Thanksgiving, a time to count your blessings

Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Coincidentally at my lab, we had five persons, including me celebrating their birthdays in November (Nov 16, 21, 24, 25 & 26). That was the greatest concentrations of birthdays I ever experienced.

The celebration began on Nov 16 when BJ brought in a caramel cheesecake to celebrate for us all. After that day, I had enough of cheesecake as dessert or food. I ate pumpkin cheesecake in the morning for breakfast, a cheesecake at a seminar given by my boss and finally BJ's cheesecake in the afternoon during tea break. The amount of calories intake exceeded my system.

Knowing that I would be eating continuously, I put in extra effort to exercise in the morning and evening, alternating between swimming, running and lifting weights daily.

On Nov 21, I went to a Thanksgiving party organized by The Singapore Students Association at JHU. It was a potluck party where the undergrads cooked a turkey, roti prata, vegetables and steamed fish. I felt like an old fart among the youngsters and most were scholars. I also found out that some actually lived in the same condominium building as I.

Thereafter, I proceeded to Vladimir's party where I had lasagna, sausages wrapped in bacon strips and many more. My colleagues were amazed at the amount I could eat. I was so stuffed later that night. I slept the moment I laid on my bed.

On Thanksgiving, streets were quiet and stores were closed. Most would travel to their homes for this major holiday to be with family members. Airports, train stations and roads were packed from mass exodus starting as early as Sunday and peaked on Wednesday.

Together with Shuzhen and Wenmin (whom I 'picked-up' in Hopkins shuttle because she carried a bag advertising Singapore General Hospital), I drove to Josephine's home in Bethesda where she had graciously opened up her home to celebrate Thanksgiving. Driving on the highway was smooth since traffic was sparse.

Her home was huge with two real fireplaces and it was beautifully decorated. It definitely looked like an American home. I helped to make salad and carve honey baked ham. Besides the traditional dishes of stuffed turkey, sweet potato, cranberry sauce, etc, we Singaporeans had rice, Devil curry and Thai prawns. I was teased again for wolfing the wide spread of food at my age (FYI, I had three helpings of food and three helpings of dessert comprising of Edy's ice cream, grapes and caramel custard). I let the gals drove back the car as my brain had 'sank' to my stomach.

On Black Friday which marks the beginning of Christmas shopping season, I woke up at 5am and drove to White Marsh Mall to witness some shopping frenzy. Some stores opened as early as 12 midnight and most retailers offered door buster deals to attract consumers, especially electronics stores. I also observed that there was a high occurrence of advertisements selling diamond jewelery as an expression of love during this consumerism season. Husbands, I bet, are under a lot of pressure from the constant showing of these ads.

I was disappointed when I reached the mall. It was not as crowded as claimed. The discounts were not that attractive from sales which I had been. The best time to shop I found out was after each season when prices were really low. I intend to drive to outlet after this winter to find some bargains. I got a pair of brown dress shoes and a brown belt at Macy's for $76. My head was throbbing from five hours of sleep and I took a short nap only to wake up to go to Arundel Mills Mall where Vladimir, Dijana and I had bought tickets to watch Medieval Times where diners were entertained based on the true medieval tradition of royal families inviting guests to a festival and feast to watch Knights compete on horseback.

Dinner began with garlic bread and hot vegetable soup ladled into a pewter bowl. Next came roasted chicken, spare rib, a seasoned potato and apple roll served without silver ware. The horses were well-trained. They pranced and strut gracefully. Knights jousted and fight. Overall, the food was alright and the show was entertaining.

Since we had some time left on our car reservation, Vladimir and Dijana shopped while I took a brisk walk around the mall. The mall, being the largest in Maryland, took me 15 minutes to encircle.

On Saturday, I celebrated my birthday and am glad that I have the chance to work overseas and experience a different culture.