gobble, gobble

This year marked only the third time in my adult life that I did not have to travel for Thanksgiving. The other two times consisted of my family coming down here, which was nice, but still hectic. This year, I made the decision to stay in LA for a number of reasons, and while I was wary of it at first, it ended up being one of the nicest Thanksgivings yet! After the Turkey Trot, Stephanie and I headed to my dad's in South Pasadena. It was a small group (only four of us), but we had a nice time eating, drinking, and watching football. The highlight of the day was my dad's new infrared turkey fryer. Basically, it's a deep fryer, that uses light instead of oil, and runs on propane. It is similar to a deep fryer in looks and cooking time.

My dad brined the turkey overnight, and then ... in he went!

Only two short hours later, the turkey was done. The fryer was hot to the touch, but other than that, no mess!

After he sat on the counter for awhile, and I picked off some of his skin (NO ... not the big missing piece!), we carved him up and he tasted just like an authentic deep-fried turkey ... crispy skin on the outside and moist meat on the inside.

The only downside ... you can't deep-fry a Snickers with one of these. Hmm, decisions, decisions.

happy thanksgiving!

Stephanie and I began our Thanksgiving with the Torrance Turkey Trot 5k. The rain cleared out just in time, and we had great weather, and a nice start to our day. I am now sitting at home and drinking a peppermint Coffee Bean latte. Aaaaaah ... Thanksgiving!

fire!

On Saturday afternoon, I had to drive out to Fullerton for work. My boss was hosting a hospitality suite for our cross-town rivalry football game and because I planned it, I had to be there to support her. While the game wasn't exciting, we had a birds-eye view of the Brea and Yorba Linda/Anaheim/Corona fire.

california - the bigotry state

I've been neglecting my blog, I admit it, but now that I think I finally have a layout that I like, perhaps I will more likely to post.

I have pictures from Halloween, my trip to NYC, and other musings, however, right now, I am still fixated on the fact that my fellow Californians passed Proposition 8, thereby banning gay marraige. California is supposed to be one of the more liberal states in the Union, yet here we are, a bunch of biggots.

That's honestly how I feel. There isn't any acceptable form of bigotry in today's day, unless you hate homosexuals! People with "Yes on 8" signs in their yard might as well have a sign that reads, "Hi - I'm a bigot! Yes on 8!"

In general my view on life is ... if it doesn't affect you or harm anyone else, then WHY DO YOU CARE??? You may not want to marry a member of the same sex, so don't(!), but why does it matter if your neighbor Jim does? It's not harming you, and the signifigance of your marriage isn't "cheapened" in any way. You took vows - so honor them and then the sanctity of marriage will remain so in your home. People spend so much time worrying about what other people are doing and labeling them "sinners" instead of focusing on themselves.

I believe this is an issue of civil rights because I believe that homosexuals don't have a choice - it's in their genetics. And the last time I checked, we don't leave issues of civil rights up to popular vote. It is my true hope that the legal system will overturn the vote and gay people can get married, have babies, throw parties, celebrate holidays ... and the world will be a better, more tolerant, place because of it.