in the week invited me to his dinner, to ask if there was still last minute room for one more, expecting a wholehearted 'on this occasion there's always room, buddy!' but i got hesitation, uncertainty and then a consolation ' if then' statement. I started to live by Jack Johnsons lyrics "It seems to me that maybe pretty much always means no" ever since hearing it for the first time. so i took it as a no. Now dont get me wrong I was invited to 4 other gatherings but as the day got later those expired and my decision to stay being so last minute I had no time to forewarn ppl of my sudden appearance. But mark was on his way up with his cooking skills and a safeway detour so I wasnt worried. And I did make myself a sliced turkey sandwich earlier which isnt quite of the carved delicious variety but did help fulfill a small part of my need for ceremony. What we ended up having was gourmet (my kind of gourmet, not yours):
Then we played ball for the first time on the court immediately across the street, lights go out at 11pm:
Before rushing the 3 minutes over to the AMC to catch Life of Pi - watch did not make me believe in God. Good thing I do already. The movie was well - I won't say, you judge for yourself.
When we got out like at 1am there was strangely life everywhere, it was bustling - Black Friday had officially begun we realized. I've never partaken before - consumerism was never worth getting up in the wee hours of the morning for but finding myself conveniently in the middle of it we had to do it. Target - very tempted by a everything proof, pocket sized HD video camera but I don't have the bones to be making impulse buys only to find out later I ended up with subpar equipment. Best Buy - the line winding through the store was deterrent enough. Time is money. And there isn't even a heart stopping drop in the end. Sports Authority - All I end up getting at the end of the night was a warmer sleep bag and 2 basketballs.
This long accounting of Thanksgiving 2012 was dedicated to Elaine who's away on an adventure in a far off land at the moment.
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