Thanksgiving with Palm Trees and Lobsters...

It's hard getting into the swing of the holiday seasons here on the West Coast.

It's always sunny. And there is perfect blue sky everyday.

The leaves do change, but winter does not whisper here. 

It's almost surreal; like it's a lie. Time.

Growing up on the East Coast, the holidays were always cold and snowy; and the air hard and brisk, biting at the cheeks.

Like it's supposed to be. There is no weather intro to the holidays here.

Not in Southern California, and definitely not in the Valley. It can be hard to remember just what you did yesterday. There are no seasons to mark the time.

And yet time can fly by without anything in life having changed at all. 

This is not the case for me. It's already Thanksgiving in the year 2009, and I am in a very different state of mind and body than I was this time last year; a very different state of mind and body. 

I feel clear, healthy, certain, and almost at home.

I have much to be thankful for besides sunny skies, palm trees and lobsters...

I am thankful for my family; for my parents especially, for without them I don't know that I would have been able to initially sustain myself here in a new town. Without them, I would have nothing.

I am thankful for my friends; for my 'husband' for the things to come and things that have passed, and for my 'Muse' for holding down the fort, even when I get crabby. He might not believe that, but it's true.

I am thankful for my girl-friends, my sisters really; for they help me maintain my sanity and my balance; and talking to them reminds me of who I am, and what I can do. 

I am thankful for my boy-friends because sometimes you just want to hang with the boys, and because great friends who have known you for a long time are hard to find and keep.

I am thankful for the representation I have on both coasts and for the fact that getting representation has been smooth for me.

I don't I take it for granted in any way. But what could have been a struggle, has for me, been a blessing.

I am thankful for the many auditions I have had in my first year and a half here in Los Angeles; major motion pictures, series regulars, recurring, national commercials, guest stars, co-stars, and leads in plays.

For a newbie, I've gotten around.

I am thankful for my New York connections, voice teacher, accompanist, casting directors, people I've worked with, who are available for me when I'm there, even though I now live...here.

I am thankful for my roommate, even though I still don't know what he does for a living. What I do know is that he listens to me, endlessly, blabber on about my career, my love life, and my struggles.

And listening is a lot. He also lets me eat most of the brownies we end up making without making me feel guilty about it.  

I eat brownies for breakfast. I hear some people drink beer. Same difference.

I am thankful for the insights and the work I have done on myself as a person in this City of Angels and for the artistic work I have created both in class and in the professional world as an actress. I am thankful for my health and for my strength.

I think LA forced me to grow up and become a woman. Oh, bother...as Pooh would say!

I am thankful for all the new people I have met here in Los Angeles and for the old friends that are friends for a lifetime no matter where I live; or where ever they may end up moving too, Audrey!

I am thankful for all the films and plays I have seen this past year that have enriched me, challenged me or just plain entertained me.

I am thankful for the devoted readers of my blogs and for the other bloggers whom I also refer to as my 'cyber-space neighbors'. 

I am thankful for every moment in the past, painful or joyful, that has led me to my current present which is creating my future; because there is nothing ever to be regretful about. Trust the Universe. 

I am thankful for the different jobs I've had here; and for the wonderful people I have met in them.

Sometimes it's not the job, but the relationships you have with the people you work with that matter and will lead to the more you are seeking.

And the thing about being in warm weather during the holidays that I'm very thankful for, is this...

If one day, you're going for a hike and you feel like you just wanna keep on going...all you have to do is stay in your car, hit the gas pedal and you could end up here....

On a rock, in Malibu, by the glorious crashing waves of the Pacific, eating a lobster, next to a palm tree...Geez, it's bright! Thank you Life!

(photos courtesy of me and Malibu's PCH)

Yours Truly -- Ann Hu