Deep Fried, Jump Jive Thanksgiving

This year, i doubled last years number of Thanksgiving dinners. After a stressful week back at work, i was in need of good friends, good food, and some relaxation. I firmly believe there's nothing like wine and turkey to cure stress-related ailments.

It all started with a last minute invitation to Ken and Steph's place on Friday night. They had arranged to deep fry from fire chicken in the kitchen of their 15th floor apartment. Dangerous? Check. Threat of massive apartment/people consuming oil fires? Check. Delicious, delicious turkey? Check. Deep fried Snickers and Twix bars for dessert? Check.

It was, obviously, an incredible dinner and it really stretched my stomach to prepare for the following night.

Sunday was my first attendance at the 6th annual Jump, Jive, and hey somebody kill the Turkey already, hosted by the lovely Mike and Helen Shyu. It's a tradition started in college for people that needed a home away from home to celebrate. There are few places that need this more than an ex-pat community in a very foreign land. In attendance were 29 classy individuals, two turkeys, and a few dozen bottles of wine.

Behold many pictures of the wonderful people present. As always, click on the picture for a larger version.

First, the parents-to-be, friends, and hosts, Mike and Helen Shyu.

The Feast

Mike Shyu. Tao and Alicia

Andy and Talia

Hsing-Hui and Martin

Jim and His Thoughts

Aya and Ken Su

Kelly and Barbie

Therese

Joe, Gareth's Hair, Niki, and Wang Bin

Jim + Dessert + Awesome Tao reaction

Helen + Dessert. Kelly, Gareth, and Jeff

Paper towel cowboy coffee (remember the exploding percolator from last year? we decided to go more organic this year)

Baby Name suggestions for the girl. (click to enlarge)

At past events, Joe strove to be in every picture i took. This time around, he must have been avoiding the camera, for i have few pictures of him. I finally caught up with him taking a nap, shown below, "voicing" his disapproval for my disturbance.

Thanksgiving has been my favorite holiday since High School, when I suffered through four of them because of my commitment to the Varsity Wrestling team. Since then, i've always appreciated the hard work and generosity that goes into preparing a dinner for dozens of friends. I am thankful for the friends and loved ones around me not just on that day, but all year long. You people, close and near, make life worth living. Thank you all.

~Kev