I've always had a soft spot for Thanksgiving – and not just because it's a holiday that contains a lot of amazing food (though that doesn't hurt). I love that it's a day for gratitude and to be with family and friends, and I love that the day lands during my favorite season.

Growing up, it was also the first event of a season of opportunities to spend an entire day with my cousins and aunts and uncles. As the youngest, I loved the change to observe everyone around me – how they interacted, what they talked about, and imagining how holidays would be when I was grown up enough to be part of every conversation.

When I went to college, I stopped coming home for Thanksgiving. The timing was too short, I usually had to work, and I knew I'd be home for longer less than a month later when finals were done and Christmas came around. It helped that I had family in LA too, even though I wasn't used to holidays down here. And I'll admit it took me awhile to get comfortable with it: there was less lounging around in a warm home and more eating out at restaurants, and something didn't scream "holidays" to me the way I was used to, though in some ways, it did prepare me for life after college too.

I'm not going to pretend to be any wiser than I was in 2016.

Last year, I wrote a post about the importance of falling in love – with your dreams, with your life, with yourself. It's a reminder that I let slip away from me almost as soon as I wrote the post because it was so much easier to fall back into old habits than to fall in love with all of the possibilities that life could bring.

But isn't it true that the longest relationship you'll have in your life is with yourself? So why is it that that relationship – the one with ourselves – is the hardest to maintain?

Man, October felt like a slow favorites month because my September was filled with new things I loved. It's not that I didn't love things in October, but I traveled more than expected and was a bit out of sorts. Also, it's been 100 degrees in LA and I've still been living like it's summer.

Anyways. Onto the favorites plus my watching/listening recommendations that I've been forgetting to include in my favorites posts:

1. Blue Oversized Denim Jacket from New Look


OK. The 100-degree weather has not been the right time for this. But I've worn it a few times in the evening and also when going from coast-to-coast and it is so cozy. I love the oversized look of it and it's a great travel jacket because it doubles as a nice blanket, and the denim isn't too heavy either. It's just a nice jacket. I can't wait to wear it more once the temperature drops.

Moderating a panel is stressful. That's just a fact. When you're the one responsible for steering the ship, it requires preparation, even if the topic is one you're very familiar with. So far this year, I've moderated about a half dozen panels and most of them with anywhere from 2 to 4 panelists.

That's a lot of people to talk to in 45 minutes about a wide range of topics.

So what makes for a successful panel? I've learned the hard way (by messing up) and the easy way (by being on panels with great moderators), and I've got at least one more panel to moderate before the year's end, so here are some tips and tricks that might help you through moderating your next panel:
1. Research your panelists.
Often times, panel organizers will provide you with bios, but even if that's the case, do your own research too. Look at their social media accounts, dig back through their YouTube videos, read other interviews they may or may not have done. It's OK if you aren't 100% familiar with someone on your panel, but by the time you get to the day of the panel, you should be able to talk about this person as if they're an actual friend.

And then practice introducing the panelists. I always recite bios of people in my head while I'm getting ready for my day – making coffee, doing my makeup, etc. – so that if I'm the one introducing them before the panel kicks off, I'm not just relying on them to tell the audience who they are. A good moderator should be able to make that introduction.

With the recent news of actress Charlyne Yi's recollection of an uncomfortable encounter with a fellow actor, I've been thinking a lot about those moments we often run into in a day that stay with us – and perhaps don't resonate as deeply with the other person.

Perhaps David Cross doesn’t remember. I don’t know. But what I can say is that even the most well-intentioned people will unknowingly offend, and even if they don’t remember it, their words or actions may make a lasting impact.

I’m sure the person last week who mis-identified me as two different Asian-American women in one breath, and then waved his hand and said, “Oh, whatever” when I corrected him, didn’t think he was saying anything wrong.