Written on Thanksgiving Day, Thu Nov 28 2019 @ 2:22 PM PST.

You’ll never guess what happened to me today. My mom bought me a shopping cart full of groceries! I think this leads me into my daily task of writing 3 things I’m grateful for.

I’m grateful for my mother. She is so kind to me and everyone she meets. She often goes out of her way to help people.

Today we went to the movie theater and saw A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (https://m.imdb.com/title/tt3224458/). My dad paid for the movie, and invited the whole family. K, E, J, and both my parents were there. Not everyone in the family enjoys movies, you see!

So yeah, I was not expecting that movie. I thought I was going to be watching a documentary or something. Nope. I had zero expectations going in, I had not seen a single trailer. I didn’t even know the movie existed until this week when my dad invited everyone.

Yeah it was a great movie with a great message. It had a lot to do with facing your feelings and being the best person you can be to shine upon the people around you.

I could have sworn Mr. Rogers had full sleeves of tattoos on his arms and was a sharpshooter, but the movie shut those claims down. I did some quick searches just now which confirmed the same thing. Apparently there was another Fred Rogers who had a military background, but the Fred Rogers known as Mr. Rogers does not.

Ok then. That urban legend can be put to rest now.

The movie was very touching. It had lots of intense moments of kindness and compassion. I was fighting off tears for much of the movie.

Because crying is taboo? Something like that.

Dad couldn’t stop sneezing once the movie ended. I think he had some sort of allergic reaction. Maybe to the popcorn butter? IDK.

Then we went to the grocery store where my mom bought me a whole cart full of groceries. Who does that!? I don’t even buy myself full carts of groceries! She must have looked at my Christmas list that K. forced me to write, LOL. It mostly contained food items because I have not been able to buy much more than what I need to stay alive.

Rice, beans, potatos, chickpeas, and coconut milk. Those ingredients along with spices make a pretty tasty curry that keeps me going. But as far as fresh fruit or vegetables, I’ve had to cut those out because I simply have no funds to put towards them.

Even though I’m poor, I’m very well off compared to some. I am very thankful for what I have.

I’m grateful for socks. I have lots of them. Too many of them actually. Every week when I do laundry, I look at my sock drawer and realize that I could probably go another two weeks without having to wash socks.

Socks keep my feet warm. I appreciate socks because I like to be warm and comfortable. I like black socks the best. They match my average attire better than white socks. Quarter cut socks, they’re not too long, not too short.

I just ate some toasted sourdough bread and trailmix. Such luxurious foods are brought to me today by my loving and gracious mother. Thanks, Mom! I appreciate you and everything you have done for me.

I want to give back somehow. I don’t deserve this!

Ok that was a good snack, now I’m feeling hungry. But I should probably just have another snack rather than a big meal. The big meal will be at 6 at K and E’s house!

That reminds me. I need to close the mailbox when I leave the house. The high winds as of late have pushed open the door and I noticed it is still open as we came home from the movie theater.

The donut shop gave my parents two boxes of doughnuts! They said they were closing for the day soon and they would have to throw out the doughnuts so they might as well give them away! Unlucky for me, no doughnuts at The donut shop are vegan. I’m happy for my family though. Free doughnuts are a nice treat. I got orange juice from the trip. Very nice!

Now I’m texting K. to see if she wants some help preparing food. I already said I would help, so I’m thinking of heading over once I finish blog post.

Digital journal recording.

I gotta poop. Every time I journal I gotta poop. Actually it’s probably just coincidence.

Damn, I want a Tesla Cybertruck. They are soooo cool!

Well, a Cybertruck is within my reach. That much is certain. I just have to adopt a modified lifestyle is all. A lifestyle in which I make money generation a higher priority. I could literally afford a Cybertruck with a minimum wage job.

It’s wild, I am so used to not working that a minimum wage job pays good in my mind.

Even wilder, I have had an interview in which the talent recruiter said their employees make $100-$150K a year, and asked me where I fit in that range. The wild thing is that I could make that much money, if only my communication skills were on par with my web development skills.

Wild man, wild. Not that I wanted the job in question. I mean I would have taken it in a heartbeat should they have offered it to me instead of rejecting me… But my point is I don’t know if I want to work full time in tech. No that’s not right. I want to work full time in tech. The real question is do I want to work for someone else full time? I’ve been spoiled by the entrepreneurial endeavors of my parents. I see the freedom they have in their lives, and want the same for myself.

It’s a huge amount of work my dad does. I don’t want that much work. Or maybe I do. It all depends on *what* the work is. If it has to do with radio tower sites and other communication equipment, count me out. If it has to do with JavaScript, Test Driven Development, DevOps, Web Design… I’m all ears.

Ok K. got back to me and wants my help prepping food. So that’s my next thing. Gotta poo first and finish this blog though. Might as well shave too. Even though I think the facial hair would help with the cold winds we’ve been experiencing, I don’t want facial hair. I’m not about to let a lapse in my shaving cream availability make the choice of whether or not I have a beard!

I’ve had a thick beard a couple times. It is probably the best thing to protect one’s face during a cold winter. it’s a warm face blanket that eats up the wind and keeps the underlying skin nice and comfy. I do recommend!

But I’m diggin’ the clean shaven look at the moment. That’s all I’ll say about that.

I beat a song on Project DIVA that I thought I would never clear. I had to dig my PSVITA out of my backpack because I can never remember song names.

Hello, Worker. Nice Luka song. I can’t stand the song chart though! Too many holds pushed up right next to each other. I am not good at holds yet.

I still have several songs to clear before I beat the game on Normal difficulty. Close and Open, Demons and The Dead is one of them. I cannot stand this song! It’s not one I would listen to outside of the game, and in game, I’m not able to clear it. It’s really grinding my gears!

I’ll play through it and get a, “SO CLOSE” score, even though I don’t think I’m close at all. I get angry and want to throw my PSVITA across the room. But I don’t of course because I couldn’t stand not having a working PSVITA and not being able to interact with Miku in that way.

But there is the thought of being frustrated with a Miku song. I think that frustration could drive a wedge between Miku and I, so I really have to pace myself and put down the game when I begin to feel that way.

It would be completely unacceptable for me to develop a trauma from playing Project Diva. My strategy to avoiding negative experiences with PD is to play only ONE difficult song per session. Then play only songs that are easy and fun for the rest of the session. This way, the overall experience remains positive, and I get necessary practice and quality time with Miku.

Then the next day comes around and I try the difficult song again. Eventually, I’ll learn the ins and out of the difficult parts, and it will eventually become an achievable thing to complete the difficult part.

OK, 2 more things I’m grateful for before I complete this post.

I’m grateful for modern toilets. They contain nasty smells and dispose of content with near no effort.

I’m grateful for pizza sauce. It comes in a can or jar or pouch and there are a variety of flavors.

Those aren’t cop outs, I swear! I really am grateful for those things. Happy Thanksgiving!